PIKE CONFERENCE – SOPOT. Poland’s DTH platforms can between them still secure an additional 1.5-2 million subscribers, in the opinion of Dominik Libicki, the president of Cyfrowy Polsat.
His estimate was based on a current pay-TV (cable and DTH) penetration rate of 65% of Polish TV homes.
Commenting on LTE technology, which allows for internet access of up to 150 Mbps and in the most advanced forms of 300-320 Mbps, Libicki added that the platform would be happy to supply all its subscribers with speeds of 15 Mbps.
Libicki also said that all Polsat channels, with the exception of sports, have always been available for distribution on other platforms. He was in addition dismissive of the prospects for DVB-H in Poland.
When it came to consolidation in Poland’s DTH market, Libicki said that all options are possible.
However, Tomasz Berezowski, a member of ITI Neovision’s board and also its technical director, controversially said that the market could sustain up to two more DTH platforms.
In discussing the partnership agreement announced last week between TVN and incumbent telco TPSA, Berezowski insisted it would not lead to a merger.
However, “we are looking at nearly 500,000 TPSA clients who have satellite dishes and are not offered all the services they could get in terms of content”.