31/01/02
Lots of user emails today which is good to see. I emailed Worldnet about the new service that started on I701 (see Satfacts page) looks like it will stay which is fantastic news as the Asiasat 2 service is at a low look angle for viewers in NZ. It seems most won't even need to buy a circular feed as the signals booming in. But has anyone detected a power change in the mux on 3769 RHC? Reports are filtering in Thursday 6 p.m NZ time that Asiasat 3 Fox News has encrypted.
Satfacts page updated
From my Emails & ICQ
From Robert Anthony
Nice pics of sat set up
http://www.vidiot.com/satinstall.html
(Craigs comment, this looks familiar same dish but different mount to mine)
This Email from Worldnet
From: Larry Ewalt <lewalt@IBB.GOV>
Organization: U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau
To: Craig Sutton <suttonc@ihug.co.nz>
Subject: Re: intelsat 701 180E
Thank you for your interest in WORLDNET. The Intelsat 701 transmissions
are not tests and will continue. You can get satellite information from
our webpage at <http://www.voanews.com/affiliates/>. Under "Broadcast
Info" in the banner at the left of the page you will find links for
"Downlink Info," "Satellite Bulletins," and "Satellite Program
Schedules."
If you are interested in WORLDNET program schedules, you will find them
on our webpage at <http://www.ibb.gov/tvschedule/>. This page is
updated automatically every day at 0700 UTC.
We are currently undergoing a reorganization and this is reflected in
the scattered nature of our webpages which are not yet uniform and
properly linked.
Program Office
WORLDNET
From Andrew Harrison, Vanuatu
RE: 701 Worldnet
Loads well here too with signal 73% and quality 69% on the satcruiser - 3.7 m Mesh.
From JeffB
RE:I701 Worldnet
its a bloody boomer here in the lower south west of WA on my nokia dbox and
a 3m kti c/ku band dish.im not using a circular feed either..it would be
around 60% on the signal level and 39 channels load so its the same as it
was on asaisat 2 ..all the world radio channels i gather..
regards Jeff.B.
WEST AUSTRALIA
From Ahmad Mobasheri (NZ)
At 15:45, locked 31 Channels ( One TV,with different Radios ) on 3m mesh
dish and Pheonix 333, in Ak, NZ. Picture is in NTSC format
Strangely, LNB on the dish is not a RHC or LHC. It is H/V lnbf.
It locked on 3886 H, 25000, 3/4, and the signal strength is about 50%.
(Craigs comment from the strength of it it seems this is on the same beam AFRTS uses. If so it should be recieveable on dishs as small as 1M on Cband! most won't even need the correct circular feed!)
From David Knight
B3 12363 6110 V. Golf. Heineken Classic. (probably running all day 16x9)
FoxNews no longer FTA on Asiasat 3
I was using 3980V (sr 28100) for Fox News.
But, Fox news has left the line up.
Reloaded the frequency on my Dynasat POS.
Fox News doesn't appear in the channel list.
Three Channels only now.
TP10-P -2
728 MCR
Adventure One.
All Scrambled.
From John Mc Dermot 30/01/02
Can someone with an auto SR machine please check the following frequency
on Optus B1 Horizontal:
12476 H - there has been a strong signal here most of the day and is
still there 11:00 pm Melbourne time.
Cheers
John
From Bill Richards 30/01/02
0740 utc
Pas 2 4063H Sr 6620 Fec 2/3 Vpid 3160 apid 3120 napsa3 nba feed
From Chris Pickstock 30/01/02
16 Radio Channels currently load on B3, 12564 H (Foxtel/Austar) and are all FTA. I suspect they are shuffling them around and are probably a repeat of the encrypted ones on 12626 H. Lets hope some of the TV channels go FTA for a while as well.
B3, 12363 V, Mediasat, Horse Racing from Clare, SA
Chris
From the Dish
PAS 2 169E 3836 V New PIDs for LBC Australia and RAI International 1 2307/2308 and 2309/2310. LBC Australia is encrypted again.
PAS 2 169E 3803 V "Occasional feeds", Sr 6000, Fec 3/4.
PAS 8 166E 12410 H "Venus-Eye" has left
Optus B3 156E 12564 H Six more radio channels have started, New APIDs for all radio channels, all now in clear.
Agila 2 146E 3622H "TransVision NTSC-1" "TransVision NTSC-2" "TransVision PAL-1" Testing, Sr 20900, Fec 3/4
Apstar 1A 134E 3745 V "Travel Satellite TV has replaced Hainan TV" , Sr 6930, Fec1/2, Vpid 3260 Apid 2284.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3471 V "Punjab Today" has started on, Sr 3030, Fec 2/3, Vpid 4448 Apid 4195, Asian beam.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3551 H "A test card has started" on Vpid 1537 Apid 1538.
PAS 10 68.5E 3863 V "BVN TV" has replaced SuperSport 5 on , SID 1003,Vpid 521 Apid 649 (encrypted).
NEWS
Satellite crashing back to Earth
From http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,3682271%255E1702,00.html
A 3,150 kilogram science satellite will fall from the sky this week, and NASA says a few pieces of metal could hit the Earth anywhere between Florida and Brisbane.
The US space agency said today the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer should make a final plunge to Earth between 2pm and 11pm (AEDT) tommorow.
Officials said the satellite will start breaking apart when it hits the upper edge of the atmosphere, about 80km high. It is expected to complete four or five more 90-minute orbits before its final descent.
Most of the spacecraft is expected to come apart and burn up in the atmosphere during its high-speed fall.
NASA engineers, however, said it was possible that up to nine stainless steel and titanium pieces, weighing up to 45kg, will reach the Earth's surface.
The satellite pieces, if they survive the fall, are expected to land in a debris field stretching some 1,000km under the orbital path. The re-entry point is expected to be determined about 12 hours before the final fall, NASA said.
"The probability of the few ... surviving pieces falling into a populated area and hurting someone is very small," said Ronald E Mahmot, project manager for Space Science Missions at the Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland.
"It is more likely that the small pieces will fall into the ocean or fall harmlessly to the ground."
In 2000, NASA engineers successfully directed a safe de-orbit of the 17-tonne Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, using rockets aboard the satellite to bring it down in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.
The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, however, does not have the on-board rockets needed to direct the re-entry. As a result, it will fall uncontrolled within a belt around the middle of the Earth stretching as far north as Orlando, Florida and as far south as Brisbane, Australia. This belt includes such highly populated areas as Mexico City, Bangkok and Miami.
The largest uncontrolled re-entry by a NASA spacecraft was Skylab, a 70.2 tonne abandoned space station that fell from orbit in 1979. Its debris dropped harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and across a remote section of western Australia.
Launched in 1992, the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer collected images of more than 1,000 celestial objects detected in the extreme ultraviolet part of the spectrum. The craft was designed to work for three years, but it was operational for eight. The observation program ended last year.
