- Multiscreen-capable live TV and VOD platform with universal, intuitive user interface
- Premium EPG with content search across all content sources
- Time-shifted television and recording function with playback on mobile devices
- Integrated smart app portal
- 4K-capable set-top-box with four integrated tuners
Berlin, December 5, 2016. Tele Columbus, Germany’s third-largest cable operator, offers its customers with advanceTV an entertainment system providing any content anytime on the TV set and on mobile devices in the household in best quality. In conjunction with a top cable receiver and an intuitive user interface setting new benchmarks, advanceTV combines linear television, video content from the Internet, personal recordings, the maxdome flat-rate and Hollywood blockbusters on-demand with further smart TV apps on a unique platform. advanceTV will be available on the cable networks of Tele Columbus from January 16, 2017.
Television faces a radical change: The non-linear video consumption through digital platforms is the new trend. The usage of video libraries and streaming services providing the programme of choice at the touch of a button rises. However, while viewers benefit from new freedom in the variety of offers, they are confronted with a complexity of services difficult to use and intransparent in their costs. Exactly for this reason, Tele Columbus has developed advanceTV as a trendsetting all-in-one solution, simplifying and enhancing the consumption of entertainment and thereby creating a more convenient customer experience.
The cable operator’s new TV entertainment platform is a universal system integrating linear television, online video content, maxdome and an online movie library under a single, clear user interface. Administering several user accounts, keeping track of different invoicing schemes, and usage barriers due to the breaks in the operation logistics of individual provider systems will be a thing of the past with advanceTV. „The new TV and entertainment platform advanceTV underlines our innovation power through which we redefine TV entertainment on cable networks“, said Ronny Verhelst, CEO of Tele Columbus Group, ahead of the platform launch in Berlin. „With advanceTV, we have reached our goal: the fusion of today’s completely fragmented TV and video universe into a new unified entity.“
A new dimension of possibilities
advanceTV enters the market to set new benchmarks. For example, with an electronic programme guide (EPG) informing comprehensively, in detail and intelligently about programme content – not just regarding the currently watched programme, but covering all programmes. In addition, the integrated search function provides also search results across all maxdome content and the whole advanceTV video library of on-demand blockbusters. This way, the viewer gets an overview of all available programme highlights after switch-on. With one click, the preferred linear TV programme can be recorded and stored on the optional 1TB hard-drive of the advanceTV box. The currently running programme can also be paused and continued at a later stage.
With the free-of-charge advanceTV app for iOS and Android, a great part of the content – including personal recordings – is seamlessly accessible on tablets and smartphones. The set-top-box contains four tuners for reception and recoding of programmes; up to two devices can be served with streams by the advanceTV box at the same time. The high-quality advanceTV box is also prepared for reception of future 4K content. For the television of a new dimension, advanceTV is a universal, simple and integrated solution making all other TV and video services obsolete.
From January 16, 2017, Tele Columbus customers can enjoy the most popular free-TV and pay-TV channels, the latest Hollywood blockbusters on-demand (TVOD) from the advanceTV video library as well as their favourite series and movies in subscription (SVOD) with the bundle product HD maxdome plus or the additional option maxdome flat. The films in the advanceTV video library are provided almost at the same time as their DVD/Blu-ray release. Video-on-demand content acquired through advanceTV is even accessible outside the home via any Internet connection such as public hotspots or mobile networks.
Simply clever: The smart app portal
With advanceTV, TV and Internet grow together in a user-friendly way. Through the smart app portal on the advanced TV box, which is offered in cooperation with the app platform provider Metrological, users can access many useful and entertaining apps from the areas of lifestyle, weather, news, music or science. At the start of advanceTV, Vimeo, Flickr, DailyMotion, Google Maps, Wikipedia, wetter.com, Deezer, TuneIn, Deutsche Welle and others will be part of the line-up.
A revolutionary user experience
The straightforward navigation with a functionality integrating TV, recordings and on-demand content runs alongside smooth menu scrolling and amazingly fast channel switching. Particularly the simple, intuitive navigation concept leads to a user experience never seen before. This is the result of the collaboration with development partner Espial, responsible for the user interface and video integration, and Humax, the manufacturer of the advanceTV box hardware. advanceTV is technologically based on flexible open standards such as HTML 5 and an RDK software environment. This technical design enables continuous updates and guarantees a future-proof system. At the same time, advanceTV offers the perspective of being adaptable to a variety of usage scenarios including IPTV environments in order to be well prepared for future developments.
„Universal and future-proof with plenty of new functions for more interconnection and comfort, that’s the television of a new dimension Tele Columbus will show its customers from January 2017 with advanceTV“, Lars Lanske, responsible project manager of Tele Columbus Group, explained today at the first preview in Berlin. Stefan Beberweil, Chief Marketing Officer, added: „With the revolutionary advanceTV platform, Tele Columbus offers its customers the best out of the digital entertainment universe in an unmatched convenient user experience – and thus evolves from a pure cable operator into a new provider of modern home entertainment anywhere and anytime.“
About Tele Columbus
The SDAX listed Tele Columbus Group is Germany‘s third largest cable network operator. Via its origins – individual regional cable network operators that were merged into Tele Columbus – the company dates back to 1972. Today, about 3.6 million connected households in Germany are served by Tele Columbus, primacom, pepcom, Deutsche Telekabel, Martens und KMS with TV signals and, increasingly, digital broadcast packages, Internet and voice connections provided via high-performance broadband cable. As a national provider with a regional focus and a partner of the housing industry, the Group is present throughout its core markets Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia as well as in numerous key regions in western Germany. In tune with current demand trends, the company is upgrading its networks in a hybrid fibre-optic infrastructure for superfast Internet connections of up to several hundred megabits per second with the state-of-the-art Internet transmission standard DOCSIS 3.0. The broadband cable caters to the entire range of innovative media applications from analogous, digital and high-definition TV to high-speed Internet and voice connections to telemetry services, tenant portals and interactive services. Beyond merely transmitting signals, Tele Columbus uses its own product platform in order to actively increase the programme offering and to develop additional services. Via its company HL komm, Tele Columbus also delivers powerful connections and network services to business customers.
Disclaimer
This release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the Company’s current knowledge and expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and assumptions may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document.
This release contains references to certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as Normalized EBITDA and Capex, and operating measures, such as RGUs, ARPU, and Unique Subscribers calculations. These non-GAAP financial and operating measures should not be viewed in isolation as alternatives to measures of the Company’s financial condition, results of operations or cash flows as presented in accordance with IFRS. The non-GAAP financial and operating measures used by the Company may differ from, and not be comparable to, similarly titled measures used by other companies.
In addition, this release contains pro forma financials. Our pro forma financials have been prepared for illustrative purposes only. They are based on the assumption that the acquisitions of primacom and pepcom had occurred on 1 January 2015. Because of their nature, our pro forma financials address a hypothetical situation and, therefore, do not represent our actual results of operations. It is not necessarily indicative of the results that should be expected in the future and investors should not put undue reliance on these pro forma financials.
All information contained in this release has been carefully prepared. However, no reliance may be placed for any purposes whatsoever on the information contained in this document or on its completeness. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this document and no liability whatsoever is accepted by the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees nor any other person for any loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of such information or opinions or otherwise arising in connection therewith. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this release, including forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
