25/12/03

Christmas day GO AWAY

24/12/03

Next update 27th and final one for the year will be on the 28th! with the annual apsattv predictions for next year!

Well the chatroom was in a festive mood lastnight for the final chat session of the year.

The main news being shared was Impactv will be on Intelsat 804 @ 176E
In a configuration of 4x 36mhz for NZ and 2x72mhz for Australia.

NZ service will be on spotbeam 1
Australian service will be via spot beam 2

In Australia A 76cm size dish should be fine in most locations, except W.A and other outer fringe regions

A 76cm will also be fine in all parts of NZ, also it will probably REQUIRE a universal type LNBF due to the transponder configuration.

Please note there is no test signal up as yet. But those in NZ can find this satellite easily enough as there is also a Taiwanese mux there

Footprints below.

From the Dish

Yamal 102 90E 3532 L The "GTRK El-Altai test card" is back on , Fta, SR 4275, FEC 3/4, PIDs 307/256.
Yamal 102 90E 3709 L It's "TVS Severnaya Dvina" on , SR 2860, FEC 3/4, PIDs 308/256.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3671 H,The Overcomer has started Fta, APID 7202.

From my Emails & ICQ

Merry Christmas from everyone

Could be a lot worse, where are the Christmas lights?

NEWS

Cooma Man to Face Subscription TV Piracy Crime Charges -- ASTRA

From Press release

ASTRA announced the latest individual to face subscription
television piracy charges - this time a 40 year old television
repair man from Cooma who will appear before Cooma local Court in
February next year.

This is the latest in a number of similar activities that have
been initiated by ASTRA members to stamp down on piracy of
subscription TV services.

Evidence gathered during a joint investigation by AUSTAR and Cooma
Police indicated that the man was allegedly selling unauthorised
smartcards, which may be used in a decoder box to illegally access
subscription television channels.

The man will face charges under federal laws relating to the sale
of unauthorised broadcast decoding devices (pirated smart cards).

Deanne Weir, AUSTAR's Group Director of Corporate Development and
Legal Affairs, said, "This latest investigation is another step in
our national crack-down on piracy of our television services. Our
genuine subscribers are being hurt by piracy, so we are making a
concerted effort to fight back at the pirates and increase our
policing investigations to stamp it out."

Debra Richards, Executive Director of ASTRA added, "We hope
today's announcement will send a clear warning to people not to be
hoodwinked into becoming involved in piracy activity. Piracy is a
crime. If in any doubt, or if pirate activity is suspected, we urge
you to report it through our piracy hotline on 1800 428 888."

For further information please contact
Deanne Weir
Group Director of Corporate Development and Legal Affairs
Austar United Communications
02 9295 0103 or dweir@austar.com.au
Debra Richards
Executive Director
ASTRA
02 9200 1486 or mobile 0418236174

For more information on piracy, go to: http://www.astra.org.au/piracy

TV5 eyes larger indian viewership base

From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/378532.cms

KOLKATA: France appears to be getting more proactive in penetrating the Indian cable and satellite (C&S) market. French television channel TV5, which has been around in the country since 1997, but has maintained a somewhat low profile, has, of late, unveiled some moves to up its ante.

These initiatives include subtitling a share of its programme pie in English and fleshing out content with localised flavour.

Significantly, the channel’s deputy director of international marketing Alexandre Muller said that India , which now forms part of the TV5 Asia footprint, could sport a dedicated feed soon. “I hope to be in a position soon to provide a specific beam to India , a new TV5 India channel,” Mr Muller told ET.

Incidentally, the TV5 World Network’s global spectrum embraces eight exclusive brands. In addition to TV5 Asia, the basket is made up of TV5 France/Belgium/Switzerland, TV5 Europe whose prime markets are Germany , Sweden and Holland , TV5 Africa and TV5 Middle East. In the same breath, the South and North American territories are fed by TV5 Latin America, TV5 USA and TV5 Canada.

The strategy to subtitle a fair portion of the movies on the channel in English is aimed at shoring up viewership base. “We decided to subtitle the movies in English to attract a larger audience. Naturally, it was also to allow a wider segment of Indian audiences to discover the richness of the French movie industry,” Mr Muller told ET.

Of course, since movies are repeated during the month, some of these repeats may be aired with French subtitles, he added.

The channel is now actively working on stretching its subtitling approach to cover documentaries and “dramas” as well. “Yes, the plan is to subtitle more programmes and progressively increase the volume of subtitles in English. The channel, which is also broadcasting a 30-minute English news bulletin, intends to build around this genre,” Mr Muller said.

Interestingly, there is a thrust toward injecting local flavour too. Recently, the channel put on show a programme called “24 hours in Mumbai”. “The capsules in this telecast were a mix of 20 magazines on India-related themes and interviews with personalities in various spheres. There were also slots which dwelt on people with a India connection like Rudyard Kipling, Salman Rushdie or Roberto Rossellini,” Mr Patrick Madelin, audio-visual attache at the French embassy, said.

All these efforts appear to be translating into larger subscriber numbers. Real-time viewing of TV5 was largely restricted to a French speaking audience and Indians adept in the language. This may have been in the range of 250,000-300,000 in India . These viewers who have grown “tremendously” lately, according to Mr Muller, and could be double the previous base. “However, the channel will continue to remain free to air,” he said.

