September 2012
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International Monthly Magazine
VOLUME: 19 - No: 09 Editor-in-Chief HABIB HADI hadi@tracksat.com Managing Editors SUROOSH IZNA Editor SUMERA HADI Associate Editor SHOUKAT IQBAL KHATTAK Technical Director ABDUL HAI (NYVERMYND) dishtech@tracksat.com Computer Operator HAIDER ALI Advertising Manager Mohib Ahrar dishchannels@gmail.com Layout Designer SHAHID ADEEL Accounts Manager S. ASHRAF-UL-HAQ Legal Advisor QAZI MUNAWAR ALAM Editorial Address: Dawood Centre, 101-1st Floor, 124,R, Block-2, Main Tariq Road, P.E.C.H.S., Karachi-Pakistan. Tel. : + 92-21- 34531122, 34531133 : + 92-21- 34316529, 34316530 Fax: : + 92-21- 34528822 E-mail: dishchannels@gmail.com hadi@tracksat.com Distributors UAE Emirates Printing Publishing & Distribution Co. Tel.: (04) 2660337 Ext. 204 SAUDI ARABIA Al-Adabiya Pub & Distributors Tel.: 671 5788 KUWAIT United Company for Distribution of Newspapers & Publications Tel.: (965) 245 6198-(965) 241 2820 BAHRAIN Al Ayam Publishing Est. B.S.C. (C) Tel. : 725111 PAKISTAN Paradise Books & Distributors Tel: + 92-21-4314981-83 Fax: + 92-21-4385075 EGYPT Al-Ahram Tel.: 5796997 QATAR Naz Book Distribution Tel.: +974 4324235, +974 5562809 TURKEY Ukrainian Distribution Tel.: +38 044 261 5876 JORDAN Jordan Distribution Agency Tel.: 962 6 533 7733 IRAQ Al-Khalil Distribution NETHERLANDS Van Gelderen UNITED KINGDOM Golden Publication Ltd. KENYA National Group Ltd. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Future Empire Network Corp. Publisher HABIB HADI Dish Channels is printed on the 1st of every month by Dish Channels Karachi. Dish Channels is Non-Political & NonPatrisian Publication. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, we cannot bear responsibility for losses resulting from errors. Printed By: PRINTING IMPRESSION
Dear Readers! Mobile phones have touched and changed almost every part of our lives. Now they are heading into space. The satellite lies in pieces, strewn across the table. It doesn't remotely look like a spacecraft. “We keep building it, and taking it apart, and tweaking it a little bit…and building it up again, finding an interesting feature, then taking it apart,” says Shaun Kenyon an engineer at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, a satellite manufacturer based in the southern English town of Guildford. “We have all the bits,” he laughs, his voice bordering on mild hysteria. “Excitement is a good word to use about how the team's feeling at the moment. Sheer panic might be another phrase.” Kenyon is the joint leader of the Strand-1 satellite team, a group of volunteers hoping to fly the first smartphone satellite in orbit. Strand, incidentally, stands for Surrey Training Research and Nanosatellite Demonstration – joining a long list of torturous space acronyms. After many months of development, the group is close to finalising a launch for later this year. At first the idea of putting a phone in space sounds like a stunt. But when you think about it, a smartphone is a remarkable piece of technology. “You've got this thing in your pocket which has the same computing capability as a supercomputer did in the 1970s,” says Kenyon. “All of that electronics has got billions and billions of dollars of R and D in it, so we're just trying to make use of all that research and see if those electronics will work in space.” Bye
Habib Hadi Editor-in-Chief
dishchannels@gmail.com www.dishchannels.net www.tracksat.com
SEPTEMBER – 2012
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Contents
231st LEGEND ISSUE OF PUBLICATIONS
Letter from Editor
Television in Japan
Global Flash News
History of Cable TV
A smart way to watch TV
The Global DTH
Sat Mart
Digital Satellite...
Test Report
Digital TV homes...
Test Report
The Arab Worlds major...
AsiaSat Satellite Fleet
Pay-TV worldwide
Test Report
Around the Satellite World
Cable dominates...
Trouble Shooter
TV market in Romania
Search Satellite
Test Report
TATA Sky
DTH service in Korea
Asia Specific Direct to
Pay-TV under pressure
Competition to boost
Communications Satellite
Directional Chart
Threats on horizon... Direct satellite...
How Do FTA Receivers...
