German pay TV operator Premiere has pulled the plug on a number of its international bouquets aimed at foreigners living in Germany. Affected are a Russian and an Italian bouquet with Kanäle Perviy, RTVi, Nashe Kino, RTR Planeta, RAI Uno, RAI Due, RAI Tre and Video Italia. Premiere will continue to sell and market a 10 channel Turkish package broadcast from Astra at 23.5 degrees East.
The move comes because of disappointing sales with Italians and Russian viewers. Insiders were not surprised, since the four Italian channels are available free of charge on the Eutelsat Hotbird position alongside a few dozen other free-to-air Italian broadcasters including the three popular Mediaset channels Italia Uno, Rete Quattro and Canale 5. For Russian viewer other offers are available with a wider choice of channels.
Premiere continues to offer a Turkish bouquet, to which it recently added Kanal 7 and Star TV. However, most Turkish families living in Europe have their dish pointed towards the Turksat oribtal position that offers about 40 free-to-air channels as well as dedicated premium channels for expats with sports and movies.
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