Lumiere TV
LUMIERE TV Public Co Ltd
Corporate Profile
Lumiere TV Ltd (LTV) was established in January 1992 to spearhead the development of the Lumiere TV Group (LTV Group) as the first Pay-TV channel in Cyprus. The channel was launched in June 1993, broadcasting initially in the Nicosia area only. To date, the LTV Group represents the leading subscriber-TV corporation in Cyprus with its activities having expanded in the meantime to include a number of TV related areas.
In 1994, it formed a partnership with the NETHOLD Group - a Dutch/South African consortium with strong tradition and know-how in Pay-TV operations - to create MULTICHOICE (Cyprus) Ltd (MCH). MCH became the Customer Relations Management (CRM) arm of LTV allowing LTV to concentrate on programming, scheduling and broadcasting issues.
By 1995, LTV had expanded its transmission network to cover nearly the whole of Cyprus. In 1998 LTV came into a programming and scheduling agreement with ALFA TV LTD (ALFA), the second Pay-TV channel in Cyprus. This allowed LTV to practically offer a second channel to its subscribers in order to schedule the best quality programs in movies primarily on LTV and the best in Sports and Children’s programs primarily on ALFA. This factor, together with LTV’s exclusivity to live coverage of the Cyprus Football League helped LTV’s subscriber base to really take off.
In 1998 TVI Services was established, representing a joint venture between LTV and Alfa. The principal activity of TVI remains to date the commercial exploitation of airtime commercial sales on the LTV’s channels.
In November 1999 LTV acquired the whole of the share capital of LUMIERE SERVICES LTD (LSR), initially the parent company of the group, a company engaged in the production of movies and television programs. This allowed LTV much greater flexibility in the production of local TV programs, particularly live coverage of events and of graphics and promos for the channel.
In 2000, LTV acquired 100% of OMNIA CREATIVE SOLUTIONS & FILM PRODUCTIONS LTD (OMNIA), a company specializing in the production of TV programs and commercials. This gave the LUMIERE Group an added dimension, expertise and personal touch in dealing with advertising client requirements. In subsequent years, OMNIA operations were merged with those of LSR and finally the company ceased to exist.
In 2000, the Group also established in Greece LUMIERE COSMOS COMMUNICATIONS S.A. ,a company targeting the European Market in the fields of subtitling, dubbing and translation of movies and TV programs. In 2001, Lumiere Cosmos S.A. formed in Greece, MEDIA SCREEN SOLUTIONS S.A, (MSS) a company that specialized in the development of hardware and software for subtitling applications.
In light of its determination to expand into related services, the Group acquired in 2001 a 51,95% shareholding in D&M TELEMARKETING LTD, a public company listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange. The principal activity of D&M Telemarketing is the sale of goods on TV (tele-shopping).
In 2002, the Group signed a contract with the Cyprus Athletic Federation for the promotion of Cyprus as an athletic/ sports training center and the administration of the State’s sports grounds. The prime objective of this venture was to promote Cyprus as a training ground of athletes, both individuals and teams, for 2004 Athens Olympics and Paralympics. The contract was carried out successfully by a wholly owned subsidiary established for this purpose – LTV Sports Ltd.
In February 2005, LTV filed an application for the parallel listing of its shares on the Athens Exchange and the Cyprus Stock Exchange. This application was finally withdrawn because by the time it was due for approval conditions for LTV have changed completely as a result of a breakdown in the agreements with the NETMED Group involving program acquisitions and methods of distribution but also involving MCH itself, whose exclusive agreement with LTV for the distribution of the LTV and ALFA channels the Committee for the Protection of Competition (EPA) declared illegal.
The confrontation between NETHOLD and LTV came to a head in late July 2006 when the LTV and ALFA channels were taken off NOVA Cyprus and LTV took over from MCH offering service to analogue subscribers. As of 1 August 2006 all subscribers to LTV and ALFA had to reregister and resubscribe to LTV and this painstaking procedure took place in all Telemarketing shops across Cyprus. In the ensuing years, Telemarketing shops became the retail outlets for LTV subscriber services.
