BUENOS AIRES – Argentina’s public television network plans to begin digital broadcasts next month based on the Japanese-Brazilian standard, allowing soccer games to be viewed on cell phones.

Channel 7 television will begin using digital technology to beam its programming in April, Radio y Television Argentina chief Tristan Bauer said.

The broadcasting official said in statements posted on the government Web site that digital television would provide images of the “highest quality, including high definition.”

“Households, in this first phase, will be able to use a converter and an antenna to view high-quality television,” Bauer said.

Two new public channels – one carrying children’s programming and the other dedicated to Argentine and Latin American films – will be launched in the future, Bauer said.

The new channels will join Channel 7 and the soon-to-be-digital Encuentro, which provides educational and cultural programs, as offerings, Bauer said.

Officials of the public television system, which has the rights to broadcast soccer matches, said the games would be available on cell phones “with an extraordinary (level of) quality and traveling on public transportation or in an auto.”