Wind reaches IPTV deal with Sky Italia
October 9, 2007
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Italian telecom and broadband operator Wind has reached an agreement with Sky Italia to distribute the entire portfolio of the pay-TV operator on its new IPTV platform.
As a result Wind will be able to complete its triple play offer with TV via the internet, while Sky will boost the distribution of its pay-TV offer. The agreement sees the distribution of more than 170 channels of the Sky DTH platform, including basic and premium channels, as well as all the optional and PPV channels, including High Definition services and the Personal Video Recorder.
Meanwhile, Wind's rival, Telecom Italia, is also in talks with News Corp. to broadcast all of Sky Italia’s channels on its own IPTV service Alice Home TV. Currently, Alice Home TV only carries Sky Italia’s premium package, with a limited number of channels. Sky Italia is also negotiating with Tiscali which has yet to launch an IPTV offering in Italy.