CEE 2011 > Distribution platforms


Digital TV Europe June 2011


Expanding horizons


DTH players look set to dominate the CEE pay TV market in the coming years. Graham Pomphrey reports on how satellite operators, while mindful of economic challenges, are planning for the anticipated growth.


Astra recently announced new CEE deals.


tral and eastern Europe, establishing them- selves as viable alternatives to cable in many markets and stealing a march on their pay TV counterparts by delivering digital services, including HD. According to Informa Telecoms and Media, DTH is set to overtake cable as the region’s leading platform by 2012. Some will point to the fact that the cable sec- tor remains extremely fragmented, making it expensive and time consuming to digitise each network, as a reason for the rise of satel- lite over cable. Cable also suffers from a repu- tation as a low-cost utility provider, while satel- lite has a perception of offering premium TV services. Also, while ARPU remains low in almost all central and eastern European mar-


Satellite pay TV platforms are making inroads in cen-


kets, some DTH operators have entered the market with low cost offerings, while others, including Poland’s ‘n’, have prospered on the back of differentiating themselves by leading with an extensive HD offering.


The success of DTH platforms has led in some markets to a plethora of services vying for a fairly limited market. In Poland Cyfrowy Polsat, Canal Plus Cyfrowy, ‘n’ and Orange have all established themselves, and consoli- dation, while anticipated, has yet to materi- alise. In Romania, the first signs of consolida- tion appeared this year when telco Romtelecom signed agreements to acquire both the Boom TV and AKTA Satelit plat- forms, meaning Romania’s five satellite pay TV operators will soon become three. Satellite operators are therefore faced with a rapidly


growing market, with platforms still launch- ing and new channels being added to line-ups on an almost daily basis, but at the same time realising consolidation is likely to reduce the number of platforms looking for capacity.


Economic recovery


There are clear signs that economic recovery is underway in the CEE region, with all the major satellite operators signing deals in recent months. Already this year, SES Astra announced deals with Bulgarian operator Satellite BG and Serbian telco Telekom Srbija for capacity. In the case of Satellite BG, it marks an entry into a new market for Astra and proves that business is available from new


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