Thread: Satellite News march 2010.

Kabel BW: no need for basic cable




The German cable operator Kabel BW is for the first time offering DOCSIS 3.0 broadband access and telephony to homes that do not subscribe to basic cable. In a special marketing campaign aimed at people using DVB-T or satellite DTH reception, the cabler is offering most CleverKabel bouquets without the need to take TV.

Until now, all cable operators have required at least a basic analogue cable subscription when they want to buy additional services such as telephony and broadband internet access. For a limited time only, Kabel BW has dropped this requirement, so people can use their cable connection just for the broadband or telephony products.

The packages include CleverKabel 25, which offers 25 Mbps internet access and unlimited calling to German fixed line homes at €29.90 monthly, and the top-tier offer CleverKabel 100, with 100 Mbps access for €49.90 a month. Cheaper options are CleverKabel Internet with 20 Mbps and CleverKabel Telefon. During the action period, Kabel BW is offering rebates of between €60 and €120 for new customers. The offer is available this month.

Fashion TV Channel Fashion TV has not passed the censorship in Iran


March 1, 2010


Management television channel Fashion TV on Monday, February 15 complained to end their broadcasts by the Iranian authorities.

Disabling occurred along with the interruption of broadcasting channels BBC, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle.

The Iranian government actually agreed Friday to suspend the work of channels, which is dictated by the anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

The only snag, which had the effect of perturbation channel exclusively devoted to fashion - is the lack of any political overtones in their programs.
Creator channel Michel Adam, said that the disconnection occurred unintentionally.
Perhaps the reason for this was the proximity of broadcasting frequencies with the British, German and American channels.

But even if we consider the theme of Fashion TV as that has nothing to do with politics, it is unlikely that the channel will continue to rely on the goodwill of the authorities of the Islamic countries.

It's no secret that the censorship in the Middle East far more severe than in the West.
This fact jeopardizes the successful broadcast channel dedicated to fashion, which is becoming more outspoken.

French channels agree on DTH switch-off



The seven main French legacy broadcasters have agreed to a simultaneous switch-off of their analogue satellite DTH transmissions. All channels will switch off in November 2011, when the last French region will turn all digital.

TF1, France 2, France 3, Canal +, France 5, Arte and M6 will no longer broadcast their analogue versions on the Atlantic Bird 3 satellite when the Languedoc Roussillon region ends all analogue broadcasts. Canal+ might switch off its analogue broadcasts at an earlier date, as the pay TV broadcaster has its own time table for digital switch-over.

All seven channels will continue to be available in digital format on two DTH platforms, TNTSat on Astra at 19.2 degrees East and Fransat on Atlantic Bird 3 at 5 degrees West. The free-to-view offer also includes all the other free-to-air terrestrial channels including all 24 regional variations of France 3 and France O, the public channel for the French overseas territories. For satellite reception, a smart card is needed, but no subscription fee is charged.

CTC Media on a high

Russia’s CTC Media, which is backed by Modern Times Group (MTG), fared better than most other broadcasters in the country last year.

Results published by the company show that total operating revenues for the year were, at $506,113,000 (€371,146,000), 20.9% down in dollar terms. This reflected the year-on-year decline in the ad market, as well as the weakening of CTC Media’s principal operating currency (rouble) against the reporting currency (dollar).

However, CTC Media’s Russian ad sales, which accounted for 94% of Q4 and full year revenues, were 2% up year-on-year in Q4 and only 3% down for the full year in rouble terms. This compared with an estimated 12% decline in the Russian TV ad market year-on-year in Q4 of 12% and 18% for the full year.

CTC Media’s OIBDA rose by 244.7% to $163,929,000 in 2009, while its net income went up by 347.1% to $100,389,000.

CTC Media operates four networks in Russia, and of these all but one (Channel 31) had higher viewing shares in 2009 than a year earlier.

