The service is available permanently free of charge for satellite households with compatible smart TVs and an activated HD+ TV app. According to HD Plus, the app is already integrated into more than 80% of UHD television sets from major manufacturers.

HD+ Free provides access to a broad range of television channels alongside around 80,000 on-demand library titles and features including pause and restart functionality for many channels, without requiring additional hardware.

“With HD+ Free, we are combining the reach and channel variety of satellite with the advantages of the hybrid HD+ platform. We are bringing a new, intuitive usability to satellite TV households – for everyone, permanently and free of charge,” said Christoph Mühleib, Managing Director of HD Plus.

Mühleib added that the HD+ TV app and its free entry tier would form “the foundation” of the company’s future offering, with paid upgrades available through the new HD+ Classic and HD+ Premium packages.

As part of the restructuring of its product portfolio, HD+ has introduced a three-tier model consisting of HD+ Free, HD+ Classic and HD+ Premium.

HD+ Classic, priced at €6.99 per month, includes additional commercial HD channels, three UHD channels, expanded features and access to more than 120,000 media library titles.

HD+ Premium, costing €9.99 per month, adds two IP streams for use on additional devices including smartphones, tablets and TV sticks, with availability also extended to holidays within the EU. The package replaces the former HD+ MultiScreen and HD+ Stream products.

New users of HD+ Free will receive six months of HD+ Classic at no extra cost before choosing whether to continue with the paid packages or remain on the free tier.

According to HD Plus, the new entry-level service is designed to create additional opportunities for TV manufacturers, retailers and network operators. Retailers will also offer a new six-month “HD+ and DFB.TV” package for €60 through their stores.

The launch marks the first visible step in the closer cooperation between parent company SES Germany and HD Plus, following Mühleib’s appointment as Managing Director of both companies.

Additional packages and content offerings will be made available through the app in future. This already includes the trendSports package and new football channel DFB.TV from 22 May.

The move brings live matches, interviews and documentaries to HD+ households via satellite and IP.

DFB.TV will show around 250 live events per year, spanning the national teams, youth and amateur competitions, the DFB ePokal, Futsal and Beach Soccer. With the launch, viewers also gain access to the new DFB.TV Mediathek, which provides matches, highlights, magazines and exclusive formats on demand.

HD+ customers can book the service in three ways: as a monthly add‑on for €2.99, as a 12‑month HD+ and DFB.TV bundle for €120.88 via the HD+ webshop, or as a 6‑month combination product for €60 in retail. The channel works across all HD+ reception methods, including the HD+ TV app, HD+ module, HD+ receiver and the HD+ IP TV stick.

At launch, DFB.TV will focus on live coverage around the men’s DFB‑Pokal final on 22 May, starting with an opening programme from Berlin at 15:30 CEST. The following day, the channel will broadcast the “Finaltag der Amateure” from 11:15 CEST, showing multiple regional cup finals. From 24 to 26 May, it will premiere the documentary Der Weg ist das Team, following the women’s national team on their route to and through UEFA Women’s EURO 2025.

Coverage of the men’s national team at the 2026 Football World Cup will follow, including reports from the team base camp and the “German House of Soccer” in the United States. Additional programming includes U19 national team fixtures, junior DFB‑Pokal matches and Regionalliga promotion play‑offs.

DTH satellite households on Astra (19.2° East) can access the DFB.TV Mediathek via an HbbTV application using the red or yellow button on the remote control. Users of the HD+ TV app on satellite or IP benefit from restart, 30‑day catch‑up and pause functions of up to 120 minutes, with the EPG providing a structured view of the schedule.

The quarterly increase compares with 22,000 net additions in the fourth quarter of 2025, when the customer base stood at 4.747 million at year-end. It also exceeded the 27,000 added in the third quarter and 23,000 in the second quarter of last year, indicating an acceleration in Telekom’s TV growth in its domestic market.

The group reported first-quarter revenue of €29.9 billion, up 4.7% on an organic basis, while adjusted EBITDA after leases rose 7.5% to €11.5 billion. Free cash flow after leases increased 0.7% to €5.7 billion and adjusted net profit rose 6.5% to €2.6 billion.

