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Groundbreaking deal concluded by Nokia and Kirch
August 28, 1995
Nokia Consumer Electronics and BetaTechnik, a company of the major German media company KirchGroup, have signed an agreement whereby Nokia will deliver 1 million Multimedia Terminals to BetaTechnik.
Nokia is investing 50 million DEM and creating 300 new jobs, in order to deliver multimedia terminals to one of the biggest media companies in Europe.
The Nokia multimedia terminals will be marketed in Germany through Nokia's partner dealers as well as the operator, which thereby sets the scene for the dealerships' active participation in the development of the digital consumer market.
The Nokia multimedia terminal turns a TV into a multimedia station, to which peripherals such as a PC, printer and CD-ROM can be connected.
The multimedia terminal will bring to the consumers a much greater choice of programs and services. The user can easily select those which suit his own preferences from a large variety of Pay-TV programs, and in addition consumers will benefit from an array of on-line services, such as interactive games, home banking or home shopping.
As before, the consumer will continue to receive analog programs which he can view with his television.
The Nokia DVB 9500 S offers the consumers an advanced, yet easy to use product. It is developed based on Nokia's award-winning user-interface technology and leading edge satellite receiver know-how. The multimedia terminal complies fully with the European DVB standards and uses MPEG-2 for signal decoding. Without any trouble for the consumer, the operator can down-load new software via satellite as more services become available.
The Nokia multimedia terminal will be launched in Spring 1996 at volumes that will cater for a rapid introduction of digital services. Today one million households in Germany have access to Pay-TV services, but by the year 2000 digital services are expected to reach 6 million subscribers.
"The intense co-operation with Nokia has resulted in a sophisticated product for the particularly demanding German market. Thanks to its unique scope the Nokia multimedia terminal is the best product on the market - both for the operators and the consumers", says Dr. Karl Mauthe, Managing Director of BetaTechnik.
"This agreement establishes Nokia as the leading multimedia terminal manufacturer in Europe and is a strategic milestone in multimedia", says Nokia's Vice President Åke Ljung. "Nokia today employs 5000 people in Germany. This contract further strengthens Nokia's position and commitment to this market."
KirchGroup, one of Europe's leading media companies is active in the film and television business. It is today the German TV-channel Sat.1's main shareholder and holds stakes in the sports channel DSF, as well as 25% of the pay-TV service Premiere. Furthermore it is involved in the pay-TV channels Teleclub (Switzerland), Italy's Telepiu, as well as in Tele Cinco (Spain).
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