Digital Chart
Spain pay TV boost
TEST REPORTS
Superbox Elite 4
Echolink EL-7300
Startrack SRT-2015 HD
iClass Y9Y9 WiFi HD PVR
ARTICLES VIEW A smart way to watch TV
Pay-TV worldwide Cable dominates improving worldwide
PAY-TV MARKET 18
34
Digital TV Homes to Double 53
Competition to Boost Mena Pay-TV 59
77
SRT 2010 HD
SRT 2014 HD
SRT 2015 HD
SRT 3000 HD
SR 55X SR 140 SR 150
ST 570 ST 560
www.startrackworld.com
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
VSR-8900 HD CA USB PVR
VSR-9155 HD
VSR-290 FTA Alpha
A smart way to watch TV irect-To-Home commonly known as DTH connection is a digital satellite service offered by many providers like Airtel, Tata Sky, and Reliance in India to bring the fine picture and sound quality channels to Indian Homes within a reasonable price. It eliminates the need to setup cables and is mainly focused on remote areas where terrestrial cable network is poor and not in existence . It makes use of a wireless technology to bring the channels live to the viewer's home. DTH is favored by many Indians due to the SEPTEMBER
flexibility in choosing the channels you want to watch. So, you pay only for what you watch. It also got some advanced features like EPG, Parental Lock and Pay-Per-View to watch high demand movies, sports etc. The installation of DTH is simple and it takes only 2-4 hours to setup the entire component. Airtel, Tata Sky, Dish, Videocon, Sun, Reliance Big TV are the key players when it comes to DTH in India. If you are new to DTH, choosing the best DTH for your sweet home might seem a little cumbersome. So, let's do some comparison between the service providers above that will help you to choose the best one among Airtel, Tata Sky, and Reliance Big TV. Tata Sky is an old player in the DTH market that still uses the MPEG-2 format while broadcasting videos over the satellite. If you are specific about the video and sound quality, then think twice before going for Tata Sky.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
ASIASAT SATELLITE FLEET
siaSat takes the lead in satellite broadcasting and telecommunications in Asia Pacific since the launch of AsiaSat 1, Asia's first privately owned regional satellite in April 1990. AsiaSat currently owns and operates four in-orbit satellites AsiaSat 3S, AsiaSat 4, AsiaSat 5 and AsiaSat 7 which are designed to deliver excellent performance, coverage and connectivity across the AsiaPacific region. AsiaSat's latest satellites, AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8, are planned to be launched in the first half of 2014. Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), which has been Asia's premier regional satellite operator since established in 1988, is a dedicated pioneer in advancing satellite communications in Asia. We endeavour to provide highly reliable satellite services and technical excellence for clients. Being committed to offer customer-oriented, professional and proactive services, AsiaSat has achieved the market leader position and enjoyed industry recognition over the years, thus winning many sizable broadcasting and telecommunications enterprises, and governments' confidence to be their SEPTEMBER
professional partner. Through our four satellites, AsiaSat 3S, AsiaSat 4, AsiaSat 5 and AsiaSat 7, AsiaSat enables billions of people around the world to get access to information and communication channel. Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat), Asia's leading satellite operator, is broadcasting live television coverage of the London Olympic Games from today on multiple transponders to Asian broadcasters and viewers. Sabrina Cubbon, Vice President, Sales and Marketing of AsiaSat said, “We are very pleased to play a contributing role in the world's biggest and most viewed sporting event, delivering live coverage of the Games from London to audience under our footprints. AsiaSat will continue to deliver service with reliability, quality and integrity to broadcasting organisations for this exciting event.” AsiaSat plays a key role in broadcasting major sports tournaments and events across the Asia Pacific. Past events such as UEFA Euro 2012, Wimbledon, French Open, FIFA World Cup, Formula One, Commonwealth Games and UEFA Champions League were all delivered in the Asia Pacific by the AsiaSat fleet. Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), the leading regional satellite operator in Asia, serves over twothirds of the world's population with its four satellites, AsiaSat 3S at 105.5ºE, AsiaSat 4 at 122ºE, AsiaSat 5 at 100.5ºE and AsiaSat 7. The AsiaSat satellite fleet provides services to both the broadcast and telecommunications industries. Some 500 televisions and radio channels are now delivered by the company's satellites offering access to over 620 million TV households across the Asia-Pacific region.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
Cable dominates improving worldwide
PAY-TV MARKET
The worldwide market was worth €301 billion in 2010, progressing 7.8% compared to 2009 according to Idate's 21st edition of biannual World TV Markets report.
