Canal+ has been present in Poland for almost a quarter of a century, initially through its film channel and not long after also a DTH platform.
The latter has seen numerous changes over the years and the most recent one took place on September 3, when nc+ was rebranded Platforma Canal+. The new name and look has been accompanied by ¬– perhaps not surprisingly – some eye-catching special offers for subscribers.
However, this is not just a rebrand in the conventional sense and is designed to underline the fact that there is much more to Canal+ in Poland than just its DTH platform. What will unite its growing portfolio of products, in which Platforma Canal+ will arguably remain the most important, is the word ‘Canal’.
At some stage next year they will be joined by Vivendi’s on demand service myCanal, which will probably compete with Player+, owned by TVN, a 32% shareholder in Platforma Canal+, and Discovery Polska.
Interestingly, the rebranding of nc+ appears to be in sharp contrast to the last major change at the platform, namely its formation by the merger of Canal+’s Cyfra+ and TVN’s n in March 2013. The process was marked by much confusion, with subscribers complaining about being forced to take the new service, which some considered to be inferior to those previously offered by Cyfra+ and n.
Although it took some for nc+ to turn things round, its operator ITI Neovision, which aside from TVN is also backed by Canal+ (51%) and Liberty Global (17%), is now performing well.
Furthermore, despite the highly competitive nature of the Polish market, Platforma Canal+ is likely to be a key player for a long time to come.
