http://www.aupaytv.com/index.php News and information dedicated to the Australian media and the digital television industry, including Subscription TV, Satellite TV and Terrestrial TV. en-us Nucleus CMS v3.50 � Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.aupaytv.com/index.php/nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://www.aupaytv.com/index.php http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1140
WIN owner Bruce Gordon said there was "strong government support" to help the networks in its mandated move to reach regional audiences with multi-channel offerings.

"We are asking the Government for funding to go digital in SA and WA, and they are making very good noises they are going to because they want all the viewers to have access to all the channels," he said."We are looking to the Government to say `you're going to have to help because we'll go broke quick enough without having to buy 68 new transmitters for WA to go digital'."

WIN is the country's largest regional broadcaster, transmitting to WA and SA from its Wollongong base. Mr Gordon said the highly regional nature of the two states required extensive infrastructure and the company's WA licence requires it to transmit border to border - bouncing its satellite signal through 68 transmitters and 150 translator stations to cover the state.

He would not disclose the likely cost of the conversion.

Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy last month announced networks would receive a $250 million rebate on licence fees to offset the higher costs of digital production.

Mr Gordon said WIN, which has the Channel 9 licence in Adelaide and Perth, would only likely receive $4 million of that rebate, based on audience numbers, thereby justifying the Government's further investment.

"Fair enough if they're going to cough up the money to help us, that's fine," he said.

"It took us about five years to get over it and recover the audience (when we moved from VHF to UHF) . . . but the Government took back the spectrum and sold it.

"That's what they want to do with analog."

Mr Gordon said WIN was already working at sharing infrastructure needs through a joint venture with the public broadcaster, the ABC.

The two broadcasters have teamed to build a $50 million "media hub" in Ingleburn in New South Wales, to be completed by August this year.

Both will run their national programming through the centre, using it to switch to local advertisements and programs as necessary.

"When we have each of the states in that facility, we'll be playing 80 channels out of there from all around Australia," Mr Gordon said.

"The ABC will probably only need 30 channels because. . . they don't work submarkets the way we do."

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Russell Emmerson
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/wins-push-for-digital-handout/story-e6frede3-1225838592711]]> News http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1140 Tue, 9 Mar 2010 22:47:32 +1100 http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1139
So why haven't successive governments banned Hezbollah's television station, al-Manar, from screening in Australia?

After all, al-Manar is all about radicalising its viewers.The paper advises that Hezbollah has an Australian support base. It goes on to caution that "terrorist movements with a presence or support base in Australia could become willing to engage in operational activity here".

This is no idle threat. US intelligence reports have stated that Hezbollah has cells in Europe, North and South America and Africa. The group has never constrained its actions to Israel and Lebanon, having carried out terrorist attacks in Argentina, Britain, France, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Spain, with numerous failed attempts in Asian countries.

Hezbollah established al-Manar in 1991. It has been glorifying terrorism and encouraging its viewers to follow the path of the "martyrs" who have gone before them since.

The station also regularly broadcasts anti-Jewish propaganda in sermons, miniseries and children's shows.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has an anti-terrorism standard by which it assesses whether any TV station crosses the line between free speech and raising money or recruits for terrorist groups.

The standard stipulates that TV providers must not directly recruit people or solicit funds for a terrorist organisation.

When al-Manar began broadcasting into Australia a few years ago, ACMA applied its anti-terrorism standard against its broadcasts.

However, even though al-Manar extensively praises Hezbollah, ACMA cleared it to keep on broadcasting since it doesn't flash the phone number of Hezbollah's recruitment office on the screen.

The problem lies with the anti-terrorism standard's guidelines, which suggest that directly recruiting for a terrorist organisation means providing details on how to become members, and directly soliciting funds means providing bank account numbers.

This standard should be changed. Any TV station owned and-or operated by a terrorist organisation should be banned in Australia.

If our law enforcement agencies - and, in the case of al-Qa'ida, our defence forces - are in battle against these terrorists, why should their terrorist-promoting, racist propaganda be allowed to beam into Australian homes?