NDS, China Networks Systems ally for digital cable TV services in Taiwan
From indiantelevision.com
NDS Group, a News Corporation company, has announced that China Network Systems (CNS), Taiwan's leading cable TV service provider, has selected NDS to provide systems integration consulting and the end-to-end digital broadcasting solutions to power their digital cable TV network upgrade. NDS claims to be the leading provider of conditional access systems and interactive applications for digital TV. CNS is a joint venture between the Star Group which claims to be Asia's leading multi-platform content and service provider, and Koos Group which claims to be Taiwan's leading business conglomerate.
CNS will commence the digital upgrade of cable networks in the second quarter of 2002, with services delivered to more than one million viewers within three years.
An official release states that Taiwan's cable market has the highest penetration of any pay-TV market in the Asia Pacific region. There are nearly five million cable TV subscribers in Taiwan, representing 80 per cent of TV households. CNS claims to be the leading cable TV service provider in Taiwan, with access to more than one million analog cable TV viewers currently.
With a reach of more than one million viewers, the CNS planned digital rollout will be the first wide-scale deployment of digital interactive TV technology in the Asia Pacific.
SAB TV Network to take over SABe TV by end quarter
From http://www.business-standard.com/ice/news3.asp?menu=1
Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network (SABTNL) expects to take over SABe TV, the Mauritius-based company, by the end of this quarter. The company has already sought necessary clearances from the Reserve Bank of India.
Markand Adhikari, vice-chairman and managing director of SABTNL, told Business Standard the takeover would result in the company saving costs. “Right now, the costs are high because we are uplinking from Singapore. Once we start uplinking from India, it will result in tremendous cost reduction.”
The company is also negotiating with the Noida-based Essel Shyam for uplinking its SABe TV channel from India. The uplinking is expected to attract local advertisers who could not use this medium due to forex restrictions.
30/01/02
Sorry once again lack of time has resulted in no site update today. Expect something tommorow though as I will get some of it underway tonight. For those that asked the parcel from Digisatnz.tv was the GWE2100 FTA Digital sat receiver that they are selling. I have only had about a couple of hours of playing around with it so far. At the moment I have not quite got the hang of the unit. I will be reviewing it after a week or 2 so watch out for the 1st apsattv.com reciever review coming soon!
29/01/02
Livechat in the chatroom tonight 9pm NZ onwards and 8.30pm Syd time. Not much in the news section. A parcel from Digisat www.digisatnz.tv has turned up at my place. I will be having a look at that when I have a few spare minutes. I am still busy with packing. Thats mostly why there isn't a lot happening with the site today. You just have to put up with that until I get moved in 3 weeks.
From my Emails & ICQ
From Bill Richards
Adventure 1 screenshot off Apstar 2R
From the Dish
PAS 2 169E 12315 V "Occasional GlobeCast" feeds on, Sr 5880, Fec 3/4, North East Asian beam.
Agila 2 146E 3864 H "Net 25" has left
Koreasat 2 113E 12575 HYoon Sat 1 (clear) and Yoon Sat 2 have started on, Sr 5228, FEC 7/8, SIDs 1-2, PIDs 257/258-513/514.
NEWS
Watching the watchdog in pay TV
From http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,3666517%5E15309%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html
THE competition regulator has again become the focus of media attention as it undertakes informal inquiries that may determine the future of battling regional pay TV group Austar.
Last week's news of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's moves suggests Austar and its proposed partner Singtel/Optus have requested an informal clearance of some form of merger or acquisition plan.
This move is nothing new, seen most recently in the failed attempt by Independent Print Media Group to backdoor list through rival printer PMP.
The ACCC twice indicated to IPMG it wouldn't approve the merger, prompting IPMG to dump its plan.
The one benefit for the ACCC this time around is that it has plenty of experience in the pay TV market, having investigated and then denied the 1994 merger proposal between Foxtel and the now defunct Australis Media.
Then the issue came down to telephony, as Optus threatened to stop rolling out its cable (which would provide telephony competition to Telstra) if the merger proceeded.
The ACCC is back in the pay TV stomping ground and is again looking at whether a bid for Austar would reduce telephony competition.
But unlike the Australis situation, Austar's future is becoming highly political.
The Government will not want to see the only pay TV provider in the bush fail.
And since Australis's collapse the internet has become a force, resulting in the ACCC putting that market under the microscope.
Both Optus and Austar are internet service providers (ISPs), although Optus operates in metropolitan markets and Austar mostly in the regions.
Both also have mobile telephony services, with Optus a service provider and Austar a reseller.
To date, the only companies to admit speaking to the ACCC about Austar are the Seven Network (which fears consolidation may make it more difficult for its C7 sports channel to get on to a delivery system) and Nine and Ten, which may also wish to on-sell their local programs to a pay TV company.
Regional Victorian pay TV and internet operator Neighbourhood Cable also had concerns for pay TV competition, but did not consider Austar a threat in internet access.
Unsurprisingly quiet is Foxtel, 25 per cent owned by The Australian's owner, News Limited, as it would no doubt hope that if an Austar-Optus deal falls over on anything other than competition grounds it would be the next bidder for Austar.
But probably of more interest to the ACCC are the opinions of content suppliers and customers rather than Austar's competitors.
Another factor would be whether Optus and Austar have plans to merge or for one to simply manage the other's business.
Those options have differing competition consequences. For example, if Singtel were to manage Austar, the agreements covering those businesses would be subject to the tricky and related competition issues of price fixing and market sharing.
From that perspective, it would be easier for one company to simply buy or merge with the other. In that case Singtel could inject cash to Austar's small ISP and telephony businesses and provide a better competitor to Telstra.
Or given the huge losses it has already suffered on its Optus purchase, Singtel may wish to sell those assets and focus on Austar's pay TV business. If an informal clearance has been requested, the process should take three to four weeks.
Meetings are held and the ACCC writes an internal paper, which is discussed by the mergers panel and may go to the full commission for discussion.
If the companies have requested confidentiality, the document is unlikely to see the light of day.
Fortunately for Austar, the ACCC is not its only option as there is the increasingly remote chance the Commonwealth Bank will agree to the rollover of its $400 million loan, giving Austar some breathing space.
If not, it will be relying on the ACCC. History would suggest that in the media industry, that's not a good bet. Or maybe times have changed?
28/01/02
Quite a lot of news items the best being, the email I had from Radio NZ. I will be emailing others and getting their responses this week. Hopefully others will follow Radio NZ's lead in going FTA via Sky.
History for December added (what do you mean its almost February!)
From my Emails & ICQ
My email I sent to Radio NZ this afternoonSubject:Radio, via FTA satellite
(www.apsattv.com)
I would like to ask why your signal via the Optus B1 satellite, through
Skys service is encrypted and not Free to air. TVNZ 1 and 2 are there
in FTA format receivable through any FTA DVB compatible satellite
receiver.
Rather than make some listeners pay SKY $4 a week (making it a pay service) you could tell
Sky to broadcast your services FTA just as TVNZ is doing. The price of digital
FTA satellite receivers has dropped so much now that they are easily affordable. For example
www.telsat.com/nzdigital.htm
www.digisatnz.tv
www.satlink.co.nz
Any of those will sell you a suitable receiver for under $300
By switching your signal to a FTA format inside Skys transponder the
same as TVNZ have arranged for there services. Your listeners in remote
areas would not be forced to pay if they want to listen to your stations.
