Looking bad for Irish DTT...

icdg

If Business and Finance are right on this one, its looking bad for Irish DTT...

http://new.businessandfinance.ie/livenews.htm?a=281385

DMC

Ooofff.....

Goes to prove the Sile Dev's done it again....

If this was sold at the time of Cablelink's sale, it would have given it a chance to bed in, and even hasten the appearence in DTT.

But the money is not in technology at present.... computers, telecoms, and TV. No one in their right mind is going to put money into a DTT system in a small country, when the country beside us, with the biggest DTT network to hand can loose £1m stg A DAY

Damien.

(...watches white elephant trying to get of the ground, then seeing the floor give way underneath)

cableskeptic

Originally posted by icdg
If Business and Finance are right on this one, its looking bad for Irish DTT...

Well B&F got at least one thing wrong (and I suspect a lot more) and that's the value of RTE's network. It may have been worth that in the economic climate of 2 years ago but they will be lucky to get half the value mentioned. When the main heading of an article is incorrect I usually tend to ignore the rest of the filler.

I think i will apply for a job with Business and Finance as a six year old would Write a better article than that!

The article derives it's information from" a number of sources close to the project" and then goes on to quote(presumably from one of the sources:rolleyes: )
"If digital terrestrial TV didn't work in Europe, it won't work here either. Let's face it, Ireland's digital TV offering will be Sky and that was sealed when RTE and TV3 joined the Sky platform because the indigenous Irish channels would have been the only distinguishing feature of DTT."

what person in their right mind close enough to that project would be quoted (off the record aparently), saying something like that.
And at the same time be in negotiations with a serious venture capital company??
What we are reading here folks is an article(if thats what it is..., as it reads like gossip) probably typed up in haste to fill a page that was meant for advertising.

The wheels of Red tape Grind slow in this country and I suppose I am going to be lambasted again for promoting competition in my posts.
Untill I read something concrete , like a press release from the company involved and not this article,I'll remain optimistic.
mm

Charles Slane

Something else that's not quite right in this article -

"Let's face it, Ireland's digital TV offering will be Sky and that was sealed when RTE and TV3 joined the Sky platform because the indigenous Irish channels would have been the only distinguishing feature of DTT ...."

They wouldn't have been a distinguishing feature at all, given the fact that they're already available off air, and on all cable systems in Ireland already.

The real distinguishing feature would/will be the cheap, fast internet access.

There may be some divilment afoot, and I wouldn't hammer any nails in ITsTV's coffin just yet.

icdg

I'll report what B&F have said on the site (BTW, update will now be Friday teatime), along with what the Irish Times said on Monday. I personally don't know whether its true or not. But as the saying goes, "no smoke without fire".

In any case, I'll suspend judgement until after the election. I put nothing past Sile deValera after her gross mishandleling of the Broadcasting Bill 1999 (now the Broadcasting Act 2001. Do you know that the original Green Paper, "Active or Passive", was published back in 1995?). Anyway, post the election if the government is returned a cabinet reshuffle is likely and there may be a different minister with different views on DTT in office.

byte

This country is backward enough and I really want to see it's TV take off if nothing else, the internet would be a pulling point. Plus all UK terrestrials onboard. I like Sky Digital a lot, but I don't want them to continue having the monopoly of digital TV here. Can't beat a bit of healthy competition!

Theres a balanced well written article by kim Bielenberg on Digital television in Ireland, in yesterdays(Saturday 13th April) Irish independent.
I couldn't find an on-line version of the article.
mm

icdg

The long promised update of ICDG has now taken place, three days late...very busy at moment though.

That article in the Indo was in the Weekend Review, so it may not have made it onto Unison.

byte

Yeah, I read the article in the Indo

Do we really need Men & Motors?

Umm, it's cheaper than TVX, so Yes, we do!;)

triple-play

Most (if not all) the journalists writing articles on digital terrestrial TV/internet don't seem to understand that licence to operate the service (the bit it'sTV are going for) is totally separate from the sale of the RTE network. it'sTV can launch a service even if RTE don't sell the network. The only difference will be that it'sTV will do a transmission deal with RTE instead of with a new network owner. RTE (or a new owner) is obliged under the broadcasting act 2001 to offer a transmission services to the level required as defined by it'sTV. And RTE wouldn't be able to gouge the digital terrestrial operator as the tariff will be regulated.