The first DTT was born in the 2000s, without success
In the late 1990s and early 2000s it was the viewer who set up their own grill on television. Gone are the times where the channels were counted by two. It was the irruption of private channels, so at that time it was already possible to watch television with a variety of channels.
We can say that those were good times for the spectators, but very hard for the networks. While Spanish society was going through its own battle against the crisis, the networks were doing the same to gain audiences, publicity and the money needed to move forward. It is then that the possibility arose that, while the user could choose new strings, he could also do the same with the content you wanted to see. Although it is true that this way of making television did not last as long, or at least not as wanted; ‘Quiero TV’ was born, the first DTT platform.
In those, the intention with this new way of watching television hand in hand with DTT was to allow a improvement in reception quality and expands the available offer both in number of channels and in system versatility. This referred to broadcasts with multi-channel sound, multiple audio signals, radio channels, interactive services… or even panoramic image, etc. However, that of ‘I want TV’ stayed far away of all those claims (which did come years later).
what was it about
That is when DTT was introduced in Spain. It did it for the year 1999, which the State granted what was the first license to the extinct Retevisión. It turned out to be a payment platform (between 2,500 and 4,000 pesetas), perhaps the less serious evil of everyone he faced. And not just for them.
It was an alternative to the conventional TV that was shown in those days, trying to gain a foothold on Spanish television, taking advantage of a pioneering technology, although virgin. Its advantage was presented because its installation only required the television, adapting the antenna and a decoder of the time that they installed.
The problem is that ‘I want TV’ based its offer on the then-released binomial of television and internet... but of which in those times Spain was hardly using the latter. His business card highlighted access to the Internet and interactive services (email, sending messages to mobile phones, participation in contests…). All with an offer of up to 14 channels. With a very ambitious plan for the time, it did not reach the expected profitability and ceased its various issues on June 30, 2002.
What channels were there and why did it fail
As such, a posteriori today this first DTT platform is seen as a good way to compete with the digital satellite platforms existing at that time. These were the ‘Vía Digital’ and ‘Canal Satélite Digital’, while the cable companies gradually emerged.
With it were born the emissions of the first reality shows that we know today in Spain, as ‘Big Brother’, which was sold as a novelty the possibility of seeing the development of the program 24 hours a day. This aspect was only publicity, because at that time it was not possible to request registration, since it was not yet fully operational.
The curious thing, 20 years from now, is that for its use, in addition to the DTT decoder itself and the modem, there was a wireless keyboard to surf the Internet with the television.
That was exactly what captivated ‘Quiero TV’ at first, because various channels were included that were broadcast on other digital platforms, such as the beginnings of Paramount Comedy, Nickelodeon, AXN, Calle 13 or Factoría de Ficción. Of all, he is remembered because with this way of watching television, in the 2000s it was possible to interact by sending SMS messages to his music channel, E-Music.
His winning card was to create a entertainment offer, drawing on the operators of Sogecable or Telefónica. However, due to technical conditions, it was very difficult to offer services that required sending large amounts of data, which is why it was sought, unlike today, which was not a multimedia service per se, but rather that subscribers turned the television into a the main communications center of the home. An alternative practical but unfeasible for those years, it was a product that had no demand.