A number of players are now targeting Central and Eastern Europe for growth. Stéphanie Villaret, a media analyst at French-based consultancy, IDATE, commented, “The satellite TV market in Western Europe is mainly mature and highly concentrated (1 or 2 DTH packages per country on average). In Central and Eastern Europe, we see a situation where there can be up to four DTH packages per country, especially in countries such as Poland, Romania, Russia, or Ukraine. However, IDATE analysts estimate there will likely be a concentration phase in a few years, as this situation is not sustainable on the long term.” Roger Bolton, VP of business development at Tandberg Television says, “There are more platforms launching in Eastern Europe. Poland, Romania and Bulgaria are seeing a number of new platforms. I guess when the infrastructure is very weak, the satellite operators can get up there pretty quickly with services that IPTV and cable might have trouble emulating.”
Different Niches
The dynamics for DTH in Central and Eastern Europe are some of the most interesting around. Nick Thompson, managing director of Arqiva’s satellite media solutions division, added, “At the moment satellite is a much more affordable platform than it was in the early days of Western European satellite platform developments. As a result, it is a lot easier than it was to launch a platform and we are seeing an increase in the number emerging in countries such as Romania and Poland. Furthermore, players are carving out different niches for their platforms – some packaging themselves as high-quality, high-value subscription content providers, and others as pay-as-you-go platforms.” Arqiva hopes to play more of a role in this market. Thompson added, “It is Arqiva’s aim to play a role in Central and Eastern European satellite platforms, either through distribution or media management and playout. We want to create TV channels, which are unique for those particular markets, just as we are already doing.” Cato Halsaa, CEO of Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSB) is also optimistic about the potential growth opportunities for satellite players in Central and Eastern Europe. He said, “It is clear that there are different dynamics, explained by the different levels of maturity. Generally there would appear to be more competition and attempts to ‘land grab’ through heavy discounting in Eastern European markets. He added, “The favorable market conditions in Central and Eastern is set to continue to create a real opportunity for growth. TSB is currently well placed to serve this market due to our already established position within the region. 1 West is a growing CEE hotspot and with the combined transponders of Thor 5 and Thor 6, we will effectively be doubling capacity to ensure we have a strong growth plan to be able to facilitate this continued demand.”
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