Surely you want to be available to as many NZ listeners as possible?
I have talked to others transmitting via Sky and they are interested in
going FTA. Also if you did not know TVNZ have been testing their own
FTA service also on another transponder on Optus B1 (this is separate to the
FTA service inside Sky's transponder) it would be a huge boost for
digital TV/Radio in NZ if you were to ask them to carry National Radio and
Concert FM . In fact it may be a better option than telling Sky to
unencrypt your signal.
I have been contacting other radio stations that broadcast via Sky
several are interested in going FTA to take advantage of the now growing market
of FTA satellite viewers/listeners.
Craig Sutton
www.apsattv.com
The Response
From Matthew Finn
Craig,
You'll be pleased to know that just a couple of weeks I wrote to Sky
asking that the RNZ signals be unencrypted. We had discussions with them
prior to Christmas and we understand that they have no objection to
free-to-air services on their platform being unencrypted so I would
expect this to happen quite soon.
At this stage we won't pursue the option to also be on the TVNZ system
until we know more about their future plans. As I understand it, there's
no real advantage over being on Sky unencrypted is there? Plus, being on
Sky means we are available in a user-friendly way to all their satellite
subscribers.
Matthew Finn
Broadcast Infrastructure Manager
Radio New Zealand Ltd
P.O. Box 123
Wellington
Ph: +64 4 474 1844
Fax: + 64 4 474 1886
Mob: 027 454 6959
www.radionz.co.nz
(Craigs comment, Great news for installers and viewers/listeners of FTA in NZ! you can now add these as "Coming Soon FTA" I have replied back suggesting the advantage if they went with TVNZ is they would have more space and they could possibly increase the audio of both services up to 384kbit. I think at the moment through Sky it's either at 160 or 192kbit. Abc Australia uses 256kbit and to me sounds better and I don't have any fancy audio system just the tv speakers. I suggested to them Audiophiles want the maximum quality of audio and possibly at the moment the quality is not as best as they could be! Let's see what happens)
From the Dish
PAS 2 169E 3836 V "LBC Australia" is fta
PAS 2 169E 4090 V "Rainbow Channel 1-2" have left
PAS 2 169E 12732 V "Rainbow Channel 1 and Channel X" have left . They are not encrypted.
PAS 2 169E 12732 V "CTS" is still fta.
PAS 2 169E 12315 H "GlobeCast test card" has started, Sr 5881, Fec 3/4, SID 7, PIDs 52/53, Chinese beam.
PAS 8 166E 3880 V "ABS-CBN Music Radio WRR 101.9" has started on, SID 6, PIDs 1622.
Koreasat 2 113E 12530 H New FEC for the mux 3/4.
Koreasat 2 113E 12617 H "The two test cards have left".
Koreasat 2 113E 12575 H "Yoon Sat" has left
Insat 2C 93.5E 4140 H New PIDs for DD 11 - Gujarati on : 308/256.
Insat 2E 83E 3525 V "Maa TV and Win TV" have started testing on PIDs 289/290 and 305/306, zone beam.
Insat 2E 83E 3485 V "ETV Uttar Pradesh, ETV Madhya Pradesh, ETV Rajasthan and ETV Bihar" have started regular transmissions on , SIDs 1-4, PIDs 1160/1120-1460/1420, zone beam.
Insat 2E 83E 4005 V "ETV Gujarati" has started regular transmissions on ,, SID 6, PIDs 1660/1620, wide beam.
Insat 2E 83E 4005 V "ETV Oriya" has started regular transmissions, SID 7, PIDs 1760/1720, wide beam.
Insat 2E 83E 4040 V "The test card" has left analog.
PAS 10 68.5E 4034 V "DD Bharathi has replaced DD News" on, SID 1, PIDs 512/650.
PAS 10 68.5E 4154 V "DD Bharathi has replaced DD News" Analog
Intelsat 902 62E 4003 L "Radio Mojahed" has started testing on, APID 257.
(H Malyay)
NEWS
Auckland station to have key role with US Navy
Thanks to Mike for taking the picture
From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=technology&thesubsection=&storyID=586619
The Stratos land earth station in Auckland will play a key role in the satellite communication specialist's new $US137 million ($324 million) contract with the United States Navy.
Stratos' Asia Pacific vice-president, Michael Smith, said the 12-person team at Albany had been part of the bidding process and would be involved in boosting the capacity of their station and managing the global network.
"The Auckland dish provides cover from the eastern Mediterranean over to the western coast of continental United States, so for this piece of business it's the linchpin in our global coverage," Mr Smith said.
He said the high military and media activity surrounding the war in Afghanistan meant Auckland "is a very busy place for us right now".
The land earth station now channels signals from US Navy ships in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf off the satellites and on to terrestrial telephone networks.
The new contract, which was tendered before the terrorist attacks on September 11, is to provide the US Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (Spawar) with two-way satellite bandwidth for use with Inmarsat B systems aboard ships worldwide.
The estimated value of the contract is $US137 million over five years, although in unusual circumstances, such as a prolonged war, the value could rise to a maximum of $US537 million.
Stratos will provide Inmarsat connectivity to support processing the Navy's Secure Telephone Unit version III calls, data calls, official telephone lines and unofficial voice for Afloat Personal Telecommunications Service.
It will need to provide up to 200 Inmarsat lease channels to support Inmarsat B high speed data transmission services of up to 128 kbps a channel, enough for video-conferencing if required.
It will also provide terrestrial connectivity between its land earth stations and Navy points of presence in Wahiawa (Hawaii), Norfolk (Virginia), Naples and Bahrain.
Toronto-based Stratos, which bought the Auckland LES as part of its acquisition of British Telecom's worldwide satellite facilities, is the fastest-growing technology company on the Canadian stock exchange.
Fourth-quarter results come out next week. In the first three quarters, Stratos reported revenue of $US208 million, up $US125 million from the same period in 2000.
Mr Smith said Stratos now had sufficient bulk and experience in remote communications of all kinds to be fiercely competitive in price, service and reliability. It is one of five companies which dominate the satellite communications market.
Stratos has communication covered
From nzherald.co.nz (note this article is 7 months old)
Michael Smith explains why one of the two satellite dishes at the Albany Land Earth Station in North Shore City (AUCKLAND , NZ) is almost touching the ground.
"It's looking at a bird over the Indian Ocean," says the Asia Pacific managing director of satellite communications company Stratos.
The bird in question is an Inmarsat satellite 38,000km above the Equator at longitude 109 east, its footprint a sweep from the Mediterranean to the central Pacific.
That means it is passing over one of the hottest spots in the world for military and civil communications, Afghanistan.
The pictures seen on CNN and other news networks as likely as not have been sent out of the war zone as high-speed data from an Inmarsat phone, come back to Earth at the North Shore facility and been passed by the terrestrial telecoms network to the United States.
High-speed data on Inmarsat runs at about $US6 a minute, compared to $US2 for voice.