It seems as if ACMA has recognised this problem. It recently announced a new investigation into al-Manar and suggested that, at its conclusion, it will determine whether its anti-terrorism standard will need to be changed.

But this is a weighty matter beyond the responsibility of the broadcasting authority.

It's ultimately up to the government of the day to make this decision, a decision in line with existing Australian law.

The Australian criminal code states that any organisation that "directly or indirectly counsels or urges the doing of a terrorist act [or] directly praises the doing of a terrorist act in circumstances where there is a risk that such praise might have the effect of leading a person to engage in a terrorist act" will be proscribed by the Attorney-General.

Al-Manar has been doing this for years, but successive governments haven't done anything about it.

France, Spain, Germany and the US have all banned al-Manar, resulting in eight satellite providers dropping it from their services. It can no longer be seen in North or South America, most of Africa or most of Europe.

Only the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia are subjected to its poisonous messages.

Whereas France cited the station's gross anti-Semitism, Germany's reason was the potential radicalisation of that country's Muslims.

Sound familiar?

Al-Manar is a TV station that calls for terrorist actions, triumphs in violent jihad and martyrdom, revels in promoting overt racism and hopes to radicalise its Lebanese and international viewers in support of a terrorist organisation.

It needs to be banned.

Bren Carlill is an analyst at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council.

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Bren Carlill
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/white-paper-should-tackle-terrorist-television/story-e6frg6zo-1225838874736]]> News http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1139 Tue, 9 Mar 2010 22:46:10 +1100 http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1138 Notices http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1138 Tue, 9 Mar 2010 04:40:07 +1100 http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1137
Behind the scenes, relations between Conroy's department and the project's operating body, NBN Co, are believed to have deteriorated, particularly over the future delivery of broadband services by satellite.

Informed sources say a meeting between department officials and NBN two weeks ago was "extremely tense".This is understood to have resulted from a move by NBN to take over, on an interim basis, the supply of satellite capacity for delivering broadband services to about 90,000 customers in remote areas.

This service is currently subsidised by the government under the Australian Broadband Guarantee, but under the NBN proposal it would become the sole provider of wholesale satellite capacity for these remote areas, which it would then on-sell to retail service providers.

The ABG will receive $51 million in government funding for the 2010-11 financial year with a $42m allocation for 2011-12.

Industry sources say NBN has expressed serious doubts about the effectiveness of the business model for the remote area broadband service guarantee and has proposed it should become an intermediary between satellite operators and resellers.

"It is clear that NBN Co feels that the department has made a hash of things, particularly in relation to the management of services under this scheme," said one Canberra source.

"There are big career paths at stake here and a lot of egos are getting bruised."

According to a recent issue of communications industry newsletter Exchange Daily, a consultation paper outlining NBN's takeover proposal dismisses reports that consumer surveys have indicated a general satisfaction with the ABG services.

These reports do not align with "the cases of disquiet from retail service providers, and customers, reinforced by direct feedback to the minister's office that the satellite-delivered service level is poor and warrants early intervention," the consultation paper states.

Industry insiders say the department seems to have adopted a more conciliatory stance on this issue in recent days and attribute this to direct involvement by the Prime Minister on the future of satellite services under the umbrella of the national broadband network.

The ABG is just the tip of the satellite iceberg in the whole strategy which, along with mobile and other wireless services, is projected to reach more than 10 per cent of houses and businesses around Australia outside the densely populated metropolitan areas where high-speed fibre optic cable will be installed.

Kevin Rudd is believed to want to announce the start of satellite broadband operations across regional Australia before the federal election to demonstrate to rural voters his commitment to provide an equality of service for the city and the bush.

Meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly likely that 4G mobile and other wireless services could well overshadow the NBN broadband cable platform.

The $250m deal Conroy struck with the free-to-air television networks to reclaim spectrum used for analog broadcasting and sell this to 4G operators holds the key to this.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is expected to begin talks with Conroy in the next couple of weeks on a timetable for this auction and the method of the sale.

