10/03/03

Some changes going on on B3 Globecast, TVkorea has encrypted.But Duna TV due anyday now.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Bill Richards

Arirang World 1 and TCT both from Thaicom 3

From Mark

Just to confirm asiasat launch date as 10th of april

Optus C1 down for 15th April

ARIANE LAUNCH MANIFEST ( 5 Mar 2003)

V Date Vehicle Payload

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

159 15 Feb 03 44L-40 Intelsat 907
160 10 Apr 03 5G'-14 Insat 3A, Galaxy 12
161 15 Apr 03 5G+-01 Optus C1, BSAT 2c
13 Jun 03 5 ?, Mars 2003 µ-mission
Jun 03 5 Anik F2
Jul 03 5 ?, SMART-1

4qt 03 5 Syracus 3
4qt 03 5 DirecTV 7S
2hf 03 5A AMC 13

Galaxy 5R, Galaxy 1RR, WildBlue 1 (iSKY 1), Loralsat 2, AmeriStar, LunarSat?,
Artemis, Syracus 3A, WildBlue 2 (iSKY 2), Amos 2, Insat 3E, Galaxy 1RR
(PAS Light 2), Agrani 2, Inmarsat 4, e-BirdT, SatMex 6 (Morelos 4, Solidaridad 1R)

(Craigs comment, I don't think that list is right, no date has been announced for the Luanch of Insat 3A as it has been delayed same as C1)

From George (Thailand)

Thai Channel 11 has moved new settings are Thaicom 2/3 78.5E 4086 H "TVT Channel 11 started here" Sr 4866 Fec 3/4 ?

Various feeds reported from the G.P on B1, 12420v and 12430V

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 3771 H "YTN" is back on , Fta, new SR: 9041, FEC 3/4, SID 3, PIDs 49/52.
PAS 2 169E 4126 H New SR and PIDs for NBN: 3075 and 1160/1120.

Optus B3 156E Updates in Austar/Foxtel: CNN Financial Network, TCM Australia and Fox Sports 1-2 have left 12376 H.Animal Planet Australia & New Zeeland and Odyssey have left 12564 H.Ovation - The Arts Network has left 12626 H, PIDs 522/650.
Optus B3 156E 12595 V "Sport 927" has replaced "Rhythm FM", Irdeto 1, APID 1873.

JCSAT 3 128E 3960 V "Rainbow Channel 2" has left .

Palapa C2 113E 11132 V "J Wave Sat TV and XXX" have started, Viaccess 2, PIDs 74/75 and 176/177.

Koreasat 2 113E 12290 H All channels are now encrypted.
Koreasat 2 113E 12617 H "Total Living Broadcasting" is now encrypted.

Frequency coordination for Paksat-1 achieved

From http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en19031&F_catID=&f_type=source

ISLAMABAD, March 8: Information Technology and Telecommunications Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Saturday said the country had achieved frequency coordination for the Paksat-1 communication satellite.

Terming the event a breakthrough, the minister while briefing newsmen at his office, said now all the 34 transponders could be used optimally and the expectation of generating revenues was possible by aggressively marketing its potential.

The satellite could only be utilized after removing frequency constraint by making it coordinated with neighbouring satellites, he said.

We could now put together a more viable business plan for the follow-up satellite, especially when we have three to five years to work on it, Mr Leghari said.

He said the opportunity gave the government more space in getting partners and the ability to acquire funding for building and launching the country's own satellite, besides developing necessary capabilities.

He said the breakthrough came after President Gen Pervez Musharraf's visit to Russia, after which the Russian ambassador was involved in a dialogue, though a team was involved in meeting international operators over the last few months.

The Paksat-1 was positioned in the slot allocated for Pakistan at 38 degrees east, in a geosynchronous orbit, 36,000km above the earth.

The government hopes to use the satellite for educational intranet, virtual university, tele-medicine, internet bandwidth, video conferencing and private channels. It will also cover Africa, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and India.

The satellite has been leased for 5 years at an initial cost of $4.5 million, while $30 million has to be paid in 5 years.

The government is planning for a follow-on satellite to fully exploit the slot that might cost $250 million and for which PC-1 has been forwarded to Executive Committee of National Economic Council.

The minister said that the satellite had 34 transponders and a capacity of 1.3 gigahertz. Through this capacity, 220 satellite television channels could be run simultaneously and it is three times the total Internet bandwidth coming into the country.

The minister said that though country had the satellite and it could file with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the ability to use its potential was dependent on the ability to co-ordinate with operators of nearby satellites or those who had priority.

He said the location of the satellite was very valuable since it could cover the region from the tip of South Africa to the Far East.

The minister said he would hold meetings with different ministries to take benefit of e-governance and satellite. Health and education ministries, the higher education commission and Virtual University could take advantage of the satellite, he said.

He said the private sector, especially the private TV channels, would be encouraged to utilize the satellite through commercial packages.

Mr Leghari said the neighbouring countries would be encouraged to benefit from the satellite provided the national interest was not hurt.

About the telecommunications deregulation policy, he said his ministry had completed its recommendations and the summary would be submitted before the cabinet in two or three days.

"We are answerable to the people," he said and added that the government had studied every aspect of the policy prepared by its predecessors and prepared its own recommendations.

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 10/2003 9 March 2003 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International

Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A

AUSTRALIA

SEVEN REPORTS IMPROVED FINANCIAL RESULTS

The Seven Network on March 5 announced improved six-month net profit for the period ending December 31. The broadcaster posted a 20% increase in net profit to AUS$65.2 million and that figure also includes a write-down of AUS$5.4 million for the company's listed investments in new-media companies. In announcing its results, Seven said it has implemented a debt-reduction program and hopes to raise AUS$100 million over the next 12 months from the sale of assets. Seven's share of the nation's television viewers declined to 26.4 per cent in 2002 from 29.4 per cent in 2001 after it lost a 44-year contract to broadcast Australian football to Ten Network Holdings, Nine Network and pay-TV operator Foxtel.

AUSTAR SET FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP

Pay-TV company Austar United Communications is one step closer to a change in control, with creditors of United Australia/Pacific voting in favour of a reorganization plan. The plan, which is sponsored by Castle Harlan Australian Mezzanine Partners (Champ), is subject to a confirmation process by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, which is scheduled to hear the matter March 18. If approved, the plan will give Champ a 63.2% interest in United Austar, which in turn owns 80.7% of Australia's Austar. The balance of United Austar Inc. is owned by Liberty Media Corp.'s UnitedGlobalCom. The plan remains subject to other conditions, however, including the approval of Austar's banking syndicate. Champ, an affiliate of New York private equity investment firm Castle Harlan Inc., hopes the plan will take effect from late March or early April. It will then make a takeover offer for the remaining 19.3% of Austar.

MURDOCH SPEAKS OUT ON SPORTS COVERAGE

Lachlan Murdoch, News Ltd. chairman and chief operating officer of News Corp., has criticised the government's sports ant siphoning regulations. Murdoch described the regulations, which are designed to protect live free-to-air coverage of 40 listed major sporting events, as "unacceptable." News Corp. owns 25% of pay-TV market leader Foxtel, with Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting also holding 25%. Telco Telstra owns the other 50%.

FOXTEL PREVIEWS DIGITAL TV SERVICE

Pay-TV operator Foxtel has previewed its digital service, set for launch in fourth quarter of 2003. According to CEO Kim Williams, it will offer 30 near-video-on-demand channels on the 120-channel platform, with personal video recorders (PVRs) to be launched in 2004.

AUSTAR ADDS BBC WORLD

Since March 1, BBC World, the BBC’s commercially funded international 24-hour news and information channel, is available on Austar’s service in Australia. Austar is Australia’s leading satellite television provider now offering BBC World on Channel 35 as part of their “basic service”, at no extra cost to customers. BBC World combines an in-depth, impartial view on the world’s news, business and weather with award-winning current affairs, documentary and lifestyle programming. Drawing on the world’s largest newsgathering operation, comprising 58 international news bureaux and 250 correspondents worldwide, the channel is now available in over 250 million homes globally.

