Satellite News

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Pay-TV broadcaster BSkyB has heavily criticised Channel 4 for “wasting” £270m on a slew of failed businesses. BSkyB made the allegations in a letter to the UK government’s Communications Minister, Lord Stephen Carter. Channel 4 has widely let it be known that the advertising downturn means it is facing a funding gap of some £150m in the next few years.


The cash crisis is so severe that Channel 4’s bosses have volunteered drastic cuts in their own (perhaps generous) salaries and bonuses. Kevin Lygo, C4 director of television and content, has cut 25% from his basic £750,000 salary and said he will not take a bonus this year. Last year his total remuneration package was more than £1m. C4 has cut staff by 15% already, and has trimmed its £620m programming budget by £40m.

BSkyB’s letter forms part of its submission to Lord Carter’s UK Digital Report. The full report is due in early summer. Sky says that C4 is in a much stronger financial position than many of its commercial broadcasting rivals, and has cash reserves of £425m, and argues that C4 should quit many of its unprofitable ventures, and instead create new sources of revenues. Those could include a portfolio of paid for channels which Sky would offer to viewers.

© Rapid TV News 2009

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Greece catches IPTV fever




The Greek broadband provider Hellas online (HOL) is launching a new IPTV service. It features access to the main Greek free-to-air channels, news, information, music, children’s and sports drawn from around the world and – for the first time in Greece – HD content.
The company says its VOD offer features hundreds of titles. There is also a significant amount of entertainment and sports content available free of charge.
Hellas has chosen the Microsoft Mediaroom middleware to drive its functionality that includes automatic recordings from the 14-day electronic programme guide. It is also possible to display photographs from the local network directly onto the TV set. The IPTV decoder is manufactured by Motorola.
HOL, which is part of the Intracom Holdings group, is one of the largest providers of fixed telephony services in Greece.
Separately, On Demand Group (ODG), a subsidiary of SeacChange International, has announced details of the VOD and SVOD content line-up for the incumbent telco OTE’s new IPTV platform.
It will include blockbuster movies from major Hollywood studios including Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.

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SES Astra has announced that it will be moving the Astra 2C satellite from its current orbital position at 28.2 degrees East to 31.5 degrees East to take over the mission of Astra 5A, which is no longer in service.
Astra 2C will be moved to 31.5 degrees East in April and remain there for approximately one year. In the meantime, the services transmitted via 28.2 degrees East will continue to be broadcast from the other satellites co-located at this orbital position.
Astra 2C will be able to operate 24 BSS transponders at 31.5 degrees East, thereby continuing the commercialization of this orbital position.
Following the launch of Astra 3B in the fourth quarter of 2009 and its subsequent deployment, another in-orbit satellite will be moved to 31.5 degrees East, permitting the return of Astra2C to 28.2 degrees East and to enhance capacity at this orbital position.
Ferdinand Kayser, president and CEO of SES Astra, said in a statement: “The move of Astra 2C demonstrates our strong commitment to develop 31.5 degrees East into an important position, especially for Central and Eastern Europe. At the same time our fleet flexibility allows us to redeploy Astra 2C at 28.2 degrees East after the launch of Astra 3B in order to serve the growth in the UK market, particularly coming from High Definition (HD) broadcast services.”

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The Portuguese language documentary channel Canal Odisseia is set to launch in Angola and Mozambique on the pay-TV platform Multichoice Africa, it was announced by Chellomedia.
Canal Odisseia is a documentary channel from Chello Multicanal offering a mix of cross genre programmes through in-house & co-productions, and acquisitions. The channel presents documentaries on nature, current
affairs & social issues, people & places, travel, arts, science & technology.
Odisseia is available on pay TV, cable and satellite in Portugal and Spain, and reaches six million homes. Odisseia joins its sister channel, Canal Panda, on the Multichoice platform. Canal Panda, Chello Multicanal’s Portuguese kids’ channel, which was launched on Multichoice Africa in August last year.

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Satellite operator SES is shortly to move its Astra 2C craft from 28.2 deg East to a new home at 31.5 deg East, taking over the mission formerly carried out by Astra 5A which is no longer in service.
Astra 2C will be moved to 31.5 deg East in April 2009 and will remain there for approximately one year. In the meantime, the services transmitted via 28.2 degrees East will continue to be broadcast from the other satellites co-located at this orbital position. Astra 2C will be able to operate 24 transponders at 31.5 deg East, “thereby continuing the commercialization of this orbital position,” says SES.

Following the launch of Astra 3B later this year and its subsequent deployment, another in-orbit satellite will be moved to 31.5 deg East, permitting the return of Astra 2C to 28.2 degrees East and to enhance capacity at this orbital position.

Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES Astra, said: “The move of Astra 2C demonstrates our strong commitment to develop 31.5 degrees East into an important position, especially for Central and Eastern Europe. At the same time our fleet flexibility allows us to redeploy Astra 2C at 28.2 degrees East after the launch of Astra 3B in order to serve the growth in the UK market, particularly coming from High Definition (HD) broadcast services.”

© Rapid TV News 2009

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International technology company NDS has won a significant contract in Switzerland from Kudelski's Nagravision. The country’s largest pay-TV operator Teleclub will in future encrypt its digital subscription package on cable networks in VideoGuard.
For existing subscribers Teleclub will continue to use Nagravision, the system developed by Swiss company Kudelski, in simulcrypt mode for the time being. New set-top-boxes will be equipped with VideoGuard from the outset.

With Teleclub’s decision to adopt VideoGuard, NDS has achieved a landmark coup: The company has not only won its first contract in Switzerland, but also snatched away one of its arch rival’s customers in its home country.

At the same time, NDS has strengthened its market position in German-speaking Europe. Its existing customers comprise Premiere, Kabel BW, KabelKiosk/Tele Columbus/PrimaCom, Arcor and Telekom Austria. NDS and Teleclub want to commence deployment of VideoGuard over the next few weeks. The pay-TV broadcaster currently has more than 80,000 subscribers on cable networks.

“We are more than proud to announce that Teleclub, one of Europe’s true pay-TV pioneers, having started operations back in 1982, has chosen to entrust VideoGuard conditional access (CA) to secure its premium pay-TV programming and protect its service revenues,” said Yves Padrines, vice president, business development at NDS and general manager of the company’s German subsidiary NDS GmbH.

With Teleclub, NDS has signed up CA agreements with a total of six major pay-TV platforms in German-speaking territories, Padrines added. “We look forward to supporting Teleclub in its upcoming initiatives to deliver to subscribers the pay-TV services they want.”

© Rapid TV News 2009

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France’s Assembly is this week examining the new anti-piracy law project that plans to prevent illegal use of cultural works on internet and to set up retaliation measures. Supported by Minister of Culture Christine Albanel, this reform project was passed last October in Senate. But the plan to cut the internet subscription of pirates after two warnings is still under debate among deputies.
Some denounce the plan to disconnect repeat offenders as infringing civil liberties. At the same time, the French government is also pleading for the development of an attractive legal and cultural offer (music and movies). Majority party UMP estimates that illegal downloads are mostly responsible for the 50% fall of music sales in France over the last five years. According to a recent poll, 37% of French internauts acknowledge having practised illegal downloads or using pirated contents.

To encourage the development of new legal offers, French Ministry of Culture is going to propose that the media chronology be changed so as to reduce to four months the video delay between the movie theatrical release and the video (DVD and VoD) release. It takes currently six to seven months.

© Rapid TV News 2009