Showtime Australia changes channels
Subscription television brand, Showtime Australia will change its channel line-up in a bid to streamline its movie content and continue a push into original, high-end drama in the style of US pay TV network, HBO.
Showtime currently owns and operates four channels, Showtime, Showtime Two, Showtime Greats and Showcase, but on Sunday the brand will expand its portfolio to seven unique channels along with several high-definition additions (HD).
Among the changes, Showcase - the brand’s flagship drama channel - will now be available in HD along with an additional channel called Showcase Two. Latest release movie channel, Showtime will become Showtime Premier and will also be available in high definition.
Repeat movie channel, Showtime Greats has been retired in favour of three genre channels – Showtime Action (HD), Showtime Drama and Showtime Comedy.
A time-shift channel, Showcase Two, has also been introduced to provide more movie viewing choice and alternate movie viewing times.
Showtime CEO, Peter Rose tells INSIDEFILM the changes “were a logical step” to capitalise on the launch of Foxtel’s new satellite and enable the brand to expand its offering to pay TV networks Foxtel and Austar.
“We had the opportunity of working with Foxtel, firstly to upgrade a number of the channels to HD, which I think is pretty exciting that is a fantastic technology particularly for movies and Showcase” says Rose.
“Then we started to listen to the public and what they said in terms of research. What was being said to us is that people in essence want to be able to find the movie they are in the movie for.”
“So, we thought [splitting movies into separate genre channels] was a very good way of organising the movies so people could come home and say ‘I really feel like a comedy, what is going to be onClick here to enlarge’”.

Despite being expensive to make, original high-definition, high-end drama in the style of HBO productions from the US, remains an important focus for the brand.
“We have branched out and basically copied the HBO model,” Anthony Mrsnik, Showtime director of legal and business affairs told an audience at the Up Close & Digital event in Sydney this week.
“The average [production cost] is around $700,000 to $750,000 per episode. We would like to see that money back, but the idea is to attract subscribers to the service. We want high-end, high-concept, high-quality.”
Showtime has now commissioned two new Australian dramas, Tangle and Satisfaction along with a third season of award-winning drama Love My Way.
The brand is also in pre-production with a series adaption of the Tim Winton novel, Cloudstreet. Showtime fully-funded all the new series.
According to Rose, Australian audiences are “out there in a big way” looking for original high-end drama, and Showcase remains one of the brand’s most requested channels.
“One of the unique aspects of subscription television is that you have such a direct relationship with the audience and not via an advertiser so that you can actually engage in doing really challenging drama.
“In a way these are the new movies because they are a very interesting way of telling stories.
“The real measure for me is that subscribers are growing and if you talk to the sales people [Showcase] is one of the most requested channels.”

Internet Movie Downloads Set To Take Off In OZ

ISP's in Australia are set to boost the movie download market in Australia by offering unlimited broadband between 8.00pm and 6.00am in an efffort to lure consumers who now have IP enabled TV's gaming consoles and personal video players that are capable of running full HD movies.
Among the ISP's already offering unlimited downloads are iiNet and AAPT. At yesterday's launch of Microsoft's new movie download service which goes live later this month Microsoft executives said that the demand for movies and video content over a broadband network will force many ISP's to rethink their broadband packages in Australia.nd 6.00am in an efffort to lure consumers who now have IP enabled TV's gaming consoles and personal video players
Analysts and researchers are tipping that demand for Internet movies and video content from the likes of Foxtel, The ABC, YouTube as well as vendors like Microsoft, Apple and Sony is set to explode in Australia during the next 18 months.
In the USA where broadband speeds are similar to Australia the number of U.S. broadband households watching premium online content, including movies and TV shows via the Internet, doubled in the last year, according to research group, Parks Associates. Currently over 25 million U.S. broadband households regularly watch full-length TV shows online, while over 20 million watch movies online.
The international research firm reports that the growing popularity of online portals such as Hulu.com owned by Rupurt Murdoch, shows rapid growth in the number of viewers who use the Internet to watch long-tail and premium content. This shift highlights the opportunity for service providers to extend their current pay-TV and video-on-demand services to include online and mobile video features. In fact, providers will have to embrace online video services, including the ability to deliver content across multiple platforms, if they are to remain competitive and attract new subscribers.
The next step, according to Dasari, is for content owners and distributors to come to a consensus on business models so they can monetize consumer interest in online media.



