Thread: Satellite News August 2010

Digi TV: Cinemax ended in Nagravision 2

Premium movie channel Cinemax for demanding finished coding the old system Nagravision 2 (CAID 1 801). The program is currently only available to new cards, Digi TV working in the system Nagra Media Access (Nagravision 3/4).

RCS/RDS, the operator of pay-TV Digi TV, continues to migrate to the newest version of Nagravision. The aim is to close holes in the coding system N2, which allows the unauthorized reception of paid content.

Technical parameters:
Intelsat 10-02 (1?W), freq 12.723 GHz, pol. H, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, DVB-S/QPSK

Mediaset Premium shows way to CI+
By Julian Clover


Mediaset has unveiled “Premium Cam”, a deployment of CI Plus, which will enable subscribers to the terrestrial service to view their content without the need for a set-top box.

HD content has recently been added to the service, allowing Mediaset to boast that “Premium Cam HD” is the only device that can be used to access pay-TV content in HD without a decoder.

The credit card sized CAM (Conditional Access Module) slips into a suitably equipped television receiver.

Premium Cam costs €69 and Premium Cam HD €99. Both versions come with a month’s free access to the cinema and series channels.

At the end of June Mediaset Premium had 4.4 million active cards.

Aprico takes personalisation across three-screens
By Julian Clover
Published: August 4, 2010 08.36 Europe/London

IBC 2010 – Hall 1, Stand A81a. Aprico Solutions is responding to the increased enthusiasm for three-screen services with the launch of new products suitable for running on the TV, PC, mobile or iPad.

Supported by the leading German publisher Axel Springer, Aprico offers personal TV channels, which brings together broadcast TV, VOD services and over-the-top internet content.

For PC, the commercially available watchmi plug-in for Windows Media Center is a prime example of the application possibilities of the APRICO technology on show at IBC.

The Philips subsidiary will for the first time exhibit the Aprico solution pre-integrated into DTV solutions and STBs platforms from leading technology providers. It means the technology will be readily available to platform operators, substantially reducing the time to market.

Alongside Aprico is Philips uWand remote control technology that uses touch technology with direct pointing and gesture control.

Integration into TV hardware has now been improved with a new ‘single beacon’ to receive signal from the remote.

German Sky launched Sky Action HD, Sky Cinema HD and Sky Sports HD2

German pay-TV Sky Deutschland launched this morning the regular broadcasts of the three new programs in high definition televisions (HDTVs). There are two new sports film and one HD channel. Number of HD programs, so the German Sky climbs to 10

All new programs have begun to test Sky Deutschland in recent days on the capacity of the new Astra 1KR.

Technical parameters:
Astra 1KR (19.2?E) freq 10.773 GHz, pol. H, SR 22000, FEC 2/3, DVB-S2/8PSK, CA Nagravision 3 + Videoguard

Sky Sports HD 2 will extend the offer Sky Sports HD 1 for other sports content in HD. Channel brings all the German matches from the UEFA Champions League, German Hockey League (DEL), direct golf broadcasts from the U.S. PGA and European PGA Tour and many others.

Sky Cinema Hits HD and Sky Action HD expand films on offer in HD. Sky HD will bring Cimema Hits attractive films of recent years and the popular American series. In August, viewers will see all 4 Indiana Jones, Hancock and Hellboy 2. Serial fans will delight the German TV premiere of the sixth row Nip / Tuck August 16, 2010 from the program, Sky Cinema Hits HD. This channel will broadcast marathon eighth and final season of 24 (23 to September 26, 2010).

Sky Action HD will offer action, horror and sci-fi movies.

Sky HD package is offered at a price of 5 euros per month.

Hybrid STB shipments to reach nearly 87mn units by 2015
19.08.10



Worldwide shipments of pay-TV hybrid set-top boxes will reach nearly 87mn units by 2015, as operators adapt to increasing competition within markets with varying infrastructure and regulatory demands, according to a new report from IMS Research.

Much of the strong growth in the next five years will be driven by pay-TV operators in Asia and Europe, the report adds. Thanks to heavy satellite and cable shipments of advanced HD DVRs, the Americas region led last year with over 65% of global hybrid STB shipments, however the research firm expects that Asia and Europe will surpass the Americas within a couple of years.

Growth in Asia is expected to be heavily driven by hybrid deployments in China, while European growth is expected to come mostly from France, Germany, Turkey, the UK, the Netherlands, and other nations with sizeable pay-TV markets.