The military, too, is a big user of commercial satellites. The US Navy is a significant customer of Stratos, as a bank of dedicated modems in a corner of the data centre testifies.
Special forces, including perhaps New Zealand SAS troops, are calling in bomb strikes using Iridium phones connected to a GPS (global positioning satellite) receiver, range-finding binoculars and a Pocket PC in a rugged case to encrypt signals and process data.
It's part of a system called Jedi (joint expedition digital information.)
The field command centre version replaced the Pocket PC with a laptop running Windows CE.
Iridium phones run off a different network of low earth orbit satellites unconnected with the Albany facility.
Stratos is one of 16 resellers of services on the Iridium network, which is undergoing a massive relaunch.
Iridium was bought by a consortium of private investors for $US25 million after its original backers burned through $US8 billion getting the constellation of low-earth-orbit satellite operations.
Iridium phones can be used anywhere you can see the sky, making them ideal for remote communications.
Stratos is offering Iridium calls costing $US1.50 a minute to a land line or 50USc to another Iridium phone, compared to the original price of up to $14 a minute.
The new business, whose owners include Quadrant Australia, is underpinned by a $US3 million-a-month contract with the US military to provide 20,000 terminals.
Stratos started out in St John's, Newfoundland, providing marine radio services. It has grown rapidly by acquisition, and in September was top of the list of the 50 fastest-growing Canadian technology companies, with revenue growth between 1996 and last year of 73,000 per cent.
As well as Inmarsat and Iridium, it handles Intelsat, VSAT and other communications technologies. It also owns telephone companies in Texas and Louisiana which are part of its communications network servicing 7769.9 sq km of oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico.
%Mr Smith said that in this part of the world Stratos is looking at building a similar communications network to service companies looking for oil below the North West Shelf off Australia, through to Timor and on towards Thailand.
%"The aim of the company is to provide wireless communications to customers in remote locations," Mr Smith said.
"That means we have lots of customers in the maritime industry, in oil and gas, aeronautical, the military, recreational users."
Stratos recently bought the satellite business of British Telecom, which included the Albany facility, for $US350 million, giving it its own land network for global coverage.
"BT was the third largest Inmarsat provider as well as having a lot of value- added services."
Mr Smith said Stratos is providing free satellite air time for the New Zealand teams taking part in the Telecom Transatlantic Rowing challenge, enabling them to keep in touch during their race across the Atlantic Ocean.
Space Systems/Loral Remains Committed to Asia-Pacific Market
from satnewsasia.com
In the aftermath of Loral settling a U.S. Justice Department China export probe for a reported $14 million, Satnews Asia associate editor, Virgil Labrador interviewed the new President of Space Systems/Loral Asia-Pacific, Dr. Paul R. Davis at the recently-concluded PTC 2002 in Hawaii. Dr. Davis was previously Vice-President of marketing and sales of SS/L for Asia and Africa and prior to that he spent 7 years at Hughes Space and Communications. He also has a 20-year stint at the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 1985 as a colonel. Daniel E. Collins, SS/L's senior vice-president of worldwide marketing ad sales joined the interview.
Excerpts
Q. SS/L signed MBSAT and IPSTAR in 2001. What does this indicate for SS/L? What other opportunities do you see in the region?
Dr. Paul Davis (P.D.). We certainly confirm that the signing of MBSAT and IPSTAR is evidence of our continuing commitment to the Asia-Pacific region. We intend to be here. If we look ahead of the market in the next couple of years, we see several opportunities that keep us happy. We see at least three opportunities in Japan. There is an ongoing procurement program in Indonesia. People in Vietnam and Laos are talking about a new satellite. The Malaysians are also talking about an additional satellite and so are the Australians as well as the Koreans. So if you add it all up there will be more than half a dozen opportunities in the Asia-Pacific market in the next 2 years.
Q. What kind of satellites are these and what type of services are they going to provide?
P.D. These will be mostly BSS satellites, except for Korea, which is considering a joint commercial and military satellite…sort of in the mold of Optus C-1. There is also the potential of another MBSAT and another IPSTAR.
Q. What's your market share in Asia?
P.D. Well, there were two satellite contracts awarded in Asia in 2001 and we won both of them.
Q. How has the Asian satellite market been affected by 9/11?
P.D. Much of what's affecting the Asian satellite market is a combination of change in leadership in the satellite companies and currency fluctuations. But we don’t necessarily see these issues negatively. Each case provides opportunities, such as the change in leadership of Optus with the takeover of Singtel.
iPSTAR-1, being built for Shin Satellite of Thailand, will provide direct-to-desktop, last-mile services, including new multimedia and data services to customers in Asia, India, and Australia. The iPSTAR-1 satellite is scheduled to begin service in early 2003.
Q. How does the Asia-Pacific market figure in relation to your global marketing efforts?
Daniel E. Collins (D.C.) Of our current backlog of 25 satellites, six are for the Asian market or about 25 percent. Asia has been an important market for us for almost our entire existence. We have a long-term commitment to the Japanese market -- we almost started our satellite business in the Japanese market 30 years ago and we continue to consider that as an important market.
During the Asian downturn of '97-'98, we continued to pay every bit as much attention to the Asian market and Asian customers as we did before since we regard Asia as a long-term market. We have good relations with our Asian clients.
Q. What advantages do you have to offer your customers vis a vis your competitors?
P.D. We manufacture a superior product--that's a natural advantage. To sell we have to have a relationship and that's what we are always trying to develop. We also try to stay close enough to our customers to understand exactly what they need so that we could design a satellite that fits those needs. We even help them execute their business plans. We put much thought and creativity in what our customers are trying to do and build the product accordingly.
Q. There has been some consolidation among satellite operators globally. Do you se this happening as well to satellite manufacturers?
D.C. The global market in general is slowing down. It's slowed down considerably in the last half of 2001 and we expect this to continue in most of 2002. We expect a 25% decline in satellite demand, so it will be a challenging marketplace for us.
As far as consolidation among customers--the owner-operators have changed the complexion of the marketplace in that we see fewer regular customers with 2 to 3 satellites. We now see more customers with larger fleets but there will still be few start-ups.
I think everyone with a finger on the manufacturing side of the satellite industry expects that there will be consolidation because of how fiercely competitive the industry has become. Among the top five manufacturers, most of then have almost doubled their capacity and already approaching three times the actual demand. The situation is begging for rationalization.
Q. What are your immediate plans for the Asia-Pacific market?
P.D. What I intend to do is continue the successful movement that Loral has established in the last 7 to 8 years with an executive resident in Asia. Initially I will be based in the West Coast (of the US) and the challenge is to follow and achieve at least as good a performance as my predecessors.
We will also continue our presence in Japan and other countries and in the next 2 to 3 years you may see us broaden our representation in Southeast Asia, Australia and China.
Q. What is your view of the Chinese market?
P.D. My view of that market is that it is exciting. I think in the next 3 to 5 years there will be a Direct Broadcast Satellite system put up in China. It's not clear whether it will be competitively procured or whether it will be built domestically. We hope that there will be a truly competitive element to it and that we will be able to participate.
