Russia’s Tricolor TV expects to overtake the Dish Network by the end of 2013, thereby becoming the world’s second largest DTH platform in terms of subscriber numbers after DirecTV.
In a statement, the company says that as of this month it is already the world’s third largest platform, ahead of India’s Dish TV and the UK’s BSkyB, with 11 million users.
Its subscriber total should rise to 14.5 million within the next 16 months.
Furthermore, it plans to become the first operator to provide HD channels on a mass scale in Russia, its Tricolor TV Full HD offering 25 in the format for a total of R900 (€23) a year.
By 2014, the number of its subscribers receiving the HD package is expected to be more than 7 million.
Data produced by TNS Russia shows that DTH services are currently received in 27% of the country’s households, with 76% of these opting for Tricolor TV.
More than 70% of Tricolor TV’s subscribers live in towns and cities and the remainder in rural areas.
