16,000 households still use antenna for TV reception

The 16,000 households (11.2 per cent) that rely solely on an antenna to watch Maltese TV programmes will end up with a blank screen unless they go digital by the end of 2010.

The traditional free-to-air analogue television broadcasting via the antenna will be abolished as Malta switches to digital next year, a process that 46 per cent of respondents are unaware of, according to a Malta Communications Authority survey.

The changeover, commonly known as the digital switchover, forms part of wider EU and international programme aimed at enhancing the television experience from improved sound to picture quality and a wider range of channels.

Despite the switch, viewers will still benefit from six slots that will be available for national TV channels, including TV Malta, for free.

In order to benefit, households that rely on an antenna would still need to upgrade their equipment to digital if they had older TV sets and video recorders that did not have a digital tuner built in.

According to the survey, 12 per cent of the 16,000 households had at least one LCD/Plasma set, so they would not need to upgrade.

Asked why they had not subscribed to for a pay service, 48 per cent said they were happy with the free service and 35 per cent believed such services were expensive. However, 19 per cent indicated they would consider subscribing over the next two years. The MCA said upgrading to digital need not be expensive and digital set-top boxes sold for about €30.

Analogue transmissions on the cable network will not be affected because the operator was under no obligation to upgrade to digital.

The survey was carried out ahead of the MCA digital switchover public information campaign scheduled for the end of the year.