31/05/04

B1 12519V Sky NZ is listing "Coming soon" most likely a new radio service. 12671V has gone from 17 services to 19 but my Nokia won't list the names on that transponder.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Steve D

Two New Audio Channels on B1

Audio channels on B1. We now have 'Coming Soon' (encrypted) and
'Yoda' which is currently f-t-a. 'Yoda' is playing the 'Trackside' audio.

Steve D

From John

Received in the mail on Friday, a brochure from Foxtel offering either;

1. Free Foxtel Express self installation kit or
2. Free installation by a technician

Must start a new contract, and was addressed to my house, stating "As your
house has had foxtel previously installed, you are eligible for a free self
install kit, or free installation by a technician".

From Mark

AS2
3895 Vert
5632
3/4

Volley ball feed from Japan , Iran vs Algeria

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E BN TV has started on 12726 H, MDS, PIDs 521/649.
PAS 8 166E 12422 H It's HMV Radio and Lawson CS Hot Station on , Fta, APIDs 3606-3607.

Optus B3 156E BorderNet has started on 12595 V, SR 30000, FEC 2/3.

Superbird C 144E 12682 V "CTS has left" . .
Superbird C 144E 12694 V "National Open University" has left

JCSAT 3 128E 4054 V Occasional feeds on , SR 6438, FEC 3/4.
JCSAT 3 128E 4068 V Occasional feeds on , SR 7014, FEC 3/4.

AsiaSat 4 122E 3881 H "CBN" has left again.
AsiaSat 4 122E Occasional feeds on 4040 H, SR 4000, FEC 3/4.

Thaicom 1A 120E 3949 V "ITV (Thailand)" has left , moved to Thaicom 2.

AsiaSat 3 105.5E 12660 V "Hebei Traffic and Music Radio 1-3" have started on , Fta, APIDs 84-92.

NSS 6 95E 12647 H "BN TV" has started on ,Fta, PIDs 1793/1794.
NSS 6 95E The DD muxes have left 12650 V and 12729 V.
NSS 6 95E 12688 H New PIDs for almost all channels in the TARBS World TV mux.
NSS 6 95E SpaceGate has moved from 11685 H to 11635 H, SR 27672, FEC 7/8, Middle East beam.

Yamal 201 90E 3571 L "Kolyma +" has started on , Fta, SR 3570, FEC 3/4, PIDs 308/256.

ST 1 88E 3632 V "RAI International 4 and Savoir Knowledge" are now encrypted.
ST 1 88E 3632 V "TNN" has started on , Fta, PIDs 6196/6177, 00-06 HKT.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3671 H "Talk Sport has replaced Panjab Radio" on , Fta, APID 513.

Weekly SatcoDX News 21 May 2004 - 28 May 2004

TELSTAR 10/APSTAR IIR (76.5E)

http://www.satcodx3.com/0765
==============================

PBId2051307 on 12.615 (V,22425,104): It has started
Animax South Asia on 3.920 (H,28340,1110,1102,1110)
Test on 3.920 (H,28340,1160,1120,1160)

THAICOM 2,3 (78.5E)

http://www.satcodx3.com/0785

==============================

DrDish@TV [May 21,22,23- 12GMT to15GMT] on 3.671 (H,13333,1057,1058,1057): It has Started
Nepal1 on 3.840 (V,26667,257,258,257): It has Started
Sadhna on 3.840 (V,26667,273,274,273): It has Started
Punjab Today on 3.840 (V,26667,289,290,289): It has Started
MH1 on 3.840 (V,26667,305,306,305): It has Started
Sadhna Super on 3.840 (V,26667,321,322,321): It has Started
CVK Cambodia on 4.124 (V,5929,308,256,8190): It has Started
Punjab Today on 3.626 (V,15552,2081,2082,2081): Punjab Today will shift to 3840 V
Sadhna Super Test Run on 3.840 (V,26667,321,322,321): Ahimsa TV Relaunched as Sadhna Super TV
Nepal 1 on 3.840 (V,26667,49,50,49): New PIDS and SN
Sadhna on 3.840 (V,26667,1057,1058,1057): New PIDS and SN
Punjab Today on 3.840 (V,26667,2081,2082,2081): New PIDS and SN
MH1-Music on 3.840 (V,26667,3105,3106,3105): New PIDS and SN
Sadhna Super on 3.840 (V,26667,4129,4130,4129): New PIDS and SN
Nepal 1 on 3.840 (V,26667,33,34,31): New PIDS

ST 1 (88.0E)

http://www.satcodx3.com/0880

==============================

Savoir Knowledge Channel on 3.632 (V,26666,49,33,49): It's encrypted now
Public TV Service on 3.632 (V,26666,6193,6177,6193): It's clear now, time sharing with TNN

NSS 6 (95.0E)

http://www.satcodx3.com/0950

==============================

DD Bharti on 12.650 (V,27500,533,633,3001): New Symbol rate and Parameters
DD Sports on 12.650 (V,27500,534,634,3002): New Symbol rate and Parameters
DD India on 12.650 (V,27500,535,635,3003): New Symbol rate and Parameters
DD News on 12.650 (V,27500,536,636,3004): New Symbol rate and Parameters
DD National on 12.730 (V,27500,501,601,1050): It has started
DD Kannada on 12.730 (V,27500,511,611,4456): It has started
DD Bangla on 12.730 (V,27500,503,603,503): It has started
DD Telugu on 12.730 (V,27500,504,604,5504): It has started
DD-Malayalam on 12.730 (V,27500,505,605,6509): It has started
DD Oriya on 12.730 (V,27500,506,606,6507): It has started
DD-Gujarati on 12.730 (V,27500,508,608,3456): It has started
Lig TV on 12.646 (V,28066,273,274,273): New SR
Future TV USA on 12.646 (V,28066,769,770,769): New SR
ESC 2 on 12.646 (V,28066,785,786,785): New SR
Tele Liban on 12.646 (V,28066,801,802,801): New SR
Leonardo on 12.646 (V,28066,833,834,833): New SR
Nile Culture on 12.646 (V,28066,865,866,865): New SR

ASIASAT 3S (105.5E)

http://www.satcodx4.com/1055

==============================

Voice of People on 3.880 (H,27500,1512,1512): It has started
Main General Program on 3.880 (H,27500,1612,1612): It has started
Sudan Radio on 3.880 (H,27500,2112,2112): It has started
Al Nour Radio on 3.880 (H,27500,2212,2212): It has started
Saudi 1 on 3.880 (H,27500,1171,1172,1171): Corrected FEC
ABU DHABI TV on 3.880 (H,27500,1131,1132,1131): Corrected FEC
Syria TV on 3.880 (H,27500,1111,1112,1111)

SINOSAT 1 (110.5E)

http://www.satcodx4.com/1105

==============================

CNR 1 on 4.067 (V,5990,80,80): New NID
CNR 2 on 4.067 (V,5990,84,84): New NID
CNR 3 on 4.067 (V,5990,88,88): New NID
CNR 7 on 4.067 (V,5990,92,92): New NID
SW 1 on 4.067 (V,5990,96,96): New NID
SW 2 on 4.067 (V,5990,100,100): New NID
CNR7 on 4.067 (V,5990,108,108): New NID
GW 5(L) / 6(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,112,112): New NID
GW 8 on 4.067 (V,5990,116,116): New NID
GW 11 on 4.067 (V,5990,120,120): New NID
GW 13(L) / 14(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,124,124): New NID
GW 15(L) / 16(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,128,128): New NID
GW 17(L) / 18(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,132,132): New NID
GW 19(L) / 20(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,136,136): New NID
GW 21(L) / 22(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,140,140): New NID
GW 23(L) / 24(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,144,144): New NID
GW 25(L) / 26(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,148,148): New NID
GW 27(L) / 28(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,152,152): New NID
GW 29(L) / 30(R) on 4.067 (V,5990,156,156): New NID
GW L29R30 on 4.067 (V,5990,156,156)

