German cable operator PrimaCom has confirmed it will file for insolvency protection, after its shareholders failed to come to an agreement with creditors regarding repayment of a E29.2 million loan. Following rejection of a repayment proposal by creditors, PrimaCom's shareholders have said they are no longer willing to negotiate and therefore the board will prepare […]

From David del Valle in Madrid In an unprecedented deal, Prisa-owned premium pay-TV channel, Canal Plus will be available on a Spanish cable network the first time since its launch 20 years ago, following the agreement with Telecable, an Asturias-based cable operator with 150,000 subscribers. It will be the first time Canal Plus has been […]

German pay-TV group Sky Deutschland is extending its reach via cable, having secured co-distribution deals with two German cable network operators: Tele Columbus and Versatel Telekabel. The deals follow a similar agreement with NetCologne. Sky and the cable operators will jointly market and distribute Sky’s bouquet of pay channels directly to cable subscribers. Sky can […]

German cable operator PrimaCom has revealed it is facing insolvency after its creditors asked for E29.2 million to be repaid. The company's shareholders failed to meet a deadline to react to a proposal from the creditors, which resulted in the latter demanding immediate repayment of outstanding bills. The company has now been given until 4pm […]

From Colin Mann in Cologne Unity Media, Germany's second largest German cable TV operator is seeking new takeover targets to compete more effectively with dominant telco Deutsche Telecom. “We expect a consolidation in the market,” said, Gene Musselman, the new head of Unity Media, who is also a senior European manager for Unity Media parent […]

From Colin Mann in Cologne Manuel Kohnstamm, Managing Director, Public Policy and Communications at Liberty Global has revealed that the global cable operator's strategy moving forward is to concentrate on accelerating broadband cable's speed advantage over telco DSL and developing interactive digital television (iDTV) services. Recognising that the cable industry's success in rolling out high-speed […]

From Colin Mann in Cologne Investment in high-speed broadband networks should applauded, not punished, according to Thomas Braun, President of ANGA Association of Cable Operators. Delivering the welcome address at the opening of the ANGA Cable Trade Fair, Braun noted that although cable had perhaps been late in developing its networks, it had made great […]

From Colin Mann in Cologne German cable MSO Kabel BW has selected EuroDOCSIS 3.0 solutions from Motorola to offer personalised media experiences to customers in cities in the German federal state Baden-Wuerttemberg, with broadband speeds of currently up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps). Kabel BW currently has over 2.3 million customers The extended services […]

Yankee Group has identified a new category of consumer: the coax-cutter. These consumers cut off their pay TV services and use their PCs, gaming consoles and other connected devices to access video programming instead. One in eight consumers are set to join their ranks in the next 12 months. Yankee Group reports that the number […]

German regional cable operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has announced its key performance indicators (KPIs) for the year ended 31 March 2010, reporting a 3.6 per cent year-on-year rise in total revenue generating units (RGUs) to 12.048 million. However, total direct subscribers fell to 7.47 million, down by 33,000 from the previous year primarily due to […]