CHINA - HONG KONG

DIGITAL TV BROADCASTS START IN GUANGZHOU

Guangzhou has officially launched digital television broadcasts across the city, which will eventually replace the analogue system, after a successful test-run on March 1. The digital broadcasts are being channelled through Guangzhou's cable TV network, to which most Guangzhou families have access. The cable TV operator will translate analogue signals of all existing channels into digital signals and then transmit them through the cable network. It will also continue to transmit analogue signals for subscribers who don't want to switch to the digital system. To view high-quality digital broadcasting through a traditional TV set, viewers must buy or rent a ``set-top box'' to decode the digital signals. Set-top boxes sell for between 700 yuan (HK$660) and 1,100 yuan, while monthly rentals are about 30 yuan. In the next stage of digital TV development, a great variety of new, value-added services would be added to digital TV broadcasting in Guangzhou, including so-called interactive television, Guangzhou's Information Times reported. This would allow Guangzhou residents to order special programmes to view, read government information, take distance learning courses, do shopping and banking and pay bills. Pilot digital TV broadcasting is also occurring in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. The Information Times, however, did not say what digital broadcasting system Guangzhou was using.

MURDOCH GETS APPROVAL FOR CHINESE CHANNEL

News Corporation's Star Group has been granted a licence to broadcast its Chinese-language TV channel in China. The Rupert Murdoch-controlled broadcaster says it will be able to broadcast to hotel rooms and foreign Chinese compounds. The new licence is an apparent consequence of Star's recent agreement to air China's CCTV-9 English-language programs on the BSkyB satellite network in Great Britain. Star TV's Xing Kong Wei Shi was licensed in 2002 to broadcast its Chinese language entertainment programs in the Pearl River Delta region of Southern China.

SUN TV IN JOINT VENTURE WITH ETTV

Sun Media Group said on March 5 its TV content provider Sun TV would set up a joint venture with Taiwan-based Eastern Broadcasting Company (ETTV) and Jet TV to provide programming for its Sun TV Entertainment Channel. Sun Media Group executive director Jerry Wu said the joint venture would have a registered capital of HK$200 million. It would be 40 per cent owned by Sun TV, 30 per cent by ETTV, and 20 per cent by Jet TV, which in turn is 60 per cent owned by Sun Media. The remaining 10 per cent would be held by the management staff of the joint venture company, including ETTV president David Chang. Sun Media Group chief executive officer Bruno Wu said Sun TV Entertainment Channel would have annual operating expenses of HK$20 million. The joint-venture would provide at least 16 hours of content, he said. For the six months ended September 2002, Sun Media's net loss widened 16 per cent to HK$43.36 million, while turnover plunged 34 per cent to HK$96.12 million from a year earlier.

CCTV ON EXPANSION COURSE

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV is in talks with foreign broadcasters to expand its presence in overseas markets and promote a better understanding of China, the South China Morning Post has reported. CCTV's Vice-President Zhang Changming said the discussions were about helping the broadcaster distribute its programmes and reach a wider foreign audience. CCTV is also considering starting a third international channel to carry a wider range of programmes. The moves were aimed at promoting better understanding of China, and not necessarily at making money, Mr Zhang said. After 10 years pursuing overseas expansion, CCTV's two international channels -- Chinese-language CCTV-4 and English-language CCTV-9 -- reach only about 10 million TV households worldwide, the newspaper said.

CHINA PREPARES OWN DIGITAL TV STANDARD

China will soon unveil its own digital cable television transmission standard, which has been developed with reference to Europe's digital video broadcasting system, Hong Kong's Standard newspaper has reported. The newspaper quoted a senior official in the Standardisation Administration of China as saying three top engineering universities were working to develop the DVB system. It includes the three basic standards for digital broadcasting -- digital cable transmission, digital satellite transmission and digital terrestrial transmission. The official named the universities as Tsinghua University in Beijing, University of Communications in Shanghai and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are currently receiving a test transmission of digital cable television. China has spoken of promoting digital TV broadcasting all across the country by 2015.

INDIA

SET-DISCOVERY TO SEED 10,000 DECODERS FOR NDTV

SET-Discovery India will be seeding 10,000 decoder boxes for the two news channels of NDTV, according to India Business Insight. Cable operators can either pay Rs3,500 for a single decoder box or pay Rs6,500 for the two channels. It is planning to further introduce 5,000 boxes in the market by June 2003 for distributing new channels across the country. NDTV and SDIPL have a three-year distribution contract. NDTV will be airing its news channels in Hindi and English on the PAS-10 satellite. SDIPL is a joint venture between Sony Entertainment India and Discovery Networks India while One Alliance is its umbrella brand. NDTV's tie-up with Star News will come to an end on 1 March 2003.

MIXED OPINIONS OVER STAR UPLINK PLANS

The Indian government is taking different position over whether to allow News Corp.'s Star TV to uplink locally. Star wants to uplink an Indian 24 hour news channel. Indian policy currently allows any company to uplink from India for the Indian market, but only the Communications ministry agrees that this should remain in place. The Home and Finance ministries think that there should be a 49% foreign ownership limit on broadcasters uplinking from India, while the External Affairs office thinks that the limit should be 26%. These last two options would block Star's channel. The issue will now go to the Indian cabinet.

JAPAN

MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES TO BE REVISED

Japan's Telecommunications Ministry is set to relax media ownership laws in order to alleviate financial pressures on small terrestrial broadcasters and digital satellite operators. From April 2004, local TV stations will be allowed to merge and national broadcasters will be able to acquire bankrupt stations as subsidiaries. National networks will also be able to own up to 50% of digital satellite platform, compared to the current third.

CNN AND JCTV LAUNCH CNNj

CNNj, CNN's new channel created exclusively for audiences in Japan launched on February 28 but began broadcasting in full on March 1. CNNj is a unique combination of three of CNN's award-winning networks: CNN/U.S., CNNfn and CNN International. A collaboration between Japan Cable Television (JCTV) and CNN, CNNj offers Japanese viewers an exclusively tailored program schedule created based on audience feedback and market research. The new channel also comprises increased Japanese translation of news and feature programs. CNNj will feature programs not previously seen by audiences outside of the United States, including: CNN/US's American Morning with Paula Zahn; CNN's three-hour flagship news and feature program; Connie Chung Tonight; CNNfn's Street Sweep; and The Biz. JCTV, CNN's distribution partner for 21 years, will increase the hours of Japanese translation on the channel by seven hours a week, to a total of 126 hours per week. JCTV and CNN have had a long-standing business partnership since JCTV made CNN available to Japanese television audiences in 1982, and Japan became the first country outside the United States to distribute CNN. Today, CNN is available via SKY PerfecTV!, SKY PerfecTV!2 and cable to four million households and 100,000 hotel rooms across Japan.

NHK TO AIR MORE MOVIES

Japanese public broadcaster NHK will up the number of movies it airs from April. The broadcaster will up the number of movies aired across its five channels to 80-90 per month. NHK's channels range from terrestrial to high definition to satellite. New dedicated movie slots will include classics, blockbusters and Japanese strands, among others.

MALAYSIA

CELESTIAL LAUNCHES MOVIE CHANNEL

Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures launched its inaugural movie channel, Celestial Movies, on Malaysian satellite broadcaster Astro on March 3. Celestial, which owns the extensive Shaw Bros. film library, is owned by Malaysian-based conglomerate Usaha Tegas, which is a major shareholder of Astro through Measat Broadcast Network Systems. In addition to Celestial's restored Shaw Bros. classics from the 1950s through the '90s and new acquisitions, Celestial Movies will carry locally produced programming and documentaries. The channel also owns rights to Golden Harvest titles from the 1990s. Celestial Movies will be packaged with the Phoenix Channel and Astro's Shuang Xing 1 and 2, which carry television dramas. The channel is scheduled to launch throughout Asia, Australia, North America and Europe in the coming year.