Analysing the overriding trends and changes, the report shows that the worldwide TV market is led by the pay-TV sector, which is dominated by cable subscriptions. This, says Florence Le Borgne, Director of IDATE's TV & Digital Content Business Unit, explains why for the period between 2007 and 2010, the rise in the worldwide TV market was 14%, compared with only 12.7% for worldwide GDP. Finally, terrestrial television grew from 3.6 million subscriber households in 2007 to 4.5 million in 2010, with its relative share stagnating by about 0.6%. “The growth in absolute value for paid terrestrial television can be explained by the expansion of DTT offers in Europe, such as in the United Kingdom, France and Italy and even in Scandinavia,” Le Borgne added. In 2010, 372.8 million households subscribing to a paid television offer worldwide are located in Asia/Pacific (or more than half of the TV households in the region). Europe was the second largest region accounting for the largest number of
SEPTEMBER
subscriber households (22.7%) followed by North America (16.7%), Latin America (5.3%) and the EMEA region (1.6%). The worldwide pay-TV industry continues to grow in terms of both subscriber numbers and service revenue. “At the end of first quarter of 2011, pay-TV service revenue generated from satellite, cable, terrestrial and telco TV totaled $53 billion. That is a 10% increase from the first quarter of 2010,” says Jason Blackwell, digital home practice director at ABI Research. Digital TV and HD TV services raise monthly ARPU, generating incremental revenue and profit for the pay-TV operators” Increasing penetration of multi-play services drives the growth in the subscriber base. Bundled services are more cost-effective for customers than subscribing to each service separately. Many of the operators have witnessed how triple-play services reduce churn and increase ARPU. Regionally, North America and Western Europe own the highest market shares of pay-TV service revenue. This is mainly due to high average revenue per user in these regions. At this moment, the Asia Pacific region owns the third largest market share of global pay-TV service revenue. However, Asia Pacific is likely to have larger market share than Western Europe in next two years.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
TV market in Romania The Romanian television market is highly competitive, not just in terms of the competition between broadcasters but also that between payTV operators. Central European Media Enterprises (CME) and the Intact Media Group are two of the main players in the private TV sector. The Realitatea Media Group is also making its presence felt and has recently launched several thematic channels. The Consiliul NaÞional al Audiovizualului (National Council for Electronic Media – CNA) granted a total of 102 audiovisual licences in 2010 (four radio broadcasting licences, 17 television broadcasting licences and 81 licences for electronic communications networks); 40 audiovisual licences were renewed (35 for radio stations and five for television channels) and 57 others were transferred. On the pay-TV market, three companies are competing in practically all communications sectors: RCS-RDS, UPC Romania and Romtelecom, each with a
SEPTEMBER
variety of interests in cable, satellite, and broadband and in some cases also telecommunications and IPTV. A study published by Media Expres in autumn 2011 highlighted the fact that the three competing companies are in deficit. There is a persistent rumour in professional circles concerning the possible takeover of UPC's operations by RCS-RDS. In 2010, the audience share of Pro TV (CME) continued to rise and reached 14.9% (higher than its 2007 level), while that of Antenna 1 (Intact Media Group) declined to 10.3% (9.1% in 2008). The channel now in third place as regards audience share is the news channel Realitatea TV with 6.1%. The channel Acasa TV, which also belongs to CME and targets women with entertainment programmes such as drama, telenovelas and films, now only has 4% (compared with 7.7% in 2006). CME has a total market share of about 19%. The most dramatic loss of audience share has been that of the public service broadcaster TVR1 with a share in 2010 of 5.4% (down from 16.7% in 2006). The share of TVR2 also declined from 5.3% to 1.8% between 2006 and 2010. Several other channels have a share of around 4% of the audience: Antena 3, Prima TV (ProSieben-Sat.1 Media AG) and Kanal D (Dogan Media Group). Cable is the most important reception mode in Romania (45% of households). The cable network is mainly split between two operators: RCS-RDS and UPC Romania. RCS-RDS has taken over as the main player in the market with 1.4 million subscribers end 2010. End of September 2011, UPC Romania had 1.1 million subscribers of which about 37.9% had digital services.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
DTH service in Korea
SkyLife, one of the largest and most advanced DTH operators in Asia, is aggressively migrating from standard definition to high definition by implementing the state-ofthe-art, feature-rich NAGRA Media ACCESS solution. Alongside the introduction of HD, the cooperation with Nagravision will also cover innovative services including a hybrid satellite/IPTV offer and 3D. "We have been convinced by Nagravision's strong commitment to Asia and to Korea in particular, their superior security technology and track record, and their strong willingness to understand and meet our requirements”, said Mong-Ryong Lee, CEO of SkyLife. “The openness of Nagravision to work with local partners was another important decision factor." “We are excited to work with SkyLife, one of the most innovative pay TV operators in Asia. This new partnership proves our strong
SEPTEMBER
