This is undoubtedly the golden age of DTH broadcasting in Central and Eastern Europe. But how long can it last?
Less than four years ago satellite broadcasting in the region was synonymous with UPC Direct, Viasat and a handful of other operations, the best known of which were probably Poland’s Cyfra+ and Russia’s NTV-Plus. Today, however, there are a multitude of platforms, with one country alone – Romania – boasting no fewer than five, and Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia three each. Ukraine, too, will soon have three platforms, while Hungary and Bulgaria are content with two.
This explosion in DTH services has come alongside a general expansion in the region’s electronic communications marketplace. IPTV services, for instance, were all but unheard of four years ago but are now found in most countries, with some – notably Stream TV in Russia and O2 TV in the Czech Republic – doing extremely well. DTT, too, is now a reality in (chiefly) the Czech Republic and Estonia but will soon become commonplace as the region moves to all-digital broadcasting.
While the cable industry has hardly been setting the house on fire, it too has moved on in recent years. Consolidation and the emergence of powerful players has been a defining feature, as has the gradual, rather than rapid, rollout of digital TV and other advanced services.
The DTH market, which now consists of almost 30 platforms across the region, is certainly at something of a high point: Poland is preparing itself for the launch of a fourth platform later this year, with a fifth to probably follow, Romanian-owned Digi TV continues to do well in its six markets, UPC Direct is back on track and Dolce (Romania) and CS Link (Czech Republic) are the current star performers.
While the future is never easy to predict, one thing we can with some degree of confidence expect to see in the near future is consolidation. Poland will certainly not be able to sustain up to five platforms – a more realistic figure is one or two – and Romania is likely to lose one or two of its platforms sooner rather than later.
While this may feel like a loss, it will make the DTH market stronger in its fight for viewers with cable, and increasingly also IPTV and DTT.
