28/01/04

Sorry anyone who turned up in the chatroom between 9pm and 10.30pm NZ time I was a little late as I was having a bit of a sleep due to a headache.

Nss6 12593 V Tarbs stuff has moved to 12688H same settings as before Sr 21000 Fec 3/4

From my Emails & ICQ

From Steve Hume

Measat2 C-Band Analog
Was playing with the Satlook (Pseudo Spectrum analyzer) I found a weak
analog tv station on there.

Due to it not having a scale, I can't tell you much. Pretty sure it was
horizontal pole, and somewhere in the middle of C-Band.

Happy Hunting!!!
NEWS 24x7
Steve Hume

From Alan Simpson

I'm a Celeb screenshot

Scaled down and Aspect corrected.

(Craigs comment, mmmm nice, good screenshot also!)

From the Dish

Optus B3 152E 12552 V Sr 5630 fec 3/4 "feeds"

Agila 2 146E 12541 V "NTD TV" has left again, replaced by a test card.

Agila 2 146E Updates in Dream Satellite TV:

NOW has left 12301 H.
Fashion TV has left 12541 H.
Studio 23 has replaced E! Philippines on 12581 H, enc., PIDs 163/92.
WorldNet has left 12661 H.

Apstar2R 76.5E 3880 Disney FTA?? Sr 28125 Fec 5/6

NEWS

Tata-Murdoch satellite deal to spur Indian pay-TV

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2797195a6026,00.html

BOMBAY: Indian homes are getting a new feature: tiny satellite dishes.

Tata Sons, the country's largest conglomerate, and the Star Group of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp Ltd have agreed a satellite broadcasting joint venture that could signal a fresh spurt of growth in India's pay-TV industry.

Last week's deal is a bid to replicate the success of News Corp's 35-per cent-owned subsidiary British Sky Broadcasting , which beams hundreds of channels into small dishes on the homes of more than seven million subscribers in Britain and Ireland.

Pay-TV is almost exclusively distributed via cable in India, reaching 54 per cent of TV-owning households.

The only company currently offering direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV is Essel Group's ASC Enterprises, which launched Dish TV last October and has signed up 60,000 subscribers.

The service costs about 100 rupees ($NZ3.31) a month on top of equipment costs of 4000 rupees.

According to research firm Media Partners Asia, India's DTH satellite market could grow to 1.8 million subscribers by 2008, compared with a forecast 68 million on cable.

Average monthly revenue per satellite user would rise to $US7 ($NZ10.55) as people sign up for more premium channels, from the current $US3, it said.

"There would be two distinct markets: the rural areas, which lack cable and satellite infrastructure, and premium urban households which desire specialist content," said Atul Phadnis, a vice-president at TAM Media Research, a unit of AC Nielsen.

Tata, with interests ranging from tea to textiles, will hold an 80 per cent stake in the satellite service, its first foray into broadcasting.

BOUQUET OF TV CHANNELS TO BE OFFERED

The service will provide a bouquet of TV channels, interactive features and other premium services, but Tata and Star are saying little else about their plans, other than that they aim to build India's largest digital television system.

Star has the biggest share of viewers and revenue in the country's 48-million-strong cable TV market, the world's third largest.

It is a fierce rival of the Essel Group, which owns a majority stake in the country's largest listed media firm, Zee Telefilms Ltd.

Zee TV is the third most widely viewed channel, after Star Plus and Sony Entertainment Television , but Star and Sony are not among the 48 channels offered by Dish TV.

The issue of broadcasters refusing to provide their channels to satellite systems run by rivals has proven a hurdle to the industry's take-off.

The Indian government opened the DTH market to private firms in 2000, with a 49 per cent cap on foreign direct investment, after cable took off in a big way in 1991.

Several players initially expressed interest, but high infrastructure costs, the inability of broadcasters to agree on content sharing and regulatory yo-yoing hamstrung the industry.

"DTH is certainly a priority for the broadcasters, but they will have to agree on content and revenue sharing, and price it competitively," said Amol Dhariya, analyst at Karvy Stockbroking.

With the recent appointment of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to look after broadcasting, greater clarity on satellite broadcasting regulation is expected.

And with two of India's three major broadcasters involved in DTH, experts said the pace of growth would quicken.

"It won't be an easy road ahead because you cannot assume a consumer's appetite for technology," Phadnis said. "But we are at the beginning of an exciting phase of growth."

I'm a Celebrity... is back with a bang

From http://media.guardian.co.uk/overnights/story/0,7965,1132264,00.html

Celebs go to work: ITV rakes in nearly 11 million viewers

The return of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! proved an instant hit for ITV with nearly 11 million viewers.

The unlikely combination of Jordan, Johnny Rotten and Neil Ruddock gave the show its biggest opening audience yet, 100,000 up on the second series and around 4 million more than its debut run two years ago.

At its peak last night, 10.9 million viewers - just under half the TV audience - watched as spiders, cockroaches, beetles and a snake were poured over the heads of Jordan and former football star Ruddock in the first "bushtucker" trial.

The show received blanket coverage in today's tabloids, with pictures of a scantily clad Jordan dominating the front pages of the Sun, the Mirror and the Star. It was extensively previewed in the weekend papers and can expect plenty more coverage to come in the papers and celebrity magazines like Heat.

Winning the support of tabloid editors is crucial to the success of reality TV shows, as Big Brother proved and BBC1's Fame Academy found out to its cost.

