Slovakia’s fourth DTT multiplex will start the switch to DVB-T2 on June 28.
Speaking to Zive, Zsolt Nagy, the technical director of the national transmission company Towercom, said that viewers would begin to see changes on their screens from the beginning of September.
The fourth multiplex carries the pay-DTT service Plustelka and Nagy added that none of its channels were likely to be dropped following the transition.
Indeed, new ones, some in HD, may be added as the multiplex’s capacity is increased from 22 Mbps to 36 Mbps.
Nagy also said that as most viewers will have to replace their set-top boxes to continue receiving Plustelka, Towercom has prepared a special offer providing one at a discounted price.
The fourth multiplex currently covers around 80% of Slovakia and Nagy also said he expected to cost of receiving the basic Plustelka package to remain unchanged at €5.99 a month.
There are at present no plans to move the country’s other multiplexes to DVB-T2.
Significantly, Markiza TV, Slovakia’s leading broadcaster, has a DVB-T distribution contract valid until the end of this year. At this stage it remains to be seen if it will be extended.
Only around 10% of Slovak households use DTT as the their main source of TV reception.
