One of the biggest stories to come out of this year’s Cable Congress was about Liberty Global’s Horizon.
Speaking in an opening panel discussion that has come to be called A view from the top, the company’s CEO Mike Fries said that the long-awaited home gateway would finally launch in the second quarter and in a total of four countries this year.
Although none of these countries – the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Ireland – are in the CEE region, Simon Boyd, the head of UPC Polska, has already gone on record as saying that preparations for the eventual launch of Horizon in Poland will start this year. We can probably assume that the same holds true for most if not all other Liberty CEE markets.
Interestingly, when interviewed by Broadband TV News, Fries restated his company’s commitment to Romania, where rumours about a possible sale of UPC’s cable assets have been ‘doing the rounds’ for a number of months. While they are unlikely to go away, such a move probably – at least in my view – now looks less feasible than, for instance, this time last year.
While news related specifically to CEE is usually thin on the ground at Cable Congress itself, interesting insights can be gleaned by speaking to some of the key delegates attended the event.
Broadband TV News found out, for instance, that one of the biggest issues currently troubling the cable industry in Hungary is a new must-carry requirement for regional channels.
Meanwhile in Poland, UPC Polska’s acquisition of Aster last year has produced a perceptible change in the industry, with the former’s position as the market leader clearly strengthened. All eyes are now on the upcoming sale of Multimedia Polska, and at this stage there are no clear indications as to who the buyer may be.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment at Cable Congress related to CEE was the announcement that next year’s event would be held in London.
Although in many respects a good choice – it will be the first time the UK has acted as host and Virgin Media undoubtedly has a big story to tell the world – the CEE yet again missed out, with Poland at one stage believed to have been in the running.
Let’s hope this is finally rectified in 2015, when Cable Congress will again take place away from Brussels.