Jordan's inclusion has guaranteed acres of coverage in the tabloids, particularly her unofficial home, the Daily Star, and footage of her last night heroically enduring cockroaches, stick insects and a snake crawling round her face, will have endeared her to editors even further.

Reports have suggested she is being paid more than the other contestants by programme makers Granada, but whatever they shelled out she will be worth every penny - provided she isn't the first to be voted out by viewers.

Last night's opening episode averaged 10.1 million across its 90-minute run from 9pm, 100,000 up on the unofficial figure for the second series' opening episode. It easily beat BBC1's Martin Shaw drama, Judge John Deed, which could only manage an average of 6.2 million. The news, which followed it on BBC1, had 5.2 million.

Another million viewers watched the live update from the Australian outback just after midnight. The show, which continued until the early hours, had a million viewers, more than a fifth of the TV audience.

The challenge now for the show will be to maintain its viewers during the run. The last series, which was won by Phil Tufnell, lost 1.5 million viewers on its second outing. But by the final it had bounced back with more than 12 million viewers. The first series, won by Tony Blackburn, finished with 10.5 million.

The cast assembled by Granada for the new series, hosted by Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, is arguably the most interesting yet. Alongside Jordan, Ruddock and the ex-Sex Pistol are George Best's estranged wife, Alex, the insurance fraudster aristocrat, Lord Brocket, and the ex-BBC royal reporter, Jennie Bond.

They are joined by DJ Mike Read, one-time pop star Peter Andre, former athlete Diane Modahl and TV presenter and the former Atomic Kitten singer, Kerry McFadden. Of all the contestants, she looks least comfortable with the prospect of spending three weeks in the jungle and is most likely to "do a Daniella Westbrook" and leave the show before she is voted out.

27/01/04

Live satellite chat tonight 9pm NZ and 8.30pm Syd onwards.

FreeXTV promo is running, SexZ.tv is also there as well!
NSS 6 95E 12729V SR 27500 Fec 7/8

My look angle calculator says NSS6 @ 0.5 degree look angle at my place...hmmmmmmmmmm

NHK has started in the TVNZ mux on B1 (12456V sr 22500 Fec 3/4 NZ beam) While it good to have another fta on B1 something fully in English would be a better use of the transponder space.

New Foxtel Satellite box shown on the site yesterday, link below

Foxtel box link http://www.pace.co.uk/paceproducts/Specs/Sat/DS420_spec.pdf

From my Emails & ICQ

From Steve

NHK has started broadcasting FTA on B1, 12456V sr 22500 Fec 3/4 TVNZ mux (NZ only)

From Simon

Re:freextv is on nss6 now
12 729 MHz
Polarisation: Vertical
FEC: 7/8
Symbol Rate: 27500
v 0601h
a 0602h
pmt 0600h


From MR Humax

B3 Feed
12552 V 5632 3/4, I'm a Celeb feed

From the Dish

Apstar 1A 134E 3757 H The Nei Monggol TV mux has left .

(Craigs comment, Not any local reports lately have a look see what you can find?? and report to Lyngsat)

NEWS

Malone makes Foxtel deal

From http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8495128%255E7582,00.html

DAYS after revealing himself as a major owner of The News Corporation Ltd's voting stock, Liberty Media chairman John Malone has scored another deal with News's local operations.

Mr Malone's 35 per cent owned technology group OpenTV has announced a deal with pay-TV group Foxtel, which is 25 per cent owned by News's Australian subsidiary News Limited, publisher of The Australian.

OpenTV has licensed its middleware technology – the operating system within pay-TV set-top boxes – and interactive TV applications to Foxtel for use in its new $600 million digital TV service.

But Foxtel is also using interactive TV technology provided by NDS, a rival to OpenTV. NDS is 78 per cent owned by News.

NDS general manager Peter Iles said News's UK pay-TV business BSkyB also used both OpenTV and NDS technologies. "Foxtel will use both technologies to come up with the best interactive TV system that you can get," he said.

OpenTV said its applications would facilitate Foxtel's Sky News Active, Sports Active and Foxtel Gamesworld services.

Foxtel director of digital Patrick Delaney said OpenTV was a key supplier that would "enable Foxtel to show Australia what interactivity is all about".

Mr Iles said NDS was also providing Foxtel with a conditional access system, a broadcast management system and its electronic program guide.

Liberty revealed last week it swapped some of its non-voting News shares for voting shares, while also buying more voting shares on market to give it 9.15 per cent of the voting stock. That makes it the only large voting shareholder after Rupert Murdoch, the founder and chairman of News, whose companies control News with 30.6 per cent of the voting stock.

Australia sells satellite broadband into Iraq

From http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php?id=461112715&fp=16&fpid=0

It may still be the world's most dangerous place, but Iraq will soon be hooked up to a more affordable satellite broadband system than Australia following a $5 million deal between the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Melbourne firm Multiemedia.

The deal covers the establishment of new communications infrastructure in Iraq to service the needs of US personnel, the local community, schools and what the company describes as "those helping establish law and order under local governance provisions".

With Iraqi civilian bandwidth archaic prior to the entry of the coalition forces, then "deconstructed" during their arrival, Web-starved US personnel will be also given access to the system for personal rather than military use

“There is only one service provider in the region providing any form of satellite service, and that is quite old. The US military will now be able to set up sites across Iraq and simply, by pointing their dish in the right direction, will have Internet and communication service equivalent to anywhere in the world," said Multiemedia CEO Adrian Ballintine - presumably referring to civilian capacity.