Driving home the gameplan to boost its India connect, Mr Madelin mentioned that TV5 has tied up with Zee to beam its programmes, on an experimental basis, via Zee’s DTH platform.

23/12/03

Livechat tonight 9pm NZ and 8.30pm Syd time onwards last official chatroom session for the year.

Free drinks will available (BYO)

Still very quiet. Sorry about the lack of news a lot of News sites have gone on a holiday break.

Optus C1 and B3 pages updated.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Perthsatvision

Optus D1 & D2

Audio interview on ABC NEWS RADIO with optus about the new
optus D1 & D2. The program is called starstuff and can
be heard on demand at www.abc.net.au/newsradio/star.htm

The program is starstuff 21/12/03 and the interview
starts 13 minutes and 52 seconds into the program.

D1 to replace B1 said to be launched in 2006
D2 to replace B3 said to be launched in 2007

It's a bit of wait though.

The satellites are said to be purely commercial to
carry television and internet data, etc.

Jason

From the Dish

Intelsat 804 176E 12681 V "CCTV 1 has replaced MAC TV", Fta, PIDs 267/268. New PIDs for all channels in this mux.

Optus B3 156E 12525 V "Al-Manar TV" has started, Fta, PIDs 1760/1720.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3520 H New PIDs for TelePace and Radio Vaticana on : 513/514 and 515.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3610 V Radio Pakistan has left .
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3671 H A Ritz Club info card and an RR Sat promo have started, Fta,PIDs 6178/6179 and 6193/6179.

NEWS

DD mulls leasing DTH infrastructure to private players

From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k3/dec/dec203.htm

NEW DELHI: With Prasar Bharati’s annual revenue on the slide as the gap between earnings and spending has increased over the years, a proposal has been mooted that the uplinking and downlinking facilities at its disposal could be rented out to private players interested in setting up KU-band direct-to-home television service in India.

That is, if a private player, interested in starting a DTH service in India, does not have the infrastructure and would not like to lease transponders for the DTH service, it can come to Doordarshan and take such facilities on lease or rent. According to sources in the government, a proposal to this effect was discussed between the information and broadcasting ministry, which gives Prasar Bharati annual grant in-aid, and the Planning Commission that is responsible for fine-tuning financial assistance to various government organizations, government-supported entities and the states.

Prasar Bharati is an autonomous body formed by an Act of Parliament and manages the affairs of India’s pubcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio. Whether such a move can be practically translated into a reality would become clear when the finer points are drawn up because a private player interested in foraying in the DTH arena would like to have its own infrastructure.

Still, the government and the Planning Commission are optimistic that this proposal would have buyers as DD’s ground infrastructure is the best in the country, but the sources added that these are early days for this proposal. Meanwhile, it has also been decided that the subscription-free DTH service that DD would be launching in 2004, unlike a typical DTH service that comes at a price, would be carrying more than 30 channels, which was decided earlier.

“The Prasar Bharati is interested in carrying many more channels (including 20 DD channels) on its proposed DTH service so as to make it attractive. There is no dearth of non-DD free to air channels even as discussions would be held with the likes of Star , Sony Entertainment and Zee for some of their channels too to join the DTH platform,” a government official said. According to information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was replying to a question on DD’s DTH scheme in the Rajya Sabha, the pilot KU-band project has been approved by the government with the cost envisaged being Rs 1643.5 million.

Interestingly, Prasad also informed fellow parliamentarians that a proposal has been received from the Andhra Pradesh government for allowing cable operators in the state to receive and distribute KU-band signals through their networks for “dissemination of high quality programmes to needy and isolated schools and colleges.”

22/12/03

NEWS FLASH

Globecast , Optus B3 12525V have added AL-Manar...very controversial didn't Tarb's drop this one while the Govt investigates it?

I must say I and others are dissapointed in what TVNZ are doing on their transponder on B1. I hope we see it put to better use next year.

I had another look at I804 on the weekend, they have changed the pids of all the services in the Tiawanese mux, Mac Tv has been replaced by CCTV1 and although FTA the Conditional access appears to be NDS Videoguard according to the Nokia.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Steve

B1 FTA New Zealand

DW has been unwatchable for some days now. I can't see the point in
TVNZ rebroadcasting such a poor signal.

The Christmas Channel is a bit of a disappointment due to the low
audio levels. Worse, TVNZ is just showing the same handful of
programmes over and over again. Who do they think they are, Sky?

I'm REALLY missing the ABC.

From Siam Global

NEW PRODUCT

THERE IS A NEW AND WELL MADE PRODUCT ON THE MARKET HERE IN THAILAND WHICH SHOULD BE OF GREAT INTEREST TO APSATTERS AS IT DOES NOT APPEAR AVAILABLE IN EITHER AUSTRALASIA OR EUROPE.

IN ADDITION THE PRICE IS SO LOW THAT FEW CAN AFFORD TO MISS IT.

IT IS THE ASPEN TURBO 4200 DUAL KU & C BAND LNBF. IT WILL FIT ON ANY STANDARD C BAND DISH AS A REPLACEMENT OF THEIR CURRENT C BAND LNBF

WITH SO MANY NEW KU BAND SERVICES BECOMING AVAILABLE THOSE WITH ONLY C BAND ARE MISSING OUT. THE RETAIL PRICE IS ONLY US$50 INCLUDING THE LNB'S.

