Deutsche Telekom is aiming to reach a wider footprint with their TV service Entertain with the launch of a satellite delivered TV hybrid service called Entertain Sat comprising the free-to-air (FTA) offer on Astra as well as the HD+ encrypted service.
The offer will include all free-to-air, TV and radio channels in SD and HD on Astra at 19.2 degrees East including HD+ as well as the Entertain services such as Video on Demand, a catch-up TV service and an EPG.
The dedicated Entertain Sat hybrid receiver also comprises a 500 GB hard disk recorder. Flat rate telephony and Internet will also be included. The new hybrid Entertain Sat service will be available for households all across Germany with a DSL connection of at least 3 Mbps.
The new receiver is also capable of receiving the HD+ platform which currently offers eight German private free-TV channels in HD: RTL HD, Vox HD, RTL2 HD, ProSieben HD, Sat.1 HD, kabel eins HD, Sport1 HD and sixx HD.
Entertain Sat will be competing head on with the recently launched hyrbid playform from Vodafone Deutschland. There are a few differences between the two hybrid set-top boxes: Entertain Sat offers reception of the encrypted HD+ platform, while the Vodafone box also allows DTT reception in additional to the FTA channels on satellite.
Ferdinand Kayser, president and CEO of SES Astra, said in a statement: ”The cooperation with Deutsche Telekom demonstrates the strengths of satellite reception and the attractiveness of HD+. The combination of the broad and high quality DTH offer from Astra and HD+ with the additional interactive services from Deutsche Telekom creates an attractive media proposition.”
Christian P. Illek, managing director marketing Telekom Deutschland, said: “Our Entertain service currently reaches about 20 million households in Germany. With our satellite offer, we will address new customer groups and convince even more customers of our TV offer. Astra`s technical reach of more than 16 million satellite households in Germany and the switch-off of the analogue satellite reception in April 2012 represent a particularly interesting and attractive potential for Entertain Sat.”
The T-Entertain IPTV service in Germany had 1,156,000 subscribers as of December 31, 2010