“Deutsche Telekom shows resilience in turbulent times. Our business operations remain stable, largely unaffected by events around the globe. In fact, we have slightly raised our guidance,” said CEO Tim Höttges.

The company now expects adjusted EBITDA after leases of around €47.5 billion for 2026, up from the previous target of €47.4 billion, and free cash flow after leases of more than €19.8 billion.

In Germany, revenue rose 2.1% organically to €6.3 billion in the quarter. According to the telco, more than 13 million homes can now directly connect to its fibre network, while active FTTH contracts increased to 2.2 million, lifting the take-up rate to 17.1%.

The results prompted Deutsche Telekom to raise its group outlook following improved guidance from T-Mobile US.

Motorvision Group is the first partner to sign on for the wedotv/Amtecco combined services package. The German media company’s free-to-air channel More Than Sports TV is now available to DTH satellite viewers on Astra (19.2° East) via HbbTV, combining broadcast infrastructure with internet delivery.

Under their strategic partnership, wedotv and Amtecco jointly offer the full value chain that sits behind an HbbTV or FAST service, from SRT contribution and IP delivery through channel origination, platform distribution, HbbTV and FAST-on-HbbTV deployment, CDN and monetisation. The offering is aimed at broadcasters, rights holders, content owners and platform operators, and is available across Europe, MENA and the wider international markets both companies already serve.

“Content owners and broadcasters want to be on FAST and on HbbTV, and they want a partner who can deliver both sides without them having to integrate half a dozen vendors themselves,” said Philipp Rotermund, CEO of wedotv. “We run this stack every day so offering it to the industry is the next logical step.”

David Chen, Founder and CEO of Amtecco, added: “FAST and HbbTV have been treated as separate disciplines for too long. The cost of that separation sits with the broadcaster. Our work with wedotv has proved, at production scale, that the IP and the broadcast worlds can run via the same pipeline. It has worked for wedotv and now we are making that pipeline available to others in full.”

wedotv handles channel operations, distribution across smart TV, HbbTV and OTT platforms, and advertising monetisation while Amtecco covers the technical delivery layer: SRT cloud transport, HbbTV and FAST-on-HbbTV infrastructure, CDN, and automation. The two companies have been running this combined stack in production together since 2022 and are now making it available to the wider industry under a single partnership.

“What wedotv and Amtecco provide is a powerful way for us to better understand our audience beyond traditional panel-based measurement methods. In addition, our agency partners will gain programmatic access to our full inventory. This combined distribution and monetisation solution will enable us to access far more granular audience data while significantly increasing our advertising revenues,” said Raimund Köhler, CEO of Motorvision Group.

The agreement will see the media services provider continue to support both the German and UK operations of Hearst Networks. Full Season manages playout for linear channels The History Channel and Crime + Investigation in Germany, alongside scalable VOD and content management services in multiple European markets.

“We value Full Season as a reliable and forward-thinking partner. This extension reflects strong performance and the strength of our collaboration, as well as our confidence in their continued support,” said Kathrin Palesch, Managing Director of Hearst Networks Germany.

Alexander Neemann, Head of Sales at Full Season, added: “In a market where reliability is non-negotiable, long-term partnerships are built on trust, consistent delivery, and a shared commitment to operational excellence. We are proud to continue supporting Hearst Networks across multiple markets with resilient playout and VoD services, and to further evolve our partnership by enabling scalable, future-ready media operations.”

Full Season was established in 2025 following the acquisition by MBS of selected playout, content management and IP delivery operations from Astra satellite operator SES in Germany and the UK. The business was carved out as an independent media services provider specialising in playout, VOD delivery, OTT solutions and content management services.

The transaction marked a strategic expansion for MBS – formerly known as Media Broadcast Satellite – beyond its traditional satellite and communications infrastructure activities into the wider media services sector. Around 60 employees and the existing SES media operations in Unterföhring near Munich transferred to the new company.

Full Season positions itself as a provider of business-critical broadcast and digital media services, operating multi-site infrastructure across Europe and offering playout, content management, distribution and large-scale VOD delivery services to broadcasters and media companies.