SIAMGLOBAL BANGKOK

[ NOTE FOR MR SUTTON : IF YOU ARE HAPPY TO PUBLISH WHERE THIS PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE, : IT IS TO BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE OF www.satthai.com ]

From Tariq

hi craig

I live in pakistan and a great fan of you

today i find two fta chanels from zee dth on Insat 3A were fta
smile is fta since two days and premier movies has just arrived a few
minutes ago

tariq_piplan@hotmail.com

From the Dish

Optus C1 156E 12487 V "ABC TV Northern, Win TV, ABC Classic FM Northern, ABC Territory Radio and ABC Radio National Northern" have left .
Optus C1 156E 12598 H "The History Channel and the three Fox Footy Channel" are now encrypted.
Optus B3 152E 12438 H The GlobeCast Australia mux has left .
Optus B3 152E 12525 V "EWTN Asia has replaced RTV 21 Sat" , Fta, PIDs 1660/1620.

Yamal 102 90E 3532 LThe test card has left again.

Intelsat 709 85.2E Galaxy Satellite on the Ku band has changed name to ExTV.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3520 H "Antenna Pacific" has left .
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3520 H "BVN TV and RNW 1-3" are back, Fta, PIDs 3329/3330 and 3331-3333.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3610 V "PTV 1, PTV Channel 3, and PTV World" have left , replaced by a test card.(Now via Asiasat 3)

NEWS

Pay-TV gives footy fans a free kick

From http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,8217470%255E20322,00.html

FOX Footy will be provided free next season to pay-TV subscribers. The decision by Foxtel will save customers up to $100 a year and expose Australian football to millions more viewers.

Fox Footy chief Rick McKenna also revealed yesterday the football channel would become interactive and allow for TV screens to be filled with up to four different camera angles of a live match.

"We have now put Fox Footy into the Essentials package, the basic Foxtel package, and what that means is that even the passing footy fan in any state in the country automatically has access to everything on offer," Mr McKenna said.

"It's obviously great for the AFL as it puts football into 1.4 million homes, 24-7, and in terms of chipping away at the NSW and Queensland markets, this is an incredible boost for the code."

Industry analysts said the reach of each Foxtel subscription equated to 3.6 individuals.

Foxtel would not reveal how many Fox Footy subscribers it had attracted in the past two seasons.

An advance pass for Fox Footy previously cost $75 while subscribers who paid monthly were billed $100 a year.

AFL general manager of broadcasting, strategy and major projects Ben Buckley said the Fox Footy initiative would prove crucial in the code's quest for acceptance in NSW and Queensland.

"We're very happy with the outcome -- it is terrific for football," Mr Buckley said.

The new arrangement begins on February 1.

The interactive component to Fox Footy will be ready some time in the first half of next year.

All televisions will be capable of processing the interactive options after new Foxtel set-top boxes, controlled by new remote controls, are installed.

The Supersmart set-top boxes are expected to be in homes from late January.

Viewers will be able to configure their TV screens and speakers in various forms under the new technology.

As well as having access to four separate shots -- main camera, off-the-ball camera, behind-goals camera and an individual player camera -- viewers can get access to a full range of regularly updated statistics and a variety of commentating options.

FCC OKs News Corp. Purchase of DirecTV

From http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/ap20031219_2220.html

FCC Approves News Corp.'s Takeover of DirecTV, the Nation's Largest Satellite Television Provider

WASHINGTON Dec. 19 — Federal regulators on Friday approved News Corp.'s takeover of DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite television provider, but imposed certain conditions on the $6.6 billion deal.

The Federal Communications Commission said News Corp. must agree to arbitration to solve disputes with companies that carry its broadcast and cable channels, such as cable companies and other satellite providers. And News Corp. must treat all stations equally, not tilt in favor of its Fox broadcasting network and cable stations such as FX.

The arbitration was to alleviate concerns that Fox would pull its network programming, which includes pro baseball and football, off cable systems to encourage viewers to subscribe to DirecTV. News Corp. agreed not to pull either the network programming or its regional sports networks while a dispute was being arbitrated.

The Justice Department said it would not oppose the deal.

The Republican-dominated FCC split along party lines, 3-2, to approve the deal. News Corp. also owns the Fox News Channel, headed by former GOP political operative Roger Ailes.

"This merger with strict conditions ultimately benefits the American public," FCC Chairman Michael Powell said. "News Corporation has a history of taking significant risks and introducing new and innovative media services. Enhanced competition will increase pressure to improve service and lower prices for both cable and satellite television subscribers."

But one of the two Democrats on the commission, Michael Copps, said the deal would reduce competition, not enhance it.

"Where is the logic where is the public interest benefit of giving more and more media power to fewer and fewer players?" Copps said.

Democratic commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said he dissented because the deal does not require DirecTV to provide local channels to every television market, meaning some rural areas will be out of luck. Other areas may get the local channels not via the satellite but through alternative means such as an antenna on their dishes or a digital tuner, Adelstein said.

"They want to do it on the cheap and not do it right, and the FCC is going to roll over and let them do it that way," Adelstein said in an interview. "If they don't put it on the satellite, some people are not going to get it."

