Thread: Satellite News September 2010

3DTV Tickles Interest But Most Consumers Aren't Sold Yet: Survey

CTAM Study Finds Glasses, Cost and Limited 3D Content as Barriers
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 9/9/2010 12:11:03 AM

People are interested in 3DTV for certain special events and programming -- and would expect to pay an average of $20 more per month to get 3D service from their pay-TV provider -- but issues including the hassle of wearing glasses threaten to dampen adoption, according to a new survey.

Of consumers in the market for a new TV set, 29% said they would consider purchasing a 3DTV set in the next 12 months, meaning the majority are currently expecting to stick with conventional 2D televisions, according to research conducted by Nielsen that was commissioned by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing.

In fact, purchase interest among those planning to buy a new TV in the next year actually decreased after they saw a 3DTV demonstration, experienced the glasses and learned more about product costs. The survey of 425 consumers, who first watched a 30-minute reel of 3DTV programming, was conducted in June and July 2010.

That suggests that most people "will wait until these challenges are addressed and there is more content available before opening their wallets," said Frank Stagliano, Nielsen's executive vice president and general manager of TV Primary Research.

The most commonly cited reasons for lack of interest in purchasing include the cost of the set (68%), having to wear the 3D glasses (57%) and not enough 3D programming (44%).

The need to wear glasses to view 3D content continues to be a big stumbling block. Overall, 89% of those surveyed felt the 3D glasses would constrain their multitasking activities, and 45% expressed concern that wearing the glasses was uncomfortable.

"I was surprised by the resistance to the glasses," Stagliano said. "We knew it was an issue but it really upset people."

About 77% agreed that 3DTV was better suited to special events, such as movies or sporting events, as opposed to everyday viewing. "People love it more for special events than regular viewing," CTAM president and CEO Char Beales said.

There's particularly high interest in 3DTV from gamers and moviegoers. Roughly 42% of those surveyed said they were interested in playing games in 3D and 71% of hard-core gamers wanted to play in 3D. "Gaming is an immersive experience," Beales said.

Other findings: 57% of viewers agreed 3DTV made them feel like they were "part of the action" and 48% felt it made them more engaged with what they were watching; while 47% said 3DTV would make them watch programs they wouldn't normally watch.

Survey respondents also indicated they expect to pay more for a 3D television service. When asked how much they would be willing to pay to add 3D service to their current TV service plan, on average consumers were willing to pay $20 extra monthly, but reported a range of $5 to $40 per month. "Right now it's difficult to gauge the incremental value" of a 3D programming service, Stagliano said.

The top genres consumers are interested in viewing in 3D ranged from broad categories such as sports, movies and action/adventure programming to niche genres such as nature and animal shows, travel, sci-fi and music concerts.

The 425 randomly selected participants first took an online survey that assessed their prior familiarity and experience with 3D content. They then watched the 30-minute clip reel of 3DTV content followed by additional survey questions about their reactions to the experience.

In addition, Nielsen conducted 12 focus groups of five individuals, including some families, interviewed over a four-day period. Those qualitative interviews were conducted at the CBS TV City Media Lab in Las Vegas, housed in a condominium that closely imitated a 3DTV home viewing environment.

According to Beales, the survey is the first with a large group of consumers who watched 3D programming and experienced it firsthand before they were interviewed.

The 30-minute reel was a compilation of sports, nature shows, concerts and a movie. That included a Kenny Chesney concert; a clip from NBC's Chuck; segments from National Geographic Channel and Discovery Communications; a FIFA World Cup match; golf, basketball and X Games clips from ESPN; Sony Pictures Entertainment's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs; and highlights from select videogames.