PALAPA C2 (113.0E)

http://www.satcodx4.com/1130

==============================

Feeds on 3.878 (V,6000,33,36,33): Indosiar Live Feeds
no name on 3.977 (H,2539)
MWD - Myawady TV on 3.707 (H,5925,4194,4195,4194): New NID
Service 1 on 3.926 (H,4208,33,36,33)
SBN Finance Channel on 11.472 (H,15555,2101,2102,2101): Polarity corrected
CTI Asia on 11.472 (H,15555,2201,2202,2201): Polarity corrected
SET International on 11.472 (H,15555,2301,2302,2301): Polarity corrected
ETTV Asia on 11.472 (H,15555,2401,2402,2401): Polarity corrected
Azio TV on 11.472 (H,15555,2501,2502,2501): Polarity corrected
Fashion TV India on 11.472 (H,15555,2601,2602,2601): Polarity corrected
MTV China on 11.472 (H,15555,2701,2702,2701): Polarity corrected

KOREASAT 2 (113.0E)

http://www.satcodx4.com/1131

==============================

TV Service1 on 12.619 (H,12297,3956,3957,3956): New TID
TV Service2 on 12.619 (H,12297,1592,1593,1592): New TID
TV Service3 on 12.619 (H,12297,2122,2123,2122): New TID
TV Service4 on 12.619 (H,12297,4826,4827,4826): New TID
TV Service5 on 12.619 (H,12297,4381,4382,4381): New TID

KOREASAT 3 (116.0E)

http://www.satcodx4.com/1160

==============================

Data Service on 11.862 (L,21300,848): It has started
HCB on 12.370 (H,24070,902,900,902)
SPICE on 12.370 (H,24070,802,800,802)
EBS2 on 12.370 (H,24070,1302,1300,1302)
EBS1 on 12.370 (H,24070,1202,1200,1202)
OUN on 12.370 (H,24070,202,200,202)
HKB on 12.370 (H,24070,1102,1100,1102)
IPG on 12.370 (H,24070)
PBC on 12.370 (H,24070,1002,1000,1002)
KHS-1 on 12.370 (H,24070,702,700,702)
eCH-1-T on 12.370 (H,24070,602,600,602)
OSB-D on 12.370 (H,24070,302,300,302)
PMK-TV on 12.370 (H,24070,80,81,80)
CH 601 on 12.630 (V,26718,1901,1902,1901)
CH 602 on 12.630 (V,26718,1911,1912,1911)
CH 603 on 12.630 (V,26718,1921,1922,1921)
CH 604 on 12.630 (V,26718,1931,1932,1931)
CH 605 on 12.630 (V,26718,1941,1942,1941)
CH 606 on 12.630 (V,26718,1951,1952,1951)
CH 607 on 12.630 (V,26718,1961,1962,1961)
CH 608 on 12.630 (V,26718,1971,1972,1971)
CH 609 on 12.630 (V,26718,1981,1982,1981)
CH 610 on 12.630 (V,26718,1991,1992,1991)
Coffee_test on 12.648 (H,24750)
Mockdong IDC on 12.648 (H,24750)
KT3 on 12.648 (H,24750)
KT2 on 12.648 (H,24750)
KT1 on 12.648 (H,24750)
OLC on 12.670 (V,24750): It has started
MegaSat1 on 12.670 (V,24750): It has started
TV Service1 on 12.730 (H,27500,2560,2561,2560): It has started
TV Service2 on 12.730 (H,27500,2576,2577,2576): It has started
TV Service3 on 12.730 (H,27500,2592,2593,2592): It has started
TV Service4 on 12.730 (H,27500,2608,2609,2608): It has started
TV Service5 on 12.730 (H,27500,2624,2625,2624): It has started
TV Service6 on 12.730 (H,27500,2640,2641,2640): It has started
TV Service7 on 12.730 (H,27500,2656,2657,2656): It has started
TV Service8 on 12.730 (H,27500,2672,2673,2672): It has started
TV Service9 on 12.730 (H,27500,2688,2689,2688): It has started
Data Service1 on 12.730 (H,27500,2704): It has started
Data Service2 on 12.730 (H,27500,2720): It has started
Data Service3 on 12.730 (H,27500,2736)

APSTAR 1A (134.0E)

http://www.satcodx4.com/1340

==============================

CCTV 3 on 4.160 (H,27500,512,650,8190): It's encrypted now
CCTV 5 on 4.160 (H,27500,513,660,8190): It's encrypted now
CCTV 6 on 4.160 (H,27500,514,670,8190): It's encrypted now
CCTV 8 on 4.160 (H,27500,515,680,8190): It's encrypted now
CCTV Kids on 4.160 (H,27500,516,690,8190)
CCTV News on 4.160 (H,27500,517,700,8190): It's encrypted now
ShenZhen TV Test Card on 4.044 (H,4420,160,80,8190): New SR
ShenZhen TV Test Card on 4.044 (H,4420,160,80,8190): SID/NID/TID added
ZheJiang TV on 4.050 (V,7820,32,33,32): New TID
ZheJiang People's Radio on 4.050 (V,7820,34,34): New TID
Music FM 96.98 on 4.050 (V,7820,35,35): New TID
ZheJiang Economics Radio on 4.050 (V,7820,36,36): New TID
ZheJiang FM 99.6 Culture channel on 4.050 (V,7820,37,37): New TID
ZheJiang Health Radio on 4.050 (V,7820,38,38): New TID
ZheJiang Traffic Radio on 4.050 (V,7820,39,39): New TID
ZheJiang People's Radio on 4.050 (V,7820,42,42): New TID
ZheJiang People's Radio on 4.050 (V,7820,49,49): New TID
ShenZhen TV on 4.044 (H,4420,160,80,8190): It has replaced Test Card

APSTAR 1 (138.0E)

http://www.satcodx4.com/1380

==============================

no name on 3.786 (H,5000)
no name on 3.786 (H,5000)
no name on 3.786 (H,5000)
no name on 3.786 (H,5000)
no name on 3.786 (H,5000)
no name on 3.786 (H,5000)
no name on 3.786 (H,5000)
no name on 3.786 (H,5000)
no name on 3.786 (H,5000)

PANAMSAT 8 (166.0E)

http://www.satcodx5.com/1660

==============================

TFC J on 3.880 (V,28700,502,550,502): It's encrypted now
Test Card on 4.050 (V,13236,1360,1320,1360): It's encrypted again
Myung Sung Church TV on 12.412 (H,3700,1110,1121,1110): New SR

PANAMSAT 2 (169.0E)

http://www.satcodx5.com/1690

==============================

YEK on 4.090 (V,21000,512,640,128)
Test Card on 4.090 (V,21000,514,641,130): It has started
SYRA on 4.090 (V,21000,516,644,132): It has started
TEFE on 4.090 (V,21000,517,645,133): It has started
P207 on 4.090 (V,21000,518,646,134)
TVG on 4.090 (V,21000,520,648,136): It has started
Feeds ( no name ) on 3.865 (V,19530)
Feeds ( no name ) on 3.865 (V,19530)
Feeds ( no name ) on 3.865 (V,19530)
Feeds ( no name ) on 3.865 (V,19530)

NEWS

Sanzar, News in rugby ratings row

From http://seven.com.au/news/topstories/86337

Sanzar chief executive Chris Moller disputes claims that low pay-TV ratings in Australia will financially savage the South African, New Zealand and Australian rugby deal being negotiated with broadcasting giant News Corp.

Moller would not discuss Sanzar's hopes about a roll-over broadcasting deal with News Corp, but disputed claims that revenue could fall by up to half.

"To suggest that a drop in one market is going to translate to a 50 per cent drop in the total global revenue for Sanzar is a very long bow to draw," Moller said.

"It is a very wide miss of the goalposts and I would think Australia would be horrified by that idea. It simply challenges commercial sensibility and logic."

Sanzar believes its future proposals will have widespread commercial appeal to underpin rugby in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

The tripartite collective has been discussing the next step for Super 12 and Tri-Nations rugby with News Corp for some time, with an announcement due this week.

Sanzar's proposals have been inspected by News Corp and refined to produce a rugby package which appeals to the broadcaster.

"We will be revealing a number of options, not just a single deal, and seeing what people will pay for various segments," Moller said.

The next agreement would only involve the current nations, with no room for the Pacific Islands, Japan or Argentina.

