[Satellite News 12-03-10] Austrian utility company Bewag Group expects to double the subscriber base of its Total TV DTH platform in Croatia over the next 12 months, Bewag Group Management Board Member Christian Kurz told Satellite News.
    Bewag Group, which also owns and runs the B-net cable operation in Croatia, is setting its sights on turning around the fortunes of Total TV, striking a deal with Mid-Europa Partners earlier this week to take over its management.
    Bewag Group still has not made an equity investment in the regional service provider. “This deal is purely about its DTH operation in Croatia. The Total TV DTH operation only has 6,000 subscribers, and we will double that in a year,” said Kurz. “The investment climate — because of the financial crisis — has changed quite dramatically. Our core business is still our cable business, and that still needs a lot of investment, so if there is a way we can have all the benefits of a nationwide footprint without tying up too much capital expenditure, that would be our first choice. … We certainly have all the options as regards taking an equity stake, but right now, it is not on the cards.”
    Kurz acknowledged that there is a lot of work ahead to establish a valuable target market in Croatia. “There is a switchover taking place in Croatia from analog terrestrial to digital terrestrial, which has left a lot of customers out in the open. Not all the customers have made their digital choices. I think there are quite a few customers available for our DTH offering, and the rural areas of Croatia still have a large terrestrial population. We believe that with a fairly attractive offer, we can bring them to our service.”
    The company already has a strong position in the Croatian communications and pay-TV markets, with B-net being one of the top cable operator’s in the country. B-net will take over management for Top Up TV, which will begin deploying advanced services soon, said Kurz. “We have HD PVRs on our cable footprint. We certainly want to align our DTH footprint with that and align services between cable and satellite. We will certainly try and make this happen in the near future.” 
   Kurz says the operator’s comfortable position puts them in no rush to find other investments in the region. “We are working hard, and we have our plate full with making our Croatian operation successful. We are limiting ourselves to Croatia at the moment. Croatia is a good market for pay-TV, and it still has potential to catch-up with other nations in the region as well as other EU countries. We see a steady growth, and we think the market will adjust to that. We hope to be able to realize this potential.”