Satellite News Room

[uzm@n]

Satellite news 20.12.07

News

Three more HD channels for CanalSat

Canal Satellite Numérique will offer three more HD channels during 2008. The news was broken during a special online chat session on the TPS website with Thierry Chamouton (director client relations at CanalSat) and Amaury Lelong (director of the TPS/CanalSat migration project). The online session with subscribers was intended to give more information about the migration process of TPS subscribers, who now watch Hot Bird, to CanalSat, which uses Astra. TPS subscribers will lose a number of channels after shut down of the Hot Bird platform, including the M6 music channels Rock and Pop, Baby TV, the travel channel Odyssée and probably Fun TV. The Meteo Express interactive weather forecasts will also not be available. The reason is the lack of transponder capacity on the 19 degrees East Astra position. TPS subscribers have also learned that subscriptions outside of France will not be allowed and that smart card only subscribers and SMATV homes will migrate during Q2 2008.

Christmas campaign for BBC iPlayer

The BBC has given details of the promotional campaign that will be used to back the iPlayer catch-up TV service. As was previously reported in Broadband TV News, the iPlayer will officially launch on Christmas Day, although the revamped player went live last week. The revamped application is now capable of streaming content to Mac and Linux machines as well as providing downloads to PCs running Windows. The first spots will feature BBC personalities David Attenborough, Jo Whiley and Jeremy Clarkson and clips from popular programmes including Clarkson's Top Gear. The ads have been made by Red Bee Media from a creative developed by RKCR/Y&R. The strapline is 'BBC iPlayer. Making the unmissable, unmissable'.

Sky waits for Competition call

BSkyB is preparing to reduce its controversial stake in commercial broadcaster ITV to around 10%. On Friday the Competition Commission sent its report to business secretary John Hutton with a recommendation that Sky dispose of part of its stake. It will be a costly move for the satellite broadcaster that has positioned itself as a "supportive shareholder" in the commercial network. When BSkyB acquired its 17.9% stake in November the holding cost it £940 million, but a continued slide in the value of ITV's shares leaves its asset valued at around £593m. BSkyB could reduce its losses by placing the holding in a trust and disposing of it over time. ITV's other shareholders would be grateful for such a move, as it would prevent further falls in the share price. Mr Hutton has four weeks to give his verdict on the Competition Commission report, though a decision before Christmas is possible.

Freeview driving UK digital growth

Freeview has again been the driver in the UK digital market recording its second-ever largest quarterly increase. According to Ofcom's third quarter Digital Television Progress Report the number of UK households with multichannel television on the main set is now 21.7 million homes, taking multichannel television into 86.1% of households, an increase of 1.1 percentage points. The DTT platform recorded 2.4 million purchases with the crucial second sets figure increasing by 1.3 million on the quarter. The total number of second TV sets converted now stands at 12 million and has risen by 50% over the last year.

Canal Digital Sweden doubles IPTV base

Canal Digital has increased the number of Swedish households that can receive its packages by 150% following a new distribution agreement with Svenska Fibernät. The deal with the communications provider brings the IPTV footprint to 500,000 households. It is an expansion of the Svenska Fibernät TV service for subscribers that will now be able to receive a package of channels that mirrors Canal Digital's DTH satellite service. Subscribers will be able to access the Basic, Family and Canal+ Total packages and three on demand offers from CMore Select, Film2Home and SF Anytime. Canal Digital already has a number of other IPTV agreements in place that are sold to consumers through local agents.

HOT beats YES to HD launch

Israeli cablenet HOT is to launch its HD service on Wednesday (December 19), just four days ahead of its DTH rival YES. Details of the two platform offers are still emerging, but YES is expected to launch with an initial package of four or five channels compared to the two available on YES. The two channels are National Geographic and VOOM. The HOT package is being priced at a monthly NIS55 (€9.53) and a NIS99 installation fee. YES will offer its HD service for NIS39 per month, but with a three-year contract for which there is a NIS1,000 penalty in event that the customer terminates the contract ahead of time. The installation fee is NIS 139.

Premiere HD debuts on Unitymedia cable

On January 1, 2008, Premiere HD will make its debut on the Unitymedia cable networks, being the first HD channel on the cable net. The second HD channel from Premiere, Discovery HD, is set for launch later next year at an as yet undefined date. As of this moment, Premiere claims 90,000 HD subscribers. The pay-TV operator claims it broadcasts 17,000 hours in HD every year. Premiere HD offers a mix of movies in HD, as well as occasional live sports.

