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Elsewhere
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[Argentina]
[Australia] [Brazil]
[Canada] [China]
[Hong Kong] [Japan]
[New Zealand] [Russia]
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They have decided to adopt the ATSC standard as used in the US, Canada, South Korea and Taiwan. This will support high definition TV (HTV).
Is following the US with plans to start a high definition TV service, with dual Dolby® and MPEG-2 sound, in January 2001. However, some are concerned at the high cost to consumers of the HD TV sets and the fact that it limits the number of channels available, and hence competition and choice. Now the government is proposing a triple approach: keep analogue for at least 8 more years until 2008; standard definition digital TV; and high definition TV. Retailers are concerned that this will make it expensive for consumers.
The government is limiting digital TV to the 3 main commercial networks and to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.. As a sop to other media companies it proposes a service called datacasting. Datacasting means content that is not entertainment or looks like broadcasting material. 3 key players in a datacasting trial, Telstra, Fairfax and Murdoch's News, have all withdrawn saying it is too limited and unprofitable. The whole fiasco is now embroiling Australian politics and the newspaper media. The government favourite to have a digital licence is Publishing and Broadcasting (PBL), owned by Kerry Packer, and not his rivals News, Telstra and Fairfax.
Foxtel is joint venture between Murdoch's News International (25%), Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting (PBL) (25%), and Telstra (50%), Australia's dominant ISP and telecoms company. Foxtel has about 650,000 subscribers (mid 2000). However, all is not well, as News and PBL are angry that Telstra has blocked access to its cable network for their interactive TV, home shopping and home banking services. Foxtel is also losing money.
Optus, a broadband network to 2m homes and Australia's 2nd biggest telephony company, is 52.5% owned by Cable and Wireless and 10.4% by the UK's Granada Media. In October 2000 rumour had it that C&W was looking to sale 50% of Optus to a joint partnership of Granada Media and Australia's Seven Network. If the deal goes ahead, the network would be upgraded at a cost of A$1bn to support interactive and pay-per-view services alongside the existing telephony and internet services. Internet services are called Optus@Home and is a joint venture with the US At Home Excite. In the past Nine Networks, Microsoft and Austar had all at one time or another discussed ventures with Opus.
Seven Network, Australia's 2nd biggest free-to-air TV network, has an alliance with NBCi and in February 2000, Granada took a 9.1% stake in the company for £56m. There were plans to produce joint programming including popular soaps shown on UK TV where the Australian Neighbours is very popular.
Trials due to complete by the end of 1999. There is a recommendation that Brazil uses the COFDM system, effectively the same as the European DVB-T system.
News Corp owns Sky satellite broadcaster transmitting to Latin America.
On 1 July 1999 Bell ExpressVu started offering Canadians 200 satellite channels as well as DirectPC internet services. Star Choice, its main competitor, announced it too would offer 200 digital channels by October 1999.
Canada's Seagram announced in June 2000 that it was forming an alliance with France's Vivendi and Canal Plus.
Evaluation of the 3 world systems is under way with the European DVB-T system a favourite. Talks are underway concerning a merger between Singapore Telecommunications and Cable and Wireless which owns Hongkong Telecoms. Such a grouping would be worth $58bn.
China has allowed News Corp's Star satellite broadcasting company access to the country.
The government plans to issue licences in early 2000. Trials underway.
Russia's largest private television company, watched by 59% of its population, is NTV. In January 2001, rumour was that the US CNN, headed by Ted Turner, was looking to take a stake, an idea that alarmed the Russian government, especially as NTV's news reporting tends to be hostile to the government.
In May 1999 Singapore announced it would use the European DVB-T standard. There will be 6 multiplexes including ones for mobile and another for HDTV. Licences yet to be issued.
In February 2000, Murdoch's News Corp payed $1bn for a 4% stake in Singapore Telecom.
Trial broadcasts are planned in the 3 major cities in 2000, followed by urban areas in 2003 and the rest of the country in 2006. However, the move to Digital TV is in disarray, with arguments over the technical standards which are different to the US and Europe, and more importantly, given the existing complex analogue set-up, who should foot the expensive bill. This is especially so after the High Definition TV (HDTV) debacle - after 6 years only 1.8m sets have been sold.
News Corp owns the PerfecTV satellite broadcaster.
Cable and Wireless has sold its 54% stake in Hong Kong Telecom for $28bn to PCCW, Hong Kong's internet company headed by Richard Li.
Star TV, which is owned by News Corp and headed by James Murdoch, Rupert
Murdoch's son, has an interactive venture with Hong Kong Telecom called DTV.
Star is critical to Rupert Murdoch's plans to integrate staellite television
and internet businesses. It broadcasts to 53 countries and 300m viewers
throughout Asia, an area holding half the world's population. In order to
appease China and gain access to the country, Star agreed to drop the BBC
channels. Because of the investment in growth, Star has never made a profit
since Murdoch bought the company in c1994 for $825m. Debts reached $500m
by the end of 1999.
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