Victoriya Boklag , vice president of marketing and media of United Group BV, stated, at the panel about United Group entitled “An exceptional story of growth in the European cable distribution and media industry”, within the regular annual assembly and business forum of the EBRD in Jordan, that the planned investments of 600 million euros in the region . “There is a great potential for the penetration of our services in the region and there is room for improvement. We intend to invest in both fixed and mobile networks, in order to support ever-increasing capacities and provide an even higher quality of service. We must have networks that are ready for the future . We believe that there are other opportunities for investments, but these will be some additional investments,” Boklag explained.
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Stating that the company started only in Serbia, and now we have a market of more than 20 million people in six countries of the former Yugoslavia . Boklag pointed out that the key markets of United Group are Croatia, Serbia and BiH”. Dragan Šolak , founder and president of the United Group Board of Directors, added that they thought they might not be able to provide everything they could, because the market is unable to accept everything, but they should be ready for a higher level. “In a way, we hindered existing competitors on the market, because we introduced new services at cheaper prices ,” said Šolak and announced: ” In September, we will be the first to offer a new form of broadcasting .” When I talked to investors in New York recently, they pay $200 a month and our service is $15 and we provided better service than in New York. We strive to lead development without disrupting some flows in the region. We believe that we are not offering too much at too low a price,” said Šolak.
Alain Pilloux, vice-president of the EBRD
Speaking about innovations, Alain Pilloux, vice-president of the EBRD emphasized that they are not only fast in the world, but also that they are constantly accelerating. ” United Group is a fascinating example of how far you can go from a place that many in Silicon Valley wouldn’t recognize on a map. But wonderful things are happening in the countries of the region and that is very important and shows that a lot is possible and that is why we are cooperating with KKR and United Group. Our task is to take risks and support innovation ,” said Pilloux.
Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts&Co (KKR) Jean-Pierre Saad pointed
Director of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts&Co (KKR) Jean-Pierre Saad pointed out that this is their first investment in Southeast Europe. We have always led in supporting champions and as part of the thematic work in telecommunications we quickly identified the company as the fastest growing in the region. We spent some time with the team and it is important that they were so strong in the region, and we also recognized that there is a lot of potential in the region,” said Saad, adding that they were impressed by the quality of the assets and the network, as well as the fact that the EBRD was there, which gave them a lot of confidence.
Alain Pilloux reminds that the EBRD is based on transition and systemic change . Cooperation with United Group meets all these criteria. We make the economies in the Balkans more competitive , especially through various projects, and that makes the region more integrated”, said Pilo and added that the company United Group is also extremely good in terms of inclusiveness “because there is a woman in the leading position , with a few men in the background”.
Jean-Pierre Saad emphasized that the company operates in a very competitive market and in an industry that is undergoing transformation. We constantly make important strategic decisions. One of the most important decisions was in 2015 when United Group bought the third largest mobile operator in Slovenia, Tuš Mobile . The second is the acquisition of Nova TV in Croatia , for which we recently received approval from the regulatory agency. Such acquisitions are part of our strategy to help traditional media in their transformation in order to become relevant and more successful in the digital age,” said Sad.
Saad said that it is important for every media company to have local news and this can be seen in examples around the world. “Every successful media strategy has a news segment. We realized that it is necessary to introduce a media business that functions 24 hours a day, and that professional rules must be followed in providing news, that is very important to us. It is part of a wider media strategy,” said Saad.
The vice president of the EBRD points out that they invest about one billion dollars a year in the region . Those countries are different than they were in the 90s and a lot has been achieved in them. But much still needs to be done. From a political point of view, it is a region, to paraphrase the Italian Prime Minister’s statement from a few years ago, where the past has not yet become history because the wounds are still fresh and much still needs to be done. But a lot has changed since the 90s , now the leaders of the region are talking, laughing, I even saw them singing together. It is important that they talk,” says Pilo.
When it comes to the future, Šolak said that there is a lot of talk that televisions will disappear , but he does not agree with that. “At least not anytime soon. The main change will be that you will be able to watch television wherever you want and you will be able to access content wherever you want. The operator’s role is to provide choice in terms of technology and content , and believes that each subscriber will decide how to consume that content. “I believe that soon everything will be possible, and individuals will be envious of how they will consume content. Most programs will turn into content archives, and people will watch sports and news live . It will always be broadcast live, but if you miss any of that content, you can watch it in the recording. We have to provide that to our users,” said Šolak.
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Source: N1