Q. What role will you play in the Chinese market?
P.D. We are going to play a role as the market and as our government will allow it. We will obey the proper constraints as we always have.
Q. Are you optimistic about the Asia market?
P.D. We are being very realistic and part of that realism is a proper degree of optimism.
Dr. Paul Davis can be reached at davis.paul@ssd.loral.com and Daniel Collins can be reached at collins.dan@ssd.loral.com
China Unveils 2002 Space Plans; Set to Launch 10 Satellites, Rockets in 2002
From satnewsasia.com
China's will send "Fengyun 1-D," into orbit before June 2002 using a Chinese-made Long March 4 rocket.
China intends to push ahead with the launch of about 10 satellites, rockets and spacecraft this year, a third of the number it plans to launch in the next four years.
China will begin its launch year with the launch of weather satellite Fengyun 1-D in the first half as part of the new missions, according to the Shanghai Aerospace Administration. A Long March 4 rocket will be used to loft Fengyun 1-D into orbit. The satellite will be involved in medium- and long-term weather forecasting, including monitoring conditions for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The 10 launches are part of an overall program that will see China launch 30 non-military satellites in the next four years to accelerate the development of its space industry. Xu Fuxiang, head of the Chinese Research Institute of Space Technology (CRIST), said the satellites would be used for telecommunications, weather forecasting, environmental protection and navigation. China has successfully developed and launched 48 satellites with a success rate of 90 percent, according to the state run Xinhua news agency.
In 2000, China announced its intention to send a manned spacecraft into earth orbit within the decade. It has launched two Shenzhou spacecraft as part of this effort with a third, called Shenzhou 3, scheduled by the first quarter of 2002. Shenzhou 2 was successfully recovered in early 2001 following the maiden experimental space flight in late 1999. China will also carry out a number of unmanned flights to prepare for manned flights.
China will launch an unmanned Shenzhou 3 spacecraft in preparation for a manned space flight tentatively scheduled for 2003. Industry sources said Shenzhou 3 would be launched from the Jiuquan Space Center in China's northwest Gansu province by a Long March 2F carrier rocket. Shenzhou 3, which resembles the Soyuz spacecraft of the former Soviet Union, is expected to test life support and re-entry systems for a manned mission. Shenzhou spacecraft can carry two "yuhanghuans" or astronauts.
Western analysts believe a successful Shenzhou 3 mission could pave the way for China's first manned flight by as early as 2003. Earlier reports predicted a manned Chinese mission before 2005. China's announced ambition as a space power is to become the second nation to put a man on the moon, probably by the next decade, and to build a space station to rival the International Space Station.
HK Yes Television To Go It Alone
From satnewsasia.com
Yes Television Asia vowed to go it alone in launching its pay-TV service after being unceremoniously dumped by erstwhile partner, CLP Telecommunications Ltd, only a month before the new service was to debut.
CLP Telecommunications, a unit of electric utility CLP Holdings Ltd, backed out of the planned joint venture pay TV project six months after shaking hands on the deal with Yes TV. CLP Telecom spokesman Benjamin Yuen, however, noted that there was never a contract or an agreement signed by both companies. He said CLP believed pay TV was still very attractive and innovative “but now isn't the right climate. The CLP Group's investment strategy goes for a more low-risk, conservative approach”. CLP Telecom will now concentrate on its two remaining businesses: a dedicated high capacity fiber optic line to mainland China providing international private leased circuits and its broadband Internet service named Oxygen.
CLP Telecom's hasty retreat leaves Yes Television to go it alone against longtime incumbent cable TV operator i-Cable Communications and two other pay TV licenses holders. It also deals another body blow to Hong Kong's hopes of developing a competitive pay-TV market. Earlier, Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting said it would delay launching its pay TV service until September after losing its potential partner, Malaysia-based Astro Broadcasting. Galaxy is a unit of Hong Kong's dominant free-to-air broadcaster Television Broadcasts Ltd.
The remaining pay TV license holder, Pacific Digital Media, won permission from the Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority this month to postpone its service rollout for a year. Pacific will offer just two channels (a religion channel and an entertainment channel) instead of the planned 20 channels. Rupert Murdoch's Star Group and Hong Kong Network TV Ltd, a unit of local Internet firm Sino-i.com Ltd, both won licenses in 2000 to compete against i-Cable Communications but chose to back out of the contest.
Yes TV chairman and chief executive Thomas Kressner said the company was disappointed and surprised by CLP Telecom's decision. He emphasized that his company remained enthusiastic about the potential of the Hong Kong market and that is was resuming its search for a partner company with local resources and consumer brand recognition. Yes TV is majority owned by its British parent, Yes Television Plc. Kressner said Yes TV was standing by its pledge to spend HK$30-$50 million on a six-to-12 month commercial trial among Hong Kong’s 2 million households beginning February 22. He estimated that Yes TV would need roughly 30,000-40,000 households to break even. Yes TV's service will be carried via broadband lines leased from telecoms carrier, Pacific Century CyberWorks, for roughly HK$250 per month. It plans to rely on multiple revenue streams including broadcast TV, video-on-demand, e-mail and Internet service all delivered to a set-top box.
Analysts, however, said Hong Kong was too small a market for viable competition, although its density and the fact that most people live in big apartment blocks offer cost advantages. One analyst said the market was too big for one and too small for two pay TV operators.
Murdoch's Star Sets Name for New China Channel
From satnewsasia.com
Star Group Ltd will soon launch “Starry Sky Satellite TV,” a new 24-hour Mandarin-language channel targeting Guangdong, China’s richest province, and southern China.
Star Group is the Asian satellite broadcast unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. “Xing Kong Wei Shi,” the Mandarin Chinese name of the new channel, will be launched in the first half of this year on the Guangdong Cable TV Network. It will not carry news but will only air entertainment programming.
In December 2001, Star won rights to launch an entertainment channel in Guangdong after similar rights were granted in October to rival AOL Time Warner. In exchange, both media giants will carry official China state programming in a few U.S. cities.
Starry Sky Satellite TV will air programs from CCTV-9, a unit of China's state-run broadcaster, in the US through News Corp's Fox network. Beginning April 1, 2002, CCTV-9 will downlink to select networks in the San Francisco and Los Angeles area while a Chinese entertainment channel will be downlinked to some networks in Zhaoqing and Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong.
The deal gives Star TV, the number one satellite broadcaster in India, a toehold in a region of China that has some 100 million-cable households. The deal is the third time Beijing has given a foreign broadcaster access to cable viewers in Guangdong. Last October, Beijing gave similar rights to AOL Time Warner's Chinese-language channel CETV, and to Phoenix Satellite Television, which is 38 percent-owned by News Corp. Foreign channels are banned outside of luxury hotels and foreign residence compounds in the rest of China.
Last December, James Murdoch, Star TV chairman and CEO, said he was excited about this landmark agreement that represents a milestone for Star's development in China. With its new channel, Star would be able to provide content in Guangdong unlikely to agitate Beijing censors while continuing to air news programs and more provocative entertainment over channels in other Asian countries.
