RTL and Deutsche Telekom settle channels dispute

RTL Group and Deutsche Telekom have settled a dispute over conditions for carriage of the former’s channels on the latter’s Entertain IPTV offering and RTL channels will now be available on Telekom’s service.

Deutsche Telekom has meanwhile also said that it is expanding its offering with the launch of 24 new HD channels, including n-tv HD in October and HD channels from the German public broadcasters in December.

RTL’s channels are returning to the IPTV offering after an absence of almost three years, following a dispute reportedly centred on RTL’s desire to block the ability to record and fast-forward through adverting breaks.

Entertain customers will now be able to access free channels RTL HD, Vox HD, RTL II HD, Super RTL HD and RTL Nitro HD, which will be included alongside CNN International HD, Deluxe Music HD and iMusic HD in the existing HD Start package. Pay TV channels RTL Crime HD, Passion HD and RTL Living plus 13 other high-definition TV channels will be added to Entertain’s thematic packages.

Telekom is revamping its subscription structure. An HD option can now be added to one or more thematic packages as well as to the Big TV offering for €4.95 (US$6.50)  a month, meaning that subscribers will be able to view all the channels in their existing packages in HD.

Telekom is also including its HD start and optional packages in its Entertain Premium offering alongside its Big TV package, giving customers an incentive to subscribe to all rather than individual packages.