discop link • #11

portraitA GOOD FRIEND: FERDINAND HABSBURGBy Bob JenkinsAlways impressed by the desire of the people of Central and Eastern Europeto learn, Ferdinand Habsburg has backed his convictions, opening Da VinciLearning, a family educational channel set to roll out across the region.Ferdinand Habsburg is a man deeplyimpressed by the people ofCentral and Eastern Europe. Havingbeen one of the founding team membersof German Pay-TV servicePremiere, Ferdinand spent manyyears working with ECM, where hegained a deep knowledge of, and likingfor, the region. After this he had aspell working away from the DISCOParea, returning to it a few years agowhen, in his words, he was, "simplyoverwhelmed by the collective desirefor quality education and the thirst forknowledge. People everywhere," herecalls, "were learning on-line, doingprofessional refresher courses, learninglanguages - it really was phenomenonal."Ferdinand believes that, "theregion has always had a cerebral culture,especially countries such asRussia, Poland and Hungary, and theway in which this culture is beingrevised impresses me very much. Ofcourse," he continues, "the region'seconomic growth has also been veryremarkable, but, for me, it is this desireto learn and to go on learning thatis the most striking aspect of the modernCEE."His observation of this desire tolearn was one of the key reasonsbehind Ferdinand's decision to launchDa Vinci Learning, a family learningchannel with the aim, says Ferdinand,"of demonstrating that science is oneof the most exciting and compellingtopics around today."The sincerity of his belief in thedesire of the people of the region totake study seriously is perfectly underlinedby the nature of the Da VinciLearning schedule. Presenters areNobel Laureates such as NadineGordimer, or world-renowned expertsin their field, such as Sir RichardAttenborough, and primetime is filledFerdinand Habsburg, 3 minutes beforethe launch in Septemberwith programming on mathematicsand genetics.If that wasn't odd enough in themodern television world, Ferdinand isadamant that Da Vinci Learning is,and will remain, a family Channel. "Iknow that is a concept that is a bitanachronistic," he accepts, "but," hecontinues, "we believe that this type ofprogramming will appeal to multiplefamily members, adults, teenagers,and kids alike, and we also believe thatwe have the ability to deliver a channelthat will meet all of these differentdemands."Although his observation of thedesire to learn was key to his decisionto launch Da Vinci Learning, whichdebuted in September on Poland's Nplatform, and which will launch inRomania in November and on Turkey'sDsmart platform in December, andmultiple platforms in Russia, TheCzech Republic, Ukraine and Slovakiathrough the first quarter 2008, it wasnot the only observation that promptedthis move."I think there are three key trendswhich will be seen to emerge in theregion over the next 18 - 24 months,"says Ferdinand, as he goes on to listthem. "The first," he enumerates, "isthere will be an explosion in the numberof niche channels on offer.However," he cautions, "there will becasualties. The region is becomingvery sophisticated both in terms ofbusiness practices and also in termsof audience demand and sub standardofferings, of which there are bound tobe some, will fail."The second observation whichgave him grounds for optimism, "is thecontinued expansion of the region'svery impressive content sector. Threeobvious examples," he continues, "arethe ITI channels in Poland, whose contentis just exceptional, especiallyTVN24 which is probably the mostprofessional news channel in all ofEurope. The fascinating animationwhich is coming out of The CzechRepublic and the hard hitting seriesout of Russia, especially those producedby NTV, which are much moreexciting then anything currently producedin the West."The third and final trend Ferdinandexpects to see emerge is, "a lotof movement and consolidation, inboth the DTH sector and also the cabsatsector."All of these trends Ferdinand seesas positive, and all played a role in hisdecision to set up Da Vinci Learning,but he cannot emphasise too stronglythat at the core of this move was, "myobservation of the regional desire tolearn and go on learning, and our willingnessto back ourselves to deliver afamily channel that makes learningfun." }DISCOP LINK • #11 • NOVEMBER 0707