[Satellite News 11-17-09] Marcus Englert, director of new media and diversification at ProSiebenSat.1, believes that the German consumer broadcast market is now ready for HD.
    ProSiebenSat.1 Media, one of Germany’s top broadcasters, announced in July that three of its channels, Sat.1, ProSieben and kabel eins will be broadcast in HD via HD Plus’s new HD+ service from January 2010. The HD+ service itself launched at the beginning of this month in Germany in a big new TV initiative in one of Europe’s biggest markets. HD Plus is a subsidiary of SES Astra.
    In an interview with Satellite News, Englert said that the HD+ service comes at just the right time for the company. “Through HD content, TV is once again proving its worth as the number one entertainment medium. We see our HD undertaking as an initiative for the further development of the medium of TV. There are now over 17 million HD-ready flat screen TVs in households (in Germany) so that the audience can fully enjoy our HD content. For us, HD is a strategic issue, but in connection with the HD+ platform and therefore in encrypted form in order to protect our content against abuse,” he said.
   In terms of how he views the demand for HD content in Germany, Englert added, “The audience has already created the infrastructure with their HD-ready TVs, now they want HD content. We will give them this with our future service. From January 2010 we will be showing programmes such as Raab-Events, the Sat.1 Friday Show, Germany’s Next Top Model, Popstars as well as various blockbusters and series in real HD – including ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, ‘The Mentalist’, ‘Desperate Housewives’ and many more. The amount of HD programmes will be continually increased.”
     It could also look to launch other HD channels in the near future, thus increasing its demands for satellite capacity, according to Englert. “We are following the market very closely. It is quite conceivable that in the foreseeable future we will launch a new pay-TV channel that exclusively offers HD programs,” he said.
     The broadcaster’s link-up with SES Astra is its first major step into the HD world in Germany. “HD+ opens up a new market for us. To be able to offer our three channels ProSieben, Sat.1 and kabel eins in HD+ is a milestone in the technology and quality that we offer our viewers. With the broadcasting of our group’s programmes in HD quality, we are further advancing digitalization in Germany. Now is the time to produce more content for this standard,” says Englert.
    Germany, which has a population of over 80 million people, has not been setting the pace in terms of the take-up of digital TV and HDTV, but things could be about to change. “HDTV is becoming increasingly significant. The strong sales of HD-ready TVs shows how high audience interest is for HD. In 2008 alone over five million sets were sold. This underlines how high the potential demand for high definition services is. For us, HD is an investment for the future. We are investing millions in order to make HDTV even more attractive for our audience and advertizers. HD+ offers unique television quality with brilliant pictures and fantastic sound. In other words: a cinema in your own home. And that is the decisive factor,” said Englert.
    The launch of HD+ is a significant launch in the German digital TV market. In terms of a forecast of how HD+ will do in its first year, Wilfried Urner, CEO of HD Plus told Satellite News, “We will not make a forecast ourselves on this topic. However, we are in close contact with manufacturers and retailers. According to their estimates, the sale of HD+ receivers will in any case be a six-digit number in 2010.”
    Urner believes that Germany very much represents the classic “Chicken and the egg” situation as regards the take-up of HDTV. “The major challenge in Germany is primarily to ensure digital reception for households. It has been a chicken and egg issue in Germany for years. There was no HD content because there was a lack of HD-ready devices in the households, and there were no HD-ready devices because there was no HD content. Only after the viewers had invested in suitable devices did the HD content drag behind. This is the basis for more offerings, be it encrypted or unencrypted, free-TV or pay-TV,” he said.
    In terms of how the service will be sold to households in Germany, “HD+ will be marketed mainly via the distribution channels for HD+ receivers. The receivers will be delivered with a HD+ card. After the installation of the receiver, the viewer will receive all HD+ programmes. All manufacturers can launch satellite receivers which are suitable for HD+ and thus participate in an attractive growth segment. It is up to the manufacturers how they will market their devices,” said Urner.
    Andreas Bereczky, executive vice president, production, ZDF, another of Germany’s top broadcasters also recently told Satellite News that it was time for Germany’s top broadcasters to full embrace HD. “We believe it is the right time to start. The investment in HD equipment makes more sense today than it did few years ago. The price of broadcasting technology is coming down. On the other hand, ZDF has to reinvest anyway in central broadcasting production facilities like play out, OBI vans and so on.  It makes sense to invest in future technology like HD. Also HD will boost the analog digital switch over and will help us to switch off the analog satellite signal in near future. This would save us a significant part of our satellite distribution costs,” he said.