Thread: Satellite News July 2010

Globo tests Internet catch up for TV

The Brazilian broadcasting TV station Globo is trying to offer its content through Internet in new TV sets with IP connection and a free-to-air TV like quality. The channel has already presented a trial broadcasting using 2 Mbps bandwidth. With such technology, TV Globo is getting ready to offer services such as catch up TV and VOD.

The technology Director of the company, Fernando Bitterncourt, pointed out that the business model had not been defined yet, and that, so far, only the technology was being tested. However, hementioned the possibility to offer catch up TV, "which enables the user to recover missed chapters of a series or soap opera". The broadcasting company has already presented this project at a press event where broadcasting via Internet was carried out in an LG device.

According to the Engineering Director of the channel, Raymundo Barros, "Globo does not think low quality video broadcasting will succeed in big screens". That is the reason why, they are focused on "guaranteeing a quality the closest to free-to-air TV quality".

The Argentine Free-to-air DTH service will include 16 channels

The President of Argentine Radio and Television, Tristán Bauer, confirmed that the public free-to-air DTH system, which in 2012 will complement ISDB-T coverage in such country, will offer 16 TV channels, some of them public and others private, generalist, national movies, children, sport, science and educating.

"From the technical to the ideological conception, the system is open to a limited channel package", the officer told newspaper Página 12. The model will be made up by "a generalist channel (Channel 7, TV Pública) and other experimental channels of specific thematic". At present, the system contemplates Channel 7, Encuentro and Radio Nacional. Within the next months, "the children channel Paka Paka, which is the most advanced one, a science channel and a national movie channel will be added". Likewise, a sport channel integrally produced by Channel 7 will be developed.

Since the official project was released, Pay-TV market representatives have expressed their worries regarding such initiative. "The Government will compete with cable TV from the State", stated several times the President of the Argentine Association of cable TV, Walter Burzaco. Bauer recognized that satellite TV is currently seen as "a threat", but pointed out that "both systems will coexist. The public will have a great content and technical quality, and the Pay system will offer more services and options that those offered today".

Sky expands HD reach in Austria
By Robert Briel
Published: July 7, 2010 07.25 Europe/London

Sky Deutschland has signed an agreement with Austrian cable operator B.net to carry all seven HD channels on its network, the has company announced. The new deal expands distribution to cable subscribers in the Burgenland region of the country.

The cabler reaches about 80% of all households in the region, who now have access to Sky Sport HD, Sky Cinema HD, Disney Cinemagic HD, Eurosport HD, Discovery HD, National Geographic HD and History HD.

On July 13, Sky will add three more HD channels to its HD line-up. They are likely to be Sky Sport HD2, Sky Cinema Hits HD and Sky Action HD, though it is not known if B.net will also take these additional channels.

B.net provides about 35,000 homes with triple play services.

HDBaseT specifications finalised
By Robert Briel
Published: July 7, 2010 07.38 Europe/London

LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Valens Semiconductor have announced the formal incorporation of the HDBaseT Alliance and the finalisation of the HDBaseT 1.0 specification, made available to Alliance member companies for CE implementation.

HDBaseT enables the delivery of five key components over a single, LAN Cat5e/6 cable. The features, known as 5Play, include full, uncompressed HD video, audio, internet, controls and power, capable of powering a 32” TV screen with no additional power source. .

The finalisation of the HDBaseT specification paves the way for HDBaseT embedded products to hit the market. The HDBaseT Alliance anticipates products with embedded HDBaseT technology to be available in the second half of 2010, with the majority of adoption taking place in 2011. The specification will also be available for licensing within the second half of 2010.

Development and preparation for an HDBaseT Alliance Compliance Program is currently underway. The Alliance plans to formulate a logo usage and licensing program to ensure consistency and consumers’ ability to recognise interoperable HDBaseT devices in the market.

Vectra extends digital service
By Chris Dziadul
Published: July 7, 2010 07.41 Europe/London

Poland’s second largest cable operator Vectra has extended its digital TV service to three more cities. With the addition of Swinoujscie, Dzierzoniów and Bielawa, it is now available in a total of 48 locations.

Vectra’s digital TV service currently offers over 255,000 subscribers a total of 146 TV channels and 13 radio stations. Uniquely, they include local TV services in 83 cities, along with a national proprietary channel named VectraMedia.tv.

The service in addition includes 12 standard HD channels, along with Canal+ and HBO premium HD channels, as well as multiroom and a PVR with a 320 GB hard disk.

Vectra plans to shortly also add VOD to its offer.

Network18, Sun form distribution JV

In a significant development that is set to deeply impact the industry, Network18 Group and Sun Network have formed a distribution joint venture company.

The new entity, to be called Sun18, will start with the distribution of 33 channels across all platforms including cable, DTH, IPTV, HITS and MMDS.

The alliance also marks the entry of Network18 Group into the Indian television distribution space. It also ends Viacom18's deal with TheOneAlliance, the Sony-Discovery joint venture which distributes channels.

Interestingly, the Network18 group channels (CNN-IBN, CNBC-TV18, CNBC-Awaaz, IBN-7 and IBN-Lokmat) move from the Star Den JV, which also distributes the Star channels, to Sun18.

Sun18 also gets to distribute the Viacom18 channels - Colors, MTV, Nick and Vh1. The new JV will also handle the Disney channels - The Disney Channel, Disney XD and Hungama TV.

Sun18 will have India's largest multilingual network comprising Sun TV, KTV, Sun News, Sun Music, Chutti TV, Adithya, Gemini TV, Teja TV, Gemini News, Gemini Music, Navvulu TV, Kushi TV, Surya TV, Kiran TV, Udaya TV, Udaya Movies, U2, Udaya Varthegalu, Ushe TV and Chintu TV.