RTM TO BE FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT IN SIX YEARS

Malaysian Information Minister Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob says that Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) is expected to be financially independent six years after it is converted into a corporation in June this year. He says that RTM will be given five years to make the necessary adjustments in terms of broadcasting, planning and expenditure as a corporate body.

PAKISTAN

TAJ TELEVISION GETS CRICKET RIGHTS

The Pakistan Cricket board has signed a TV deal with Taj Television for the rights to all international matches hosted by the PCB for five years from April 2003 for $42.6 million. Under its current deal with TWI, the PCB receives about $11 million, and TWI bid offered a minimum of $30 million to retain the rights. Taj TV won in a bidding process that attracted interest from six groups.

SINGAPORE

SET SATELLITE TAKES CABLERS TO COURT

Singapore-based SET Satellite has gone to the Delhi High Court in order to stop Indian cable operators illegally transmitting pictures from the Cricket World Cup, for which it is an official broadcast partner. Specific charges have been levelled at Rajkot-based City Video Channel.

TAIWAN

LIVE BROADCASTS OF CCTV CHANNELS BANNED

Live broadcasting of CCTV programmes will be banned in Taiwan in retaliation for Beijing's refusal to allow reciprocal television rights to the island's broadcasters. The ban, which takes effect on March 6, involves the 41 island cable TV operators carrying China Central Television's channel four signals. The operators will be fined between NT$40,000 and NT$200,000 every time they break the ban. CCTV-4 has been transmitted to Taiwan for 10 years through its distribution agents, Era Communications and Eastern Television. Last year, the Taiwan broadcasting authority cut CCTV-4's daily air time from 24 hours to eight. The head of the cable TV section of Taiwan's Department of Radio and Television Affairs, Ching Stone, said the ban was due to a lack of fair and equal treatment by mainland authorities. Four Taiwanese channels - Eastern TV, Era Communications, Set TV and USTV - applied to the mainland's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television for broadcast rights last year, but failed to win approval. The Taiwan broadcasting authority said that to demonstrate its desire to have a friendly dialogue with Beijing, it would allow local broadcasters to tape certain CCTV-4 programmes, with separate approval needed for onward transmission. Changming Zhang, vice-president at CCTV, criticised the Taiwan government's decision, saying it was an unwise move. "It is against public interest," Mr Zhang said. "The channel is built to serve global Chinese and has been welcomed by lots of Taiwanese . . . It has been providing valuable information to the Taiwanese public and has served well in promoting cross-strait understanding." Mr Zhang rejected claims that Beijing was being unfair by not granting Taiwan broadcasters reciprocal rights.

THAILAND

UBC GETS GREEN LIGHT FOR PRICE HIKE

United Broadcasting Corp. (UBC) has received approval to raise its subscription prices by Baht160 ($3.76) across all packages from start-May. "The approval of the price increase is due to UBC's rising operating costs, which are not adequately reflected in the current service fees," the pay-TV operator said in a statement. The company has struggled to contain programming cost inflation, especially as many of these deals are dollar denominated. The 2003 programming budget is Baht2.5 mil. UBC's premium package now costs Baht1,412.97. At the end of last year, UBC had 437,845 subscribers. UBC has operated its service for 13 years and has a 25-year concession contract.

9/03/03

Ah Sunday go away!

8/03/03

Back Monday

7/03/03

G.P on this weekend some feeds already reported via B1

Cricket World Cup Feed continue on B1, 12524 H

Optus B1,B3, Pas 2, Pas 8 Pages updated

From my Emails & ICQ

From Various

G.P Feeds

B1, 12420 V SR 6110, Fec 3/4, Vpid - 308 Apid - 256
B1, 12430 V SR 6110, Fec 3/4

From Dave Knight

SAT - B3
FREQ - 12336V
SR - 30000
FEC - 2/3

Mediasat adhoc showing a close up of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (North Pylon,Eastern facing side).

Channel Caption is: Setanta (Testing)


(Craigs comment, Setanta Sports from Ireland use to run here via Globecast they broadcast Irish Football to pubs and clubs in Australia., usually PowerVu encrypted)

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 3860 H.A few changes to the radio channels here

Agila 2 146E 3717 H New FEC for TCT : 5/6.
Agila 2 146E 3775 V New PIDs for Isla: 4240/4241.

PAS 10 68.5E 3778 V New PIDs for CMM Music : 4194/4195.

NEWS

Europe opens its deep space link

From http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993470

The European Space Agency's first deep space listening post was opened in Western Australia on Wednesday, providing a crucial communications link to remote parts of the Solar System.

ESA already has a number of ground stations around the world capable of contacting spacecraft that are relatively close to Earth. But the new antenna will provide a link to spacecraft up to 900 million kilometres away, well past the orbit of Jupiter. This capability will be crucial for keeping in touch with a number of planned European missions into deep space.

The new antenna is 40 metres tall and holds a dish 35 metres across (Image: ESA)

"The main gain for Europe is that the new ground station means that we are less dependent on support from NASA's Deep Space Network," says Peter Barratt of the UK's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. "Priority for ESA missions cannot always be guaranteed using the NASA system."

ESA also has to pay for use of the NASA network, although Barratt told New Scientist that it is not yet clear whether running its own antenna system will reduce costs. The new Australian antenna, sited 150 kilometres north of Perth, cost 28 million Euro to build.

Communication crunch

Weight and power constraints make it difficult for spacecraft in deep space to send a strong signal back to Earth. This means sensitive antennae are needed to receive the data.

Many ESA and NASA missions are planned for deep space in the next decade, making the new antenna vital if a communication crunch is to be avoided.

The first of the ESA missions, Mars Express, will launch in June 2003 carrying an orbital craft and the British lander Beagle 2. The Rosetta spacecraft, which is expected to launch before the end of 2005, will then travel to beyond the orbit of Jupiter to attempt to land on the surface of a comet for the first time.

Venus Express, scheduled for launch in 2005, aims to study the planet's atmosphere and subsurface.

Bandwidth download

Chris Lee, part of the team at Imperial College London behind Rosetta's plasma instrument, told New Scientist: "The more spacecraft that go up, the more bandwidth and places around the world to download stuff we need."

The 630-tonne antenna is 40 metres tall and holds a dish 35 metres across. The dish can be swivelled into the right orientation and will be controlled remotely from ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, and the Perth International Telecommunications Centre in Gnangara, Australia.

The antenna is capable of transmitting and receiving standard 2 GHz and 8 GHz frequency communications. It also has the capacity to operate at the 32 GHz frequency, which is proposed for future missions into deep space.

ESA plans to build a second deep space antenna at a European latitude sometime in the future.

HK Sun Media To Tie Up With Eastern Broadcasting

From http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/030307/15/38nke.html

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Sun Media Group Holdings Ltd. (H.SMG) said two of its units had struck a deal with Taiwanese broadcaster Eastern Broadcasting, to run and provide content for the Sun TV Entertainment Channel.

Sun Media said its unit Sun TV had struck a deal with Eastern Broadcasting Company for its unit Jet TV to provide at least 16 hours of programs daily for the channel.

The tie-up, Sun Media Chairman Bruno Wu said, is part of the group's plans to relaunch the Sun TV Channel and "reach a profitable satellite TV business model for the Chinese market."

The deal will limit the entertainment channel's yearly costs to HK$20 million a year, he said. Six months of "relentless efforts," he said, had brought down Sun TV's costs to HK$40 million a year. A previous figure wasn't immediately available.

Founded in April 2000, Sun Media said recently it planned to change its name to Leadership Publishing Group Ltd.

6/03/03

I have some further info about Duna TV these are the guys that will be handling the subscriptions to it. www.aaacom.com.au
Website for Duna tv is http://www.dunatv.hu/

Info for BVN channel

Website for http://www.bvn.nl/

Some info in English about BVN http://www.bvn.nl/html/english.html
Tv guide for BVN http://www.bvn.nl/html/program_guide.html

Sports 927 radio is new in the mux on B3, 12595V Apid 1873 Sid 525 Irdeto encrypted. Website for them is http://www.sport927.com.au/

From my Emails & ICQ

From John Harrison

Melbourne AGP2003 Test Pattern Up
B1 12429V SR 6110, Fec 3/4 Vpid 308 Apid 256

(Craigs comment, Feeds of this last year went to Europe via LMI at 75E! so might be worth a check there but Pas 10 is maybe more likely)

From Iwan

Subject: [Apsattv] YTN's new SR on PAS 2

Good day,

YTN on Pas 2 is still there new SR is 9040 and same freq 3770 H

From the Dish

No Lyngsat today.

