Intensity without an appropriate base can result in bad consequences, experts warn.
At the end of the summer, millions of Ukrainians may not see Ukrainian channels because of the transition to digital broadcasting. In the spring, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a stage-by-stage shutdown of analog television, which should disappear completely from the screens in early 2019, if President Petro Poroshenko did not demand that this process be accelerated, the TSN.19: 30 story says.
Ten years ago, Ukraine and Europe agreed on a gradual transition to digital, the so-called T2-TV, but the deadline for disconnecting the analogue was constantly postponed, because our country was not ready for the transition. Finally this year the matter has reached the home stretch. In the beginning of summer, regular television would have to be disconnected in the capital and in one of the regions in order to look at the results and, if necessary, complete the network and gradually turn off other regions. But a few weeks ago, the head of state intervened in the situation. “The plan that you stretched for two years, it is unacceptable.You have time until June.Okay, until July,” – said Peter Poroshenko.
In the spring, the Cabinet approved the stage-by-stage shutdown of television channels, so it should disappear completely from the screens from the beginning of 2019. However, the president intervened in the situation. As if for security reasons, he called for opening an analog in July. But experts are sure that for Ukraine such a rush can turn into a catastrophe.
Such statements pretty surprised the TV crew. “It seems to me that the president talked with such experts who deliberately or unconsciously deceived him,” says Olga Bolshakova from the independent association of broadcasters. “At us for today the unique digital monopolist there is a company with an opaque structure of the property”, – she has added. Another controversial point is that dozens of regional broadcasters do not even have digital licenses. In addition, the state under Yanukovych failed program to provide socially unprotected layers of the population with tuners for digital television. “Those people who do not have an alternative type of broadcasting, or for some reason could not and can not get the equipment – they will not have a TV,” – fears the executive director of the group of companies “1 + 1” Yaroslav Pacholchuk.
Television operators in general are in favor of switching to the figure, because this is trivial for channels, which now pay considerable sums for broadcasting simultaneously in the digital and analogue. However, last year, “1 + 1” at its own expense conducted a study, which showed that in Ukraine there are many places without digital television. Agree with this and experts – detailed digital coverage cards so far no one has seen, so what happens after the analog disconnect – it’s not clear. Lawyers say that the president had the right to give instructions to the Cabinet, and he already had to develop plans for shutdown, but now even the profile ministers can not answer the question of how many Ukrainians will be able to watch television in late summer. “As far as Ukraine is ready, I do not know, because technically there is no ability to monitor the readiness of the transition from our ministry,” acknowledged the first deputy minister of information policy Emine Dzhaparova.
Even the issue of broadcasting in the occupied territories remains unresolved, which, according to the shutdown plan, should have been preserved there. Experts are sure that for Ukraine it is important that the answers to all questions are, as well as clear and understandable to all participants of the market action plan. The head of the project “Strengthening media freedom” of the Council of Europe Galina Smirnova notes that everyone should be ready for the transition, especially the population. “For the process to be transparent for the international community, for Europe, and for Ukrainian participants in the media market, we will observe this transition,” Oksana Romanyuk of the Institute of Mass Information promised.
Incidentally or not, a statement about the emergency disconnection of the analogue coincided with the end of many channels of digital licenses. The previous contest on the distribution of licenses caused a lot of scandals, so Ukraine has no right to admit such a second time. “When there is no analog television, the state will actually be able to redistribute the information space, and here it is very important that this trip does not become an element of censorship,” the People’s Deputy Nikolai Knyazhitsky said. Another scenario in the conditions of Russian aggression can be too expensive for Ukraine, because even according to the most conservative estimates more than 2 million people can remain without television at all.