[Satellite News 11-22-11] Deutsche Telekom (DT) launched its satellite TV offering Entertain Sat at the beginning of September and reached 50,000 subscribers by the end of the month. With such strong early take-up, DT now considers Entertain Sat a key part of its video strategy in Germany, according to Telekom Deutschland Head of Marketing Christian Illek.

   Telekom Deutschland is the German wing of DT, and Illek, the executive responsible for implementing DT’s video strategy in Germany, said his company wants to enjoy the same success with satellite as it has with its IPTV service, which currently has more than 1.3 million subscribers.

   “Starting in September, Entertain has been available via satellite and therefore to more than 75 percent of all households in Germany. With our satellite package, we want to reach new customer groups and enable even more people to experience our great TV service. Our potential customers are the 16 million households throughout the country that rely on satellite television,” Illek told Satellite News.

   While DT has a strong presence throughout Germany in both the fixed and wireless markets, the company, like many telcos, has begun to see the benefits of using satellite. It is following a similar path as Orange in France, which has leveraged the benefits of using satellite to reach into its own target markets in Germany. Illek said DT’s satellite plans fit in with its communications strategy.

   “Satellite is an efficient and well-established technology for providing a high-quality linear TV signal, but it doesn’t allow for any interactivity. DSL/VDSL and wireless technologies are complementary here. We see the strength of wireless technology, especially when we talk about mobile services. We believe in the advantages of cable for home-zones. In areas where high-speed Internet connections are not available, the mix of satellite for TV services and Internet for interactivity is an optimal solution,” Illek said.

   DT is a flagship customer of SES, which has made no secret of its desire to do more deals with telcos. The deal with SES enabled DT to distribute Entertain Sat throughout Germany. “We are now able to offer more than 270 TV and 170 radio stations via SES’ Astra, including HD Plus channels,” said Illek. “The HD Plus card needed to receive HD Plus programs, which come with the Entertain Sat package and are free of charge for the first year. Together with the interactive convenience functions via the Internet, this creates a very attractive proposition for the customer.”

   Germany, one of Europe’s biggest TV markets, features unique, dynamic trends in digital and pay-TV, but the country’s transition to digital has been slow. With strong free-to-air (FTA) offerings widely available to German households, the road to a strong, vibrant pay-TV landscape has been far from smooth. Satellite’s role also has played an intriguing role in the market, with Sky Deutschland having a rocky path during the last few years. But in its latest results, Sky Deutschland announced that it had close to 2.8 million subscribers, and appeared in better shape than it has been in a long while.

   Illek believes satellite will continue to have a growing presence in Germany. “Germany has a highly competitive TV market which is dominated by the cable network providers. But this is changing. On the one hand, cable TV is losing customers continuously and, on the other hand, satellite and IPTV are growing. We want to influence this development and are working on two strategic moves.”

   The first, according to Illek, is the extension of coverage for DT’s products. “Entertain as an IPTV product is available for 20 million households in Germany. Now, with Entertain Sat, we reach 30 million households. The second is to differentiate Entertain from competitors and make the customer understand the advantages of IPTV. We recognize that customers do not understand all the possibilities that Entertain provides.”

   With Entertain Sat making early progress, DT hopes to continue strengthening its investment in 2012, however, Illek explained that the company is not prioritizing IPTV over a hybrid satellite product or vice versa. “We are working on improving our hybrid set-top box as well as the IPTV set-top box. And we will ensure that investments in our TV services are available on both platforms.”

   Given its ubiquitous presence in the German communications and video market, the operator also will look to make sure its video offerings are available to customers on different devices. Illek identifies great potential in TV services for smartphones and tablet PCs. “It is part of our strategy to offer integrated solutions for multi-devices. Liga Total, our Bundesliga [professional soccer broadcasting] service, is already available via smartphone and TV, and our customers can watch every match of the German football league live via Entertain and mobile Internet. The delivery infrastructures for mobile services are mobile technologies like UMTS. Above all, the new mobile high-speed network is LTE, with download bandwidths of up to 100 megabits-per-second.”