Swisscable excludes Swisscom Broadcast

The cable network operator association Swisscable is terminating Swisscom Broadcast's membership. This was reported by Sonntagsblick. The reason is the launch of Bluewin TV, a digital television service from Swisscom (see ). "We don't want to discuss strategic issues that affect our industry with a telecommunications company that has now launched a competing offer with Bluewin TV," Swisscable Managing Director Claudia Bolla-Vincenz told Sonntagsblick. 261 cable network operators belong to the organization, representing 96 percent of the Swiss television market. Swisscom can now no longer represent its interests at Swisscable. It appears to be taking the exclusion in its stride: "Apparently, competition is something new for cable network operators that triggers fears," Swisscom spokesperson Sepp Huber told Sonntagblick. For cable TV operators, Bluewin TV does indeed create a competitive situation. According to Huber, the response to the launch of the new service has been very good. However, he also had to admit to difficulties: there were major delays in registrations on the Bluewin TV website this week.