The Romanian public broadcaster TVR will not cease broadcasting in analogue at the end of this year, as had previously been expected.
Mediafax reports that Dragos Tudorache, the country’s acting minister of communications, has announced that the government will very soon adopt an ordinance putting back analogue switchoff still further.
It adds that the reason for this is that many residents in rural parts of Romania have insufficient funds to buy digital reception equipment.
As a result, proposals to introduce subsidies to purchase such equipment are now being discussed by the authorities.
Currently over one million Romanians, especially in rural areas, receive TVR and some private TV channels through simple antennas mounted on houses and without paying a subscription for cable or satellite. Analogue signals for these channels are distributed by the National Broadcasting Company (SNR).
Romania has one of the highest pay-TV penetration rates in Europe, with over 90% of homes receiving cable or satellite TV services.
