Digital television in France

=Terrestrial=
France is quite late in the deployment of digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) known under the acronym of TNT "(Télévision Numérique Terrestre)", however it has formally arrived on the 31 March 2005 after a short testing period. Like Freeview it will support many new channels as well as the current terrestrial television stations. The FTA channels currently available are TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal+ (when programmes are non-encrypted), France 5, M6, ARTE, Direct 8, W9, TMC, NT1, NRJ 12, La Chaîne Parlementaire and France 4. A further four FTA television licences have also been awarded to BFM TV, i-Télé, Radio Europe 2 TV and Gulli which started broadcasts by October 2005. France Ô and possibly TV5 Monde are expected at a later date.

Additional pay TV channels were launched in September 2005 using the MPEG4 format, unlike the rest of Europe which currently uses MPEG2. These channels are Canal+ Cinéma, Canal+ Sport, Paris Première, Planète, Canal J, Eurosport France, TPS Star, TF6, LCI, and AB1. Canal+ Sport, Paris Première and TPS Star have non encrypted programs at certain times in the evening.

Pay per view terrestrial channels use H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC.

Analogue switch off is expected to be finished by 30 November 2011. [ [http://www.csa.fr/upload/dossier/contribution_schema_arret_analogique.pdf Schéma national d’arrêt de la diffusion analogique pour le basculement vers le numérique (contribution du CSA)(In French)] .]

=IPTV=Most ADSL providers in France now offer digital television packages through triple play boxes. However, some subscribers have access with too much attenuation distortion on their lines to benefit the offer, and the French territory has not yet been 100% covered by DSL.

=Cable=French cable providers Noos SA and UPC France SA and Numericable fusionned to become largest cable operator in France. Under diverse brands they provide digital television through set top boxes.

=Satellite=Digital satellite television has existed in France since 1997. CanalSat will launch its first HD channel (Canal+ HD) in April 2006. More channels will follow in the nearly future, including National Geographic HD from June 2006. This bouquet will require an additional fee of €9 and a new H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC HD set top box (Mediasat Max).

TPS, competitor of CanalSat, begun broadcasting in high definition. [http://www.lyngsat.com/hd/hotbird.html] . TPS is expected to merge with CanalSat in the nearly future

=External links=
* [http://www.tnt-gratuite.fr/ The TNT website (in French)]