28/02/02

Things are fairly quite still, I wasn't able to locate Channel 9 Australias Email address but did get this info

The newly appointed CEO of Prime NZ is Cameron Murray.Ph: is 64 9 414 0700.

I suggest Installers contact him and let them know Prime could gain thousands of potential viewers just by switching their Sky signal to FTA mode. This would see them Fta up there with Tv1 and Tv2 and the best bit as TV3/4 are not there FTA yet it would be Tv1 and Tv2 they have as FTA competition. I think if they did this Tv3 and TV4 would be fta there within days! You would think a channel wishing to get %10 share of the viewing audience would want to be available to as many people as possible. It wouldn't surprise me if many of these managment people had no idea they can be fta and that there is a market out there for it.

From my Emails & ICQ

From "R"

Dear R

Thank you for your e-mail of 23 January concerning digital satellite
transmissions by Television New Zealand (TVNZ).

In your e-mail you express concern that TVNZ may cease its present direct
transmission of TV One and TV2 on the OPTUS B1 satellite. I am advised
that TVNZ is running the direct transmissions as a technical trial, and is
not promoting them on any other basis. The future of these transmissions
will depend upon commercial decisions made by TVNZ, as it evaluates the
best way to move further into the digital future. It is not my role as
Minister to intervene in these decisions.

Aside from TVNZ's direct satellite transmissions, TV One and TV2 are also
being transmitted on the Sky network. I expect this arrangement between
TVNZ and Sky to continue for the foreseeable future. Because TV One and
TV2 are not encrypted, both Sky subscribers and other viewers with a
suitable set top box can access these channels. With a suitable set top box
TV One and TV2 are available in digital format and free-to-air. I
understand that the cost of purchasing a suitable set top box (as opposed
to leasing it from Sky) has decreased significantly in recent years.

I note that you are in the business of installing satellite receivers. It
would seem appropriate for potential purchasers of satellite receivers to
be made aware of the possibility of changes to TVNZ's direct satellite
transmissions. It would also seem desirable for viewers to be given the
flexibility to receive TV One and TV2 through Sky's network by pre-tuning
the set top box appropriately.

Finally, I note your suggestion that the Government should take an active
role in promoting free-to-air satellite television. Before making
decisions on a range of issues associated with digital television, the
Government is keen to hear the views of interested parties such as
yourself. A recent discussion document on digital television that
canvasses many of the relevant issues is available on the Ministry of
Economic Development's website, www.med.govt.nz. The closing date for
submissions is 15 April 2002. I would encourage you to make a submission
on your areas of interest.

Yours sincerely
Hon Marian L. Hobbs
Minister of Broadcasting

From telekinesis@xtra.co.nz

I am trying to get Sky digital customers to give me feed back on "rain fade"affecting their reception. How often for
how long, programs missed, what they have done to rectify the problem, what Sky have done, and any other information
people may be able to offer. As we are all aware "rain fade" is a complete load of bollocks. Its loss of signal because of Sky insists on putting up crap LNB's and as soon as a bit of cloud passes by ooppps "rain fade, unplug your receiver for 5 minutes and she'll be right"........not! Is this fraud? They are not living up to their part of the contract and mislead all their customers with the rain fade line. I believe I have firm evidence that Sky are well aware of this but still refuse to do any thing about it. Drop me a email and let me know your thoughts and experiences and Ill let you know mine, and if I can generate enough interest I'll try and get this fixed.

telekinesis@xtra.co.nz

(Craigs comment, we don't seem to have much problem down in the South with our stronger B1 signals, Skys transponder do vary in signal strength. The one on 12518 V (has Sky Movies) is strongest some of the others are weaker, you should get some channels drop out while other stay a bit longer. As for LNBF'S they use Sharps which seem to perform ok from my experience with them. Otherwise it could be that up North they are being a bit slack with the correct size dish to use, Dish up there should be 80cm-1M in size. I would say wet weather areas should be getting 90cm and upwards size dishes. Other "rainfade" problems could be related to the software problems Sky is having. Anyone else have experience with Rainfade and Sky? I know a few Sky installers read this page daily perhaps they would like to comment Public or Otherwise.)

From Chris Pickstock

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 12732 V "FTV Entertainment" is still encrypted.

Telkom 1 108E 3460 H "Bloomberg TV Asia has replaced BBC World" on , Vpid 528 Apid 529.New PIDs for all channels in this mux.All channels are now encrypted.

Telkom 1 108E 3496 H All channels have left
Telkom 1 108E 3586 H All channels have left

Yamal 102 90E 3527 L "Yuzhniy Region" has left .

ST 1 88E 3632 V "A test card has started" on , Sid 214, Vpid 5665 Apid 5666, clear.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 HAll channels in the TARBS mux on are encrypted again, except the IRIB 3 info card.

PAS 10 68.5E 4064 H "Shop on the Box" has left , replaced by a test card.

Intelsat 804 64E 3669 R "The TV Africa mux" is fta.
Intelsat 804 64E 3921 R "Uganda TV" is back, Sr 4882, Fec 2/3, Vpid 33 Apid 34, West Hemi beam.

NEWS

Digital TV fails to be a turn-on

From http://www.smh.com.au/news/0202/28/national/national31.html

A year after the introduction of digital TV, only about 12,500 set-top encoder boxes have been sold and none of the major consumer electronics manufacturers has entered the market.

Over the same period an estimated 28,000 wide-screen TVs have been sold, mostly for watching DVDs.

But despite the slow uptake of the new medium, ABC's head of digital TV, Ian Carroll, is still cautiously optimistic, claiming ABCKids, Australia's first digital channel, had already helped bring preschool and primary school viewers back to the network.

"One in three kids had been lost over the last five years [to kids pay TV channels]," said Mr Carroll, "but in the last 12 months they've been coming back."

Children represent 23 per cent of ABC viewers. Together with Fly, a second digital channel aimed at teenagers, the ABC claims to have reached an audience of 750,000 digital viewers. But with the low numbers of set-top boxes, selling for $600 to $800, access is almost totally limited to pay TV subscribers.

"[Fly] is being made by young producers who shoot with digital video cameras and edit with desktop packages," said Mr Carroll. "It's done on the cheap, but is creating a new generation of program makers for the ABC. It's an incubator for new ideas."

Judi Stack, chair of the Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations (FACTS), which represents Seven, Nine and Ten, told a broadcast TV conference yesterday that digital TV is on track.

About 70 per cent of the population can now receive digital TV, assuming they have a set-top box, with commercial networks having invested over $1billion in digital programming.

In a move to overcome the set-top box bottleneck, the Minister for Communications, Richard Alston, recently supported the idea of a hybrid box that would work with both pay TV and digital free-to-air services.

But Ms Stack said there was a "risk of allowing the tail to wag the dog".

"The choice shouldn't be left to pay TV, with free-to-air networks expected to follow along," she said. "We view the set top box as the portal into a whole range of new services. We won't accept pay TV operators having control over our access," she said.

Regulating Australia's Flailing Pay TV Market

From http://www.australia.internet.com/r/article/jsp/sid/11651

The fact Telstra owns the local loop and is a major shareholder in Foxtel poses potential regulatory challenges. That was the key message presented by Communications Minister, Senator Richard Alston, at a pay television conference last week.

Senator Alston told the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA) annual conference, the motivation for Telstra and Optus entering the pay television business is not purely about attracting subscribers, "it is much more about leveraging the commercial value of those pay TV subscribers by offering bundled broadband and telephony services."

Granted, the revelation is hardly revolutionary, but the presentation provides an insight into the government's thinking on pay television regulation.

"As such," Alston continued, "Telstra's involvement in Foxtel has always, in large part been about defending its telecommunications market share (which is entirely natural) while Optus' involvement in Optus Vision similarly has been about using pay TV infrastructure to provide other telecommunications and data services in competition to Telstra."

In that regard, Telstra's hybrid incarnation as a provider of public services, the traditional 'last mile' copper telco infrastructure, and their private ventures including the 50% shareholding in Foxtel, poses potential regulatory challenges. For example, "if Telstra were to have effective control of the 'last mile' in terms of copper, cable and satellite, this could significantly reduce the possibility of facilities based competition in voice, data and pay TV."

Owen Hughes, convergent media specialist with Howorth Communications adds, "bundling does seem to have worked for Optus because consumers are offered a simple proposition - pay TV, telephony and broadband Internet access provided by one company on a single bill - and they own the pipes that provide these bundled services. The situation is complicated by the fact that Foxtel wants a guaranteed period of exclusive access to the Telstra system in exchange for spending $AU500 million on digitising the network."

He disagrees with the suggestion Optus would be provided with an unfair advantage if the government made moves to provide open access to a digitised Foxtel and insist on regulatory structures limiting Telstra in the pay television market, as hinted at in the speech.

"If you want to play devil's advocate," he explains, "Telstra has had an unfair advantage using a publicly-funded network to run the privately-owned pay TV operation it has 50 percent ownership in. At the end of the day, what consumers care about is getting services delivered in a timely, efficient manner and at the lowest cost possible. Judging by the rates of broadband and pay TV penetration in Australia - the public don't feel this is happening. Optus has invested heavily in its network to be able to offer bundled services that meet these criteria. To play devil's advocate again - shouldn't Telstra be doing the same thing and let the market decide?"

Hughes is the author of a recent report, Pay TV in Asia Pacific: Mapping the Road Ahead, commissioned by Bloomberg Television Asia Pacific and published by Howorth Communications. The report updates regulatory and consumer developments in Australia and 12 other key cable and satellite TV markets in the Asia Pacific.

Following discussion of Austar's financial and structural woes, Hughes details the leader in the report's analysis of Australian markets. "Pay TV market leader Foxtel and its three owners, Telstra (50 per cent) and News Corporation and PBL (25 per cent each) remain undecided about what to do with the system."

"Upgrading it through digitisation comes with a $US250 million pricetag that the partners in an often-uneasy alliance do not wish to make after a court ruling that opens it to competitors. Alston has suggested that the government could give Foxtel an access holiday from its rivals if the owners undertake an upgrade, although this would be certain to face challenges from other players."

In that regard, Senator Alston's speech provides an insight into the government's opinion on consolidation in the pay television market and the speculated merger of Austar with either Foxtel or CWO.

"? [A]ny rationalisation or consolidation in the pay TV industry in Australia should not reduce the potential for facilities based competition, including on different platforms, both in terms of pay TV and in other related telecommunications markets. Any regulatory consideration of potential alliances or mergers in the pay TV sector must also take into account their competitive impact in the broadband and telephony markets. Whilst some may argue that pay TV has certain monopoly characteristics in a market the size of Australia, it is not valid to use this argument to justify restricting facilities based competition in other markets."

The telephony argument was the key impediment to a proposed Australis / Foxtel merger only a few years ago.

Senator Alston continued, "in Australia, one of the traditional impediments to greater competition in telecommunications has been the lack of competing infrastructure in the last mile to the customer's home or workplace. pay TV cable and satellite platforms and DSL provide a major opportunity to overcome this problem. "Additionally, "pay TV gives providers the foot-in-the-door that they need to offer customers a wider array of bundled services that also encompass telephony and broadband."

Guy Cranswick, senior analyst GartnerIG2, agrees there appears to be an inherent contradiction in Alston's comments, expressing concern about Telstra's position on one hand, while acknowledging digitisation is a key driver of digital television and broadband.

"The position of Telstra and the government's policy to encourage competitive markets is destined to raise paradoxes," he says. "Pragmatic realities and wishful thoughts about markets cannot remain in tune."