The original deal with News Corp guaranteed New Zealand, Australia and South Africa $US555 million ($NZ885 million) for a decade-long series of Super 12 and Tri-Nations tests. That contract expires next year, but News has first rights to extend the partnership.

Moller's comments were supported by an Australian Rugby Union spokesman, who said pay television support for rugby on Foxtel when added to Optus and Austar was up around 1.5 million households.

"To read elsewhere that it might be only 700,000 is a serious flaw in this whole argument about Sanzar taking a huge financial hit in the next deal," the spokesman said.

"Rugby continues to have a strong pay TV content and the Super 12 final on Foxsport was the most watched rugby event in the history of the channel. And the value of what we are selling is not just about what we are selling in the domestic market, we are selling rights in other markets like the UK, where they generate an enormous revenue stream."

Speculation about the future shape of the Super 12 and Tri-Nations has gathered momentum in recent years as Australia and South Africa pushed for extra teams and others like the Pacific Islands lobbied for inclusion.

Moller revealed last week there would be no change to the foundation nations, but speculation continues that they may have to offer broadcasters more games for the same reward.

NZRU faces financial disaster

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2924089a1823,00.html

Sanzar is staring at a crippling 50 per cent hit in broadcasting revenue because of rugby's failure to generate pay TV subscriptions in Australia.

The three-nation collective - South Africa, Australia, New Zealand - is expected to announce this week its approach to negotiations with News Corporation.

It will also confirm Sydney-based Ian Frykberg as its negotiator. Frykberg was a key player for News Corp in the original contract and now represents the Australian Rugby Union.

Broadcasting fees produce nearly 60 per cent of the NZRU's revenue. So the big hit looming will be a disaster for New Zealand rugby. It will impact significantly on player retention and development programmes and on all levels of the game.

Many had expected Sanzar to receive about 20 per cent less than the $555m it got from News Corp in 1995 for the original 10-year-deal. But dark clouds now loom for Sanzar with authoritative Australian sources telling the Star-Times the coalition can expect about only half the old deal.

Australian broadcasting expert Barry O'Brien said New Zealand and South Africa had performed well but the Australian market had been a disaster. Anti-siphoning laws make test matches free-to-air there and compound the problem.

"(News Corp) needed to get it in 1995 to launch their platforms (in the Sanzar countries). But the value of the product now is totally different," said O'Brien, chief executive of leading media agency Total Advertising and Communication.

The situation may also cause friction within Sanzar over how the contract will be split. Currently South Africa gets the largest slice, then New Zealand with Australia last.

From a population five times that of New Zealand, Murdoch's Australian pay TV service Foxtel has generated only 700,000 subscribers compared to the 550,000 SKY TV has here. This is despite Foxtel being the dominant player in the market.

It's also anticipated England and France will provide increased revenues to Murdoch. If they exceed what Australia delivers, they will further erode Sanzar's value to News Corp.

"We have to wait and see what any broadcaster is prepared to pay," New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Chris Moller said.

"But there is an issue within Sanzar of splitting that revenue. If there was a dramatic change then one issue that may well be on the table is whether the revenue share as currently negotiated should be amended."

In 1995 rugby league imploded with the ARL-Super League war that pitched Foxtel in a cut-throat battle with Optus to rule Australian pay TV.

Foxtel then banked on Super 12 delivering a weekly audience to fill the hole left by the Super League. But it didn't.

Now rugby league has recaptured its audience, Australian Rules is so popular it has a dedicated channel. Without being able to leverage test matches, the value of rugby to Australian pay TV has diminished greatly.

And with Optus gone there is no alternative cash-rich broadcaster for Sanzar to turn to in Australia.

The NZRU is also trying to clarify its position with its broadcasting adviser - London based Octagon CSI. It has recently restructured amid marketplace speculation of financial instability.

The company was forced to withdraw its bid to secure the English premier league's broadcast rights in the Middle East when its parent company, Interpublic Group, refused to honour a guarantee. Octagon's motorsport division has lost millions of dollars and Octagon's value was written down by more than $US200 million ($320m) late last year. Chief executive Karl Bistany has been replaced in a major shake-up after 15 years with the company.

Bistany oversaw the NZRU account and was in New Zealand just a fortnight ago.

Moller confirmed the NZRU had sought clarification of what had happened at Octagon CSI and how it might be affected. The previous NZRU administration signed a multi-year deal with the company.

Moller confirmed that, with Bistany gone, it was reviewing the contract and if there might be an opportunity to exit.

"It's not clear-cut one way or the other, and furthermore we have to contemplate whether we want to do that," Moller said.

"We are in a mode of trying to find out what the situation is, what the impact on us is and what actions as a consequence we can take. That will dictate whether the current arrangement stays in place or something changes."

Competition sweeping into pay-TV

From http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/5/31/business/8093506&sec=business

TV is human right, says tree row man

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

A retired policeman is mounting a legal fight over eight protected trees that he says are infringing his basic human right to watch satellite television.

Last week, James Read lost round one of his battle against the handsome larches, hornbeams and maple sycamores that are blocking the satellite signal. Dartford borough council narrowly rejected his application to have the trees thinned and trimmed.

Now he is lodging an appeal with John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, and says he is prepared to take his fight to the European Court of Human Rights.

In his application to the council, Mr Read, 53, a father of four, said: "Living in a technological age, I consider it a basic human right to receive television signals and enjoy watching television."

He told the development control board committee that when he had moved into his home in New Barn seven years ago reception had been good. Since then, the trees had grown "out of control".

Mr Read said that while he and his wife Janice, 52, loved the trees, they were now more than twice the height of his home and posed a safety risk as well as cutting out sunlight from his garden.

Committee members were divided over the issue. However, a report from planning officers said there were no human rights or health and safety grounds to approve the application, which was rejected by five votes to four.

Mr Read is determined to fight on. He said: "I'm one of life's good guys and I feel I've been treated badly for doing things by the book. I haven't just lopped off some branches, I've gone through all the right channels."

30/05/04

No update

29/05/04

No update

28/05/04

Sorry not much to report today and things running a bit late as usual on Fridays. Jon's Asia weekly column arrived to late in my Email to be included in yesterdays update but is online in todays update..

Jon's Asia Weekly

Issue 6

"Funny old thing the tele"

I had the good fortune earlier this week to spend a few days in the southern part of Thailand, on the island resort of Phuket. Normally the island is bustling with tourists so much so it is hard to move around in an evening, but not so right now.

It seems all the tourists are staying home or going to other places throughout the region. This has lead to allot of head scratching and brain storming by the hundreds of bar owners across the island, looking for new ways to get the people into their pubs, clubs and restaurants.

Yesterday for the many readers in Australia andyou might have stopped for a few hours to partake in the "State of Origin" match on your local tele. Well so did hundreds and I mean hundreds of ex-pat Australians in Phuket and Bangkok (and all over the country) man thousands of miles from their home shores.

Three bars in Soi Easy (an entertainment street of great delight) in Phuket have ABC AP in their bars all catering for the Australian tourists, but the one that does it best has two kiwi owners [sorry could not resist this one]. By 16:30 last night you could not move in their pub. It seemed like every Australian tourist who was on holiday in Phuket came out of their hotel rooms, their condo's, holiday homes, resorts or wherever and flocked to Patong beach as if drawn by some magic flute to see the men in Red and Blue do battle.

I had to get a plane back to Bangkok and left at 17:00 after fighting my way out of the bar, and it was strange to note of all the bars and clubs I drove past out to the airport, there was no one there at all. They were all back down at the beach at the Aussie Bar watching TV.

This got me to thinking on the way home why did the other pubs, who had ABC AP in them not have so many people in them? When I landed in Bangkok an hour later I decided to do a quick straw pole and drove past a few pubs on the way home to see what they were like, if they were full or empty. To my surprise many of them were empty, the ones who offer to their patrons ABC AP that is, even the new guys who have just put systems in.

So this morning when I got up I rang a few of the local pubs and asked what they did and it was not such a mystery after all.

