Go, Melita subscribers not affected by digital change

The switchover from analogue to digital reception will not affect the 130,000 customers of Go or Melita TV services but only the roughly 16,000 households that rely on the rooftop antenna to watch television.

As from February 1, free-to-air analogue-terrestrial television will be upgraded to digital and the two systems will be operating concurrently until June 1, when analogue reception will be turned off once and for all, promising to offer a better and crisper picture.

The changeover will affect the 16,000 households and another 10,500 which have a satellite-based service but require the antenna to watch local TV channels. Those who do not have a modern TV set need to install a special decoder or a scart adapter, which can be purchased for between €20 and €50. LCD, LED and plasma TV sets typically feature an integrated digital tuner.

Whereas under the analogue regime one frequency could only support one channel, with digital transmission the single frequency allocated to Malta can be shared among six TV channels, including TVM. NET TV, One TV and Smash have the right to form part of the remaining five. The rest would be chosen by the Broadcasting Authority following a call for expressions of interest, Malta Communications Authority chairman Philip Micallef said.

Public Broadcasting Services Ltd, the operator of the national television station, has been appointed the responsible entity for the operation of the broadcasting platform in Malta.

TVM has already started transmitting digitally on a trial basis and will switch to digital on February 1.

Asked whether efforts were being made to remove all antennas from rooftops, except for those 26,500 households that would still rely on them for their reception for a while, Mr Micallef said there were no such plans but the suggestion would be considered.

He announced an information and promotional campaign to inform people about the changeover. Apart from targeting the affected households, the public will be informed that those with a Go or Melita subscription will not need to change or install anything new.