Theoretically a digitised Foxtel "could deliver a fillip to Optus," Cranswick adds, "but there is a long way to go in drafting regulations for what is deemed appropriate for consumers and companies at that time."

"One comment that emerged repeatedly at ASTRA's annual convention," Hughes contributes, "was that Australia is a small market and there are limits to how much competition the market can handle. No matter how much open access the government mandates, the cost of providing services over the vast Australian landmass - sourcing content, setting up call centres, engineering teams, office space, advertising and marketing personnel etc. and the chance of getting a meaningful return on investment is always going to limit the number of players. But shouldn't we have a level playing field and let the market decide?"

In light of Austar's moves to reduce their Internet offerings, Cranswick concedes Optus and Telstra are the only two companies able to rollout a successful bundling strategy, creating an artificial duopoly in the pay television market.

"It is unrealistic to hope for a number of competitors in this industry as entry and capital costs are high and returns must be guaranteed by market share," he concludes.

Another key issue detailed in Senator Alston's speech was the potential digitisation of Foxtel.

"Pay TV is equipped with natural advantages in the transition to digital and consequently has the capacity to provide a significant competitive alternative to digital free-to-air services. The capacity afforded by broadband networks, the scope for interactivity, the ability to provide bundled services, together with a fairly stable subscriber base, give pay TV operators the opportunity to trial new and innovative services and to capture emerging new revenue streams."

Howorth's report also tackles the issue of interlocking regulatory, technological and content structures under the banner of convergence. However, "the expectations at the start of 2001 for the rollout of convergent technologies under which Asian homes would seamlessly switch from TV, the Internet, telephony and other forms of communication have not been met."

Deteriorating economic conditions is one factor, but a lack of suitable infrastructure and costs of integration are also key impediments.

Australia's broadband expansion has barely progressed in 2001, Hughes notes in the report, given the Foxtel shareholders' reluctance to digitise and Austar's financial position. Although Optus has announced the extension of its interactive trial, it is not saying when it will go fully commercial.

Regulators have also closely watched convergent trends with several Asia Pacific governments last year taking steps to simplify the way they regulate what has become the convergent media sector in their country.

"The imperative at the moment is to look where there is overlapping and ill-defined responsibilities and rationalise these into agencies with staff who have specialist knowledge," Hughes explains. "For example, Hong Kong TV used to be run by a government body that also looked after sports and the arts. Now TV is run by something called the Information Technology & Broadcasting Bureau."

He believes, "Australia is further down that road than most of its Asia Pacific counterparts in terms of having highly-specialised government agencies to handle policy creation and regulation - but this model could well be outdated once convergence muddies the waters about where broadcast TV, pay TV, radio, streaming media, telephony, video on demand, near video on demand, the Internet, VOIP and satellite-delivered broadband services start and end!"

On the issue of Foxtel's digitisation, Hughes notes, "the cost of accessing broadband for consumers has to come down and that means more competition is needed. The logical way of doing that is to set up a mandatory access regime to existing networks to allow newcomers to have a market presence. Each player in the Australian market has a sackful of often-contradictory qualifications and conditions they would want to have met before this happened, but essentially the answer is a simple one."

ESPN purchases telecast rights for Bangladesh cricket from the late Mark Mascarenhas' widow

From indiantelevision.com

Cricket rights are being bounced around like nobody's business at the moment. ESPN Star Sports today announced it has secured broadcast rights for all international cricket to be played in Bangladesh till mid-2006.

The announcement comes even before the dust has settled on Sony Entertainment's announcement that it has grabbed the Indian TV rights for the next six years to broadcast ICC (International Cricket Council) cricket championships from under the nose of ESPN Star Sports as it were.

The rights include over 90 days of international cricket from Bangladesh covering at least seven international tours by India, South Africa, West Indies, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia, an official release states.

With the Bangladesh rights, ESPN Star Sports holds rights to cricket in all test playing countries except India and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka telecast rights, which were earlier with WSG Nimbus, are now reportedly with the promoter of Sharjah cricket Abdulrahman Bukhatir through his company Taj Sports.

The tripartite agreement involving the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), WorldTel Inc. and ESPN STAR Sports, was signed by Mohammed Ali Asghar, president, BCB, Mrs. Karen Mascarenhas, representing the late Mark Mascarenhas's WorldTel and Rik Dovey, managing director, ESPN Star Sports.

BCB had earlier assigned the worldwide rights to all international cricket events to be played in Bangladesh to WorldTel for a reported $ 11.7 million covering nine home series.

WorldTel was involved in a long-running dispute with Sony which had bought the exclusive television rights for a reported $ 17 million. There was a major standoff between Sony and WorldTel subsequently as it wanted the deal renegotiated. This led to Bangladesh's maiden home series against Zimbabwe not being telecast abroad.

The next series which involved Pakistan saw an arrangement being cobbled together wherein BTV was in charge of production and Ekushey TV (the first private broadcaster in Bangladesh) teaming up with Pakistan Television (PTV) for telecast of the matches.

The million dollar question is what was paid out to secure the rights. That there were no takers for the rights at the rates that were being quoted is well known. It may well be that WorldTel has cut its losses in what appears to be a distress sale. The numbers being thrown around are somewhere in the region of $4 million.

27/02/02

Thank you to all that showed up in the chat though it was very quiet. I think most from NZ were watching the cricket on fta and went to bed after it. It was good to have your ideas on the possible cband programming that you would like to see. I still need more ideas especially if you are reading this in any Countrys other than Australia or NZ. Make your suggestions no matter how silly you think they might be. Sorry there is not much news around today.

DVB2000 recorder version 1.16b was released get it from

http://www.no-access.de/en/en_software_video.html

Here is the best bit from what was changed! if i read it corectly you should be able watch the satellite video stream in realtime on your pc. Including 4:2:2 streams!

"YES, it comes true!!! The Mini-TV is working now:
Live MPEG2 playback support through built in MPEG decoder (video only)
supported chroma formats: 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 supported MPEG formats: MPEG2 program- and elementary streams MPEG1 elementary streams

From my Emails & ICQ

From Mohammad Joned

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 3771 H "SBS" has left .
PAS 2 169E 12732 V "TTV, CTS and FTV Entertainment" are now FTA.

PAS 8 166E 3860 H "H&W eTV and the test card" have swapped SIDs and PIDs.
PAS 8 166E 4050 V "Fuji TV International has left" , replaced by a test card.

Optus B1 160E 12546 H "Mix 106.3" is back on , Sr 1740, Fec 3/4, Apid 4195, FTA.(strongest B1 signal?)

Koreasat 3 116E 12450 H "SkyLife mux" has started , enc., Sr 27490, Fec 3/4,
SIDs 701-712, PIDs 1808/1809-1984/1985, line-up: Ghem TV, EBS 1, Real
Estate TV Network, Movie Plus, Tooniverse, Travel & Fasion TV, Food
Channel, NTV, KTV, Arirang TV Korea, Star Sports and a test card.

Telkom 1 108E 3586 H New PIDs for Nickelodeon : 126/127.
Telkom 1 108E 3460 H "Channel NewsAsia" has left .
Telkom 1 108E 3460 H "RCTI and SCTV" are now FTA.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3708 V "Travel Channel UK" has started on ,Enc Codicrypt format? , PIDs 257/258.

PAS 10 68.5E 3863 V "SuperSport 5" has started ,Enc, SID 1003, PIDs 521/649.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3585 V "UNI Plus" has started testing on , 515/643, FTA (Asia Beam).

NEWS

Austar survival wins hearts

From http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,3851855%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

SHARES in regional pay TV group Austar shot 15 per cent higher yesterday after its banks pledged their support.

But, while more than six million shares were traded, analysts said most of the action came from retail investors speculating on growth.

Market analysts have become increasingly disillusioned with Austar after it failed to meet subscriber growth targets.

Big institutional investors are also wary of Austar after its fall from previous highs.

Yesterday Austar began a small fightback, with the shares closing 4c higher at 35c after reaching an intraday high of 39c.

The closing price was its highest since October.

The share price boost came after Austar's syndicate of 15 banks eventually agreed to roll over its $400 million in debt, which is now not repayable until 2006. The move followed Austar's 81 per cent owner UnitedGlobalCom agreeing to place $30 million in a contingency account as back-up to the company.

After moving to cut annual costs last year by $90 million, Austar says it now has the funds to become positive at the earnings before interest, tax and depreciation level in its current financial year to December.

Meantime, Austar's manager of interactive TV services Victoria Chalom yesterday told the Digital Media World conference that pay TV's difficulty in accessing sports rights was limiting interactivity. "We have seen in Europe that sports content has been a wonderful driver in raising awareness and activating users in interactive content," she said.

The Government is reviewing the anti-siphoning list which keeps many sports off pay TV, but she said it was also inhibiting interactivity.

Ms Chalom said Austar last week launched its fourth interactive advertisement.

Of the interactive applications, she said Austar had found the use of t-mail (email received via the television) to be below expectations but people were keen users of interactive games.

26/02/02

Live chat tonight in the chatroom 9p.m NZ and 8.30 Syd time onwards, I will be taking notes of any suggested Cband programing. Can anyone located me an email address for management at Channel 9? I still havn't had time to fix up the satellite pages, maybe Wednesday.

From my Emails & ICQ

From MChung 26/02/02

Dear Sir,

Telkom 1

The Hallmark& Nickeledeon clear on 3587H 17800 and the Indo
packages also clear on 3460H 28000 3/4.

Best Regards,
Mathew Chung

From the Dish

Lyngsat update email did not show so no report for today.

NEWS

Austar back in picture

From http://finance.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,3844180%255E462,00.html

BANKS reached an in-principle agreement yesterday to extend a $400 million rollover and debt facility to Austar, saving the regional pay TV group from oblivion.

Austar has been in breach of financial covenants after failing to negotiate the rollover by December 31, but the banks have now allowed Austar to trade out of its difficulties.

The news, which was announced after the close of trade, should boost Austar's beleaguered share price.

The shares yesterday closed half a cent lower at 30.5c, well below the $6 range they once enjoyed.

The renegotiation, which has taken more than a year of intense talks, was aided by Austar's parent company, UnitedGlobalCom, placing $30 million in a contingency account for Austar.

"It will sit in an account and be available if there's a significant change of circumstance, but the intention is that it's a back up rather than something we actually draw on," Austar spokesman Bruce Meagher said.

The move caps a dramatic year for Austar.

It watched subscriber growth in its regional pay TV market slow and was forced into a restructure that prompted the closure of its metropolitan microwave network and its internet backbone.

That gave Austar $90 million in annual savings as it sought to appease its banks. The company, which had $103.2 million in cash at the end of December, says it will need no extra funds to execute its business plan.

The bank deal also places Austar on a firmer footing in the event of any rationalisation within the pay TV sector.

"While we're still interested in opportunities, we have a distinct option of maintaining this business as a stand-alone operation," Mr Meagher said.

Austar chief executive John Porter said the new facility need not be repaid until 2006.

"With this issue close to finalisation, Austar can focus squarely on executing its key operational priorities, managing growth, while closely controlling costs," he said.

He said the repayment schedule matched Austar's business plan, although Austar is expected to be paying higher interest costs.

Austar's refinancing had been delayed by the failure of the Commonwealth Bank to agree to the new plan, but last week Mr Porter told reporters that 94 per cent of its banking syndicate had agreed to the deal.

The bank syndicate is led by Toronto Dominion, JP Morgan and Citibank, but comprised up to 15 lenders.

CBA's exposure is believed to total less than $30 million.

