Tigo has agreed to acquire Bolivian cable-TV provider Multivision for USD 20 million. Tigo Bolivia plans to launch a converged offering available from any smart device, according to Tigo CEO Pablo Guardia. Multivision currently provides pay-TV services in La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba and Tarija. Tigo plans to invest an additional USD 10 million to upgrade Multivision’s network and services offering.
Tag Archives: Cable TV
Mexico's Telmex Blocked from offering Pay-TV
A Mexican court has denied approval for Carlos Slim’s Telmex to offer television services on the local market, El Economista reports. The court’s decision means Telmex will have to resubmit an application to change its operating licence under the new administration of President Enrique Pena to include television, Reuters reports.
Telmex has unsuccessfully tried for years to enter the Mexican pay-TV market. Back in August 2012, Mexico’s Supreme Court declined to review a suit filed by Telmex against Mexico’s communications ministry. The decision sent the case back to a lower appeals court, the Seventh Collegiate Court in Administrative Matters, which has now confirmed as “legal” the Ministry of Communications’ decision to deny Carlos Slim’s company its license modification to include provision of pay-TV services.
Brazilian regulator approves new pay-TV regulations
Brazilian telecommunications sector regulator Anatel approved the law 12.485/2011 which was voted in Congress last year and unifies the rules for pay-TV in Brazil. The new law opens the market for telephone companies, reduces restrictions on foreign capital in the sector and establishes quotas for local content on pay-TV programming. According to Anatel, the regulation simplifies the procedure for awarding concessions to operators interested in providing services via cable.
According to agency director, Rodrigo Zerbone, from now on, companies that want authorisation to operate the service will pay a set fee and there is no need to go through a bidding process. As a result of the new rules, Anatel expects that the number of cable TV subscribers in Brazil will double over the next five years. Currently, this figure reaches 13.3 million. The estimated time for the release of new licenses is around 30 days after delivery of all documents required by the agency.
Telefonica launches TV Digital HD pay-TV service in Brazil
Brazilian operator Telefonica/Vivo has launched the Telefonica TV Digital HD pay-TV service in the State of Sao Paulo. The operator is providing four different types of packages: Fit HD, Flex HD, Premium HD and Full HD, with prices ranging from BRL 109.90 to BRL 199.90.
In addition to the 75 pay-TV channels in Standard Definition (SD), these packages now bring between 11 and 17 pay-TV channels in HD. Some of the HD channels include Globosat HD, Multishow HD, HBO HD, the Telecine HD channels, TNT HD, Fox/Nat Geo HD and Discovery HD Theater. The new packages also provide access to up to 15 free-to-air channels in HD, according to regional availability.
Peru Cable TV Market will Maintain 10% Growth
According to the General Manager of Telefónica Multimedia, José Miguel Gamero, the Cable TV market will maintain a growth of between 8% and 10% over the next few years.
He stated that there is an expectation for continued growth in cable TV customers nationwide as there is potential throughout the country.
He added that in order to sustain the growth, their company plans to deploy satellite service to reach areas where no network currently exists. He also believes that competition within this sector is not an issue in the same way that signal piracy that occurs in Lima and the provinces.
Referring to figures published by the National Institute of Statistics and Information (INEI), which establish there are between 1.4 million and 1.5 million homes in the country that currently have cable TV service. Whereas according to other official information about the market, there are only about 1 million households with a formal connection, suggesting that approximately 400,000 families obtain the service “informally”.
For its part, Telefónica has more than 690,000 customers for their Cable Magic product throughout the country, said Gamero.
Telefónica Multimedia announced today that it is preparing to deliver 3D content via its digital platform with next generation set-top boxes starting in the first quarter of 2011.
He stressed that in recent years the company has invested more than 10 million dollars into improvements and modernization of its high definition digital platform.
The company also introduced its new digital programming guide, which can be accessed by the more than 250 thousand digital and satellite service clients, providing programming access in a modern way.
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