There's a description of world analogue TV standards
here and a list of countries and which standard they use
here.
Let me run this one up the flagpole. I'm sure it will get shot at from all sides but here goes.
Say NTL were to charge all their cable customers perhaps £3.50 per month as line rental. In return they would supply all the Freeview TV and radio channels in an unencrypted analogue format (TV on UHF channel 21 to 68 and radio on VHF 88 to 108 MHz) so that they can be received on the customer's own equipment.
This would generate a lot of revenue for NTL. Customers could get the Freeview channels without buying a Freeview box. It could be a halfway-house for migrating existing analogue cable customers to digital. It would be ideal for customers with a poor terrestrial service. With an analogue pass-thru or splitter, customers with VCRs or multiple TV sets would be able to access many channels simulataneously. There are a few cons but I'm sure you'll spot them for yourself and no doubt post them too.
Yes, I know it's not the latest technology but, with digital TV is in such a state of flux, it would provide a good service for the customer with little outlay from NTL. As many customers have already found out, NTL already provide such a service for channels 1..5 plus a few others. All my suggestion would do is legitamise and enhance this service.