According to Multiemedia, the rollout will create around a dozen technical jobs for Australians.

While the company is not giving out technical specifications on the rollout, a maritime offering from the company in Australia through US provider Sea Tel offers a two-way data and phone transfer rate of 2Mbps

"A lot of companies want to conduct business in the Middle East but can’t because of the lack of IT services," Ballintine said.

Locally, Multiemedia has also inked a deal with retailer Woolworths to supply satellite broadband and associated hardware to around 700 locations through its NewSat service.

The company cites a portfolio of clients including eight sites for the Central Bank of Iran in addition to the Iranian Embassy in Kabul.

Trade Minister Mark Vaile hailed the deals as a boost for exports, adding that the government had been "actively assisting" Australian companies trying gain a foothold in Iraq.

Alcatel Space Integrates Apstar VI Satellite Modules

From Satellite Today

French satellite manufacturer Alcatel Space announced that it had successfully mated the communications and service modules of the Apstar IV satellite at its integration rooms in Cannes, France. Based on the Spacebus 4100C1 platform, the Apstar IV satellite will enable the Chinese company, Aptsat, to offer broadband multimedia and digital broadcasting services to operators in the Asia-Pacific, along with conventional telecom services.

HONG KONG: Galaxy TV to reach 25pc of homes

From http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=6949

Only a quarter of Hong Kong's 2.2 million households will be in the broadcast area of TVB's new pay-television service when it debuts next month

Rivals Hong Kong Cable TV and PCCW's NOW Broadband TV, which offers pay-television content on an internet platform, already boast coverage across 90 per cent of households.

However, the limited coverage of exTV, also known as Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting, is in line with the company's expectations, according to chief executive Jim Blomfield.

"We are very happy with the progress. It is going very well," said Mr Blomfield.

The 25 per cent coverage will be across the city, including government and private housing estates, old buildings and village houses. Building owners need to install a satellite dish which costs about $3,000.

The new service will start a full trial broadcast today.

The company said it would announce pricing details on Monday. Industry watchers expect the monthly charge will be between $150 and $200.

The service will be formally launched on February 18. The rollout of 23 channels will include five provided by TVB.

Mr Blomfield said exTV targeted a market penetration of 20 per cent, but declined to give a timetable.

Hong Kong Cable TV dominates the pay-television scene and secures a 30 per cent market share with a monthly fee of $298.

(Craigs comment, how can they not be in the broadcast area? its an overhead satellite at 85.2E...)

Full Dishes:Wilton firm's satellites bring us TV, assist U.S. military

From http://www.rep-am.com/business/7j2t.htm

When most people press the buttons on their television remote control, they have no idea that four out of 10 shows they see wouldn't arrive on the screen without the help of a Wilton company.

Watching those programs is possible thanks to 31 multi-million-dollar satellites floating 22,300 miles over viewers' heads in space and managed or owned by PanAmSat Corp.

It's even less apparent for most of us that PanAmSat is playing a growing role in homeland security as a carrier of government and military data and messages.

The company's satellites were used by the military during the U.S. invasion of Iraq and its occupation to support surveillance by Predator and Global Hawk unmanned observation aircraft, and to assist mobile communications, data transmission and weapons guidance. Its satellites also have been used for troops to communicate with their families back home.

The company, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is playing a growing role in the war against terrorism, according to Joseph R. Wright Jr., PanAmSat's president who also became the company's chief executive officer in August 2001.

"I don't see how they can do it without PanAmSat," said Wright, who is working actively to expand this segment of the company's business.

Partner with government

It's true that much of PanAmSat's revenue comes from providing a way for television networks — including Bristol-based ESPN Inc., CNN and Home Box Office — to distribute their shows to local TV stations, cable operators and direct broadcast satellite services like DirecTV.

But PanAmSat satellites also transmit "distance learning" for institutions and businesses around the world, data for private business networks and service for telecom carriers.

PanAmSat — which has about 700 employees, including about 140 in Wilton and 180 in Atlanta and others scattered around the world — expanded its capacity to serve the U.S. government with the launch in March of G2 Satellite Solutions Co. The new division offers satellites and services to support the global requirements of federal agencies.

"Whether it's battlefield communications, surveillance systems, guidance systems or the secure transmission of data," Wright said, "the communications requirements of the U.S. government are growing by the minute.

"Future homeland security communication requirements are only likely to be met through expanded use of these satellites. The U.S. government has made it clear that they will be using commercial satellite and communications companies to a greater extent to supplement their needs."

What's good for the nation happens to be very good for PanAmSat, which operates in a competitive environment for commercial transmission services that has already sent at least one competitor into bankruptcy. There is an overcapacity of satellites — more than 300 in "geosynchronous" orbit, staying in the same spot over the Earth — fighting for pieces of the same communications pie. Wright acknowledges that government contracts are gaining in importance as the satellite transmission industry experiences a drop in television broadcast sales.

To complement G2 Satellite Solutions, PanAmSat early this year acquired Hughes Global Services from their common parent, El Segundo, Calif.-based Hughes Electronics Corp., providing additional opportunities for federal contracts. Hughes Global Services is the largest contributor of satellite-based distance learning to the U.S. government and is a major provider to the U.S. Department of State, the military and a preferred provider to the president's office.

PanAmSat sees this government market as a strategic growth opportunity and will work to capture business in that segment, said Wright, director of the federal Office of Management and Budget under President Reagan and deputy secretary of commerce from 1981 to 1982.