Word of mouth and the power of the mobile phone, when combined with the good customer service, good fellowship and a chance to meet some ex-pats thousands of miles from home you end up with a full bar. Between two bars in two cities last night a good 65% of the adult ex-pat Australian male and female population in Thailand were glued to the tele all because of the fine job the team at ABC AP Sport does these days.

KU Band

Nothing much to report this week as I have not been able to spend much time doing any DX, other than looking at some of the Superbirds on Sunday night. The usual Japanese KU feeds are there, and I love the sports gambling on the motorcycle races on one of their channels.

A few new channels popped up on the Philippine network Dream this week, one FIFA channel that will make all the soccer lovers happy and Reality TV.

CCTV9 joined the Astro mux from Malaysia, as did a few major changes to some of the other Chinese channels (Look in this months Astro magazine for full details).

Channel 11 NEWS 1 continues to confound me on Thaicom 2/3 KU, it is a great news channel but I can not find any details on it, nor have I seen any press on it. Anyway keep up the good work guys, and the English, well done.

CBand

A few new channels this week and it seems lyngsat is saying Solar is back on Agila 2, but we still do not get a signal from them just across the Gulf of Thailand.

Interesting watching one of the Christian mission channels called the "Hope" Channel on PAS 2, as my daughter goes to one of their schools here in Thailand, and it is all a bit strange hearing some of the USA based comments on us here. That might explain the attitude of the new head master (smile).

Lots of changes going on, on most of the Insat birds as the feeds for the elections fall off and new channels are being brought on stream.

Receivers:

Set them up right lads … So many of the XSAT's set top boxes made by Pace Asia, we get to work on out there in the region have never ever been set up correctly, I did a hotel last week that had;

1. All the channels set up on the wrong satellites [used Thaicom 2/3 rather than AS 3S]

2. All the LNB settings all set up incorrectly, and god knows how that box ever worked, it said it was on the KU lnb when it was on the C Band (sorted it out in the end)

3. The superjack dish positioner they had all set up to satellities we can not even see in Asia

4. All because they did not know what they were doing - must be a lesson here some where [you think?]

Dishes:

Lots of mesh dishes taking the place of what would normally be solid KU Band offset dishes across the region, and really working well. Consider this if you need a large KU Band offset that needs to go into a place that is hard to get at or has a high wind loading.

Gossip:

What gossip there is none…

Have the regulars who watch CNBC seem Bernie on a other network of late along with his friend Stephen?

Noted MWEB doing a good clone of EuroSportNews ..

Sport:

Great to see all the Kiwi sport this week what with the rugby and the cricket.

The F1 this week was the best I had seen for ages.

Look for the sports menu this Friday.

Philippines users look at your new FIFA channel (lucky people)..

Asia needs more sport from the USA, when will dish or directv start to bring in NHL, NFL, NBA channels with local state matches. AFN carries it, so why not an Asian wide sports network on one of the many VOA channels? I was listening to game One of the NHL yesterday on the internet brought to you with the aid of directv, so how about an Asian feed as we do not all have access to ESPN.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Dharmesh Bamrolia

DD's DTH on air on NSS 6!!!(India beam)
DD's DTH has started on new freq.12730 V and s.r.27500,
with 7 channels including DD-1.

Also note about new s.r. - 27500 for freq.12650 H for DD's previous DTH channels.

Best regards
Dharmesh

From Herb Gardiner

Daystar tv is up and running again on B3 Globecast mux.

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 4014 V Occasional feeds on , SR 5632, FEC 3/4.

AsiaSat 3 105.5E 12511 H Occasional feeds on , SR 4340, FEC 3/4.

AsiaSat 2 100.5E 3905 H "Reuters World News Service" is encrypted again.

NSS 6 95E 12646 V New SR for the TARBS World TV mux on : 28066.
NSS 6 95E 12650 H New SR for the Doordarshan mux on : 27500. Indian beam
NSS 6 95E 12730 V "DD Bangla, DD Saptagiri, DD Malayalam, DD Oriya and DD Gujarati" have started on , Fta, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, PIDs 503/603-508/608,
Indian beam.

Yamal 201 90E 3989 L "Shkolnik TV" has left , moved to 3674 L.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3671 H "Thai TV Global Network" has started on , Fta, PIDs 7201/7202, no SID.(Global Beam RRsat mux)
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3840 V "Sadhna Super Channel" has started testing on ,Fta, PIDs 321/322.(Asia Beam)

NEWS

Latest on Foxtel Dispute

From http://www.union-network.org/unitelecom.nsf/0/90948A5FC872EB96C1256EA100490731?OpenDocument

Subscribers to Foxtel's new digital Pay-TV service face 18-month delays after the operator turned refused to negotiate with disgruntled contractors. The Pay-TV operator has been offering "self-installation" for subscribers, and even investigated paying couriers to perform the "migration" of existing connections to digital in order to bypass the subcontractors. Subcontractors are so incensed they have flagged expanding industrial action to include cable internet connection and even Telstra phone line maintenance.

Foxtel CEO Kim Williams refused to attend a forum designed to address the subcontractors concerns over inadequate rates. Instead Foxtel has been supporting connection contractor BSA's attempts to avoid dealing with unions representing installation subcontractors. "BSA will have to start to open the door for CEPU recognition or face increasing industrial turmoil in their business," says CEPU Organiser Shane Murphy. Recent industrial action by subcontractors secured increased rates in the order of 10% to 20% in some areas, although for some jobs, including satellite installation, there has been no increase in rates at all. The CEPU is calling for future pay increases of "at least CPI or better" for subcontractors.

Foxtel on course, despite the bumps and grinds

From http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/27/1085641651092.html

Foxtel still expects to be profitable by mid-2006 and to have converted all customers to its digital service that year, according to the head of the pay TV group, Kim Williams.

He also said he still expects to have the service in 35 per cent of Australian homes by 2008.

But Mr Williams conceded in his speech at a business lunch yesterday that problems with technical contractors in past months have delayed the installation of Foxtel's heavily marketed digital service.

Sales of the digital service now well exceed 250,000, but only 140,000 have been installed in homes. Mr Williams would not say how many sales were to new customers.

In April, a month after it had launched its digital service amid great fanfare, Foxtel - jointly owned by Telstra, Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch - was forced to curtail its $15 million advertising campaign in the face of problems installing the service.

Demand for digital Foxtel outstripped the company's ability to install the service, partly because of a technicians' strike - now resolved - but also because of inadequate technical and call-centre staffing.

"We have worked with our installation contracting companies to address the issues with the installers - rates, work practices and work flow," Mr Williams said yesterday.

"We have substantially boosted and stabilised installation capacity. In fact, we are now achieving more than double the rate of daily digital installations compared with the launch on March 14 and more than treble the rate in January and February before our digital launch," he said.

Many new and existing customers might still have to wait up to several months before their digital service was installed, but Mr Williams said queues were "synonymous with virtually all successful consumer product launches".

"They are a nice problem to have when one considers the alternative," he argued.

He said also that most customers buying the new service were buying premium packages.

"Just 3 per cent of Foxtel digital subscribers are taking our entry level package, basic-only, which compares with 20 per cent on the pre-digital service," he said.

(Craigs comment, only 3 percent are taking the basic digital service because the other %97 signing up are totally unaware the $48 basic digital service exists. Take a look here at the choices available http://www.foxtel.com.au/1323.htm SURPRISE!! there isn't a basic service listed!)

The reality of Pay TV

From http://www.crikey.com.au/media/2004/05/28-0004.html

A recent Media section in The Australian, which is published by News Ltd, the owner of 25 per cent of Foxtel, had a long story on how Pay TV's advertising revenue was rising, up from $67 million in 2002, to $93 million last year. "Pay TV ads pack a powerful punch" screamed the headline.

Well, seeing it was a News Ltd paper, Mandy Rice Davies' observation springs to mind of that "they would say that, wouldn't they". But how did the reporter know that the punch was powerful? Not a mention of viewing numbers of any sort in the article. As Crikey observed last week, there's a real dearth of information about who watches PAY TV's many channels.

Pay-TV's performance gap

Foxtel and its spokespeople, from CEO Kim Williams down, remain coy about just how many subscribers the Pay TV group has, how many these are switching from analogue to the new digital service, and how many actual new subscribers are being signed up.

