SES’s German HD+ platform reached more than 2.6 million households at the end of the first quarter of this year.
More than half a million of them were paying the annual service fee. Nearly three million HD+ receivers have been sold since the launch of HD+ at the end of 2009.
As of 31 March 2012, HD+ was activated in 2.6 million German TV households, with 2.1 million of them in the free 12-month trial period and 513,207 already paying the service fee. The technical reach of HD+, meaning the number of HD+ enabled receivers sold, amounts to more than 2.9 million. Based on the very positive dynamic, HD+ expects more than one million paying HD+ customers at the end of 2012.
HD+ is a platform for the reception of encrypted and unencrypted free-to-air HD channels in Germany. The lineup currently includes 14 encrypted commercial channels (RTL HD, Sat.1 HD, ProSieben HD, Vox HD, Kabel eins HD, RTL II HD, Super RTL HD, N24 HD, Tele 5 HD, Sport1 HD, DMaxHD, Nickelodeon HD, Sixx HD, and Comedy Central HD) as well as 18 unencrypted free-to-air HD channels, mainly from the public broadcasters.
“HD+ is a main driver of the dynamic development of HD in Germany,” said Wilfried Urner, CEO of HD+, in a statement. “The switch-off of the analogue satellite signal at the end of April has further spurred this positive development. HD+ is one of the most compelling HD lineups today. With HD+, the Astra Satellite System operated by SES continues to be the most important platform for HD channels, with a total of more than 50 channels – including pay-TV – on our satellites. The dynamic development leads us to expect more than one million paying HD+ customers by the end of the year.”