STM's Broadband System Selected by New Chinese Service Provider
From satnewsasia.com
STM Wireless, Inc., a worldwide supplier of VSAT networks for data and telephony applications, has deployed a US$1.3 million broadband network ordered by China Transport & Telecommunication Broadband Network Service Co., Ltd. (CTTNet).
The CTTNet system will start commercial service this month, using Ku-Band transponders on Sinosat, which is owned and operated by China Aerospace Corporation, the former Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, along with the People's Bank of China and the Shanghai Municipal Government. Sinosat 1 is a French Alcatel Space SB-3000 platform. The satellite carries 24 C-band and 14 Ku-band transponders, covering China and Asia-Pacific regions, providing telecommunications, data transmission and TV broadcasting for its customers within its footprint. Sinosat 1 was launched successfully in July 1998.
The inauguration in Beijing was attended by several senior members of leading Chinese public institutions and members of China's Ministry of Transport and Communication (MTC), a joint venture partner in CTTNet. CTTNet intends to become one of China’s leading providers of public Internet access and private IP network solutions. CTTNet will initially focus on several organizations affiliated with the founding partners who have already committed to the use of CTTNet's services and will then gradually expand into other market segments.
CTTNet said it selected STM for the supply of its VSAT platform after an exhaustive evaluation of the industry and its strategic goals to become a leading service provider in a very short time span. The selection of STM was based on the breadth of their VSAT offering, along with their commitment to continual improvements in their product lines.
Emil Youssefzadeh, STM's Chief Executive Officer, said that winning the CTTNet project was one of its most notable accomplishments to date in penetrating the Chinese VSAT market. “Considering the background and affiliations of CTTNet, we have reasonable expectations that this project will allow STM to further expand its presence and sales throughout China, which still has a large potential for growth,” said Youssefzadeh.
Based in California, STM Wireless is a VSAT network system provider for IP-based networking, telephony and bandwidth on demand data applications. STM has a local and regional sales presence in France, Thailand, Indonesia, China and South America, which support an expanding number of in-country sales representatives throughout the world.
ETV launches six channels, DD Bharati goes on air
From http://www.business-standard.com/ice/news1.asp?menu=1
Ramoji Rao-controlled ETV has made its foray into north-India, with the launch of six new channels today.
The new state-wise channels would cover Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa.
&#xh of these channels offers top-quality programmes in the local idiom with a local flavour. In addition, each channel offers regular news bulletins focussing exclusively on that state,” a company official said.
With the launch, ETV now has 11 channels covering different parts of the country. The south Indian media conglomerate, which also owns the Newstime daily, already had state-wise channels covering Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Karnataka, besides an Urdu channel.
Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati Corporation’s latest offering, DD Bharati, too went on air on the Republic Day.
Although the new channel from the public broadcaster’s stable received lukewarm response from cable operators, the government is banking on the “must carry clause” and a high-voltage advertising campaign to make DD Bharati a success.
DD Bharati is aimed as a culture, youth and healthcare channel, while DD News was a dedicated news and current affiars channel which failed to enthuse the viewers and had to be wound up.
T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 04/2002 27 January 2002 -
A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic
Edited Apsattv.com Edition (Only items of local interest)
A S I A
DISCOVERY NETWORK JOINS ORBIT TV LINE-UP
Digital satellite operator Orbit has signed a carriage deal with Discovery
Networks Europe which will see Animal Planet, a wildlife-themed channel jointly
owned by the BBC and DNE outside the UK, added to the programme line-up. Last
week, the 11 channels in the Star Select package moved exclusively to Orbit’s
DTH rival, Arab Digital Distribution, which is merging the Star channels with
its three existing pay-TV packages: Al Awael (Arabic), FirstNet (English) and
Pehla (South Asian). In response to the loss of the Star movie channels, the
Rome-based DTH operator Orbit recently signed a deal with MGM Networks for a
new 24-hour movie channel. It is also lining up further movie offerings, two
new Arabic channels, plus new sports and kids’ channels.
AUSTRALIA
LOSSES UP AT AUSTAR
Pay-TV provider Austar says it will become cash-flow positive in 2002 and that
cuts to operating costs carried out late last year will reduce net losses for
2001. Austar, which has around 450,000 subscribers, said it would post an
earnings loss, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, of $43.5
million for last year, up from $36.9 million in 2000. Overall, 2002 losses are
set to reach $171.5 million, once depreciation and amortisation costs are
factored in. The company is still renegotiating a $200 million bank loan
facility which was due to have been settled by December 31. Austar also
confirmed it was still in discussions with third-ranked pay-TV platform Optus
Vision.
OPTUS BUYS NATIONAL RUGBY RIGHTS
Optus has paid Fox Sports A$17 million for the rights to broadcast national
rugby league games, according to local reports. The pay-TV operator is also
thought to have set a A$10 million for seeking rights to Foxtel’s Australian
Football League channel. Both rugby and football rights are held by leading
pay-TV operator Foxtel.
CHINA - HONG KONG
YES TV LOSES IMPORTANT BACKER
Yes Television Asia (YTA), the Hong Kong arm of UK video-on-demand operator Yes
Television, has lost the backing of local utilities giant CLP Holdings, only
weeks before launching commercial trials in Hong Kong. YTA was to have become a
wholly owned subsidiary of a joint venture in which CLP held 75% and Yes the
rest. However CLP has decided to withdraw from the pay-TV sector following a
report which throws doubts on its profitability. Yes chairman and CEO, Thomas
Kressner, said the company is looking for a new Hong Kong partner, but that it
still plans to go ahead with trials next month. The original shareholding
structure of YTA, in which Yes Television holds 90% and Hong Kong’s Shaw Media
10%, remains intact.
STAR TO LAUNCH NEW ENTERTAINMENT CHANNEL
Star Group has announced its new entertainment channel to be available in
southern China would be named Xing Kong Wei Shi, or Starry Sky Satellite TV.
Star will distribute 24-hour entertainment programming, specially designed for
Chinese viewers, in Guangdong province through cable in early 2002, according
to an agreement signed by Star with China Central Television (CCTV), its
subsidiary China International Television Corp. and Guangdong Cable TV Networks
Co. last month. This was the first time that China had allowed the cable
transmission of foreign TV programming, currently available only in big hotels,
some education institutions and government agencies, to a wider audience. In
return for the permission, Star’s sister network in the United States, Fox
Cable Network Group, will distribute CCTV’s English-news channelCCTV-9--in
North America. Currently, guests in hotels rated three stars and above are able
to watch seven channels transmitted by Star, including Phoenix Chinese, ESPN,
Star Sports, Channel [V], Star Movies, National Geographic and Phoenix Movies.
JAPAN
PLAT ONE TO LAUNCH DIGITAL BROADCASTING SERVICE
Plat One Corp. said on January 23 it plans to launch a next-generation
communications satellite-based digital broadcasting service on March 1.
Tokyo-based Plat One undertakes so-called platform businesses related to CS
broadcasting, such as fee collection, sales promotions and other tasks on
behalf of multichannel broadcasters. The company is owned by trader Mitsubishi
Corp., Nippon Television Network Corp. and satellite broadcaster WOWOW Inc.