Pas 8 166E 3880V Rumours of changes here on the 7th?? can someone check it.?

NEWS

No sex, we're South African

From http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,6119,2-7-1442_1329094,00.html

Sex channel here to stay

Cape Town - The Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (Icasa) wants sex off the airwaves.

Authorities that were slow to react at first, now want to stop the sex channel, Don't Panic, from broadcasting to South Africa.

Stanley Mamaregane, senior manager at Icasa, said the organisation planned to clamp down on pirate broadcasters that operate without a licence to broadcast in South Africa.

The porn channel, which has been broadcasting explicit sex scenes 24 hours a day since the beginning of the year, broadcasts from Spain, but its signals can be picked up in South Africa from the PAS 7 satellite.

Viewers just need a special smart card in their decoders to receive the signal.

At least two more sex channels will probably be broadcasting to South Africa by the end of the year.

"Don't Panic's attitude is that they don't need a licence. They enable people to pick up a signal - a signal they don't have approval for.

Even though it originates from another country, nobody has permission to draw on that signal and to distribute in to the public. This makes Don't Panic illegal," Mamaregane said.

George Horn from Pretoria, who has the distribution rights of the porn smart cards in South Africa, said his legal team is of the opinion that Icasa's argument is unfounded.

(Craigs comment, interesting situatuation and I don't see how they can stop it!)

UBC: Without commercials, expect red ink forever

From http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/06Mar2003_biz57.html

Firm hopes regulator will reverse policy

United Broadcasting Corp Plc (UBC), the country's largest pay-television operator, may never be profitable unless two critical issues affecting its operations _ piracy and a ban on running commercials _ are tackled, says chief executive Sompan Charumilinda.

UBC would continue to lose money in the short term, after accumulating losses of 12.8 billion baht over the past decade, he said yesterday.

The company has now pinned its hopes on the establishment of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), an independent body that will be responsible for carrying out broadcasting liberalisation, to make changes that would improve its revenue outlook.

The NBC may allow pay-TV operators to carry advertising, paving the way for a significant financial resource for the company, Mr Sompan said, adding that other revenue sources for the company were scarce.

In Asia, only Thailand did not allow pay-TV stations to carry advertising, he said.

Currently, UBC's only source of revenue is monthly subscription fees, currently approaching five billion baht a year. The company has 437,845 subscribers and projects an increase to 500,000 by the end of this year.

Mr Sompan acknowledged concern about subscribers' response to Tuesday's announcement that UBC would raise its monthly fees for the Gold package of 29 channels to 1,413 baht from 1,253 baht, effective in May, citing higher operating costs.

On Tuesday, Tongthong Chandransu, a director of the Mass Communication Organisation of Thailand (MCOT), said the price adjustment by UBC would help the company ease its debts, bringing in an additional 500 million baht over the next year.

Currently, UBC holds two licences, as it is the product of a merger between rivals IBC and UTV seven years ago.

The 25-year satellite TV service licence held by the former IBC will expire in 11 years, while the 25-year cable licence held by the former UTV will end in 16 years.

UBC has also had trouble increasing its subscriber base because many provincial cable operators pirate its signals. It moved last month to offer programme package sales at 150 baht per subscriber per month to provincial operators to curb the piracy rate.

Currently, there are 246 provincial cable-TV operators with a total of 800,000 subscribers. Mr Sompan said only 78 of them had licences from the Public Relations Department.

So far, UBC said, 100 operators had expressed interest in its packages.

UBC shares closed yesterday at 15.50 baht, up 50 satang, in trade worth 23 million baht.

India to launch 9 space missions in 2003-04

From http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_204688,0008.htm

India's space programme would not be affected because of the Columbia disaster and nine space missions are to be launched in 2003-04, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Four launch vehicle missions and five satellite missions are slated for 2003-04 followed by two launch vehicle missions and four satellite missions the next year, Minister of State for Space SB Mookherjee said in reply to a question.

He said India had a self-reliant space programme which was supplemented by bilateral agreements of cooperation between ISRO and US National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Russia in the area of space applications.

NDTV pulling all stops for channels' launch

From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k3/mar/mar24.htm

NEW DELHI: Well, news is filtering out from the closely guarded headquarters of the Capital-based TV software company-and-soon-to-turn-broadcaster NDTV.

The two proposed news channels from Prannoy Roy’s company are likely to be called NDTV News in English and NDTV Samachar in Hindi. The company has already unveiled a new logo, designed by US-based TAG that is being sported by the gun mikes used by correspondents for reporting on Star News.

However, NDTV World, the subsidiary of NDTV that will look after the running of the Hindi channel, is yet to receive permission from the government for uplinking from India. Along with the likes of Star, TV Today Network (Aaj Tak) and Rajat Sharma’s Independent News Service, NDTV World too is waiting for the Indian government to take a stand on new norms for news channels uplinking from India (including ownership and equity patterns), as has been repeatedly advocated by various ministers in the government.

The two channels, as per Roy’s assertions during a rare interaction with journalists last month, will not be launched in a phased manner, but simltaneously around 1 April. NDTV’s five-year content deal for Star News channel with Star ends on 31 March 2003.

Though Roy has steadfastly refused to divulge much detail about the news project, satellite industry sources have indicated that the two NDTV channels, along with those of Sony Entertainment TV and Discovery, are likely to be beamed through Panamsat 10, a new generation satellite that was co-located with PAS-4.

Meanwhile, NDTV is pushing ahead with other aspects of a broadcasting company, including recruiting personnel for editorial, marketing and ad sales. Some marketing and ad sales professionals, earlier working with Star India, are rumoured to be joining NDTV. However it is not clear whether Raj Nayak, former executive vice-president (ad sales) of Star India, would also be involved with NDTV directly or indirectly.

On the technology front, NDTV is pulling out all the stops in an effort to dish out news in a state-of-the-art format with `cut-offs’ for local news for various regions.

NDTV has also ordered eyeheight master control equipment for integration with its in-house automation system. The contract is through India-based, Benchmark Microsystems, a leading local broadcast systems integrator.

5/03/03

Good news! Globecast on their B3 mux will soon offer BVN dutch channel, and it will be a FTA channel! Also Duna TV should be up and running by about the 12th of March (maybe earlier). Duna TV should run Fta for about 1 month before they encrypt it. I hope to have the pricing details for Duna TV soon for those interested in it.

Not much else to report today

From my Emails & ICQ

From Klaus

To whoever it may concern,

I am writing this e-mail from Sydney Australia. I would like to make an
enquiry if possible. I have been living in Italy for the last 10 years and
now I have returned home to Australia. I am desperate to find out if it is
possible to receive Italian channels through a satellite. I don't mean the
Rai International channel. The channels I am interested in are Canale5,
Italia1, Rete4, Rai1, Rai2, and Rai3. I can't get any information at all from
anywhere.

For me the cost wouldn't be a problem. I am very desperate at the moment. I
know it would be very difficult but I would do nearly anything to receive
these channels. If you know any way at all that this could be possible, could
you let me know.

Thank you for your time.

Regards,
Klaus.

(Craigs comment, As far as I know none of those services are available in Australia. You may want to look at Tarbs, they offer Tele Italia, Tv Moda, Alice, Leonardo, Inn, Telepace, Rai international, TelePace and Video Italia. Not exactly big name channels but that's about your only option. http://www.tarbs.com.au/ )

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 3771 H "KBS TV 1, YTN and MBC" have left .

PAS 8 166E 3940 HA test card has started , Fta, PIDs 2960/2920.

