Peter Einstein, CEO of Middle East direct-to-home provider Showtime, which has around 200,000 subscribers, believes the company’s 2005 performance has set Showtime up well for the future.

“In 2005, I would say we set ourselves an aggressive task and we achieved that task,” Einstein said. “We expect 2006 to see further strong growth of subscribers. We have implemented a number of programs to set ourselves up for strong growth this year and have it accelerate.”

Showtime also hopes to make more of an impact in emerging markets in the region such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Egypt. “We continue to see great potential in our emerging markets in 2006,” Einstein said. “In particular, we are looking to expand our dealer networks in North Africa and Iraq. In the long-term we see great potential in Iran.”

An interview with Peter Einstein can be found in the March 6^h issue of Satellite News. For more information about subscribing to Access Intelligence’s satellite newsletters, check out our Web site at https://www.satellitetoday.com