Minister says switching to digital TV to flow gradually

TVER, Nov 9 (PRIME) – The Russian government will decide on the schedule of redirecting regions to digital television from analogue broadcasting on November 15, Digital Development Minister Konstantin Noskov told reporters on Friday.

“We’ll be certainly guided by the readiness of regions to switch to digital television. Undoubtedly, attention will be paid to under-privileged strata…We’ll work these matters through,” Noskov said.

“Only nine years ago 25% of people in our country could watch only one, maximum two channels, and more than 40% had only four channels. You all remember those blinking pictures, ‘snow’ as we called it just some time ago. Now we see everything on screens.”

Television is an element of the big digital economy, the minister said, adding that there will be no large-scale problems since equipment is not expensive.

The country fully moves to digital television from January 2019 with two multiplexes by 10 channels and three radio channels that will cover over 98% of the population. The Tver Region, in the European part of the country, has become the first to switch to digital television on Friday.

Deputy Digital Minister Alexei Volin said that the move to digital television will not be a chock for people. “We can surely say that there is a decision to switch to digital television and the country will do it. And it will not entail any troubles or expenses for people,” he said.

Speaker of the Federation Council, the parliament’s upper house, Valentina Matviyenko said earlier that the move to digital television from January 2019 could provoke tensions in the society and people’s dissatisfaction.

Volin also said that it is the government that will set a format, terms, and ways of switching to the digital television.

End