Text of report by Robert Briel, published by Cambridge-based independent Broadband TV News website, on 17 October
The German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF plan to switch off their analogue transmissions on Astra on 30 April 2012, according to Carl Eugen Eberle, ZDF Director of Legal Affairs, who announced the news during the FRK cable congress in Leipzig.
At the moment, the two main channels from ARD and ZDF are available in analogue on the Astra position of 19.2 degrees East. Also, all so-called “third channels”, the regional broadcasters, are still broadcasting in analogue.
This time it looks like a “firm” deadline has been set. However, the main commercial broadcasters, the RTL Group and ProSiebenSat.1, still have to set their deadlines, but it is now believed they will also switch off at the same time.
The analogue broadcasts come at a considerable cost to the broadcasters, especially as both ARD and ZDF plan HD simulcasts for their main channels starting this winter. In effect, this will mean that ARD and ZDF will be available in digital SD and HD as well as in analogue for a period of more than two years.
The analogue switch-off concerns only satellite; analogue terrestrial transmissions in the country have already stopped.
It remains to be seen what cable operators will decide; they still distribute both analogue and digital versions of the public channels.
(Source: Broadband TV News website, Cambridge, in English 17 Oct 09 via BBC Monitoring)
on Oct 19th, 2009 at 13:55
I guess you mean “analogue terrestrial transmission has already been stopped” now it says digital terrestrial.
on Oct 19th, 2009 at 14:13
I guess so, and I have changed it, but it is a mistake in the original at http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2009/10/17/ard-and-zdf-plan-april-2012-switch-off/ as quoted verbatim by BBC Monitoring. I should have spotted it, but Robert Briel’s stories are usually accurate. I have known him for over 25 years, and as you know he was editor of Veronica Magazine for many years.
Thanks for the correction.
on Oct 31st, 2009 at 20:13
RTL explicitely not confirms this date. On the Münchener Medientage event their head of program distribution said that “this was not the last word yet” and that they want the politicians to set a deadline:
http://www.infosat.de/Meldungen/?msgID=55800
Observers believe that the commcasters want a delay to prevent an even more widespread use of FTA receivers.