[TV_Expert]

Smacca, on 08 November 2009 - 01:43 AM, said:

They could get Foxtel and use that to pick up 7TWO. It's better than stuffing around with a huge unsightly antenna - especially if they're planning to get pay TV anyway.

There's just one problem though. Foxtel does not cover the Illawarra region. Austar does, and they don't provide re-transmission of the commercial FTAs.

Having said that, Newcastle & the Central Coast are serviced by Foxtel, but don't get the re-transmission of the commercial FTAs either, no matter whether its the Sydney or Newcastle stations.

For both Wollongong & the southern half of Newcastle, the only way to get 7TWO at this point is to get a huge VHF antenna & aim it towards Sydney. As for the Central Coast, they can get 7TWO via the local TV translators that are scattered across the region through ATN (Seven Sydney).

[antzzz]

If Prime decided not to carry 7TWO, what would be stopping Seven cutting a deal with Austar?

[bacco007]

Cost, Satellite Capacity, Prime (themselves) as a start

[KICK-IT]

antzzz, on 08 November 2009 - 10:27 AM, said:

If Prime decided not to carry 7TWO, what would be stopping Seven cutting a deal with Austar?

Nothing. In fact Seven would be very smart to do that to get national clearance of 7TWO

[tamago_otoko]

KICK-IT, on 08 November 2009 - 12:38 PM, said:

Nothing. In fact Seven would be very smart to do that to get national clearance of 7TWO

Wouldn't that be providing a service outside their licence area? If so, it would be highly illegal

[KICK-IT]

tamago_otoko, on 08 November 2009 - 12:00 PM, said:

Wouldn't that be providing a service outside their licence area? If so, it would be highly illegal

Well if Prime decided not to launch 7TWO, Seven could no doubt get clearance from broadcasting authorities to take 7TWO national through Austar.

The same way in the US areas that do not receive local channels through DirecTV get the New York or LA affiliates of ABC, Fox, NBC and CBS.

[TelevisionAU]

tamago_otoko, on 08 November 2009 - 01:00 PM, said:

Wouldn't that be providing a service outside their licence area? If so, it would be highly illegal

interesting point, because I wonder if using pay-TV is a way around that rule? Or is the rule only applicable to terrestrial broadcast licences? I only mention that because (many years ago) didn't Ten Queensland's (which is now Southern Cross Central) once get relayed to viewers in Mildura over their local cable provider so that viewers there got a Ten signal. Also meant that Mildura viewers got local Qld ads etc.

[tamago_otoko]

Regardless, I think if Seven dared try, Prime would take them straight to court. It wouldn't bode too well for their affiliation agreement either. As much as it may be perceived that Prime needs Seven, Seven also get some good returns from Prime

[KICK-IT]

tamago_otoko, on 09 November 2009 - 10:05 AM, said:

Regardless, I think if Seven dared try, Prime would take them straight to court. It wouldn't bode too well for their affiliation agreement either. As much as it may be perceived that Prime needs Seven, Seven also get some good returns from Prime

We've been through this with the Nine/WIN thing.

Without a network to affiliate with Prime would be screwed. They have no programming deals in place.

[TelevisionAU]

tamago_otoko, on 09 November 2009 - 11:05 AM, said:

Regardless, I think if Seven dared try, Prime would take them straight to court. It wouldn't bode too well for their affiliation agreement either. As much as it may be perceived that Prime needs Seven, Seven also get some good returns from Prime

it would no doubt hurt their relationship (although Seven owns a small but decent chunk of Prime now?), and I don't know the legalities of such a move but if Seven took that action because Prime made a deliberate choice not to carry the channel then Prime can't exactly cry foul. And I don't know how the output deals are worked out with their suppliers but I wonder if Seven's deals would allow them to play their programs over a pay-TV platform? Do they just buy free-to-air rights?

[tamago_otoko]

Surely there would be some exclusivity to buying the rights. Otherwise, if Seven sold programs to Prime, then went to Foxtel or Austar and sold their programs again, Prime would be jeopardised.

Agreed though if Prime don't take 7TWO they don't have a leg to stand on. Use it or lose it, I guess. I just don't know how it would go having Seven's programs broadcast into Prime licence areas, regardless of the means of delivery.

[hatdj]

tamago_otoko, on 09 November 2009 - 10:31 AM, said:

Surely there would be some exclusivity to buying the rights. Otherwise, if Seven sold programs to Prime, then went to Foxtel or Austar and sold their programs again, Prime would be jeopardised.

Agreed though if Prime don't take 7TWO they don't have a leg to stand on. Use it or lose it, I guess. I just don't know how it would go having Seven's programs broadcast into Prime licence areas, regardless of the means of delivery.

Just A Quick Thorght, If Prime Don't take 7TWO Whats The chance of it being offerd to someone like southern cross who as we know allready take in tassie & the top end

[kimberb]

And we are all still waiting for this announcement from PRIME. It aint going away PRIME (If that's what your hoping!)

[news10]

Here is an indication that Prime WILL carry 7Two.

From the Sunraysia Daily news:

Christmas launch

BY JONO PECH
7/11/2009 4:00:00 AM

CHRISTMAS will come early for Sunraysia sports fans with ONE HD set to launch before December 25.
WIN Victoria, which runs Mildura Digital Television with Prime, said the 24-hour sports channel would arrive in Mildura “definitely before Christmas”, as soon as program negotiations are complete.

