The Hungarian Telephone and Cable Corp. (HTCC) has announced that it has completed to acquisition of Invitel from American International Group and GMT Communication Partners for €470 million. This follows the news that deal, which was first announced in January, has finally been given the go ahead by the Hungarian Competition Office. HTCC is 63% [...]
TVP prepares new channel launch
April 30, 2007 09.01 Europe/London By
Polish public broadcaster TVP is gearing up for the launch of its latest thematic channel – TVP Historia – on the country’s Constitution Day (May 3) later this week. A free-to-air (FTA) service, it will be distributed by Astra and is likely to be offered by a number of cable operators. Aside from its two [...]
Astra 1L ready for launch
April 30, 2007 07.45 Europe/London By
Astra 1L, the latest satellite belonging to SES Astra, is ready for launch on May 3. The new satellite will lift off from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana. Already the satellite has been fully integrated into the fairing of the launch vehicle, an Ariane 5 ECA rocket. The satellite itself is an A2100 [...]
Primacom reports analogue losses
April 29, 2007 08.51 Europe/London By
Last Friday German cable operator Primacom reported a lower turnover because of the loss of analogue subscribers, which has not been compensated by income from other services. Compared with last spring turnover decreased 1.6% to €116.4 million. Total losses for the 12 month period have now reached €15.1 million. The number of analogue subscribers went [...]
OFT refers BSkyB ITV holding to Competition Commission
April 27, 2007 16.50 Europe/London By
The Office of Fair Trading has indicated that BSkyB’s controversial 17.9% stake in ITV should be referred to the Competition Commission. A report passed to the Department of Trade and Industry said the shareholding had resulted in a substantial lessening of competition within the TV sector. The decision now rests with the secretary of state [...]
NTV now Plus HD
April 27, 2007 14.34 Europe/London By
The Russian DTH platform NTV-Plus has finally launched its HDTV service, which was scheduled to make its debut in March. Its offer, available via Eutelsat’s W4 satellite, consists of three channels: HD Kino, HD Sport and HD Life. HD Kino and HD Sport are proprietary services, while HD Life is produced by the Russian company [...]
BBC Trust gives green light to Freesat
April 27, 2007 13.07 Europe/London By
The BBC has been given to go ahead by the BBC Trust to launch the Freesat free-to-air satellite offer as a joint venture with ITV It is anticipated that the standard and high definition offering will launch in the spring of 2008. Consumers will have a selection of free-to-view channels available without any ongoing subscription, [...]
BBC Trust confirms HD Public Value Test
April 27, 2007 09.35 Europe/London By
The BBC Trust has announced it is to run a Public Value Test on proposals by the BBC Executive to run a permanent high definition television channel. The Public Value Test will begin on Monday May 21, when documentation on the service will be published, along with the terms of reference for Ofcom’s Market Impact [...]
Hungary prepares for digital switch
April 27, 2007 09.23 Europe/London By
Details of a draft law on the transition to digital broadcasting have been announced in Hungary. Aside from a DTT tender, they include proposals on several aspects of programme distribution. Speaking exclusively to Broadband TV News, Ferenc Kéry, the president of the Hungarian Cable Communications Association (HCA), said that the draft law includes a reference [...]
Maxdome reports 170,000 subscribers
April 27, 2007 08.13 Europe/London By
The German VOD portal Maxdome reports it now has 170,000 subscribers since its inception in July of last year. The service offers downloads for PC and for television using a special set-top box. Maxdome is a joint venture between ProSiebenSat.1 and Seven Senses and benefits from cross promotion on the various channels from the broadcaster. [...]
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Digital TV Eastern Europe NEW REPORT by Simon Murray of Digital TV Research. 2012 is a watershed year for Eastern Europe as the number of digital homes for 15 forecast countries will exceed the analogue total for the first time. This electronically-delivered,150-page report comes in three parts, a PDF file and two Excel workbooks. Countries covered include Russia and Ukraine.