“We need to think about how to enhance the TV bonus”. The Minister of Economic Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti, in a hearing in the Chamber of the Transport Commission on the National Recovery and Resilience Plan on Wednesday 17 March, expressed himself in this way about an issue that is disturbing, and not a little, the sleep of Italian broadcasters . On 1 July 2022 the digital TV now in use (Dvb-T) will be switched off to switch to second generation digital television (Dvb-T2). And without the proper televisions, or alternatively ad hoc decoders, the screens will inevitably remain dark.
From September onwards, goodbye to old TVs
The strengthening of the TV bonus, added Minister Giorgetti, represents a measure that “seems indispensable to me with respect to the dates we have set for the release of 5G frequencies”. And on this, he explained, a reflection is needed “with respect to the opportunity to strengthen the incentive for the adaptation of the television fleet of families”. Also because the switch off will start from 1 September. “In several million Italian homes the TV will no longer work and this is a problem”. Hence the words of Minister Giorgetti, about an operation that should aim at the replacement of television sets (with bonuses of up to 50 euros that are due to families with Isee up to 20 thousand euros)
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Piedmont and Lombardy among the first
July 2022 is not far off. Least of all that of September 2021, when the shutdown will begin in some areas of Italy. The timing provides for the first shutdown process from 1 September 2021 to 31 December 2021 when Area 2 (Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy except the province of Mantua, the province of Piacenza, the province of Trento, the province of Bolzano) and Area 3 (Veneto, province of Mantua, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Emilia Romagna except the province of Piacenza). From 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2022 it will be the turn of Area 1 (Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, Sardinia). Finally, from 1 April 2022 to 20 June 2022, Area 4 will be involved (Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise, Marche).
In January 19.4 million euros were disbursed
On Friday 19 March 2021, Mise communicated some updated data on the use of contributions for the TV bonus. The tone of the communication is positive, aimed at highlighting the acceleration. But there is still a long way to go. According to the data of the Ugo Bordoni Federation cited by the Ministry of Economic Development in its note, as of January 21, 2021 the ceiling of the total recognized contributions was reached, corresponding to 19.4 million euros paid. In detail, of these 388,100 contributions, 341,355 were allocated to the purchase of a new TV and 46,755 to that of a new decoder, 36,951 for the terrestrial platform and 9,804 for the satellite one. As for the number of televisions to be replaced, an update by the Fub is expected in April. The latest data, taken from a March 2020 report, indicated that out of 22.1 million households with a digital terrestrial platform, those who had at least one device capable of receiving DVB-T2 transmissions were 9.39 million or 42.4 % while those not yet ready were 12.77 million, therefore 57.6 percent.
The first effects of the communication campaign
There are 151 million euros available and a progression in the use of contributions seems to be directly linked to the effects of a Mise campaign, strongly requested even by broadcasters worried about what could happen with the start of shutdowns to switch to the new one. standard, that of second generation digital. In its latest communication, the Mise explains that “up to last June less than 5 million would have been spent, of the 151 in total allocated by the Government, against approximately 127,000 contributions paid, in September 9.8 million had already been spent with the ‘disbursement of 196,644 contributions (of these, 175,508 for the purchase of televisions and 21,136 for decoders) “.