Traditional TV remains dominant in Hungary, with SVOD penetration standing at only around 5%.
This, according to Gyöngyvér Gerlei, the company’s sales director, is in contrast to the West European average of 32%.
On the other hand, the pay-TV penetration in Hungary stands at 86%, as opposed to 80% in West Europe.
Speaking at MBT 2019, organised by Antenna Hungária in Budapest, Gerlei said that FTA still plays a significant role in Hungary, being received by 1.2 million viewers in around 580,000 households.
However, it faces challenges such as the freeing up of the 700MHz frequency band by 2020, expansion of fixed platforms and favourable triple-play offers; and 5G, which could also present opportunities.
Antenna Hungária’s answer to this is to create an integrated media platform.
Its three elements are expanding free TV; rethought pay-TV; and OTT. HbbTV plays a key role and the platform is directly connected to and in sync with linear TV. It offers rich functionality and allows for the development of an IPTV-like package.
