Germany's Freenet TV expects its newly launched DVB-T2 HD TV service to reach more than one million paying customers by the end of 2018.
The company which has gained around 160 thousand customers since its launch also expects to have more than 800 thousand customers by the end of the year.
Since the launch of the nationwide change-over to the new digital-terrestrial transmission(DTT) standard DVB-T2 HD on 29 March 2017, Freenet TV subscribers have been able to receive not only the 20 public-sector channels, which continue to be free-to-air, but also up to 20 private full-HD channels via the new antenna TV for a charge of 5.75 euros per month.
In addition, the users are also able to access further TV programs, the catch-up services of the individual stations, programme services, apps and radio programmes directly via the station list, said Freenet.
The installed base for the reception of DVB-T2 amounted to an estimated 1.2 to 1.5 million at the end of the first quarter of 2017, and is expected by freenet to rise to more than 2.5 million by the end of 2017.
In parallel with its digital-terrestrial option freenet TV, freenet has since the end of September 2016 also been marketing internet-based TV (IPTV) under the brand waipu.tv.
Christoph Vilanek, CEO of Freenet
The entry into the TV business was for us a milestone as well as a Herculean task, and we are very pleased that this entry has been so successful.
