Why is it worth keeping a close eye on the development of UHD services in Central and Eastern Europe?
The simple answer is that by doing so we will be able to ascertain to what degree the TV industry in the region is keeping pace with that in Western Europe, and indeed other parts of the world.
If we cast our minds back 10 years or so ago, CEE was still seen, with some justification, as being some way behind the rest of Europe. However, all that began to change with the introduction of HD services by the DTH platforms n in Poland and NTV-Plus in Russia.
This came only a year or two after channels in the format first appeared in Western Europe, initially in the UK and Germany.
It soon also became apparent that HD marked a turning point for the TV industry in CEE. Along with the launch of such additional services as VOD, it demonstrated that it was starting to catch up – rapidly.
Indeed, by 2010/11, some of the larger cable operators in the region were already offering their subscribers at least 20 HD channels.
Now, it has to be said, HD is rapidly becoming the new SD in most of the more developed markets in CEE. Interestingly, take-up in recent months has been particularly strong in countries such as Russia, thanks in large part to the efforts of Tricolor TV, its leading DTH platform.
As for UHD, it is still early days, not just in CEE but also other parts of the world. Most forecasts nevertheless expect to see rapid growth in the next five years and beyond.
Take UHD reception equipment. A report published by Strategy Analytics this March predicted that by 2020 just over 45% of households in the US would have such equipment. Western Europe would be in second place, though some 10-percentage points behind, while the total in CEE would be around one in five (about 20%).
Given the way HD took off so rapidly in the region, I can’t help feeling that the latter figure will end up being something of an underestimate.
