Greece’s imminent transition to digital broadcasting –its six leading commercial stations are due to switch off their analogue signals from their main transmission point in Athens today (July 20) – has raised fears of a shortage of receivers.
Ekathimerini reports that retailers “have been stunned by the huge demand for decoders”, which from €30 upwards are a much more affordable option than digital TV sets for many people in the current economic climate.
Indeed, some believe they could start running out of stock as soon as this weekend. The six commercial stations – Skai, Mega, Antenna, Alpha, Star and Makedonia TV– will continue to be distributed in analogue from another transmitter, located at Mount Parnith, for at least a year.
The public broadcaster ERT, which operates three channels, meanwhile plans to stop all analogue transmissions following the end of the Olympic Games next month.