Under the deal announced in April, News Corp. would acquire 34 percent of DirecTV parent Hughes Electronics, a subsidiary of General Motors Corp. The deal would give News Corp. the largest block of shares in Hughes and controlling interest in DirecTV, which has more than 11 million subscribers.

The head of the cable TV industry's principal trade association said that adding News Corp's global assets makes DirecTV "a very formidable competitor." But cable operators are well positioned to compete with satellite by offering consumers an attractive array of services such as video-on-demand, high-speed Internet and cable phone service, said Robert Sachs, president and CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

The deal was opposed by some consumer groups, who said that it would further reduce competition by shrinking the number of media companies, and would drive up the price of cable and satellite services.

"Given Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corporation's already bloated holdings in over-the-air TV and cable programming, the FCC should have rejected this deal," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a media watchdog group. "At the very least, they should have imposed stringent safeguards that would have ensured unfettered opportunities for new and competing programmers on DirecTV."

In May 2002, a dispute over how much Time Warner should pay for the Walt Disney Co.'s cable channels led to Disney's ABC network being removed from Time Warner cable systems in New York and six other cities. In January, some 400,000 Cox Communications customers in the Washington, D.C., area, Cleveland, Dallas and Houston lost the Fox network for a week in a dispute over whether the cable company should also carry two Fox cable channels.

The FCC last year rejected a proposed merger between DirecTV and its chief competitor, EchoStar Communications Corp., ruling it would unfairly limit consumer choices.

TV1 set to go international early next year

From http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/12/20/nation/6957741&sec=nation

IPOH: TV1 programmes will be available throughout Asia, Australia, Russia, the Middle East and most parts of Europe by early next year as the Cabinet has approved the lease of a satellite from a Chinese company at RM1.2mil per year, said Deputy Information Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai.

“Countries which want to receive information or news from our country will be able to do so directly from us by switching on their televisions.

“By virtue as present chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries and Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the South-South Information Gateway (SSIG), we do not want them to get the information from other networks of countries elsewhere but directly from us,” Lim said after launching The Store’s Silver and Gold Loyalty Card Programme here yesterday.

An agreement would be signed once the satellite was fully tested, he added.

“TV1 will be setting up a department to dub the programmes from Bahasa Malaysia into English and eventually into other languages like Arab and French,” he said.

Lim said TV1, which would transmit 24 hours from Jan 1, would continue to be news orientated.

He said the station would also be introducing a new half-hour English news slot at 10pm.

“At present, there is only one English news slot at 6pm and that will be cut down to 30 minutes from Jan 1 onwards,” he said.

When asked to comment on claims by opposition parties of uneven coverage during elections, Lim said they could buy airtime from other private television stations in the country as TV1 was mainly for the Government.

Earlier, he commended The Store Group for fulfilling its social responsibility towards its customers by extending free personal accident insurance coverage of up to RM100,000 underwritten by American Home Assurance Company Malaysia that came with the cards.

He said The Store Group had also showed its concern for education in Malaysia by organising the “Kindness Through Charity” campaign to raise funds for Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar).

A mock cheque for RM78,000 was also handed over to representatives of nine thalassaemia associations in the country by The Store Group chairman Md Kamal Bilal and its managing director Datuk Dr Tang Yeam Soon.

(Craigs comment, Asiasat ? Asiasat 2??)

HK's TVB shares benefit with pay-TV launch as advertising revenues recover

From http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/corporatenews/view/62758/1/.html

HONG KONG : Shares of Hong Kong's dominant free-to-air broadcaster TVB benefited on Friday from news that it will launch its pay-TV service in February.

Investors are also optimistic advertising revenues look set to improve as the local economy recovers.

TVB's new pay-TV firm is called Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting and is a joint-venture with US-based Intelsat.

It hopes to break even in four years - almost half the time it has taken rival i-Cable.

"exTV" is the brandname that will be vying for a share of Hong Kong's pay-TV market come February.

While Galaxy's launch comes six months later than planned and three years after it first received its licence, the delay has proven to be a boon.

"When you look at some of the earlier pay-TV models around the world, the set-up boxes are usually the biggest issue. We're in a new time, new era and the set-up box has reduced in price substantially," said Jim Bloomfield, CEO, Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting.

Hong Kong's pay-TV market has been something of a non-starter.

While five licences were dished out by the authorities, very few companies have actually taken up the challenge of going against incumbent i-Cable Communications.

Monthly subscription for exTV is set to be less than US$25, one-third cheaper than i-Cable's current basic package.

Mr Bloomfield said: "I salute i-Cable and I don't take them lightly. I respect what they do, they've done a great job. We certainly look forward to bringing some major competition into the market."

TVB shares gained 1.29 per cent to end Friday at HK$39.30.

In the meantime, Hong Kong's pay-TV market looks set to face a price war vying for only a limited number of subscribers. - CNA

Astro chalks up maiden profit

From http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/12/20/business/6961593&sec=business

Astro All Asia Networks plc has for the first time since its inception become profitable, and the company is well on track to meet its profit forecast for the current year ending Jan 1, 2004.

Astro, which yesterday released its third-quarter results for the period ended Oct 31, chalked up RM8.1mil in pre-tax profit on revenues of RM373mil.

