DTT households in German federal state Hessen will continue to be able to receive commercial TV channels on digital terrestrial frequencies.
Local media authority LPR Hessen renewed the licences for another 5 years at its latest assembly in Kassel. The current permissions expire in December 2014.
The affected channels are RTL, Sat.1, ProSieben, VOX, kabel eins, RTL II, Super RTL and N24. They are available via DTT in the Rhine Main region around Frankfurt.
Winfried Engel, chairman of LPR’s board, welcomed the decision: “This secures that the most watched channels of the commercial broadcasters will continue to be available terrestrially in addition to the public channels in an important urban area in Germany in the medium term.”
The decision also paves the way to transition to successor technology DVB-T2 which will commence in mid-2016.
DTT can be received by up to 6.5 million viewers in Hessen and surrounding regions through the transmitter sites Großer Feldberg, Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.