Digital TV switchover in Portugal: What is in it for the viewer?

The implications and impact of the transition process from the analogue terrestrial TV to digital terrestrial TV on the Portuguese TV viewers will be addressed in this article. We start with an overview of the switchover process in Portugal from 2001 to early 2012, after which we outline the research project ADOPT-DTV from Universidade Lusfona, whose major goal was to understand the most significant factors for the Portuguese population in adopting or rejecting digital TV in the switchover context. Then, we present a selection of the main results of this project, focusing on the free-to-air and pay-TV penetration rates, as well as awareness and knowledge about the digital TV switchover process, intentions to adopt digital TV and, finally, the socio-economic profiles of pay-TV viewers compared with free-to-air TV viewers. With switchover concluded in April 2012, just after this article has been written, we can say that the transition process has so far hardly brought any tangible benefits to Portuguese viewers: no increase of free TV channels, no high-definition channels, less coverage by the digital terrestrial television (DTT) network than by the analogue network, no new interactive services besides the electronic programme guide, and the improvement in picture and sound quality is debatable. In short, all things considered, what is in it for the Portuguese viewer?