Slovakia has officially launched its first DTT service. Its operator – the transmission company Towercom – says it has replaced a pilot that has been running for five years.
Employing MPEG-2 compression, the new single multiplex service is offering three public channels from STV, along with the commercial channels Joj and Joj Plus, and can be received by 80% of the population. Towercom plans to eventually operate a total of three multiplexes.
Significantly, two of Slovakia’s leading channels – Markiza and TA3 – are absent from the line-up, though they are likely to be added in the near future, perhaps replacing one of the STV services and/or Joj Plus.
Reports indicate that Nitra, one of the main cities in Slovakia, is not covered by DTT signals.