Philips to sell STB division to Pace

Philips has announced the sale of its Set-Top Boxes and Connectivity Solutions businesses, currently part of its Home Networks business unit within the Consumer Electronics division, to UK-based technology provider Pace Micro Technology. The announcement followed the earlier suspension of trade in Pace shares on the stock market. Philips agreed in principle to divest the STB and CS businesses to Pace in exchange for 70 million Pace shares, after which Philips will become a 23% shareholder in the combined business, representing a market value of around €90 million calculated with the closing price of Pace shares on December 18. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008 and is subject to approvals from Pace shareholders, the relevant regulatory authorities and Philips' workers council. Generating estimated revenues of €425 million in 2007, the STB and CS businesses together employ approximately 335 people, predominantly based in France, who would transfer to Pace as part of the transaction. The remainder of Home Networks, Home Communications, which includes Internet Telephony and Home Telephony (DECT), will become part of the Peripherals & Accessories unit within Philips' Consumer Lifestyle sector.

Integan wants to postpone sale to Telenet

The management team of the Belgian cable operator Integan has said it wants to postpone the sale of Interkabel's TV activities to Telenet. Last month, Telenet and Interkabel announced a contract between the two companies to hand over all television activities to Telenet. However, the deal was subject to approval from all four operators participating in the Interkabel venture; Integan, Interelektra, PBE and WVEN. Three of the companies seem to agree, but Integan, which is owned by 14 municipalities including the city of Antwerp, now has doubts about the agreement. Earlier this year, Integan installed a committee of specialists to advise the 14 shareholders about the future of the network. The company now wants to first await the advice from the committee before selling the TV services on the network. One of the possible scenarios could be that the cities will also look to sell the networks themselves, not just the rights to deliver services over them.

German DTT now reaches 68 million

According to the transmitter company T-Systems, German DTT will reach 68 million people, or about 85% of the population, by the year-end. Next year, the figure will rise to 90% of the population. In the last 12 months T-Systems has installed 78 transmitters on 26 different sites; next year a further 22 sites will be taken into service. The company estimates some 9 million DTT receivers are now in German homes, including set-top boxes, integrated DTVs, mobile DTT receivers and USB DVB-T sticks. The last major operation this year took place in the state of Saarland, where DTT came on the air on December 13.

[SeCSaT™]

The crystal ball


Having reviewed the major industry trends across the region in the last year, now is probably a good time to look ahead to 2008 and what it may bring.

A pointer to what probably lies ahead has been provided by this week’s surprise deal between CME and MTV over the latter’s interests in Romania. Most leading broadcasters – both commercial and public – will certainly seek to add to their portfolios of thematic channels as CEE as a whole moves from analogue to digital broadcasting.

This year has generally speaking been quiet on the acquisition front, with the recent collapse of the Polsat-Axel Springer serving to underline the point. 2008 may well be different, with leading broadcasters also opting to go down the Polsat route and raise money through IPOs.

Change can certainly be expected in the cable industry, with UPC at long last rolling out digital services in Poland and Hungary, its two leading markets, and perhaps also introducing VOD and HDTV. Not that other players will rest on their laurels: Multimedia Polska in Poland, Volia in Ukraine and RCS/RDS in Romania are three of several well worth keeping an eye on.

RCS/RDS is of course already a regional player, having a presence, through its DTH platform Digi TV, in no fewer than six countries. 2008 could see the latter extended to Slovenia and Bulgaria, though it remains to be seen how long its impressive success can continue.

The DTH market continues to defy market logic, with consolidation the exception rather than the rule. This could change in Romania in 2008, with the number of platforms falling from the current five to four or even three. On the other hand, Poland could see the addition of one or even two platforms to its existing three.

The take-up of IPTV services in CEE has been mixed to date, and this is unlikely to change much next year. Operations such as Russia’s Stream TV and the Czech Republic’s O2 TV that are already doing well will probably continue to do so, while those that have yet to take off (Hungary’s T-Home TV, for instance) may still find the going tough. The real change could be in the number of players, with several alternative telcos likely to launch services.

2008 could well be a breakthrough year for DTT across the region. Services are already up and running in Estonia and the Czech Republic, and several countries including Hungary and Russia finally appear to have a digital strategy in place. While there are unlikely to be many new DTT platforms in operation this time next year, clear progress toward ASO will probably have been made across the region.