commitment to the Korean market, which is also demonstrated by our cooperation with Korean companies to jointly develop local solutions for SkyLife. We are also very proud to help SkyLife with our advanced technology to become one of the world leaders in the areas of hybrid solutions and 3DTV, which are both at the heart of our innovation", said André Kudelski, Chairman and CEO of the Kudelski Group. Nagravision's expanding footprint in Asia confirms the Kudelski Group's support of the strong development of the DTV sector in this region. Korea Digital Satellite Broadcasting Co. Ltd., more universally recognized under its 'SkyLife' brand name, is the only satellite broadcasting operator (DTH platform) in Korea providing more than 190 channels, 53 channels of which are HD channels, the most in Korea. The number of HD channels is supposed to be over 70 by the end of 2010. The expanded HD offering will rely on the launch of a new satellite (Mugungwha-6 launched by KT), set for the second quarter of 2010. SkyLife commenced its commercial service in March 2002 and reached 2,460,000 subscribers as of the end of 2009, which accounts for around 13% of all households in Korea. As of now around 20% of the SkyLife customers subscribe to HD packages. On 1st January, 2010, SkyLife launched a 24 hour 3D dedicated channel (“Sky3D”, channel number 1), the first satellite channel of its kind in the world. It delivers sports, events, animations and other entertainment content from some of the world's most renowned 3D producers as well as the content produced by SkyHD, a subsidiary company of SkyLife.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
Pay-TV under
EUROPE
ay-TV operators in Europe are due to come under increasing pressure from rivals based in other markets and sectors, while also facing a difficult financial and regulatory climate. The European pay-TV industry is valued at $36bn per year, and in many cases operators have built a strong position thanks to securing rights to show sports such as football, and high-profile movies. BSkyB, the British satellite service, has delivered a robust performance despite the downturn, and is the region's largest pay-TV platform. Canal+, in France, also saw revenues rise last year. In Italy, however, the rivalry between Sky Italia and Mediaset slowed growth for both firms, while Sky Deustchland, in Germany, has found the going hard as cable fees are often included in the rent or service charges paid by apartment block residents. Al Jazeera, headquartered in Qatar, also spent over â‚Ź280m to bag the rights for France's top football league and Champions League, and is thought to be competing with SEPTEMBER
RTL's M6 and Bouygue's TF1 to show the UEFA Euro 2012 international tournament. Claudio Aspesi, an analyst at Bernstein Research, suggested Apple's set-top box might benefit from the trends of consumer loyalty and greater scrutiny on the part of lawmakers. "Its popularity and potential attractiveness as a distribution channel could drive the owners of rights towards it," he told the Financial Times. "Moreover, European regulators are increasingly hostile to exclusive contracts and pay-TV companies may find it impossible to keep their most valuable content out of Apple's hands." Informa, the insights provider, reported that pay-TV's penetration rates stand at 55% in Europe, measured against 90% in the US. This total reached just 31% in Spain, where Discovery Networks is set to launch a freeto-air station, Discovery Max. It has already successfully followed such an approach with Real Time Italy. "Where we see opportunities in markets where pay-TV may not be growing, and we can operate without undermining the traditional business, we will look to take advantage of it," Mark Hollinger, Discovery Networks International's president, said. "There are plenty of forecasts for the year which show ad sales slowing down. A lot will depend on what the resolution is within the Eurozone. We understand the nature of an ad sales model is going to be more cyclical than the dual revenue stream. We're long-term investors in all of this."
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
Threats On Horizon for
Pay-tv In Europe The historic resilience of pay-TV in parts of Europe is likely to come under scrutiny by investors this year, analysts warn. Twin threats on the horizon to the $36bn-a-year industry include alternative sources of programmes for viewers on the internet and increased competition for TV shows that have historically been key to retaining subscribers' loyalty. These principally comprise exclusive rights to show sport, especially football, and films. Pay-television is regarded by analysts as a defensive investment. BSkyB, in the UK, is the largest pay-TV business in Europe by subscribers and revenue and did well through the period between 2007-09 when recessionary pressures pulverised advertising-dependent free-to-air broadcasters. Then, its revenues grew at a compound rate of 8.5 per cent to £5.36bn with the core pay-TV business playing a large role. By June 2010, BSkyB's operating margin had returned to the 18.5 per cent of 2007 and by the end of June 2011, its free cash flow had grown from a post-recessionary £515m to £869m, adjusted to ignore exceptional SEPTEMBER
events. Canal+ provided a lesser performance for Vivendi, its 80 per cent shareholder, but still managed a 2.9 per cent year-on-year increase in revenues to €3.56bn. In Italy, competition between Mediaset and News Corp's Sky Italia has caused both companies to struggle for growth, while in Germany; pay-TV companies such as Sky Deutschland have been pitted against a system of incumbent cable-TV businesses whose services are usually included in the rent or service charges of ubiquitous apartment blocks. Into this market are coming powerful competitors such as Google and Apple, with their own offering of internet-based television, as well as Amazon with its Lovefilm streamed-movie subsidiary, Netflix, and the Qatari-financed Al Jazeera, which has already made moves into the French football rights market that some analysts see as ominous for listed pay-TV groups. Al Jazeera is also important, analysts say. With the surprise award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, the oil and gas-rich Gulf state is seeking ways to show its commitment to football. Al Jazeera is technically independent of the emirate's government but analysts in the region have observed that it would only be logical for all businesses based in Qatar to support the Emir's World Cup project.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
SPAIN
Pay TV boost