One option is for the government to give the spectrum to NBN to auction.

Whatever the case, the significant boost in mobile and wireless services that will inevitably flow from this sale will put increasing pressure on the government's decision to take its broadband cable from the node into the home at 10 times the project's original cost.

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Malcolm Colless
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/conroy-watches-relations-crumble/story-e6frg996-1225837979395]]> News http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1137 Mon, 8 Mar 2010 23:32:00 +1100 http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1136
The industry is awaiting a response from the government as Mildura, which will be the first region in Australia to turn off its analog signal, is due to switch to digital transmissions in just over three months.

Broadcasters said they expected a positive response to the call, which is contained in Free TV Australia's submission to the content and access review for digital multichannels, called by the Department of Communications in December.In its submission, Free TV is also asking for the local content exemption for digital multichannels to be made permanent, as well as for additional flexibility for broadcasters in meeting their Australian and children's content obligations.

The review could also see the amount of content in Australian advertising dramatically reduced.

The Television Program Standard for Australian Content in Advertising, which specifies that 80 per cent of advertisements broadcast from 6am to midnight must be Australian-produced, is included in the review.

A Communications Department spokesman did not respond to requests for the government's response to the 19 submissions received. But a regional broadcaster contacted by Media said he believed the Broadcasting Services Act would be amended to exempt regional broadcasters from Australian content quotas until 2013 and that it could be before the Senate in the next few weeks.

Additional captioning requirements that could be difficult to implement on a market-by-market basis as the switchover occurs are also likely to be postponed.

In its discussion paper, the government floated several options for regulating Australian content on digital multichannels, including allowing broadcasters to apply for exemptions for some digital channels, such as a foreign language movie channel; allowing broadcasters to spread their Australian and children's content quota requirements across the full range of their digital channels instead of applying them to each channel after digital switchover; and allowing them to trade their obligations to other broadcasters (which could mean one free-to-air broadcaster with a dedicated children's channel might screen enough children's content to free another broadcaster from its quota obligations).

The Children's Television Standards require each commercial broadcaster to provide 390 hours of children's programming each year on their core service until switchover, and on any combination of its channels after switchover.

The Free TV submission supports the trading of children's programming between broadcasters, as well as the ability to spread local content quotas across all of a broadcaster's channels.

The Australian Children's Television Foundation supports a tradable children's programming quota, as long as commercial broadcasters cannot ask the ABC, with its dedicated digital children's channel ABC3, to meet their obligations. It also recommends tying future rebates for TV licences directly to the creation of local content in contrast to the recent government decision not to link $250 million in TV licence fee rebates to the production of local content.

The Screen Producers Association of Australia is pushing for content quotas to apply to each digital multichannel and also supports tying future TV licence rebates to local content creation.

In its submission, the ABC expresses interest in becoming a buyer of programming under the tradable obligations scheme, but argues ABC content produced out of the broadcaster's existing budget should not be used to release commercial broadcasters from their obligations.

The Australian Association of National Advertisers is pushing for the equivalent of one digital multichannel to meet the ad content standards and backs a broadcaster with several channels being able to spread its quota obligations between channels.

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Lara Sinclair
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/push-for-content-exemption-in-digital-switchover/story-e6frg996-1225837956480]]> News http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1136 Mon, 8 Mar 2010 23:30:00 +1100 http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1135
Foxtel customers can subscribe directly to Ovation for $9.95 per month by calling 1300 682 846 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm).

SelecTV and Optus TV customers will continue to receive Ovation as usual.

An announcement regarding Austar, as well as exciting subscriber benefits will be made soon.UPDATE:

Ovation to be back bigger and better than ever

At Ovation, we strive to bring joy and inspiration into your homes through the great programmes on the Ovation Channel. From the moving performances, the Broadway films and classic drama, you can find it all here.

Unfortunately, Foxtel has decided to replace Ovation with a new SBS channel and, therefore, Ovation will no longer be shown as part of your regular Foxtel or Austar package from the end of March.