All in all, 2008 promises to be as if not more eventful in CEE’s TV industry than this year has been.

[SeCSaT™]

Laser TV launch delayed


In what could prove to be another technology cul-de-sac, the launch of laser TV scheduled for this Christmas has been delayed until the new year by Mitsubishi Digital Electronics.

Compared alongside a Plasma screen in 2007 by Novalux, producers of optical chips integral to the new technology, Jean-Michel Pelaprat, commented at the time that plasma was "now something of the past", and that laser TVs had the ability to produce twice the range of colours of LCD/Plasma while being thinner, lighter and less energy intensive.

While the laser screen achieved some plaudits compared alongside its plasma contemporaries, launch of an actual consumer product under Mitsubishi and Samsung brands has proved to be a little more elusive.

At half the price, and using quarter of the electricity of conventional plasma and LCD TVs and being half the weight and depth of a plasmas there is understandably much interest in the new technology. With the technology's ability to increase the colour content from 30-35% of what the eye can see to 90%, laser screens have certainly wetted industry insiders appetites.

With mass produced OLED TV's on the horizon however, and massive continued investment in LCD and Plasma TV's, it remains to be seen whether the technology can make a true impact on the flat screen market.

[SeCSaT™]

Canal+ to acquire Occade Sport

Russia has begun trialling a new DTH platform, according to several local reports. Known as Russian TV Time, it is aimed at viewers outside the country and being distributed by Intelsat 12 at 45 degrees East. Among the channels Russian TV Time is currently carrying are Telekanal Feniks Ars, Bridge TV and Sarafan TV. It will eventually offer viewers up to 30 Russian and localised international channels. Russia is already served by the DTH platforms NTV-Plus, Tricolor and Orion Express.

[SeCSaT™]

THOR 6 - due to launch in the Summer of 2009

Based on the Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 4000B2 platform and fitted with 36 active Ku-band transponders, THOR 6 will provide high power direct-to-home ( DTH) television services from the 1 West orbital location.

16 transponders will point to the Nordic countries and 20 transponders will be positioned to serve the growing broadcasting demands within Central and Eastern Europe.

The satellite will be launched on either an Ariane 5 or Soyuz launcher from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guyana

THOR 6 will replace THOR III, which is set to retire in 2010 and is expected to start services in the summer of 2009 with an operational lifetime of 15 years.

Satellite orbital information
Satellite manufacturer: Thales Alenia Space
Orbital location: 0.8º West
Stabilisation system: 3 axis type
Operational lifetime: 15 years
Total power consumption: 5.9 kW

Satellite transponder information

Transponder capacity: 36 (16 FSS and 20 BSS)
TWTA output power: 53.5 W (FSS) and 91 W (BSS)
Transponder bandwidth: 27 MHz in FSS. 33 MHz in BSS

Satellite launch information
Launch date: Q2 2009
In service: Q3 2009
Launch vehicle: Ariane/Soyuz
Launch site: French Guyana
Launch mass: 2999 kg

[SeCSaT™]

Arabsat BADR-6 launch delayed

Arabsat announced today that the launch of its Satellite BADR–6 has been delayed to Monday July 7.

Khalid Balkheyour, President & CEO of Arabsat, said that he was informed by Arianespace, that “Due to an anomaly identified on the electrical interface between the Ariane 5 launcher and the launch table, Arianespace has decided to replace the equipment unit concerned.”

[SeCSaT™]

BTC heads Bulgarian broadband race


A consistent picture of broadband internet take-up in Bulgaria has begun to emerge

According to a local report, a study commissioned by the incumbent telco BTC shows that it is the leading provider in the domestic sector, with a market share 18%. Cable operators meanwhile account for 20%, and LAN operators 56%.

Similar figures have recently been published by both ICT Cluster and the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC).

BTC, which has yet to launch an IPTV service, currently has around 162,000 broadband internet subscribers and expects to gain a further 50,000 by the end of this year.

[SeCSaT™]

DISH Helps MTV Ad Push, Success for ProtoStar



MTV Networks has partnered with Cadbury, the makers of Sour Patch Kids candy, and DISH Network for the launch of an advertiser-supported interactive TV campaign. The effort will appear during The N's all-new reality series, "Queen Bees," which premieres Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern. The campaign will be available exclusively in DISH Network homes nationwide.

ProtoStar said its satellite was lofted into space during a successful mission aboard an Ariane 5 rocket that flew into space from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, Monday. ProtoStar I, the company's first satellite, will eventually be positioned at 98.5 degrees East longitude and provide direct-to-home (DTH) television and broadband internet service to South and Southeast Asia.