Vodafone, Sky TV poised to expand partnership

Vodafone has alerted media that it plans to make an announcement around its Sky TV partnership next Tuesday.
Sky TV has new competition to deal with, and Vodafone may be able to help out.
The one-third TVNZ-owned TiVo launched last Friday with an exclusive retail arrangement with Telecom. Additionally, only Telecom Broadband customers can access on-demand movies and TV shows through TiVo (which are not counted toward a monthly data cap) although customers on any ISP can access TiVo’s Freeview HD broadcast feed (read NBR's TiVo Q&A here).
Telecom (NZX: TEL) and Sky TV have a twin billing arrangement, which is now being wound down in favour of a single-bill deal for Sky TV and Vodafone customers.
And earlier this year, Sky TV suspended its on-demand, broadband delivered content, with chief executive John Fellet blaming a dearth of uncapped internet planned.
But on October 30, Mr Fellet revealed to NBR that he was in discussions with several ISPs about a reanimated IPTV service. The broadcasters MySkyHDi settop box is IPTV-capable, and Mr Fellet has been diligently buying up internet broadcast rights to various programmes.
NBR is guessing that, come Tuesday, Vodafone will become Sky TV’s first partner for a new, on-demand content service.
Almost nothing
At its results briefing on Friday, Telecom Retail chief executive Alan Gourdie would not reveal terms of his company’s deal with TiVo licensee Hybrid TV, but did say that it would cost “almost nothing” to deliver TiVo’s on-demand movies and TV via DSL as all content will be cached locally.
Another benefit: Mr Gourdie said every extended service could potentially reduce Telecom Broadband's churn by 50%.
Mr Fellet indicated to NBR that he was open to similar ISP partnerships, but that none would be exclusive. (Despite its exclusive relationship with Telecom in NZ, TiVo - which launched with a single ISP partner in Australia, now has five).
“We work with anybody,” said Mr Fellet.
Fellet explains kneecaping
The Sky TV (NXZ: SKT) chief executive maintains his company is withholding Prime TV's electronic programming guide listings from TiVo not out of spite, but because TiVo set-top boxes are not yet covered by Nielsen.
TiVo owners can still view Prime (and fellow listings hold-out Maori TV) but only record it using a manual date and time process rather than TiVo's famously user-frienldly interface.
Mr Fellet said he anticipated Nielsen would add TiVo boxes to its survey in six to eight months. Nielsen declined to comment.







RAINBOW MEDIA’S SUNDANCE CHANNEL AND WE TV BREAK NEW GROUND IN ASIA THROUGH MEASAT AND ASCENT MEDIA
Move Expands MEASAT’s HD Lineup While Ascent Enables Continued International Growth for its Customers

Kuala Lumpur, 11 Nov 2009 – Rainbow Media, MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. (“MEASAT”), and Ascent Media Pte. Ltd. announced today that an agreement was signed to distribute Sundance Channel and WE tv across the Asia-Pacific region via the MEASAT-3a satellite. The channels will be distributed in high and standard definition. Today’s agreement marks a milestone for both brands, which will be made available for the first time throughout Asia.

Under the agreement, Ascent Media will deliver a complete file-based workflow and fully automated playout system, operated in a shared network environment, and will provide the HD uplink to the MEASAT-3a satellite. Ascent's world-leading talent will also create promotional spots for both channels suited to the Asian market, as well as provide other post-production services.

“We are pleased to announce this significant deal, which paves the way for the Sundance Channel and WE tv to be available in Asia for the first time," said Ed Carroll, Chief Operating Officer, Rainbow Entertainment Services. "Working with MEASAT and Ascent, we are looking forward to Sundance Channel expanding its reach into another major world market and the launch of WE tv beyond the United States."

“We are fortunate to be working once again with Rainbow Media and Ascent Media for the distribution of Rainbow Media’s latest HD initiative in Asia. Our collaboration with Rainbow Media dates back to 2007 when VOOM HD, the first HD channel on MEASAT-3, was launched in Asia. The addition of Sundance Channel and WE tv strengthens our position as the leader of HD channel distribution in the region,” said Terry Bleakley, Vice President, Commercial Operations, MEASAT.

“We are pleased to provide Rainbow Media with an end-to-end solution that allows them to quickly and efficiently expand their presence in another international market,” said Jose Royo, Chief Executive Officer, Ascent Media Group. “Media companies of all kinds are increasingly looking for ways to implement more efficient operations and our shared HD platform provides a cost-effective solution for networks to continue to expand in a difficult economic environment.”

Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel (Sundance Channel : Home Page) reaches more than 33 million subscribers in the U.S. The Sundance Channel schedule is highlighted by acclaimed programming such as: original series, Man Shops Globe and Lazy Environmentalist; the premiere limited series 100 Mile Challenge; the theatrical special film presentation, King Lear starring Academy-Award® nominee, Sir Ian McKellen; and coveted
indie films like Theater of War starring Academy-Award®-winning actors Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline.

