The leading Russian DTH platform Tricolor TV plans to significantly improve its offer in Siberia thanks to the recently launched Express-AT1 satellite, which will shortly be located at the 56 degrees East orbital position.
Tricolor TV currently has over a million subscribers in Siberia and expects the number to grow significantly.
There are a 7.1 million households in the region, of which around half (up to 3.5 million) are likely to take pay-TV services.
Tricolor TV has reserved 10 transponders on the new satellite, compared to the 2.5 it rented on Bonum-1 and five on DirecTV-1R.
As a result, it will now be able to offer subscribers in Siberia a package containing more than two-dozen HD channels and its offer as a whole will be comparable to that provided to residents of central Russia.
HD channels have been a strong driver for growth for Tricolor TV. Since their introduction in 2012, the number of subscribers to its Siberian service – Tricolor TV Sibir – has increased by more than 1.6 times.
Siberia is home to nearly 20 million people, or a seventh of Russia’s population.
