Through the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, Michael Silin held senior research positions in radio and then in satellite communications organizations in Moscow. In 1995 he joined ComCor, the fiber-laying sister company of ComCor-TV. He was appointed general manager of ComCor-TV in June 2001.

In his position at ComCor-TV, Silin has spearheaded the company’s phenomenal growth and helped forge its position as one of Moscow’s largest digital cable pay-TV operators. In order to stay ahead of the competition in this fast-growing market, ComCor-TV’s system now features NDS VideoGuard® content protection and NDS MediaHighway middleware. They also recently launched an NDS-designed Java-based EPG.

Silin recently discussed ComCor-TV’s growth and the pay-TV market in Moscow with World Vision.

World Vision: I’d like to begin by asking you to give me some background about ComCor-TV.

Michael Silin: ComCor-TV’s multiservice network started in 2000. In our first six years of operation we became Moscow’s leading digital cable TV operator. Our Akado brand has been providing broadband Internet access and digital TV since 2005.

We currently have an estimated 90,000 digital TV subscribers and 110,000 broadband subscribers. At the end of February 2007 we had a total of almost 200,000 subscribers.

Does ComCor-TV operate just in Moscow or do you also have operations outside of the city?

Silin: Akado [ComCor-TV's brand] services reach more than 850,000 households in Moscow, all of which are potential subscribers. Network construction is being carried out in several districts, and this will increase potential reach by an estimated 50,000 households monthly. At present Akado offers services only in Moscow.

Can you tell me about the Moscow Fiber Optic Network and how it impacts on ComCor-TV?

Silin: The Moscow Fiber Optic Network belongs to ComCor, the sister company of ComCor-TV with 16,000 km of cable in the Moscow region. This means the MFON reaches one out of every four buildings in Moscow – as well as towns within a 30-50 km radius.

Our IP transportation network is overlaid on theirs. But for the last mile, we use our own DOCSIS network.

What is your assessment of the Moscow pay-TV market?

Silin: The pay-TV market in Moscow is flourishing. Last year there were more than 300,000 subscribers. Amazingly, during the year Akado registered a 500 percent increase in our number of subscribers. We also have the highest penetration of any pay-TV operator in Moscow. At present Akado has about a 30 percent market share but this is constantly increasing. We also have nearly 10 percent of the broadband access network.

Akado only reaches about one-third of the city, but it has over 90,000 subscribers which makes it the second largest subscriber base. In addition, Akado has the leading rate of growth of any of the pay-TV operators. The network increases by about 10,000 digital TV customers every month.

What TV packages do you offer? How do your offerings compare with the competition?

Silin: Akado offers two digital pay-TV packages which total 100 channels including our extended basic package, our premium package and the free-to-air channels.

Subscribers to the larger package can also subscribe to certain channels from NTV+ [a satellite competitor] in much the same way that viewers in other countries can subscribe to a service like HBO – in addition to their regular service. About three years ago we signed an agreement that enables our subscribers to subscribe to 10 channels produced by NTV+. These include sports, movies and adult channels. It is important to note that most Moscow residents only receive 19 basic free-to-air channels so there is tremendous market potential.

In addition to our pay-TV offerings, we also offer broadband Internet access to our entire coverage area. We have more than 110,000 subscribers at connection speeds ranging from 1.5 to 5.0 Mbps.

How has NDS helped ComCor-TV with the migration from analog to digital broadcasting?

Silin: "NDS integrated its VideoGuard® conditional access system and NDS MediaHighway middleware platform with our existing infrastructure. As a result, today we have a much more secure system that is more sophisticated and includes a more user-friendly, customized EPG."

Because the Moscow pay-TV market has so much potential it is also very competitive. We realize that our success depends on our cooperation with NDS. What we received from NDS is a complete end-to-end broadcast system. We started with very basic STBs with no middleware and a rather primitive EPG that couldn’t provide any additional services such as interactivity.

Now we’re in the process of integrating next generation STBs – featuring a return path and NDS middleware. We recently opted for a Java-based EPG that is even more user friendly.

What was behind your decision to use NDS technology?

Silin: We checked all of the relevant possibilities – including all of NDS’ competitors. We also took note of the fact that NDS has experience with large companies like DirecTV in the US and Sky in the UK.

In the end we chose NDS because of the proven track record of its VideoGuard conditional access system. Of course the flexibility and the quality of NDS support and service were also essential for us.

Overall we have a very good relationship with NDS and we get excellent support. NDS has proven to be a very reliable partner.

What future directions are you considering?

Silin: We expect to introduce DVRs following the deployment of the new Java-based EPG. This obviously also depends on the market, but we expect integration to take place in the second half of 2007. As far as high definition is concerned, we are ready to offer HDTV as soon as there is sufficient HD content available for our market.

For further information:

Akado