Shadow
07-08-2010, 22:28
*No commercial digital TV before 2013, says Irish authority The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has ruled out introducing commercial digital terrestrial television (DTT) until after analogue television services are switched off at the end of 2012. The BAI said it would review possible dates for the launch of commercial DTT at the end of 2011, at which point it might seek fresh expressions of interest. A competition could be held in 2012 with a view to commercial DTT coming onstream in 2013, it said. It also indicated that it intends to ask the Department of Communications to give it the power to mediate between future commercial DTT operators and RTÉ NL, which controls the transmission network. The failure of the original commercial DTT licensing awards, which began in 2008, has been attributed to both the deteriorating economic climate and the failure of the first- and second-choice applicants to successfully conclude negotiations with RTÉ NL. The authority said it had