Ultra HD - TELE-satellite International Magazine

NEWS
E U R O P E
E U R O P E
HDTV Programmes
Edited by
Branislav Pekic
SES ASTRA LAUNCHES 3D DEMO CHANNEL
SES Astra has launched Europe’s first 3D demo
channel which is available free-to-air via the 23.5
degrees East orbital position. It will initially target
retailers and installers featuring high quality 3D
content including sports, music and entertainment.
FOOD NETWORK HD LAUNCHES
ACROSS EUROPE
Food Network has launched an HD service across
the EMEA region. It has also partnered with Orbit
Showtime Network (OSN) on the new HD service in
the Middle East and North Africa. Food Network's
HD service follows on the heels of a standard
definition version of the network, which launched to
around 10 million EMEA households in February.
FRANCE
TRACE PREPARES FOR
LAUNCH OF HD CHANNEL
French broadcaster Trace TV has partnered
with UK sports production company
IMG Sports Media Production to provide HD
content for its new sport and lifestyle channel
Trace Sports HD. The deal includes up to
250 hours of premium original HD content.
ITALY
SONY RECEIVES DGTVI
CERTIFICATION FOR HDTV SETS
Sony has signed an agreement with Italy’s DGTVi
for HD certification, enabling customers to access
the pay-TV services of major Italian broadcasters.
All Bravia LCD TV models include the Slot
Common Interface Plus (CI +) to access pay-TV
channels on DTT in HD. The Silver label indicates
the TV sets that integrate the HD tuner and
the slot for CI CAM + capable of receiving the
HD channels both free-to-air and pay-TV. The
Gold label means the TV set also permits the
reception of numerous interactive services.
ITALIANS TO WATCH WORLD CUP IN 3D
The South Africa World Cup will be the first
in Italy to be available in 3D, with selected
games screening on 20 movie screens belonging
to Space Cinema. The company will air
about a dozen key matches starting in the final
days of the second round, including all of the
games from that point and onward featuring
Italy. Tickets will cost between €10 and €15.
MALTA
MELITA LAUNCHES HDTV SERVICE
Melita has launched a HD service and a new netbox
HD, which features an innovative EPG and media
centre and includes a 320 GB hard disk and USB
inputs. Besides sports content, including live World
Cup matches, Melita's HD content includes 10
new HD channels which will be added for free to
the XL channel line-up. Melita is waiving the €10
monthly rental fee of the set-top box until October 1.
Customers who are currently subscribed to Melita's
digital television may keep their digital set-top
box on another TV for free until December 31.
NORWAY
VIASAT DISTRIBUTES TV2 HD CHANNELS
Viasat Broadcasting will distribute on its DTH
satellite pay-TV platform the three premier league
HD channels of TV 2. The channels TV 2 Premier
League HD, TV 2 Premier League HD 2 and TV 2
Premier League HD 3, will be available for Viasat’s
subscribers from of the start of the 2010/11 season
in August 2010 until the end of the 2012/13 season.
POLAND
BBC HD LAUNCHES IN POLAND
BBC HD has launched in Poland, initially being
available on satellite platform N and cable provider
UPC Polska. BBC Worldwide Channels said the
network's launch is the first step in a new partnership
between the channel distributor and N.
SERBIA
TOTALTV LAUNCHES HYBRID TV SERVICE
TotalTV has announced the launch of new
hybrid services, enabling the reception of both
DVB-T and DVB-S signals via a hybrid HD/
DVB-T box. The software for the TotalTV receiver
was created in cooperation with NDS Group.
UNITED KINGDOM
HD HELP INCREASE PROFITS FOR BSKYB
BSkyB has reported its pre-tax profit almost doubled
in the nine months to the end of March, driven
by a 76% jump in take-up of its HDTV service. The
broadcaster says there were 428.000 net additions
to its HD service in the period. The launch of Sky
3D, Europe's first 3D television channel, has gotten
off to a good start, with more than 1000 venues
signed up, while plans call for the launch of the
service to residential customers later in 2010.
SCOTTISH TV LAUNCHES HD SERVICE
On occasion of the World Cup, Scottish TV (STV)
launched its first High Definition service, STVHD. It
is a completely separate channel on DTT/Freeview
and on Virgin Media. STV is currently working with
Sky, Freesat and ITV Network with a view to making
STVHD available via satellite as soon as possible.
