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Digital Terrestrial Television in Europe

by John Foley; co-published with CDG Consultants Ltd. of UK

250 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); 2-volume set, price includes courier delivery worldwide; catalogue #98-0041; ISBN 1-55212-222-0; US$1,522.00, C$1,750.00, EUR1,250.00, £875.00

Report (revised annually) by Europe's top consultants on digital terrestrial television in Europe. The year-long study was sponsored by a number of European network operators from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. This 2-volume set includes a 50-page summary called The Dynamics of Transition and the 200-page detailed report called Digital Terrestrial Television in Europe - The Full Report

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about these reports about the author and CDG Counsulants Ltd. European press release reviews see excerpts catalogue info

About these Reports Welcome to the future. You and your company need these reports if you are interested in what is happening to television and computers. There are so many developments happening that it is impossible to keep up to date unless you let others take the strain of finding out, filtering the information and letting you know. Putting an interpretation on the deluge of information about digital television is why CDG exists. The title of the full report is DTT in Europe-The Full Report. This is the newly-researched full report released 15 October, 1998. It covers digital TV in Europe focussing on DTT. This is very topical because digital TV via satellite was just launched in the UK in September for the first time and DTT is due for launch in November. The other major European countries will be following shortly. Key Benefits of the report Updates the leading countries: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, NL Clarifies the developments in satellite, cable and terrestrial television Explains why the USA is taking a different route from the Europeans Shows how convergence impacts the broadcasting industry Understandable by the non-technical reader Two volumes in this set The Dynamics of Transition -- This volume is intended as an intelligent summary for the person who would like to know what is going on and what the main issues are. Attractively produced in a magazine format, this volume uses an imaginative range of graphics to explain the main concepts. The Full Report -- This volume contains the detail of the study. It is written in a clear and accessible style suited not only to the television industry professional but also to others such as commercial executives, lawyers and policy makers who want to learn about the situation in Europe. This report is suitable for those whose work requires them to gain a more in-depth knowledge of the subject area.

About author John Foley and CDG Consultants Ltd. of London, England

John Foley is the Managing Director of CDG Consultants. He is a strategy consultant in the field of digital television and new media, and has been involved in several new product launches. Mr Foley is presently advising the European Commission on digital television. He is the author of several influential reports on digital television and pay TV in Europe. Prior to forming CDG, Mr Foley was manager of the Media Group at Coopers & Lybrand and was the founder of the commodity trading company Saladin. He was educated at the universities of Oxford (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and Lancaster (Operational Research). Mr Foley is a regular speaker at international conferences on digital television and is listed in Who's Who in the World.

John Foley is the principal author of this report.
The core team involved in the digital television project comprises the following experts:-
Andrew Biller, Broadcasting technology
Paul Rasmussen, Interactivity technology
Terry Brunne, Marketing and conferences
Steve Zapp, Market research
Francis Fuchs, Information technology
Leila Raivio, Finance and administration
Trevor Watling, Software
Orlando Kimber, Public relations
John Yip, Design

We offer insights into the developments of digital technology as well as the changing patterns of social and family life. As Europe converges to the information society, with a single currency, new approaches are required for corporate success.

At CDG, the emphasis is on providing the highest quality of service possible. The results of our work have been acclaimed by a wide range of clients from investment banks to telecommunications companies.

Major areas of expertise include digital television, European policy and regulation, project planning and applied futurology. Clients include European Commission, investment banks, broadcasters, telcos and transmission operators. Other activities include publishing and seminars.

We are also advisors to the UK Government in the fields of family policy and social security. We are active in projects in the non-profit and voluntary sectors and continue to support social policy research projects. CDG provides advisory and consulting services to senior management, corporate strategists and investment analysts. We examine companies involved all along the digital supply chain. These range from copyright holders, broadcasters, manufacturers and governments. Our high-value added input can range from developing or reviewing corporate strategy, participation at workshops and acting as a sounding board.

We are currently advising the European Commission on the implementation of the Directive on digital television standards.

European press release

from 15 September release in Europe
...

Digital terrestrial television will dominate
the European market

A new report on the implementation of Digital Terrestrial
Television (DTT) in Europe has been released

                    NEW TV SETS WILL DRIVE DTT

       Cable and satellite will be overtaken by DTT which will
       become the most important route to digital television in
       most countries. One third of EU households will receive
       their TV signals via digital terrestrial by 2003. Spain,
       Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany are planning to switch
       off analogue in 2010. 