Mr Meagher reaffirmed Austar's plan to be positive at the earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA) line this year and to have positive free cash flow by 2004.

Its 2001 results, due to be released next month, are expected to see Austar report an EBITDA loss of $87 million.

Bankers give Austar a second chance

From http://www.smh.com.au/news/0202/26/biztech/biztech1.html

Struggling regional pay TV operator Austar has been given a new lease of life after its bankers finally agreed to refinance its $400 million loan and its US parent UnitedGlobalCom put up a $30 million guarantee.

Almost two months after it was due to repay the $400 million, Austar announced yesterday that it had reached in-principle agreement with its 15-member banking syndicate to refinance the debt.

As part of the new deal, Austar's 81 per cent shareholder, UnitedGlobalCom (UGC), has provided the company with a $30 million "contingency account".

The loan agreement depends on documents being finalised.

Austar now has until 2006 to repay the debt, which originally fell due on January 1 this year. If Austar had failed to renegotiate the terms, it would have had to repay the full $400 million before the end of next month.

Losing hundreds of millions of dollars, Austar had just $103 million cash left in the bank at the end of December.

Austar chief executive John Porter said UGC's willingness to demonstrate its continuing commitment to the company was of "vital importance". An Austar spokesman said UGC's $30 million gave the company "a bit of wiggle room if we need it".

Austar said it did not need more money to meet its business plan.

It expects to be in the black at the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation line this year before becoming operating cashflow positive by 2004.

"With this issue close to finalisation, Austar can focus squarely on executing its key operational priorities - managing growth while closely controlling costs," Mr Porter said.

The move means Austar is no longer as vulnerable to predatory moves by its metropolitan pay TV counterparts, Optus and Foxtel.

"This puts them in a stronger bargaining position," one industry observer said.

Austar has been in discussions with Optus since late last year about a possible alliance which would enable both companies to slash operating costs and possibly negotiate more favourable US programming contracts.

The country's largest pay TV provider, Foxtel, is also interested in Austar, but competition issues could preclude a merger.

This made acquiring Austar's assets under a liquidation scenario a much more attractive option for Foxtel, which is owned by News Ltd, PBL and Telstra.

Austar must now focus on reversing falling subscriptions and growing revenue.

Even with a pay TV monopoly in regional Australia, Austar faces a 2001 full year loss of at least $343 million as a result of costly programming deals written in US dollars and subscriber growth which has stalled at 430,000 customers.

Austar embarked on a major restructure late last year in a bid to improve its financial position and sustain investor support.

It sacked a third of its 1200 staff, closed many regional offices and outsourced a number of business operations.

Shares, worth $9.65 at the height of the tech boom, sank to a record low of 15c in September amid solvency concerns. The shares fell 0.5c to close at 30.5c yesterday before the refinancing deal was announced.

Bank backing puts Austar back in picture

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/02/25/1014471629329.html

Austar now has more clout in talks with Optus on a pay TV merger.
Austar's bankers have thrown the struggling regional pay television group a much-needed lifeline and agreed to refinance a $400 million debt facility after months of tense negotiations.

The satellite broadcaster revealed yesterday it had secured an in-principle agreement with its banking syndicate to restructure the loan, nearly two months after missing the deadline to roll over the debt.

One analyst said this placed Austar in a much stronger position during discussions with Optus over a possible merger with its pay TV operations.

"To the extent that Optus thought Austar would not be able to refinance its debt and put it in a stronger bargaining position ... that is now not available to Optus," he said.

Parent UnitedGlobalCom has tipped in $30 million as a contingency to appease the banks and help finance Austar's business plans. This will also ensure it does not require extra funds.

Under the terms of the restructured loan, the repayment date has been pushed back from the beginning to the end of 2006. The payment schedule has also been adjusted to give Austar more financial flexibility and access to working capital over the next couple years.

"The payment reschedule has been rejigged, so there is a bit of relief up front," said spokesman Bruce Meagher.

Mr Meagher said talks with the 15-member syndicate, led by Toronto Dominion, J.P.Morgan and Citibank, had stalled because the banks were now exercising a lot more caution.

"In the current environment, everyone takes a conservative view on their investments," he said.

"While it was frustrating, given the way the global market is headed, it's understandable."

Commonwealth Bank is believed to have been the most reluctant member of the consortium, with an exposure of about $30million. The bank has traditionally been linked with Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which has a 25 per cent holding in Austar rival Foxtel.

The bank's resistance meant that Austar breached a crucial loan covenant relating to earnings performance. This gave its lenders the right to demand immediate repayment of the debt this quarter, which would have sent the company into financial oblivion.

Austar has been struggling under a mountain of debt and slow subscriber growth, and analysts believe it will reveal a full-year loss of around $375 million on March 16. This is expected to include substantial writedowns on its spectrum licences and goodwill.

It had about $103.2 million in the bank as at December 31 but has significantly reduced its cash-burn rate. The pay TV group improved its financial position last November when it cut 400 jobs to help save $90 million a year.

PanAmSat raises $2.05 bln, reaffirms 2002 outlook

From http://money.iwon.com

Satellite company PanAmSat Corp. (SPOT) on Monday said it has raised $2.05 billion in debt and long-term notes and reaffirmed its 2002 outlook on earnings, revenue and operating cash flow margin.

PanAmSat, a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp.(GMH), said the major financing includes $1.25 billion in bank debt, including a revolving credit facility, and $800 million in 10-year senior notes.

"This financing replaces the entire debt to Hughes of $1.725 billion that was scheduled to mature in 2003 with long-term bank debt and senior notes distributed in the capital markets," Joseph Wright, PanAmSat president and chief executive, said in a statement.

"The new revolving credit facility, together with our cash position and cash generated by our operations will provide us with liquidity to pursue growth opportunities," he said.

The company continues to expect 2002 revenues of between $790 million and $825 million, operating cash flow margin of more than 70 percent and earnings per share of 35 cents to 45 cents.

Separately, Hughes said PanAmSat will use part of the money raised to repay the loan that Hughes extended to PanAmSat in May 1997.

The payment will allow Hughes to access a credit line arranged with General Motors Acceptance Corp. that provides $500 million of new financing. Hughes is a unit of the world's largest automaker General Motors Corp. (GM)

"We are very pleased with the successful completion of these transactions, particularly PanAmSat's high-yield bond offering for which demand was far greater than anticipated," said Jack Shaw, Hughes' president and chief executive.

"With this financing, we have put in place a solid capital structure at Hughes that is expected to see us through the completion of the EchoStar (DISH) merger," he said in a news release.

Hughes also said it completed a restructuring of its existing credit facilities. Its $750 million revolving credit facility has been amended and increased in size, allowing Hughes to consolidate and extend the maturity of certain credit facilities associated with DirecTV Latin America businesses.

Its new secured credit facility's capacity is $1.2 billion and is expected to be supplemented with an institutional term loan to be placed in the next few weeks.

Shares of PanAmSat closed up 15 cents at $21.90 in Monday trading on Nasdaq while Hughes' stock closed up 11 cents at $13.38 on the New York Stock Exchange.

DD Metro privatisation gathers steam

From http://www.economictimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1856065

NEW DELHI: The winds of privatisation may soon be blowing in the corridors of Mandi House that houses the broadcasting behemoth Prasar Bharati.

To begin with, plans are afoot to scout prospective partners for DD Metro. Plans include hiving off the channel through a joint venture and run it on a commercial basis just as in the case of any private satellite channel.

Also in the offing is opening up the doors of Doordarshan’s production and post-production facilities to private producers and broadcasters from across the globe.

A global tender would soon be floated to lease out facilities in 10 such centres across the country, to begin with. Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Anil Baijal told Times News Network that a committee has been set up to examine the feasibility of entering into a joint venture with the private sector for DD Metro.

The committee is expected to submit its report over the next one month. The matter would then be taken up by the board.

"We have clearly identified the positioning of our channels in terms of their role," Baijal said. While DD National and DD Bharati would bear the public service commitment of Prasar Bharati, the Metro would be positioned as a commercial channel and its performance benchmarked against private satellite entertainment channels.

DD Metro is run both as terrestrial and satellite channel. This is not the first time that Prasar Bharati has sought private participation to shore up viewership in DD Metro. The state broadcaster had earlier leased out prime-time band to Kerry Packer-promoted Nine Broadcasting on the Metro channel.

This time, Prasar Bharati is taking a cue from British Broadcasting Corporation that runs several channels through joint ventures with private parties.

Private sector participation is also anticipated in Prasar Bharati’s digital terrestrial television project. Private satellite broadcasters would have the opportunity to go terrestrial when Prasar Bharati opens up the DTT platform.

A DTT pilot project is on at Delhi that would subsequently spread to other metros by middle of this year.

The service is accessible to viewers through a digital set-top box and offers a clutch of Doordarshan channels. Baijal said private broadcasters would be invited to join the platform at a latter date.

Nimbus bags cricket ad sales contract with DD

From indiantelevision.com

Close on the heels of an agreement with Prasar Bharati for TV production of international cricket in India from 2002 to 2004, Nimbus has signed another deal with the pubcaster.

This time, for exclusive handling of all ad sales on the cricket series between India and Zimbabwe currently being aired on DD. The arrangement between DD and Nimbus, which claims to be the only tenderer to make it to the financial round, visualises a minimum guarantee of Rs 70.02 million and a revenue share of 70:30 in favour of DD. Nimbus will begin with the production of the TV pictures of the India-Zimbabwe series in February 2002, ending with the Australian tour of India in 2004, as per the agreement signed earlier this month.

All five series are to be aired in India exclusively over Doordarshan. Prasar Bharati, which owns the world rights, has also licensed broadcasts over several international networks across the world, claims Nimbus. WSN won the contract, after a pre-qualification process followed by a financial tender, winning over rival bids made by TWI and WorldTel. The contract is for a sum of Rs 284 million (approx $ 5.80 million).

World Sport Nimbus, a joint venture between the UK based World Sport Group and India based Nimbus Communications, has recently acquired from World Sports Group, its 50 per cent equity in Global Cricket Corporation (GCC). GCC's other 50 per cent equity is owned by News Corporation. GCC holds the commercial rights of all ICC cricket till 2007. Claiming that the acquisition had been on the cards for quite a while, WSN director Venu Nair says, "This completes our participation not just in the management of the commercial rights of the ICC business but also in its ownership."

WSN has also been commissioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to produce and distribute a weekly global cricket show titled ICC Cricket World for worldwide distribution. The show has been licensed to Channel 4 in the UK for free TV. Negotiations for airing in India, Middle East, Australia, South Africa and several other territories are at an advanced stage for the show that premieres in late February 2002.

Satish Menon joins Sahara TV; whither Mak TV?

From indiantelevision.com

In the end he was out almost before he had set foot inside. Satish Menon has left the still-up-in-the-air Manoranjan Aur Kya (Mak) TV and joined Sahara TV, industry sources revealed today.

Sources say Menon is likely to be heading ad sales and marketing at Sahara. When contacted Priya Raj, Sahara TV vice-president (publicity, promotions & PR), confirmed Menon's having joined Sahara but said details regarding his designation were still awaited.

Menon joined Mak from Zee TV where his last posting there was as head of ad sales. His has been just one of the high-profile departures from the Zee Group in the last few months.

Menon's leaving Mak just a couple of months after joining the network is likely to further fuel doubts about whether the network will finally see the light of day. Mak was originally scheduled to launch on 31 December as a six-channel bouquet. Then 26 January (Republic Day) was being talked off as a launch date but there is still no word available on what is happening there.