Seven companies will provide programs via Plat One’s platform, including
broadcasting units of the three companies and Japan MediArk Co., partly owned
by news agency Jiji Press Ltd. Plat One has set a membership fee of Y2,000,
with a monthly basic charge of Y300. Users will pay viewing fees for each
channel separately. Plat One hopes to sign up some one million subscribers
within three years, company officials said.
NEW ZEALAND
HEAVY LOSSES FOR CANWEST TV CHANNELS
Canadian-owned TV3 and TV4 have seen the first tangible signs of a turnaround
after a year of heavy losses. The channels made a modest profit of $C718,000
for the three months ending November 30, 2001, double the $C345,000 profit
recorded in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was $C18.3 million,
compared with $C16.9 million in the November 2000 quarter. The figures were
released by CanWest NZ’s parent company, CanWest Global Communications, for the
first quarter of the company’s financial year.
SOUTH KOREA
KDSB TO LAUNCH REAL TIME NEWS SERVICE
The Korea Digital Satellite Broadcasting [KDSB], set to launch its
fully-fledged SkyLife service in March, will officially begin transmitting
Yonhap News articles on a real time basis in October. The Yonhap News Agency
and the satellite broadcaster signed a contract for the alliance on January 23.
Under the contract, Yonhap is expected to firm up its position as a contents
provider of satellite broadcasting while the KDSB will establish a footing in
the data broadcasting field. Viewers will be able to read Yonhap stories in
Korean and English and have access to photographs from its foreign and domestic
outlets from October after five months of test-run procedures. At the initial
stage, the service, tentatively named “Skytouch-Yonhap News real-time service”,
will be provided in the form of text, photos and graphics, but will later be
expanded to include video clips.
THAILAND
MTV TO LAUNCH LOCAL TV CHANNEL
MTV Asia has signed a joint venture deal with Thai music programming specialist
Ten Music Television (TMT) to launch MTV Thailand. The channel will air via
United Broadcasting Corporation, following a renewal of a distribution deal
with UBC concluded last November. The 24-hour channel will include locally
produced shows with more Thai-language programming to be added to the schedule
over the next year. MTV Thailand extends MTV Asia’s ongoing localisation
initiatives across the continent, which so far has led to the creation of MTV
Southeast Asia, MTV Philippines, MTV India, MTV China, MTV Korea and MTV
Mandarin.
27/01/02
Back Monday
26/01/02
Nothing to say up here today.
From my Emails & ICQ
From ME
4p.m Syd
B1 12357 V SR 6110 "Mediasat, GOLF"
B1 12367 V SR 6110 "Astranlinks SNG" "Big dayout 2002" channelv
From "SAT"
B3, 12407 V Reported FTA for a short time 2:45Pm
From Ahmad Mobasheri 25/01/02
LBC ( Lebanon) in Middle mux, 3836/7 , SR 13331, Fec 3/4, off Pas2 is
FTA at 19:00hrs NZ time.
From Chris Pickstock 25/01/02
B1, 12356 V, Sr 6110. Foxsport feed of "The Johnny Walker Classic" from Perth in 16:9 format. Channel loads as Mediasat and signal is super strong.
Chris
From Bill Richards 24/01/02
8 p.m Syd time
Pas 2 4063 H Sr 6620 3/4 Vpid 3160 Apid 3120 sid 301 "NBA"
From the Dish
PAS 2 169E "Star Sports has left 4090 V and 12732 V", replaced by a test card.
PAS 2 169E 3901 H "ABC Asia Pacific and Radio Australia" have started on,SID 4, PIDs 1460/1420 and 1422.
PAS 2 169E 3901 H A test card has started on SID 1, PIDs 1160/1120.
PAS 2 169E 3901 H Bloomberg Radio has started on SID 6, APID 1622.
PAS 2 169E 12606 H "Radyo Patrol, Radio Romance and REE" have left
PAS 2 169E 12732 V "CTS, Rainbow Channel 1 and Channel X" are now encrypted.
PAS 8 166E 12526 H All TV channels in the TARBS mux are encrypted again.
Optus B1 160E 12356 V Occasional feeds, Sr 6110.
Optus B3 156E 12313 H "FYI" is encrypted again.
Agila 2 146E 3711 H "ABC 5" is now encrypted, new SID: 5.
Koreasat 2 113E 12530 H A new mux has started on, Sr 26000, Fec 5/6, SIDs 1-10, line-up: AMC, Hyundai-Kia Channel, National Geographic Channel, Home Shopping, BYS, MNB, test cards and occasional feeds.
Koreasat 2 113E 12330 H "CNN International Asia, MTV Korea, C3 TV (clear), OCN and DirecPC" are back on ,enc., SIDs 20501-20505, PIDs 1200/1201-1500/1501.
Koreasat 2 113E 12617 H "CHK, DNC and two test cards" have started Sr 12300, Fec 3/4, SIDs 2-5.
Telkom 1 108E 4065 H "Lativi" has started, Sr 6000, Fec3/4, Vpid 308 Apid 256.
Telkom 1 108E 3586 H "MTV Asia and TV 5 Asie" have started, PIDs 49/69 and 65/68.
Asiasat 3 105.5E 3880 H "Granada UK TV" has left
Insat 2C 93.5E 3819 H "DD 9 - Karnataka" has started, Sr 5000, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256, zone beam.
Insat 2C 93.5E 3889 H "DD 10 - Maharashtra" has started, Sr 5000, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256, zone beam.
Insat 2C 93.5E 4140 H "DD 11 - Gujurati has" started, Sr 5000, Fec 3/4, PIDs 1211/1110, zone beam.
ST 1 88E 3632 V "Savoir Knowledge Channel and STV-MTV" are encrypted again.
Insat 2E 83E 3525 V "Win TV" test card has started on , PIDs 305/306.
NEWS
DD Bharati goes on air on Jan 26
From http://new.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=1261
Ordinarily, the claims of a new channel “like no other” should generate some excitement. However, when good old Doordarshan (DD) broadcasts such claims, one should forgive its audience for eyeing them with wariness, if not weariness, given the performance track record of its existing channels.
That DD’s new 24-hour edutainment satellite channel — DD Bharati — will be like no other is a given. The channel brings together three broad programming bands on health and fitness, a kiddies slot and a culture and heritage slot. The unique selling proposition of the channel is that all these programmes will be India-centric. “It will be the showcase of India in your living room,” says the spokesperson.
The kick-off event of the channel, fittingly scheduled on January 26, 2002, will be a live broadcast of the 3-hour inaugural function which will feature artistes like flute maestro Hari Prasad Chaurasia, violinist L Subramanium, singers Kavita Krishnamurthi, Begum Parveen Sultana and the Colonial Cousins.
Thereafter will begin the broadcast of programmes of which at least 40 per cent have been produced in-house. External contributors include TMG, the technology channel, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, National Films Development Corporation, Indira Gandhi National Open University and Transtel of Germany. Discovery Channel will also provide software on travel, tourism and kids.
