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Digital terrestrial television in Portugal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Digital terrestrial television in Portugal (Portuguese: Televisão Digital Terrestre, or TDT) launched on 29 April 2009 with (as of December 2016) 7 free-to-air (FTA) channels. In the Azores and Madeira Islands, regional channels (RTP Açores or RTP Madeira) are available.[1][2] By June 2010 TDT coverage reached 83% of the population and was expected to reach 100% by the end of 2010. The analog to digial conversion occurred on 26 April 2012.[3] The four existing analog FTA channels simulcasted in DVB-T, MPEG-4/H.264 (digital),[4] and PAL (analog).

The TDT process was broken into two licenses: one for management of the FTA network and frequencies, and one for the management and distribution of pay TV channels and content. Both licenses were won by Portugal Telecom (PT). PT also acquired the transmitter network of Televisão Independente (TVI), thus becoming the sole broadcaster of analog television signals.[5] ANACOM's objective was to have 5 TDT FTA channels (including a new 5th FTA channel) and a paid TV offer of around 40 channels. The plan for a paid TV offer was abandoned when PT announced that they were returning the paid TV license to ANACOM, which returned the 2.5 million paid by PT.[6]

The creation of the 5th TV channel was criticized by private broadcasters, TVI and Sociedade Independente de Comunicação (SIC). They argued that the television advertising market was saturated and a new broadcaster would damage existing channels.[7]

In 2023, Media Capital CEO Pedro Morais Leitão said that the company was considering pulling out of DTT broadcasting.[8] In November 2023, ANACOM extended the DTT license by 7 years upon MEO request. This license is valid until 10 December 2030.[9]

Channels

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LCN Channel Resolution Owner
1 RTP1 SD (720x576i) RTP
2 RTP2 SD (720x576i) RTP
3 SIC SD (720x576i) Impresa
4 TVI SD (720x576i) Media Capital
5 ARtv SD (720x576i) Assembly of the Republic
6 RTP3 SD (720x576i) RTP
7 RTP Memória SD (720x576i) RTP

References

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  1. ^ "A TDT, em Portugal, disponibiliza de forma gratuita os canais generalistas nacionais RTP 1, RTP 2, SIC, TVI, RTP Açores e RTP Madeira (nas respectivas Regiões Autónomas). Um dos canais poderá ser emitido simultaneamente em Alta Definição", http://tdt.telecom.pt/o_que_e/Default.aspx?code=XzX622 Archived 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Canal Parlamento estreia hoje em sinal aberto" (in Portuguese). TeK Sapo. Archived from the original on 2013-01-06. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
  3. ^ ANACOM (2012-03-08). "DTT switch-off". anacom.pt. Retrieved 2023-08-02.
  4. ^ ANACOM. "FAQ: Do I need to change my television set to receive DTT?".
  5. ^ "PT concorre sozinha à TDT e compra rede analógica à dona da TVI" (in Portuguese). Jornal de Notícias. Archived from the original on 2010-06-01.
  6. ^ "PT revoga licença para TDT e recupera caução" (in Portuguese). TeK Sapo.
  7. ^ Económico. "Quem ganha e perde com o novo canal de TV" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  8. ^ "Portuguese broadcasters question future of DTT". 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  9. ^ "Meo secures DTT licence extension". 6 November 2023.