Turkey’s long-awaited digital platform is set to launch at the end of this month. But the collapse of the partnership between its two principal backers and the failure to secure key programming signals problems ahead…

The partnership behind Turkey’s long-awaited, soon to launch digital platform, now called DigiTurk, is close to collapse.

“The situation in Turkey is very fluid, and I can easily see a situation where there will be two rival digital platforms. It really is a mess,” says a source close to the Turkish broadcasting scene. It is clear that the once solid relationship between Cukurova Holdings and Dogan Media Holdings is over. The two players, at one time the cornerstones of DijiTurk, as the platform, is now known, have failed to come to an agreement on how the service should be run.

This corporate break up will not however further delay or affect the ‘soft launch’ due to take place on March 27 of DijiTurk’s pay-TV bouquet, and many channels are already testing services from Eutelsat’s W3 craft, at 7 degrees East. These show a range of promos and test broadcasts, with promises of PPV channels and radio stations, and a few extra test cards on transponder frequencies 11492 V, 11534 V, 11575 V, 11617 V and 11658 V in MPEG-2/CryptoWorks, SR 30000, FEC 3/4. Many channels are in the clear at times, reportedly with most music channels as well as a wide range of radio channels unencrypted for the moment. On various channels an EPG test signal is also provided.

Ertam Ozerdem, DigiTurk’s general manager, says that Cukurova will go ahead on its own with the project, although he said the platform welcomed further discussions with Dogan, as well as another rival broadcaster Star TV. Meanwhile, he confirmed the decision to use Philips set-top boxes and Philips’ Cryptoworks conditional access meant that boxes are now rolling into the market, and cellular operator Turkcell (a Cukurova sister company) will be seeding the market with 100,000 set-top boxes, distributed free of charge to Turkcell’s high-volume cellular clients.

“DigiTurk is connecting up these subscribers homes and we expect them to create a good word-of-mouth, which tied in with advertising will take us towards our targets,”says Ozerdem.

Ozerdem admits that football is key to the company’s plans. “If we are successful in bringing Turkish soccer onto the platform, it will take us towards our target of one million subscribers by the end of 2001,” he says. The absence of live Turkish soccer, he says, will mean “less sales.” However, it seems likely that DijiTurk will be launching without the benefit of some key broadcast channels, not least Star TV’s exclusive access to Turkish soccer. Also in doubt are all three Turner Broadcasting channels, including CNN-Turk, itself a joint venture between Turner and Dogan. According to an inside source, in addition to loyalty to Dogan, Turner also has contractual obligations to honour. Other international channels are said to be reviewing their positions. Some broadcasters are said to have options to withdraw if the March 31 launch date is not met. The original DijiTurk plan called for Cukurova Holdings and Dogan Media Holdings to launch an impressive European-style digital bouquet to the potentially huge Turkish-speaking audience, estimated to be as many as 100 million people when expatriates in other regions and other Turkish-speaking countries in Central Asia are included.

Cukurova’s investments in Turkey include the country’s most successful cellular phone operator Turkcell (in partnership with bankers Yapi Kredi). It also owns the country’s major ISP Superonline, which according to Salomon Smith Barney has some 38 per cent of the Turkish on-line market.

Dogan, which was initially the junior partner in DijiTurk, is the publisher of the Hurriyet and Milliyet mass-market newspapers (the first and third best-selling in the market). Dogan is also involved in five TV channels and three radio stations. Last October it launched CNN-Turk, a joint-venture with CNN, and only CNN’s second local language spin-off channel (the first is CNN+ in Spain). The October launch of CNN-Turk was itself delayed by a month because of the two Turkish earthquakes last year.

The third would-be digital player in Turkey is the Star Group, publisher of the Star newspaper and backer of the Star/Interstar channels, themselves well-known to a Europe-wide audience. Most importantly, Star is sitting on an exclusive three-year contract covering access to Turkish soccer rights, which it is keen to exploit for their PPV and premium broadcast value.

“Star’s channels are not part of our bouquet, nor are their signals going to be seen by our subscribers,” admits Ozerdem. “We are open to discussions, of course, and perhaps we will see progress once we start transmissions. Anything can happen. At the moment Star has soccer, which is very expensive content, and the number of subscribers who will pay high prices for sports is very limited. Besides there are viewers who want more than just football, and we have other sports.”

Subscription prices for the bouquet (which includes a claimed 30 basic channels, two premium channels and six PPV services) will be announced on March 27. According to DijiTurk, the package “will be highly competitive.” DijiTurk says it will have boosted the number of services to about 65 channels by September.