Vigilant on budget

Wright's efforts seem to be having some effect. In its third-quarter 2003 report, PanAmSat reported that G2 Satellite Solutions garnered $21.2 million in lease revenue for transponders on its satellites from the federal government, compared with $6.3 million during the same period in 2002.

The jump in government income was a major contributor to an overall increase in operating lease revenue to $206 million for the quarter from $194.4 million the previous year.

Overall, PanAmSat's fourth-quarter revenue jumped 5 percent to $210.1 million from $199.1 million last year. Profits barely budged however, coming in at $21 million, up from $20.7 million in the 2002 quarter. First nine-months profits look much healthier, with the company recording $82.2 million versus $61.5 million through the first nine months of last year.

Despite the improvement, PanAmSat, traded on the Nasdaq with the ticker symbol SPOT, wants to enhance its margins. It announced plans Nov. 7 to cut 45 employees, about 6 percent of its work force, as part of a restructuring program.

The job cuts are not surprising because the company has made two acquisitions in the past 12 months, said Thomas Watts, an analyst who covers the company for SG Cowen Securities Corp., and some duplication of responsibilities was expected.

And the quarterly results can be misleading at first glance, Watts said, noting that the revenue increase can be attributed to acquisitions of the Hughes division and Esatel Communications.

"If you back out their revenues from their acquisitions, they would have had experienced a revenue decline in their most recent quarter," he said.

Wright has shown that he keeps a close watch on his budget, Watts said. "Joe Wright has insisted that he will manage the business at current revenue levels. On the earnings side, they've done well managing costs."

PanAmSat appears to be on the right track in the effort to acquire government contracts, said Paul Dykewicz senior editor and senior analyst of Satellite News, a division of PBI Media.

"That's a good growth opportunity," said Dykewicz, noting that PanAmSat controls about 40 percent of the broadcast market. "They are a big player."

Acquisition brings questions

PanAmSat must be a big player, making acquisitions when possible to expand the company's presence, to stay ahead of the competition, Dykewicz said. He noted that competitor IntelSat in Washington, D.C., is negotiating to buy Loral Space & Communications, which is in bankruptcy proceedings. Loral has its own satellite manufacturing operation.

PanAmSat itself, 81 percent owned by Hughes Electronics, is in the process of being acquired, but not because of any weakness. Rupert Murdoch's media giant News Corp. will take possession of PanAmSat as part of Murdoch's purchase of Hughes, pending government approval. The deal could be completed by early this year, Dykewicz said. There is a question of whether Murdoch, a big player in satellite communications in Europe, will keep PanAmSat or sell it, he added.

The concerns of running a successful company aside, satellite communications can be a pretty sexy business. PanAmSat's satellites are catapulted into space by rockets such as the Ariane 5, which carried the company's Galaxy XII aloft on April 9 from Kourou, French Guiana, a launch site near the equator. Another company, SeaLaunch, sends PanAmSat satellites aloft from a rebuilt oil rig in the mid-Pacific Ocean.

Costing between $150 million and $300 million to build, launch and insure, the satellites are tracked and controlled by the company's facility and its 180 employees in Long Beach, Calif. The typical lifespan of a satellite is 15 years, although some last more than 20 years. Futurist Arthur C. Clarke generally is credited for developing the concept of geosynchronous satellite communications, based on an article he wrote in 1945.

Clarke hypothesized that at an altitude of 22,300 miles, a satellite would travel at the same rotation rate as the earth, appearing to remain over a location on earth, providing a stationary platform for the continuous relay of communications signals.

Hughes Space and Communications Co. launched the first geosynchronous satellite, Syncom, in 1963. Today, PanAmSat's craft share space with about 300 others at the 22,237-mile level, where they are precisely maneuvered by the ignition of xenon gas or a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen that power small thrusters.

Powered by solar batteries, the satellites built for PanAmSat by Orbital Sciences, Boeing Space Systems and Loral receive programming or data from a ground station, amplify the signals, and re-transmit them over a designated geographic area.

Maintaining the 22,300-mile altitude in a locked position is crucial to the work of a satellite. Since the satellite stays in place in relation to the earth below, users can aim their signals at a single spot with confidence that the satellite is there.

"That's where gravity equals centrifugal force — exactly over the equator. On the ground, you could have a million dishes focused at that spot," Wright said.

India to launch Brazilian satellite

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/445474.cms

BANGALORE: India will launch a Brazilian micro-satellite for atmospheric studies and the two countries will embark on joint research projects in space and atmospheric sciences soon.

On Sunday the two countries signed a framework agreement to this effect. They will further exchange proposals for remote sensing applications, and set up a ground station in Brazil for receiving remote sensing data from ISRO's remote sensing satellite, Resourcesat-1.

India and Brazil signed the framework agreement at New Delhi for cooperation "in the field of outer space", says an ISRO release.

The agreement was signed by India's external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha, and Brazil's minister of external relations Celso Amorim, in the presence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Besides the framework agreement, an agreement on the programme of cooperation between the space agencies of the two countries was also signed by ISRO chairman G.Madhavan Nair and Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) president Luiz Bevilacqua.

ISRO and AEB signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in March 2002 to provide an umbrella for cooperation between the two countries in the area of space. Several discussions have been held for identifying areas of mutual interest.

The framework agreement is expected to strengthen the ties already established under the MOU and demonstrate the support of both governments.