Compared to the amount of information about Free to Air (FTA) watching patterns, Pay remains a black hole, emitting very little light or information and as a result comparisons are hard to make. Well Crikey can help. The numbers are out there, not actual bums on seats at home watching (hopefully some kind soul will read this and fill this gap in Crikey's knowledge) but share points for the various Pay TV channels and overall share figures for subscription TV and FTA.

Oztam, the ratings group, provide five city metro share figures for the FTA and Subscription TV (STV). So far this year among the FTA Networks, there's been a small shift in market share with Nine losing some ground. But while Ten has had good gains, SBS has seen the biggest rise in its share.

For Pay TV, the numbers show it more popular during the day but suffers a significant turn off from 6pm onwards when prime time viewing starts on the FTA networks. That's a significant development as Foxtel would have us believe that Pay TV is a significant alternative at all times to FTA.

It isn't and the turn off is a 'death' trait for any program or network, especially in the peak night viewing period. What Pay TV's spinners don't say is that to suffer a turn-off in the highest viewing period of the day is tantamount to admitting that viewers want to see the FTA programs which are often first run local and imported product.

And the ban on "the siphoning" of popular sports programs would be a factor, but not as important to regular viewing habits as Foxtel would have us believe. It is significant to Foxtel however because it prevents the use of popular live sports programming as a driver to gather up and maintain subscriptions. That's what happens in Britain with News Corp associate, Sky.

The Oztam numbers also show that Pay TV's share is highest in Sydney, followed by Melbourne and then Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Crikey has not yet seen the regional Oztam figures. The turn off also happens in all major metro markets.

So look first at the 18-hour period from 6am to 11.59 pm. So far this year Oztam says Pay TV's share has gone from an average of 13.9 per cent in the first survey, to 12.4 per cent in Survey Four which started on May 16. FTA's share has risen, from 86.1 per cent to 87.7 per cent. In Sydney in the same period Pay TV's share of all viewing has eased from 16.1 per cent to 14.7 per cent. FTA's share has risen. In Melbourne a similar story, but in Brisbane Pay's share is up and the FTA share is down.

When you get to Adelaide and Perth, the FTA habit is strongest. In the South Australian capital for example, FTA's share has risen from 89.3 per cent to 90.3 per cent in the first week of Survey Four, according to Oztam. Pay's share has sunk from 10.7 per cent to 9.7 per cent, a sharp fall.

In Perth Pay's share has fallen sharply, from a 10 per cent average in the first survey to only 6.3 per cent in the first week of Survey four. In contrast FTA's share rose to 93.7 per cent the highest share in the five major cities. Pay's share in Perth was the lowest for the 18-hour period.

But look at the changes in the 6pm to 11.59pm period, the prime time period where the FTA networks compete so strongly. Nationally Pay TV's share this year averaged 9.9 per cent in Survey One1, then eased to 8.9 per cent by the first week of Survey Four. Compared to the 18 period, those figures are about a third lower. The National FTA share is higher at just over 91 per cent.

Looking at the Pay share in Sydney in the 6pm to 11.59pm period, there's a smaller drop-off, from 12.5 per cent to 11.5 per cent, in Melbourne its from 9.8 per cent to 8.4 per cent, in Adelaide, 7.9 per cent to 7.5 per cent and Perth, from 6.1 per cent to 4.5 per cent. In Brisbane there's no change, 10 per cent in Survey One and the same share at the start of Survey Four.

But if you look at Oztam's figures which breakdown Pay TV into channels on the same basis as the FTA Networks, there's an even greater contrast.

In the week May 16 to May 22 for the prime time of 6pm to 11.59pm for the five city metro markets, ABC had a 15.3 per cent share, Seven, 21.8 per cent, Nine, 25 per cent, Ten, 21.6 per cent and SBS 4.7 per cent.

Of the 31 Pay TV channels measured individually and reported by Oztam, not one reached a one per cent share, the highest being Fox 8 and TV 1 with a 0.6 per cent share, followed by Fox Sports One and Two, Lifestyle Showtime, UK TV with a half a per cent share. Looking at the 18 hour period, from 6am to 11.59pm and the picture is a little better for Pay, confirming that viewing is higher during the non- prime time periods during the day.

In the 18 hours the top rating Pay channels were Fox 8 with a 0.9 per cent share, followed by TV 1 with a 0.8 per cent share. Interestingly Disney had a rating during this period of 0.6 per cent, which is when lots of younger children who are not at school, might be watching. FTA share is lower in this period with Nine the loser, down to 23.5 per cent from 25 per cent, ABC, Ten, and Seven lose a smidge, but that's all. SBS drops sharply as well.

Another interesting point is that looking solely at the share of the FTA networks in the year so far, there's a definite drop in the Nine Network's share, down from 27.4 per cent share in the first period to 25 per cent in the first week of week four. Seven's has edged up a touch from 21.4 per cent to 21.8 per cent, the ABC recorded a small gain, up from 15 per cent to 15.3 per cent, while the big gains were made by Ten, up from 20 per cent to 21.6 per cent and SBS, up from 3.7 per cent to 4.7 per cent, which, proportionally is the biggest gain of all.

KOREA: DMB opens age of hi-tech convergence

From http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=11560

DMB to provide television and radio programs to wireless terminals such as mobile phones

The satellite DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting) system, expected to start commercial service in the second half of the year, embodies one of the most advanced current receiver technologies.

The system is designed to provide television and radio programs to mobile phones, laptop computers and other devices via satellite transmission, with the user able to pickup broadcast signals in vehicles moving at up to 150 kilometers an hour.

SK Telecom, Korea's largest mobile-phone operator, and its Japanese partner Mobile Broadcasting Corp., launched the world's first satellite for DMB use in March. TU Media, 30 percent owned by SK Telecom, expects to handle the satellite services, providing 11 to 12 television and 26 audio channels and data services to the country's three mobile-phone operators. Monthly fees are expected to be around 12,000 to 15,000 won.

TU Media displayed its satellite DMB technology at a high-tech exhibition in Seoul last week, where mobile-phone manufacturers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics also introduced their newly developed DMB phones for the first time.

The Korean Broadcasting Commission will make its final decision on the company to be granted the license for satellite DMB business in August, waiting on the National Assembly's decision on revising the current broadcasting law, which bans mobile-phone operators from beaming television programs on the networks.

Most anticipate that the National Assembly will pass the revised broadcasting law, with no clear objections in sight, and expect that TU Media will win the license by default. TU Media expects to start DMB services after September, once it receives a license from the broadcasting commission.

To provide subscribers with broadcast news and entertainment through wireless terminals could be attractive to local mobile-phone operators, desperately in search of relief in an increasingly stagnant telecom market where 75 percent of the total population is already registered as mobile phone users. Industry insiders believe that the DMB services can attract 6 million subscribers after five years and 8 million by 2010.

According to a recent study by the Electronics and Telecommunications Institute, DMB services will generate over 14 trillion won over the next six years in mobile services, equipment and content.

"DMB will succeed CDMA mobile telephony as the major growth engine for Korea's information technology sector, generating an additional demand of 14 million handsets annually and expanding the domestic market of wireless equipment to an annual 1.3 trillion won by 2010," said an official from ETRI's public relations office.

Dongwon Securities analyst Joh Sung-ok expects SK Telecom's market dominance, controlling 52 percent of the country's mobile-phone subscribers, to be strengthened should the DMB services make a successful start.

"SK Telecom's advanced level of development will likely give them more control of the local wireless market once the DMB services kick in. The number portability policy had a minimal impact on SK Telecom's dominance in the local wireless industry. And now they seem to have secured the advantage in a new market with huge commercial potential," he said.

TU Media is currently negotiating with mobile-phone operators KTF and LG Telecom Co. over the distribution of earnings in the DMB business. However, the talks haven't been going smoothly, with KTF even threatening to abandon its plans to join TU Media as a shareholder. TU Media insists on distributing 6 to 7 percent of subscriber service fees to mobile-operators. However, KTF and LG Telecom insist they should take 50 percent of the earnings, since TU Media will rely on their user pool and distribution channels.