Agila 2 146E 3717 H "TCT" has a New SR, FEC and PIDs for : 2550, 3/4 and 4130/4131.
Agila 2 146E 3866 H New PIDs for One TV : 1160/1120.
Agila 2 146E 3870 H "IBC 13" has started, enc., SR 3000, FEC 3/4, PIDs 1160/1120.
Agila 2 146E 4080 H Occasional WCPI feeds, SR 2170, FEC 3/4.

Measat 1 91.5E Celestial Movies has started on Astro ch 39.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H "ERT Sat has replaced Public TV of Armenia", Fta, PIDs 522/650. (bet this goes fast)

NEWS

WA space station to open

From http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6076268%255E1702,00.html

THE European Space Agency will formally open its first deep space ground station in Western Australia tomorrow, three years after construction first began.

The ESA station and its antenna, which supports a 100-tonne, 35-metre dish at New Norcia, 134km north of Perth, will become part of the agency's global tracking station network.

The 40-metre high, 630-tonne antenna will be used to communicate with the ESA's first mission to Mars this year.

In that mission, the Mars Express orbiter spacecraft will be launched as part of an international flotilla of spacecraft sent to study the planet.

New Norcia - best known for being Australia's only monastic town - was chosen to host the station because of its excellent weather conditions.

It was also deemed to be sufficiently far from urban areas, which emit transmission signals that could disturb the satellite's operations.

SET moves court to stop World Cup piracy

From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=39270881

NEW DELHI: The official broadcaster of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 has approached the Delhi High Court to stop illegal airing of the matches by cable operators.

SET Satellite (Singapore), which has exclusive rights to broadcast the championship in South Africa has secured an injunction against a Gujarat-based cable operator which was illegally telecasting the matches by pirating the signals.

Justice Vikramjit Sen in an ex-parte order restrained Rajkot-based City Video Channel from broadcasting the matches in any form.

SET through its advocate Sandeep Sethi, alleged that City Video was guilty of infringing the broadcast rights of the event.

SET submitted that it has the exclusive rights in India and several other countries in the region to transmit, broadcast, exhibit and make available to public any audio and video and highlights package of the World Cup.

Alleging that the broadcast of the matches by the operator was an infringement of the rights bestowed to it under the Copyright Act, SET Satellite said it has only granted licences to select cable operators in India to transmit the broadcasts.

SET said City Video Channel was not granted any licence and it was receiving signals by unauthorised means and distributing to its subscribers in illegal manner.

India's satellite broadcast equipment market to soar: PWC

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=39265662

BANGALORE: The market for satellite broadcast equipment in India is expected to grow almost five times to about 110,000 units in the next five years, a recent report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) said.

The growth will be driven by new applications such as distance education, internet, rural connectivity, banking and finance and gaming industry, the report on the VSAT industry by PWC, conducted for the fiscal 2001-02, said.

"Over the last year, the industry had benefited greatly from increased adoption of IT by non-IT companies, favourable regulations and overall macro-economic business confidence. Given the market structure and growth opportunities only the top two to three players may exist over the next four to five years," PWC said in a release here today.

The report said Hughes Escorts Communications with a market share of 35 per cent was the leader in the satellite service provider segment.

Freeview surpasses ITV Digital in four months

From http://www.netimperative.com/cmn/viewdoc.jsp?cat=all&docid=BEP1_News_0000049726

Freeview, the BBC's replacement service for the defunct ITV Digital is in 1.4m homes - 200,000 more than the ITV Digital service could claim - just four months since its launch, according to new BARB figures for March due out this week.

Andy Duncan, director of marketing and communications for the BBC, revealed the figures at today's FT Broadcasting and New Media Conference adding that a new campaign promoting the service would be revealed at the end of this week. The growth means that Freeview can claim 3m viewers, prompting Duncan to describe the service as a valuable third platform in the digital TV market, behind satellite and cable.

The service, which was launched in October backed by a major campaign on BBC channels, was sprung after the BBC won the digital TV licence previously held by ITV for the ITV Digital service that collapsed last year. At its peak, ITV Digital had 1.2m subscribers.

The take-up of Freeview has been sparked, said Duncan, by a clear marketing strategy aimed at potential digital viewers generally ignored by Sky and the cable giants. He said that existing digital services were aimed at the populist ABC1, 18-35 consumer, leaving less technologically literate groups largely untapped.

He said, however, that Freeview was 'complementary' to the commercial digital services and that he could forsee households using cable or satellite services, alongside Freeview for other rooms.

Duncan added that the Beeb was now happy with its range of services for the forseeable future having launched a bevvy of new channels in the past twelve months, culminating in the new BBC Three, launched last week.

However, criticism continues to flow over the funding of digital services through the licence fee, while many license fee payers still do not use digital services. Duncan estimated that 15m UK homes are still without any form of digital TV service.

(Craigs comment, not really satellite related but it shows how Digital terrestrial tv should be done.)

4/03/03

Live chat tonight 9pm NZ and 8.30pm Syd time onwards

Colour Bars are up on Globecast B3, 12336V possibly for Duna TV. Also on B3 Some Optus channels have left?

Not much else to report today

From my Emails & ICQ

Nothing to report

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 3860 H "Z Channel" is now encrypted.It's Hwazan Satellite TV on PIDs 910/911.

Optus B3 156E 12336 V "Colour bars" testing on Vpid 502 Apid 550 Sid 22

JCSAT 3 128E 3960 V "Hot Channel" has left .

-

NEWS

SET-Discovery To Seed 10,000 Decoders For NDTV Channels

From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=29279

Mumbai: SET-Discovery One Alliance plans to seed 5,000 decoder boxes to cable operators within three months for distribution of NDTV’s two news channels.

Cable operators will have the option of paying Rs 3,500 for one decoder box or Rs 6,500 for the two channels. NDTV will use Iredeto boxes. “We will be seeding 10,000 decoder boxes for the two NDTV channels. We plan to feed the market with 5,000 boxes in three months. This will ensure that the new channels are well distributed across the country,” said SET-Discovery India Pvt Ltd president Shantonu Aditya. Prannoy Roy’s NDTV has a three-year distribution contract with SET-Discovery, a joint venture between SET (Sony Entertainment India) and Discovery Networks India. One Alliance is the umbrella brand of SET-Discovery.

NDTV’s two news channels will be on PAS-10, the same satellite as Sony’s. Though NDTV plans to launch an English and a Hindi news channel immediately after its contract to supply content exclusively to Star News expires on March 31, the company has received uplinking permission from the government for one channel only. NDTV World is awaiting clearance from the government, along with Star News, TV Today Network, Bharat Broadcasting Channel from the Videocon group and Rajat Sharma’s Independent News Service.

Though Prannoy Roy’s proposed news channels will be pay, One Alliance is yet to decide whether they should price the cable operators by increasing the bouquet cost. Currently, the SET-Discovery bouquet which includes HBO is available for Rs 55 a month per subscriber home.

The thinking is that they should keep the prices at the current fee as the ICC World Cup will be over by then. With conditional access systems (CAS) set for implementation in four metropolitan cities from July 14, One Alliance feels that there will be stiff resistance against any price hike.

“We have not finalised yet whether we should hike our monthly subscription fee after NDTV’s news channels join our distribution bouquet,” said Mr Aditya. One Alliance will lose business news channel CNBC in its bouquet from March 31, 2003. CNBC has decided to join the Zee-Turner distribution bouquet after the expiry of its distribution contract with SET India.

With several news channels to be launched this year, the best way to guarantee penetration for the NDTV channels would be to continue increase the price of the One Alliance bouquet. “One Alliance can offer the NDTV channels as part of the bundle, without asking cable operators to pay more. This way they will get the reach as we won’t feel the burden,” said a cable operator in Mumbai.

3/03/03

"What Satellite and Digital TV" have put out their annual buyers guide for satellite equipment. It should be available from most decent magazine shops. They have changed the name slightly to "Digital TV Tests 2003 The Ultimate buyers guide" the cover is mostly Red and white if you are looking for it in the magazine stands. There are reviews in it of about 28 receivers and various other pieces of satellite equipment.

