Digital TV Central and Eastern Europe '07

Speed Networking: A chance to get to know your peers before the start of the conference and set a relaxed and informal atmosphere

Central and Eastern Europe is the hottest TV region in the world. CME is growing faster than most of its peers in so-called advanced TV markets such as Western Europe. So what next for CME?

• How quickly will each country convert to digital?
• Which platform will be the most successful?
• How will subscription and VOD revenues grow?

HBO is the most established pay TV player in Central and Eastern Europe. So how has it achieved this success? How important are local partners to this highly-respected international brand? What are the next moves for this ambitious company?

Many companies from mature TV markets are looking at Central and Eastern Europe for high-growth investment opportunities. So how is this best achieved? Do they need a local partner? Can they apply the same methods and reasoning across all territories? How do they protect their assets?

• Current business developments for bTV
• The legal framework in Bulgaria regarding digital TV
• btv plans for digital development in the future

How do you enter a crowded market when you are the last one? Where to look for your competitors weakness or how to defend yourself if you are an established player. Where to look for possible threats from potential newcomers.

Companies from outside the region are not the only ones to benefit from the surge in interest in Central and Eastern Europe. Several local players have used their local knowledge and contacts to build up significant media power houses. Mergers and acquisitions have seen a lot of consolidation in recent years. How have these players emerged and can they retain their strongholds as outside companies vie for a piece of the action?

With so many potential partners appearing, content owners have to stay on their toes to assess the viability of each new opportunity. Balancing a pan-regional strategy with local nuances is a task only for the most skillful jugglers. How do they do it and how do they profit from it?

• Satellite distribution: perfect means for digitalization process across Europe and CEE region in particular
• Astra activities on the field of digitalisation and technology innovation across Europe and CEE

Each market is different, with a new set of partners and varying audience tastes and wallets. So which is the best approach to take in dealing with this? Can a pan-regional philosophy be adapted for local tastes? Has EU membership resulted in greater harmony?

Despite impressive recent wins against the pirates, copyright abuse is still a massive problem in the region and still a considerable illegal export sector. So how can the content owners continue to improve the copyright sovereignty of their assets? Is shortening release windows one way to win? Can consumers and operators afford expensive DRM and conditional access equipment?

Speed Networking: A chance to get to know your peers before the start of the conference and set a relaxed and informal atmosphere

Central and Eastern Europe provides a wonderful opportunity for IPTV as the cable sector has yet to upgrade all of its networks. Many of the local telcos have been acquired by deep-pocketed foreign players who are keen to profit from their investments by offering bundled services that will raise ARPU. Do the telcos expect to make money from IPTV or is it more of a loss leader to increase customer loyalty?

Telefonica is another multinational corporation to make inroads into the region's TV and telecoms marketplace. What has been the approach that this huge company has taken in the fast expanding Czech Republic?

Cable has been long established in several territories, but much of it remains analog, offering very basic and cheap services. The sector has seen an incredible amount of consolidation in recent years, with investors keen to improve services as soon as possible - especially given the growing threat from IPTV. In the digital TV stakes, IPTV is now bigger than many local cable operators' digital services. How confident are cable operators that consumers are willing to spend more on advanced triple or quad play services?

As IPTV and cable platforms offer similar bundled packages, what are the techniques they can use to win new customers and retain old ones? Is it all about price or can anything else work? Do subsidies work in gaining new homes?

As the battle for consumers intensifies what else can platforms offer to catch subscribers' attention? Is this market ready for enhanced offerings? Is there sufficient disposable income to prove these services viable?

With so much happening on other digital platforms DTT is sometimes neglected. With several neighbouring western European countries fast switching off their terrestrial signals, does this put pressure on their CEE counterparts to free up the frequency spectrum? What role do the public broadcasters have to play?

The new EU members are under pressure from Brussels to achieve switchover by 2012. But is this a realistic target for these countries? What has been done so far to try and achieve this?

The explosion of new channels on digital platforms has irrevocably changed viewing habits. How ready are the region's consumers for this flood of choice? What works? Does the audience now require more than subtitled or dubbed international fare? How niche can the channels get in these relatively under-developed and small markets?

TV advertising has enjoyed fantastic growth since the introduction of the commercial channels. As growth rates decelerate, broadcasters are looking at alternate ad-supported revenue streams to maintain the momentum. Which of them will work? Are these markets big enough or developed enough to support so many different ad opportunities?