Digitaltveurope.com

Telefónica is launching a Movistar satellite TV service in Costa Rica. The telco is differentiating its service in an already-competitive pay TV market by offering a pre-paid service, allowing users to sign up without a long-term commitment.

Users can sign up for the service using their national ID cards on the movistar.cr website. Movistar then contacts the subscribers to arrange the installation.

Users can also self-install after signing up via the web, receiving a kit comprising antenna and digital box at a cost of CRC50,000 (€70).

The service is available for CRC9,900 a month for an offering of 72 channels including 15 in HD and three national channels.

DTH pay TV accounts for about a fifth of Costa Rican TV homes and is growing rapidly, particularly in parts of the country that lack cable infrastructure. Sky Costa Rica, owned by Televisa and DirecTV, is the major competitor in the market. A rival player, Qualy TV, shut down in 2016.

Analogue and digital cable accounts for the lion’s share of local TV homes, with about a third receiving services via analogue terrestrial transmission.