www.talkcyprus.org

[andytandreou]

The standard TV channels in Cyprus (Mega, PIK, ANT1, Sigma etc) are without doubt... P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C! Their program line-up is insulting at best, even to the average 5-year-old. Programs like "Vourate Geitonoi" (run neighbors) are a welcomed attempt to produce local content but fail miserably. Eventually you realize that you are watching loud and obnoxious villagers shout at each other and men dressed up as old ladies! Should you dare switch on the TV during the afternoon hours and you might think that we live in Brazil. The philosophy is that "Anything shown before the 8pm News should be as crap as possible"!!!

Thankfully, for the past year the Cyprus TV arena has gone through a revolution! Many service providers have jumped at the chance to create their own broadcast networks and finally we have choice and quality!

The main competitors are Cyta and Nova which offer Cable and satellite TV respectively. We also have Athina Sat TV, CableNet and PrimeTel.

Mivision by Cyta: Is a digital service which offers around 20 channels for a VERY low price. They currently have a special offer for £20 for 8 months. Their channel line-up includes the discovery family of channels and some music, cartoon and news channels. Mivision is not available everywhere yet. The service has carved a market with consumers who are not fanatic TV watchers but want quality TV when they do watch. The service gets regular updates and a free movie channel is expected soon. The service supports email and internet over the TV.

Nova Cyprus by Multichoice: Is the most complete digital service available in Cyprus! They have the LTV movie channel and the Alpha sports channel plus another 150 channels with a bewildering choice from E! to Discovery-Animal Planet! The service costs £27.50 per month! Nova Cyprus is available everywhere in Cyprus! This service is very similar to Sky but includes some feature that sky doesn't. Programs can have audio options so you could watch the footie with English sports commentary if you wish.

Athina Sat TV: Is very similar to Nova Cyprus but lacks in channel-line-up. To be honest i don't see this company surviving. They lack vision, have no idea what marketing is and even asked customers to pay two years in advance when they sign-up. Nova Cyprus is a much better service and the difference is subscription between these two companies is only a couple of pounds.

CableNetis a special situation and rumors have it being close to bankruptcy! They offer a service which is hardly available anywhere (only one street in Larnaka). They offer around 40 channels but their service is analogue not digital. Like the analogue cable operators in the UK who stuck to their 40 channel line-up for years i doubt CableNet will ever make it in such a competitive market!

Prime-Tel is a complete telecommunications provider with services that include Internet, TV and telephony. They have yet to announce a service but they are rapidly deploying their fiber-optic cables throughout Cyprus. Judging from what I've heard and seen so far, Prime-Tel is hell bent on dominating Cyta. They are professional and are backed by Thunderworx who are themselves very high-tech and professional.



For those who want quality TV the only real options are Mivision or Nova Cyprus. If Mivision is not available in your area then don't worry as Nova is FAR better, but not cheaper.

If Mivision is available to you then judge if you need the huge choice, if not then Mivision should do fine.