Premiere HD will be added to Unitymedia’s cable network in Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia from 1 January 2008. The pay-TV broadcaster says this will make the channel available throughout Germany. Premiere and Unitymedia agreed on the launch after technical testing.
Unitymedia serves around five million households and is Germany’s second-largest cable network operator. Hans Seger, Premiere executive responsible for programming and HDTV, says the channel’s HD service has more than 90,000 subscribers. Marketing of Premiere HD in Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia is scheduled to begin in early January. Discovery HD, Premiere’s second HDTV channel, is planned to follow on the network during 2008.
Premiere offers more than 17,000 hours of HD programming each year. Premiere HD and Discovery HD are available over satellite and cable, as well as through Deutsche Telekom’s T-Home broadband network. An HD package starts at €9.99 per month and can be combined with other Premiere programme packages. Reception requires a digital receiver compatible with Premiere HD and a flat-panel display or projector carrying the HD ready mark.
