COST 298 Workshop “Digital television users, markets and policies”

The workshop was chaired by Bartolomeo Sapio (chair of COST 298) and took place on July 20, 2008, involving both experienced European researchers in the field and 15 young researchers from 10 European countries.

The introduction of digital television is an important development of the last decade in the European countries. It has several market and business aspects, and some regulatory/policy questions also arose. By 2015, all European countries will have to switch off their analogue terrestrial TV-signal. This will have considerable implications for viewers, TV markets and policy.

The main goal of the workshop was to analyse in-depth the implications of (interactive) digital television for users, markets and policy. The output will serve as concrete guidance for public policy and technological development strategies. Main topics of the workshop included the changing viewing practices, business models in a changing business environment and challenges for policy making.

The workshop contributed to scientific communication within COST 298 and the network that we activated with contiguous Actions. It also fostered communication between Early Stage Researchers and experienced researchers with its interactive format.