he number of Spanish homes with pay TV in the first half of 2011 reached 21.9 per cent of all households, according to the latest report from the Telecommunications Market Commission (CMT). Two out of ten households already have pay-TV services, although there are big variances depending on the size of municipalities. Higher penetration rates occurred in populations with size between 200,000 and 500,000 and the lowest in municipalities with populations under 10,000 inhabitants. Specifically, 32.1 per cent of households in cities between 200,000 and 500,000 people have pay TV, while this percentage is 23.1 per cent in the case of municipalities of 10,000 to 50,000. In municipalities with a population of between 50,000 and 200,000 inhabitants the penetration stands at 22.3 per SEPTEMBER
cent while in the largest villages of over 500,000 inhabitants the rate is at 20.7 per cent. CMT says pay TV penetration varies depending on the level of fixed telephony penetration and fast Internet access as pay TV services usually form part of a triple play offer. On average, Spanish households spend €40.5 a month on pay TV, up 8 per cent over the same period in 2010, as a single service. However, the ARPU for the triple play offer stands at €54.4 a month, 1.6 per cent less than the same period in 2010. Since 2006, the penetration of pay television has remained fairly stable at around 20 per cent of households. In the CMT's survey, three out of four Spanish households said that FTA TV is enough as a reason not to have pay TV. Other reasons are that pay television in Spain is expensive (33.7 per cent of households saying it); that it is not necessary (30.6 per cent); others are not interested (22.6 per cent); others do not watch much television (21.5 per cent) and the supply of channels and services is not very attractive (5.9 per cent). Pay TV in Spain continued to grow, albeit at a very modest level, last year despite the economic crisis, according to a report prepared by the country's media and telecoms commission, the CMT. Tuenti, which has about 13 million users, was acquired by Telefónica in 2010 for €75 million. The telco is adding new services to the site, including an integrated mobile messaging app and beta versions of Android and BlackBerry apps. iOS and Windows Phone versions are expected in the near future.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
in
Ja p
an
Inside view
s i v Tele
atching television is very popular in Japan and is as integrated into everyday life as it is in many western countries. In Tokyo one can receive five private and two national NHK channels over the air, while other parts of the country may be able to receive fewer channels. These days, satellite and cable television are becoming more popular. The concepts of many Japanese shows are very original, with variety shows, dramas, news, sports programs and trivia shows as the most popular types. Furthermore, many shows contain an educational component concerning nature, history, science, or other cultures. It is not uncommon that the most popular entertainers appear during prime time in rather scientific programs on commercial channels. "Wide Shows" are programs for housewives and are broadcasted during the whole SEPTEMBER
n io
morni ng and afternoon on various channels. They offer a variety of topics like fashion, celebrity news, etc. Imported movies and television series are mostly broadcasted on pay TV channels. Many can be watched in either Japanese or their original language. A few news programs are broadcasted in Japanese and English as well, although some older televisions do not have the bilingual feature needed to watch them in English. Television broadcasting in Japan started in 1939, making the country one of the first in the world with an experimental television service. In spite of that, because of the beginning of World War II in the Pacific region, this first experimentation lasted only a few months. Regular television broadcasts started only after the war, in 1951. A modified version of the North American NTSC system for analog signals, called NTSC-J was used for analog broadcast until 2011. Starting July 24, 2011, the analog broadcast has ceased and only digital broadcast using the ISDB standard is available. All Japanese households having at least one TV set are mandated to pay an annual subscription fee used to fund NHK, the Japanese public service broadcaster. The fee varies from 14,910 to 28,080 JPY depending on the method and timing of payment and on whether one receives only terrestrial television or also satellite broadcasts. Households on welfare may be excused from the subscription payments. In any case, there is no authority to impose sanctions or fines in the event of non-payment; people may (and many do) throw away the bills and turn away the occasional bill collector, without consequence.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
The Global
DTH Market n numbers, 99 active Directto-Home (DTH) platforms were broadcasting over 13,800 television channels to more than 114 million subscribers at the end of 2008, generating more than US$65 billion in Subscription Revenues. At blended average revenues of US$47.75 per month, viewers were being treated to High Definition (HD), Digital Video Recording (DVR), Video on Demand (VOD) and Triple Play services like never before. Every television market, however, has its own unique dynamic that goes beyond box-selling economics, pay-TV penetration and broadcasting regulation to reflect the role of television in popular culture. North America, Europe and East Asia are strong markets for DTH, whereas those of South and South East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America are still very much on the growth track. In the mature markets, competition drives innovation, which affects everything from localizing content to bundling services. Content exclusivity, on-demand services, and Internet delivery are all examples of services that have been driven by competition in the mature markets. Younger markets such as South Asia, Middle East, and parts of Central Europe are still to consolidate before they experience growth beyond just subscriber numbers. North America still dominates the DTH market with nearly 30 SEPTEMBER
