german bundesliga on iptv

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Premiere, D.Telekom show soccer over Internet.

-Full Story-

19.05.2006

Deutsche Telekom and Premiere form partnership in internet television IPTV:

Premiere to show Bundesliga on T-Home platform from August

• Premiere shows all Bundesliga matches in the Internet Protocol (IP) standard.

• Agreement covers the three seasons 2006/2007, 2007/2008, 2008/2009.

• All the games, all the goals, everything live: 612 games per season.

• Premiere Bundesliga team remains virtually unchanged.

• Premiere has editorial and media-regulatory responsibility.

• Marketing and distribution under T-Online brand via IPTV broadband networks.

• Complete Premiere offering to become part of T-Online’s T-Home Offering.

• Important boost for the development of interactive television.

Deutsche Telekom and Premiere are joining forces to drive forward the new television standard IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) and pave the way for interactive television in Germany. Both companies have reached an agreement to this end. With this cooperation, Premiere can continue to present all games of the 1st and 2nd soccer Bundesliga. Deutsche Telekom has awarded Premiere the relevant sublicense rights to broadcast in Internet Protocol (IP) standard. With this, Premiere is the first German TV company to broadcast the Bundesliga live as part of T-Home via Deutsche Telekom’s broadband network. The contract covers the rights for the seasons 2006/2007, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009. Telekom and Premiere will announce further details on the product in the coming weeks. Starting this summer, all Premiere channels will also be broadcast as an IPTV offering on the T-Home platform of T-Online. Premiere will then also be available in the future on broadband networks.

Bundesliga 2006/2007: 612 games live – all 2nd league matches in full length for the first time

Premiere will have the editorial and media-regulatory responsibility for the Bundesliga broadcasts. The new offering can be received via an IPTV receiver, which enables the distribution of high-quality digital TV signals in real time via Internet Protocol.

Premiere will be producing the Bundesliga from the 2006/2007 season to its usual high standard. All games of the 1st league will be shown individually and in the award-winning Premiere live highlights coverage. The first winners of the next season are already clear: the 2nd Bundesliga. For the first time ever, Premiere will also be showing all matches of Germany’s second professional league individually. Until now, Premiere has presented three second league games on each day of play individually plus live highlights coverage. Premiere’s experienced Bundesliga team will be staying on with almost no changes. Marcel Reif, who has extended his contract until 2008, will continue as lead commentator.

Kofler: “Premiere is still in the game” / Raizner: “Big boost for IPTV”

Dr. Georg Kofler, CEO of Premiere AG: “We are very pleased about the new partnership with Deutsche Telekom. This is a strategic alliance of two groups who complement each other excellently. Premiere remains in the game as the producer and presenter of the live Bundesliga. Additionally, T-Online provides Premiere with a fast and efficient entry into modern, interactive television. We are driving the development as an interesting alternative to conventional cable and satellite broadcasting. And with the Deutsche Telekom Group, we gain a strong partner for attractive triple-play offerings of entertainment, Internet and telephony which we will offer our subscribers. This new arrangement means that Premiere can use its strengths as an independent programming and marketing operator and benefit directly from the growth potential in IPTV. We are confident that Premiere will also be able to reach new target groups via IPTV.”

Walter Raizner, Board Member at Deutsche Telekom AG, responsible for Broadband/Fixed Network: “With this cooperation we have reached a further important milestone in our strategy to penetrate the German broadband market. We are very pleased to have Premiere as our partner, one of whose core competencies includes producing and editing sports events.”

Innovation boost for interactive television: IPTV and media receivers

The Premiere Bundesliga offering will be coming to fans via IPTV-capable broadband networks for the first time starting next season. T-Online will market the product under T-Online’s brand T-Home. An IPTV-capable receiver, a streaming set-top box, is required to receive the IPTV offering. T-Online and Premiere will present the details of the new product offering over the coming weeks. Advertising and marketing for the new Bundesliga products will be launched immediately after that.

The prospects for the new IPTV offering of gaining a wide reach are excellent with the Premiere subscribers, who are particularly well-versed in technology. 50 % of current Premiere house-holds already have a DSL connection – more than twice the national average. As many as 82 % have internet access, this figure jumps to over 90 % for the target group of male soccer fans.

And subscribers can do more with their IPTV-Receiver, T-Home X300T, than watch the Bundesliga coverage. The capability to display IP data on the television and the return path open up a wealth of opportunities for new applications and business models – from the film library on demand through personalized programming tips, buy-now options, gaming and betting. Kofler: “With this new technology, Deutsche Telekom and Premiere are joining the global pioneers of digital and interactive television. The introduction of IPTV will be one of the most important boosts for innovation in the television industry in the coming decade.”

More than Bundesliga soccer: complete Premiere offering on T-Home:

Starting this summer, the complete Premiere offering with all 28 channels is scheduled to be broadcast on the T-Home platform of T-Online. The programming will be streamed in real time and can be watched with the appropriate IPTV set-top box on television. The services will be conveniently billed on the telephone invoice. T-Online will also be presenting free-TV offerings via IPTV, thereby showing a comprehensive selection of German television.

IPTV will change the face of television in Germany

IPTV will change the face of television in Germany and give an important political impetus in the industry. Kofler: “Television via broadband network will become the channel with the third highest technical reach to viewers. And IPTV is set to soon become an official digital television standard. Premiere will take an active part in shaping and speeding up the technological transformation of German television. The extra competition amongst the distribution channels, created by Deutsche Telekom’s investment, is good for programming operators and television viewers. TV operators will have the opportunity to broadcast their programming at less cost. And the additional competition means that viewers can look forward to more attractive products and content. What will succeed and what will fail will be determined by the uniqueness of the programming, the power of the brand and the quality of customer service. Premiere is excellently positioned in all these fields as an independent and flexible media company with over 15 years experience in pay TV.”