On July 15, XM will air the All-Star Game live from Yankee Stadium in New York City. Coverage of related events begin Saturday, July 12, on XM's baseball talk radio channel MLB Home Plate.

[SeCSaT™]

Livestation allows channel personalisation



Online TV platform Livestation is to allow users to add their own choice of television to the streamer’s chosen package of international news channels. Viewers can add TV, radio or even webcams that can then be viewed within the Livestation environment.

“We plan to work closely with the owners of channels that will prove the most popular in order to bring them on to the Livestation platform so that viewers will be able to enjoy the higher-quality and interactive features that the full Livestation experience offers to our current partner broadcasters,” explained Livestation CEO Matteo Berlucchi. “”For broadcasters, it will provide an excellent opportunity to assess viewer demand so that they can then respond as they see fit. We will then work with the broadcasters to maximise the new found opportunities,” he said.

Already included are Al Jazeera, BBC World News, Bloomberg Television, EuroNews (English, French, Italian and Spanish), France 24, i>Tele, Russia Today and BBC World Service radio.
Livestation is currently available only as a Windows XP/Vista download, but has plans for versions for Mac and Linux users.

[SeCSaT™]

Nederland 1 HD to broadcast in 1080i


The Dutch public broadcasting umbrella organisation NPO and its technical partner Technicolor have decided to offer an HD version of Nederland 1 HD in 1080i rather than 720p following complaints about the quality of the signal. Cable operators Ziggo and UPC have decided to offer this better quality version to their subscribers, and it is believed the DTH provide Canal Digitaal will follow suit.

Many viewers of the temporary Nederland 1 HD channel complained about the technical quality of the Euro 2008 football coverage. The original source material was supplied in 1080i, but down converted to 720p by Technicolor, resulting in loss of picture quality. Technicolor and NPO have now decided to offer an 1080i test streams to gauge consumer reaction.

[SeCSaT™]

Telenor to run Thomson SmartVision IPTV


By Julian Clover | July 23, 2008

Telenor has picked Thomson to provide its end-to-end SmartVision video services platform for its IPTV network launching in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

The package also includes video-on-demand servers and set-top boxes including PVT functionality with local hard disk recording. The DBI2210 and DBI8500 set-tops will use Telenor’s in-house Conax conditional access.

“Our choice of Thomson was largely based on their proven experience in IPTV system deployments internationally and their capability to offer a competitive integrated technical solution with a promising future roadmap in this rapidly evolving area,” said Witold Sitek, CTO for Telenor’s Nordic region. He added that Thomson’s ability to work across all three territories was *** to the selection process.

Telenor already has DTH and cable interests through Canal Digital, though the new IPTV service will be separately managed.

[SeCSaT™]

Sky and Universal to challenge iTunes

Wednesday, July 23 2008,

By Dave West, Media Correspondent
Sky and Universal to challenge iTunes

Sky will attempt to take the initiative in the UK digital music market later this year by launching a subscription-based streaming and download service.

"Providing a simple new way for fans to consume music, both streamed tracks and downloads to keep are available through just one monthly subscription, a world first," said Sky. "A range of subscription options will be available, offering different download packages tailored to customers’ needs."

Different tiers will offer varying numbers of tracks per month, with the top option likely to give unlimited "eat as much as you like" access.

Sky has already agreed a deal for full access to the catalogue of Universal Music, which includes many big name acts, and is negotiating with other major and independent record labels.

Universal has long been unhappy with Apple's iTunes service - which dominates digital music in the UK and US - and has previously advocated a subscription-based alternative.

The new venture will be operated as a separate company with Sky, as the majority shareholder, providing "expertise in the delivery of subscription services... content aggregation, packaging and marketing". Universal has taken a stake in the new firm and future partners will also be offered shares.

It is unclear what format downloaded tracks will take - record companies generally require some form of copy protection - but Sky said they would be "to own forever" and "work on any mp3-compatible fixed or portable device".

The name of the service and pricing will be announced at a later date, ahead of a launch some time this year.

"It’s clear that there’s huge demand for online music and companies like Sky and Universal Music are well placed to work together to meet consumers’ needs," said Sky chief operating officer Mike Darcey. "We aim to offer an easy and affordable service for all UK music fans, while ensuring that artists are properly rewarded for their creativity."