Some industry insiders also complain of the high royalty payments to be imposed on Korean phone manufacturers once the high-priced DMB phones hit the market.

DMB phones expect to be sold at around 700,000 won to 800,000 won, meaning Korean phone manufacturers will be forced to pay hefty royalties to U.S. chipset maker Qualcomm, which takes 5.25 percent of every CDMA-based handset sold in Korea.

27/05/04

Some good news items in the news section lately be sure to have read. My email is flakey today so no Lyngsat or Jon's Asia Weekly Column in todays update.

Daystar TV will start June 1st on Globecast B3. I wonder how long before the Mormon's are knocking on Globecasts door?

Sun TV which is a Tamil pay channel is also now listed on 12524V (just Colour bars at the moment). Website for the service is www.suntvaustralia.com

State of Origin, was seen B1 12316H 6980 Vpid 308 Apid 256 and of course FTA on ABC Asia Pacific.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Bruce

eSat bi -directional internet

Hi Craig.just a note to inform you of an existing bi-directional internet service that is available anywhere in New Zealand now.We are the installers for the Wanaka area.Check out their site at www.esat.co.nz . there is a number of units already in service throughout the country,both islands.

Regards Bruce Barnett,
Barnetts Radio and T.V.Service,
Wanaka.

From Mohammed Joned

Euro 2004

Sport Live Coverage

Champion League
RCTI via Palapa C2
RTM1 via Measat 1
VTV3 via MEasat 1

Euro 2004

RCTI via Palapa C2
TV3 via Measat 1

From the Dish

NEWS

ABU with AsiaSat, SARFT to cover 'Poverty Reduction Conference'

From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k4/may/may212.htm

MUMBAI: The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) in cooperation with Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Ltd. (AsiaSat) and the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) of the People's Republic of China is providing the delivery of content relating to the Poverty Reduction Conference being held in Shanghai, China from 25 -27 May to local and national television audiences, says a release.

Broadcasters across the Asia-Pacific region and around the world are being offered satellite interview opportunities via AsiaSat 4 with World Bank president James Wolfensohn, UNDP administrator Mark Malloch Brown, Asian Development Bank vice president Geert van der Linden, UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot and others.

"This is a conference on how to take successful programmes and scale them up; how to enable poor people to be the central force for change and not an object of charity; and how to manage programmes and policies over time to achieve results that truly make a difference in people's life," says the World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn.

Co-organised by the Government of the People's Republic of China and the World Bank, the Shanghai Poverty Reduction Conference will be structured as a dialogue in which key decision-makers will share their insights on what has worked, what has not, and why, within various economic, social, and institutional contexts as they defined goals, designed programs, experimented and learned during implementation.

"By actively giving access and participation in this international conference we are ensuring regional and national participation to a very important global dialogue," said ABU secretary-general David Astley. He added "Our objective here is to make international news as accessible on local, national and regional television and radio as it is through the international news carriers, and to make such knowledge and information more accessible to local audiences."

Among the six hundred participants invited to attend, more than 500 represents international and local registrants, representatives of governments, civil society groups, U.N. agencies, multilateral development institutions, bilateral aid agencies, and regional development banks.

"We are very pleased to work with both the ABU and SARFT on this project. The high-powered region-wide C-band footprint of AsiaSat 4 facilitates the dissemination of regional news and events to audiences around the region and beyond. We are honoured to play a role in the global dialogue on poverty reduction," said Sabrina Cubbon, general manager marketing of AsiaSat.

By providing interview opportunities and access to information generating from the global conference, the ABU and AsiaSat seek to increase regional participation in the global economic development dialogue.

This first-time collaboration between the ABU and the development organisations in reaching local and national broadcasters attempts to address information access issues for countries generally unable to participate in such events, adds the release.

(Craigs comment, a bit late but scan Asiasat 4 anyway)

Budget 2004: More radio and television funding

From Press Release: New Zealand Government

Hon Steve Maharey
Minister of Broadcasting

More radio and television funding

A $20.6 million Budget 2004 package supports broadcasters to get New Zealand stories and people on air, says Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey.

The new funding builds on substantial increases committed in previous budgets and signals the government's commitment to support the development of New Zealand's cultural identity through radio and television.

"NZ on Air receives an additional $12 million (all figures over four years unless otherwise stated) to maintain local television programming hours as costs of production rise and to increase the quality and diversity of the projects it supports.

"An additional $4.7 million is going to Radio New Zealand to enable it to:

enhance its news, current affairs and features programming;

develop the RNZ website to provide audio on demand;

carry out more in depth audience research; and

promote National Radio on FM.

"Radio New Zealand International also receives $3.9 million over three years starting in 2005-06 (including $2.6 million capital funding in that year) to buy and operate a new transmitter (announced on 18 May 2004).

"Television New Zealand receives increased funding next year to implement its charter, as part of decisions announced in Budget 2003. Direct funding for charter programming rises from $15 million this financial year to $16 million in 2004-05 and $17 million annually from 2005-06 onwards," Steve Maharey said.

(Craigs comment, I hope some of its put into expanding the Satellite service..)

Regional television gives budget black mark!

From Press Release: Regional Television Broadcasting Association

The Regional Television Broadcasting Association of New Zealand (RTBA) is outraged that the Government in today's budget has once again failed to deliver on its repeated promises to provide funding support for the country's regional television stations.

RTBA chairman Jim Blackman says the lack of budget funding is particularly galling when successive Labour Governments and Ministers have continually promised the struggling channels that support would be forthcoming.

He says this latest slap in the face makes those promises even more hollow when support for regional TV has been highlighted as important and published as part of the party's broadcasting manifesto election after election.

This lip service claim of support is clearly a smokescreen and verges on dishonesty.

The current Minister of Broadcasting has claimed repeatedly that he supported a funding application to Government but despite several comprehensive submissions from the Regional Television Broadcasting Association, there has been no support at all.

"We were certainly not expecting the level of taxpayer assistance that has been showered on Maori TV by this Government ($57million) or the ex gratia TVNZ top-up of $12 million to help it 'meet its charter obligations'," says Mr Blackman.

"Many of our stations currently meet and exceed charter requirements and have been doing so for years. Our members operate far more economic operations on shoestring budgets than other broadcasters. All we are seeking is assistance to provide local news and current affairs services. This is not unreasonable given the massive amounts these other channels have expediently received."

A small amount of support would also enable regional television channels to significantly increase the quality of programming.

"Twenty per cent of the people surveyed in recent research undertaken by NZ on Air watch regional television. If a television programme on mainstream television attracted 20 per cent of viewers, that would be cause for celebration. Perhaps regional television and its viewers are not elitist or 'trendy' enough to be considered important."

Mr Blackman says that the increasing number of people who tune into regional television channels is proof of the value and popularity of a viewing alternative. While many seek safe, family viewing, others gain a sense of participation and reinforce their New Zealand or ethnic identify or their own values and experiences - aspects of television broadcasting that mainstream broadcasters continue to struggle to deliver.

"It is clear this Government simply does not intend to recognise the worth of regional television. But a national regional television service can survive in the long term only with some assistance from the Government. If stations fail, the Labour Government can only blame itself."

(Craigs comment, the regionals need to get real here a lot of them are running "filler" e.g Dwelle, Bloomberg, CCTV9 which is hardly relevent as "local regional tv")

Foxtel on track to hit targets

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/27/1085461888823.html

Foxtel is on track to hit its target of profitability by mid 2006, chief executive Kim Williams said.

He also said the company is on track to convert all its customers to digital by 2006 and it was on track to achieve minimum penetration of 25 per cent by 2008.

Speaking at an Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce luncheon, he said that as of Thursday morning, just over two months since the launch of Foxtel digital, the company has sold well in excess of one million subscriptions and installed more than 140,000 homes.

Digital sales to date, combined with Austar's sales, were well in excess of 400,000.

(Craigs comment, who does he think he's kidding...)

