Kartina TV expands coverage with SES
September 30, 2019
By Chris Forrester
Russian-language broadcaster and OTT content packager Kartina TV is to increase its reach with FTV capacity on SES from its 19.2 degrees east position.
Kartina TV will be broadcasting a tailored bouquet of Russian-language TV channels across Western Europe as they aim to increase the number of viewers watching their content. The content, which soon will be available on a new free-to-view but encrypted (using Verimatrix) DTH platform on the ASTRA 1N satellite at 19.2 degrees East. The bouquet will also continue to be available over IP.
One of the leading pay-TV operators in Europe and the US for Russian-language programming, Kartina TV caters to the Russian-speaking diaspora who can access Russian-language content via OTT set-up boxes and apps.
“As OTT content providers, we want to be delivering content to everyone, but there are limitations when it comes to terrestrial networks. By combining our offering with satellite, we will be able to broadcast channels for viewers who have limited broadband connectivity, and open up a new market for Kartina,” said Oleg Jecov, Head of Kartina’s TV satellite project.
Håkan Sjödin, VP/Sales Nordic, Baltic and Eastern Europe at SES Video, said, “At SES, we increasingly see how OTT players are keen to expand their markets by leveraging the superpower of satellite – reach. This deal with Kartina TV is an example of that, and sets a new standard for OTT platforms in expanding the reach, viewership and value of multi-genre content. Given SES’s leading satellite broadcasting position in Europe, we are in a unique position to support Kartina TV with its new strategy to work with satellite distribution to expand their business by offering multi-genre, free-to-view Russian package in Europe via satellite.”
The Verimatrix encrypted FTV platform will eventually carry around 30-40 SD Channels in HEVC encoding and is available for users who have a dedicated 4K / UHD HDR Android-based hybrid cardless STB with categorized lists of FTA channels and extended EPG support.
The Kartina service has been some time coming onto satellite. Kartina TV has been supplying its Russian-language channels for about 10 years over IP from its European base in Wiesbaden, Germany. The SES satellite relationship service was first discussed earlier this year, with a service introduction promised for April 1st.
Kartina is taking an initial single transponder with SES, and is anticipating boosting its existing subscriber numbers beyond Germany into France and Spain where Astra’s 19.2 degrees East signals dominate. Subscribers will need the new set-top hybrid box which retails at about €169 and handles both satellite signals and OTT connectivity. There will be an initial 20 channels on the bouquet growing to 35 says SES.