Premiere: 80,000 HDTV subs

[BGonaSTICK]

German pay-TV operator Premiere has boosted subscriber numbers for its high definition TV channels to more than 80,000.

At the end of March 2007, the figure for both HDTV channels Premiere HD and Discovery HD lay at almost 70,000 – up from 60,000 at the end of 2006. Altogether, Premiere currently has more than 3.5 million subscribers.

The Munich-based company hopes that further broadcasters will offer their channels in the new technology. “We can’t develop the HDTV market in Germany alone,” said Hans Seger, chief programme officer at Premiere. According to consumer electronics industry association gfu, there will be more than 6 million HD Ready television sets in German households by year end. “The technical preconditions are there - now further broadcasters need to follow suit and invest in HDTV,” explained Seger.

Premiere HD and Discovery HD are distributed to DTH households on Astra (19.2° East) as well as on the cable networks of Kabel Deutschland, Kabel BW and smaller operators such as wilhelm.tel and EWT. Germany’s third-largest cable company Unitymedia is currently preparing to commence carriage of Premiere HD. Both HDTV channels are also available via VDSL on Deutsche Telekom’s IPTV platform.

Source: World Media