Some weeks ago I mentioned how Canal + Spain was likely to bid for a new analogue license to broadcast free-to-air (well, they already have and will probably get it).

Now, in France, the pay TV operator is trying a similar strategy: to broadcast some channels free on digital terrestrial. Canal Plus news channel (i-t�l�) is a firm candidate for a DTT multiplex. Bertrand M�heut, president of the group, said that this will mark their beginning in the free TV digital terrestrial market later this year.

Their idea is to go digital, whatever the platform. The move mirrors the UK example where BBC News 24 and Sky news are available free-to-air on DTT. The French government might see with good eyes that Canal Plus enters the terrestrial market because they have promised to take an active role in investing in decoders, which will promote digital migration. This shows a strong commitment to digital terrestrial, Canal Plus argues. Sure it does, but note also that the set-top-boxes will most likely be a hybrid of terrestrial and satellite (in case some new customers feel they want to pay and subscribe to the �better� and �exclusive� channels). As expected, commercial rivals are lobbying hard against the move, but it seems to me that this is not a bad way of advancing switchover, making governments and consumers happy, and (why not?) companies profitable too.