However, we have some great news!

The team at Ovation have worked hard to negotiate a new relationship with Foxtel to keep the Ovation Channel alive and, from June 1, Ovation will become a premium, "Stand Alone" subscription channel.

From June 1, Ovation will be bigger and better than ever, showing new, quality programs from all of your favourite stars and presenters, with programs uninterrupted by commercials.

Plus, only Ovation subscribers will have access to:

* Discounted tickets to shows
* Great deals and exclusive discounts at the Ovation Shop
* Special competitions with fantastic prizes

We'll also keep you up to date with everything "Ovation" through our new regular, new-look newsletter.

So, if you have Foxtel you can make the choice to continue your experience with us on the Ovation Channel for $9.95 a month. It’s fantastic value, all for about the price of a couple of cups of coffee at your local cafe.

So, to keep Ovation as part of your lifestyle, we’ve made it easy for you:

Phone us on 1300 OVATION (1300 692 8466)

Remember, from the end of March Foxtel have decided that you will no longer receive Ovation as part of your regular Foxtel or Austar package.

The team at Ovation invite you to continue to be a part of the wonderful Ovation Channel experience.

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http://www.ovationchannel.com.au/ ]]> News http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1135 Sat, 6 Mar 2010 17:57:50 +1100 http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1134
Robin Parkes, the chief executive of the free-to-air marketing body Freeview, confirmed the launch of a Freeview-branded electronic programming guide in June to rival Foxtel's iQ device. Its catch-up TV service, accessed via the EPG, will be turned on in the last quarter, she said.

Freeview will not make any of the hardware but is working closely with manufacturers of TV sets, digital video recorders and set-top boxes to have devices in stores in June.Explaining the delay between the EPG and the catch-up TV service, Ms Parkes said: ''We wanted to get people familiar with the EPG and have enough devices out there and in homes using it before we put the money behind the IPTV [internet protocol television].''

She said the EPG will be ''simple and easy to use'' and allow viewers to record material by genre or program rather than by blocks of time.

The pay TV industry dismissed the initiatives. Anthony Fitzgerald, the chief executive of Foxtel's ad sales arm, MCN, said: ''It's terrific they have finally come to the party, especially after the delayed launch of their multi-channels. They are so many years behind this could be too little too late.''

Ms Parkes said of the delay: ''It's not an ideal situation but 61 per cent of homes that have converted have only converted their main TV so there's still a lot of second and third sets that need set-top boxes bought for them.''

Mr Fitzgerald said the recent upgrades to its iQ gave it the edge and that the ''lack of any real content'' on free-to-air digital channels rendered the catch-up TV service as unattractive. ''Catch-up is the right phrase for this,'' he said.

Ms Parkes said that regardless of whether her members were exploring pay TV models, it was imperative they had a free service that they all backed, which she said they did.

However, Nine's chief executive, David Gyngell, seemingly downplayed the impact of online TV this year. ''From a consumer point of view I don't think IPTV is going to play any part in 2010,'' Mr Gyngell recently told Adnews magazine.

The ABC led the way with iView in July 2008 and last month Seven and Yahoo!7 launched their catch-up service. Nine and its online partner, Ninemsn, are reportedly planning their own service this year.

More than 5 million homes have access to free-to-air digital channels and their launch has been cited as having an impact on Foxtel subscriber growth. Foxtel's chief executive, Kim Williams, told the media at his company's results last month that new digital channels hadn't ''had any impact on our existing subscribers, but it is making potential subscribers uncertain and hesitant''. Mr Fitzgerald said their impact was a ''moment in time'' which would pass.

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JULIAN LEE
http://www.theage.com.au/business/freeview-aims-at-foxtel-with-catchup-tv-20100304-pltt.html]]> News http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1134 Fri, 5 Mar 2010 22:52:36 +1100 http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1133
After reports last week that the BBC is to start downsizing after criticism from commercial players in Britain and controversies over extraordinary salaries paid to some of the BBC's media talent, Mr Scott used the ABC's new website The Drum to defend his strategy in an article claiming the mounting criticism has more to do with the failed business strategies of commercial players.

