Just 514 DTT receivers out of 437,000 sold in the Spanish market during the last quarter of 2006 were MHP-enabled. The figures from the DTT association Impulsa TDT said that 2.7 million receivers were installed during 2006 bringing the installed base to 3.3 million.
The figures deal another blow to the MHP market that has slipped further since last year’s debacle over licensing fees for the MHP technology.
IMPALA, the International MHEG Promotion Alliance, contrasted the figures with the UK market where the MHEG-5 middleware dominates the market with typical receiver prices in the region of €50.
IMPALA is an industry group formed by software vendors Strategy & Technology, Cabot Communications and Echostar to promote the use of the MHEG-5 interactive TV standard. The organisation says the low cost of MHEG implementation has led to competitive receive prices and driven take-up of the Freeview DTT platform. Last week Ofcom confirmed the best ever receiver sales in a single quarter. (JC)
Mediaset’s Alberto Sigismondi reminds us of the success enjoyed by MHP in the Italian market. He says that an MHP receiver in Italy costs between €70 and €80 – some distance from the €120 we quoted yesterday – and that receiver sales there have so far reached 4.4 million.