DTT is preparing to make room for a new channel and the process seems to be going smoothly. In the month of May it is already indicated that the process of awarding the channel will begin, so it should not be too long until we find it on television.
The world of television is excited in Spain because, in 2025, we will witness the premiere of a totally new channel on the grid. It is an important moment, since no channel has been awarded for 10 years. Something different is what has happened recently with the change from Disney Channel to Squirrel, since, in this case, we are talking about a channel that will occupy a new position.
The process is moving quickly
Whether the new DTT channel is put into circulation is in the hands of the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service. But the actions being carried out by the ministry are being applied as quickly as possible in order to try to ensure that the awarding of the channel occurs as soon as possible. The process will involve the creation of this channel, which has generated a huge wave of interest, since it is not common for the opportunity to have a new channel within DTT to appear.
For this new channel to come into existence, the Ministry will have to launch a Royal Decree that will have two different purposes. The first of them will be the creation of the channel itself. The second will be related to the introduction of another technological reconversion that will make DTT advance towards its next version. This will enable the opportunity for a greater number of channels to adopt their signal in 4K UHD, which will mean that users will be able to enjoy better image quality.
How is the situation?
Although the Ministry is very interested in carrying out this Royal Decree and that the new channel can be awarded as soon as possible, there are still aspects to take into account. First of all, it is necessary to wait for the deadlines stipulated for the TRIS to end, a procedure that will end in this month of January. From that moment on, the Ministry will be able to present the Royal Decree and thus its review and approval can be managed. According to the information to which Expansión has had access, it is indicated that the Royal Decree will be approved in the month of April and that, in May, the process to manage the allocation of the channel will begin. Based on what has been said, it will be a merit contest that will help to have a more concrete idea of who deserves to obtain the channel license to be able to premiere it on DTT.
Of course, to make room for the new channel, a reorganization of the channel signal and its division into different multiplexes that are more complex than those currently available will be required. Although until now multiplexes house up to four DTT channels, with this change there will be some that will even have space for five different signals.
The distribution of channels will give an important change to the way in which they are currently distributed. In the multiplex where La 1, La 2, 24 Horas and TDP are currently located, there will be a fifth channel that you already know well: Clan. In the multiplex dedicated to UHD signals, there will be La 1 UHD, RTVE UHD and two 4K channels, one corresponding to Mediaset and the other to Atresmedia. There will be another multiplex with five more channels in HD: Antena 3, Neox, Nova, La Sexta, Antena 3 and Atreseries. To this will be added another multiplex with Cuatro, Tele 5, Factoría de Ficción, Divinity and BeMad. Finally, we will have another multiplex where the DKiss, Real Madrid TV, Ten channels and the new channel whose award will take place in the coming months will be brought together.
It must be taken into account that, although the quality of the signals of the HD channels that have been adjusted to make room for a fifth will be reduced, it is mentioned that, through technical measures, an attempt will be made to avoid any noticeable problems. The conclusion will be that users will have access to this new channel that, it seems, could bring a good breath of fresh air to the television sector.
