Sweden proposes DTT restructuring

The Swedish government has said it is referring the structure of Sweden’s digital terrestrial network to the council on legislation. It now seems likely that the DTT platform will be opened to other providers that want to offer pay services following concerns raised by the European Commission, which had threatened to fine the Swedish government over the establishment of Boxer as the sole provider of pay-TV services on the DTT system.

“The government’s express call for maximum accessibility supports us in our conviction that we must continue to be able to offer all the TV channels on the terrestrial network in a collected subscription. Collected access to Sweden’s most popular channels is something that is appreciated by both viewers and the channel owners,” says Henrik Skullman, Boxer’s acting CEO.

The decision gives added responsibility to the RTTV, the Swedish Radio and TV Authority, which will co-ordinate the technical structure of the network. The probable outcome is that Boxer will maintain its hold on the marketing of DTT packages to the public – it has 700,000 subscribers after eight years – but that other providers such as Viasat will also be able to sell their channels direct to the public.

The proposed legislation makes no mention of Boxer itself.