percent of subscribers and 49 percent of subscription revenues being generated from the region's four DTH platforms. The market is predominantly based on services, and growth is coming in the form of Premium products and packages such as DVRs and HD. Television channels are also moving to HD, with new local HD markets being added every quarter. Central America and the Caribbean are witnessing a much needed change with the entry of Dish Network Mexico. There has been remarkable growth in subscribers for the platform and the market is expanding at the lower end with competitively priced packages. Subscriber, Revenue, and Channel numbers may be in the low single-digit percentages when compared with the rest of the world, and Premium services are yet to emerge, which indicates plenty of growth opportunities. South America's DTH market is experiencing a fresh wave of growth driven by convergence of voice, video, and data. The market, earlier dominated by heavyweights such as Sky Brazil and DirecTV Panamericana, is now bubbling with Triple Play services from telcos that have made forays into the payTV market. Healthy subscriber growth will be complemented by Premium services over the long term, even as competition is set to increase.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
he digital satellite payTV market will be worth $91 billion in the next five years, up from $76 billion in 2011, according to a study published Wednesday by U.K.based Digital TV Research. The report forecasts 220 million direct-tohome (DTH) subscribers by 2017, an increase of 50 million from current figures. Developing markets will provide much of that growth, with India projected to add nearly 23 million new DTH subscribers in the next five years and subscriptions in Brazil forecast to jump 7.6 million. Brazil is also forecasted to lead the market in revenue growth, nearly doubling DTH sales to $8 billion by 2017. Overall, Digital TV Research expects global DTH penetration to hit 14.4 percent by 2017, up from 11.1 percent now. Digital satellite coverage will be highest in South Africa, which is forecast to top 60 percent penetration in five years. This compares to 30 percent in the U.S. and 39 percent DTH penetration in the UK. But the US will remain the strongest digital satellite market, with revenues forecasted to SEPTEMBER
grow some $3.1 billion to $38 billion by 2017, though the US share of the global market will fall from 46 percent in 2011 to 42 percent by 2017. The number of pay DTH homes for 80 countries covered in a Digital TV Research report will be 220 million by end-2017, up from 154 million at end-2011 and 91 million at end-2007. India will lead the sector with 50.9 million pay DTH homes in 2017, followed by the US with 36.5 million. Russia (14.7 million) and Brazil (14.6 million) will take third and fourth places respectively. The Global Satellite TV Forecasts report states that India will add 22.8 million subs, Brazil 7.6 million and Indonesia 6.7 million from the 66 million extra subscribers between 2011 and 2017. Pay DTH penetration was at 11.1 per cent of TV households at end-2011, and will reach 14.4 per cent by 2017. Penetration in 2017 will be highest in South Africa (60 per cent), Poland (45 per cent) and Ireland (44 per cent). Penetration in Indonesia will climb from 5 per cent in 2011 to 18 per cent by 2017. Conversely, penetration in Malaysia will fall from 47 per cent in 2011 to 38 per cent by 2017 as satellite homes are encouraged to convert to IPTV.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
Digital TV
he number of digital TV homes will double between 2010 and 2016 to 1.189 billion, according to analyst firm Digital TV Research (DTVR). The Digital TV World Household Forecasts report estimates that digital penetration will climb from 42.5 per cent at end-2010 to 80.0 per cent by 2016. By 2016, 33 countries will be completely digital compared with only one (Finland) at end2010. Report author Simon Murray noted that of the 613 million digital TV homes to be added between 2010 and 2016, 256 million would come from digital cable. Primary FTA DTT [homes taking DTT but not subscribing to cable, DTH or IPTV] are forecast to bring in a further 154 million, with pay DTT adding 5 million. Pay IPTV will increase by 121 million, with pay DTH up 56 million and FTA DTH 22 million. “There were still 780 million analogue TV households (both SEPTEMBER
terrestrial and cable, with a few analogue DTH ones) by end-2010. However, this total will fall to 297 million by end2016. Analogue penetration will drop from 57.5 per cent at end-2010 to 20.0 per cent by end-2016,� he added. Split by platform, there will be 220 million analogue terrestrial homes and 77 million analogue cable ones at end-2016, according to DTVR. However, digital cable subscribers will reach 458 million homes, followed by 195 million pay digital DTH and 119 million free-to-air digital DTH. Pay IPTV will contribute another 155 million households, up from only 35 million at end-2010. Meanwhile, FTA (free-to-air) DTT homes will reach 248 million, with pay DTT generating a further 13 million. Digital cable will be the most popular platform by end-2016, accounting for 30.8 per cent of the world's TV households, with analogue cable still serving 5.2 per cent of TV households. Pay digital DTH penetration will be 13.1 per cent, with FTA digital DTH accounting for 8.0 per cent. Pay IPTV penetration will climb to 10.5 per cent, up from only 2.6 per cent at end-2010. About 16.7 per cent of homes will be primary FTA DTT at end-2016, with 0.9 per cent pay DTT. Analogue terrestrial TV will be taken by nearly 15 per cent of the world's TV households, down from 36 per cent at end2010. Of the 613 million digital TV households to be added between 2010 and 2016, 388 million will be in the Asia Pacific region, bringing its total to 607 million.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
Pay-TV worldwide
ccording to a new report from Digital TV Research, 2012 is a watershed year for Eastern Europe as the number of digital homes for the 15 forecast countries will exceed the analogue total for the first time. Report author Simon Murray said: “The recession has had an impact on the TV sector. Compared with our previous report published in April 2011, we have noted several delays to digital terrestrial rollouts. Even though some governments have either brought forward or confirmed their original analogue terrestrial switch-off plans, many do not believe that all of these deadlines will be met. In addition, we have also seen slower take-up of double-play and triple-play bundles. He added: “It is good news for pay TV operators that many Eastern European countries have been slow to implement
