Chris Dziadul looks at Romania’s Intact Media Group. The news that Romania’s Intact Media Group (IMG) plans to launch a raft of new thematic channels next year will come as no surprise to most industry observers. The group, which was founded by the entrepreneur, now politician Dan Voiculescu and is today headed by his daughter [...]

Chris Dziadul reviews the PIKE conference in Zakopane. Earlier this week I was privileged to moderate one of the most interesting panels at the Polish Chamber of Electronic Communication (PIKE) conference and exhibition in Zakopane. Entitled Cable Europe: the situation of cable operators on incumbent markets, it brought together industry representatives from no fewer than [...]

Chris Dziadul foresees an eventful year in Polish cable While it may be too early to start making predictions for next year, 2008 already promises to be something of a humdinger for Poland’s cable industry. This week’s announcement from UPC that it will roll out a digital cable service in the country in Q2 is [...]

Chris Dziadul assesses TVN’s first 10 years This week 10 years ago I was present at the launch party for the Polish national commercial station TVN in Warsaw. Held in a huge marquee that was being pounded by incessant rain, it was hardly the best of starts for a new entrant into what was already [...]

Chris Dziadul reviews the Hungarian cable conference. The overriding impression at the HCA/HCTA cable conference Tihany earlier this week was one of a market in transition. Hungary, like most other countries in CEE, has been slow to roll out digital cable and to date only one of its leading operators – T-Kábel – offers a [...]

Chris Dziadul analyses developments in Poland Poland currently finds itself in the grip of election fever, with parliamentary elections scheduled for the second half of October. It should therefore come as no surprise that the country’s media, or more specifically its future, has once again found itself under the spotlight. Rival parties are homing in [...]

Chris Dziadul looks at major changes in Ukraine Earlier this month the US investment company CME pledged its commitment to what it regards as a country with enormous potential, and now Sweden’s Modern Times Group (MTG) has announced the introduction of its proprietary premium DTH platform. All of a sudden, Ukraine seems to be finding [...]

Chris Dziadul looks at CME’s involvement in Ukraine Those who follow the fortunes of the US investment company CME will have noticed that its Studio 1+1 operation and associated interests in Ukraine have been much in the news as of late. CME’s presence in the country dates back to 1995, when it jointly formed Studio [...]

Chris Dziadul looks at a significant day for CEE Two unrelated though highly significant developments will take place today (August 31) in Central and East Europe (CEE). In the Czech Republic, the transition to digital broadcasting will finally get under way when Domazlice near the German border becomes the first part of the country to [...]

Chris Dziadul reviews the Levira conference This week has seen the TDF-backed Estonian transmission company Levira hold its second digital broadcasting conference in Tallinn. Bringing together speakers from several West European countries and a few from Estonia itself, along with an audience composed mostly of technology experts from throughout CEE, it looked at – amongst [...]