Hong Kong Jockey Club race feed does anyone know the current location and status of this service?

From my Emails & ICQ

From Bill Richards 28/02/03

Pas 2 4035 H "AFL Feed" Sr 6110 Fec 3/4

From Bill Richards 1/03/03

Pas 2

0405 UTC

4054 H "Sabrate School" Feed Sr 5420, FEC 1/2
Vpid1160 Apid1120 SID1Eng/French
Vpid1160 Apid1122 SID2 Span/Progese

Regards
Bill

From Jeff in W.A

Phoenix Chinese analog on 3920 Mhz horizontal on asiasat 3 has a notice up
for viewers to tune to its digital service on 4000 Mhz.

From John McDermott 01/03/03

Brisbane v Geelong Wizard Cup B1, 12420V 6110 from Cairns, FNQ

From Various

V bus feeds each day on B1 12430 V 6110 3/4

"I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" feed continue on B1 12430 V Sr 6668 Fec 3/4

From the Dish

Agila 2 146E 3775 V "Isla" has started, Fta, SR 3000, FEC 3/4, PIDs 4112/4113.

Apstar 1 138E 3902 H A test card has started , Fta, SR 3000, FEC 1/2, PIDs 352/353.

JCSAT 3 128E 3960 V "Rainbow Channel 2" has started, Viaccess 2, PIDs 1216/1217,01-05 HKT. CTS and CTV are now encrypted.

JCSAT 3 128E 12613 H "CNN J has replaced CNN International Asia", enc., PIDs 2064/2068.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3920 H "Phoenix Chinese" has left (NTSC), replaced by a test card.

Yamal 102 90E 3717 L "Rambler Teleset" has left again.

PAS 10 68.5E 3778 V New PIDs for CMM Music : 4130/4131.

NEWS

Let pay-TV play hot sport: Murdoch

From http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6057932%255E643,00.html

NEWS Limited chairman Lachlan Murdoch says changing anti-siphoning rules should be the next regulatory challenge for the pay-TV sector, after last year's approval of an industry restructure.

He said the anti-siphoning regime, which prevented pay-TV broadcasting popular sports events such as Ashes cricket tests, should be changed to a dual-rights system.

Mr Murdoch told an Australian Subscription TV and Radio Association conference yesterday that the regime had been extended until 2005, but should now be removed.

"I believe anti-siphoning is the next battlefield of reform for our industry," he said.

"It would provide immediate consumer benefits."

There are no anti-siphoning systems in the US or New Zealand. But Mr Murdoch said Europe's dual-rights system was the most rational approach for Australia.

"In the spirit of co-operation, surely there is a middle ground which can recognise that more sport and more live sport is available in the subscription sector than anywhere else," he said.

A dual-rights system would allow free and pay-TV groups to separately bid for free and pay-TV broadcast rights to sports events, with neither being excluded from bidding.

The free-TV sector continues to oppose change, saying dual rights would undermine the regime and lead to a migration of sport to pay-TV.

The anti-siphoning issue is expected to be canvassed in a report on competition in the pay-TV sector by the regulator, due next month.

Mr Murdoch said anti-siphoning was one of an "extraordinary" range of regulations applying to pay-TV, which was "still a start-up sector by most measures".

Already under way are reviews of the restructure, a pay-TV content review, and a review of interactive gambling – which was being held "before we even have a chance to launch or to think about launching those services".

Mr Murdoch, who chairs the company that owns The Australian and 25 per cent of pay-TV group Foxtel, said the restructure, which had allowed Foxtel and Optus to share pay-TV content, gave the industry a "fair and compelling opportunity to grow".

It would lead to Foxtel's digitisation, but he said it would not make Foxtel immediately profitable.

"Our reward will not be in immediate profits (but) the chance to deliver the kind of quality of TV services Australians have demanded," he said.

Mr Murdoch also highlighted pay-TV's contribution to media diversity – a key negotiating point in the coming debate on the removal of cross-media and foreign ownership restrictions.

He said Foxtel already broadcast 47 channels owned by 39 different local and international companies.

These include eight movie channels, five sports channels, 10 general entertainment and three documentary channels.

"And this diversity will multiply in the digital world," Mr Murdoch said.

He urged the remaining free-to-air networks, such as Seven and Ten, to accept Foxtel's offer to retransmit their digital TV signals, saying it would increase penetration of their digital service 5000 per cent.

The free-TV networks have held out from agreeing because, like Foxtel, they must pay their own transponder costs for the satellite pay-TV service.

Pay-TV rules under review

From http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,6054396-23210,00.html

ANTI-siphoning laws for sports shows needed to be changed and were being reviewed, the Federal Government has said.

The News Corporation Ltd's deputy chief operating officer Lachlan Murdoch today called on the Government to drop the laws.

The laws give free-to-air channels the first chance to buy broadcast rights for a range of selected sports.

Mr Murdoch urged the Federal Government to abandon the television industry's anti-siphoning laws, branding them restrictive.

He said scrapping the laws would deliver immediate benefits to sports fans across Australia.

Communications Minister Richard Alston's spokesman today said there was a need for change but the Government was mindful people were used to watching main sports on free-to-air television.

"We have publicly acknowledged a need for some changes to the regime," Senator Alston's spokesman said.

"We are currently reviewing the regime. "But we are also mindful of the long tradition of people being able to watch major sporting events on free-to-air television."

Earlier the Federal Opposition agreed with Mr Murdoch that there was a case for re-examining anti-siphoning rules.

Opposition communications spokesman Lindsay Tanner said there was a case for re-examining the laws.
"Although there is a case for some change in anti-siphoning, it is vital that the integrity of the anti-siphoning regime is maintained to ensure that all Australians are able to watch their favourite sporting events on television," Mr Tanner said.

Footy on 48 hours a day

From http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6061335%255E11548,00.html

FOOTY fans have scored again - a second dedicated AFL channel is to be launched on pay-TV.

FOX Footy Extra will air from Sunday, March 23, at 7.30pm.

Victorians already have live AFL action on free-to-air channels Nine and Ten.

But, according to Foxtel director of AFL operations Rick McKenna, we are insatiable when it comes to the national winter sport.

"What's wrong with 48 hours of footy a day? You can't have too much football," he said.

"Footy fans have a voracious appetite for the game and, more particularly, for their team.

"The idea with Footy Extra is for footy fans to know their team's games will be screened in the same prime-time slot every week.

"There couldn't be better news for footy fans on the eve of the home-and-away season."

Mr McKenna said it was important to have a second channel to give viewers an alternative.

"We recognise footy fans aren't that interested in . . . a rival team, so this gives them another choice," he said.

"It's all about watching your own team and there's a better chance to do that now."

The new station will be available to subscribers of the FOX Footy Channel at no extra charge.

Victorians will have their own version of Footy Extra, which will feature Melbourne-based teams in prime-time slots.

The station has struck a deal with the ABC to provide games from the VFL, SANFL and WAFL.

"We recognise the importance of supporting - not only at the elite level, but in grass-roots football and we have access to a 10-year VFL finals archive," Mr McKenna said.

There will be five different versions of FOX Footy Extra - Victorian, NSW, West Australian, South Australian and Queensland.

Each will be programmed individually to give priority to that state's teams.

"We saw an opportunity to focus on the local markets," Mr McKenna said. "It means if you come from South Australia, games featuring the Crows and Port Adelaide will be on prime time."

The SA and WA versions of FOX Footy Extra will also feature a special edition of the popular live footy talkback show, White Line Fever.

Industry sources said Foxtel footy was watched in an estimated 400,000 homes across Australia and the second channel would boost that figure.

Shin Satellite Reports Slight Drop in Net Income

From satnewsasia.com

Lone Thai satellite operator Shin Satellite pcl (ShinSat) announced a drop in net profit to US$33 million in 2002 from US$36 million in 2001. Sales increased slightly to US$116 million from US$112 million.

