Business of Digital Television

8 The economy of niches

Where are the new digital channels and services coming from?

‘What is happening is this. The more the unit cost of producing and delivering content is coming down, the greater the number of people are interested. The market, like Moore’s Law, is growing, and competition helps it grow even more,’ says Antonio Arcidiacono, who runs EUTELSAT’s new products division.

EUTELSAT, based in Paris, is a group of satellites, owned by Europe’s various telephone companies. It is currently in the process of privatizing itself, and expects to be fully independent by mid-2001. EUTELSAT is in the front line when it comes to new broadcasting opportunities, and Arcidiacono (in 1999) said that consumers only have a limited amount to spend ...