Common platform agreement in Italy.............
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Italian broadcasters strike digital TV deal
07:58 p.m Jul 28, 1997 Eastern
ROME (Reuter) - Major television broadcasters and media companies operating within Italy have reached a preliminary deal for the creation of a single, powerful digital television platform, the firms said on Monday.
A joint statement said full details of the long-awaited agreement would be finalised by the end of September.
The accord involves communications group Mediaset, state broadcaster RAI, state-controlled telecoms group Telecom Italia, French broadcaster Canal Plus and its majority-owned pay-TV, Telepiu, as well as Cecchi Gori Communications.
``The cooperation agreement will not limit itself just to Italy but can also be extended to the international markets, particularly as regards Mediterranean countries and east European countries,'' the statement said.
It added that the digital platform would be made available to third parties, but gave no timetable for the project.
Italy's antitrust authority earlier this year criticized plans for the creation of a broadly owned platform for Italy, saying such an alliance provided too much potential for the domination of the domestic digital pay-TV market.
But the joint statement said the accord would respect both national and European antitrust regulations, and the undersecretary at the post and telecommunications ministry, Vincenzo Vita, vowed to respect European Union law.
Media analysts believe digital television will become increasingly popular across Europe.
By comparison with traditional analog services, digital TV can expand the number of services available by employing compression technology -- allowing a greater number of channels, for instance, to be bundled onto a single satellite transponder.
The technology also provides better picture quality and CD-quality sound.
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