DTT households double in France

Some 37% of homes have digital terrestrial

By DAVID HAYHURST

PARIS — The number of French households with a digital terrestrial television receiver has doubled in the past year, according to a report from market research firm GfK.

Some 37% of households now have a receiver.

More than 17.4 million receivers have been sold or rented out since March 2005. Nearly 8.2 million receivers were in use in March 2007.

As of the end of March, more than 13 million receivers had been sold in stores, including 5.1 million DTT-compatible TV sets, and 5.93 million adaptors.

Additionally, 4.4 million set-top boxes have been made available to subscribers by French DTT platforms, including Canal Plus, Orange, Free, Neuf Cegetel and Alice.

On Monday, French networks TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal Plus, France 5, Arte France and M6 released a joint statement urging the French government to speed up the country's analog switch-off timetable.

Presently, all French analog transmissions are set to cease by late 2011.

The channels said the process should be completed as quickly as possible, in part so that free-to-air HD services can be launched on DTT platforms.