       Consumers who replace their TV sets with new ones which will
       increasingly be capable of receiving DTT broadcasts automatically
       using existing household aerials. Cable and satellite viewers will
       need to use set-top boxes for many years.

       DTT penetration will grow quickly in the UK, France, Italy and Spain
       but more slowly in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands where cable
       dominates.

       DTT is an essential component in a mix of digital delivery systems in
       order to achieve universal service. DTT's unique benefits of wireless
       portable and mobile reception is attractive to broadcasters who can
       reach consumers directly through their individual TV sets.

       Europe is adopting the multi-channel route to DTT to provide greater
       consumer choice of programming. The US is introducing high definition
       television (HDTV) which involves more expensive TV sets. 

       CDG is a consultancy specialising in the convergence of broadcasting and 
       telecommunications. The year-long study was sponsored by a number of 
       European network operators from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the 
       Netherlands and Sweden.

For More Information Contact:
Terry Brunne
CDG Consultants Ltd 
PO Box 14505 London SW15 3WG 
Tel: +44 (0) 181 780 0100 
FAX: +44 (0) 181 780 0101 
Email: terry.brunne@cdg.net

Reviews and advance comments

Digital Terrestrial Television in Europe: The Dynamics of Transition

A new report on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in Europe has been released by CDG Consultants, the specialists in convergence. It examines the introduction of DTT from a commercial perspective in the overall transition from analogue to digital.

The main finding is that DTT will become the most important route to digital television in most European countries. Consumers are found to desire a limited number of high quality programme services and most of these will be shown on terrestrial.

The capacity advantage of satellite and cable over terrestrial is minimal since DTT is capable of delivering the most popular programming cheaply to the vast majority of the population. The main driver for the penetration of DTT is the replacement cycle of TV sets and new TV sets will increasingly be capable of receiving DTT broadcasts automatically.

DTT is an essential component in a mix of digital delivery systems in order to achieve universal service. The unique benefit of plug-free reception is attractive to broadcasters who can then reach individual TV sets directly.

The claim that cable has a major advantage over wireless delivery systems in respect of interactivity is shown to be unfounded for commercial reasons. The vast majority of revenue-generating applications can be achieved by a simple return path. The report is sceptical of claims of the full convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications. Broadcast networks will continue to play a unique role. Regarding the move to HDTV, the report contends that the situation in Europe is quite different from the Americans and so different approaches are valid. The report describes the implementation of DTT in various countries covering topics such as simulcasting, setting an end-date for analogue, completing universal service and allocating frequencies.

A set of market projections are included which show DTT penetration growing quickly in the UK, France, Italy and Spain but more slowly in the heavily cabled markets such as Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The 2010 target end-date for analogue broadcasting set by some countries is optimistic according to the author. The study was sponsored by a number of European network operators from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.

It is unusual to find so much clarity about such a complicated subject.

There are not many reports which take an independent overview of the European television market

Advance comments:

Early comments on the report have shown that it stands out as an essential document for anyone interested in the subject of digital television in Europe.

" ...the report was very thorough, and I would have been pleased with it if I had written it."
Jim Slater, Co-ordinator, UK Digital Television Group

"A very thorough report."
Nick Bertolotti, Media Analyst, J.P.Morgan

"Obviously a lot of work has gone into it."
Andrew Hawkins, Group strategist, British Telecom

"I enjoyed reading it."
Jan Doeven, Technology advisor, Nozema, Netherlands

"The timing is perfect."
Andrew Graham, Director, Channel Four Television, UK

"...an excellent work. I found many good and new arguments.
Thomas Wachter, Manager, Digital TV, Deutsche Telekom, Germany

"Very impressive both content and looks wise."
Patrick Abrahamson, Screen Digest

Read an excerpt

The situation in Europe regarding the transition to digital may be summarised in the following extracts from the summary report - The Transition to Digital. The aggregate projections for the takeup of digital television for the main European countries is included together with a breakdown for the UK. Detailed projections for the other major European countries are contained in the report.

download .pdf extract (approx. 916k)

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Catalogue Information