Moscow-based Mobile Tele Systems has increased the number of available HD channels to 18, half of which are included in the basic TV package.
MTS customers with a basic digital TV subscription now have access to Channel One HD, Sport 1 HD, Russia HD, Fox HD, Rain HD, National Geographic HD, Candy TV HD, National Geographic Wild HD, as well as the HD promo channel.
In addition, customers can subscribe to premium channels including sports, entertainment and music channels such as Discovery HD Showcase, Animal Planet HD, KHL HD (Continental Hockey League), MTV Live HD, and others.
“Today in Russia about 40% of TV sets support HD, and people are actively replacing their CRT TVs with LCD and plasma sets, so within five years, most TV channels can switch to HD,” said Dmitry Bagdasaryan, director of fixed-line business and TV, MTS, “MTS customers can already get a new experience with a huge number of sports, educational, news channels, and movies with a living picture and multi-channel sound.”
In 2012, MTS launched digital broadcasting in all the cities it serves, which has allowed more than double the number of channels in the TV packages.
Currently, MTS provides services to three million pay-TV customers, two million homes subscribe to broadband internet access and one million customers of mobile TV.
MTS offers more than 150 news, entertainment, educational, sports, and HD-TV channels and has agreements with major rights holders, including those with Discovery, Viasat, Fox, Universal, Sony, and others.
