Analogue switch-off on cable networks, the financing of broadband expansion and new revenue sources for local TV broadcasters are in the focus of the 17th edition of German cable industry trade fair Kabelkongress which will take place in Leipzig on October 6 and 7, 2014.
The congress is jointly organised by cable operator association FRK and BLTV, the association of local TV operators, in collaboration with the 9th TV fair Fernsehmesse organised by Saxony’s media authority SLM.
The opening panel will discuss the effects of digitalisation and analogue-switch off on cable networks. Participants include FRK’s chairman Heinz-Peter Labonte, SLM’s managing director Martin Deitenbeck and Martina Rutenbeck, managing director of KabelKiosk’s operating company M7 Deutschland. The host will be Dietmar Schickel, former managing director of cable operator Tele Columbus.
After the panel, Labonte and Emmanouil Lapidakis, founder of free-to-air channel Anixe, will present a new model enabling local TV broadcasters and cable operators to participate in national advertising revenues through an HbbTV-based solution. The solution developed by Anixe and Smart TV Data combines online advertising with the reach of TV channels.
Further panels and workshops will focus on new financing schemes for broadband deployment in insufficiently served regions, the future of direct-to-cable platform KabelKiosk following the sale to M7 Group, HDTV platform HD+ and its catch-up portal HD+ RePlay, the fiber-optic roll-out in rural regions and current legal questions in the cable market.
At the accompanying exhibition, media, cable and broadband companies will showcase their latest products and services.
