TV Cabo to launch VOD and HDTV services
May 14, 2008
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Portuguese pay-TV operator TV Cabo plans to launch new services for its cable and satellite subscribers such as VOD and HDTV, in a response to rival service Meo IPTV from Portugal Telecom.
According to the head of marketing of Zon Multimédia (owner of TV Cabo), LuÃs Lopes, the pay-TV operator will introduce video on demand and new interactive interfaces, as well as a new 250 GB HDTV-compatible digital box, permitting up to 200 hours of digital recording. He added that the new digital boxes will be available by the end of May. Although the monthly lease of the boxes has not yet been defined, it is likely to be around E5 a month.
The VOD service will rely on the content provided by Lusomundo, an audiovisual company owned by Zon Multimédia. Lopes also confirmed that TV Cabo is currently in negotiations with the Portuguese TV rights owners for the Euro 2008 (TVI and SporTV), in order to transmit the event in HDTV, on the lines of a similar agreement signed by Portugal Telecom.