25/02/02

Lots of news today in the news section, mostly from NZ I have had no replys to my emails to "The Edge Radio" or to The TAB Trackside channel. Very frustrating! It looks like I will have to try some other email addresses to get some attention! I havn't had time yet to update the satellites page they are due to be updated. I must also run the links checker over everything.

Thanks all those that sent in programming suggestions for a "hypothetical" Cband FTA channel, more suggestions are needed you can even suggest your own schedule if you like. If it was up to you what would you like to watch on cband FTA?

New Dvb2000 Beta 8 is out. I havn't had time to install it yet, hopefully it will fix a few annoying bugs such as not listing Skys channel names properly. Get it from the usual site http://www.dominance.net/overflow/

From my Emails & ICQ

From Bill Richards

Tarbs on Thaicom 3 has been FTA so Bill grabbed a load of Screenshots.

From Chris Pickstock 24/02/02

11 am SA Time

12326 H, Sr 6980, Cricket, Qld v NSW ING Cup Final. Nine Network feed, no adverts!
12356 V, Sr 6110, Ladies Masters Golf
12367 V, Sr 6110, AFL, Kangaroos v Sydney. Fox Sports feed, pre game interviews at the moment.

Chris

From the Dish

Optus B3 156E 12336 V "HRT TV 1" has left (MPEG-2), replaced by Colour Bars.

Apstar 1 134E 3860 V "MTV China" has left, replaced by a test card.

Koreasat 3 116E 12370 H A new mux has started, Sr 24090, Fec 5/6, SIDs 1-8, PIDs 80/81 and 202/200-802/800, line-up: Eduspa TV, OBC, OSB D,OSB N, Weather News, E Channel and Kids TV.

Telkom 1 108E 3460 H "Metro TV" has started on , PIDs 60/61.

Yamal 102 90E 3487 LA test card has started , Sr 10200, Fec 3/4, Vpid 111 Apid 112.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3536 V "Jain Satellite TV" is back, PAL, 6.80 MHz, Asian beam.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H "Radyo D" has left.

NEWS

TVNZ may cut major sport cover

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,1113105a10,FF.html

Television New Zealand's hold on major sports events - such as the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup - is under threat as it faces massive cost-cutting.

The state broadcaster has discussed with the government the possibility of taxpayers funding future rights to the events.

A Sunday Star-Times investigation has found TVNZ must slash spending by $75 million over three years, $15m more than its target a year ago. The cuts are to offset a decline in advertising revenue that has accelerated since September 11.

"There is no magic about this," TVNZ's outgoing chief executive Rick Ellis said. "To keep your head above water, you either earn more money or you take more cost out, and the biggest cost in any television business is your programming.

"In future years we have to assess whether investing in sports rights gives an adequate return in terms of charter expectations.

"We have tended to end up being in the major event genre, so you are talking the Rugby World Cup, Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics, Commonwealth Games, the summer tennis and the golf.

"Sports rights have just become ridiculously priced."

The issue is one of many facing new chief executive Ian Fraser, who takes over in April.

Others include:

A decline of 5 percent last year in TVNZ's total primetime audience.

A loss from TV2, the company's cash cow, of one in 10 viewers in the key peak-time advertising market.

The television charter which, with its increased local and minority programming, will have an unpredictable effect on ratings and revenue.

Broadcasting Minister Marian Hobbs said TVNZ had raised the issue of sports rights with her.

"What they have flagged is those sports are very expensive, they also attract advertisers. But if they are so expensive they distort expenditure . . . they would investigate with us as a government whether we would compensate," she said. "There is no answer to that as yet."

TVNZ has asked the government for a "modest sum" - thought to be up to $30m - to pay for the expense of the new charter.

The money is in addition to cuts TVNZ must make of $15m from its budget this year, $20m next year and $40m the year after to stay profitable. Those figures are $15m higher than the $60m revealed in leaked TVNZ documents last year. The company's revenue is being eroded by competition and a global downturn in the advertising market.

TVNZ had achieved its $15m cuts this year and would post a small profit for television in its half-year results. About 25 people had been made redundant. But Ellis said finding savings in future years was going to be "bloody difficult".

Sports rights was an area "future management are going to have to reflect on", he said.

"I'm not signalling in any way that we are about to walk away from sports but I'm giving that by way of an example."

TVNZ has already lost the rights to the rugby and cricket seasons to Sky and TV3 but has retained one-off events. The Olympics and Rugby World Cup are believed to cost up to $20m each and lose money. The broadcaster has already secured rights to sports events up to 2004, including the next Olympics and Rugby World Cup. But questions hang over events after that, particularly if TVNZ's financial position deteriorates.

A joint bid between Sky and TVNZ for the soccer World Cup is already in trouble because of the price.

TVNZ argues that its ratings loss looks worse than it is because the channels have dropped from a record year in 2000.

(Craigs comment what a JOKE, TVNZ has pitifull amount of sports nowdays. They are leaving things wide open for a BIG monoply Pay TV provider to step in unless they can find some other willing partner to help out. The B1, 12456 V service could be under threat since its officially only a "TEST". The NZ TV market is going through some big changes at the moment. Prime TV is now basically "Channel 9 NZ" full of ancient dross from across the ditch. I bet Prime 9 actually drops in the ratings!)

Rugby boss questions TVNZ's charter

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,1113523a11,FF.html

Rugby Union chairman Murray McCaw has questioned Television New Zealand's commitment to local programming in the wake of reports that it could stop televising sport.

"If TVNZ is going to be true to its charter, you would have to wonder how it can do that without having mainstream sport on TV," Mr McCaw said. "There is an issue there for the Government to contemplate."

TVNZ has confirmed that it would have to look at the cost of covering big sports events as it tries to trim about $75 million from its budget during the next three years.

TVNZ has the rights to the Commonwealth Games in Manchester this year, the Rugby World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year, it covers the international rugby sevens series, and has the rights to the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Other elite sports such as international cricket and rugby's Super 12 and tri-nations series are shown live on pay broadcaster Sky, with delayed and occasionally live coverage on free-to-air TV3. Sky has the rights to the Super 12 and tri-nations till the end of 2005.

The Government has introduced a broadcasting charter that requires TVNZ to increase its local and minority programming. But what sports are included in that is uncertain.

TVNZ's outgoing chief executive, Rick Ellis, said that sport was becoming "ridiculously priced" and the costs of covering big events meant they often ran at a loss. A joint bid by TVNZ and Sky for the soccer World Cup in Korea and Japan later this year is in doubt because of the cost of the rights.

TVNZ spokesman Glen Sowry said there would be no cuts to sport in the near future.

Mr McCaw said sport was part of everyday life and TVNZ's programming should reflect that.

"When you have a commercial organisation that decides it does not want to do something, there is very little you can do to change its mind.

"But I'm not sure if that's what the Government would have wanted when it put the charter in place, and you would have to wonder where the direction of TVNZ is going."

A spokesman for Broadcasting Minister Marian Hobbs said cutting local sports content was one of TVNZ's options but was something for TVNZ to consider, not the minister.

"The minister has said once the charter has been introduced there would be some funding for additional costs, but that was a matter for the budget."

TVNZ has reportedly asked the Government for up to $30 million to cover the cost of the charter.

(Craigs comment, What will happen next? the Government will probably Legislate that all "Major" sporting events must be carried via a FTA channel)

TVNZ AND SKY ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR LIVE BROADCAST OF INNOVATE CONFERENCE

From Press Release

SKY Television and Television New Zealand confirmed today that agreement has been reached to broadcast the Innovate Conference to be held in Christchurch on 6-7th March 2002.

The partnership, between two of New Zealand's major broadcasters, will see TVNZ providing a full two day programme to be broadcast live on both Channel 25 on SKY's digital satellite service and on TVNZ's nzoom, one of New Zealand's top Internet sites.

Richard Harman's Front Page Film and Television will play a key role during the broadcast, adopting a similar production approach to that used during Catching the Knowledge Wave, which was also broadcast live on SKY's satellite service.

The production will include live coverage of all keynote speeches, live interviews with participants and delegates, continual conference updates and behind the scenes commentaries.

Jim Anderton, Deputy Prime Minister and conference co-chair, says the partnership approach to the broadcasting of the conference is a reflection of what can be achieved when some lateral thinking is applied to challenges.

"The joint broadcasting agreement demonstrates that on occasions cooperation within a competitive framework can achieve innovative results for the general good".

TVNZ's Chief Executive, Rick Ellis also regards the cooperative approach as continuing a relationship that is already working effectively. "The broadcasting of Parliament's question-time is conducted in a similar complementary environment, while the public reaction to TVNZ's 1 and 2 channel position on SKY's digital programme has also been very positive."

SKY Television's Chief Executive Officer, John Fellet says, "This is an excellent example of the public and private sectors working together to achieve a positive outcome for New Zealanders."

nzoom is an award winning Internet site and has been experiencing recent growth of over 230%, while SKY has 476,210 subscribers of which over 64% have the digital satellite service.

Delays in Maori TV debut possible

From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=990262&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

The Maori television channel is unlikely to be on air before July.

The Government wanted broadcasting to start in midyear, and the launch was widely expected to be on July 1.

Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia, revealing details of the channel last July, said it "will be on air from June 2002".

But the chairman of the Maori Television Service board, Derek Fox, says it may not be on air until the second half of the year. He claims there was never a set starting date.

The board, set up in October, has yet to appoint a chief executive or decide on a transmission platform.

It has called for expressions of interest from programme makers and has paid for a consultancy report on how it could run the channel, including programming and marketing.

Mr Fox defended the board's decision to call for programming ideas before a chief executive or programming manager was appointed. He said the board had skilled television people who knew what would be good programming.

The Maori broadcasting finance agency, Te Mangai Paho, has already commissioned programmes, including a $1.8 million series by former MP Tukoroirangi Morgan.

In releasing details of the service, Mr Horomia said the channel would be received by 70 per cent of the country on existing UHF frequencies. It could also be simulcast on a digital satellite service, he said.

Mr Fox said the board was considering up to four transmission options and all involved substantial sums of money.

"There's some resourcing problems in terms of what it costs to get a platform up and running."

The Government set aside $3.8 million for transmission and operational costs in 2001-2002, rising to $6 million a year in 2004-2005.

If the service chose to broadcast from existing frequencies, it would have to start from scratch and invest in a studio and equipment, said Mr Fox.

Sky television has offered a digital channel for transmission and wants to work with the service making programmes with Sky equipment.

But Mr Fox said the Sky option was not a simple answer. People would have to pay for a set-top box and the service was required to reach as big an audience as possible.

Mr Fox said the board had not been dragging its heels. It had developed a business plan, was close to appointing senior staff, and was working with the Government on legislation for the service.

(Craigs comment, "Mr Fox said the Sky option was not a simple answer. People would have to pay for a set-top box and the service was required to reach as big an audience as possible" Not sure what they mean here, no-one PAYS for Skys settop box the rental is included as part of the sub to their channels. If its is done as a FTA channel either inside Sky or in the TVNZ mux. The user would have to buy a cheap FTA receiver unless the Government supplied them. I can see what's coming then, "This piece of useless junk the Government supplied us with can't get SKY sports." There will be a huge outcry over Maori viewers being flogged cheap nasty junk. My easy to make prediction this Maori TV is doomed like the last one.

TVNZ links with Australian broadcaster

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,1112000a13,FF.html

Transtasman ties have been established between Television New Zealand (TVNZ) and its state counterpart, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

As well as access to Australian news and current affairs, and the ABC's 13 foreign bureaus, the alliance would see an Australian network station correspondent based at TVNZ headquarters in Auckland.