The results confirmed analysts’ predictions. Analysts expected revenues from transponder leasing and satellite equipment sales to remain flat while expenses would run higher. Expenses did rise, to US$87 million from US$75 million. Analysts also said the depreciation of the Thai baht against the US dollar also negatively affected ShinSat’s revenues, over 90% of which is dollar denominated. Analysts predict a weak outlook for ShinSat this year.

Rising Star

From http://www.asiatele.com/ViewArt.cfm?Magid=4&Artid=18808&Catid=5&subcat=55

It seems this is the year of the satellite. New Skies Satellites' NSS-6 is freshly occupying 95º E longitude (see 'Lifting Asia's Capacity', page 50, Jan/Feb 2003), and Shin Satellite's iPStar will take off later this year.

Shin Sat's executive chairman, Dumrong Kasemset, thinks that its 2003 revenues will grow 25% to 7 billion baht (US$163 million), thanks to contributions from its Internet units and Indochina businesses. But he expects that revenue from its core satellite operating business is likely to be flat this year.

However, that may well change when the US$350 million high-speed iPStar, seen as a major source of revenues in the next few years, is launched. Yongsit Rojsrivichaikul, chief commercial officer and vice-president, Shin Satellite, explains.

What are the initial responses to the new satellite?

iPStar is a different kind of product that comes with many opportunities. The iPStar Satellite can carry up to 45Gbps, compared to conventional ones that are able to carry 2Gbps.

However, we are only focused on broadband. When we talk to telcos and broadband operators, they agree that it is a powerful and compelling technology and business opportunity.

Telcos look at satellite as a last resort as they prefer to deploy ADSL and fibre. That is, what they have available to them. Broadband take-up rate in most countries is gradual rather than rapid.

With [a] satellite, they have a more flexible choice. Why? They do not have to upgrade switches in the central office. They can go anywhere their customers are, and they can choose to deploy only where broadband access is needed.

What about costs associated with satellite technology?

Satellite usage may have higher costs than ADSL, but the economics of its flexibility may see it being cheaper in the long term. But the scale and cost of structure of iPStar has a compelling proposition.

How do you intend to approach the market?

Here is our marketing strategy: Firstly, we have to change the perception of telcos such that they will consider satellite as a viable alternative. So we are very focused on working with other telcos as they are natural users of satellite bandwidth.

Second, we are highlighting the cost structure, scale, and flexibility of iPStar. Never before has a satellite service offered this option of broadband access. The more scenarios the better, so we need to deploy one after another to showcase iPStar's capability. Third, the creation of applications, which is linked to the first point.

I believe that satellite broadband can deliver broadband applications better than terrestrial networks, primarily because of its multicasting abilities.

What are some examples of these applications?

For example, applications that take advantage of multicasting, like hotspots. In New Zealand, for example, a lot of co-op/farms in the rural areas can use WLAN technology. If mobile operators want to expand hotspot coverage to complement 3G/mobile spread, it is cost-prohibitive, whereas a satellite can be used as bandwidth on demand. It is a powerful hybrid technology for mobile operators.

Another application is video-on-demand (VoD) and interactive TV (or IP to TV), where operators can target vertical markets which are using broadband VSAT. In fact, the cost structure is better addressed for the existing market.

The mass market is also easily served, as the technology is now available to the masses.

How do you intend to work with partners?

We are offering a co-operative model for partners. We do not just sell equipment or bandwidth alone.

We are saying to them: "Let us work hand-in-hand to build the business together". So we offer our expertise technology, infrastructure, bandwidth, and they tackle the market, customers, operations, services, and local marketing.

We believe our model makes it easier for partners to bring iPStar to market quicker, and the reason we can do it is because we come from a 'ready to market' position as the initial expenditure is already done.

What about associated equipment?

We still have to build the gateway in each country, but it is not too expensive. It costs a few million dollars to build first-generation gateways, but for those pumping out 100Mbps, the incremental cost will be low. First-generation gateways have been built in Myanmar, Thailand, and India, but these were bought by our users.

The second-generation ones will be based more on the co-operative model that I described. So we can create the synergy to sustain the market in the longer term.

Second-generation iPStar gateways will cost about US$10 million and can handle up to 2Gbps, so the cost per bit is very low.

We hope to deploy about seven gateways to cover most of Asia by 2003. These gateways will come online in late 2003.

The ground terminals are just dishes with built-in modems, and some will also have routers or servers built-in to cater for hotspot applications.

The cost of such a dish will be in the range of US$1,500?US$1,700, depending on the size of antenna.

Based on our calculations, the iPStar, when launched, is capable of handling up to a million terminals, and it can optimise performance to fit broadband applications.

What about returns on investment for your customers?

There is a good chance that iPStar can be the de facto standard in the market due to the sheer volume of terminals in the market, where our ground segment uses new OFDM, new turbo codes, and a new network management system. The older satellites are a retrofit of older technology, namely, DVB RCS.

This works in iPStar's favour as the dynamic link allocation maximises output 99% of the time. Fixed modulation link on the other hand averages out the highs and lows, which wastes more energy and bandwidth.

In addition, we improve reliability and capability of the iPStar ground segment by using spot beams that can re-use frequency. There is no onboard processing; the intelligence is on the ground and gateways. And we use proprietary technology that accommodates more than 100 beams on one satellite, with Ku band for users and Ka band for the gateways.

Can you share your plans for sales and tech support for iPStar?

I believe that iPStar will be a strong player on a regional level in a year's time [after launch]. Our key activity is to visit governments and go directly to partners. We will position iPStar as an infrastructure and wholesale play. It is an enabling technology. Local marketing will come mostly from partners.

The combined team for iPStar/Thaicom for sales and marketing is more than 50 people and this number will be increased by 20-30%. We plan to open sales offices in China, India and Australia, which are key markets. For gateways, we will eventually have 18 offices in each country.

The markets we pursue all had some kind of broadband satellite before, but our partners hold the licences, not us. We merely sell wholesale bandwidth and supply the gateways.

What are your benchmarks for success?

As long as we can maintain cash flow, that is good for us. It is a humble aim, to maintain the bottomline. Our cost structure will allow partners to sell services including marketing and so on. The wholesale price is worked back from that; it still provides a good margin for us.

Compared to traditional satellites, we do not need to sell a lot of capacity to break even. iPStar is a satellite project that has gotten full funding for deployment. Commercially, it is the only broadband satellite that is ready to launch.

We are ready to offer commercial packages with partners; in some markets we have already launched using existing satellites.

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 9/2003 2 March 2003 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International

Editor: Branislav Pekic
Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A

SET ASIA JOINS ARAB DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION

Sony Entertainment Television Asia, the international feed of India's Sony Entertainment Television, is now available as part of Pehla, the Asian entertainment channel bouquet on the Arab Digital Distribution platform in the Middle East. SET and SET Asia are offered in more than 100 countries around the world. ADD packages and distributes Arabic-, English-, and Hindi-language channels across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

AUSTRALIA

NEWS CORP EXPECTS “EXPLOSIVE GROWTH” IN PAY-TV SECTOR

News Corp, a partner in the Foxtel pay-TV joint venture in Australia, said on February 28 that the local industry is "on the brink of seeing explosive growth". Lachlan Murdoch, the eldest son of founder Rupert Murdoch, said growth will depend on the industry tackling overregulation of program siphoning, creating services that appeal to viewers, and service improvements. On regulatory issues that have hampered the expansion of pay-TV in Australia, according to industry participants, Murdoch said the key problem is anti-siphoning legislation which effectively hampers the amount of sport that can be shown on pay TV. The dominant Foxtel operation is 50% owned by Telstra Corp. with 25% stakes each held by News Corp. and Kerry Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd.

DBA ENCOURAGED BY TAKE UP OF DIGITAL BOXES

Digital Broadcasting Australia (DBA) said it has been encouraged by improved sales figures for the set-top boxes needed to access digital services. Speaking for the DBA, Nadia Mercinsky said 35,000 digital units had been sold in Australia by Christmas 2002. Digital television was launched in Australia in January 2001. The government had planned to phase out the analogue system by 2008, but the lacklustre take-up rates have forced the government to rethink its timetable.

