CaTV companies to go digital

2007-03-08

Cable TV operators are preparing to switch from analogue technology to digital. This has been prompted by increasing competition from digital satellite TV platforms, which are gaining more clients.
According to Gazeta Prawna, the introduction of digital CaTV is being considered by the leader on the cable TV market, UPC Polska. The newspaper reports that the number of channels available via the provider’s network will rise from the existing 60 to around 100. At the moment, the operator is negotiating with broadcasters and is working on the details. This includes a decision on a supplier of digital decoders, which would make possible a “digital VCR”, HDTV or video-on-demand (VoD) service. The company emphasises that it is too early to discuss the details. It admits, however, that Liberty Global, the company’s owner, plans to launch a digital TV offer in Poland and Hungary. UPC Polska has stated, however, that it does not intend to be the first company to switch to digital at any cost.
UPC’s competitors, Vectra, Multimedia Polska and Aster, already offer digital TV, but coverage is limited and does not include services such as digital VCR, HDTV and VoD. Multimedia Polska claims that these will be available in the second quarter. Other companies are also expected to launch them in the near future.
The introduction of digital technology should allow CaTV operators to compete with digital satellite TV platforms, which are becoming increasingly popular. Cyfrowy Polsat already has over 1 million subscribers, and Cyfra+ is close upon its heels. The smallest, in terms of customer numbers, platform – “n”, launched by the ITI group in 2006, is about to cross the 100,000 threshold. The CaTV operators are observing that revenues from the television sections of their businesses are growing slowly, whereas those generated by other services, such as internet access, are undergoing more robust increases.

Browse and search in our archive »

Subscribe to PMR RSS NEWS channels »

Free e-letters

Enter your e-mail
to get free newsletters:
CEE IT & Telecoms Headlines:

PMR publications >> IT and telecoms

PMR Portals

General Economy
Polish market
Business portal for Central and Eastern Europe
Business portal for China

Construction
Poland construction
Rynek budowlany
Russia construction
Ukraine construction
Construction Central and Eastern Europe

Pharma
Polish pharmaceutical industry
Central European pharmaceutical market

Retail/FMCG
Poland retail and FMCG
Russia retail and FMCG
Retail market in Central and Eastern Europe

IT & Telecoms
IT & Telecoms Russia
IT & Telecommunications in CEE

PMR Publications

By sector
Construction
Retail/FMCG
IT & Telecommunications
Pharmaceutical

By country
Central & Eastern Europe
Asia
China
India
Poland
Romania
Russia
Ukraine
Turkey

PMR Research

Consumer market research
B2B market research
Healthcare market research
Quantitative research
Qualitative research
Desk research
Central location / hall test

Fieldwork
Where we operate
Types of research conducted

Our Brands
PMR Brand Image Insight
PMR Medical Panel
PMR MarketInsight

PMR Consulting

Market entry feasibility study
Competitive Intelligence Services
Sourcing
Acquisition - Joint Venture
Distributor - agent search
Quick consulting services
Other business services or support

Our experience
Chemical
Consumer goods
FMCG
Industrial goods
Pharmaceuticals
Retail

About us Contact us Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2012 PMR. All rights reserved.

PMR is a British-American company providing market information, advice and services to international businesses interested in Central and Eastern Europe as well as other emerging markets. PMR key areas of operation include business publications (through PMR Publications), consultancy (through PMR Consulting) and market research (through PMR Research). With over fourteen years of experience, high international standards in projects and publications, highly skilled multilingual staff and a wide network of co-operating research companies and market experts, PMR is one of the largest companies of its type in the region.