Deutsche Telekom AG and Premiere AG, the leading pay TV broadcaster in Germany and Austria, have agreed on a strategic partnership. Their aim is to push the new IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) standard and to help interactive television to achieve the breakthrough in Germany. Right on time for the start of the Bundesliga 2006/07 season, the pay TV station will implement an attractive range of programs covering games in Germany's first football league (Bundesliga) as well as matches in the second division. The new service will make the Deutsche Telekom Group the first telecom operator in Germany to enable customers to receive Bundesliga matches in IPTV format - over various networks and in particular over the new VDSL network. To underline the importance of the new TV standard for the future, customers will have the option of receiving the entire Premiere program bouquet.

"The service will set new standards in sports reporting. Experienced presenters and the longtime experience of the Premiere team will be the basis for Bundesliga reporting with event character. New fan-oriented services such as a personalized conference service will make the offer a highlight in Germany's TV market," says Walter Raizner, Board Member responsible for the Broadband / Fixed Network business area at Deutsche Telekom AG. Raizner is convinced that exciting sports journalism will make the service a key sporting event and one of the best that the industry has to offer. In its search for a cooperation partner on the way to reaching this ambitious goal, the company opted for Premiere, the top brand in German sports reporting. The entire Premiere program comprising 28 channels will also be viewable in IPTV format come summer. T-Online will market the new end-to-end service under the name "T-Home from T-Online." The set-top box, the innovative media receiver that is connected up to the TV set, will then bring a whole array of TV stations and additional services in addition to the Bundesliga service onto TV screens in people's homes.

The license has been sublicensed to Premiere. The agreement states that Premiere will produce and supply all matches in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga leagues live in IPTV format.

"This cooperation enables us to reach yet another key milestone in our strategy to open up Germany's broadband market. We are very glad to have found a partner in Premiere, which has an excellent track record in its core competence, namely sports journalism," Walter Raizner comments. All games in the 1st football league will be offered individually and as a personalized conference service. For the first time ever, it will be possible to experience all the 2nd league games live. So even before the next season starts, there is already one clear winner: the viewer. For the first time in the history of German television, the viewer will become his own program director.

Dr. Georg Kofler, CEO of Premiere AG comments: "We are really looking forward to the new partnership with Deutsche Telekom. It will mean a strategic alliance between two corporate groups that complement each other optimally in many ways. T-Home will give Premiere fast and efficient access to state-of-the-art interactive television. And, in the Deutsche Telekom Group, we will be gaining a strong partner for attractive services comprising entertainment, Internet and DSL telephony, which we will offer our subscribers."

Keeping the ball rolling with T-Com's VDSL high-speed network
High-tech is key to showing the football matches in top quality: to date, T Com has invested some 500 million euros in expanding its innovative broadband infrastructure and, in doing so, already provides ten of Germany's cities with world cutting-edge technology. In the cities of Hamburg, Berlin, Hanover, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Frankfurt/Main, Nuremberg and Munich, customers are already enjoying high definition TV at up to 50 Mbit/s.

"This offer means that the company is opening a new door in the world of fast Internet communication and new entertainment formats. With our full Bundesliga coverage, we will guarantee customers a true program highlight, thereby underlining the company's role as innovator," Walter Raizner says.

T-Home from T-Online: Best TV entertainment any time
T-Home is set to provide even more than football Bundesliga reporting: alongside access to the video-on-demand service from T-Online, which offers blockbusters from major Hollywood studios Universal, 20th Century Fox, Paramount and others, free TV stations and a number of business channels will offer content for download at any time. The aim is to drive the integration of additional broadcasters in order to offer customers a versatile bouquet of widely differing genres. In addition, T-Home will also offer attractive TV archives, with the broadcasters involved making top content available for download whenever required. This will provide an extremely convenient service that will allow viewers to compile their own flexible entertainment programs. Plans include the possibility to subscribe to other pay TV channels beside Premiere via T-Home and to download their content.