Available in nearly 74 million U.S. households, WE tv (WE tv: Love and Sex, Weddings, Fashion, Your Money and Job, Food and Recipes, Health, Singles - WEtv.com) is the premier source for women looking to satisfy their curiosity with fascinating, original stories and entertaining, informative content that is relevant to key stages of their lives. WE tv features such signature series as Bridezillas, Amazing Wedding Cakes, and The Locator.

Thaicom returns to Q3 net profit, beats forecasts
BANGKOK, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Thaicom PCL THCOM.BK, Thailand's only satellite operator, reported a better-than-expected net profit in the third-quarter on Wednesday, helped by foreign exchange gains and higher revenues from its broadband satellite iPSTAR.
Thaicom, 41.4 percent owned by Shin Corp SHIN.BK, posted a net profit of 50.8 million baht ($1.53 million) in July-September, or 0.05 baht per share, turning around from a net loss of 115 million baht a year earlier.
That was above an average net profit of 40 million baht forecast by five analysts surveyed by Reuters.
Thaicom expects to launch a high-speed Internet service via iPSTAR in India in October and in China in the fourth quarter, and those two big markets should begin generating revenue by the end of this year.
The company, which reported a net loss of 22 million baht in the first half of 2009, maintained its forecast that it would return to net profit this year. It reported 2008 net loss of 713 million baht.
Before the results, Thaicom shares closed up 0.64 percent at 7.85 baht on Wednesday in a broader market .SETI up 1.37 percent. ($1=33.30 Baht) (Reporting by Arada Kultawanich)

NBC opens pay TV IPO route
The listing of Nation Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) may blaze a trail for other pay-TV operators looking for funds to upgrade to digital, said its president Adisak Limprungpatanakij.
NBC shares made their debut on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) yesterday, rising 4.1% from an initial public offering price of 2.90 baht to close at 3.02 baht, in trade worth 124.27 million baht. The shares peaked at 3.22 baht in early trade.
NBC, which operates the 24-hour Nation Channel, is a subsidiary of Nation Multimedia Group Plc (NMG), the publisher of The Nation and Krungthep Turakit.
"Many satellite and cable TV operators have shown their interest in listing on the stock exchange. They want to raise funds to upgrade their equipment to catch up with a rapid change in digital technology," said Mr Adisak.
NBC is also upgrading its equipment, he added.
For example, Cable Thai Holding, founded by 150 provincial cable TV operators, is eager to list on the stock market, he said. Hit Station and MV are other examples.
The satellite and cable TV business in Thailand is growing rapidly, thanks to liberalisation under the Radio and Television Broadcasting Act. About 6.3 million households are currently estimated to watch pay TV.
To serve the fast-growing industry, NBC is investing 30 million baht in a new cable channel next year. Unlike the Nation Channel, the new channel will focus on soft news and its content, including lifestyle and entertainment, will be shared with print media, he said.
NBC, which covers satellite TV, radio and new media, expects 20% growth this year. Mr Adisak hopes for better performance next year with an upturn and the opening of a new radio station.
NBC reported a net profit of 40.9 million baht in the first nine months of 2009, up 31.7% year-on-year. For the third quarter, its profit was 23.85 million baht, up from 17.99 million year-on-year. Though NBC performed well, its parent NMG lost 3.34 million baht in the third quarter, compared with a loss of 57.36 million in the same period last year.
Thanachai Santichaikul, the group CFO, said the company would see a profit in the fourth quarter from the sale of NMG shares and increasing ad revenues. Ad spending in October and November was improving, he said.



Maxis Partners Astro To Provide Mobile TV Content
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Maxis Bhd announced a partnership with Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Astro All Asia Network plc, for the creation and delivery of rich mobile TV content.

The content will include custom-made video productions, as well as Astro's TV channels, to be delivered through Maxis' content distribution channels.

The shift in consumer behaviour towards data usage is creating real demand for richer mobile content, said Maxis' chief operating officer Jean-Pascal van Overbeke, introducing Malaysia's first made-for-mobile entertainment series, Dimensions.

DimensionS is an 11-episode science-fiction saga with each episode lasting five minutes.

He said the ability to stream rich episode-based entertaintment like a TV mini-series, directly to mobile phones will give Maxis' customers more value in mobile entertaintment.