Net profit, at RM5.6mil, was RM2.4mil short of the projected RM8mil for the full year. Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter came to 0.45 sen.

On a cumulative basis, the company reported pre-tax loss of RM17mil and net loss of RM25.3mil on the back of RM1.02bil in turnover. Loss per share was 2.1 sen.

“This is the first quarter of profits,’’ said an analyst. “At a glance, the results look bad, but if you strip the one-off cost and non-recurring cost, it evens out. It looks like the company can meet its full-year forecast but knowing the management of Astro, the company may just beat its RM8mil net profit forecast.”

He noted that Astro’s non-Chinese subscriber base (596,000) had also surpassed that of its Chinese base (594,000).

Astro chief financial officer Rohana Rozhan said demand for Astro’s products had been strong since the end of the quarter, and the company expected to meet full-year projections as outlined in its prospectus.

In a statement, Astro said its balance sheet had been strengthened by improved profitability and the proceeds raised from the initial public offering (IPO) in October; as at end-October its net cash position stood at RM453.1mil.

Astro added 83,396 new subscribers during the quarter, bringing the total to 1.19 million, representing a 24.8% penetration rate of Malaysian TV households.

Rohana said the firm intended to sign up 250,000 to 300,000 new subscribers annually, and that average revenue per user (Arpu) and churn levels would be managed at current levels. But after the Measat-3 satellite is launched into orbit in 2005, Astro can expect Arpu to be driven upwards.

Astro had also gone on an aggressive drive to encourage subscribers to take up second decoder. Rohana said second decoder subscriptions were not included in the computation of residential subscribers.

“As at Oct 31, we had 44,963 second box subscriptions, 3.77% of total Astro subscribers, compared with 40,226, or 3.63%, at the end of the previous quarter.

“For the quarter just ended, second box subscriptions contributed RM2 to the total Arpu of RM81 per subscriber,’’ Rohana told StarBiz.

She added that the aim was to further increase the take-up of second decoders as they contributed positively to the top line Arpu as well as to margins.

“We do not think it would be unreasonable to target a 10% take-up of second box subscriptions over the next five years, consistent with other markets,’’ Rohana said.

Arpu was maintained at RM81 and churn minimised at 7%. Radio operations were the market leader in both advertising and share of listeners, and its audience grew from 8.2 million to 8.7 million.

Contribution from multi-channel subscription TV to revenue was RM333mil; radio RM28.7mil; Celestial Pictures RM7.7mil; and others RM15.6mil.

Although Astro’s forecast full-year net profit is RM8mil, the consensus of 12 analysts compiled by Reuters Estimates puts net profit at RM11.9mil, turnover at RM1.41bil, and EPS at 0.90 sen.

Based on its forecast profit, Astro has a long way to go to hit RM11.9mil, but an analyst said he would not be surprised if it reported double-digit net profit figures for the full year.

Forty-two per cent of the 12 analysts have a buy on the stock; 25% a hold; and 17% a sell. A further 17% have no call. On Thursday, UBS Equities called a buy on the stock.

Shares in Astro, listed on the KLSE main board on Oct 29, closed unchanged at RM4.28 yesterday.

TELE SATELLITE NEWS - Number 49/2003 21 December 2003 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International

Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A & P A C I F I C

AUSTRALIA

SKY TV SIGNS SATELLITE DEAL WITH OPTUS

Sky TV on December 18 confirmed it had signed a 15-year deal with Australian telco Optus to secure the future of pay-TV. Optus is launching two satellites for New Zealand and Australia over the next few years, following the launch of its $A500 million ($NZ579.1 million) C1 satellite earlier this year. Sky TV chief executive John Fellet said the partnership guaranteed the future of subscription television services in New Zealand. "By having access to both Optus D-series satellites, one as the primary and one as back-up, Sky TV has secured in-orbit redundancy for its business, greatly reducing risk in the future," Fellet said. The new satellites would also provide two-way voice and data communication services to areas in and around Australia and NZ, particularly those areas without access to terrestrial telecommunications infrastructure. Optus' B1 and B3 satellites have been in operation since 1992 and 1994 respectively and were nearing the end of their useful life. The move to launch two new satellites came after greater than expected demand for access to the C1. "A significant percentage of the capacity on the D-series satellite has been pre-sold, with Optus having signed a 15-year deal with Sky TV to provide subscription television services to its NZ customers," said Optus chief operating officer Paul O'Sullivan. C1 was expected to generate more than $A1 billion in revenue for Optus over the next few years, and had a 15-year lifespan. Pay TV partner Foxtel will pay $A40 million a year to rent transponder capacity on the satellite, meaning it can now deliver its interactive television services. Optus is wholly owned by Singapore Telecommunications.