Hallmark Channel Welcomes Martha Stewart To Its 'Home'

Family-Friendly Service Dubs Daytime 'Hallmark Channel Home'
Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 9/8/2010 1:30:21 PM

For Hallmark Channel, daytime will become home.
"Hallmark Channel Home" is the moniker for the family-friendly service's eight-hour daypart, which beginning Sept. 13, will house exclusive Martha Stewart programming, as well as other programming from Martha Stewart Omnimedia.
Hallmark HomeThe daypart, extending from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will showcase the sixth season of the Emmy Award-winning The Martha Stewart Show. The daytime lifestyle programming block also includes the new programs Mad Hungry with Lucinda Scala Quinn and Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer, as well as MSO library fare. New episodes of The Martha Stewart Show will bow at 10 a.m. and encore at 5 p.m, effectively bookending Hallmark Channel Home's weekday daypart. (Check out the network's Sept. 13 schedule here.)

On-air, the Hallmark Channel Home will be represented with daily promotion, keyables and channel bug for the entire daytime block. At Hallmark Channel - Family, Holidays, Original Movies, TV Shows | Celebrate Life's Moments, the Hallmark Channel Home look will be represented on microsites for individual programs as well as on Facebook and Twitter.
"The look and feel of ‘Hallmark Channel Home' is certainly unique but evolved from our complete on-air design package," said Marvin Dorson, senior vice president, creative services, Hallmark Channels in a statement. "We wanted to create a daytime block that was warm and inviting. ‘Hallmark Channel Home' will be the destination for viewers to experience simple ways to enhance their daily lives, celebrate special moments and make family holidays more fun."

DS Snowflake falls on ZON

By Julian Clover
Published: September 9, 2010 09.01 Europe/London



IBC 2010 – AMSTERDAM. Portuguese cableco ZON Multimedia is to become the first operator to trial the *** Snowflake User Interface.

The UI, which runs on the *** MediaHighway middleware, is at the centre of a field trial that will run across Portugal. Snowflake will be used as part of a range of content and services including PVR library access, VOD assets, catch-up TV, recommendation searches and widgets for social networking.

“The concept of television is changing as advancements in technology allow us to add more elements into the pay-TV experience,” said Nuno Sanches, TV Products Director at ZON TV Cabo Portugal. “We are confident that N.DS has the experience and expertise we need to strengthen our platform on multiple levels and to provide a user experience that will stand the test of time.”

Snowflake has been designed to improve navigation through an enhanced user experience characterised by smart navigation and an ergonomically designed, easy to use, intuitive interface. ZON’s own design specifications have been incorporated into the implementation.

EchoStar Europe names general managerBy Julian Clover

Published: September 9, 2010 08.49 Europe/London

IBC 2010 – AMSTERDAM. EchoStar Europe has announced the appointment of Rhod Williams as general manager of its European operations. Welsh-born Williams will now lead the European management team and will oversee engineering, operations, sales and marketing.

Williams brings with him a wealth of experience, most recently as senior vice president of engineering at EchoStar Technologies in the United States where he spearheaded EchoStar’s global research and development efforts, overseeing the development and launch of state-of-the-art products for key customers such as DISH Network, Bell TV, and Cyfrowy Polsat.

Williams will now be based in the UK.

Polish DTT on the brink

By Chris Dziadul
Published: September 9, 2010 09.13 Europe/London

Following months of frustrating delays, Poland is finally on the brink of launching a full DTT operation.

The country’s four leading commercial broadcasters – Polsat, TVN, TV Puls and TV4 – have finally agreed on the terms of an agreement with the national transmission company Emitel that will see the latter become the operator of the country’s second DTT multiplex (MUX2).

If the agreement is signed before the end of this month, Emitel believes it will quickly be able to launch the second multiplex, which will carry a total of eight channels, two each from the four broadcasters.

In practice, MUX2 could be operating from September 30 in four locations, including Warsaw, where Emitel is already undertaking DTT trials.

Earlier this week it was reported that Emitel will begin operating Poland’s third DTT multiplex, allocated solely to publicly owned TVP, in late October.