26/01/04

Been up and down the ladder today trying to setup the motor mount. Have I804 now to tweak it all so I can get 804,Pas2, B1, C1,B3 and anything else .

From my Emails & ICQ

From VK4bkp

B1 Big Day Out Feed

B1 Bike Race feed

Optus B3 missing Screenshots for the Gallerys

Abu Dhabi, HRT, Mac TV, AL-Manar

From A.M

For those that never saw a legit Foxtel card...Note NDS...

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 12391 H "Dhammakaya" has started regular transmissions Fta,PIDs 2417/2418.(Asian Beam)

Agila 2 146E 12541 V "TCT World" has left , replaced by a test card.
Agila 2 146E 12541 V "NTD TV" has started on , Fta, PIDs 48/49.

Palapa C2 113E 11132 V "Japan X" has started on , Viaccess 2, PIDs 74/75, 23-05 HKT.

AsiaSat 2 100.5E 3660 V "MTA International" has left .

Insat 3A 93.5E 3889 V Occasional feeds on SR 3000, FEC 3/4.
Insat 3A 93.5E 4120 V "DD Gujarati" has started on , Fta, PIDs 512/650.
Insat 3A 93.5E 11550 H "ETV 2" has started, Conax, PIDs 702/703.

NEWS

Sky TV drops CNN news for Maori service on UHF

From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&thesubsection=&storyID=3545374&reportID=462584

A lack of interest has prompted Sky TV to can its UHF broadcasts of CNN news and the channel will instead become home to Maori Television.

Sky spokesman Tony O'Brien said of around 100,000 subscribers to the UHF service only 1.5 per cent were avid CNN watchers, which was "incredibly low".

"Consequently it's uneconomic for us to continue operating a whole UHF network for a very small number of viewers."

He said the CNN review coincided with the Maori Television Service quest for a platform from which to broadcast its free-to-air programme.

UHF users will be able to tune into a Maori Television Service test signal from March 1.

Sky digital viewers have a Maori Television promo on channel 33.

Mr O'Brien said the move was a "win-win situation" for Maori Television and Sky TV.

But canning CNN was not a ploy to entice people to the more expensive and extensive digital service.

"UHF is a very good business for SKY, a good low-cost entry business for people to sample our wares.
"The last thing we want to do is move subscribers from UHF to digital."

Mr O'Brien said refunds for the absence of CNN would depend on each subscriber's package.

The refunds would range from $3 to $7.

The date for the Maori Television Service to go to air was expected to be announced in March. Construction and refit of the channel's Auckland studio was nearing completion.

10-year agreement PanAmSat and ABS-CBN

From PanAmSat

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. recently signed a 10-year agreement with American satellite operator PanAmSat to further increase the reach of its international programming. The contract to use the PanAmSat 8-166E would aid it in the expansion of its international business through subsidiary ABS-CBN Global Ltd.

ABS-CBN Global broadcasts The Filipino Channel (TFC), which carries all Filipino programs seven days a week via direct-to-home satellite service all around the world. TFC has 176,830 subscribers worldwide as of end-2003. ABS-CBN has had a contract with the American satellite service provider since 1993. The company was then the first Asian broadcasting network to sign a pre-launch agreement for the PanAmSat 2 satellite.

PanAmSat's relationship with the country's biggest broadcasting firm would remain a major focus' of its Asia-Pacific business.

The PanAmSat 8 satellite is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on 166 East position (ABS-CBN broadcasting on C Band on 3,880V encrypted in PowerVu). It covers the United States West Coast all the way to Asia, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and a little bit out to the islands in the Pacific.

The reach of the PanAmSat 8 gave ABS-CBN Global the needed connectivity to span the globe for the distribution of its programs here and abroad.

THAILAND: Channel 5 unit's listing delayed

From http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=6802

Army wants to hold on to its 50% stake

The satellite broadcasting division of Royal Thai Army Radio and Television, the operator of TV Channel 5, has delayed a plan to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

The delay comes after Royal Thai Army Radio and Television said it wanted to maintain a 50% stake in the operator, Tor Tor Bor 5 Plc, instead of the 30% previously announced. The majority stake would allow the armed forces to maintain effective operational control over programming.

The company announced in September that it planned to float 44 million shares at a price of around 18 baht each in an initial public offering. The share par value would be 10 baht each. Kim Eng Securities is the financial adviser.

Gen Pricha Premaswad, director of Royal Thai Army Radio and Television, said that assuming a full agreement on the shareholding and listing plans could be reached, the IPO and listing would take place in the second quarter.

Before listing, the company would increase its registered capital to 1.1 billion baht from 660 million baht.

Under the plan, the funds raised would be spent to expand the satellite footprint of the Thai TV Global Network (TGN) to 170 countries from 155, and to improve its around-the-clock programming.

Last year, TGN generated an estimated 570 million baht in total sales with a net profit of about 120 million baht.

Gen Pricha said TGN would be developed as a bridge for Thai expats with their homeland, as well as for disseminating information about the country worldwide, highlighting the One Tambon, One Product (Otop) programme being one example.

Channel 5, which celebrated its 46th anniversary yesterday, said it would step up efforts to strengthen programming by working more closely with producers in order to ensure that the results are popular with audiences.

As well, the channel plans to approach more veteran producers to create sports, children's and family programmes.

