DTT growing in the UK

Figures released yesterday by Ofcom, the UK media regulator, indicate that the incredible growth of the DVB-T based Freeview platform shows no sign of slowing. Since the platform was launched in October 2002, over 27 million DVB-T receivers have been sold. The bulk of these, 17.5 million, are set-top boxes, but the number of IDTVs (TVs with an integrated DVB-T tuner) is growing. In the last quarter of 2007, for example, 2.3 million IDTVs were sold, as against 1.8 million set-top boxes.

In a market where 87% of homes now receive digital television, the terrestrial platform is the most popular with 37% of all homes watching DTT. Digital satellite commands 36% of the market (of which 4% watch free-to-air services), and digital cable has a 14% share.

Digital TV has been a real success in the UK and many other countries (e.g. New Zealand, Indonesia, etc...) are now looking to mirror that success by making a similar range of services available under similar circumstances.

Slow take-up for DTT in Brazil

As predicted here and elsewhere, it looks like expensive receivers are ensuring that the launch of DTT services in Brazil are to blame for a very slow take-up of the new services. A report on Advanced-Television.com last week that only 10,000 households have made the switch to digital since the launch of services in Sao Paulo at the beginning of December. At this rate the analogue switch-off target date of 2016 looks amibitious.

Meanwhile, DVB-T receivers continue to fly off the shelves in Spain, France, the UK and elsewhere... Cheap receivers are a necessary pre-requisite for quick take-up of newly launched DTT services - ISDB-T (the Japanese system adopted by the Brazilians) is not synonymous with cheap set-top boxes. An average DVB-T zapper box is now selling for less than USD $40 in many markets across the world.