ANGA CABLE 2011 – COLOGNE. Harald Rosch, CEO of Kabel Baden Wurttemberg has said that its acquisition by Liberty Global will give it a better chance in the future.
“Service will be more software based and you can’t build an Apple platform just for Baden Wurttemberg, but if you do so also for North Rhine Westphalia then it might be beneficial. Rosch was speaking during the ‘Elephants’ Round’ session of ANGA Cable, where he was joined by his opposite number at LGI’s Unitymedia Lutz Schuler, who said the Baden Wurttemberg market offered Liberty great potential, given that despite its economic prowess, Kabel BW still had a relatively low broadband and digital TV penetration.
“I believe the convergence between TV and Internet will gain even more innovative products. “He said he couldn’t care less if his TV came from the web or from cable and it would be even better if the two were combined.
Mattias Kurth, president of the Federal Network Agency, said the cartel office would have to look at the TV market in a situation where a concentration would be a negative factor. While pointing out that this was not strictly his area of regulation, he added that competition to Deutsche Telekom could still be a decisive factor, particularly in e field of broadband provision.
Earlier, Adrian von Hammerstein CEO, Kabel Deutschland said despite the company’s initial entry on the German stock exchange it had been able to meet market expectations. “We found the potential of German cable has become more and more visible and this is a benefit to the market as a whole.”