Cosmote TV Satellite broadcasts on Ku band from Eutelsat's Eurobird 9A at 9.0°E featuring DVB-S2 -8PSK/MPEG-4 technology. In June 2012 OTE TV had 76,345 subscribers. In July 2017, after more than five years of operation, it was announced that the Cosmote TV package has reached 510,000 subscribers.
History
In 1999, it was announced that television stationAlpha TV was considering a co-operation with ERT and Greek Telecommunications giant OTE to launch a digital platform. Despite such plans being approved by the management boards of the said companies in February 2000, they were abandoned in September of the same year, as soon as OTE, which had launched a package of channels through Hotbird, left the project. Alpha TV and ERT would separately proceed with the launch of platforms Alpha Digital and ERT Digital; they ended up shutting down due to financial difficulties and low amounts of subscribers. The said package would continue transmitting, featuring international themed channels, which were gradually replaced with Greek local ones. In 2009, OTE launched an IPTV service called Conn-x-TV. It was initially available in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Larisa, and Iraklion, it is available in most of Greece. In October 2011, Conn-x TV was re-branded as OTE TV via Conn-x. At the same time, OTE launched their long-anticipated satellite service known as OTE TV via Satellite. Both services operate under the OTE TV brand and contain the same logo. In March 2012 OTE TV had 63,497 subscribers. By the end of June 2012, reports say that the subscribers of OTE TV, both satellite and IP customers, had reached a total of 76,345. In November 2013, OTE TV reached 230,000 subscribers, most of them using the satellite service. In August2014, the number of OTE TV subscribers surpassed 300,000 customers. By the end of June 2015, OTE TV had 377,548 subscribers, while on June 2016 the platform had 458,920 subscribers. In January 2016, OTE TV announced the creation of OTE History, Greece's first local documentary channel, exclusively focused on Greek history, culture, and civilization. The channel broadcasts documentaries licensed by Greece's most acclaimed documentary producers and global distribution companies as well as its own original productions. CEO of OTE Group Michael Tsamaz said in a press conference held for the presentation of the channel prior to launch: "OTE HISTORY is an important project for OTE, an organization closely tied to the modern Greek history, with special cultural role and responsibility. With documentaries and high-quality shows with high aesthetic standards on the history, the culture, the people and the traditions of our country, this channel can be a new spot of entertainment and education for viewers. OTE HISTORY was created with a lot of effort, vision, and respect for the content and its audience. It is our legacy to future generations". In August 2016 the OTE TV platform surpassed Nova Greece's subscribers reaching 462,000 customers. In November 2016OTE TV was re-branded as Cosmote TV and its respective branded channels as Cosmote Cinema, Cosmote Sports, and Cosmote History. Moreover, as of November 2016, Cosmote TV has agreements with three of the six major studios, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures. In January 2017 Cosmote TV reached 500,000 subscribers. In July2017 it was referred that Cosmote TV had reached 510,000 subscribers. In 2017, Cosmote TV did not renew its co-operation with Discovery, Inc. as discussions between the two parties have not led to a mutually acceptable agreement. Therefore, the following eight channels: Discovery Channel, Discovery HD, Discovery Science, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 and TLC will be replaced by BBC Earth, Crime & Investigation, CBS Reality, Fine Living, Food Network, Fox Sports, Nautical Channel, Outdoor Channel, Viasat Explore and Viasat Nature.
