Friday, November 05, 2010

Must be news to the ACMA

Writing in the SMH today, to explain the Packer move on TEN Elizabeth Knight said;

Since then there has been renewed interest in free-to-air networks thanks to the allocation of new digital spectrum that has allowed Ten, and its rivals Nine and Seven, to start second- and third-string channels.

Most of these new channels have yet to register much of a financial return. However, there is an expectation that over the next few years the free-to-air networks will be allocated even more spectrum and the number of channels could double.


Given that the ACMA held a seminar this week on the Digital Dividend - which is the recovery of 126 MHz of broadcasting spectrum - I bet they are surprised to hear that more will be allocated.

What Knight is getting confused by is multi-channeling in the digital spectrum already allocated and the fact that the networks are learning how to get more data throughput out of it. Hence more channels, but in the medium term less spectrum.


Novae Meridianae Demetae Dexter delenda est

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