FOXTEL TO LAUNCH NEW CHANNELS

Australian TV viewers are getting ready for more than 100 digital pay-TV channels after Foxtel finally received the green light to introduce its digital service. Foxtel plans to begin the service in the first half of next year, increasing the number of pay-TV channels it offers from 47 to more than 100. Foxtel will reveal the launch date for its digital service, and the new channels, early in 2004. However, it has confirmed it will offer a range of interactive services, including one that would allow viewers to select a movie and watch it shortly afterwards. Foxtel will also offer interactive news and sports services. Sports Active will enable people to choose camera angles, view player and competition statistics and watch highlights. Sky News Active will give a choice of eight local news screens, including specific finance news and sports broadcasts. Foxtel does not intend to offer its own interactive gambling or betting services. It has yet to determine the price it will charge for its new digital services. However, the entry level charge will be the same as that for its satellite service, currently $47.95 a month. Foxtel is spending more than $600 million upgrading its analogue cable network to digital in the hope the new interactive services will kick-start stagnating subscriber growth. Only 23 per cent of households have pay-TV, but Foxtel's CEO, Kim Williams, has predicted the arrival of a digital service will increase this to between 35 and 40 per cent by 2008. There will be room for up to 24 competing pay-TV services on Foxtel's new digital network. Seven Network, which axed its fledgling C7 pay-TV sports channel last year, is likely to introduce a pay-TV service on the Foxtel network.

CHINA - HONG KONG

BROADCASTING MEDIA GROUP TO START ON DECEMBER 26

A broadcast media group consolidating five provincial radio, television and network companies in Guangdong province will begin operations on December 26. The Southern Broadcast Television Group will have combined fixed assets of more than 10bn yuan [$1.2 billion]. It has been set up to integrate the region's broadcast networks and position itself for competition from Hong Kong. The core of the group comprises Guangdong Radio Station, Guangdong Television Station, Southern Television Station, the Guangdong Provincial Broadcast Technology Centre and Guangdong Cable. The group will later merge 19 local television, broadcast and network companies to create a broadcasting giant that covers 9 million households for cable television and 10 million households for free-to-air television. Beijing and Shanghai formed their broadcast groups in 2001 and about a dozen provinces have also consolidated their broadcasters.

GALAXY TO LAUNCH PAY-TV SERVICE IN FEBRUARY

Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting has announced that it will start its pay-TV service on February 18. The company, partly owned by TVB, will become the sixth in the pay-TV market. Galaxy has already begun to test its equipment. Galaxy will broadcast 30 channels, including TVB and ATV's terrestrial channels, which will continue to be free-to-air to non-subscribers, when it begins airing under the name exTV. Subscriptions will be offered in early February. In addition to its existing Jade and Pearl channels, TVB will air a 24-hour news channel via Galaxy, competing with around-the-clock news channels from cable and newcomer Hong Kong Broadband. Four other new TVB channels are on the line-up, offering entertainment, drama and children's programmes. Other Galaxy channels will include E! Entertainment Television, Cartoon Network, MTV Southeast Asia, HBO and news outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg and BBC World. Satellite company Intelsat owns 51 per cent of Galaxy, while TVB owns 49 per cent. The company is expected to break even in three to four years.

BEIJING DROPS FOREIGN TV CHANNELS

Several key European and Asian cable-television channels have been dropped from distribution in parts of Beijing, just two weeks before the government is due to announce a list of approved channels for the country next year, according to the South China Morning Post. Residents of several housing estates in Beijing said Italy's RAI, TV5 of France, Germany's DW and Korean TV were among channels that had been cancelled for distribution. Media executives speculated that the cut-off could be related to last-minute bargaining before the approved channels were announced. China has granted licences to 30 channels to be distributed in approved foreign compounds, hotels and housing estates. The list does not include RAI, DW or the Korean channel, although it does include TV5. Other channels manage to have their signals viewed in some locations by negotiating deals with the estates and hotels. In addition, over time, the number of "approved" locations has widened to include housing estates where locals and foreigners live. Each of the approved channels must pay about US$100,000 per year as a so-called distribution fee for use of China's main satellite, Sinosat. Two years ago, China began forcing the foreign channels to switch from other satellites to Sinosat to distribute their signals. The move was widely viewed as a way to find a new source of revenue for the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and gradually tighten control over foreign media by grouping all signals in one place.

GALAXY SIGNS NVOD COPY PROTECTION DEAL WITH MACROVISION

Macrovision Corporation announced on December 18 that Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting has signed an agreement to use Macrovision's technology to protect Near-Video-On-Demand ("NVOD") programs from unauthorized copying. The Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting service will be an all-digital, multi-channel service featuring a range of premium Cantonese and Mandarin content programming to subscribers in Hong Kong. Macrovision's copy protection technology is incorporated within each digital set-top box deployed by Galaxy capable of viewing NVOD programming. Macrovision's technology enables consumers to view original programs but prevents unauthorized copying. Originally designed to significantly distort unauthorized recordings made on VCR and D-VHS, Macrovision's technology is now also used as a software flag to prevent unauthorized copying on DVD recorders, hard-drive recorders and media center PCs. Over 110 million digital set-top boxes worldwide incorporate Macrovision's video copy protection technology, and it has been used for the past 4 years in the UK, Germany and Japan to protect many digital satellite/cable Pay-Per-View programs.