Boeing expected to end stake in rocket firm Sea Launch
Long Beach-based Sea Launch says it expects the aerospace giant's ownership role to end after the smaller company emerges from bankruptcy. After struggling for nearly 15 years to prop up an unusual way to launch satellites into space, Boeing Co. is expected to throw in the towel and walk away from its stake in Long Beach-based Sea Launch Co.

Kjell Karlsen, Sea Launch president, said Wednesday that Boeing was likely to have little or no ownership position in the rocket launch company after it emerges from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Court reorganization early next year.

"Based on what Boeing has said to us, I don't expect them to commit any more capital to this venture," Karlsen said. "I would like to see Boeing being part of the new Sea Launch, but it's more likely they will work in a supplier capacity and not in an ownership role."

Boeing's pullback could jeopardize the venture if Sea Launch is unable to come up with new investors to fill the void, analysts said.

A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on the firm's future role in the rocket company, but he said it "supported Sea Launch's effort to explore restructuring alternatives through an orderly bankruptcy process."

Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company, co-founded the ocean-based launch service with a consortium of foreign companies in 1995 as a way to more cheaply launch commercial satellites, many of them built at its nearby El Segundo plant.

From its base in Long Beach, Sea Launch transports commercial satellites on a specially built ship and then launches them on rockets from a seagoing platform near the equator so they can reach orbit faster.

Boeing owns 40% of Sea Launch. RSC-Energia, a Russian rocket engine company; Aker ASA, a Norwegian shipbuilder; and two Ukrainian hardware builders own smaller shares. The consortium initially poured about $1 billion into Sea Launch.

But the company was forced into bankruptcy in June after it could not pay a $52-million judgment against it in connection with a terminated contract. The bankruptcy filing came after a platform explosion in early 2007 destroyed a commercial satellite and set operations back by about a year.

"The accident came right in the up-cycle of the market," said Marco Caceres, senior space analyst for Teal Group Corp. "The platform was inoperable for quite some time, setting them back about a year. It was a missed opportunity."

According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Boeing has been in a nasty battle with its partners. In July, Boeing paid $448 million to Sea Launch creditors. The company later filed a complaint to recoup some of the money from its partners.

Aker agreed to pay $122 million in installments in 2009 and 2010, leaving $146.8 million outstanding, Boeing said.

"Boeing has a right to reimbursement from Sea Launch as well as rights to reimbursement from all of the other Sea Launch partners, who are each obligated to reimburse Boeing," the company said in a separate SEC filing. "Boeing intends to pursue vigorously all of its rights and remedies against Sea Launch and the other Sea Launch partners."

Sea Launch, which counts DirecTV Group Inc. and satellite services provider Intelsat Ltd. as customers, has a backlog of eight launches, three of them at sea. Four of the launches do not yet have a launch site. The last remaining rocket is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.

Karlsen said the company would need four ocean launches a year to turn a profit. But next year, it has only one launch on its manifest. The company had three launches this year, with one more set to go later this month.

Since the platform explosion, the company has "hit a rough patch," Caceres said. Though the accident came at the height of the market for launches, the commercial satellite business is falling back to Earth, he said.

Many of the satellites needed for broadband Internet and satellite television during the boom years have been launched.

"You might be able to squeeze another year out, but it looks like the market is slowing," Caceres said.

On Wednesday, Space Launch Services LLC, a group of unidentified investors, agreed to provide the company with $12 million, enough money for the company to continue operating until February, Sea Launch said.


Intelsat Interests CSC/DVS With Maritime SATCOM Implementations
Intelsat, Ltd. has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with Corporate Satellite Communications (CSC/DVS) for Intelsat’s Network Broadband Global Maritime service. CSC/DVS’s customers will benefit from the Intelsat Network Broadband Global Maritime service’s always-on broadband connection and automatic beam switching technology, offered for a flat monthly fee. These features differentiate Intelsat’s global platform from most narrow band-based services or other VSAT solutions currently offered in the maritime industry.

Intelsat's Network Broadband Global Maritime service, part of the Company’s GlobalConnex (GXS) portfolio of services, uses C-band capacity provided via three ocean-region satellites: Intelsat 602 at 178 degrees East, Intelsat 707 at 307 degrees East, and Intelsat 906 at 64 degrees East. Intelsat’s terrestrial network, which includes hubs at Fuchsstadt, Germany, and Riverside, California, completes its seamless global network. Intelsat’s Network Broadband service is an iDirect-based platform for multi-location businesses that demand a seamless platform for converged applications.