Following the ruling of EPA, LTV had to provide on equal terms its channels to all interested Pay-TV platforms. Some platforms came and went and others tried different approaches to position themselves in the Cyprus market. As a result LTV channels appeared and disappeared on different platforms and programming costs escalated as platforms vied for LTV’s content. A prime example of the above situation is the current fragmentation of the TV rights to Cyprus football, where different football teams have made individual deals with different platforms according to the highest bidder. The Cyprus football fan, unlike before must now subscribe now to 3 different platforms in order to be able to view the complete Cyprus football package.
In September 2010, LTV decided to compete with other platforms in their own game. Just as Telecommunications platforms had launched into Pay Television, LTV launched into telecommunications giving its subscribers fixed telephony and high speed Internet by offering what a package branded as LTV3PLAY.
2011 sees positive prospects in the Cyprus TV industry as new developments are expected to help LTV recapture much of its subscriber base. The introduction of Digital Terrestrial TV as of July will allow LTV to provide directly to homes at least 6 of its channels as currently shown on ADSL instead of just the present two (LTV and ALFA). Also, by removing the LTV and ALFA channels from NOVA Cyprus by end June, as the agreement with NOVA comes to an end, is expected to deal a definitive blow to piracy of the LTV channels, which is currently a widespread phenomenon in Cyprus.
LTV's mission remains today the same as in the very beginning of its launch; that is to offer the best quality TV entertainment programs and television services to its ever-growing subscriber platform.
LTV Channels
The 8 channels of the LTV digital terrestrial television platform (LTV,LTV1,LTV2,LTV3,LTV SPORTS 1,LTV SPORTS 2,LTV SPORTS HD,LTV PREMIER HD),offer their subscribers the ultimate entertainment show, including exciting blockbusters, unique film productions, the Hollywood’s most-awarded TV-series, the most important sports events taking place in Cyprus and abroad, children’s television programmes and talk-shows.
The LTV channel offers entertainment, information and sports 24/7 with blockbuster movies, feature films, top-rated television series, lifestyle programmes and talk-shows. The sports section includes live football matches and sports programmes.
LTV1, the 24-hour channel, mostly focuses on live transmission of sports events and sports-related programmes. The entertainment content involves Nickelodeon’s children’s programmes and a vast range of animation movies which are broadcasted daily.
LTV2 is the 24-hour channel with the most fans, given that it broadcasts the most recent episodes of globally successful TV-series of the Hollywood’s greatest studios.
LTV3 is a 24-hour channel, which broadcasts premieres of blockbuster films and TV-movies, but also old favourite movies. Furthermore, the LTV3 channel broadcasts daily the adult zone.
LTV SPORTS 1... 24 hours of inexhaustible sports content! Live transmissions, highlights and sports shows for big football events, such as the Marfin Laiki Championship, the Coca-Cola Cup, the Barclays Premier League, the German Bundesliga and the Spanish Primera Division. You can also watch basketball and tennis games, golf, motor sports events, as well as the latest developments from the world of horse racing.
The sports channel LTV SPORTS 2 aims to complement the LTV SPORTS 1 channel in cases of simultaneous or multiple event transmissions, such as the Barclays Premier League, the Spanish Primera Division, the German Bundesliga, and others. It also broadcasts live tennis events and weekly football highlights.
All football games and all sports in HD! Enjoy LIVE and in High Definition the Barclays Premier League, the Primera Division, the Bundesliga and other international leagues. On LTV SPORTS HD, you can also watch daily the latest NBA news and action.
LTV PREMIER HD… Premier League’s High Definition channel with 380 LIVE exciting football matches and 400 derbies of the past that remained in history. Highlights, commentaries, season review, live transmissions, sports shows, and the latest updates.
