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The satellite elephant in the room

How many ways can you say "No comment"? Read all about the topic that had Nine, TEN and Seven ducking for cover.

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If ever there was a topic that commercial Free to Air Networks are reluctant to discuss it is the issue of channel availability via Foxtel satellite.

Nine, TEN, Seven and WIN were all coy in their answers when TV Tonight asked about Foxtel satellite subscribers being able to access their full suite of channels. Many experienced spokespeople were doing their level best to avoid the words “No Comment.”

Some wouldn’t even answer some questions.

While Foxtel cable viewers enjoy a full suite of channels, the situation for Foxtel satellite viewers is more complex, compounded by problems depending on where you live.

Upstaging the commercial broadcasters are public broadcasters ABC and SBS who offer all their channels to all Foxtel viewers around the country, whether they are cable or satellite subscribers.

Seven, 7TWO, Nine, GO! and TEN are re-transmitted via satellite in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, but not in Adelaide, Perth, regional WA or Canberra. This is because the networks have not agreed to bear the satellite costs associated with retransmission.

Their HD channels are not transmitted to satellite viewers on Foxtel anywhere in the country for the same reason. The HD signal requires a larger bandwidth and therefore a higher cost.

But who should bear the satellite costs? Foxtel or the Free to Air networks?

A Foxtel spokesperson told TV Tonight, “Foxtel does not guarantee subscribers access to all of the retransmitted commercial free to air services.

“Foxtel has a standing offer to all the Broadcast Networks that Foxtel will retransmit their channels on satellite so long as they pay the cost of the satellite bandwidth, at cost, from our satellite provider – Optus.

“ONE, 7Mate and GEM are all HD channels and to date the relevant networks have not seen fit to pay the costs to retransmit.”

Even SD channel ELEVEN isn’t transmitted.

Free to Air networks appear to be reluctant to foot the bill, any bill, where the number of subscribers does not justify the expense.

A Seven spokesperson said the decision is based on the economics of the HD market and its growth forecasts from publicly known subscriber data.

“We are constantly reviewing subscription numbers, it is very hard to justify SD bandwidth in more markets based on publicly known SD subscriber data in these markets.

“When will Foxtel increase its HD subscribers to justify the cost of Satellite bandwidth?”

A TEN spokesperson said the matter was commercially sensitive but was continuing ongoing and protracted discussions with Foxtel.

“There is a cost to them to do it and they try and recoup the cost of that with us,” they said.

In January the network launched ELEVEN, abandoning its former TEN SD signal. ONE underwent a programming revamp this month adding new dramas -but neither is available via Foxtel satellite.

“This has been something we’ve been discussing with them for quite some time. Clearly when ONE was operating as it was last year and the audience wasn’t particularly strong for us there were factors that we had to take into consideration,” they explained.

“ELEVEN is a completely different kettle of fish because its audience is strong and it did well really quickly. So we’re still going through that process with them.”

Nine has markets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane where Nine and GO! are currently available, but not GEM. The markets of Adelaide and Perth have none of the Nine suite via satellite, but these fall under the domain of WIN Television.

Nine was the most reluctant of the big three to discuss the issue, simply confirming what was currently available and deferring to WIN for other markets.

Nine declined to answer some questions, but on the question of whether the bandwidth cost of an HD channel in GEM differs significantly from the costs of an SD channel, it simply answered: “No.”

WIN Television declined to answer any questions at all.

So what’s the big deal? Can’t viewers simple exit the Foxtel platform and watch these channels like everybody else through conventional methods?

That’s what networks are counting on.

But if subscribers are lax at exiting the Foxtel platform, it could impact on ratings as well as missing promotions of upcoming programming.

It also means those programmes cannot be recorded on IQs: including The Amazing Race, Survivor, An Idiot Abroad, The Simpsons, Neighbours, Family Guy, The Big C, Nurse Jackie, Supernatural and Sons of Anarchy.

For Perth and Adelaide viewers the problem is much worse, given Seven, Nine an TEN are also unavailable.

Despite some of these channels approaching their second birthday, networks publicly push a line about “on-going discussions” to address the problem. It’s just as well the question wasn’t about HD content.

It seems viewers are being left behind while the political football of transmission costs drags on.

As one spokesperson told TV Tonight, “We hope that we will find a resolution but I can’t say when the resolution will be.”