Internet - http://www.macrovision.com

INDIA

ZEE TV TO START BROADCASTING FROM INDIA

Zee Telefilms on December 15 approved the merger of all its five Mauritius-based subsidaries, including ZEE MGM, into Asia Today, its other overseas unit, and said it would shift the broadcasting operations of flagship channel ZEE TV to India soon. The Zee board decided to merge Software Suppliers International, engaged in marketing company's products in West Asia and broadcasting of TRENDZ channel, and Zee Telefilms International, which carries out international syndication of ZTL content with ATL, also based in Mauritius and involved in the business of broadcasting ZEE TV and ZEE Cinema channels. The other companies to be merged with ATL include ZEE MGM, Expand Fast Holdings and Asia TV (Africa), earlier engaged in marketing and distribution of TV channels in Africa including South Africa. The company had earlier reorganised its international business operations whereby most of its TV channels, including ZEE Cinema, ZEE news and Alpha Channels, have been shifted to India.

NEW PAY-TV SYSTEM INTRODUCED IN DELHI

India's delayed rollout of a new TV subscription system, which could inflate revenues for broadcasters, begins in earnest this week with the launch of set-top boxes in the prime cable television market of New Delhi. The conditional access system (CAS) will force people who now get the full range of pay-TV channels through a cable plugged into their set to rent or buy a set-top box and pay additional fees for channels they want to see. It is expected to give broadcasters a greater share of revenues from some 48 million cable TV subscribers, the world's third largest base. Broadcasters say they now get only a fraction of the revenues due to them from cable operators who declare fewer subscribers than they actually have. So subscription revenues account for only 20 per cent of income for broadcasters, against a global norm of more than 50 percent. The government gave the green light for CAS to be introduced in four key metropolitan cities from July, but protests from consumer groups, cable distributors and political parties stalled it in all but one city - Madras. The rollout in Delhi will first cover the southern part of the city and involve some 400,000 subscribers, and widen to eventually cover about 1.5 million people in the capital. Bombay and Calcutta, along with Delhi and Madras, account for more than 15 percent of the cable base in India. Broadcasters expect viewing numbers to fall by 35 to 40 per cent initially in areas where CAS is introduced, reducing the fees they can charge advertisers. CAS has faced stiff resistance from cable operators fearing a loss of revenue and subscribers unwilling to pay more. The set-top boxes are expected to cost 3,000 rupees to 5,000 rupees to buy or 30 rupees to 100 rupees per month to hire. On top of that, viewers will have to pay around 55 rupees per month for packages of seven to eight channels, or 150 rupees to 250 rupees for 12 to 15 channels. Consumers also have to take a package of "free-to-air" channels for 110 rupees.

INDONESIA

BROADCASTERS REPORT INCREASED PROFIT

TV broadcasters PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri and PT Surya Citra Media are the only listed media companies to have reported net profit in the first nine months of this year. PT Indosiar, the operator of Indosiar TV broadcasting station, reported an income of Rp717 billion (US$84.4 million) with net profit at Rp80 billion in the first nine months of this year. Indosiar posted an operating profit at Rp152 billion in the first nine months of this year. Meanwhile, PT Surya Citra Media, the operator of SCTV TV station reported smaller income at Rp573 billion with net profit at Rp70 billion in the same period. PT Surya however, recorded higher operating profit of Rp164 billion.

MGM CHANNEL TO LAUNCH

MGM Networks, a unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, has signed a distribution agreement covering an MGM-branded, movie-driven network in Indonesia. The MGM Channel launched last month and is broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, featuring original-language films from the celebrated MGM library. Under the agreement, the MGM Channel is delivered to subscribers via the basic tier of Indonesia's leading pay-TV operator, Kabelvision (PT Broadband Multimedia Tbk). The Kabelvision agreement is the latest step in MGM Networks' global expansion, which over the last two years has increased its channel interests fourfold to more than 100 countries on six continents.

Internet - http://www.mgm.com

IRAQ

AFN ON THE AIR IN BAGHDAD

U.S. military broadcasters hit the airwaves in Baghdad on December 10 with the first manned American Forces Radio and Television Service broadcast from the country. American Forces Network-Iraq, features live shows, news, sports, weather and commentary 24 hours a day in Baghdad. By the end of December, officials said they plan on expanding coverage to the entire country through the service's satellite network. Radio and television service is at all major troop concentrations in the country; however, areas outside of Baghdad receive their programming from the AFRTS satellites, with more than 2,200 decoders being used in Iraq to get AFN broadcast signals.

JAPAN

TV NETWORKS PLAN TO BUILD TALLEST TOWER

Six Japanese TV networks unveiled a proposal on December 17 to build Tokyo's tallest tower as part of their plans to promote recently launched digital broadcasting services. Public broadcaster NHK and five commercial networks formally agreed to begin work on plans for a 600-meter-high broadcasting tower that would be almost twice as large as the city's tallest structure. Digital terrestrial broadcasting was launched on December 1 in three major Japanese cities - Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. The Japanese government wants to make the service available nationwide by late 2006.

