The Danish Radio and Television Board has announced that it will issue one single DTT licence for four multiplexes, the so-called ‘gatekeeper’. The licence holder will be selected following a beauty contest, with the allocation expected by the end of March 2008.
Three multiplexes will become available following analogue switch-off on 31 October 2009, while one multiplex, with the services of the public service broadcasters DR and TV 2, is already available. The Board said: “The gatekeeper must broadcast digital television to the entire population. The channels, which the gatekeeper – in competition with satellite and cable providers – will offer in packages or possibly individually to viewers, must include a broad selection of programmes.”
Apart from the services of DR and TV 2, it is not known what other services will be made available. However, they could include mobile television and HDTV services. “Depending on whether mobile television and HDTV are also offered on the digital broadcasting networks, the gatekeeper will acquire around 25 channels,” according to the Board.
In preparation for the 2009 analogue switch-off, the Radio and Television Board will carry out a campaign in which it plans to send information to all television households on digital switchover.