Digital watch

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/26/1085461820943.html

They say that if you have your health and good friends, you have everything you really need in life. But then there is television. We can deny it as much as we like, but we cannot live without it. On average, Australians watch about 22 hours of TV a week. One in three Melbourne households has three TVs or more. Even then, we cannot watch everything, so 62 per cent of us have one video-cassette recorder in our homes, and one in four of us has two or more of them. As if that's not enough, 24 per cent of us have pay TV connected to provide another 40 or 50 channels of choice.

But it's not just what we watch that matters. Increasingly, it's how we watch it. Retailers report that sales of home-theatre systems, giant plasma screens and projectors that can turn a bare lounge-room wall into a giant TV screen, are rocketing. So are sales of digital set-top boxes that allow us to view free-to-air TV in its new digital form, with better pictures, better sound and access to new services, such as enhanced sports coverage. Commercial Television Australia, which represents the commercial networks, says that with digital set-top-boxes selling for as little as $250 - compared to $700 when they were introduced - 322,000 units have been sold, and recent monthly sales have exceeded 30,000.

The daddy of them all, however, is Foxtel Digital. You cannot have missed the ads for it on TV and the constant spruiking of it in the press, particularly the News Ltd papers, whose parent company owns 25 per cent of the pay TV company. And the hype is working. More than 100,000 Australian households have been connected to the new service in just a few months. Another 150,000 are in the queue for digital pay TV, with some being told they might be connected in August or September. Foxtel says 13,000 homes are being connected each week, despite recent industrial action by installers, which delayed work for several weeks.

It seems that most joining the service are existing Foxtel subscribers upgrading to digital. Despite spending a reported $15 million to market the service, only a quarter of those riding the digital wave are said to be new subscribers. That must worry Foxtel executives, who hoped the new service would almost double the company's current subscriber base of 1.1 million Australian homes by 2008. But that's their problem.

The important question is whether it works. After almost two months of having Foxtel Digital at home, I'm not convinced that the extra $20 a month that I'm paying (all up, almost $100 a month) is worth it. I have access to a few extra channels, including one that is wall-to-wall European sport and another that seems pitched at skate-boarding teenage hoons, and heaps of new audio-only music channels. But mostly it's the same old channels looking slightly clearer than they did before, with enhancements on a few of them that I hardly ever use.

For example, on one AFL football game a week, I can press a button on the remote control and watch a replay of a goal from a different angle. On the Sky News channel, I can press the button and get access to Federal Parliament. The magic button also gives me access to a range of pay-per-view movies costing $5.95 each, on top of the monthly bill.

But there are two much more important issues for those with Foxtel Digital. The first is the remote control unit. In the good old days, we could have two channels on the go at once, pressing just one button to alternate between them. It was a handy device, especially if we were watching a movie but wanting to keep an eye on the cricket score. The new remote controls do not allow that convenience. We have to return to the complicated and time-consuming electronic TV guide, scroll through to the category of program we want (movies, sport, news, entertainment, etc), scroll through the array of channels available within that category and then press "select". It is a fundamental and very annoying flaw in the new system.

The second is even more crucial. In the good old days (here we go again), we received a monthly magazine detailing every program on every channel for the forthcoming month. We could plan, circling with a pen the movies, shows or sporting events we wanted to watch up to four weeks in advance. It was an excellent and handy guide. Now, digital customers get no magazine. All the channel numbers have changed. Viewers must use the cumbersome on-screen program guide, which is difficult to navigate and only extends out for a week in advance, not a month.

Setting the planner to alert you to a program you want to watch is complicated and, anyway, you have to be watching TV when the show begins to be reminded that it is on. I have missed so many good movies because taking the arduous journey through the on-screen guide for just one week can take an hour or more and is too much of a chore.

Pay TV is a luxury. The more expensive digital version is an even greater luxury. And until Foxtel makes it cheaper and more viewer friendly, I suspect most Australians will stay away.

PAIBOON: The man who’ll launch ShinSat into a new era

From http://nationmultimedia.com/page.news.php3?clid=6&id=114368&usrsess=1

Paiboon Panuwattanawong carries the weight of a satellite on his shoulders, specifically Shin Satellite Plc’s soon-to-be-launched broadband Internet satellite iPSTAR.

Dumrong Kasemset, chairman of Shin Satellite Plc, once described Paiboon as one of his most valuable staff members due to his being in charge of ShinSat’s Thaicom 1, 2 and 3 satellite projects since the start in 1994.

There is no doubt that Paiboon, 44, is one of the few Thais who knows all the nooks and crannies of the industry.

That is why ShinSat, founded by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s family, entrusted Paiboon to run the newly founded iPSTAR Co, which is developing the US$350-million (Bt14 billion) iPSTAR project.

“Initially we didn’t think of making iPSTAR but a fourth conventional satellite. Later we switched to iPSTAR to ride on the wave of regional broadband Internet growth,” said fast-car lover Paiboon.

ShinSat started the iPSTAR project in 1997 to be the flagship of the Thaksin family business. It will be sent into orbit late next quarter.

“It’ll break even once 30 per cent of its capacity is occupied,” Paiboon said.

More than 10 per cent of the satellite’s capacity had already been reserved, said an iPSTAR executive who asked not to be named.

The satellite’s shadow will cover Asia and Australia as it taps millions of broadband Internet users.

Paiboon said that initially the satellite would offer as much as 200 gigabytes before being reduced to 40 gigabytes to keep investment costs down.

Getting iPSTAR off the ground has been no easy task. Shortly after the project was initiated the baht nose-dived, discouraging foreign lenders. It took a year and a half for the money to arrive.

As part of it pre-launch drill, iPSTAR will shortly undergo a vibration test after recently passing a thermal-vacuum test.

Paiboon has focused his attention on the technical, operations and management side of the business, leaving sales to someone else.

“I’m not good at the money thing. If I could go back in time, I would have enrolled in a finance course,” Paiboon said.

The whiz kid bagged bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electric engineering from Yale University and Carnegie Mellon University respectively.

He was not a satellite expert to start with, but picked up the technological know-how after joining ShinSat as a satellite-systems manager in 1992.

Before that, he worked at Seagate Technology (Thailand) as a quality-assurance manager and later at AT&T Telecommunications Products (Thailand) as a product-realisation engineer.

He said he could still remember the thrill he experienced when ShinSat assigned him as a mission manager for the Thaicom 1 satellite launch in 1994, making him the first Thai to assume such a role.

“I was the only Thai mission manager in the launch-control room. I was working with foreign staff from the launch firm. My role was to make the final decision on whether the satellite was ready to go,” he said.

In terms of his management style, Paiboon said he believed in giving his staff a chance to express their talent and trying to keep them happy.

“As there’s just a few satellite experts in Thailand, we have to treat them well,” he added.

Working in the Shinawatra-family satellite business, Paiboon has had to learn to cope with external pressure, since its every move has drawn plenty of attention from the public and opposition parties.

Paiboon knows he cannot relax and spend time pursuing his favourite sport, hang gliding, until iPSTAR is safely in orbit.

He will not, however, have too much time to relax as he has another big endeavour waiting.

With the Thaicom 1 satellite due to expire in 2008, ShinSat is now mulling over whether to replace it with a conventional satellite or one with iPSTAR technology.

“If iPSTAR is successful, perhaps we’ll create another iPSTAR to replace Thaicom 1,” Paiboon said.

Zarlink Tuner First To Meet Full Performance Demands of Stringent Industry Standard for Advanced Satellite Services

From Press Release

OTTAWA, CANADA, May 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zarlink Semiconductor (NYSE/TSX:ZL) today introduced the ZL10038 device, the industry's first single- chip tuner to fully comply with the new DVB-S2 (Digital Video Broadcast- Satellite 2) international transmission standard. The ZL10038 tuner is designed for advanced satellite STBs (set-top boxes) delivering high-speed Internet, HDTV (high-definition TV) and other broadband services to consumers.

With equipment meeting the demanding benchmarks of the DVB-S2 standard, satellite TV companies can offer cost-effective, bandwidth-intensive services such as affordable high-speed Internet for rural areas not reached by other broadband technologies, increased TV channel selection, and expanded HDTV services.

Recent satellite Internet deployments have been hampered by the price of bandwidth and equipment. Improved bandwidth capacity provided by advances in higher order signal processing techniques outlined by the DVB-S2 standard, combined with new two-way satellite access technology, enables the cost- effective rollout of broadband Internet access services.