Fight over football rights in Romania

By Chris Dziadul
Published: September 9, 2010 08.53 Europe/London

The three-way war between RCS/RDS, UPC and Romtelecom in Romania has intensified, with the latest battle being fought over the national league football rights for the 2011/12 season.

ZF reports that Romtelecom is so keen on securing the rights, which are currently held by RCS/RDS and Antena 1, that it may even enter into a partnership with UPC to do so.

Romtelecom recently launched a proprietary channel named Dolce Sport for which it has been buying up rights to domestic and international sports competitions. It has also apparently recruited personnel from the DTH platform Boom TV to work on the channel.

Romtelecom, which has cable, DTH and IPTV operations, has set itself the target of becoming the number one player in the Romanian TV marketplace by 2012.

VIVACOM Launches Media Platform in Bulgaria via the Intelsat Network

Luxembourg, 7 September 2010

Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of fixed satellites services, announced that Bulgarian telecom provider, VIVACOM, the leading telecommunication Service provider in Bulgaria, has signed a multi-year, multi-transponder contract for Intelsat capacity on the Intelsat 12 satellite (IS-12), located at 45 degrees E. VIVACOM will extend its existing offer for residential customers, which currently includes a landline phone, mobile connection and Internet access, to television programming. Through this new offering, VIVACOM will deliver more than 70 channels of news, entertainment and sports programming to its subscribers throughout Bulgaria.

IS-12 provides capacity used for program distribution, broadcast contribution and enterprise networking. Part of Intelsat’s leading satellite fleet in the region and currently distributing international programming to millions of viewers across Eastern Europe, IS-12 is ideally located to support VIVACOM’s expansion into television programming.

“Intelsat’s global leadership in the transmission of entertainment, news and sports programming for content providers and direct-to-home (DTH) platforms made Intelsat an ideal choice for us as we sought to enter the media market in Bulgaria,” said Alexander Dimitrov, CCO from VIVACOM. “IS-12 will provide us with the ideal transmissions services necessary so we can offer converged telecommunication solutions of superior quality to our growing subscriber base.”

“Eastern Europe represents a growing media sector for satellite operators, and Intelsat is committed to strengthening its media services in the region,” said Jean-Philippe Gillet, Intelsat’s Regional Vice President, Europe and Middle East. “The VIVACOM agreement demonstrates Intelsat’s ability to provide advanced solutions to telecoms providers and support them in growing their service offerings.”

Intelsat will be exhibiting in Hall 1, Stand C71 at IBC 2010, the international tradeshow for the creation, management and delivery of content for the broadcasting industry, which will be held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, September 10-14.

About VIVACOM
VIVACOM is the trademark of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company AD (BTC), Bulgaria’s incumbent telecoms operator. The company offers a full range of telecom services – fixed and mobile telephony, broadband Internet and data transfer. It has the country’s largest and best-developed telecom infrastructure. VIVACOM’s converged services are available in over 1 000 outlets of the operator and its dealers throughout Bulgaria.

About Intelsat
Intelsat is the leading provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. For over 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. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and broadband access, with Intelsat, advanced communications anywhere in the world are closer, by far.

Intelsat 15 expands Orion Express TV platform
September 7th, 2010 - 13:51 UTC
by Andy Sennitt.

Orion Express, a major satellite television provider in Russia, is now offering expanded direct-to-home (DTH) programming via capacity on the Intelsat 15 satellite (IS-15). Under the multi-year, multi-transponder contract, Orion Express is distributing news, sports, entertainment and children’s programming for its new satellite platform, Continent TV, which crossed the 100,000-subscriber threshold within three months of its service launch. Continent TV offers viewers access to 50 television channels and 16 channels for cable network operators.

IS-15, launched in November 2009, provides video and data services through its high power Ku-band payload. Located at 85? E, the satellite offers Orion Express the ability to deliver television and media services across the Russian territory and supports the country’s ever-growing demand for DTH services.