In 2008, CSC, a wireless communication infrastructure provider, merged its satellite operations with DVS, a well entrenched system integrator within the maritime segment. Through this combined entity, CSC created a company designed to address the future broadband needs for maritime commercial, as well as the cruise and yachting market place. DVS has a well established reputation as a leader in delivering, installing, and maintaining Geosynchronous antennas at sea. DVS has installed over 1,500 antennas globally and maintains more than 200 vessels currently at sea. CSC’s satellite division operates 12 large, 9 to 13 meter high powered antennas between their Miami and New Jersey sites.



LockMart Ready For Launch Of Intelsat 14 Spacecraft
Lockheed Martin is in the final stages of preparation for Saturday's launch of a commercial telecommunications satellite for Intelsat, the world's leading provider of fixed satellite services, aboard an Atlas V booster provided by United Launch Alliance. The launch window opens at 12:48 a.m. EST and extends until 2:18 a.m.
Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services is under contract to Intelsat Ltd. to place the Intelsat 14 (IS-14) spacecraft into an injected orbit, ultimately positioned at 315 degrees east longitude.
IS-14 was built by Space Systems/Loral and will provide high-powered video and data services through its C-band and Ku-band payload, serving Intelsat customers throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa and will replace Intelsat's IS-1R satellite once it enters service.
The spacecraft also carries a hosted payload for the Internet Router in Space, or IRIS program, for Cisco Systems.
"We are fully cognizant of the importance of this launch to Intelsat and all stakeholders and are particularly proud to have been chosen as the launch services partner," said David Markham, president of Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services.
"This mission will further demonstrate the reliability, flexibility and capabilities of the Atlas launch vehicle, which can be applied to the commercial market as we continue to seek one to two commercial orders per year."
Intelsat is the leading provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. For 45 years, Intelsat has been delivering information and entertainment for many of the world's leading media and network companies, multinational corporations, Internet service providers and governmental agencies. Intelsat's satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video, data and voice services.
Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services, which markets the Atlas V to commercial customers worldwide, is a unit of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, which is a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Space Systems Company designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security, civil and commercial customers.
Chief products include human space flight systems; a full range of remote sensing, navigation, meteorological and communications satellites and instruments; space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft; laser radar; ballistic missiles; missile defense systems; and nanotechnology research and development.



INDIA Headend in the Sky (HITS)

The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal of Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to issue policy guidelines for Headend-in-the-Sky operators. The policy guidelines provides for a framework within which the HITS Service providers has to provide services in the country. The policy does not mandate for either the cable operators or subscribers to necessarily obtain signals from a HITS platform/network, the subscribers and cable operators can continue with the existing system. Hence the cable operators have liberty to switch over to HITS provider network if so desired. Thus it has a basic difference from the areas notified for CAS (Conditional Access System) which is mandatory.

HITS serves the whole country providing its signals through satellite to many Multi System Operator (MSO)/cable operators who can further send the signals to the customers using their network. The essential difference between a HITS operator and a Multi System Operator (MSO) is that the former transmits the bundle of channels to the cable operators using a satellite, whereas the latter does the same through cable. HITS is a digital delivery mode of distribution of TV channel and it would speed up the process of digitalization of cable services located in Non-CAS areas of the country. HITS would not only help increase the penetration of cable market further into rural areas where it has been absent because of unviability but will also help in further reduction of prices of set top boxes and will also lead to further consolidation of the cable market.

HITS would help a subscriber with a wide choice of digital channels, better picture quality and value added services at affordable price. HITS would provide greater channel capacity from the present limited capacity of channels placed in prime/non prime band. Salient features of the HITS policy approved now are :-

• It provides for an enabling regulatory environment for HITS operators. The guidelines are exhaustive and provide for complete procedure for obtaining permission and conditions thereto.

• HITS services are allowed in both ‘C-Band’ and ‘Ku-Band’.

• HITS operators can uplink from Indian soil only and will have to install SMS and encryption system.

• They are not permitted to provide signals directly to the subscribes. However, if HITS operator is also MSO/Cable Operator, he can do so through his distribution network.

• Total direct and indirect foreign investment including FDI is allowed upto 74%. Prior FIPB approval will be required if the FDI in beyond 49%.

• The cross media holding restriction of 20% of total paid up equity has been prescribed for various segment of broadcasting services. These restrictions have been provided to avoid vertical integration and to promote competition.

• There is no restriction on number of permissions. All those found to be eligible and fulfil the terms and conditions can apply for license to the Government in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

• Existing permission holders of HITS will have to comply and migrate to new policy regime within three months failing which their permission shall be cancelled.

• Sufficient provisions exist under the guidelines for monitoring of content, inspection and national security related issues etc.