Satellite News

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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

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Universal action and suspense 13ème Rue has topped Médiamétrie’s bi-yearly Mediacabsat survey that measures the audience of 90 channels. It reached a 1% marketshare on susbcribers vs 0.8% six months earlier. However, traditional market leader Eurosport (TF1), whose ratings are now measured daily like other channels like Paris Première, RTL9, LCI and TV Breizh, is not subscribing anymore to Mediacabsat.


French TV viewing reached 3 hours and 47 minutes between September 2008 and February 2009 and was ten minutes above the national average in cabsat households. Among these households, the marketshare of cabsat and DTT channels reached 39.4% over the period (vs 38.4% in 2007-2008). This broke down to 29.9% for theme channels, 6.5% for DTT channels and 3% for local, regional and foreign channels.

M6 women’s channel Téva came in second position with a 0.8% marketshare, up 0.1% over one year. It is followed in third place by kids channel Canal J (Lagardère Active) that tied with Comédie ! (Canal+), Disney Channel, Jetix (Disney) and Série Club (M6 and TF1). They all reached a 0.7% market share, down a significant 0.3% for Canal J over one year, but up 0.1% for Comédie !, 0.2% for Disney Channel, 0.4% for Jetix and stable for Série Club over the same twelve-month period. Jetix’ significant leap among kids channels is a good way to bow out as new Disney boy-oriented channel Disney XD will replace it as of April 1.

© Rapid TV News 2009

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Following the promulgation of the new broadcast law by President Sarkozy, French private networks TF1 et M6 have announced they will progressively introduce a second ad break into movies and magazine programming.


TF1 started yesterday during the broadcast of a daytime TV drama while M6 will introduce a new ad slot as of March 15 in access and prime-time magazines Capital, D&Co and Zone Interdite.

© Rapid TV News 2009

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Radio no-no for UPC


By Chris Dziadul | March 11, 2009

UPC is no longer required to offer radio stations as part of its cable offer in Slovakia.

Medialne reports that the country’s Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission (RVR) has ruled that the operator is exempt from must-carry rules for radio stations in its basic offer.

In the regulator’s view, the exemption should apply as cable is not used as the principal mode of reception of radio services in Slovakia.

UPC is the leading cable operator in Slovakia and currently has around 30,000 subscribers receiving its digital TV service.