[opendtv] European TV trends
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:49:11 -0500
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> Cable never got a good foothold in the UK. One reason is that the
> free-to-air TV service reached almost every home, so the stimulus
> that got cable going in the U.S. - CATV systems for areas with
> poor TV reception - did not exist. When DBS technology made it
> possible for BskyB to compete with the entrenched UK FTA system,
> many people the industry and many politicians became concerned
> that the most desirable content - UK football - would migrate
> exclusively to pay TV; and there were concerns about the
> competitive impact of content from the US delivered via DBS.
Which begs the question, assuming the above to be correct, how come the
same doesn't happen here? How come people in the industry and
politicians don't become concerned that pay schemes grab the most
desirable content? Or perhaps this is not the case there or here? Don't
know.
The annual report on Euro DTV, published by the DGTVi, has just been
released.
http://www.dgtvi.it/stat/Allegati/Terzo_Rapporto_sulla_Televisione_Digit
ale_Terrestre_in_Europa.pdf
Lots of interesting statistical data.
The UK, France, Spain, and Italy are the West European countries that
use OTA TV most, the study says. This may be due to their size and their
relatively uncrowded surroundings, giving them more access to RF
spectrum. That's my guess. It seems plausible.
Anyway, the trends are in each country are similar.
1. Satellite penetration has been significant, in the 20 percent range,
more than that in the UK. In all four countries, DBS penetration is
slowly increasing.
2. Cable penetration has been low in the past, is still especially low
in Italy, but it is also slowly increasing. In France and Spain
especially, cable penetration is heading up.
3. Availability of DTT in households is increasing rapidly, but it is
replacing analog OTA, not the MVPDs.
4. And the big story is *usage* of DTT in those households that have it.
That's quite low still, in Italy, but rising fast. Penetration of DTT is
now 24 percent of households, but DTT usage is only 7.6 percent. In
Spain, DTT penetration is 37 percent of households, and usage is only
20.2 percent. They say usage goes up as more and more choice is offered
over DTT that does not exist over analog, and also as analog switchoff
dates approach.
So, perhaps these West European countries are simply lagging the US and
other West Europeans? All I can say is, cable penetration is not
skyrocketing as it did here, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is
just on a leisurely upswing.
Bert
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