AUSTRALIAN PAY-TV PREPARES FOR DIGITAL CHALLENGE

Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association chairman John Porter told a pay-TV conference on February 28 it had been a struggle to move the industry forward, given the tough competition from free-to-air television rivals. He said penetration of pay-TV - currently around 22 per cent of households or 1.5 million subscribers - would strengthen ahead. During the Astra 2003 forum, Foxtel announced it would launch its digital service in the last quarter of 2003, with the services to feature an initial 144 channels, with around 15 per cent of those earmarked for rivals. Foxtel's junior rival Austar United Communications is planning to add news and information channel BBC World to its services from March 1. Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams agreed the outlook for the pay-TV industry was much stronger than a year ago, after the agreement that Foxtel and Optus could share content and infrastructure. He said Foxtel planned a new Fox Footy Extra state-based channel to be launched on March 23. It would be supplied at no extra cost to existing Fox Footy customers. Mr Williams said Foxtel had put forward digital retransmission proposals to free-to-air channels, Ten, Seven, ABC, SBS and Nine; with agreements reached or close with Nine, ABC and SBS.

PRIME TV REPORTS FINANCIAL RESULTS

Regional broadcaster Prime Television on February 26 reported a 0.6% fall in net profit to A$7.7 million for the fiscal first half ended December 31. The result was marred by a A$7.6 million nonrecurring charge, most of which relates to a previously announced restructuring and management downsizing, but helped by a A$4.2 million tax benefit. Prime reiterated its expectation that full year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization from Australian operations will be "broadly flat" with fiscal 2002.

CHINA - HONG KONG

TV MARKET UNLIKELY TO OPEN SOON

China is not likely to open up its TV industry further to foreign media and entertainment companies any time soon, a senior official at China Central Television (CCTV) has been quoted as saying. Zhang Changming, Vice President of the national broadcaster, told the South China Morning Post that China's TV industry had opened up enough to foreign participation. Mr Zhang said two foreign companies that operate channels in China -- AOL Time Warner and STAR TV - were not likely to be permitted to extend their services beyond the Pearl River Delta region in southern China in the near future.

INDONESIA

NEW BROADCASTING BILL TAKES EFFECT

The new broadcasting law has taken effect despite not being approved by President Megawati Sukarnoputri, according to The Jakarta Post. The law has been criticised by many in the broadcasting industry because it gives the authorities new powers to intervene in broadcasting activities, sparking fears of censorship. It mandates the establishment of a powerful Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), which will have sweeping powers over the broadcasting industry. The commission will have nine members, all chosen by parliament. Under the constitution, a bill takes effect 30 days after being passed, with or without the President's approval.

IRAN

ARABIC LANGUAGE SATELLITE NEWS CHANNEL LAUNCHED

The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting has launched an Arabic-language satellite news channel for a trial period of two-months. Al-Alam (The World in Arabic) began broadcasting on February 23 for six hours a day. Director Mohsen Roghani said Al-Alam, which currently uses four satellites, will be available worldwide following the imminent signing of a contract for carriage on a fifth satellite.

JAPAN

PANEL URGES CHANGE IN TV OWNERSHIP RULES

A Public Management Ministry study group officially released its final report February 27 urging the government to ease TV station ownership rules. The ministry is expected to respond by drafting bills to revise relevant laws. The Study Group on Broadcasting Policy's proposal to review the current ban on the ownership of several television stations by one company is intended to support financially troubled commercial broadcasters. The policy, formulated by the advisory panel to the ministry's director general of the Information and Communications Policy Bureau, calls for revising the Broadcasting Law to allow one broadcaster to acquire a controlling interest in another. The panel also urged the government to ease restrictions on broadcasters holding stakes in broadcasters in neighboring prefectures in an effort to promote realignment of the regional broadcasting industry. However, some claim the deregulatory efforts are insufficient and that deregulation alone will not lead to a shakeup of the local broadcasting industry. Under the current Broadcasting Law, television broadcasters are prohibited from operating more than one station in a single service area to prevent media companies from overly influencing and manipulating public opinion. In addition to the diversification of broadcasting media, local TV broadcasters are burdened with hefty outlays in preparation for terrestrial digital broadcast services that they plan to start by the end of 2006. According to the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan, the nation's 127 commercial broadcasters will be required to invest a total of about Y560 billion to start terrestrial digital broadcast services, an average investment of about Y4.5 billion per station.

NEW ZEALAND

PUBLIC BROADCASTER CHARTER PRESENTED

A new era in New Zealand broadcasting was ushered in on February 29 as TVNZ began to give effect to its Charter. For the past 14 years, TVNZ has operated as a State Owned Enterprise with a purely commercial focus. The TVNZ Bill splits the existing TVNZ Group into a television company (TVNZ) and a new transmission company (Transmission Holdings Limited) from 1 July 2003. The legislation requires TVNZ to balance its commercial performance with a set of public broadcasting objectives, set out in the Charter.

SINGAPORE

RECOMMENDATION FOR RETURN OF DIALECT PROGRAMMES

Singapore's Programme Advisory Committee has recommended that Chinese dialect television programmes be reintroduced after a break of 24 years. All Cantonese serials from Hong Kong have been dubbed into Mandarin since Singapore launched its Speak Mandarin campaign in 1979. The committee -- set up by the government to provide feedback on TV and radio programmes -- said it believed the proposed change would not undo the progress made or cause a backlash. Suggestions of committee members range from just a few Cantonese sentences in a programme to a full Cantonese film festival on a particular channel. The Media Development Authority said it would take the committee's recommendation into consideration when it reviewed its dialect guidelines later this year.

SOUTH KOREA

YTN TO REACH GLOBAL AUDIENCE

YTN, a South Korean cable news channel is hoping to double its global audience to 2 million following a deal with satellite company PanAmSat for transmission in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, Northern Europe and Africa. The deal takes effect March 1.

THAILAND

UBC TO LAUNCH ENTERTAINMENT CHANNEL

Thailand-based United Broadcasting Corporation is launching a local-language entertainment channel, based around the E! Entertainment format, in order to boost subscriptions to its pay-TV platform. UBC sees local content as key to expanding its reach, having localized six of its 29 channels including MTV and Channel [V]. The platform has 400,000 subscribers, up 30,000 in 2002.

A F R I C A

SOUTH AFRICA

CHANGES IN MEDIA REGULATIONS EXPECTED

South African authorities have agreed the need to amend the country's media sector and changes are likely to be introduced this year. Current rules preclude foreign companies from owning more than 20% of TV stations. Cross media ownership rules prevent publishers from buying into broadcasters.

NEW FINANCIAL TV CHANNEL TO LAUNCH

On April 4, former investment analyst Peter Armitage will launch a new satellite TV service, directly into financial sector offices. The service, using the Sentech satellite link, will run from 07:00 to 19:30 on business days. Business Television Network (BTN) is also backed by academic and business consultant Prof Andy Andrews and stock broking firm Barnard Jacobs Mellet. The daily format will include market statistics, hourly news and interviews with market experts, CEOs, analysts and fund managers.

ONE MILLION DECODERS SOLD

Multichoice Africa and Altech multimedia subsidiary UEC Technologies on February 27 celebrated the delivery of the millionth digital satellite television decoder manufactured for the pay-TV company. The milestone came in the wake of the recent launch of Multichoice's dual view digital satellite decoder, a product developed in response to subscriber demand for the choice of viewing two separate satellite television stations simultaneously. The pay-TV station broadcasts throughout Africa, Europe, Asia and the US. CEO Nolo Letele said the company provided entertainment to about 900,000 subscribers in 49 countries in Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. UEC MD Francois Stols said the multimedia company had already produced more than 2-million decoders for customers internationally, and the dual view decoder was one way in which UEC and Multichoice had worked together on product development in the past decade. UEC focuses on the design, development, industrialisation and manufacture of compressed digital television and multimedia products and software for the global satellite, cable and terrestrial markets. Initially, UEC made and distributed products by third parties under licence.

2/03/03

It's Sunday go back to bed!

1/03/03

No update today, back Monday