Mr Scott's essay came after The Australian's columnist Mark Day wrote on Monday that it was time to debate the role of government in media."The government has in the recent past got out of business such as banking, telecommunications and airlines. Does it really need to be in media?" Day had written.

Mr Scott says the argument was "fundamentally wrong".

"The inference is that in a new era of plentiful media choice, the ABC should step out of the way, allowing commercial operators to deliver the content the Australian population needs and desires," Mr Scott says.

"If the ABC was to be sold, as Mr Day now curiously suggests, its nature would irrevocably change. It would become yet another commercial broadcaster competing for advertising, with a programming strategy to match."

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Geoff Elliott
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/abc-boss-mark-scott-goes-in-to-bat-for-public-broadcasting/story-e6frg996-1225836276096]]> News http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1133 Wed, 3 Mar 2010 16:25:35 +1100 http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1132
Sky Racing 2 will feature more than 80 thoroughbred, harness and greyhound meetings each week.
Of these, 35 will be new race meetings and more than half of those will be Australian.

Sky Racing is creating a new world of racing vision in 2010 with the introduction of two new channels, to complement the existing Sky Racing channel.The three channels are:
Sky Racing1 (Channel 519, FOXTEL and AUSTAR): Existing Sky Racing channel, which will continue to give viewers comprehensive Australian thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing coverage.

Sky Racing2 (Channel 520, FOXTEL and AUSTAR): Will offer viewers expanded coverage and choice of national and international thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing. Along with Sky Racing1, it will provide vision of all TAB races.

Sky Racing World (Channel 521, FOXTEL and AUSTAR): A superior thoroughbred racing channel, capturing the best racing action from Australia and around the world.

The launch of Sky Racing World will take place in early May, as part of the second stage in the rollout of the new Sky Racing channels.
Sky Racing Chief Operating Officer Brendan Parnell said: ¡§It¡¦s the start of a new era in race boadcasting in Australia.

The launch of Sky Racing2 will give Australian punters watching racing more choice than ever before. As expected, we have had significant interest from race clubs wanting to be part of Sky Racing¡¦s channel expansion.¡¨

The launch of the new Sky Racing channels is part of Tabcorp¡¦s long-term strategy to expand racing choice for its customers and to provide superior showcasing of racing.

The culmination of the strategy has been made possible through FOXTEL and AUSTAR¡¦s new generation channel expansion.
FOXTEL and AUSTAR will announce pricing for Sky Racing2 and Sky Racing World this month. Sky Racing1 will remain on the base package.

To accommodate the launch of Sky Racing2, new retail displays are currently being installed in hotels, clubs and TAB agencies around Australia.

The vast majority of NSW and Victorian pubs, clubs and TAB agencies will have Sky Racing2 available at launch date.
The roll out in other states and territories is progressing well, with many venues preparing to make Sky Racing2 available to their patrons.

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http://www.racingandsports.com.au/racing/rsNewsArt.asp?NID=170764]]> News http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1132 Mon, 1 Mar 2010 23:15:08 +1100 http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1131
Mr Stokes, 69, says he remains "genuinely excited" about Seven's portfolio of free-to-air television, magazine and newspaper assets, and also says "great mastheads" have a future in the digital world.

While he may have focused on his WesTrac earthmoving business in recent months, it's clear in an interview with The Australian, Mr Stokes, executive chairman of Seven, has lost none of his enthusiasm for the media side of his $3 billion corporate empire.Seven, 49 per cent owned by Mr Stokes, announced last week plans to merge with his privately-owned WesTrac, the authorised dealer of Caterpillar heavy machinery in Western Australia, NSW and northeast China.

The unconventional proposal -- which is subject to a shareholder vote scheduled for next month -- has put the spotlight on WesTrac, given Mr Stokes has kept its financial performance out of the public eye since he bought into the dealership in WA in 1989.