TVNZ's Australian correspondent would move in with the ABC in Sydney, and its London-based Europe correspondent would shift into the ABC bureau, saving TVNZ money in rent on its office at Westminster.

TVNZ formerly used Channel Nine as its primary Australian news source and based its reporter at the network.

A recent alliance between Nine and Prime NZ played a part in seeking the deal with the ABC, said Heaton Dyer, TVNZ head of news and current affairs.

"The ABC is the biggest news organisation in Australia . . . so it just makes sense for them to be our partner."

Mr Dyer said he had also done a deal for news from America's major NBC network and TVNZ was planning to send a correspondent to Washington DC.

Inside TVNZ news, Mr Dyer has scrapped the positions of editor of daily news and editor of current affairs.

Trish Carter has been appointed as deputy to Mr Dyer, with overall responsibility for One News and Holmes. Melanie Jones has been appointed executive producer of One News.

Former Holmes executive producer Hunter Wells has moved to the current affairs show, Sunday. Mr Dyer takes responsibility for weekly current affairs programmes, Business and Breakfast.

TVNZ Satellite Services Wins Trade New Zealand Export Award

From Press Release

Skilled in the live delivery of television sports event and news coverage to destinations around the world, TVNZ Satellite Services has won a Trade New Zealand Export Award. Operating turnover has virtually doubled in the years 1999 to 2001 with an average of 77% in export sales achieved across the period.

(Media are invited to attend the presentation of the TVNZ Satellite Services Export Award by Trade New Zealand board member Peter Mony at 5pm, Wednesday 20 February, TVNZ, 100 Victoria Street West, Auckland. The Export Awards are sponsored by DHL Worldwide Express).

TVNZ Satellite Services, a member of the Television New Zealand Ltd Group, is an ‘occasional use’ satellite carriage provider. Its global satellite delivery network reaches from London across both the Indian and Pacific Oceans and spans territories from London, throughout the Middle East and Africa, across Australasia and Asia to North America.

TVNZ Satellite Services Marketing Director Christine Fenby says it has three main categories of customers. News agencies such as APTN and Reuters are in the business of gathering news from wherever in the world it’s happening and on-selling it to TV broadcasters. Such agencies use the TVNZ Satellite Services network for the live delivery of their news footage.

?Rights owning’ organisations such as Trans World International (TWI) pay high dollars to buy the rights to top sports events and then on-sell those rights to television broadcasters. TVNZ Satellite Services’ role is to distribute the signal from the event venue to wherever TWI’s customers are located. For example, TVNZ recently delivered the Australian Tennis Open from Melbourne to South Africa, to the UK and Asia including Japan and to several countries in South America.

The third group of customers is the broadcasters themselves, which screen live sport from venues all over the world.

Unlike most occasional use satellite service providers, TVNZ Satellite Services’ background is in television broadcast rather than telecommunications. Ms Fenby says this is a key competitive advantage for the company, noting that its broadcast knowledge enables it to provide added-value service to its customers.

?Our delivery network is built by television broadcast engineers, owned by a television broadcast company and operated by a group of people whose collective knowledge of broadcast television is difficult to match.”

Ms Fenby says TVNZ Satellite Services routinely delivers coverage of some of the world’s most prestigious sporting and news events, including the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games (eight channels simultaneously delivered to 39 territories), the Australian Summer cricket series, Wimbledon, Confederations Cup Soccer (Mexico, Japan and Korea), World Swimming Championships (Japan 2001), the America’s Cup and English Premier League Soccer. Currently, Winter Olympics coverage from Salt Lake City is being delivered globally.

TVNZ Satellite Services’ customer list reads like a who’s-who of sports rights and broadcast television industry players, including BSkyB (UK), the BBC, Fox Sports International, CNNI, ESPN Star Sports, CNBC Asia, Nine Network and WoWow (Japan).

Ms Fenby says the satellite services business began to develop in the late 1980s after TVNZ became a State Owned Enterprise. The broadcaster built its own earth station (located on the roof of the TVNZ television centre in downtown Auckland) and secured satellite capacity so that it could cost-effectively deliver its own live news and sports material. It started offering excess satellite capacity to other broadcasters, and the multi-million dollar business has grown from there.

Trade New Zealand Account Manager Dominic Cavanagh says TVNZ Satellite Services has built an international reputation by its regular delivery of high-profile events.

?Their revenue growth rate has been very good in the last three years and is on target to increase by a further 11% this year, 72% of which will comprise export sales. With new technology developments, network expansion and TVNZ Satellite Services’ position as one of a very few organisations that is a television broadcast operator as well as a satellite carrier, the future looks very secure and promising,” says Mr Cavanagh.

Christine Fenby says South East Asia currently generates 40% of TVNZ Satellite Service’s export earnings, Europe 30% and the balance to the Middle East, Africa, North Asia, the Americas, Australia and the Pacific.

The business has 26 staff, many of which are multi-lingual with international work experience. Ms Fenby says revenue growth in recent times has been boosted by having three people stationed permanently overseas in Bangkok, Sydney and Shanghai and by strong focus on providing outstanding customer service.

For further information contact:

Christine Fenby, Director of Marketing, TVNZ Satellite Services, Tel. 09 916 7711, email cfenby@tvnz.co.nz

Intelsat 904 Launch Successful

From Intelsat press release

Satellite Well-Suited for Delivering Powerful Solutions to Customers in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia

Washington D.C., 23 February 2002 - Intelsat announced today that at 1:59
a.m. EST the Intelsat 904 communications satellite was successfully launched
aboard an Ariane 44L launch vehicle. The satellite is expected to be
operational at the beginning of the second quarter of this year.

The Intelsat 904 launch is the third in an aggressive campaign that is
expected to increase total customer capacity by up to 34% by mid-2003. The
904 satellite will be deployed at 60ºE over the Indian Ocean region and will
offer Internet, broadcast, telephony and corporate network solutions to
customers on its 76 C-band and 22 Ku-band transponders (measured in 36 MHz
equivalent units). The satellite will provide high power Ku-band spot beam
coverage for Europe and the Middle East and additional C-band capacity to
customers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Intelsat CEO Conny Kullman stated, "We are very pleased to have had yet
another successful launch with the Intelsat 904. The IX series satellites
are well-suited for many new applications that require high power
satellites, and we look forward to bringing more solutions to our customers
in all regions as our launch campaign continues."

The Intelsat 604 currently holds the 60ºE orbital slot, but will be moved to
occupy one of Intelsat's new roles at 157ºE, expanding service to customers
in the Pacific Ocean region.

The next launch of an Intelsat IX series satellite will use a Proton K/Block
DM launch vehicle from Russia. The launch site will be the Baikonur
Cosmodrome.

(Craigs comment 604 will start in inclined orbit at 157E, Footprints available from the Intelsat website other changes are, New line up , 174 =801 176= 702 178=907 180= 701. 709 @178 will become operational from March and 604@157 from August.)

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 08/2002 24 February 2002 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A

CHINA - HONG KONG

NDS WINS CCTV DIGITAL CONTRACT

NDS Group on February 22 announced the contract for deployment of Open
VideoGuard conditional access by CCTV. NDS's Open VideoGuard conditional access
will be used at the CCTV China Satellite Television Transmission Centre to
encrypt the four CCTV channels and broadcast to the provincial cable network
operators across the country, the key backbone of the CCTV distribution
network. NDS Open VideoGuard conditional access will replace the existing
conditional access with a DVB compliant, open standards system. CCTV 3, 5, 6
and 8 are now broadcast by CCTV to the provincial cable operators who broadcast
the unencrypted programming to their viewers. Systems integration at the CCTV
transmission centre is already in progress, and the project is scheduled to go
live in the next two months.

YES TV LAUNCHES VOD SERVICE

UK-based interactive TV operator Yes Television switched on its long-awaited
commercial video-on-demand trial in Hong Kong on February 22. The trial package
contains 6 broadcast channels plus two true VOD channels. These include, for
the first time ever in Hong Kong, Adventure One, the adventure lifestyle
channel produced by National Geographic Asia. Also telecast for the first time
in Hong Kong is China Entertainment Television Broadcast (CETV), which offers
information and entertainment in the Putonghua language. The other channels
include Star Movies, with its Hollywood blockbusters; Star World for English
language entertainment; Asian music station Channel [V]; and the Chinese
entertainment channel Phoenix Chinese Channel. The two VOD channels, where
subscribers can choose their favourite movie or TV programmes and watch any
time, are Yes Movies and Yes Entertainment. Yes Movies includes movie titles
from Buena Vista International and Mei Ah, while Yes Entertainment provides
drama, kids, lifestyle, sport, music, news from the BBC and Hallmark.

DIGITAL TV READY BY 2010

China expects to build up a digital television (DTV) broadcasting system by the
year 2010 to replace the current analogue broadcasting system. According to a
long-term plan made by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television
(SARFT), analogue broadcasting will be halted by 2015, and 8 satellite TV
channels will produce and transmit DTV programmes by 2005. Beijing, Shanghai
and Shenzhen of South China’s Guangdong Province currently have set up regional
DTV networks as part of a trial. Cable TV deliverers in Southwest China’s
Sichuan Province have also experimented to provide interactive TV programmes
for their 7 million subscribers with support from international DTV facility
manufacturers. However, the crucial problem for DTV’s development in China now
is the formulation of DTV transmission standards. China gathered a group of
experts in 1999 and organized a special committee to draw up its own DTV
broadcasting standards. Four domestic research institutions, including Tsinghua
University and Shanghai Jiaotong University, in October submitted five HDTV
schemes transmission standards, which is compatible with SDTV transmission
standards. The standard-making committee, having already put these schemes to
the test, will make the final decision on which scheme to choose by next year,
according to the SARFT timetable.

JAPAN

SATELLITE TV OPERATORS TO LAUNCH NEW DIGITAL SERVICES

Two communications satellite broadcasting services companies are set to launch
next-generation digital broadcasting services in March to provide viewers with
advanced data telecast and two-way functions. The two companies, Plat-One Corp.
and Sky Perfect Communications Inc., will handle the so-called platform
business, which involves transmission of programs to a satellite and management
of customer information for subscription fees, for the services allowing
viewers to do such things as retrieve information and shop using their TV.
Tokyo-based Plat-One will provide 46 different channels for seven satellite
broadcasters, including Japan MediArk Co., which operates data broadcast
services featuring news from Kyodo News. Plat-One was set up in November 2000
by a group of investors including Mitsubishi Corp. and Nippon Television
Network Corp. The company said it will begin operations March 1 and start
charging subscribers fees April 1. It hopes to have 3 million households as
subscribers by 2010. Sky Perfect Communications, a Tokyo-based operator of the
Sky PerfecTV satellite digital broadcasting service, will handle 52 channels
for 11 satellite broadcasters. The company said it will start free services in
March and begin charging fees from May to July. The satellite for the new
service is located at 110 degrees East.

SINGAPORE

LOSSES UP AT ESPN STAR SPORTS

Walt Disney and News Corp-joint venture ESPN Star Sports has reported a sharp
fall in EBITA losses from $6 million to $1 million in the quarter to December
31, according to an earnings release issued by News Corp. The Singapore-based
company which marked its fifth anniversary in November last year reported a net
loss of $3 million for the three months to December 31, compared to the $8
million it lost in the same period in 2000. Net losses for the second half of
last year were $8 million, compared to the $16 million for same period in 2000.
Revenues were also improved, rising from a $47 million total in the second part
of 2000, compared to $62 million for the same period in 2001. In the same
period viewership has grown from 141.5 million to 111.5 million.

