ABSTRACT
Analogue broadcasting was characterised by limited channel choice, the need for the viewer to fit in with the schedulers, and a clear understanding that the television was simply a device for watching broadcast programmes. Digitalisation will create the possibility of hundreds of channels, convert the television set into a multipurpose/multimedia terminal, and allow viewers to become their own schedulers, watching programmes when they want and, in time, even interacting with the programmes themselves. Two forces are driving broadcasters and other media companies to invest in digital technology and new programme rights. The first is the belief that viewers can be persuaded to pay much more for television: through increased channel choice, charging for programmes currently viewed freeto-air, and using live sport, first release films and ‘adult’ programming to drive the take-up of pay-TV. Second is the conviction that the television, as the most ubiquitous household consumer device, will become the conduit through which an ever increasing variety of information
will be conveyed and transactions conducted. No one can be certain about the degree to which these predictions will be realised. Indeed, one of the greatest commercial risks within the current enthusiasm for digital technology is that company strategies will be driven by a technological push rather than a consumer pull. As with most new technologies the uncertainties about the true extent of consumer demand are even greater than those surrounding the technology itself. Most observers agree, however, that in time the technological and commercial possibilities of digital television will transform the broadcasting markets of Europe’s major countries. This chapter looks first at the technological bases of the ‘digital revolution’ before moving on to examine some of the ways in which that technology seems likely to be applied in the market.
