Russia’s Tricolor TV plans to invest over R500 million (€7.32 million) on the development of a digital platform serving the Far East of the country.
Quoting its CEO Alexei Kholodov, Kommersant adds that it will assess audience interest in the new product before making it available throughout the whole territory.
It also plans to attract partners to the project, including financial services, e-commerce, insurance, bookmakers and others.
Test broadcasts began on November 1, employing capacity leased from Eutelsat on the Express-AT2 satellite, located at 140 degrees East.
Pay-TV services in the Far East of Russia are already provided by a number of operators including Orion, NTV Plus and MTS.
Industry sources believe that the prospects for Tricolor TV, which is Russia’s leading pay-TV operator in terms of subscriber numbers, in the Far East will ultimately depend on how much it charges users for reception equipment.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, Tricolor TV confirmed its plans to enter the market, with a new strategy, at the end of last month.
