Recruitment ad for TV professionals continues to confound
It's the biggest whodunit for the television industry in recent times.
European space rocket Ariane 44LP successfully placed a large satellite in orbit for DirecTV, the biggest US subscription TV channel early this morning. The Ariane 44LP workhorse version having two liquid and two solid strap-on boosters was launched from the European Space Agency‘s launch pad at Kourou, French Guiana, on schedule at 9:35 pm and DirecTV-4S satellite separated from the launcher about 21 min later as per a press release from Arianespace. DirecTV-4S will be placed in geostationary orbit west of the Galapagos Islands, providing a digital footprint across the entire United States of America. DirecTV is the largest satellite television provider in the United States serving 10 million subscribers. The satellite will be used by California-based DirecTV to provide digital television service with more than 300 channels of additional capacity to deliver additional local channels. Direct Tv-4S, a 4.3-tonne payload is the third satellite launched by Ariane for DirecTV. Among the earlier five satellites under DirectTV‘s umbrella , DirecTV-1 was launched in December 1993 and DirecTV-3 followed in June 1995 through Arianespace. EchoStar Communications, DirecTV‘s nearest rival, won a bidding war for the company last month against US-Australian media magnate Rupert Murdoch with the deal being subject to clearing several regulatory hurdles. Arianespace chairman and CEO Jean-Marie Luton noted that tonight‘s flight was with the 200th spacecraft built by Boeing Satellite Systems. Luton also added that DIRECTV-4S set a record for pre-launch processing as the satellite was launched just two and a half weeks after its arrival in French Guiana, to make this the shortest satellite campaign in the history of Ariane, and to satisfy the requirements of customer Direct TV-4S. The DIRECTV-4S platform will be the first spacecraft in the DIRECTV fleet to use highly focused spot beam technology, allowing the company to expand its local channel offerings in metropolitan markets. |
While Star banks on saas bahu soaps and game shows to retain the top slot, Zee pegs its hopes on mythologicals after its relaunch debacle and Sahara pushes soaps to increase viewership, Sabe TV has decided to go the thriller way to inject fresh life into the channel.
Ramesh Bhatkar returns to Sabe TV as Colonell |
The Adhikari brothers have roped in their old favourite Ramesh Bhatkar to play the lead role in Colonell, a daily series that premieres on Sabe from December 3 at 10:40 pm. With Colonell, the Adhikaris are, in all probability hoping to regain lost glory by latching on to the thriller genre that propelled them into the big league in the pre-satellite days.
The channel, which claims that Colonell is the desi version of Mr Bond, will air the serial from Mondays to Thursdays. The Colonell will be aided by a trio of super sleuths in his fight against crime. Each story within the series will run for four consecutive days, so viewers have to stay glued to the idiot box every day.
Colonell portrays a man for whom duty is first and justice vital, and how he goes around solving cases with skill, speed and panache with extraordinary outcomes to each encounter.
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Another new addition is Telethriller, a 90-minute long ‘mini-film‘ to be aired on Sundays at 9:00 pm, premiering from 2 December 2001. Telethriller promises nail biting suspense, action packed chases and mind boggling drama that will keep viewers glued right up to the climax. Telethriller will have a new storyline each week.
If director Gautam Adhikari is able to wean audiences away from the all too familiar family soaps, this might just be the dose required to infuse new life into the channel. Or is Sabe banking on numerology (note the extra alphabet in Colonell) to work its magic?
The good news first. The Asia Cable & Satellite Guide 2002 has projected a strong pay TV subscriber growth for Asia, with year end 2001 estimates pegged at 165.6 million subscribers. A healthy 14 per cent year on year growth and a penetration of a total of 484.9 million subscriber homes has been forecast for the year. India and China will contribute 80 per cent to the subscriber growth in the region, according to the guide.
Now the bad news. The report, published by the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) and Media Partners Asia (MPA), says that higher operating costs, restrictive regulation and piracy have depressed pay TV cash flow and bottom line earnings throughout the region. Pay TV systems have been unable to access the capital they need to accelerate digital build-out and drive earnings momentum, the report notes. If the region‘s broadband cable and satellite industries can access greater capital, content and technology, to drive digital media distribution over the next three years, the overall pay TV market could be worth almost US $ 40 billion by 2012, in terms of a basic revenue opportunity, it says.
Casbaa executive director Simon Twiston Davies says the data provided in the Guide reaffirms the view that the Asian pay TV and datacasting industries are only at the starting block. He feels the current economic climate will not hold back significant investment in systems and programming. "The fact remains however that pay TV in Asia can only fulfill its potential once governments further move on the deregulation they have only just begun," MPA officials say.
The guide shows total industry revenues at US $11.3 billion in 2001, a 20 per cent growth from last year with subscription revenues at US $ 9.5 billion (up 23 per cent with Japan‘s pay TV market contributing more than 40 per cent) and advertising at US $ 1.9 billion (up 7 per cent). The report models average revenue per subscriber unit (ARPU) to rise from US $ 5 per month in 2001 to US $ 9 by 2012 with subscription revenues projected to reach US $ 33.9 billion. The net worth of the pay TV advertising market is forecast at almost US $ 5 billion by 2012.
Highlights of the report -
* Subscriber momentum has largely come from Korea, India and China while smaller markets like Malaysia have also contributed to top line growth.
* Together, China and India have almost an 80% share of pay TV subs in Asia.
* The ARPU for operators in these growth markets remains low however (US$1-US$2/month in China; US$3 in India; US$10 in Korea) while monthly ARPU in Malaysia (US$17), Singapore (US$20) and Hong Kong (US$31) has dipped following the introduction of cost-effective packages, part of a bid to drive subscriber growth.
* Digital pay TV penetration has yet to assume major significance in Asia. By year-end 2001, MPA estimates 6.6 mil. digital pay TV subs, almost entirely consisting of DTH satellite customers, of which communication and broadcast satellite platforms in Japan would represent more than 60 per cent.
* The bulk of digital cable deployments over the next three years will be via one-way set-tops and cost-effective two-way set-tops. By year-end 2002, MPA forecasts 2.1 million digital cable subs, with 61 per cent estimated as customers on one-way set-tops that support basic pay channels and addressability.
Asia Pacific Pay TV Subscriber Homes (Cable & DTH Satellite)
Market 2000
All data in (000) except % chg. * represents year-end estimates ** includes NHK‘s analog and digital broadcast satellite services
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