Lucian Grainge, chairman and chief executive of Universal, added: "The new Sky service will provide a compelling digital music experience, built for the ever growing digital appetite of music fans. In a world where a majority of UK homes have high speed broadband access, consumers will welcome a safe, state-of-the-art service and legal alternative to those services which exploit musicians without compensation."

[SeCSaT™]

TRT to launch its Kurdish TV channel on 1 January




Thanks to the latest change in the law regarding the Turkish Radio and Television (TRT), the Kurdish channel, TRT8, will start on 1 January.

It will be 12 hours in the beginning, but later it will increase to 24 hours. In the regional and local media, broadcasting in mother tongues such as Kurdish is restricted to 45 minutes for the TV channels and 5 hours for the radio channels.
TRT 8, which will also take on the job of “telling the just cause of the fight against terrorism”, will be using the Hotbird Satellite that the pro-Kurdish ROJ TV, alleged mouthpiece of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), is using.

Therefore, the broadcasts will also be accessible to the Kurds in Syria, Iraq and Iran.
The Kurdish broadcasts will consist of the movies, news, entertainment and games. The National Anthem will be sung both in the beginning and at the end of each day’s broadcasting.
The law does not allow the few local media institutions permitted to broadcast in Kurdish to do educational and children’s programmes in Kurdish. Another complaint made about these programmes by Diyarbakir’s Gün TV is the requirement to include subtitles.

However, it is not known if TRT8 will have the same requirement. Moreover, the TRT has no regulation specific to this subject.
Sinan Ilhan from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be heading TRT8, and four people have already been employed for the Kurdish programmes.

[SeCSaT™]

Iran: BBC Persian TV channel 'illegal'

Thursday, January 22 2009,



BBC Persian TV has been declared illegal and a threat to national security by Iran's culture ministry.

The channel, which launched on January 14, offers daily broadcasts in Farsi for eight hours per day and is carried on the Hotbird and Telstar satellites, cable and online.

"The BBC Persian channel began its activity in Iran illegally and unofficially," Mohammad-Hossein Saffar Harandi, Iran's minister of culture and Islamic guidance, told the state IRNA news agency. "As previously announced by the Ministry of Information, activity of the BBC Persian channel will disturb national security since its producers have put inflicting damage on the Islamic establishment on their agenda."

Harandi also told the semi-official Fars news agency that the ministry is "closely monitoring the English language BBC as well, which is working in Iran legally, and if they produce programmes for the use of the BBC Persian TV, we shall then take action against them".

The BBC said it was violating no laws in Iran and noted it had purposely not based BBC Persian TV correspondents in the country because it refused to accredit them.

[serdar17]

TRT to launch its Kurdish TV channel on 1 January




Thanks to the latest change in the law regarding the Turkish Radio and Television (TRT), the Kurdish channel, TRT8, will start on 1 January.

It will be 12 hours in the beginning, but later it will increase to 24 hours. In the regional and local media, broadcasting in mother tongues such as Kurdish is restricted to 45 minutes for the TV channels and 5 hours for the radio channels.
TRT 8, which will also take on the job of “telling the just cause of the fight against terrorism”, will be using the Hotbird Satellite that the pro-Kurdish ROJ TV, alleged mouthpiece of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), is using.

Therefore, the broadcasts will also be accessible to the Kurds in Syria, Iraq and Iran.
The Kurdish broadcasts will consist of the movies, news, entertainment and games. The National Anthem will be sung both in the beginning and at the end of each day’s broadcasting.
The law does not allow the few local media institutions permitted to broadcast in Kurdish to do educational and children’s programmes in Kurdish. Another complaint made about these programmes by Diyarbakir’s Gün TV is the requirement to include subtitles.

However, it is not known if TRT8 will have the same requirement. Moreover, the TRT has no regulation specific to this subject.
Sinan Ilhan from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be heading TRT8, and four people have already been employed for the Kurdish programmes.

TRT of the Kurdish broadcasting does not matter that is important for many years that racial nationalism fascism boundaries made it his social-democratic style which sells used and traitors armed and pen blades outside and inside business units his support to the Turkish state sanctions in the style of force have been feeling like I'm opposed to what I am ... .. then allows the formation of the Turkish nation in the mother tongue of all races broadcast by state television channels to be opened so that there is something you ... Language Turkish is the Turkish state .... States must then apply the law in the constitution are pruned only television channel dedicated to a different language can be run on .... present in only a day dedicated channel within hours makes it so I wanted to write my thoughts ....