Germany: “just not enough digital”
October 14, 2010
By Chris Forrester
At this year’s Media Days event in Munich, where Germany’s broadcasters gather, the industry complained that Germany is suffering from a lack of digital households. For example, Sky Deutschland CEO Brian Sullivan said Germany was ranking last in the EU regarding the conversion from analogue to digital, with cable operators being extremely slow to digitise their circuits. .
SES Astra CEO Ferdinand Kayser stated that satellite was the exception and “the champion for the digitalisation process” already with a digitalisation rate of 80 per cent in Germany. 100 per cent was envisaged for April 2012.
Sky Deutschland used the Munich event to unveil its 3D channel. Sullivan presented the new channel together with Georg Fahrenschon, Bavaria’s Minister of Finance, and Wolf-Dieter Ring, President of the Bavarian Regulatory Authority for commercial broadcasting (BLM), at the Munich Media Days. Sports, documentaries and movies as well as concerts will be available on the channel, announced Sullivan.