DVB-T2 to launch in Germany on May 31

The German DVB-T2 roll-out will commence on May 31, 2016 with a multiplex carrying six public and commercial TV channels in urban areas.

The bouquet will contain Das Erste HD, ZDF HD, RTL HD, Sat.1 HD, ProSieben HD and VOX HD. This was agreed by the participating TV broadcasters with the media authorities and transmitter network and platform operator Media Broadcast as part of the transition scenario for the deployment of DVB-T2 in Germany.

The areas served in the first stage (see map) will be Bremen/Unterweser, Hamburg/Lübeck, Kiel, Rostock, Schwerin, Hannover/Braunschweig, Magdeburg, Berlin/Potsdam, Jena, Leipzig/Halle, Düsseldorf/Rhine/Ruhr, Cologne/Bonn/Aachen, Rhine/Main, Saarbrucken, Baden-Baden, Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Munich/Southern Bavaria.

The regular service offering around 40 channels – mainly in HD quality – will start in Q1 2017 in the urban areas covered by the initial broadcasts and in further urban areas. The distribution of the commercial channels in the previously used DVB-T standard will be terminated at the same time.

The public channels will continue to broadcast unencrypted following the transition to DVB-T2. To access most commercial channels in HD quality, viewers will have to pay a subscription fee. The commercial channels will be accessible free of charge until spring 2017, but encrypted from day one. The nationwide changeover to DVB-T2 is scheduled to be completed in mid-2019.

For reception, TV sets or set-top-boxes compliant with DVB-T2/HEVC will be required. They are branded with a green DVB-T2 HDlogo (pictured) for consumer guidance. The participating parties want to determine further details regarding the transition in the next weeks.

Teo streamlines DVB-T rebroadcasting

The Lithuanian incumbent Teo has renounced the services of the second network of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Center (LRTC-2) and surrendered the licence for rebroadcasting TV channels using that network.

At the same time, it has increased the capacity of its DVB-T network.

Implementing new technologies will allow digital flow to be up to 30% more efficient and for the transfer of most TV channels from the LRTC-2 network to Teo’s.

Teo has held a licence to rebroadcast paid DVB-T programs and the right to rebroadcast them using the LRTC-2 network of transmitters since 2009.

However, with the DVB-T market in Lithuania having shrunk by a third in the last three years, with the costs of rebroadcasting remaining unchanged, the telco decided to make more efficient use of its own transmitters and surrender one of the rebroadcasting licences.

Teo and LRTC each currently own two of the four DVB-T networks operating in Lithuania.

Vectra gains TV subscribers

The Polish cable operator Vectra ended 2015 with a total of 936,500 subscribers, or 3.04% more than a year.

According to data provided by Vectra to Wirtualne Media, the number receiving its TV services rose by 1.82% in the year to 856,200, of who 649,000 (+12.54%) opted for digital services.

Meanwhile, those receiving analogue TV fell by 21.58% during the year to 207,000.

Vectra’s fixed line internet subscriber stood at 531,200 (+12.88%) as of year’s end, while the mobile internet subscriber total was 18,300 (-36.32%).

It also had 195,900 (+12.51%) fixed line telephony customers.

UltraHD via satellite to exceed 785 channels

There will be over 785 UltraHD channels by 2025, and satellite capacity required to carry bandwidth intensive UltraHD channels will drive an added $280M in annual leasing revenues, according toUltraHD via Satellite, 3rd Edition from NSR.

While commercial UltraHD channels in East Asia have been available for over a year, the new format expands its geographic reach on linear TV platforms. By next year, almost all regions worldwide will have UltraHD channels available, and even developing regions see content by the end of the decade. Furthermore, the plunging price of 4K TV sets accelerates interest and demand in the new format, setting 4K TV penetration rates to rise faster than the initial introduction of HD TVs.

“Given the exponential increases we’ve seen on 4K TV shipments, introducing UltraHD channels and packages is a key strategy to retain and grow pay TV subscriber bases in an increasingly competitive environment. Additionally, this is a vital competitive response to OTT platforms’ ever expanding online content catalogues,” explained Alan Crisp, NSR Analyst and report author.

“While in the short-term DTH, cable TV and IPTV platforms will offer UltraHD for ‘free’ with existing premium channel bundles, longer term UltraHD will achieve higher revenue streams generated by increasing ARPUs and subscriber levels.”

Although UltraHD remains a small component of the video market, with around 1% of overall channel counts, the impact to the bottom line of pay TV platforms and satellite operators alike is disproportionately large, through both direct and indirect returns. Short term ROI challenges remain for broadcasters; however, longer term, UltraHD is expected to pay dividends to pay TV providers and will form a critical component of most platforms by 2025. Those without it will be viewed the same way SD-only platforms are viewed in the market today.

Al Jazeera to cut 500 staff

Al Jazeera Media Network says it’s to reduce its workforce as part of what it describes as an “optimisation initiative”.

500 positions will be withdrawn around the world, principally at the broadcaster’s headquarters in Qatar.

“Over the past few months, we have carefully evaluated every option available to the Network in order to ensure that we are best positioned in light of the large-scale changes under way in the global media landscape,” said Mostefa Souag, the acting director general of the Network.

“While our decision is consistent with those being made across the media industry worldwide, it was difficult to make nonetheless. However, we are confident it is the right step to ensure the Network’s long-term competitiveness and reach.”

Earlier this year Al Jazeera said it would close its US channel at the end of April, instead developing its international digital services into the market.

Gazprom Media buys NMG stake

Gazprom Media has acquired an additional 7.5% stake in National Media Group (NMG), Russia’s largest media holding.

Kommersant reports that the vendor was Gennady Timchenko and the deal worth R11.12 billion (€144.9 million), with NMG’s total value estimated at R148.26 billion.

The latter figure is three times the holding’s R48.53 billion valuation in 2013, when Timchenko, one of the owners of the Rossiya bank, acquired the 7.5% stake from RTL Group as part of a deal involving Ren TV.

Gazprom Media is owned by Gazprombank, which lists Gazprom as one of its shareholders.

Meanwhile, NMG was formed in 2008 by the combined media assets of Rossiya, Severstal, Surgutneftegaz and Sogaz.

Challenging times for Forthnet

Greece’s Forthnet suffered a 2.5% loss in pay-TV subscribers in 2015, ending the year with 494,643.

Meanwhile, its broadband subscriber total fell by 4.5% over the same period to 640,689.

Forthnet also saw a fall in the number of households receiving triple-play/bundled services, down by 4.7% to 346,322, while the percentage of households with triple-play/bundled services fell by 0.72 percentage points to 43.89%.

Forthnet’s revenues in 2015 amounted to €352,049,000 (-7%), while its reported and adjusted EBITDA were €48,225,000 (-18.8%) and €50,475,000 (-15.8%) respectively.

Commenting on the results, Forthnet’s CEO Panos Papadopoulos said: “In 2015, the circumstances in Greek economy led to a further decline in purchasing power, affecting negatively the retail sector. In such an economic environment, we maintained a conservative commercial approach that is reflected in the financial results of the company. For the current year, we will emphasise even more on improving customers experience, through innovative on demand services in pay-TV, fully utilising our new generation decoders”.