NDS has announced an agreement with Vision TV, a DTH satellite pay-TV operator based in Kiev, to provide the company with its VideoGuard conditional access and MediaHighway middleware, as well as an electronic programme guide. Vision TV is the first operator to be awarded a license by the Ukrainian government for DTH broadcasting, writes Fergal Ringrose.
The platform includes the latest generation MPEG 4 compression via satellite. It also offers the flexibility for the introduction of future enhancements and technology across all of Ukraine. Vision TV will enable viewers to browse multiple high quality TV channels through a dynamic on-screen TV guide offering more choice and better quality at the touch of a button.
“There are currently about 17 million TV households in Ukraine,” said Richard Caproni, general director of Vision TV. “Of this total there are currently less than 3 million cable subscribers, about 20% of whom are in Kiev. Our long-term strategy is to establish ourselves as the market leader for digital pay-TV services to everyone in Ukraine.”
“We chose NDS as the CA provider because of the company’s proven track record of quality and security,” Caproni says. “Ukrainian pay-TV has a history of piracy and we feel that NDS offers the best solutions to protect our business.”
Vision TV is supplementing NDS VideoGuard conditional access with NDS MediaHighway middleware and the NDS EPG. “We want to ensure that we can evolve with our market and easily roll out additional services in the future such as a DVR, pay-per-view, video on demand, and high definition.”
Vision TV will offer a variety of affordable packages with premium content available in Russian and Ukrainian languages. “We believe this strategy will prove to be the key to making pay-TV a mass-market service in Ukraine,” Caproni said.
“We are delighted to be working with Vision TV,” said Jeremy Maddocks, NDS regional director, Russia, CIS, Central & Eastern Europe. “Most analysts think Ukraine is ready for mass market digital pay-TV. Vision TV has the capability to transform the face of television across the country, and NDS is ready to help make this vision a reality.”
