A war of words has broken out between YLE and DNA over Finland’s transition to terrestrial HD broadcasting.
The public broadcaster says the transmission company’s appeal to the Market Court means the transmission company has compromised its position.
According to YLE the cost to households is not included in the competitive bidding and should not be taken into account as part of the tendering process.
“At the core is the question of how much of the cost of this kind of transition can be passed on to households. In our competitive tendering, the premise is that the cost to households is kept to a minimum. We want to make the transition to HD broadcasting as easy as possible,” says YLE Production Manager Janne Yli-Äyhö.
YLE has invited tenders for a high definition terrestrial network with the aim of making a full transition to HD in March 2020.
An agreement on the move was reached in 2020 with Finland switching to DVB T2 transmissions in the HD format. Yli-Äyhö fears that DNA’s appeal might lead to an “excessive delay” in the process.
DNA says it is supportive of the T2 format, arguing that its network already covers 85% of Finland and is on standby to expand its network later. “DNA has contributed for years to actively encourage the rollout of T2-devices, as well as the number of VHF antennas to increase. DNA’s terrestrial pay-TV business has already successfully moved to the new transmission technology,” the company said in a statement.
However, it added that half of the installed base was yet to upgrade to T2, and their sales have remained significantly below the target level set by the industry
Close to 1,250,000 households receive their TV over the air with a further 600,000 using the service in second homes.
