The switch-off to digital terrestrial television in Italy: costs, benefits and strategic implications for broadcasters

Abstract

Abstract. This article examines the recent transformation of digital terrestrial television (DTT) in Italy through the analytical lens of costs, benefits and strategic implications for broadcasters. Unlike earlier studies focused mainly on analogue switch-off, the paper updates the discussion to the 2015–2026 period, when the Italian broadcasting system was reshaped by 700 MHz spectrum refarming, DVB-T2/HEVC migration, MPEG-4 transition, hybrid broadcast-broadband services and growing competition from satellite, IPTV and over-the-top platforms. The aim is to explain how regulatory change and technological modernization redistributed economic burdens and strategic opportunities among national public-service broadcasters, commercial groups, local television operators and pay-TV competitors. The methodology combines literature review, qualitative web content analysis and a comparative case-study approach based on regulatory documents, industry reports, corporate communications and recent policy materials. The findings show that DTT modernization generated important public and technical benefits, including spectrum efficiency, platform continuity, improved quality potential and universal access. However, the same process created asymmetric costs related to infrastructure renewal, receiver compatibility, content expansion, advertising fragmentation and regulatory adaptation. The article argues that the success of DTT modernization depends not only on transmission standards but also on interoperability, platform governance, sustainable local broadcasting and integration with broadband-based media ecosystems.
Keywords: digital terrestrial television, Italy, DVB-T2, spectrum refarming, media economics, hybrid television, broadcasters.