Petition must prevent VRT from stopping free television via dvb-t on December 1
The Flemish action platform Red de Antennekijker finds it unacceptable that the VRT will stop free TV broadcasts via the ether on 1 December. According to the organization, which started a petition to preserve dvb-t, the distribution contract with Norkring runs until March 2019.
The Flemish public broadcaster VRT has never made it a secret that it would end its free television broadcasts via dvb-t on 1 December. The decision was announced six months in advance and since November 6, a message has regularly appeared on the screen of aerial viewers confirming the discontinuation. According to action platform Red de Antennekijker, the curtain falls three months too early for dvb-t.
Documents would show that the contract with radio mast operator Norkring for the distribution of radio and TV over the air is still running until March 4, 2019. “The radio broadcasts via fm and dab + will remain on the air via the Norkring broadcasting towers until the end of the season. contract, but the TV broadcasts will be turned off earlier,” the platform said. Red de Antennekijker therefore calls on the VRT to act with due care and to keep the dvb-t signal in the air for at least three months longer. A petition has meanwhile gained the support of more than 2,900 aerial viewers.
VRT spokesman Hans Van Goethem confirmed to Radiovisie.eu that the contract with Norkring will indeed expire at the beginning of March. According to him, however, it is not possible to wait until the last day to stop broadcasting, because the shutdown involves a whole technical procedure. According to the VRT, only one percent of Flemish people, fewer than 45,000 people, still use dvb-t. As an alternative, the public broadcaster refers the aerial viewer to its online offer VRT NU.
Laurens Dierick of Red de Antennekijker states that there are many more victims, about a hundred thousand. “The message on the screen came like a bolt from the blue for many antenna viewers. Barely three weeks before the shutdown, they now have to look for an equivalent and workable alternative that actually does not exist. In our opinion, the video platform VRT NU is not a full-fledged The VRT cannot fulfill the promise to provide viewers with an optimal viewer experience via VRT NU.”