71 Responses

  1. seems sky HD Italy. have a USB stick that plugs into back of the Sky HD box, you connect your TV antenna and loads up the local FTA tv channels…search “sky digital key” in google. SKY HD Box is a pace……

    Foxtel, why don’t you offer this to your IQ satellite customers..??????

    Get your act together Foxtel !

  2. P*ssed of Perth viewer (Foxtel Satellite)

    Just offer us a box like Austar Mystar.

    Foxtel HDIQ box made by Pace UK would be king if it had a HDFTA tuner built in.

  3. Why don’t they have the main channels (7, 9, 10) as HD & SD then make Gem & 7mate as SD channels- the football looks better in HD and Seven looses out when they have it only on the SD channel. It doesn’t make sense why you would have the main channels in SD and not HD. Then maybe it would “cost” so much to broadcast on the satellite. I got the HD IQ and it great watching movies and UKTV, Fox8 in HD but there is not enough normal channels on HD- I don’t watch much sport other than maybe the footy so it seems a waste in the use of the product.

  4. David next time you are talking with Nine can you ask them why The Zoo, Antiques Roadshow, something by the name of “The World’s Smallest Man and Me” and Jailhouse Girls were shown in HD over the State of Origin game. I would imagine that this would be, to say the least, one of their more important television events in the Brisbane and Sydney markets.

  5. Its irrelevant who comes out on top fox or FTA. the bottom line is the fta networks got an astronomical rebate for no apparent reason and some of that windfall should be used to pay the costs here.

    For the record – great story David and i wouldn’t be an industry peep for all the in china

  7. @Tyson,almost seems out of touch enough to be a Television Executive…..therefore shall never be refered to again.
    @Ararat,the Qualifying conditions for VAST have been ramped up and are actually harder than Aurora unless you can prove you have no access to the terrestial free to air service with a decent antenna and heigth you would need to “know someone”.
    Also the imminent take over of Austar by Foxtel will have regional programming ramifications regarding claim areas and content to be addressed.

  9. Catch 22, if Foxtel get the channels people might find out about them… Get a TiVo and ditch Foxtel, I did a year ago and with so much recording, I havn’t missed it once!

  10. Im in Adelaide and its so annoying. The only time i was FTA is the footy and if i have recorded a show on my Media Centre PC and fast forward the adverts. I havent watched Top Gear since it was on 9 or any new show on the 10 network.

    Get your act together FTA networks!

    Maybe freeview should get involved..oh wait what is actually the point of the freeview crap?

  11. I had Foxtel IQ (Satellite) in Adelaide until not long after I got a free to air PVR a couple of years ago. I was running both along side for a while, then realised I wasn’t watching as much Foxtel so ditched it. So in my case Foxtel were the loser. If the FTA channels had been on Foxtel satellite in Adelaide I’d never have got another PVR and I wouldn’t have ditched Foxtel.

  12. I’m in Perth and have had Foxtel since around 1995 (when it was Galaxy TV) and I can say it is definately to the detriment of the FTA’s by not supplying it. Foxtel IQ is the most superior set top box by a million miles. I have plenty of Foxtel channels to entertain me all week and theres no reason to switch on my FTA set top box. when I do switch it on all I see is endless adverts, annoying pop ups, no end credits and unreliable programming week after week. But if FTA was available on my IQ box I would probably record more of their shows. I actually can’t be bothered recording anything on my FTA box as I have enough recorded on my IQ box.

  14. As a Foxtel Satellite subscriber in Sydney I really wish they could resolve this. I hate not having 7Mate and Eleven the most.

    I am one of those that are too lazy to change the connection to watch some of my favourite shows, like family guy, nurse jackie – so the FTA’s are loosing out on my eyeballs watching their shows.

    I also agree with Brad, foxtel should group the Freeview channels together.

  15. We’ve had Foxtel Satellite since 2002 as we were told our side of the street could not get cable. We suffered through years of missing out on channels and not being able to use IQ to record so last month we called Foxtel and managed to get our servfice switched to cable. Luckily for us we had everything in place and it’s a joy to be able to finally record everything in one place.

  16. Only wish Foxtel would list them all under FTA in the EPG. For some reason I always miss them when buried under entertainment.

    I know its because foxtel don’t want to advertise the fact that you can get 15 odd channels for free but still…

  17. In the US isn’t it pretty much standard practice to have you network TV channels (FTA) included in you cable (PayTV) service? Maybe people don’t even have or can’t use an antenna to get TV reception.

    I guess with the NBN it won’t be long before its common practice for our TV to come down our data line and not over the air waves.

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