1.1 New Investment (April 2001)
Europe’s cable industries have changed beyond all recognition since the first networks appeared almost three decades ago. Initially regarded as little more than a convenient means to improve the distribution of existing terrestrial – and indeed new satellite – TV channels, they now in many instances offer viewers a multitude of services including pay-per-view, video-on-demand, voice telephony and high-speed Internet access.
With these dramatic changes have come opportunities for foreign investors, even in territories which until recently appeared all but closed to outside parties. In Germany, for instance, Europe’s largest telco Deutsche Telekom has since mid-2000 been selling off majority stakes in all but one of its nine regional networks. As a result, Callahan Associates, Klesch & Co and UPC Germany
are now poised to become leading players in the country’s cable marketplace.Autoren von www.cabletoday.com