GlobeCast walks 3D out on the catwalk

A 3D fashion show by British fashion label Burberry has been delivered by GlobeCast to four global fashion hubs.

Produced by Nineteen Fifteen, Burberry’s presentation of its Autumn/Winter 2010/11 womenswear show at London Fashion Week was broadcast live to parties in Paris, New York, Tokyo and Dubai.

Audience donned off the shoulder 3D glasses that allowed them to fully appreciate the details of the textures and layers used on the runway as if they were in the front row.

GlobeCast uplinked the 3D feed to Eutelsat’s W2A satellite (10 degrees East) from an HD SNG located at the Chelsea College of Art, where the Burberry show took place. At each of the locations GlobeCast downlinked the feed and decoded it for projection, synchronising audio and video layers.

Satlink, GlobeCast’s Israeli partner for reception in Tokyo, also distributed the feed to the NSS6 satellite (95 degrees East).

Over the past 12 months GlobeCast has delivered a number of international events in the 3D format including the final of the French Open Tennis at Roland Garros and a live production of Don Giovanni.

T-VIPS takes top spot on Olympic rostrum


By Julian Clover
March 1, 2010

T-VIPS has added to its medal tally after providing seamless monitor switching for the EBU during the Winter Olympics, which concluded yesterday evening.

The Norwegian provider of professional video contribution and distribution solutions was chosen by the EBU to provide switching between Whistler, Vancouver International Broadcasting Centre and onward to Brussels, Geneva and Zurich.

The T-VIPS CP541 Seamless Monitoring Switches were managed and controlled by the Eurovision team in Vancouver and Geneva using a T-VIPS Connect Management system.

Puiu Dolea, head of resource Management, Eurovision said a seamless redundancy contribution solution was critical to the business. “Our engineers were really impressed with the T-VIPS solution, not only does it provide truly seamless switching, but it does it with the flexibility and robustness necessary for content watched by millions all over Europe. We’re confident that the CP541 is one of the best seamless switches on the market.”

The CP541 monitors the two incoming Transport Streams for any errors based on TRT101-290 set parameters. In the event of an error in the main backhaul line it switches to the back-up connection.

Broadband demand cools in Romania


March 1, 2010

Demand for fixed line broadband internet services is falling in Romania but still remains at a high level.

According to ZF, UPC and Romtelecom, the leading providers of such services, secured almost 70,000 new fixed line internet subscribers in Q4 2009, with the vast majority (57,362) being claimed by the incumbent telco. The figure was slightly down on Q4 2008 but significantly lower than two years earlier, when the market was growing rapidly.

Romtelecom also gained over 53,000 new subscribers for its DTH platform Dolce in Q4 2009, while UPC’s Focus Sat secured nearly 20,000 new customers over the same period.

Although the market leader RCS/RDS does not publish subscribers figures on a regular basis, some 1.4 million currently receive its cable services and 1.1 million its DTH offer.

Rotana gets third FM license

RIYADH: Rotana Audio Visual company, owned by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, has won a license to operate the Kingdom's third FM radio station at a cost of SR67.35 million.

Nine companies had bid to win the license, including Saudi Specialized Publishing Co., an affiliate of the Saudi Research & Marketing Group, Arab Radio and Television Network run by Saleh Kamel, Shams alliance, Noor Telecommunications Co. alliance, Al-Jazirah Newspaper alliance, Fal alliance, Al-Mawarid Electronic Co. alliance and Al-Wataniah Advertising and Publishing alliance.

Bids were opened in the presence of Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja at the King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh on Saturday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Research by the Arab Advisers Group reveal that close to 82 percent of Saudis listen to FM radio, 54 percent of them on a daily basis.

Minister Khoja congratulated Rotana for winning the bid.

The first two licenses were granted to Alf Alf alliance for SR75 million and Ghaya Innovation Holding Co. for SR66 million respectively.

The Saudi government announced in September that it was issuing licenses to private companies to operate FM radio stations.