ITALIAN FREESAT.

As we reported some months ago on this blog we suggested at that time
other European broadcasters may follow the lead of BBC/ITV with the
Freesat platform model, it looks as if we may have been correct.

Italian commercial network Mediaset has begun talks with public broadcaster RAI over plans to run a free digital satellite offer that would complement the existing DTT packages.

The Italian ‘freesat’ would use the Eutelsat Hot Bird neighbourhood at 13 degrees East where the two broadcasters channels have been relayed for many years. Both sets of channels, including RAI Uno, RAI Due, Rete 4 and Canale 5 are broadcast in the clear.

News of the talks follows the collapse of negotiations between Mediaset and Sky Italia over the sale of movie rights.

***

Speaking at the Czech Association of Competitive Communications (CACC) conference in Prague last week, Martin Kubacki, MD, Astra CEE, said it was looking increasingly likely that the Polish public broadcaster TVP would launch a ‘Freesat-style’ DTH platform in Poland later this year.

Story courtesy of;

Julian Clover.