Under the renewed agreement, ARD’s regional affiliates will continue transmitting their TV channels on Astra in HD quality through 2039.

“Every day, millions of people tune in to ARD’s programmes, making use of its diverse range of news, culture, sports, and entertainment. Thanks to this new agreement, households with satellite reception now have long-term planning security and will be able to receive ARD’s content via the 19.2° East orbital position until the end of the next decade,” said Deepak Mathur, President of Media at SES.

Dr Oliver Werner, ARD Tech Unit, added: “We are very pleased that this agreement will allow us to continue to offer viewers easy and reliable access to all ARD programming. Within our distribution mix of broadcast and streaming, satellite transmission will remain an essential component of our distribution strategy in the future.”

The UHD event channel Eurosport 4K will be available to viewers with a UHD TV set, DTH satellite reception via Astra (19.2° East) and an active HD+ package, with all matches from the main court – including semi-finals and finals – shown in UHD HDR with German commentary and without commercial breaks. The coverage will be carried on the UHD1 by HD+ channel across the 15 tournament days.

The tournament returns with a changed men’s field after defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was forced to withdraw due to injury, ensuring a new winner in Paris. Germany’s Alexander Zverev is among the contenders, alongside Italy’s Jannik Sinner, while Coco Gauff aims to defend her women’s title.

“The French Open thrive on intensity, passion and outstanding images. With Eurosport 4K and our strong partner HD+, we capture these moments in exceptional UHD HDR quality and bring them directly into the living room – close to the action and full of emotion,” said Matthias Heinze, SVP Commercial & Managing Director Germany, Switzerland & Austria at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Andreas Schulz, Head of Product Management at HD Plus, added: “Roland-Garros has long been a must-watch for tennis fans – and in UHD HDR the tournament becomes even more impressive on TV screens. With Eurosport 4K on UHD1, viewers can enjoy this highlight in the best possible quality, and HD+ app users receive automatic UHD notifications so they don’t miss any key moments.”

The UHD broadcast will cover all matches from Court Philippe-Chatrier, delivering around 120 hours of live tennis in UHD HDR quality.

The promotional service, DFB.TV Free, began broadcasting on 15 April 2026 and is available unencrypted to Astra satellite viewers on the frequency 11,954 GHz H (SR 27,500, FEC 3/4). It offers previews of the formats and coverage that will feature on the full 24/7 channel when it launches on 22 May.

The main service, DFB.TV, marks the first official TV channel in the history of the German Football Association. Operated as a joint venture between DFB and Sportainment Media Group, the channel will be carried on HD+ via satellite and IP, with HD+ customers able to add it as a paid option from mid‑May.

DFB.TV Free serves as a temporary showcase, highlighting the breadth of programming that will define the new channel. This includes live matches from youth national teams, the 2. Women’s Bundesliga, the Finaltag der Amateure, regional leagues, Futsal, Beach Soccer and the DFB eCup, alongside training insights and talent‑development content.

The full channel will go live on 22 May, the eve of the men’s DFB Cup final. The following day, DFB.TV will carry live coverage from the Finaltag der Amateure. The channel will also follow the national team through the FIFA World Cup 2026 with reports from the team base camp and the “German House of Soccer” in the United States.

“DFB.TV is a milestone for football fans in Germany. Together with DFB, we are making the official association channel easily accessible via satellite – with live football, exclusive insights and background reporting. Personally, I am particularly looking forward to the DFB ‘insides’ around the men’s DFB Cup final and, of course, to the reports from the FIFA World Cup 2026,” said HD Plus Managing Director Christoph Mühleib.

The linear 24/7 service will go live on 22 May 2026, on the eve of the DFB Cup final, with live coverage from the event marking its debut, unveiled DFB.TV Managing Director Gisbert Wundram in an interview with Broadband TV News. “We are creating a new media home for football fans in Germany. DFB.TV has the potential to become an important player in the country’s sports media landscape,” he said.

