The Argentine government has succeeded in completing its plan to recover the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) system launched in 2020 by means of Conectar National Connectivity Plan. The news broke almost two months before the kick off of World Cup Qatar 2022, for which TV Pública, Argentina’s state-run TV channel included in the DTT lineup, has acquired broadcasting rights. The government availed itself of the optimization of TDA (Free-To-Air Digital Television), the name given to DTT in Argentina, to re-launch the system’s website (www.tda.gob.ar) and to start advertising TV Pública’s coverage of the World Cup.

The completion of the recovery plan has made it possible for the DTT to be available in over 80% of the Argentine territory and to have 99 broadcasting stations operating. Each of the 23 provinces and the City of Buenos Aires have at least one station within its geographical boundaries. Arsat (state-run telecomunications company) is in charge of the operation and maintenance of the network. The DTT line-up includes 17 national channels, in addition to local channels in each city.

Coverage of Qatar 2022 by TV Pública will include 32 matches, which will be broadcast live in high definition quality (HD). The state-run channel will air all the matches played by Argentina’s national team, the opening match and the final, as well as specialized shows that will be broadcast from the host country. The other options to view the World Cup matches in Argentina are TyC Sports, a Pay TV channel, and DirecTV Sports, a network that is exclusive to Satellite TV operator DirecTV and its streaming platform, called DirecTV Go.

According to the government’s explanation, the purpose of the DTT’s new website is “to report news, to provide punctual information on broadcasting channels and to answer inquiries.” There is an interactive map that allows users to find the coverage and the line-up of the town or city where they live and to know how to position their antennas.