Last year, Channel 5 posted a 38% increase in net profit to about 700 million baht on revenue estimated at 1.2 billion baht. The improved profitability was attributed in part to a cost-saving programme

SCHOOLS IT PROJECT: No bids as Shin gets CAT contract

From http://nationmultimedia.com/page.news.php3?clid=6&id=107104&usrsess=1

Satellite provider to sell parts to state telecom for use in education project

The prime minister's family company Shin Satellite Plc will be a patron of the Education Ministry's Bt2-billion project promoting communications links and IT in schools countrywide.

The board of CAT Telecom last week approved a plan to award a Bt39-million contract to Shin Sat to procure its iPSTAR multimedia satellite signal-receivers and spare parts to support the first phase of the Education Ministry's One Amphur One Dream School project.

The ministry initiated the project, which is worth a total of Bt2 billion, to promote IT in schools as a means of upgrading their educational facilities.

CAT won a bid in the first-phase project from the ministry on December 17 last year, involving the provision of high-speed data-voice transmission and leased lines to link the Education Ministry's Office of the Permanent Secretary with schools nationwide.

Later, without inviting bids, CAT selected iPSTAR equipment to provide the high-speed communications links for the project.

A source at CAT said that CAT had to conduct the procurement process without a bidding process because it had to meet an April 15 deadline to complete the project.

"We need a satellite signal to quickly provide the communications link, and there's only one satellite-operator in Thailand, which is Shin Sat," he said.

Shin Sat has used its Thaicom 3 satellite to provide high-speed satellite signals through its iPSTAR gateway. Its multimedia satellite iPSTAR will be up and running by the middle of this year.

Under the procurement deal, CAT will buy 530 iPSTAR signal-receivers and spare parts, the source added. CAT will also provide its own high-speed network to support the project in addition to the satellite signal.

Education Vice Minister Piyabutr Cholvijarn told The Nation that the One Amphoe, One Dream School project covered 921 schools countrywide.

Of the total, Bt1.2 billion is for training school staff and another Bt700 million is to provide computers and Internet access for schools and set up labs to enable the schools to create their own homepages and access knowledge from around the world. The first phase of the project will cover 253 schools.

Next year the ministry will seek an additional Bt350 million for the project, he added.

New 'plug-in' movie channel Cine World set for February launch

From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k4/jan/jan180.htm

MUMBAI: A wider choice of English films is what is promised when new movie channel Cine World makes its debut in the first week of February (the launch date is still being finalised).

Cine World is promoted by Channel Guide India Ltd, which already runs what it says is India's first and only FTA digital info TV channel catering to the promotional needs of the entire entertainment industry - television, films, music and events.

Speaking on the new "plug-in" English movie channel was Channel Guide COO Ravi Deshmukh. Says Deshmukh, "We will be providing quality English films that have not been seen before by most viewers." Cine World has sourced its movies from Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong as well as from the smaller Hollywood studio offerings, says Deshmukh. This will have kept acquisition costs low no doubt but Deshmukh assures that the films are of good quality.

Cine World is not planning to take on the big boys of the business like HBO, Star Movies or Zee MGM but will operate as an English cable movie channel on the lines of INCableNet's CVO or Hathway's CCC. Additionally, Cine World will be showcasing one blockbuster Hindi film a week, says Deshmukh.

Cine World is beaming of the Insat 3A satellite in C band and will become encrypted from Day 1 of official launch unlike its sibling Channel Guide which is an FTA channel.

Channel Guide is currently showcasing a film a day at 11 pm so that viewers get an idea of the kind of films that will be on offer, says Deshmukh.

TELE SATELLITE NEWS - Number 04/2004 ­ 25 January 2004 -

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

Editor: Branislav Pekic
Edited Apsattv.com Edition

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

AUSTRALIA

FOXTEL TO ROLL-OUT NEW DIGITAL TV SERVICE

Australian pay TV provider Foxtel announced on January 21 it will roll out digital services to subscribers over the next two and a half years offering more than 130 channels and a range of interactive features. The company, which currently offers up to 47 channels, previously has given documents to Australia's competition watchdog saying that the price of a basic package would not be above the current standard subscription of 48.95 Australian dollars (US$37.69) per month. Included in the new offering will 30 CD quality audio music channels and 30 channels dedicated to providing the video on demand - Foxtel Box Office movie service - seen as essential to the success of the digital offering. In addition there will be eight sports channels, five childrens channels and seven news channels and six music video channels. Foxtel said its new service would also feature 10 TimeShift channels, which broadcast a single service on two different channels with a two hour time difference. Foxtel has just over 1 million subscribers to its services, which are delivered by cable in some areas and by satellite in others. Customers will need a set-top box and new remote control to see the digital service, both of which would be included in the new digital package. Some free-to-air networks in Australia already offer some digital programming but the new format has been slow to take off among viewers. Foxtel is 50 per cent owned by Australian telecommunications giant Telstra while Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd each own 25 per cent stakes.

TECHTV SIGNS CARRIAGE DEAL

US science cable channel TechTV is set to increase its international penetration following a carriage deal with a new digital platform in Australia. Foxtel has picked up the thematic channel for its digital service, which launches in the first half of this year. Under the terms of the agreement, programming for TechTV Australia will be obtained through TechTV's International Network distributed via AsiaSAT 3. TechTV is currently available in more than 43 million homes in the US, where it logs a monthly average of 1.6 million viewers. TechTV showcases factual programming about technology, science and innovation.

