The Digital Television Revolution: Origins to Outcomes

266 Pages·2013·1.169 MB·English

by  Michael Starks

The Digital Television Revolution
PalgraveGlobalMediaPolicyandBusiness
Series Editors: Professor Petros Iosifidis, Professor Jeanette Steemers and
ProfessorGeraldSussman
EditorialBoard:SandraBraman,PeterDahlgren,TerryFlew,CharlesFombad,
Manuel Alejandro Guerrero, Alison Harcourt, Robin Mansell, Richard
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This innovative series examines the wider social, political, economic and
technologicalchangesarisingfromtheglobalizationofthemediaandcommu-
nications industries and assesses their impact on matters of business practice,
regulation and policy. Considering media convergence, industry concentration
and new communications practices, the series makes reference to the paradig-
maticshiftfromasystembasedonnationaldecision-makingandthetraditions
of public service in broadcast and telecommunications delivery to one that is
demarcatedbycommercialization,privatizationandmonopolization.Bearingin
mind this shift, and based on a multi-disciplinary approach, the series tackles
threekeyquestions:Towhatextentdonewmediadevelopmentsrequirechanges
in regulatory philosophy and objectives? To what extent do new technologies
and changing media consumption require changes in business practices and
models? And to what extent does privatization alter the creative freedom and
publicaccountabilityofmediaenterprises?
KarenDonders,CarolinePauwelsandJanLoisen(editors)
PRIVATETELEVISIONINWESTERNEUROPE
Content,Markets,Policies
MichaelStarks
THEDIGITALTELEVISIONREVOLUTION
OriginstoOutcomes
PalgraveGlobalMediaPolicyandBusiness
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The Digital Television
Revolution
Origins to Outcomes
Michael Starks
UniversityofOxford
©MichaelStarks2013
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Contents
ListofIllustrations viii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xiv
ListofAcronymsandAbbreviations xvi
Introduction 1
Part I BirthandDevelopment
1 TheImpetusforDigitalTelevision 13
2 TheDigitalTerrestrialPioneers 32
3 TheUK’sDigitalTransition 55
4 Europe’sCoordinatedTimetable 75
5 TheWiderGlobalPicture 94
Part II ShapingtheOutcomes
6 HowtoSwitchOffAnalogueTV 115
7 ConvergedCommunications 135
8 Cross-MediaRegulation? 158
9 PublicServiceDigitalMedia 180
10 TheDemocraticDividend 202
InConclusion 221
References 226
Index 235
vii
Illustrations
Figures
I.1 TheUK’suseofUHFspectrumforanaloguetelevision
broadcasting 6
3.1 TheUK’soriginalplanforspectrumrelease 67
4.1 EmergingpatternofUHFspectrumuseinEurope 93
5.1 Long-termgoalforUHFspectrumuseacrosstheglobe? 111
Tables
I.1 CountriescompletingdigitalTVswitchoverbyendof
2012 9
3.1 Transitiondurationforcountriescompletingswitchover
byendof2012 57
viii
Preface
InOctober2012theUnitedKingdom(UK)completedtheswitch-offof
its last analogue television transmitters. A couple of months earlier, at
the 2012 London Olympics, the BBC, which had only two TV chan-
nels back in the five-channel analogue era, showed just what could be
donewithdigitaltechnology.MainstreamOlympiceventswerecarried
on BBC One and BBC Three and in high-definition. Digital terrestrial
viewers could receive two additional channels of broadcaster-selected
eventsonFreeview.Thenupto24furtherBBCOlympicchannelsoffered
live coverage of individual sports – across the alphabet from Archery,
Badminton and Basketball to Tennis, Volleyball and Weightlifting – so
that viewers could select their own events. Cable and satellite house-
holds could find these extra services on their main TV sets using the
Electronic Guide; terrestrial TV households needed to access them on
their computers. Away from home, people could watch the Olympics
on their mobile phones. The opening and closing ceremonies and the
men’s 100m final were also broadcast live in 3D. A new television era
hadarrived.
The shift from analogue to digital television involves more than
an enlargement of viewer choice. It has been accompanied by the
convergence of the broadcasting, computer and telecommunications
industries, now all based on digital technology, which facilitates link-
ages, including content transfer, between them. This has led to the
distribution of television via broadband and mobile telecommunica-
tions. It has blurred the interface between television and the Internet,
bringing On-Demand TV to the computer and YouTube videos to the
‘Connected TV set’. Cable and satellite broadcasters have multiplied
thechoicesofferedbytheirvideosupermarkets.Over-the-airterrestrial
television has been able to expand its output dramatically, while at
the same time releasing broadcasting spectrum to the hungry world of
telecommunications.
Analoguetelevisionwasmainlyviewedsimultaneouslybymassaudi-
ences conforming to timetables set by the broadcasters. Digital televi-
sion, with digital recording devices and broadband connections, offers
On-Demand and self-scheduling options. While large audiences still
ix