CAEC 2013 – Prague. Pay-DTT services are likely to prove a success in the Czech Republic in the view of Ceske Radiokomunikace, the national transmission company.
According to Marcel Prochazka, its head of business development and strategy, one of the reasons for this is because pay-TV penetration in the country is currently much lower than elsewhere in Europe.
Prochazka cited the example of such markets as Hungary, the Netherlands and France, where pay-DTT is already successful.
He also spoke about the current DTT situation in the Czech Republic.
It completed the transition to digital broadcasting a while back and currently offers viewers 19 DTT channels, with the most recent addition having being Active TV, placed on Mux 3, last month.
There are four multiplexes in total, with the second one being full and third having only two empty slots.
Negotiations are currently taking place to fill the latter and they should be taken by the end of the year.
Prochazka was of the view that despite broadcasters such as TV Nova and Prima TV having multichannel strategies, the Czech Republic is unlikely to see the emergence of any new national channels anytime soon.
Although the introduction of DVB-T2 in the country is likely to take some time, it will pave the way for the launch of pay-TV services.
It will also satisfy a growing demand for HD channels among viewers.
Prochazka in addition said that the CRa, having spent almost CZK1 billion (€38.5 million) on the transition to DVB-T broadcasting, is now prepared to spend hundreds of millions of crowns on the digitisation of radio broadcasts.