SEPTEMBER
analogue terrestrial switchover. This favours pay-TV operators as it gives them more time to convert homes to their packages before FTA DTT becomes established. Poland and Romania are prime examples of this. The Digital TV Eastern Europe report forecasts that the number of digital homes will nearly double between 2012 and 2017, bringing the total to 112 million. Ten of the 15 countries will be completely digital by 2017, with Estonia the first to full conversion – in 2012. Russia will add more than 26 million digital homes between 2012 and 2017, with the Ukraine increasing by more than 10 million. Pay-TV will be taken by 61 per cent of the region's TV homes in 2017, up from 47 per cent – at end-2011 – or up by 18 million to 71 million. Pay-TV revenues in Eastern Europe will be 35 per cent higher in 2017 (US$7.806 billion) than in 2012 (US$5.780 billion). The satellite pay-TV industry reached revenues close to $90 billion (EUR72 billion) in 2011, up from $79 billion in 2010, according to Euroconsult. The total number of channels distributed reached 19,650. Global industry revenues are expected to reach close to $150 billion in 2021, with emerging markets (i.e. Latin America, Central Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Asia) representing a growing share of revenues that will nearly double over the next ten years to reach 44% by 2021. According to the just released fifth edition of Satellite TV Platforms, World Survey and Prospects to 2021, the number of TV platforms in service increased to 137 in 2011, reaching 184 million subscribers. Close to 350 million households should subscribe to satellite pay-TV platforms worldwide by 2021, representing a 6.7% CAGR over the 10-year period.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
SATELLITE TROUBLE SHOOTER
SATELLITE
TROUBLE SHOOTER
Sky satellite TV
Cable to another TV
I want to watch my Freesat/Sky satellite TV in another room. Can I just split the cable from the dish and run it to another Sky box or Freesat box? (Zia Kamal, UK)
I don't want the expense of buying Q:2another Freesat/Sky box - can't I just
A: No, you can't do this on a satellite system because there's a two way signal running from the dish (or the LNB on the dish) to the Freesat or Sky box. Splitting the cable to run more than one box will confuse the LNB. What you must do is replace the existing LNB for another with multiple outputs. Essentially, you are splitting the cable at the dish. Multiple output LNBs usually come as twins (2 way), quads (4 way) or octos (8 way) and the one you choose will depend on the type and amount of Sky or Freesat boxes that you are connecting.
run a cable to another TV without having a second box? (Ubaid Ansari, via e-mail)
A: Yes, on a Sky box there's an output on the back labelled up 'RF2'. You can run a coax cable (TV or satellite coax) from this output and into the aerial socket of another TV. This will allow you to watch on the second TV whatever channel the digibox is set to. In
other words, whatever is on the main TV will be shown on the second TV. By using a 'magic eye' or 'TV link' you can also control the digibox without having to go back to the main TV every time you want to change a channel etc. The magic eye or TV link simply connects between the aerial socket of the second TV and the extension cable that you've just connected from the main digibox, and picks up the remote control commands SEPTEMBER
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
Asia Pacific
DIRECT-TO-HOME (DTH)
Satellite Television Services Markets In the Asia Pacific region, there are five times the number of television house-holds and more pay-television subscribers than in the North American market. Yet, there are only one quarter as many DTH satellite television households. The potential for success in this marketplace is enormous, but DTH operators must plan their eventual profitability by making their services available, long-term competitor to traditional, terrestrial cable offerings. This Frost & Sullivan research provides an insightful view of the emerging Asia Pacific DTH satellite television services markets. By individually examining the growth potential of 12 nations and providing accurate forecasts for each, this research offers a comprehensive guide to this flourishing industry. SES announced that it leads the market in Asia-Pacific in meeting the increasing popularity of direct-to-home (DTH) satellite
SEPTEMBER
television across the region. Following a sustained period of investment in incremental satellite capacity in Asia-Pacific over the last decade, SES is now the leading satellite operator carrying the highest number of pay DTH channels in the region, with nearly 650 DTH channels. It also reaches 20 million pay TV homes in the region via DTH, or one in three DTH subscribers in Asia – more than any other satellite operator. SES' prime orbital locations at 108.2 degrees East and 95 degrees East have been established as key video neighbourhoods in South Asia and Asia-Pacific which meet the growing needs of Asian DTH operators such as DishTV and Bharti Airtel in India, and MediaScape in the Philippines. SES-8, which will be launched in the first quarter of 2013, will deliver vital expansion capacity to thriving Asian video neighbourhoods in South Asia and
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Indochina. SES currently operates a fleet of five satellites (NSS-12, NSS-6, NSS-11, SES-7 and NSS-9) serving Asia-Pacific. Deepak Mathur, Senior Vice President Commercial, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at SES, said: “The growth of the directto-home market in Asia-Pacific has been tremendous over the past five years and is a key reason why the demand for satellite capacity continues to grow in the region. We are delighted that consumers here are increasingly turning to the power of satellite technology to meet their needs for richer, higher quality content. As Asia goes digital, we are proud to be an enabler and will continue to invest in growth capacity for the region to grow with our customers as well as tailor our satellites to meet our customers' unique needs."
