Could the London Olympic Games mark a major change for the TV industry in Central and Eastern Europe?
Or more specifically, will London 2012 finally alter the way in which compelling content – in this instance sport played at the highest level – is provided by the region’s broadcasters and consumed by its viewers?
Certainly, there’s no getting away from the fact that from today (July 27) until the closing ceremony on August 12 there will be blanket coverage of London 2012 throughout the world. But what will make these Olympics different from all those that have gone before – and arguably one of the most significant in the broadcasting sense since Tokyo in 1964, which saw the first satellite TV transmissions – will be the way in which they are made available to viewers.
Take the case of Poland, one of the region’s largest and most dynamic markets. Coverage of London 2012 is being led by the public broadcaster TVP, which will not only be via five of its channels, one in HD, but also 16 streams over the internet. The latter, found at londyn2012.tvp.pl, will be accessible through PCs, smartphones, tablets and connected TVs.
Streaming over the internet will also be used by several other leading broadcasters in the region. In Romania, for instance, TVR has entered into a partnership with DirectOne (Seenow) to operate the site jo2012.tvr.ro and will be hoping to build on the success it recently achieved with online transmissions of Euro 2012.
Several other broadcasters will also take the opportunity to offer their viewers coverage of the Olympic Games for what will probably be the first time in HD. They include the Czech Republic’s CT, whose HD output will also be carried by the DTH platforms Skylink, CS Link and freeSAT.
Furthermore, at least one – Hungary’s Antenna Hungária, which operates the DTT platform MinDig TV and its sister service MinDig TV Extra – will be offering its viewers transmissions in 3D.
All in all, coverage of London 2012 has the potential to significantly advance the TV industry in Central and Eastern Europe on many levels.