Finland’s DNA bows out of digital-terrestrial market with sale to Digita

Finnish service provider DNA has agreed to sell its digital-terrestrial pay TV business to rival service provider Digita Oy.

According to the agreement struck by the pair, DNA’s. DTT pay TV business will be transferred to Digita at the beginning of January.

DNA said that the DTT business was a small part of its overall TV business and that it would continue to operate as a pay TV provider over cable and broadband networks.

DNA consumer business chief Pekka Väisänen said that DNA recognised that Digita was best-placed to manage the digital-terrestrial business and develop the service. He said that DNA had agreed to continue to sell the combined service through its sales network as Digita’s partner.

The agreement is subject to approval by the country’s competition authority.

DNA had previously been involved in a protracted dispute with public broadcaster Yle over the latter’s procurement of DTT distribution services. The service provider filed a complaint last year that Yle’s procurement process for DVB-T2 distribution of its channels was discriminatory because it allocated responsibility for ensuring that properties are equipped with antennas on the network operator – something that DNA said would unfairly penalise it, as VHF frequencies require separate VHF antennas on premises.

The operator secured a delay in the process last October in a move that attracted criticism from Yle and other broadcasters for holding up the DVB-T2 rollout, and by extension, the rollout of 4K UHD TV services on the terrestrial network.

DNA won a legal victory in January when Finland’s market court prohibited Yle from continuing with its current procurement procedure.