For TV broadcasting, DVB-S2 provides 30 percent more bandwidth than previous satellite standards, allowing operators to broadcast 25 standard definition or six HDTV channels from a conventional 33 MHz transponder.

"There is a growing need for sophisticated and affordable set-top boxes that deliver bandwidth-intensive services," said Bob Ferreira, product line director, Consumer Communications, Zarlink Semiconductor. "Our advanced modulation ZL10038 tuner is a highly integrated, compact chip that is implemented directly on the set-top box motherboard, making it simpler and less costly to use than discrete component approaches."

The market for DVB-S2 devices is expected to grow quickly over the next 24 months, primarily due to North American demand for satellite broadband access and HDTV services. Global equipment manufacturers are now evaluating the ZL10038 tuner for next-generation STBs. More than 55% of DVB-S compliant STBs manufactured in China already use Zarlink tuners, according to company research.

Industry's first DVB-S2 tuner chip

The ZL10038 device is a single-chip wideband direct conversion tuner that meets the full DVB-S2 performance requirements by supporting both higher order 8-PSK, and 16-QAM, 16-APSK (amplitude and phase shift keying) modulation schemes. With alignment-free operation, the tuner provides the necessary RF-to- baseband performance required for DVB-S2 systems.

DVB-S2 receiver designers must currently choose between a lower- specification integrated silicon tuner designed for DVB-S (QPSK) applications, or a more expensive high-performance 'can' tuner solution. However, silicon tuners originally designed for QPSK applications do not deliver the low implementation losses needed to receive 8-PSK and 16-QAM signals in real-life operating environments, which include an RF spectrum crowded with strong unwanted signals, signal impairments caused by adverse weather conditions, and poorly installed equipment.

Zarlink's ZL10038 tuner offers low integrated phase jitter (maximum 2 degrees), low IQ (in-phase/quadrature) imbalance, strong intermodulation performance, and high total signal power handling capability to match the performance of DVB-S2 demodulators and provide a front-end solution operating as close as possible to the theoretical maximum (the "Shannon Limit"). Guaranteed tuner performance across the full operating temperature range places the ZL10038 tuner in a class of its own, making it a natural selection for DVB-S2 receivers.

The ZL10038 integrates all major tuner functions, including a selectable RF by-pass, programmable baseband filters, and a VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) that requires no alignment or recalibration and offers both automatic and manual tuning options. A "sleep" mode helps STB designers comply with energy-saving initiatives such as ENERGY STAR(R).

Requiring minimal external components, a compact tuner design based on the ZL10038 device may be implemented on the STB motherboard within an area less than 30 mm x 20 mm. The ZL10038 tuner is pin and application compatible with Zarlink's QPSK (quaternary phase shift keying) tuner, the ZL10036, allowing designers to implement a single application solution for DVB-S, DSS, and DVB-S2 tuners.

Availability and price

The ZL10038 satellite tuner is in production and priced at US$4.55 in volumes of 1,000. For more information, please visit http://products.zarlink.com/profiles/ZL10038.

About Zarlink Semiconductor

For almost 30 years, Zarlink Semiconductor has delivered semiconductor solutions that drive the capabilities of voice, enterprise, broadband and wireless communications. The Company's success is built on its technology strengths, including voice and data networks, consumer and ultra low-power communications, and high-performance analog. For more information, visit http://www.zarlink.com/.

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, among others, the risks discussed in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are encouraged to consider the risks detailed in those filings.

Zarlink, ZL, and the Zarlink Semiconductor logo are trademarks of Zarlink Semiconductor Inc.

A high-resolution photograph is available at http://news.zarlink.com/visual_center/. Zarlink, ZL, and the Zarlink Semiconductor logo are trademarks of Zarlink Semiconductor Inc.

Zarlink Semiconductor

CONTACT: Zarlink, Michael Salter, Media Relations,613 270-7115, michael.salter@zarlink.com; United States, Natalie Sauve,High Road Communications, 613 236-0909, nsauve@highroad.com; Europe, SimonKrelle, Pinnacle Marketing Communications, 44 1908 2355 22,simonk@pinnacle-marketing.com

STAR to celebrate 'Utsav', everyone is invited

From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/701675.cms

MUMBAI: STAR is launching its new entertainment channel STAR Utsav on June 7 as a country cousin to its flagship STAR Plus. It is the network’s 9th channel; but from the point of view of marketing strategy it is significant as it will be the group’s first and only free-to-air channel. Does the move herald the return of a free-to-air strategy for a broadcasting network that has always sung paens to the dual-revenue model of both advertising and subscription fees?

The official line is that STAR Utsav’s target is to expand the cable and satellite (C&S) homes market. For distribution, it is the small towns and district centres that are being targeted.

There are a large number of cable-connected homes in towns where cable operators do not run pay channels. Typically, their bouquets are a few free-to-air enterainment channels with a solitary movie being run as a video feed by the cable operator, a STAR spokesperson said. These audiences have not been exposed to STAR Plus.

“We intend to grow the C&S market not eat into the channel share of our competitors,” Kevin Vaz, STAR’s executive VP-head of sales, told ET. The advertising strategy of the channel similarly aims at getting the ‘mass’ brands on board who aim at semi rural markets and who find STAR Plus’ ad rates too expensive.

‘Utsav’ is also a strategy to compete with and take away advertising now going to several free-to-air channels like SAB TV and Sahara Manoranjan as well as to pay channels like Zee TV

“We intend to get our ratings above that of say Zee TV; that will make us a platform for advertisers keen to associate with programmes like ‘Kyunki Saas..’ but cannot afford STAR Plus rates,” says STAR’s Kevin Vaz. For prime time programmes, ‘Utsav’ will be offering starter rates as low as Rs 51,000 for 30-second spots compared to STAR Plus’ whopping Rs 15 lakh, Mr Vaz added.

STAR has structured ‘Utsav’ as a low-cost channel based on re-runs and with absolutely no expenses budgeted for fresh programming. A spokesperson told ET that since the audience ‘Utsav’ is aiming at are those who have not viewed STAR Plus, the old soaps run on Plus will be repeated. These include the old Neena Gupta’s ‘Saans’ when STAR Plus was still No 3, as well as more recent shows like ‘Rajdhani’ and ‘Kisme Kitna Hai Dum’.

The channel will also air the earlier episodes of currently-running soaps on STAR Plus like ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi...’ and ‘Kundali’. After all ‘Kyunki Saas...’ is now 4 years old. Even those who have seen it, have forgotten what they saw then, a STAR executive said. The inevitable afternoon movie for the housewife will also be part of the menu.

TVC Online: Meanwhile, TVC, a direct sales company that has pioneered teleshopping in India, has launched a 24-hour teleshopping channel called TVC Online. TVC Sky Shop as a teleshopping retailing brand has so far been part of the programming of several channels including STAR Plus, SAB TV and Zee TV. Karuna Samtani, one-time head of programming of Zee TV, is heading the channel TVC Online as executive director.

DTH project to begin next month

From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/701085.cms

NEW DELHI : Doordarshan's ambitious Rs 500 crore DTH project will begin next month offering viewers a bouquet of 40 channels, including some free-to-air private channels.

At a meeting of the Prasar Bharti board here on Wednesday, it was decided to increase the number of channels in the bouquet from 30 to 40, a Prasar Bharti spokesman said.

The board gave approval to a proposal as part of which DD National News and DD India would be available in Britain in partnership with BSkyB, he said.

"DD National News and DD India will be set up on BSkyB's DTH platform for UK viewers. For this, a new company, Prasar Bharti Europe Ltd, will be set up with a share capital of 10,000 pounds," the spokesman said.

He said All India Radio Director General Brijeshwar Singh and his counterpart in DD Navin Kumar would be on the board of the company.

"Also, Prasar Bharti's counsel in Britain , Peter Harvey, will be on the board of the company which will be based and incorporated in London ," he said.

The Prasar Bharti board also gave a go ahead to a Planning Commission approved Rs 50 crore project on development of software on Indian classics and folk tales.