Cable operators block Polish Eurosport
Presently, Eurosport is beamed into Poland via satellite. Eurosport has been negotiating with cable operators here to add a local Polish-language commentary via cable to the satellite broadcast.
Eurosport, which officially acquired the rights to offer a Polish-language version here late last month, now is pushing for an agreement with cable operators to distribute and pay for the service. Monthly costs would run about $0.20 a viewer, or about $400,000 for all subscribers, according to industry estimates.
"It's basically less than the cost of beer, less than a bus ticket per month per subscriber. It's really little," said Jacques Raynaud, Eurosport's network development manager for Central and Eastern Europe.
Local cable operators, who so far are unwilling to foot the bill, balk at passing the cost onto subscribers.
"We are negotiating with Eurosport for three years. In my opinion Eurosport is not flexible enough," said Andrzej Ostrowski, president of the Polish National Cable Television Operators' Association, which represents 300 cable operators who cover 80% of the Polish cable market.
Ostrowski said satellite viewers, accustomed to Eurosport's foreign-language version, would not be likely to sign up for the cable service.
"I think of the situation of two neighbors, where one of them has an individual satellite system and can watch Eurosport for free, and on the same floor another neighbor is connected to cable and for this he has to pay," Ostrowski said.
"How can we explain this to our subscribers?" he said. "We have to give them an extra value."
But Eurosport executives are convinced Poles will be willing to pay for programming in their own language.
"It's the basic fundamental philosophy of Eurosport to transmit one picture and several languages," Raynaud said.
Currently Eurosport is transmitted to 55 million homes in 37 countries, reaching about 17 million viewers. This week Eurosport began broadcasting a local-language version in Russia and launched a Hungarian version earlier this month.
"We wanted to sell to Poland first," said Raynaud, adding that Poland is the only country in Central and Eastern Europe where it has been unable to reach an agreement with cable operators.
If plans work out, Eurosport plans to start Polish programming three to four hours a day, gradually moving to seven or eight hours a day in the third year. Eventually, the channel will become an all-Polish version.
France-based Canal+, a 33% shareholder in Eurosport, would provide technical support, including a studio and other equipment from its own facilities. And Canal+ and Telewizja Polska would help with staffing, providing commentators who are experts in different sports.
David Williams, managing director for Bates Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising in Warsaw, said a Polish-language version of Eurosport would probably do very well here.
As the cable industry develops, "I think the demand for Polish-language programming is going to become fundamentally important," he said.
In Poland, nearly 2 million households subscribe to cable, with total market revenues approaching $100 million. London-based Kagan World Media estimates that by the year 2000, the cable market will incorporate 2.8 million homes with revenues approaching $400 million.
Eurosport, which officially acquired the rights to offer a Polish-language version here late last month, now is pushing for an agreement with cable operators to distribute and pay for the service. Monthly costs would run about $0.20 a viewer, or about $400,000 for all subscribers, according to industry estimates.
"It's basically less than the cost of beer, less than a bus ticket per month per subscriber. It's really little," said Jacques Raynaud, Eurosport's network development manager for Central and Eastern Europe.
Local cable operators, who so far are unwilling to foot the bill, balk at passing the cost onto subscribers.
"We are negotiating with Eurosport for three years. In my opinion Eurosport is not flexible enough," said Andrzej Ostrowski, president of the Polish National Cable Television Operators' Association, which represents 300 cable operators who cover 80% of the Polish cable market.
Ostrowski said satellite viewers, accustomed to Eurosport's foreign-language version, would not be likely to sign up for the cable service.
"I think of the situation of two neighbors, where one of them has an individual satellite system and can watch Eurosport for free, and on the same floor another neighbor is connected to cable and for this he has to pay," Ostrowski said.
"How can we explain this to our subscribers?" he said. "We have to give them an extra value."
But Eurosport executives are convinced Poles will be willing to pay for programming in their own language.
"It's the basic fundamental philosophy of Eurosport to transmit one picture and several languages," Raynaud said.
Currently Eurosport is transmitted to 55 million homes in 37 countries, reaching about 17 million viewers. This week Eurosport began broadcasting a local-language version in Russia and launched a Hungarian version earlier this month.
"We wanted to sell to Poland first," said Raynaud, adding that Poland is the only country in Central and Eastern Europe where it has been unable to reach an agreement with cable operators.
If plans work out, Eurosport plans to start Polish programming three to four hours a day, gradually moving to seven or eight hours a day in the third year. Eventually, the channel will become an all-Polish version.
France-based Canal+, a 33% shareholder in Eurosport, would provide technical support, including a studio and other equipment from its own facilities. And Canal+ and Telewizja Polska would help with staffing, providing commentators who are experts in different sports.
David Williams, managing director for Bates Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising in Warsaw, said a Polish-language version of Eurosport would probably do very well here.
As the cable industry develops, "I think the demand for Polish-language programming is going to become fundamentally important," he said.
In Poland, nearly 2 million households subscribe to cable, with total market revenues approaching $100 million. London-based Kagan World Media estimates that by the year 2000, the cable market will incorporate 2.8 million homes with revenues approaching $400 million.
