Ідея для нового телебачення НУ.
07/23/2002 | Kostya Poroh
Кабель. 500,000 передплатників у Києві. З них можна і почати.
Cable TV company explains CNN yank
By Roman Olearchyk, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Many cable television subscribers in Kyiv have been left to wonder why premium channels CNN and Fashion TV have suddenly disappeared from their screens without warning.
According to Volia cable company, a near‑monopoly operator in Kyiv with control of more than 80 percent of the market, the cut‑off is permanent and part of the firm’s new business strategy.
Volia’s cutoffs came ahead of the launching of a new, considerably more expensive digital‑based cable TV network and were part of a ploy designed to get clients to upgrade from their existing analog‑based services.
Subscribers who opt for the expensive Volia Premium TV digital package will get access to a plethora of additional premium channels in addition to CNN and the other channels they lost, according to Volia Vice President Richard Caproni. Caproni said subscribers willing to upgrade to the premium for a fee ranging from $8 to $12 per month and willing to purchase a set‑top box for $160 to $200, will gain access to up to 18 premium international channels, many of which will be available in both English and Russian.
Caproni said the move to pull popular international channels from the firm’s basic services was part of the plan all along.
“We carried a few premium channels in our packages before this as promotion before the arrival of digital. Now that digital has arrived, we are going to provide them only to subscribers of premium packages,” Caproni said.
He said the new premium package will include popular channels such as Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Eurosport, Reality TV and MTV, plus adult channels.
“We have implemented the first digital TV project in the former Soviet Union,” Caproni said. “In order to provide customers a choice, we have developed this digital technology.”
Meanwhile, subscribers who don’t upgrade to digital will continue to pay Hr 4 or Hr 6.50 per month for a basic analog package consisting of Ukrainian channels and Russia’s ORT International. Most subscribers will also continue to get BBC.
Caproni said the premium packages are now available in a majority of Volia’s Kyiv TV networks and will be offered to more than 90 percent of its clients by the end of August. He also said the company will launch a full‑blown marketing campaign for the new services in September.
“In the beginning there was one package with a limited amount of channels,” Caproni said. “Now, as a result of digital technology, which has a larger bandwidth capacity, more channels will be made available.”
Volia, which has just over 520,000 subscribers, also operates a broadband cable and Internet network in a few parts of Kyiv for a fee of from $48 to $60 per month.
Volia claims to have invested more than $30 million into the acquisition, modernization and management of its cable TV business in Kyiv. The company was launched and is managed by equity investment firm SigmaBleyzer.
Cable TV company explains CNN yank
By Roman Olearchyk, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Many cable television subscribers in Kyiv have been left to wonder why premium channels CNN and Fashion TV have suddenly disappeared from their screens without warning.
According to Volia cable company, a near‑monopoly operator in Kyiv with control of more than 80 percent of the market, the cut‑off is permanent and part of the firm’s new business strategy.
Volia’s cutoffs came ahead of the launching of a new, considerably more expensive digital‑based cable TV network and were part of a ploy designed to get clients to upgrade from their existing analog‑based services.
Subscribers who opt for the expensive Volia Premium TV digital package will get access to a plethora of additional premium channels in addition to CNN and the other channels they lost, according to Volia Vice President Richard Caproni. Caproni said subscribers willing to upgrade to the premium for a fee ranging from $8 to $12 per month and willing to purchase a set‑top box for $160 to $200, will gain access to up to 18 premium international channels, many of which will be available in both English and Russian.
Caproni said the move to pull popular international channels from the firm’s basic services was part of the plan all along.
“We carried a few premium channels in our packages before this as promotion before the arrival of digital. Now that digital has arrived, we are going to provide them only to subscribers of premium packages,” Caproni said.
He said the new premium package will include popular channels such as Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Eurosport, Reality TV and MTV, plus adult channels.
“We have implemented the first digital TV project in the former Soviet Union,” Caproni said. “In order to provide customers a choice, we have developed this digital technology.”
Meanwhile, subscribers who don’t upgrade to digital will continue to pay Hr 4 or Hr 6.50 per month for a basic analog package consisting of Ukrainian channels and Russia’s ORT International. Most subscribers will also continue to get BBC.
Caproni said the premium packages are now available in a majority of Volia’s Kyiv TV networks and will be offered to more than 90 percent of its clients by the end of August. He also said the company will launch a full‑blown marketing campaign for the new services in September.
“In the beginning there was one package with a limited amount of channels,” Caproni said. “Now, as a result of digital technology, which has a larger bandwidth capacity, more channels will be made available.”
Volia, which has just over 520,000 subscribers, also operates a broadband cable and Internet network in a few parts of Kyiv for a fee of from $48 to $60 per month.
Volia claims to have invested more than $30 million into the acquisition, modernization and management of its cable TV business in Kyiv. The company was launched and is managed by equity investment firm SigmaBleyzer.