In November, 2020, TVN S.A. and Emitel entered into an agreement for distribution of broadcaster’s programs on the second multiplex (MUX-2) of Terrestrial Digital Television. The agreement covers TV broadcast service, but also a change in the broadcasting and encoding standard, as part of the 700MHz band refarming process. The agreement has been concluded for 10 years and covers the broadcasts of TVN and TVN7 television stations.
The agreement concluded by both companies concerns broadcasting two channels owned by TVN S.A. on MUX-2 and takes account of necessary changes in channels and standards of broadcasting and encoding on DVB-T2/HEVC, which are to take place in 2022. Conclusion of a new agreement means continued cooperation between TVN S.A. and Emitel. The previous agreement had been in force since 2010 and concerned second multiplex signal emission. Thanks to cooperation with Emitel, the broadcaster changed the broadcasting standard from analogue to digital and broadened the broadcasting range of the abovementioned two TVN channels in Poland.
10 years ago, we completed a project which was very important from the television market viewpoint, and consisted in migration from analogue to digital broadcasting. Every day, 24/7, regardless of weather conditions, our specialists care for maintaining continuity of broadcasts, thanks to which millions of viewers may enjoy popular TVN Grupa Discovery channels. Now, we face yet another challenge related to changes in channels throughout Poland and switching to the new DVB-T2/HEVC broadcasting standard. The project is very complex and calls for reconstruction of nearly the entire broadcasting network, following a very ambitious schedule. I am glad that TVN Grupa Discovery has entrusted this project to us. It was very important for us to continue cooperation on MUX-2 broadcasts – said Andrzej J. Kozłowski, President of the Board of Emitel S.A.
Terrestrial Digital Television is a very popular platform to receive television in Poland, and viewers can watch 29 channels free of charge. Throughout Europe, terrestrial television used the frequency range of 470 – 790 MHz for broadcasts. In accordance with the European Commission Decision, all Member States must free up the 700 MHz for the needs of 5G network construction by mobile operators. This means it is necessary to reconstruct the broadcasting network and transfer terrestrial TV broadcasts in Poland to frequencies other than those currently used. In Poland, market regulatory authorities decided that the project be divided into stages and be completed in June, 2022. By that time, broadcasting standard will have been switched to DVB-T2 /HEVC. Compared to currently applied standard (DVB-T/MPEG-4), DVB-T2/HEVC enables more efficient use of the frequency and a significant improvement in the quality of terrestrial television channel broadcasts.