However, Mr Stokes argues that WesTrac's strong cash flows --the business is forecasting earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $230 million next year -- would give the combined group more scope to explore growth opportunities in media.

Seven made waves last year when it bought 22 per cent of James Packer's Consolidated Media Holding, which owns 25 per cent of pay-TV operator Foxtel (News Ltd, publisher of The Australian own 25 per cent and Telstra 50 per cent) as well as 50 per cent of the producer of Fox Sports (News Ltd owns the other half). The investments prompted Mr Packer to lift his stake in ConsMedia above the 40 per cent mark.

Both sides struck a peace deal last October when Mr Stokes agreed not to buy any more shares for 12 months in exchange for two board seats (filled by Seven directors Ryan Stokes and Peter Gammell).

Both Foxtel and regional affiliate Austar recently reported a marked slowdown in subscriber growth during the past six months of last year amid weak economic conditions and the rollout of new digital channels by free-to-air networks.

However, Mr Stokes, the only major Australian media player to straddle both industries, says he remains a firm believer in the subscription model. "I'm not privy to the pay-TV numbers, other than what everyone sees, but I think that any problems the sector might be experiencing go straight back to the economy," he says.

"They are a consumer electable and I think consumers have been a bit uncertain in the past six months. My personal opinion is that Foxtel is going to continue to grow strongly over the next five years."

Asked if he would buy more ConsMedia shares once the stand-still agreement expires in late October, Mr Stokes does not hesitate.

"We've made a $400m bet on pay-TV and we would be prepared to double it if we got the chance because we've got faith in it," he says. "The pay model, we think, is very sound."

Mr Gammell, who will run the combined business if the WesTrac deal is approved, adds that any purchase would be "subject to value and subject to price".

The Seven camp is nevertheless at pains to maintain what Mr Stokes describes as a "very good relationship" with Mr Packer and the rest of the ConsMedia board. Ryan Stokes told The Australian two weeks ago that Seven was "a very happy shareholder in James Packer's company". Mr Packer's enlarged stake would make it almost impossible for Mr Stokes to wrest control in hostile circumstances, even if he wanted to.

However, Telstra could be a seller if its negotiations with the federal government over the proposed national broadband network fail.

Seven sold half its free-to-air television, magazine and online media interests for more than $3bn to a US private equity firm in 2006.

Armed with a $1bn-plus war chest, Mr Gammell reportedly looked at almost every media asset in Australia, including Austar and Fairfax Media, publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, but decided none of the deals made financial sense. He says he will remain "very patient".

Mr Stokes, who recently ruled out taking a stake in Fairfax, will not comment on the past but it seems likely the prospect of sparking a war with News Limited's tabloids such as The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun figured in his thinking.

He does, however, admit the future is unlikely to include radio.

"I've been involved in FM radio and AM radio and it's not a field we think we would want to go back to," he says.

"We are very happy in broadcast television. Our investment in West Australian Newspapers, we are excited with. And our investment in pay-TV also. They are what we see as our strengths.

"We actually think papers are not finished yet. We think papers have to be nourished and nursed. There's still great opportunity in Australia for great mastheads to keep going." However, Mr Stokes is sceptical about the benefits of a paid-content model for online newspaper sites. The model has been embraced by News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch and The New York Times Co, while other titles such The Guardian have said they will not charge.

News Corporation's flagship paper, The Wall Street Journal, already charges for online content and Mr Stokes describes it as the only model "I have seen that will work in a pay environment".

"That's not just because Rupert owns it. I think that it is broad enough and deep enough and can get connections so that I understand why people would pay for it," he says. "I think the online model is going to be different and we are still working out what that will be."

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James Chessell
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/kerry-stokes-flags-pay-tv-push/story-e6frg996-1225835344799]]> News http://www.aupaytv.com/index.phpindex.php?itemid=1131 Mon, 1 Mar 2010 03:42:14 +1100