SKY PERFECT TO MERGE WITH PLAT ONE

Satellite broadcaster Sky Perfect Communications Inc. has agreed to absorb its industry peer Plat-One Corp. in a merger March 1, 2004. The move is aimed at providing better services to customers and helping contribute to the development of the digital satellite broadcasting business, they said in a statement. Under the agreement, Sky Perfect will be the surviving entity, with one Plat-One share to be swapped for 0.165 Sky Perfect share. Plat-One will be dissolved. The two companies have competed in TV broadcasting using a communications satellite (CS). Sky Perfect is the forerunner in the CS TV broadcasting market, while Plat-One has fallen behind. A group of companies including Itochu Corp. established the predecessor of Sky Perfect, PerfectTV Corp., in 1994 and began Japan's first digital satellite broadcasting services in 1996. By merging with then Japan Sky Broadcasting Co. (JSkyB) in 1998, Sky Perfect started offering programs under the channel name of Sky PerfectTV. Plant-One was established in 2000 by another group of companies led by Mitsubishi Corp. and Nippon Television Network Corp. and joined the market in 2002. Plat-One will continue its broadcast service until the end of February 2004, but its service will be switched gradually to Sky PerfecTV! 2, one of the services run by SkyPerfect.

JORDAN

NEW ARABIC CHANNEL PLANNED

Jordanian Al-Ra'y newspaper has reported that a new Arabic satellite channel is to be based in Amman, in its edition published on 11 December. "Al-Khalijiyah Satellite Channel [Arabic: Qanat al-khalijiyah al-fada'iyah], which is largely financed by Kuwaiti businessmen, has chosen Amman as its headquarters," the report said adding that Al-Khalijiyah is expected to begin transmission next March.

KAZAKHSTAN

NTV TO WIN FREQUENCY TENDER

A new TV channel NTV-Kazakhstan will most likely start broadcasting, with a tender for broadcasting frequencies to be held next week. In accordance with local legislation, NTV as a foreign company holds only 20 per cent of shares in the projects, the remaining shares belong to Kazakhstan represented by KazMunayGaz [Kazakh Oil and Gas] and the Rauan Media Group holding. The organizers say that the channel will work in strict accordance with Kazakhstan's legislation, specifically, in accordance with the law on the media and languages. Roughly the network will retransmit 20 per cent of NTV [programmes] with 30 per cent of broadcasts being in Russian and 50 per cent in Kazakh.

MYANMAR

NEW EDUCATIONAL TV CHANNEL

The Myanmar [Burma] Radio and Television under the Ministry of Information held a coordination meeting on the launching of a new television channel to telecast education programmes of the ministries. Ministries, schools, training centres and research centres in states and divisions will be equipped with MRTV-4 receivers. The MRTV-4 channel will integrate entertainment programmes with education programmes on “agriculture, livestock breeding, health and others, on dissemination of information data, on tips and techniques, on ways of providing training to departmental employees scattering all over the country, on international affairs, on legal procedures and regulations, on research works, on preservation of cultural heritage and Myanmar customs, on sport success and development, on crime reduction, on cooperation with NGOs and UN agencies, on disaster cautions, and on diseases common to animals”.

SAUDI ARABIA

SATELLITE TV NEWS CHANNEL TO LAUNCH IN 2004

Saudi Arabia is preparing to launch its own satellite TV news channel early next year. "Preparations for the launch of the channel are in the final stages. The channel will start satellite transmission by the middle of the Hijri month of Dul Qaada," Culture and Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said on December 17. That could mean late January. He said the channel would strive for credibility and a swift response to news of national, Arabic and international importance, according to the Arab News. Some shows on the new satellite TV channel would cover national events, while others would feature a live talk format or recorded material. The move follows the launch of a sports and youth channel in September by Saudi Arabian Television.

SOUTH KOREA

NO END IN SIGHT FOR DIGITAL DEBATE

The dispute over digital TV standards in Korea is expected to continue as a joint fact-finding team has wrapped up its month-long tour of eight advanced countries without having reached a conclusion, the Korea Herald has reported. The Korean government set up the fact-finding team comprising experts from the public and private sectors to determine which digital TV standard - North America's or Europe's would benefit the country most. The newspaper said the government had already reached a decision in favour of the US standard but faces strong opposition from a number of broadcasters and pro-European standard advocates. Originally, the team was scheduled to issue a report that would end the lengthy row over the digital TV standard. But the team members are still divided over which is better. The 17-member fact-finding team, including officials from the Information Ministry, kicked off its month-long tour on November 22 to identify the advantages and disadvantages of each standard, visiting the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. Showing keen interest in the standard dispute, President Roh Moo-hyun said the government should implement full conversion to digital broadcasting as scheduled.

THAILAND

ITV TO OFFER NEW SHARES TO LOCAL PARTNERS

Thai broadcaster iTV said on December 16 its board has agreed to offer 300 million new shares, or 20% of its stake, to the Kantana Group and popular television host Tripop Limpapath at 10 baht each. A shareholders' meeting on January 19 will discuss about the capital increase plan and the allotment of its new shares to the new partners. ITV is 55% owned by Shin Corp. PCL, a company founded by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

A F R I C A

SOUTH AFRICA

NASPERS OFFERS TO BUY SUPERSPORT SHARES

Media group Naspers is offering to take up all the shares it does not already own in pay-TV channels M-Net and Supersport at 8.50 a share. Naspers already directly or indirectly holds 40.6% of the two pay channels. Shareholders choosing to waive the cash offer can elect to swap their shares for Naspers shares. If the proposal receives the necessary support, the two pay channels will be delisted from both the JSE Securities Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Naspers has also agreed to grant an option to Johnnic Communications (Johncom) to acquire up to 35.4% of all M-Net/Supersport shares acquired pursuant to the scheme at the cash offer price of R8.50 a share.