The channel will feature live coverage, reports, interviews and background programming across the breadth of German football. This includes the junior national teams, the amateurs’ finals, Futsal, Beach Soccer and DFB eCup. Highlights and summaries from the DFB Cup, the 3. Liga, the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga and the national teams round off the schedule, alongside historical retrospectives and classic matches. In addition to the linear channel, content will be available on demand

DFB.TV will also accompany Germany’s national teams across training camps, international fixtures and tournaments. During the FIFA World Cup 2026, the channel plans on-site coverage from the team base camp and the “German House of Soccer”, including the live broadcast of all press conferences and behind-the-scenes reporting.

The aim is to broaden the range of football content available to fans and show competitions and stories that currently receive limited or no television exposure, bringing the full scope of German football closer to audiences, said Wundram. He stressed that DFB.TV is designed as a complementary offering to the association’s existing broadcast rights partners rather than a competitor.

The venture will be led by a three-member management team comprising Kay Dammholz, Director Media Rights at DFB, and Gisbert Wundram and Bendix Eisermann, Managing Directors at Sportainment. The Hamburg-based media company brings operational expertise to the project, having launched and managed multiple sports channels including Sportdigital Fußball and Sportdigital 1+.

DFB.TV will be funded through a combination of pay-TV subscriptions and advertising, with advertising sales handled by Publicis Groupe under a broader strategic partnership covering marketing and monetisation.

The channel will be distributed across cable, satellite, IPTV and OTT with confirmed carriage at launch including Vodafone’s nationwide cable network, DTH satellite distribution on Astra (19.2° East) via HD+, TV streaming service Zattoo and sports streamer DAZN. Talks are ongoing with further platform operators including Deutsche Telekom’s MagentaTV and Sky Deutschland. The goal is to achieve universal technical availability in Germany at launch, said Wundram.

Besides the distribution partners, DFB.TV will also be offered via the stand-alone app DFB.TV+, developed with technology provider Deltatre. DFB.TV+ will be available to consumers for €5.99 per month or €59.99 annually with the subscription including access to the linear 24/7 channel and the on-demand library. The app will also be offered in Austria and Switzerland.

Available immediately to all iKOMG customers, iKOSYSTEM consolidates subscribed services including playout, monitoring, OTT distribution, FAST Channel automation and EPG management into one secure, real-time dashboard accessible via a single login. The Switzerland-based company positions the platform as the first to unify satellite, cloud, OTT and FAST workflows within one operational architecture.

The move resolves long-standing fragmentation in broadcast environments, where operators typically manage multiple systems, URLs and credentials across hybrid infrastructures, according to iKOMG. iKOSYSTEM integrates Single Sign-On access, role-based permissions, embedded live return-feed monitoring, real-time system health indicators and API-ready architecture.

Through the new portal, customers can access services such as iKOBMS, iKOCLOUD, iKOPLUS, iKOGUIDE, iKOCLIPS, iKOFAST, iKOOTT and iKOQ via a modular, web-based dashboard. Services appear dynamically based on contractual subscriptions, allowing additional tools to be activated without migrating to separate platforms.

“This is a structural shift in how broadcast operations are delivered,” said Adir Hadad, VP of Cloud Services at iKO Media Group. “iKOSYSTEM unifies complex technical environments into a single operational interface. From cloud playout redundancy and return-feed monitoring to OTT distribution and FAST Channel automation, customers now have real-time visibility and actionable control without relying on multiple systems or support escalation. The platform is API-ready, secure by design, and built to integrate seamlessly into modern broadcast workflows.”

Shmulik Koren, CEO of iKO Media Group, added: “At iKOMG, we don’t follow industry trends – we set them. iKOSYSTEM represents our commitment to leading from the front and solving real client challenges at their core. Broadcasters today need clarity, control, and accountability across increasingly complex ecosystems. We built iKOSYSTEM to eliminate fragmentation and give our customers complete operational confidence. This is not just a portal – it’s a new operational standard.”

According to iKOMG, future updates to iKOSYSTEM will incorporate satellite and distribution data, channel analytics and NOC notifications as the company expands the platform’s role as a centralised operational hub.