N O R T H A M E R I C A
UNITED STATES
ECHOSTAR VIP-TV DELIVERS IP VIDEO
SERVICE TO DUNCAN CABLE TV
EchoStar Satellite Services is delivering its
ViP-TVservice to Duncan Cable TV in Vermont.
With a ViP-TV-connected head-end, Duncan
Cable will be able to deliver more than 45 popular
HDTV channels. Duncan Cable provides video
services to more than 2,800 residents and
businesses in Southern Vermont and sought a
platform that would enable it to offer competitive
HD video services using its existing IP network.
HDTV PENETRATION REACHES 65%
According to a report from the Consumer Electronics
Association, 65% of U.S. homes now
owning at least one HDTV set, up 13% from a
year ago. Consumers are also buying HDTVs
as secondary sets. The average household now
has 1.8 HD televisions, up from 1.5% a year
ago. The study also says 23% of Americans
plan to buy an HDTV in the next 12 months.
DISH NETWORK OFFERS 200 HD CHANNELS
Dish Network now offers 200 national HD channels,
which include the addition of EPIX HD, G4
118 TELE-satellite — Global Digital TV Magazine — 08-09/2010 — www.TELE-satellite.com
HD, Turner Classic Movies HD, Headline News
HD, History International HD, Nat Geo Wild HD,
ShortsHD, and Style HD. Dish Network recently
became the first and only company to launch
all three Univision networks in HD - Univision
HD, TeleFutura HD and Galavision HD.
OUTDOOR CHANNEL GOES HD
Outdoor Channel became 100 per cent native
HD in June, marking a major milestone in the
network's growth. It has also led to over 250 HD
system launches in 2010 alone, making the channel
currently available in over 4 million homes.
Approximately 75 distributors carry the network's
HD service. Likewise, Outdoor Channel HD has
already entered 98 U.S. broadcast markets in
2010, including 18 out of the top 25 markets.
DIRECTV BEGINS LOCAL HD
ROLLOUT IN 16 NEW MARKETS
DirecTV has begun expanding its local HD
broadcast coverage to an additional 16 markets.
By the end of 2010, the operator expects
to provide local channels' access to more than
97% of U.S. households. When the rollout is
complete, it said it will be offering local broadcast
outlets in 172 markets (all but 17 with local HD).
DIRECTV FIRST TO CARRY GOLTV HD
DirecTV has become the first multi-channel video
provider to sign-up to carry GolTV’s newest
network, GolTV HD. The service will launch on
DIRECTV in August after the World Cup and
be available to all DirecTV HDTV customers. It
will feature the full programming lineup in 1080i
HD, with sound in state-of-the-art Dolby AC3.
L A T I N A M E R I C A
MGM HD CONTINUES LATIN
AMERICAN ROLLOUT
MGM is continuing to roll out its channel MGM
HD in Latin America, launching in two more
countries. MGM Worldwide Networks has
signed deals to place the Spanish-language
network on Cablevision in Argentina and
Mexico, and on Sky in Mexico. A Portugueselanguage
version launched in Brazil last year.
BRAZIL
NET EXPANDS WITH 3D, HDTV
Net has announced investments of BRL 200 million
this year alone to expand its digital network and
pave the way for expansion of the 3D technology.
Subscribers that are equipped with the Net
HD or HD Max boxes are already prepared to
receive 3D images. The operator is also planning
to increase the number of HD channels in
order to effectively compete with Sky Brasil.
SKY BRASIL TARGETS 400.000
HD SUBSCRIBERS
One year after launching the bundled HD
packages, Sky Brasil already has 200.000 HD
subscribers. The operator expects to reach
400.000 users of the HD service later this year.
The current HD offer, which includes 29 free and
pay-TV channels, is likely to be expanded with
another six new channels by the end of 2010
TVA OFFERS 20 HDTV CHANNELS
TVA is now offering a total of 20 HD channels,
including six free-to-air TV channels. Among
the new HD channels are Telecine HD, Telecine
Popcorn HD, PFC HD, Globosat HD, Multishow
HD, TNT HD, Space HD, Nat Geo Wild HD, Fox/
NatGeo HD, Discovery Theater HD, TLC HD,
HBO HD and Rush HD. The prices of the HD
packages range from BLR 119 to BRL 204.