Internet ­ <http://www.techtv.com/>http://www.techtv.com

BOOMERANG TO LAUNCH ON FOXTEL AND AUSTAR

Cartoon Network's vintage animation channel Boomerang is set to launch in Australia this year, as part of the new digital offerings from pay-TV platforms Foxtel and Austar. Boomerang, which airs classic animated series like The Jetsons and Popeye, launched in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2000, and now reaches more than 11 million homes in those two markets. Cartoon Network currently reaches about 1.4 million homes in Australia, with carriage on Austar, FOXTEL and Optus.

THOROUGHBRED TV CHANNEL ON THE CARDS

A separate thoroughbred racing channel is on the cards after presentations from five parties vying for the lucrative broadcast rights to Sydney's major racing clubs ended on January 21. Advertising and racing identity John Singleton was the fifth and last party to make a presentation to ThoroughVisioN (TVN), a company set up by Racing Victoria which holds all of Victoria's thoroughbred racing media rights as well as those of the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) and NSW's Sydney Turf Club (STC). TVN is negotiating on behalf of the clubs to try and improve their media rights deals, which currently are held by Sky Channel, owned by NSW's Tab. Presentations last week were made by Perrin Legal, Telstra Media, British company tenten Digital, and Sky. The lobbying has been prompted by the imminent expiry of Sky's broadcast rights for the NSW clubs on March 4, while Victoria is contracted to Sky for another 12 months.

OPENTV TO PROVIDE INTERACTIVE SERVICES TO FOXTEL

OpenTV has signed a definitive agreement to provide Foxtel with middleware technology and interactive applications that will be integrated into the Foxtel Digital product offering. In a press release, OpenTV said it has licensed its products and software to Foxtel under the arrangement, and also expects to provide related support services through the life of the agreement. Foxtel will use OpenTV's technologies and applications to provide subscribers with access to several interactive services, such as: Sky News Active, Sports Active and Foxtel Gamesworld.

CHINA ­ HONG KONG

TVB 2003 REVENUE TO REACH HK$4.05 BILLION

Television Broadcasts recorded total advertising revenue of HK$4.05 billion in 2003, taking a 28% share of Hong Kong's advertising market, according to advertising research firm admanGo.com. In its research report released on January 20, admanGo said advertising revenue of TVB's Jade channel rose about 6% on year to HK$3.82 billion in 2003, accounting for 26% of the market. TVB's Pearl channel recorded a 38% rise in advertising revenue to HK$231.1 million, equivalent to a market share of about 2%. Hong Kong's other free-to-air television broadcaster, Asia Television Ltd., posted total advertising revenue of HK$1.27 billion last year and took a 9% share of the market. However, ATV's Home channel booked a 9% on-year slide in advertising revenue to HK$1.20 billion. Its World channel advertising revenue rose 30% on year to HK$67.4 million. Pay-television operator i-Cable Communications Ltd. recorded the highest on-year gain in percentage terms, adman Go said. Its advertising revenue surged 94% on-year to HK$657.7 million last year.

PLAYBOY TV AND GALAXY SIGN DISTRIBUTION DEAL

Playboy TV International (PTVI) and Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting Limited, have concluded a distribution agreement for Playboy TV to be carried on Galaxy's new, all-digital pay-TV platform - exTV - to be launched in Hong Kong in February. Playboy TV will be available 24-hours a day to exTV's subscriber base as a monthly subscription service. The premium channel broadcasts branded programming with Chinese subtitles and features sensual programming tailored towards the viewer preferences of region. PTVI, wholly owned by Playboy Entertainment Group, a division of Playboy Enterprises, develops and operates quality adult entertainment television networks worldwide under the Playboy TV and Spice brands.

GALAXY SIGNS UP NICKELODEON AND BBC WORLD

Hong Kong's Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting (GSB) has announced partnerships with Nickelodeon Asia channel and BBC World for inclusion of two channels in the DTH platform exTV. GSB, a joint venture of United States-based Intelsat and Television Broadcasts (TVB), is set to launch exTV in February. The deal with Nickelodeon is part of two Viacom deals, the other being Nickelodeon Asia's partnership agreement with China's national television station CCTV to air its shows on the recently launched 24-hour Children's Channel. In all, Galaxy will broadcast 30 channels, including TVB and ATV's terrestrial channels, which will continue to be free-to-air to non-subscribers. TVB will air a 24-hour news channel via Galaxy, competing with news channels from Cable and newcomer Hong Kong Broadband. Four other new TVB channels are in the line-up, offering entertainment, drama and children's programmes. Other Galaxy channels will include E! Entertainment Television, Cartoon Network, MTV Southeast Asia, HBO and news outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg and BBC World.

INDIA

STAR AND TATA SONS TO LAUNCH DTH PLATFORM

Rupert Murdoch may soon be adding yet another platform to his global network of satellite operators, with the STAR Group, News Corp.'s Hong Kong-based arm, inking a joint venture deal to launch a DTH service in the country. According to local reports, STAR has teamed with Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, and the two companies are said to be planning a $300 million investment. Tata will hold 80 per cent of the venture, with STAR holding 20 per cent. The platform is expected to launch within the next four to six months. The deal is still subject to government approval, and there is no indication yet as to how many channels the platform will carry. However, the companies are billing it as what will be the country's "largest digital television platform," with a range of interactive services. STAR's long-awaited entrance to India's DTH market follows the launch of rival Zee Telefilm's platform, Dish TV, which began operations in October 2003.

