TivùSat: 150,000 viewers, new channels planned
February 17, 2010
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Italy's DTH platform TivùSat has surpassed the figure of 150,000 active users in mid-February, while maintaining a trend of activation of 1,300 to 1,500 smartcards per day.
The total number of TivùSat smart cards ordered by decoder and TV set manufacturers has meanwhile risen to 790,000. At the same time, the channel offer has also expanded and now includes over 40 services, with Nuvolari and Deejay TV being the latest additions during January.
The three main shareholders of the platform, RAI, Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media, are planning new channels in the coming months.
RAI is likely to launch RAI 5 in March or April and is working on a second sports channel as well as a HD channel, in time for the World Cup in South Africa in June. Mediaset plans to unveil an all-news channel before the end of the year, a project that could cost some E30 to E40 million. Telecom Italia Media is considering the launch of a specialised channel (tentatively called La7D) devoted to the female audience, which could launch on TivùSat in the coming months.