SRG to shut down Swiss digital-terrestrial network

Swiss public broadcaster SRG is to shut down its digital-terrestrial TV service as part of a cost-cutting drive in a move agreed with the Swiss communications regulator BAKOM.

An SRG spokesman told German-language news service Golem.de that operating the DVB-T network did not make economic sense in terms of the use of the organisation’s licence fee and would be shut down over the next year.

SRG currently operators over 200 DVB-T transmitters to reach under 2% of the country’s households, which SRG said primarily used the service to connect second and third TVs.

SRG has recommended affected homes to switch to satellite. The broadcaster has estimated that about 64,000 households could be affected by the shut-down of terrestrial broadcasting.

BAKOM granted SRG a new licence at the end of August. Valid until the end of 2022, conditions included SRG taking measures to integrate and improve the quality of its operations.