Digital TV offers many advantages over analog TV, but the transition process is complex and costly. This book explains how the process is unfolding in the U.S. and Britain and explores the changes in the legal framework and the industry structure associated with it. It is a unique study about the technological, political, and social factors shaping the emergence of the Information Society in the U.S. and Europe.

Hernan Galperin is an Assistant Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California. He holds a B.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. Dr Galperin's research and teaching focus on the international governance and impact of new communication and information technologies. His research has been published in article collections and scholarly journals such as the Federal Communications Law Journal, Telecommunications Policy, the Journal of Communication, and Media, Culture, & Society. He is a frequent participant to numerous academic and industry conferences, including the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (TPRC), the International Communication Association (ICA), and the American Political Science Association (APSA). Dr Galperin is a former fellow of the Stanhope Centre for Communication Policy Research in London.

List of figures and tables; Preface and acknowledgements; List of acronyms and abbreviations; Part I. A Political Economy of Digital TV: 1. Introduction; 2. Why digital TV?; Part II. The American Road to Digital TV: 3. The genesis of broadcast regulation in the United States; 4. HDTV comes to America; 5. A new bargain; 6. A long journey; Part III. The British Road to Digital TV: 7. The European context; 8. The birth and evolution of analog TV in the United Kingdom; 9. Being first: the Digital TV race; 10. Murdoch phobia?; 11. Digital TV and the new Labour; Part IV. New Television, Old Politics: 12. One goal, many paths; 13. Explaining national variations in digital TV policies; 14. Conclusion: the regulation of digital communications and the resilience of national regimes; References; Index.