"With these 33 channels, the Sun18 bouquet is already the highest GRP delivering bouquet in the Indian television space. The option to aggregate third party channels is also one of the opportunities this venture will seek to explore," an official statement said.

As part of the strategic alliance, two new companies are being formed - Sun18 Media Services North Co. and Sun18 Media Services South Co.

Left to Right- Tony D’ Silva, Ajay Vidyasagar, Kalanithi Maran, Raghav Bahl, Haresh Chawla, Rajesh Kamat

While Sun18 South will manage the South India market (non Hindi-speaking-markets) and will be operated by the Sun Network, Sun18 North will manage the rest of India markets and will be operated by the Network18 Group.

Sun18 North will be headed by Haresh Chawla (Group CEO - Network18 and Viacom18) as its CEO & director. Rajesh Kamat (Viacom18 Group COO & CEO Colors), will be the COO of Sun18 North. Sun18 South will be headed by Tony D'Silva as its CEO.

Said Network18 Group founder Raghav Bahl, "This partnership extends Network18's presence into yet another critical component of the Indian television & entertainment space. In Sun Group, we've found a partner that not only complements our own strengths, but is also as ambitious to change the landscape of the Indian broadcasting industry."

He further added, "Distribution is one of the high-growth areas in this industry and we're excited to now have a presence in this part of the business as well."

Sun Network CMD Kalanithi Maran said, "Sun18 is a very important initiative for us in the distribution platform business and is being created with the vision of better leveraging our very successful television brands across the country. The content assets and resources of Sun TV Network and Network 18, will enable us to continue to thrive in an ever-changing media landscape. Consumers of all of our products - on screens large and small - will have the benefit of enhanced content and experiences, delivered to them in new and better ways as a result of this initiative. It also signals our deep commitment to drive greater growth from subscription revenues."

Commenting on Sun18, Haresh Chawla said, "This unique alliance will bridge one of the widest gaps that has existed in the Indian television space for long - the gap between the South and the rest-of-India markets."

Closing the whole sale



Continental Europe can teach the UK market a thing or two on the packaging of premium channels, writes Julian Clover.

The football season is a little like the flat racing season in so far as one week the competition ends, the champion jockey announced, and the following day it starts all over again.

In preparation for this the advertisements are already starting to appear, Sky letting BT know that it may have Sky Sports 1 and 2, but the satcaster is holding onto the HD versions and will now have Sky Sports News because the channel is being pulled from DTT. BT, which uses the terrestrial platform to deliver its linear channels will have to wait until around 2012 before it has the ability to send anything other than VOD down the pipe.

Whatever the truth behind the pricing of its £16.99, two channel bundle, it seems hard to believe that the telco did not factor in the possibility of a last minute price increase to consumers that triggered the same on Ofcom’s Wholesale Must Offer ratecard.

In the past Sky has said it would be happy to allow its premium channels onto rival platforms providing that it was able to retain control of the customer. The old HomeChoice would offer its subscribers access to the Sky premium channels through something called Sky by Wire.

It is a similar premise under which Viasat has developed its virtual operator agreements in Scandinavaia. Most recently signing with Com Hem, agreements are also in place with Telia in Sweden, Telenor in Sweden and Norway, Elion in Estonia, as well as with Tele2’s cable TV operation in Sweden.

Under the agreements Viasat offers a collection of both its free and pay-TV channels including the TV1000 movie and Viasat Sport packages.

But Sky is also practicing the scheme overseas, or to be precise its sister company Sky Deutschland is doing so with some of Germany’s cable operators. In May Net Cologne was unveiled as the first participant, Sky forming a part of a new triple play offer by the cablenet, to which both Sky and NetCologne are contributing. Although Sky will continue to hold the relationship with the customer, the billing will come from the cablenet. Pricing is on a par with subscriptions paid on the satellite service.

This was followed last month when Kabel BW and Sky Deutschland agreed to the cabler combining its CleverKabel broadband and telephony offers with Sky subscriptions including the Bundesliga packages.

There is of course a history of such wholesaling in continental Europe where in the days before digital the only time a decoder was needed for the cable package was when the, probably solitary, premium channel was on order.

The arrangement with Virgin, tied up with the sale of the VMtv channels completed this week, is on the face of it a more traditional UK cable deal with the consumer buying straight from the cableco. The UK market may have to learn to love wholesaling.

Slow track DTT

It’s hard to believe that one of the most dynamic TV markets in Central and Eastern Europe is making such a pig’s ear of its transition to digital broadcasting.

While most countries are progressing steadily and three – Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia – will have completed the process this year – Poland has struggled to even launch a DTT platform. Indeed, even Romania and Bulgaria, which were until recently considered laggards in digitisation, should have full operations up and running within a matter of months.

Following years of wrangling, Poland did in fact launch its first multiplex in September last year. However, EmiTel, a wholly owned subsidiary of the incumbent telco TPSA, has only been able to operate it on a temporary basis in a limited number of locations and it is considered to be a ‘trial’ service.

The last 10 months has seen considerable debate about the make-up of what will eventually be Poland’s first three multiplexes. This has fortunately now ended and there is agreement, which is in itself a sign of real progress.

The roadblock is essentially over licensing conditions and has pitted the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) against the Government Legislation Centre. Annoyed by the latter’s refusal to accept the regulator’s proposal, the head of the KRRiT has threatened to write to the Prime Minister in protest.

No doubt a deal will eventually be reached, though there will certainly be more twists and turns before a full DTT service is finally up and running.

When it is, it will be interesting to see just how it fares in a market that has such highly developed cable and DTH sectors. The former, which is bracing itself for a period of consolidation, is dominated by four progressive and ambitious operators, while the latter is served by no fewer than five platforms. Together, they already provide services to around two thirds of Polish TV homes.