StarLightMedia is ready to encode channels from 1 January 2016

During the conference PayTV in Ukraine, held within the framework of the V international mediaforum KYIV MEDIA WEEK, Vladimir Borodyanskyi, the head of StarLightMedia, said that he is ready to make FTA channels being paid for. At least on DTH, if not on DTT – the last one is impossible as DTT-channels should be open. 

Borodyanskyi was frustrated because of the reaction of Viasat representatives as they did not want to be in talks without the participation of Zeonbud, the national DTT platform operator. But suddenly Oksana Ferchuk, Viasat managing director, agreed to consider the possibility of coding the signal.

As things stand at the moment it is obvious that all four media groups – not only StarLightMedia – would want to make their free-to-air channels paid: the Universal Programme Service still has too many channels included, content production costs keep on rising and the advertising market is falling deeper. The viewers would still watch channels of the Big Four, as they are very popular. But how much? And how to make channels paid and still have them free-to-air on DTT?

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