THAILAND

UBC EXPECTS PROFITS

Pay-TV operator UBC expects to produce its first-ever net profit in mid 2003.
Deputy CFO Vasili Sgourdos told press that recent cost-cutting measures
combined with strong growth will lift the platform to operating breakeven will
430,000 subscribers this year. The platform had 406,000 subscribers at end of
2001, up 16,904 in the quarter.

VIETNAM

DTT TRIALS LAUNCH IN TWO CITIES

Viet Nam Television (VTV) is about to introduce a high quality digitally
transmitted TV service on a trial basis in Ha Noi and HCM City at the end of
the month. The digital television system would be made available to viewers
across the whole country by 2004. Six new TV transmitters have already been
built in Ha Noi and the localities of Kien Giang, Tam Dao, Can Tho, Da Nang and
Quang Ninh, with forty others to be built across the country from now to 2004.
VTV first tried out the digital TV transmission system last year, using the
European standard DVB-T technology to try the system out on a very small scale.
The success of the trial encouraged VTV to conduct this year’s wider reaching
trial.

24/02/02

NO site update its Sunday

23/02/02

Say you could program a new FTA Cband "Apsattv" channel which covers a wide band of timezones. What kind of programming would you put up? For starters lets say its a 24 hour all English channel. What would you like to see? and don't be to outrageous as you would need to consider programing rights issues for such things as sports (if you wanted sports on it). Lets have your ideas please via email and I will publish them. What would you like to see News? Comedy? Movies? Sports? Music? Documentrys? Soaps? Gameshows? XXX movies? What sort of programming would breathe life into the Cband market? Lets hear your thoughts! Dealers and installers PLEASE give feedback on this what type of channel could you "sell" as a FTA service

From my Emails & ICQ

From Dave Nolan 22/02/02

Hi,

Telkom 1 3460H 28000 VPID 60 APID 61 PCR PID 60 METRO TV but Reads GLOBAL-1 is FTA but Audio ratshit.

Regards,
Dave Nolan.

From Me 23/02/02

B1, 12357 V Sr 6110 Vpid 1160 Apid 1120 "Mediasat, Womans golf" feed 16x9

From the Dish

Palapa C2 113E 11150 V "FTV has replaced FTV Entertainment" on , Sid5, PIDs 32/34.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3480 H "NTA - National TV of Armenia has replaced Nile Drama" on SID 21, PIDs 520/648.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H All channels in the TARBS mux are FTA.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H "NET 105.8 and Kanal Melodia" have started, SIDs 65 and 67, APIDs 664 and 666. New SID and APID for ERA 5: 62 and 661.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H "Kanal 7 has replaced Kanal D", SID 4, PIDs 515/643.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H "Pink Plus" has left, replaced by a test card.

Insat 3C 74E DD Northeast reported in Japan very weak signal

PAS 10 68.5E 4064 H NID/TID and SIDs for the mux on : 1/100 and 1-5.

NEWS

Vista Will Provide Satellite Transmission for Grammy Awards Ceremony

VISTA Satellite Communications Inc., a Sunrise, Fla.-based satellite and video services company, will provide the satellite transmission of the 44th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony on Thursday from Los Angeles.

The ceremony, distributed to the international market by Alfred Haber Inc., will be broadcast to a worldwide audience of more than 1.7 billion viewers in 175 countries. The Grammy Awards, the recording industry's most prestigious awards, have used VISTA's satellite transmission services for the past 12 years.

The transmission will originate from the Staples Center in Los Angeles and use four satellites around the world to relay the three-hour program. Cossette Productions produces the show for the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences Inc.

MIH Technology Selected by China's Major Central Satellite Distribution Platform

MIH Ltd., the Subscriber Platforms and supporting Technologies Group, Friday announced that its subsidiary Irdeto Access has been selected by CSTTC, China's major central satellite distribution platform, to provide its latest content protection solution, Irdeto (pi)sys, to secure four of the CCTV channels in the People's Republic of China.

CSTTC (China Satellite Television Transmission Center) will broadcast the CCTV signals via C-Band.

This important milestone follows closely on the China State Administration of Radio, Film and Television announcement in February that Irdeto Access has been approved as one of the only two foreign conditional access suppliers to the Chinese market.

"Having committed ourselves over the last five years to developing our business in China, the achievement of this milestone is gratifying and opens the doors for Irdeto Access' continued expansion in this important market," commented MIHL's chief executive officer, Cobus Stofberg.

The group's activities are focussed on subscriber platforms providing subscription, television and Internet services to over 2 million paying subscribers in Africa, the Mediterranean and Asia. Fifty-nine percent of its subscriber base consists of digital subscribers.

Across its platforms MIH has secured long-term rights to premium movies, major sporting events and popular children's programming, all of which are tailored for the local market. The television platforms also provide a range of interactive services such as online games, shopping, banking and on-demand information. MIH has a holding in QQ, the most pervasive instant-messaging platform in China.

Supporting its subscriber platforms, MIH's technologies, including OpenTV, Irdeto Access and Mindport, provide interactive, encryption, customer care and billing and other related services to channel and platform operators worldwide. OpenTV builds a complete software and infrastructure platform that enables digital interactive television and brings on-demand content to other digital communications devices.

OpenTV's software has been shipped with or installed in more than 23.5 million digital set-top boxes worldwide and has been selected by 50 digital cable, satellite and terrestrial communications networks in over 50 countries.

11 subsidiaries to go as Zee board clears restructuring plan

From indiantelevision.com

In the end it went through 21 days later than initially announced but the pieces appear to be falling in place for a strategic investor to come on board. Subhash Chandra's Zee Telefilms Ltd (ZTL), at its board meeting today, cleared a corporate restructuring proposal whereby 11 of its subsidiaries would either be merged with ZTL or wound up.

After this exercise is completed (expected to take six to eight months) there will remain only 12 companies under the ZTL umbrella. An official statement says the revised corporate structure will result in better utilisation of resources besides being simple and efficient from the point of view of compliance of tax laws, accounting and legal compliances.

The move by Zee Telefilms to further rationalise its large number of subsidiaries follows divestment of its stake last year in three subsidiaries — Buddha Films LTD, Zee Sports LTD and Zee Publishing Ltd.

ZTL currently has eight wholly-owned subsidiaries in India including Patco, EL-Zee Television LTD, Siti cable, ZIML, e-Connect India, ZILS besides two regional channel companies in Dakshin Media LTD (Tamil) and Kaveri Entertainment LTD (Kannada).

Its overseas subsidiaries include Zee Multimedia Worldwide LTD British Virgin Islands (ZMWLBVI) which is the holding company of ZMWL Mauritius and others. ZTL holds 50 per cent stake each in Winterhealth Company LTD which is the holding company for Asia Today Ltd.

Other ZTL subsidiaries functioning abroad include Expand Fast Holding BVI (which is the broadcasting company for Zee Music, Alpha and English channels) and Zee Multimedia Worldwide, Mauritius.

Companies proposed to be wound up:

1. E-Connect India Ltd
2. Programme Asia Trading Company Ltd
3. Elzee Television Ltd
4. Kaveri Entertainment Ltd
5. Dakshin Media Ltd
6. Winterhealth Company Ltd, Mauritius
7. Hokushan Trading Ltd, Hong Kong
8. Expand Fast Holdings Ltd, BVI
9. Zee Multimedia Worldwide Ltd, BVI
10. Asia TV, USA
11. Zee TV SA (Proprietary) Ltd South Africa

(Craigs comment, No mention of the of the struggling Australasian service)

Prasar Bharati seeks fresh programming for DD Metro

From indiantelevision.com

Viewers, used to seeing reruns of popular soaps on DD Metro for the last six months, are likely to get a dose of fresh programming shortly.

Prasar Bharati has invited proposals from television and film producers for DD Metro under the sponsored category. The programmes to be allotted span all categories, including the prime time, mid prime time and non prime time slots, according to an advertisement released by the pubcaster in a daily on Friday. This is the second time DD is inviting programme proposals from independent producers after it broke up with Channel Nine Gold in September 2001. That was the last time Prasar Bharati approached independent producers for proposals.

The details regarding the slots, genres of programmes, revised telecast fees and admissibility of FCT are to be collected from local DD kendras in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jalandhar as also at Doordarshan Bhavan in New Delhi.

The proposals are to be submitted accompanied by the pilot episodes at the Facilitation Counter, Directorate General, Doordarshan, Doordarshan Bhavan, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi.

The deadline for applications is 5 pm on 22 March 2002.

Insat-3C declared operational

From indiantelevision.com

The Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) latest multi-purpose geostationary satellite, Insat 3C, was declared operational today, providing a boost to the satellite communication capabilities of India.

Isro satellite centre director Dr PS Goel was quoted as telling reporters that the users were utilising the payloads and already three transponders had been handed over to them.

The Isro-built spacecraft had 24 normal C-band transponders, six extended C-band transponders, two S-band broadcast satellite transponders and a mobile satellite service transponder.

Goel ruled out leasing transponders to foreign organisations like Intelsat and added that there is already a large commitment from Indian users.

The Insat-3C and Insat-3A, planned to be launched later this year, are targeted at domestic users whereas Insat-3C was mainly built for India coverage.

He said the Isro would soon discuss with Arianespace to fix a launch date for Insat-3A.

Indicating that Isro might embark on building satellites for other countries after the completion of the Insat-3E project, Dr Goel said the Department of Space's marketing agency had already initiated talks with some in this regard.

All the systems of Insat-3C have been performing as per predictions. The satellite has 488 kg fuel left on board which will be sufficient for its design life of 12 years. The satellite is intended to continue the services of Insat-2DT and Insat-2C which are nearing the end of their life besides improving and augmenting the Insat system capacity.

Moving from MPEG-4 on to VP5?

From http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-843565.html

Video-compression provider On2 Technologies is taking aim at MPEG-4, releasing an update of its own technology, known as VP5, as companies wrangle over proposed licensing fees for the emerging digital video standard.

New York-based On2 said VP5 is up to a 50 percent improvement over its VP4 technology, which supports RealNetworks' RealPlayer and RealSystem iQ to enable consumers to view digital video. The company said VP5 is designed to handle real-time compression of live TV broadcasts, including sports and action footage. For instance, if viewers were to watch an ice skater on a PC, the new codec would eliminate any white splotches on the screen as well as any shadowing, or ghost-like images, the company said.

Codecs are pieces of software that are used to compress large video files into smaller ones so that they can be sent over the Web, wireless devices, set-top boxes and electronic gaming devices.

"The timing (of VP5) is significant because codecs keep getting better," said Ross Rubin, senior analyst at Jupiter Media Metrix. VP5 "may well be the best one out there, partly because it's the newest one. But I don't necessarily think it's sustainable. It's just important to be competitive...(and) we've got to ensure that the video gets the amount of bandwidth it needs all the time for a good video experience."

The launch of VP5 comes as media companies are weighing a controversial licensing plan for MPEG-4, a digital media format that is being positioned as a new industry standard. Under the plan, put forward by MPEG LA, licensees would pay 25 cents each for MPEG-4 products such as decoders and encoders, with fees capped at $1 million a year for each licensee. It also suggests charging a per-minute use fee with no cap, equivalent to 2 cents for each hour encoded.

Tech heavyweight Apple Computer, a major MPEG-4 backer, quickly rejected the proposed licensing terms, previewing but refusing to release new QuickTime products that support the standard until a new deal is reached. In addition, the Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA), a standards body, is asking MPEG LA to open the proposed licensing plan to industry review and discussion. The ISMA is concerned that the royalty model MPEG LA has outlined will not foster the development of MPEG-4.

