Romanian cable and satellite operators face a challenging time as the country moves to digitalisation, both fighting to retain existing customers and aiming to secure many new ones.
ZF points out that 1.5 million homes in the country currently receiving just analogue terrestrial TV will have to decide by the end of 2011 whether to subscribe to DTT or opt for cable or satellite services.
At stake for operators are potential annual revenues of up to €84 million, based on average monthly subscriber fees of around €5.
Dinu Malacopol, the general manager of DCS, which operates cable and DTH services employing the brand name Akta, is quoted as saying that if DTT offers less than 20 channels free of charge it is unlikely to seriously affect the market. The channels to be carried by Romania’s DTT platform will be chosen by the National Audiovisual Council (CNA).
Once up and running, the platform will initially consist of two multiplexes, reaching 60% of the population and covering 50% of Romania, by the end of December 2010.