The channel is in dialogue with Pentamedia Graphics to source animated versions of Indian classics and folktales for the kiddies slot. Pharmaceutical companies like Morepen Laboratories and even some reputed hospitals are keen to air health-related shows on the channel.
Will this smorgasboard of programmes be able to generate and sustain viewer interest? Well, confidence levels aren’t exactly high if one considers that, instead of relying on audience demand to push the channel into a larger number of homes, plans are to make it mandatory for cable operators in the northern belt to beam the free-to-air channel.
The birth of DD Bharati will also mean curtains for DD News, the 24-hour news channel that failed to meet its ambitious programming and commercial objectives.
DD unveils edutainment channel Bharati tomorrow
From indiantelevision.com
The grande dame of Indian broadcasting is donning a new avatar from tomorrow.
The launch of DD Bharati, the sleeker version of good old Doordarshan, timed to coincide with Republic Day, will be marked by a three hour live broadcast of the inaugural function. Artistes including flute maestro Hari Prasad Chaurasia, violinist L Subramaniam, singers Kavita Krishnamurti and Begum Parveen Sultana and the Colonial Cousins are expected to perform at the launch.
The 24-hour edutainment channel takes over from DD News, that is being given a silent burial today. It aims to be 'different', bringing together three broad programming bands - on health and fitness, children, and culture and heritage. The USP is that all programmes will be India centric. Forty per cent of the content is being produced in-house, the rest has been commissioned out to TMG, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and Transtel of Germany. While Discovery Channel is likely to provide some software for the new channel, DD is also in talks with Pentamedia Graphics to source animated versions of Indian classics and folktales.
The new satellite channel will have to face competition from the plethora of private channels that are already vying for viewer attention in the country. DD is taking precautions by reportedly making it mandatory for cable ops to air the FTA channel in the northern belt. The channel, with its India specific programming, will have to sustain audience interest in an age when most rival satellite channels are focusing on going more and more local. Time alone will decide if DD Bharati lives up to its promise of being 'different'
ETV net widens with launch of 6 new channels Sunday
From indiantelevision.com
Confirming the report on indiantelevision.com last month (24 December 2001 to be exact), the Ramoji Rao owned Eenadu Television Network announced today that it was all systems go for the launch of its six new regional language channels on Sunday, 27 January.
The four major Hindi-speaking states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan will each have a separate channel along with two channels servicing Orissa in the east and Gujarat in the west. The launch of the six channels will see ETV emerge as the "largest television network in the country cutting across linguistic boundaries," an official release states. With the launch of the six channels, ETV Network will have a total of 11 regional channels including Telugu, Kannada, Bangla, Marathi and Urdu.
Programmingwise, the ETV Network's is claiming a unique feature - Annadata, a programme wholly devoted to the farming community. Annadata will provide exclusive fare for each state it caters to and will function as a daily guide for farmers in the respective regions it covers.
All the channels are digital, free-to-air and transmitted from the earth station located at Ramoji Film City in in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and beaming off the Insat 2E satellite.
Other regional players include the six Zee Alpha channels, the Tara bouquet of four channels, RITV’s two channels and ETC’s Punjabi channel. There is of course the Sahara Group's plans to launch a national news channel and 37 independent city-based regional news stations covering Uttar Pradesh & Uttranchal, Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Bihar & Jharkhand, National Capital Region (NCR) and Mumbai. But these are not entertainment channels but news and current affairs-based.
Sabe TV and ETC to divulge Q 3 results next week
From indiantelevision.com
The Shri Adhikari Brothers board is meeting on Monday to discuss the third quarter results of the current fiscal.
Another media company that is yet to announce its Q3 results, ETC Networks, will also convene a board meeting on 31 January before going public with its figures. ETC Networks that runs two channels, etc and etc Punjabi, claims to be available to 25 million cable and satellite households. The company claims that besides a strong presence in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, the Punjabi channel has also penetrated several other cities in the country.
ETC's profits in the second quarter of 2001 had slipped to Rs 3.8 million from Rs 13.3 million in the same period last year. Its half yearly profits stood at Rs 14.8 million.
Shri Adhikari Brothers has not fared much better in the last quarter either. It posted profits of Rs 7.4 million as against profits of Rs 50.8 million in the same period in 2000. Its half yearly profits as on 30 September 2001 stood at Rs 38.4 million.
MTV launches 24-hour channel in Thailand
From indiantelevision.com
In a bid to further strengthen the MTV brand and presence in Thailand, MTV Asia has launched a 24-hour MTV Thailand channel in association with Ten Music Television (TMT).
TMT is a Thai company, which produces music television programs for Thailand's youth. The announcement follows the renewal of a distribution deal with United Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) effective from 1 November.
The channel aims to take advantage of the local talent to produce shows which will complement the existing international and regional shows already popular in the country. MTV will bring in its distinctive programming expertise to the venture. The release states that the initiative is a part of MTV Asia's ongoing localisation plan for the region. An official release states that more hours of Thai-language programming will be rolled out progressively throughout the year.
MTV Thailand is being aired via United Broadcasting Corporation on Channel 49 in Thailand. Speaking on this senior vice president and managing director, MTV Southeast Asia and Network Group Peter Bullard said: "This year has been an eventful year for MTV Asia. We launched MTV Philippines in January, MTV Korea in July, and we wrapped up the year on a festive note with the joint venture to launch MTV Thailand, as well as winning the coveted title of 'Broadcaster of the Year' at the Asian Television Awards.
Revenues up but OpenTV closes door on 57 staff
From http://www.netimperative.com/investment/newsarticle.asp?ArticleID=14130&ChannelID=7&ArticleType=1
Interactive television specialists OpenTV – which owns the gaming channels PlayJam and Yo-Yo – is to cut 57 jobs this year as it restructures, despite a 51% growth in revenue.
The California-based company, which provides the backbone to Sky’s digital interactive television services, said it would be looking to make savings in the next year of around $9m through restructuring.
As a result of this action, 57 jobs will be wiped out, although the company has not decided where the jobs will be eliminated from yet.
In the UK, it owns the interactive games channel PlayJam – broadcast on Sky Digital and Telewest after picking up the iTV interactive agency Static last summer, and has started rolling the games service out overseas. It also recently launched iTV dating community Yo-Yo on Sky Digital.
The job cuts announcement came as OpenTV announced its full year results for 2001, which saw revenues increase 50% to $95.3m for the year.
This year OpenTV evolved from a pure technology company to an integrated iTV business able to bundle content, applications and middleware for our clients,” said OpenTV CEO James Ackerman.
With more than 20 million set-top boxes deployed worldwide, we have a strong foundation that provides the opportunity to create both new and recurring revenue streams from our existing customer base.
We believe that the combination of recurring revenue growth, solid core platform profitability and a strong cash position provides the company with a distinct competitive advantage in the iTV market.”
OpenTV’s pro-forma net loss stood at $25.3m for the year ending December 31 2001 up more than double on the previous year, with the net loss $484.3m again more than double the previous year. The company had cash, securities and equivalents of $189.5m in the bank.
25/01/02
Sorry no time today for an update, (Hope you all understand), something should go up Saturday evening.