German technical service provider Media Broadcast has pulled out of the B2B wholesale business for cable operators.
“Media Broadcast has terminated the marketing of its BIQ services some time ago as the company fully concentrates on the digital growth areas and services regarding DAB+ and DVB-T2,” a spokesman told Broadband TV News. “The expiration of the product was back then seamlessly managed in close coordination with the respective customers as part of a transition process.”
With the B2B cable service unveiled in June 2012, Media Broadcast offered cable companies, city carriers and IPTV providers a turnkey white label product enabling them to offer a TV service without having to deal with rights issues and technical aspects.
The line-up comprised around 200 TV channels including public and commercial channels, around 50 HD channels as well as local channels and radio stations. Viewers were able to sign up for further HD and foreign-language channels as well as pay-TV packages from Sky Deutschland.
The signals were distributed to the partners IP-based through Media Broadcast’s next-generation broadband network (NGN), thus, no satellite reception system had to be installed at the local head-end. The marketing and customer relationship remained in the partners’ hands.
The first BIQ customer, city carrier Stadtwerke Rüsselsheim, was announced in May 2014.
There is strong competition in the German wholesale market for B2B cable services: The large cable companies and telco Deutsche Telekom as well as service providers like M7 Deutschland, Zattoo B2B TV Solutions and Purtel supply medium-sized and small cable operators and housing companies with TV packages and additional services.
