Lattelecom strikes deal with LNT for free-to-air digital

Latvian telco Lattelecom, which provides IPTV and digital-terrestrial TV services, has struck a deal with broadcaster LNT that will see the channel continue to be made available free of charge as part of Lattelecom’s Virszemes TV package.

The deal follows a dispute between Lattelecom and LNT over charges for carriage on the digital platform, with Lattelecom suggesting that broadcasters suffering from the impact of the advertising downturn could be using the issue as an excuse to adopt a subscription model.

Latvia plans to switch off analogue signals in the Riga area on March 1 next year, with the rest of the country to follow later. Free-to-air channels LTV1, LTV7, LNT and TV3 are currently available in both analogue and digital format, while TV5 is broadcast in digital only.