Published:
27-May-08
The Ukraine is to get a third satellite pay TV platform with the next few weeks with the planned launch by local TV group Poverhnost. Called Poverhnost Plus, the service will join Viasat, the satellite service from Sweden's Modern Times Group that launched two months ago and Russia's NTV+, which has operated in the Ukraine for the last year and a half. Poverhnost will also launch its own premium sport and HD channels among a package of 60 priced at UAH100 (€13.50) a month. The company says it will add 15 more channels in the near future (without increasing the price), and in the long run also divide its offerings into tiers.
Sport will be a key driver for the platform. Poverhnost holds exclusive rights to broadcast in Ukraine a number of sport competitions, including European football premier leagues (English, Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese), Brazilian football league, and European Champions League. In addition to Eurosport and Eurosport 2, Poverhnost will offer four own-produced SD and one HD sports channel at launch. This will be boosted with an additional HD sports channel later. The company will use HD Homecast 5001 IR set top boxes, available for about $250, with Irdeto conditional access. Additional set-top suppliers will be added shortly. Poverhnost says it aims to get 400,000 subscribers within two years.
Our take...
Although launched as the last of the three satellite platforms in the Ukraine, locally-backed Poverhnost will likely give the established players a run for their money. With its strong hold on sports content and plans for sport in HD, the platform is likely to prove attractive for the middle market and as such will compete most directly with NTV+
NTV+'s offerings start from UAH107 (€14) for 44 channels and UAH150 (€20) for a 63-channel pack. Premium packages cost about UAH60 extra (for example for five sport channels). Access to the pay TV tiers can cost as much as UAH120 making the NTV+ package much more expensive than Poverhnost. NTV+ does boast a wider movie offering, but it remains to be seen how long this advantage will last given the already-announced expansion plans of Poverhnost. The Ukraine is following other Eastern European markets in the rapid expansion of its satellite TV market. Three or more different pay TV satellite operators now seems to be the norm rather than the exception in this part of the World with some markets, notably Romania, having as many as five operators. Consolidation or significant wastage within this space seems a foregone conclusion within the coming years.
Ukraine,
