In the fifth of a series of interviews with leading broadcasters and production and distribution companies in Central and Eastern Europe ahead of this year’s NATPE Budapest, Broadband TV News speaks with Berk Uziyel, Executive Director at SPI International.
What were the main challenges of launching Funbox 4K/UHD last year and how were they overcome?
The first challenge was distribution. We are now using the satellite distribution and online streaming and we successfully distribute channels through these two different means. The second challenge was the availability of the content. We have not only worked with various suppliers but also started producing our own content and started to reach for a sizeable 4k library which distinguishes Funbox 4K/UHD from its competitors.
How is 4K Funbox/UHD now performing, especially in CEE?
The response has been very positive as we offer a truly unique channel and a streaming 4k/UHD library which attract new subscribers because of the highest-quality service. We have built our satellite distribution and broadcasting on Eutelsat. At the same time, the channel is now carried by Vodafone in Portugal and Spain. We have just launched FunBox 4K/UHD in Luxembourg and will soon make it available to viewers in the Netherlands. FunBox 4K/UHD is also part of the experimental terrestrial DVB-T2@HEVC broadcasting in Prague.
What is the idea behind 4K Funbox UHD participating in a DVB-T2 trial in the Czech Republic and can you see this being replicated in other markets?
We would like to develop the 4k/UHD market. Our test is set for a limited period of time and is targeted to test the capabilities and also to intrigue customers to embrace 4k/UHD. This limited time/trial can be replicated.
SPI’s Kino Polska recently secured a channel licence on Poland’s upcoming eighth DTT multiplex. How important was this for the company’s strategy in the country?
Recently, audience share of TV channels from the Kino Polska’s portfolio along with the associated Stopklatka TV channel reached the record high of 3.21% audience share in the basic commercial group of 16-49 year olds. We are planning to increase our market share in the country by expanding our presence on DTT with a launch of Zoom TV. Aside from our prominent pay-TV position in Poland, Kino Polska is also becoming a significant player in the local advertising market.
What was the thinking behind launching the FilmBox Live app and how is its rollout progressing?
As a leading pay-TV operator/content distributor in CEE it was natural for us a few years ago to tap into the online streaming and on demand business. We created a product called Filmbox Live which is sold directly to the consumers and our platform’s partners. The app is now available in 21 different platforms and 109 different versions. We believe that the digital distribution will play an important part in the media business. Therefore, Filmbox Live is one of the core products of SPI. In the near future SPI will also launch its own package with digital distributors such as Amazon.
Are there any plans to launch more Filmbox-branded channels and what themes are they likely to cover?
I am delighted to announce a new channel that will be launched in the end of summer of 2016. It will be targeting kids/a young audience. Along with kids content it will have a gaming component inside as well. We are very excited about this channel; it will feature some very unique technological solutions.
How can you see SPI developing in CEE over the course of the next few years?
SPI is focusing its development in three main business areas. 1. We are constantly growing in the pay-TV market and our objective is to substantially increase our market share/subscriber volume within the upcoming years. 2. We also project there will be a significant growth of the online businesses of SPI within CEE. 3. As mentioned above we are planning to grow our advertisement base business as well.
