LG’s Horizon to roll out in four countries this year, beginning next quarter

Mike Fries

Liberty Global’s Horizon set-top box and gateway will be rolled out next quarter, according to CEO Mike Fries. Speaking on the opening panel at the Cable Congress in Brussels today, Fries said the company was still working on the price point. It will be offered in four countries this year – the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland.

Fries said Liberty would seek to acquire rights for content for anywhere in the home . He said that in general these rights were granted as standard. “The programme rights negotiations are very complicated,” he said. However, in general he said he didn’t see any problem in obtaining rights to give consumers access to content.

Fries said that the box would allow users to access content on multiple screens, give them access to web content and, most importantly, give them a great user experience. He said the box would be “not that expensive”. He said it was “critical as an industry that we’re on the same roadmap wherever possible”.LG’s Horizon to launch in four countries this year, beginning next quarter.