Germany Gets Digitized

By Jörg Überla, Guest Author

In two years time, the days of analog TV transmission will be definitely over in Germany. Regardless whether you watch TV via cable, satellite or a simple antenna, you will receive just 0’s and 1’s when you turn on your TV. This digitization of the most time-consuming leisure activity in Germany will have huge implications for the old TV suppliers and will open up tremendous opportunities for new players in the media business, mainly because of three reasons:

1. First and foremost, digitization makes it possible to transmit more programs over a given bandwith. Today, digitized households can already choose between up to 300 TV channels whereas a common analog viewer is restricted to 20 to 30 channels.

2. Even more important for suppliers: Digital TV is much cheaper to produce and to transmit than classical analog TV; today, one minute of digital TV can be produced at costs below €50 per minute; in the old analog times, the corresponding number was €2,000 to €4,000 per minute!

3. Low costs and easier transmission enlarge the choice of every TV consumer – and they go for it! There are right now channels for gamers, cooks and golfers, and the number is rising.

Special interest programs are one field where new players can enter the market easily and gain traction. We at Wellington Partners are financing several concepts – homeshopping via auctions, online gaming with league competitions and even a station for astrology TV – and are very bullish about the perspectives of these companies. In the long run, we want these companies to become global players as digitization is a hot topic not only in Germany. Check your program guide for the first mentioning of 1.2.3-TV, Giga TV or Astro TV!