ZEE NETWORK LAUNCHE RELIGIOUS CHANNEL

Zee Network has launched India's first religious entertainment channel Jagran. The 24-hour free-to-air satellite channel attempts to entertain the audience with mythological movies, serials, alternate living and alternate healing programmes, interactive astro solutions and spiritual content. The channel is being launched via Asiasat 3S and INSAT satellites.

GOVERNMENT PREPARES DTH SERVICE

State-owned broadcaster Prasar Bharati's direct-to-home venture will be launched on April 2, becoming the second company after Agrani Satellite Communication (ASC) Enterprises‚ Dish TV to introduce the service. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), has already sanctioned $105 million to be used over a five-year period to Prasar Bharati's direct-to-home (DTH) services using KU band. The transponders are being made available by the Indian Space Research Organisation for the proposed DTH service. Prasar Bharati is considering the launch of the DTH service with about 30 channels - including 20 Prasar Bharati channels and 10 private channels.

POGO OPTS FOR CONAX

Turner Broadcasting System is to use the Conax CAS5 conditional access technology for broadcasting the new 24-hour kids channel Pogo for Indian cable networks. Pogo, which launched earlier this month, is being broadcast via the Panamsat PAS-10 satellite, and is part of the Zee Telefilms and Turner International's distribution alliance.

INDONESIA

BROADCASTER BUYS CONTENT FROM BUENA VISTA

Indonesian terrestrial Indosiar Visual Mandiri (IVM) has acquired feature films, drama series, kids' programming and assorted television specials as part of a multiyear agreement with Buena Vista International Television­Asia Pacific (BVITV-AP). In addition to blockbuster titles like Pearl Harbor and Kiss of the Dragon, IVM has signed on for the second season of the acclaimed drama series Alias. In addition, under a new agreement for the branded block Klab Disney, IVM has acquired Kim Possible, House of Mouse and Teamo Supremo, all of which make their free-TV premieres in Indonesia on IVM.

JAPAN

NHK TO COMBINE DIGITAL TV AND INTERNET

Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) will by summer launch a broadcasting service that combines digital terrestrial broadcasts and the Internet. Because there is a limit to the volume of data that can be transmitted via data broadcasts using radio waves, most of the information supplied via the digital broadcasts will be related to the regions where subscribers live. Information on regions nationwide will be available over the Net. When subscribers select other regions from the menus on the data broadcast screens, the information will be pulled from the Internet automatically. This will enable users to look up, for example, detailed weather information on remote areas to which they plan to travel. The service will initially be available in the Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka metropolitan areas. It will later be expanded nationwide in conjunction with the rollout of digital terrestrial broadcasts. The current plan is for broadcasts to be available in all prefectures by 2006. NHK is appropriating 60 million yen (US$559,000) of its fiscal 2004 budget to start the new service.

SKY PERFECT AND NTT DISCUSS BROADBAND

SKY Perfect Communications said on January 22 it's in talks with Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. on a possible alliance in broadband broadcasting services. The satellite broadcaster said it and NTT have been discussing business opportunities in offering SKY's broadcasting to NTT's Internet service subscribers, but they haven't yet discussed commercialization. A SKY Perfect spokesman said the two companies haven't made any decisions in the course of their discussions, but the tie-up between Japan's largest pay-TV company and the telecommunication giant is sure to accelerate the expansion of Internet broadcasting in Japan. Some four million users of NTT's optic fiber and asymmetric digital subscriber line, or ADSL, services could potentially bolster SKY Perfect's subscriber base. As of the end of December, Sky Perfect had 3.1 million individual subscribers. The new broadband service will be available only in areas covered by the high-speed asymmetric digital subscriber line Internet service of NTT's two regional telephone units - NTT East Corp. and NTT West Corp. The service will require special receivers to hook television sets up to the broadband networks. The two firms plan initially to offer more than 100 channels and eventually all 300 channels transmitted by Sky Perfect's satellite service, with a movie-on-demand feature being eyed for the future. The number of broadband subscribers is growing strongly in Japan as fierce competition between Internet access providers has lowered ADSL service fees to the most competitive in the world.

SINGAPORE

STAR MOVIES SIGNS DISTRIBUTION DEAL

STAR Group has secured carriage for its Star Chinese Movies channel on Singapore's StarHub CableTV, beginning January 21. The Mandarin-language channel will be carried on StarHub's premium Asia Tier for S$8 ($4.70) a month. Star Chinese Movies, which features over 100 movies including at least 20 exclusive premieres a month, is aired in Mandarin and the movies are commercial-free. The channel will be offered as free-to-air till February 22. Star's other channels available on StarHub Cable TV include Star Movies, Star World, Star Sports, ESPN, National Geographic Channel and Phoenix Chinese Channel.

THAILAND

CHANNEL 5 UNIT LISTING DELAYED

The satellite broadcasting division of Royal Thai Army Radio and Television, the operator of TV Channel 5, has delayed a plan to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The delay comes after Royal Thai Army Radio and Television said it wanted to maintain a 50% stake in the operator, Tor Tor Bor 5, instead of the 30% previously announced. The majority stake would allow the armed forces to maintain effective operational control over programming. The company announced in September that it planned to float 44 million shares at a price of around 18 baht each in an initial public offering. Under the plan, the funds raised would be spent to expand the satellite footprint of the Thai TV Global Network (TGN) to 170 countries from 155, and to improve its around-the-clock programming. Last year, TGN generated an estimated 570 million baht in total sales with a net profit of about 120 million baht.