“As major pay-TV operators worldwide become more competitive with content offerings and advanced services, hybrid STBs become increasingly attractive as a way to utilise means other than an operator’s traditional infrastructure to deliver the most competitive experience possible," said Paul Erickson, senior analyst at IMS Research. "Additionally, virtually all advanced STBs shipping worldwide are expected to be hybrid by default within a few years.

“The shift of the pay-TV set-top box market towards hybrid STBs is notable for two main reasons," he added. "First, the near-ubiquitous inclusion of IP connectivity in current and future hybrid STBs enables continued innovation in the pay-TV experience. The IP-connected service enhancements of the future promise to bring substantially more to the viewing experience than today’s features like VOD, DVR, and media sharing.

"Second, the broader effects benefit both pay-TV operators and their customers," he concluded. "Hybrid STBs potentially allow operators to maximise the level of services they are able to competitively deliver within their market, despite limitations within their own infrastructure, regulatory issues, or content retransmission rights. As such, pay-TV customers will directly benefit in the long run as pay-TV services deliver ever-increasing amounts of content, interactivity, and innovative IP-driven applications into their living room.”

Far-East Telecom adds Disney channel
19.08.10


Russian telco Far-East Telecom has added the Disney Channel to its IPTV service.

The channel will be transmitted in Russian and will be available for no extra charge as part of the basic IPTV package.

Far-East Telecom had reached 97,200 subscribers for its IPTV service by the end of the second quarter of 2010, up from 42,500 one year previously.

The telco operates in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia.

Communication devices 'take up almost half our waking lives'



UK Consumers are spending almost half (45%) of their waking hours watching TV, using their mobiles and other communications devices, according to new Ofcom research.

Despite the growing choice in technology and services available, a growing number of 16-24s (8 percentage points) and over 55s (7 percentage points) say that watching TV is the activity they would miss the most, compared to the 2007 research.

The number of people watching catch up TV services has increased by more than a third over the past 12 months. The proportion of time-shifted television viewing has more than tripled since 2006, from 1.7% to 5.9%. Nearly a quarter of people (22 %) have bought a HD-ready TV set in the last 12 months.

Ofcom's Communication Market Report also revealed that UK broadband take-up has now reached 71%.

Almost a third (31%) of households with internet access used it to watch online catch-up and social networking accounts for nearly a quarter of all time spent on the internet.

Media multi-tasking where, for example, a phone call is made while surfing the internet now accounts for 35% of all media consumed throughout the day and the younger the person, the more media activity is done at the same time, according to Ofcom.

Reliance-CBS announce new TV channels for India, South Asia
August 18th, 2010 - 16:24 UTC
by Andy Sennitt.

Indian tycoon Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd and CBS Studios International announced plans today to launch three new television channels in India and South Asia. The English-language channels, dedicated to general entertainment, youth and women, are due to go live in October and will be available in India as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The companies declined to give specific financial details of the tie-up, but said each would have a 50 percent stake in the joint venture, designed to tap into India’s fast-growing television market.

International media and entertainment firms including Time Warner, Disney, News Corp, Sony and Viacom have been expanding their presence in India in recent years, with customised programmes for niche urban audiences. Tarun Katial, chief executive of Reliance Broadcast Network, described the deal - the company’s first foray into television broadcasting - as a “landmark moment”.

“We see great opportunity in the Indian television industry which projects a high growth rate,” Katial said in a joint statement issued in Mumbai. Armando Nunez, president of CBS Studios International, added that the venture was an “exciting alliance with potential for amazing synergies and new opportunities in one of the world’s most dynamic business and media markets”.

Reliance Broadcast Network is part of the giant Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, which has interests in radio, marketing, advertising, mobile and Internet sectors. CBS Studios International is part of the CBS Corporation and supplies content around the world from CBS television and film units.

Programmes for these channels will be tailored to match the tastes and sensibilities of increasingly wealthy urban Indians, where special-interest subjects like lifestyle, travel, health and electronics are much in demand. The new BIG CBS Prime is being billed as a “premium English general entertainment channel”. BIG CBS Spark will cater to the youth market and BIG CBS Love for women. Both are being claimed as firsts for the market. The firms said their joint venture could in future include the launch of Hindi and other regional language channels.

India is poised to become the world’s largest DTH (direct-to-home) satellite pay TV market by 2012, overtaking the United States, with a projected 35 million subscribers, the companies said in the statement.