The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
Competi ion
to boos MENA Pay- V
he social and political turmoil that has rocked the Middle East and North Africa region has resulted in liberalisation measures which will open up the pay-TV sector, according to research firm Digital TV Research. Digital TV penetration for the 16 countries covered in its Digital TV Middle East & North Africa report is already approaching 70 per cent of television households. According to report author and company principal Simon Murray, digital penetration will reach 85 per cent of TV households by 2017. Ten countries will achieve 100 per cent penetration (and Israel will be the first to reach it – in 2012) by 2017. Penetration in Egypt, the largest Arab-speaking market, will be low at 58 per cent. However, Egypt will boast 11.98 million digital TV homes by 2017; putting it into second-place behind Turkey (18.89 million). More than 56 per cent of TV households watch free-to-air DTH signals. There are SEPTEMBER
more than 500 FTA channels serving the Arab world, many of which do not operate in a true commercial environment as they are funded by their local government or by a wealthy patron. FTA DTH penetration will continue to vary considerably among the 16 countries; being highest in Algeria (88 per cent), Jordan (86 per cent), Lebanon (83 per cent) and Morocco (83 per cent) by 2017. Only 12.6 per cent of TV households legitimately paid for TV signals (analogue and digital) by end-2011. This proportion will climb gradually to 17.1 per cent by 2017. Israel will record 78 per cent pay-TV penetration by 2017, with two more countries above 50 per cent. However, payTV penetration will be below 10 per cent of TV households in seven countries. Even so, the number of pay-TV homes will double between 2007 and 2017 to 12.3 million, with Turkey accounting for more than half the total. Legitimate pay-TV revenues for the 16 countries will grow by more than 20 per cent between 2012 and 2017 to US$3.67 billion. DTH will continue to dominate, though IPTV will grow fast and cable will lose share. Turkey and Israel are expected to contribute US$2.4 billion of the 2017 total, leaving only US$1.3 billion for the remaining 14 countries (or an average of US$91 million each). The four satellite TV platforms providing subscription-based services to the Arab world together host 143 channels across various genres, according to Jordan-based consultancy Arab Advisors Group.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012
19 YEARS OF GENEROUS PUBLICATIONS
Inside view
g
Direct satellite broadcastin in the ARAB GULF RE ION During the past decade, the six Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC) states, comprising of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain have taken long strides in the development of their mass media and national telecommunications infrastructures. One of the areas positively affected by this trend has been direct satellite broadcasting and reception. Not only have AGCC states made possible their populations' exposure to DBS television programming, but they themselves have become active participants in international satellite broadcasting, some of them are even beaming their TV materials on an around-the-clock basis. This study argues that the rise of DBS in the Gulf is part of a three-decade trend of commu nications development in the region whereby national broadcasting systems in the six states have acquired high degrees of sophistication and maturity. The study notes that major DBS broadcasters to the Gulf region range in background from CNN International, to Middle East Broadcasting Center, London, to the French International Channel (CFI). Local Gulf populations watch DBS programs through direct-tohome transmissions, telecasts of selected foreign and Arab satellite services by national TV channels, and finally through
SEPTEMBER
microwave distribution systems. The authors note that while DBS in the Arab Gulf region is here to stay, it has to be approached with a balanced vision that takes into account the national interests of Gulf societies and media systems. While total blackout approaches seem to be unrealitistic in light of accelerating innovations in DBS reception techniques, openness to international television via satellite should serve as a means of fostering intercultural interactions and of enhancing national media performance. The Middle East has a high penetration of homes receiving TV channels via DTH satellite. One of the pioneers of free-to-air digital satellite television is considered to be MBC, which began broadcasting in c band through (Arabsat) and is the first network in the world to offer a free-to-air Western based English language movie channel to the Middle East audience via its spin off channel MBC 2. Its direct rival is considered to be Dubai, UAE based One TV, earlier called Channel 33, which was the first channel in the Middle East to provide English language general entertainment programming for the expatriate community. Nourmina Channel is the first satellite channel owned by a Jordanian national of the private sector, which broadcasts on Nile Sat reluctantly 12303H, which covers all the Arab countries, Africa and most parts of Europe.
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2012