On2 also opposed the new licensing plan and sent a letter to the ISMA, proposing to make its codec an alternative to MPEG-4 and promising to make it available at no charge. Last year, On2 released an open-source version of its VP3.2 video-compression technology.

Rubin said On2 is not the first company to make claims that its codec is close to true broadcast quality. He said Microsoft, for instance, has claimed that its latest codec will be able to deliver near DVD-quality in a minimal broadband capacity. He added that the quality of service available to provide these streams is the key ingredient because "once you achieve a certain amount of Internet congestion, you have to degrade the signal or it becomes choppy."

Still, On2 is wagering that VP5 will let people watch true broadcast-quality videos. The company said VP5 is more efficient and delivers higher quality at lower bit rates than MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Real 8, Windows Media 8 and Apple QuickTime 5. On2 said the download and streaming versions of VP5 are available through the RealPlayer at its Web site.

"Other codecs make an adaptation--they actually change the video and then compress it so it doesn't look the same," said On2 CEO Douglas McIntyre. "We don't do anything to the original...(VP5) gives back full resolution to the quality of the original stuff."

(Craigs comment not satelite related but some of this technology could make its way into satellite receivers or other settop boxes)

NBC Goes for the Digital Gold in Salt Lake City

From http://www.videography.com/article/mainv/0,7220,33450,00.html

The 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City will test a challenge NBC posed to itself prior to its broadcast of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney: to build an infrastructure that can be readily repurposed for more than one Olympics broadcast. To up the ante, the 2002 Salt Lake games, to be shown on NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, and NBCOlympics.com, will provide over 300 hours worth of coverage for the network. According to the Chairman of NBC Sports & Olympics Dick Ebersol, this year's 375.5 total hours of coverage more than doubles the 179 Olympic hours broadcast by CBS from Nagano, Japan in 1998 -- without including the daily six to eight hours of HD transmissions.

"We migrated to digital when we built the Sydney plant in 1999," said David Mazza, vice president of engineering, NBC Olympics. He noted that everything was digital there, "from the remote trucks at the venues to the transmission paths to the IBC (International Broadcast Center), all throughout the IBC plant and both the satellite and fiber feeds back to the U.S. In 1995 we also got the rights for 2000 in Sydney and 2002 in Salt Lake City and, shortly thereafter, the rights to the next three cities. So we built for Sydney with the idea of a multi-game infrastructure."

According to Mazza, the immense effort of building a re-useable all-digital infrastructure for Sydney is now, "paying off big-time." The Aussie infrastructure was installed on twelve 8 x 20-foot steel, shock-mounted platforms, each one of which held 20 racks. "They were moved from Sydney to Salt Lake City and reinstalled with minimal effort," added Mazza.

NBC added some new equipment to this year's Olympic setup. Among the new gear are Sony MSW-A2000 and MSW-M2000 MPEG IMX editing recorders with Betacam/SP/SX/Digital Betacam/MPEG IMX playback, which records a 50-megabit MPEG signal, takes a three-hour tape load, offers eight channels of audio, and also switches between 525 and 625. The audio feature is "a big selling point," according to Mazza, since it helps in the stereo editing suites, and the three-hour tape load is also attractive, since NBC will go home with between 30,000 and 40,000 video tapes. The switchable broadcast standard is ideal for the Olympics, which goes back and forth from countries with PAL and NTSC. The IMX VTRs in the near future will allow data transfers to the Sony MAV-555. NBC is using over 35 of these units. Also new is the Sony MVS-8000 production switcher, which also offers multi-format switching between 525, 625, and HD.

"Sony is a huge partner of ours in all of this," said Mazza. "They're our primary broadcast equipment provider, and both Sony products and Sony support are critical to our success here."

Also of significance is the fact that the 2002 Winter Games broadcast marks the first time that NBC's nonlinear editing capacity has exceeded its linear editing capacity. In addition to 14 Avid Symphonys, NBC also has 11 Avid Media station XLs and seven Avid Unity MediaNet systems, which will allow all the systems to be tied together. The Media Station XLs will be utilized for the time-consuming input, logging, and output of footage, while the Symphonys will be reserved for editing.

"Before Avid Unity, the Symphonys were only used for feature-based work, where we had more time," explained Mazza. "Now, with Unity, we're seeing faster-turnaround items go to the Avid. It offers a higher level of polish and allows people to change their minds a lot."

For control of the Sony IMX VTRs during linear editing, NBC purchased 16 Editware DPE-551 Hybrid Editing Systems. The Editware DPE-551s are able to control the IMX recorders' eight discrete channels of audio.

Also new is a range of gear from Pinnacle Systems, including the FXDeko II 3D character generator, the Thunder XL expandable clip and stillstore, and the four-channel, 10-bit 4:4:4:4 frame-based DVEXcel digital video effects system. NBC is also using the Graham-Patten Systems D/ESAM-8000, an 8-bus audio mixer with extensive surround sound mixing and monitoring capabilities, for formats supported by DVD, DTV, and other digital delivery systems.

NBC will use the Radyne ComStream Tiernan TDR-6 Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) to receive and decode compressed HDTV signals, for distribution and programming to NBC affiliate stations nationwide. "Our goal is to get as much HD in front of the American public as possible," said Mazza.

Digital technology also enables NBC to offer unprecedented access of all footage to its entire production staff. For the first time, working with German company tecmath (recently renamed Blue Order in the U.S.), NBC is recording ten simultaneous 1.5 Mb-proxy streams, which are being put onto a 20-terrabyte EMC disk array.

"Those proxies will be available to any of our production personnel in the International Broadcast Center (IBC) production facility through a Web browser," said Mazza. "They can screen the proxies with timecode accuracy and make a rough cut edit, create a list of shots to be digitized by the Avids, or take an EDL to one of the linear edit suites."

The low-resolution proxies will also be useful in other ways. "When we make a history copy of the tape, there might be 30 people trying to get it, to pull a sequence off," commented Mazza. "Now, they'll be able to search the tape in low-resolution and they'll only need the high-res tape for a few minutes, to pull off their segment. We don't have to make 30 dubs of the tape to give everyone access to it."

Mazza noted that the ultimate goal for NBC is to have high resolution material on the servers. But in addition to the cost of storage, he said, the risk associated with storing everything on a single disk array is still too high. Though that goal might seem like a vision of a far-off future, NBC's engineering of the 2002 Winter Olympics proves that too may become a reality sooner than expected.

22/02/02

Very quiet today not much going on, no replys yet from Trackside Channel or The Edge Radio as to FTA plans. I will be updating all the satellite pages tonight since I have got a bit out of date with all the recent changes. Has anyone picked up anything from Insat 3C at 74E? Yes the beams say India but the services testing are analog it should be possible to see any hint of out of footprint signal

From my Emails & ICQ

From WoodAuto

Craig

BBC world is still FTA on Pas 2 at 3744v

From Bob Cooper

TechTV (Asiasat3) had PowerVu turned on for an hour or so mid afternoon and verify March
1 switchoff of FTA.

Bob

From Bill Richards 21/02/02

0640UTC

Pas2 3901H "BBC Channel has no Video or Audio it is not Encrypted"

Regards
Bill

(Craigs comment, today someone with a S.A power Vu unit reports the signals encrypted)

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 3850 H "Hong Kong Jockey Club and the test card on PIDs 1460/1420 are not on .
PAS 2 169E 3901 H "BBC World has left? is not encrypted.? (Current status unknown)

Palapa C2 113E 11150 V "FTV Entertainment and FTV News Channel" are back on, SIDs 5-6, PIDs 32/34 and 44/43. New PIDs for all channels.CSN has left this mux.
(N Kawano)

Insat 2B 93.5E 4170 V "DD Gyandarshan" has left, moved to Insat 3C.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3536 V "Jain Satellite TV" has left.(Moving to Insat 3C perhaps?)

Apstar 2R 76.5E 3780 V "DD North-East" has left, moved to Insat 3C.
Apstar 2R 76.5E 3796 V "DD North-East" has left (MPEG-2).

Insat 3C 74E 4121 H "DD North-East" has started, PAL, 5.50 MHz.

PAS 10 68.5E 4154 H A test card has started on , PIDs 1860/1820.
PAS 10 68.5E 4064 H "Shopping on the Box" has started FTA, Vpid 1260 Apid 1220.

NEWS

Football fans win in pay-TV deal

From http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,3821732%255E662,00.html

AFL matches will be shown on all three pay-TV stations this year.

Optus will carry the Fox Footy channel after signing a deal with rival Foxtel yesterday, and Austar is poised to strike a similar deal in the coming days.

The agreements will virtually double football's armchair audience, and will placate country and interstate fans concerned about coverage on free-to-air TV.

The three-year deal with Optus is expected to begin mid-March, in time for the start of the AFL premiership season.

An Optus spokeswoman said subscribers would have to pay about $10 a month extra for the footy channel.

Neither Foxtel nor Optus would disclose the value of yesterday's deal.

Optus chief executive Chris Anderson said the agreement would be welcomed by the station's football followers.

"They will have access to premium AFL programming through the Fox Footy channel, which will significantly strengthen the Optus TV line-up," he said.

The AFL's commercial operations manager, Ben Buckley, said the league was delighted with the deal.

"Our goal has been to get the widest possible distribution in Australia for our football coverage, so we're very pleased that discussions between the two parties have concluded today," Mr Buckley said.

Optus has about 260,000 subscribers, mainly in capital cities.

Foxtel chief executive Ken Williams told a conference in Sydney of a similar deal with Austar, which has nearly 450,000 subscribers in regional Australia.

"We haven't actually signed the deal but we're very close to it, in the next day or two," an Austar spokesman said late yesterday.

Irate country football fans across Australia have sent letters and e-mails to the Herald Sun this week complaining about the lack of football coverage last weekend.

The AFL has been negotiating with channels Nine and Ten and their regional affiliates over the past few days in a bid to secure optimum coverage in interstate and country football markets.

Austar edges closer to debt deal

From http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,3818819%5E15316%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html

AUSTAR United Communications is making progress on two key issues for its future, including finalising a refinancing of its loan package with a syndicate of banks.

The regional pay TV group has been negotiating with its 15-member banking consortium about restructuring its existing $400 million debt facility.

Chief executive John Porter wouldn't put any specific date on when the refinancing would likely occur but said: "We're extremely optimistic about bringing (it) to a conclusion on a reasonable timetable".

"We think there's zero likelihood of any other outcome," he told journalists at a pay TV conference in Sydney.

"We've got 94 per cent of the interest in the syndicate already in so we're working on the last six per cent."

The banking consortium includes the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Citibank and JP Morgan.

Mr Porter said Austar continued to make progress on talks with Optus about potential ways to merge parts of their respective pay TV based businesses.

A set of strategic talks has been ongoing since the start of the year and Mr Porter said progress was being made.

"We've acknowledged ongoing discussions with Optus' Consumer & Multimedia (division) and possible ways of working more closely together," he said.

"We believe there's an opportunity there, whether we can (find) a way forward or not is up in the air. It's something we're putting some effort into."

Mr Porter said there was a need for some sort of rationalisation in the pay-TV industry in Australia.

That could involve either "Foxtel shareholders, or Optus and Austar, or Austar and Foxtel, or Optus and Foxtel", he said.

Optus is owned by Singapore Telecommunications. A spokesman for Optus said he had nothing further to add on the talks.

