Eighteen months after the first study on digital terrestrial television reception, a new study, commissioned by TDF and conducted by the IFOP polling institute, confirms that DTT is as popular as ever with the French.
Nearly seven out of ten French people, or 68% of the population, use DTT either directly via their TV set or by connecting their set-top box to DTT.
Of those surveyed, 34% said they use DTT as their main TV reception mode and do not use an ADSL or fiber TV box. 29% are ADSL or fiber subscribers, but have connected either their TV set or their box to the DTT antenna socket. The remaining 5% have connected another TV set in the household to DTT and not their main set.
The study shows that a large majority of households connected to an ADSL or Fiber TV box have also connected DTT, either to the box or directly to the TV set. While this upward trend is slightly more marked among ADSL subscribers (61%), it is also in the majority among fiber subscribers (55%), who particularly appreciate its reception quality.
Free and high-quality reception appreciated
The arguments put forward by the households surveyed in favor of DTT emphasize its ease of use, its reliability (with virtually no risk of breakdown, unlike reception via an ISP), its free access, its number of channels and the independence of the service (disconnected from the Internet).
Free access is the first reason why users choose it. Users also appreciate the quality of reception, with its many assets: reliable reception, image quality and stability, good synchronization between image and sound, and high definition. Immediate availability and zapping speed are also noted.
A service that "the French don't want to do without".
The terrestrial hertzian platform, both qualitatively and quantitatively, is of vital importance to the vast majority of French people, who depend on it for their access to television (97% of French people have access to it), and benefits from outstanding territorial coverage.
62% of French people say it's essential or important to be able to receive television via the aerial in their home. The main reasons for people's attachment to DTT are, on the one hand, that it's free and, on the other, the universal right it embodies. The level of attachment is just as strong whatever the age (60% of 18-24 year-olds) and place of residence (59% of people living in the Paris region).
DTT in a process of modernization
As France's leading terrestrial broadcaster, TDF reiterates the essential role of DTT as an efficient and essential platform for distributing media content, and supports the CSA's roadmap. In the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games, this roadmap aims to modernize and enhance the DTT platform, as well as introduce new services.
Olivier Huart, Chairman and CEO of TDF said:
Once again this year, the IFOP study confirms the relevance of the DTT platform, which is essential and unavoidable for the French. In eighteen months, the enthusiasm for DTT has remained unchanged. Together with its customers, the channels and players in the audiovisual world, TDF is - and even more so in this context of innovation - the preferred technical partner for supporting new uses in the service of digital coverage of the territory.