The New Year has begun with important developments in Poland and the Czech Republic, two of the region’s most dynamic markets.
In the former, the incumbent telco TPSA is in bullish mood about the future prospects of its recently launched triple play service multipakiet tp. It includes VOD and Cyfra+ and can already be received by the 150,000 subscribers who own the so-called ‘Livebox’ modem. However, reading between the lines, it seems that the company’s main objective in 2007 will be to build up its ADSL broadband Internet business – Neostrada gained almost 600,000 new subscribers in 2006 alone – rather than focus on IPTV.
This may seem surprising, given the fact that Internet-delivered TV is becoming increasingly popular in the country, with four portals now offering services and even the leading independent local production company ATM Grupa providing content.
Meanwhile in the Czech Republic, the take-over of Karneval by Liberty Global, which was never really in doubt despite an investigation by the Anti-Monopoly Office (UOHS), has finally gone ahead. The announcement came alongside one by Liberty Global stating that the sale of its Belgian cable operation to Telenet has been completed and gave an indication of how the company’s strategy is evolving. Although it has exited some markets in Western Europe, central and eastern parts of the continent – and in particular Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland – remain key and are likely to see more investment in the months to come.
However, at least in the case of Poland, Liberty Global and other leading MSOs have some serious catching up to do following the recent launch of the DTH platform n and frantic activity on the part of Cyfra+ and Cyfrowy Polsat to introduce HDTV, PVR and VOD services. Rolling out digital TV must now clearly become a priority for UPC’s cable operations across the region. CD