Liberty Media Corp is the controlling shareholder of Austar's 81.3 per cent owner, UnitedGlobalCom Inc.

Austar shares closed 1.5c stronger at 32.5c, while SingTel shares finished 3c firmer at $1.72.

AAP

Chinese Digital TV to get excellent reception

http://www.chinadaily.net/cndy/2002-02-21/57360.html

China expects to build up a digital television (DTV) broadcasting system by the year 2010 to replace the current analogue broadcasting system.

According to a long-term plan made by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), analogue broadcasting will be halted by 2015, and eight satellite TV channels will produce and transmit DTV programmes by 2005.

It means that Chinese audiences can enjoy much clearer television programmes in the near future as long as they add a small facility to receive digital coding.

Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen of South China's Guangdong Province currently have set up regional DTV networks as part of a trial.

Cable TV deliverers in Southwest China's Sichuan Province have also experimented to provide interactive TV programmes for their 7 million subscribers with support from international DTV facility manufacturers.

However, the crucial problem for DTV's development in China now is the formulation of DTV transmission standards.

DTV - including High Definition Television (HDTV) and Standard Definition Television (SDTV) - means the producing, distributing, transmitting and receiving of television programmes should all use digital coding and transmission technology.

The United States, Japan and Europe have all publicized their own DTV transmission standards and are promoting them to other countries.

China gathered a group of experts in 1999 and organized a special committee to draw up its own DTV broadcasting standards.

"It is very important to have our own standards," said a researcher at Tsinghua University who declined to be named. "Otherwise, just like the cases of DVD (digital versatile discs) and CDMA (code-division multiple-access) technology, our manufacturers will have to pay a lot of money for the patent."

Four domestic research institutions, including Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiaotong University, in October submitted five HDTV schemes transmission standards, which is compatible with SDTV transmission standards.

The standard-making committee, having already put these schemes to the test, will make the final decision on which scheme to choose by next year, according to the SARFT timetable.

Experts predict that cable television will be the first section where DTV technology is widely utilized. In fact, the sports channel of China Central Television has used DTV technology to interactively broadcast the Ninth National Games held in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province last year.

21/02/02

Things seem rather quiet. I have sent out Emails to "The Edge Radio" and the "TAB Trackside" Channel to encourage some feedback in hope they will consider going FTA. These services transmit inside SKY's transponders on Optus B1. If Trackside can't broadcast FTA then I have asked for them to at least make the Trackside Radio FTA afterall they are NOT a pay tv channel and the UHF FTA transmissions do not go far. They were up there FTA without audio several months back anyway so it could be very possible the only difficulty could be now they share channel space with Fashion TV. Mind you on UHF they share with Discovery channel and they seem to be able to manage that ok.

New Satellite Active! Insat 3C at 74E is now active, send in some reports please and I will add this if it can be received well in Australia.

India vs Zimbabwe Cricket anyone spot a feed?

Ever wonder what is on the encrypted AFRTS stuff on the Intelsats?

Have a look here at the program guide http://www.myafn.net/tv/schedule/

From my Emails & ICQ

From Jeff

Wondering if anyone has noticed that Sahara TV on Asiasat 3S seems to be on lower power since Wednesday.

Or is it just me.

I'm using a 2.7 metre or 9 foot dish hooked up to an Echostar LT 830 tuner.

From Jeff
Perth Western Australia.

From Bill Richards 20/2/02

1015 utc

Pas 2 Hong Kong Bouquet has moved from 4148v to 3850h Sr 14900 Fec 2/3

Same Ch line up.

Regards
Bill

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 3850 H "The Hong Kong Bouquet" has moved here from 4148 V, Sr 14900, Fec2/3, same line-up.
PAS 2 169E 3901 H "BBC World" is now encrypted. (Some Pacific Island's have probably lost BBC World then)

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3616 V "PTV Channel 3" has left

Apstar 2R 76.5E 4045 V "The test card" has left.

Insat 3C 74E 4165 H "DD Gyandarshan" has started , PAL, 5.50 MHz Audio .
Insat 3C 74E 4121 H "A test card has started" , PAL.

PAS 10 68.5E 4154 H "Fashion TV has replaced Nickelodeon Hungary" Sid 51, Vpid 1560 Apid 1521.

NEWS

Invitation to bid for the Use of the 4 BSS Transponders on the AsiaSat 4 Satellite

From asiasat.com

20 Feb 2002, On 27 June 2000, the Chief Executive in Council granted Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) a licence to provide transmission facilities on AsiaSat's satellite, AsiaSat 4, for four of the Broadcasting Satellite Service (BSS) channels that have been assigned to Hong Kong for use by the International Telecommunication Union. AsiaSat 4 will also carry other Fixed Satellite Service channels and is scheduled to be launched later this year subject to possible delays.

Holders or prospective holders of television programme service licences granted under the Broadcasting Ordinance may bid for the use of the transponders carrying the four BSS channels on AsiaSat 4 to provide television programme services for reception by the public in Hong Kong. AsiaSat is required to make available such transponders in an open, reasonable and non-discretionary manner. To ensure that this requirement is complied with, AsiaSat has established a Bidding Procedure for the leasing of the BSS transponders, which is attached to the Guidance Note issued by the Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau on 20 December 2001. The Guidance Note is publicly available at the ITBB's website at http://www.info.gov.hk/itbb. Interested parties are advised to refer to such Guidance Note for further information and should contact AsiaSat for the relevant documentation at the address shown below:

Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited
Attention: Ms. Catherine Chang
23rd Floor, East Exchange Tower
38 Leighton Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong

Telephone No. 2805 7310
Facsimile No. 2881 7593
E-mail address: cchang@asiasat.com

AsiaSat will make available the relevant documentation, ie, technical specifications and bidding information, to interested parties who have signed a non-disclosure agreement and have paid a non-refundable administration fee of HK$50,000.

All bids must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on 2 April 2002.

Asia Pacific Markets Pose Profits for Direct-to-Home Satellite Providers

From Satnewsdaily

SAN JOSE, Calif., February 20, 2002/SatNews -- Despite having five times the number of television households of North America, the Asia-Pacific region possesses only one quarter of the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television users, resulting in a market that has great potential yet struggles for profitability.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Asia Pacific Direct-to-Home Satellite Television Services Markets, reveals that this industry generated revenues of $1.7 billion in 2001 and is projected to surge to $6.2 billion by 2008.

"Research has failed to identify a single DTH multi-channel pay-television service provider who had yet to turn a profit for its investors. Many of the DTH providers are showing impressive growth in their subscriber numbers, but operations and other costs are growing at the same pace," says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Patrick French.

The ability to offer a greater range of channel options than cable analog systems has been a driving force in expanding the market's subscriber base. In addition, DTH's independence of a wireline infrastructure has allowed it to reach customers that were previously inaccessible. These improvements resulted in increased competition for the pay-television services industry and spurred cable operators to focus on further developing their own offerings.

"The success DTH service providers have had capitalizing on these advantages has pushed the cable television industry to modernize at a rapid rate. Many areas are seeing new, digital cable systems that offer a quality of service equal to DTH," states French. "For potential subscribers who have a choice between DTH or cable services, the differences are narrowing, making it more critical for the industry participants to make their case to the customer."

In order to succeed financially, DTH service providers have focused on making a long-term commitment to their users. This includes upgrading set top equipment to support interactive television services and a movement to bundle services such as Internet access and satellite-television.

Frost & Sullivan presents the 2001 Marketing Engineering Awards to companies that have worked diligently to make a positive contribution to the direct-to-home satellite television services industry. These market specific awards are presented to: SKY Perfect Communications, Inc.

Frost & Sullivan is a global leader in strategic market consulting and training. This ongoing research is part of the Satellite Communications Subscription, which also includes market analyses on North American Direct Broadcast Satellite Pay-Television Service Markets and World Broadband Satellite Services Markets. Frost & Sullivan also offers custom consulting to a variety of national and international companies. Executive summaries and interviews are available to the press

Turning off pay-TV

From AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

There is a sense of déjà vu pervading the Australian pay-TV industry. In some instances, the names and the players have changed, but the dynamic remains the same.

As in October 1995, when the nation's most powerful pay-TV operator, Foxtel, proposed a merger with the financially crippled Australis, today the nation's pay-TV players are awaiting the outcome of merger talks that will determine the future shape of the industry.

Nobody genuinely believes that three pay-TV companies can make money in Australia. They never have. So it's little surprise to see history repeating itself, with the debt-ridden third player in the industry, Austar, negotiating a merger or alliance with the Singapore Telecommunications-controlled Optus.

The current model of three pay-TV players struggling to reach profitability is a far cry from the dream of the early 1990s that led Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and Telstra Corp to sign an agreement to launch pay-TV in Australia.

When Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting joined the union of Australia's most powerful media and telecommunications companies three years later in the Foxtel partnership, it should have been a match made in heaven.

But gods are yet to smile upon Foxtel as the egos and agendas of the nation's most powerful media and telecommunications companies have restrained the pay-TV group's development.

When industry players gather in Sydney today for the two-day annual pay-TV and radio industry conference, ASTRA 2002, discussion will inevitably turn to the rationalisation of the sector.

The merger talks between Austar and Optus are about stemming the mounting losses that have crippled the industry.

But determining the future of pay-TV in Australia will go beyond a mere merger between the second and third players in the sector.

Instead, it is about establishing a business model for the industry that works on a reasonable cost base, one that's governed by a reasonable regulatory regime and allows the transformation to digital services.

The digital issue in Australia is wider than the future of pay-TV. It is linked to the current debate over removing foreign and cross-media restrictions, the future of datacasting and the provision by the Federal Government of broadcasting spectrum in Australia.

Standardising the type of digital set-top box that will be rolled out in Australia for use by the free-to-air networks, pay-TV and other broadcasters is fundamental to the future.

As Foxtel's new chief executive, Kim Williams, told The Australian Financial Review recently: "Digitisation must happen and we will make it happen. Foxtel will deliver that future."

And as another senior industry executive put it: "Technology dictates changes in any market. With digital, Australia has been slow to get into it. It's got to get moving. Digital will be the breakthrough for the industry in Australia."

Doubts about the transformation to digital intensified last year, when the High Court upheld a decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to "declare" Telstra's network open to competition.

The Federal Government is working on legislation regulating access to digital pay-TV services, including amendments to the Trade Practices Act, to allow Foxtel to agree on access terms with competitors before digitising its network at an estimated cost of $500 million.

In the meantime, Austar and Optus continue discussions on a potential merger of their pay-TV businesses.

Austar might not be in the same financially crippled state as Australis, but the group is facing a $343 million full-year loss this year and its bankers are yet to agree to refinance its $400 million worth of debts.

Although the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission stymied the 1995 merger between Foxtel and Australis, this time consideration of any union will be different because Optus and Austar operate in separate markets.

A Telstra source says the group - which owns 50 per cent of Foxtel, with News Corp and Publishing and Broadcasting each holding 25 per cent - is comfortable enough to sit back and let the negotiations between Optus and Austar take their course.

Having run its own numbers on an Optus-Austar union, Telstra believes a merger between the pair is fundamentally uneconomic and that SingTel would not wear the burden of Austar's $400 million debt.

Foxtel believes a merger could cost SingTel up to $1 billion, comprising Austar's debt, $220million in equity, a premium for control and a line of fresh working capital to reinvigorate the business.

Foxtel is betting that SingTel, which was already criticised for laying out too much ($14 billion) for Optus last year, will not be prepared to pay for a solution.

Optus is assessing ways to minimise the funding burden, including considering an equity injection by a