Market strategies for digital TV services: The Spanish case

The paper's aim is to discuss the strategic character of conditional access system as an essential element for entry, growth and maintenance in the di gital TV services provision market. We present the implications for regulat ion of different conditional access schemas that agents can implement, whic h potentially include not only competition considerations but also the pres ervation of general interest, as well as the goal of ensuring a sustainable competition. This paper Is based on the Spanish experience, one of the fir st EU countries in regulate digital TV, that it has been a good example of attempting to regulate technical systems strongly connected to business str ategies, by means of technical regulation instead of adopting a 'light-hand ed' approach. Currently, the scenario comprises two different digital satel lite television platforms, a digital terrestrial television platform and di fferent cable operators. All of them are competing and offering different p roducts and services to their real customers. Thus, Spain is the best place to find what will happen in the future scenario of competence in contents that will spread across Europe.