Prime TV also hopes to soon announce the launch of a second digital channel for Mildura, 7TWO.

The eagerly awaited ONE HD exclusively broadcasts live events, including AFL, netball, Formula One, Moto GP, NASCAR, National Football League and National Basketball Association.

ONE HD has broadcast in metropolitan areas since March 26, but in Sunraysia the feed has aired only between 1am and 6am.

[cpandilo]

news10, on 09 November 2009 - 12:05 PM, said:

Here is an indication that Prime WILL carry 7Two.

From the Sunraysia Daily news:

CHRISTMAS will come early for Sunraysia sports fans with ONE HD set to launch before December 25.
WIN Victoria, which runs Mildura Digital Television with Prime, said the 24-hour sports channel would arrive in Mildura “definitely before Christmas”, as soon as program negotiations are complete.

Prime also hopes to soon announce the launch of a second digital channel for Mildura, 7TWO.

Very good news for free-to-air viewers in the Mildura market getting ONE HD very soon and also 7TWO in the not too distant future.

[bacco007]

TelevisionAU, on 09 November 2009 - 10:23 AM, said:

it would no doubt hurt their relationship (although Seven owns a small but decent chunk of Prime now?)

... a tad over 11.4% through Network Investment Holdings (at least) - No board representation though

[Smacca]

KICK-IT, on 08 November 2009 - 11:36 PM, said:

Well if Prime decided not to launch 7TWO, Seven could no doubt get clearance from broadcasting authorities to take 7TWO national through Austar.

If Seven want to use satellite to deliver one of their channels nationally, why would Austar be involved? They've never carried a commercial free-to-air channel in their existence.

[The Spy Reporter]

Smacca, on 09 November 2009 - 06:23 PM, said:

If Seven want to use satellite to deliver one of their channels nationally, why would Austar be involved? They've never carried a commercial free-to-air channel in their existence.

hey Smac - in case you don't realise it, we're discussing Prime (a regional network) not taking SevenTwo. Which pay-tv operator is regional? Austar! That sort of makes sense to me

[antzzz]

TelevisionAU, on 09 November 2009 - 08:00 AM, said:

interesting point, because I wonder if using pay-TV is a way around that rule? Or is the rule only applicable to terrestrial broadcast licences? I only mention that because (many years ago) didn't Ten Queensland's (which is now Southern Cross Central) once get relayed to viewers in Mildura over their local cable provider so that viewers there got a Ten signal. Also meant that Mildura viewers got local Qld ads etc.

Thats incorrect, Neighbourhood Cable carried Ten Victoria from Ballarat - because it wasn't broadcast FTA it was ok - also worth noting that the channel was not broadcast live, it was on a 2 week delay. From what I've heard, Win TV jumped up and down because their analogue licence for the area gives them Nine and Ten programming.

[Smacca]

The Spy Reporter, on 09 November 2009 - 03:33 PM, said:

hey Smac - in case you don't realise it, we're discussing Prime (a regional network) not taking SevenTwo. Which pay-tv operator is regional? Austar! That sort of makes sense to me

Have you forgotten that you need to pay for Austar? How does 'paying for 7TWO' make sense?

Three points;

* Austar isn't the only regional pay TV operator in Prime's viewing area (and that's not including SelecTV, TransACT or NCable),
* Having 7TWO available only on a pay-TV platform in Prime's area defeats the purpose of Freeview all together,
* Austar have never carried a free-to-air commercial channel, and it's more than likely they don't have the power to, considering for the most part they are a carbon copy of Foxtel. Austar have no independence in terms of extra channels or satellite bandwidth allocation.

This post has been edited by Smacca: 09 November 2009 - 06:09 PM

[The Spy Reporter]

Smacca, on 09 November 2009 - 07:05 PM, said:

Have you forgotten that you need to pay for Austar?

but until Prime get off their butts, what's the alternative? At least 35% of us will see it

BTW, Austar do have independence of satellite space and channels - they've just taken AlJazeera for a start. Foxtel point blank refuse to.

They also had the Movie Network channels and Weather 21 (The Weather Channel) years before Foxtel did.

[antzzz]

I think having any FTA services available on our subscription platforms is a win-win situation for all parties involved - remember, even in subscription households, FTA is still dominant.

If 7TWO is on the satellite, why can't Seven / Prime cut a deal with Austar to broadcast 7TWO to the relevant subscribers - technically this is actually very easy, provided its on the satellite.

[Smacca]

The Spy Reporter, on 09 November 2009 - 04:08 PM, said:

but until Prime get off their butts, what's the alternative? At least 35% of us will see it

I'm sure it would be a great alternative for the 35% on pay-TV. Shame that isn't the majority of people. The whole idea of only being able to watch a Freeview channel by paying for it certainly wouldn't sit right with the other 65%.

The Spy Reporter, on 09 November 2009 - 04:08 PM, said:

BTW, Austar do have independence of satellite space and channels - they've just taken AlJazeera for a start. Foxtel point blank refuse to.

Al Jazeera English has been on the Foxtel/Austar satellite since 2006, on it's own and not part of any pay TV provider. All Austar did was add it to their EPG. They had no involvement with the launch of the channel.

The Spy Reporter, on 09 November 2009 - 04:08 PM, said:

They also had the Movie Network channels and Weather 21 (The Weather Channel) years before Foxtel did.

Correct. Prior to the amalgamation with Foxtel, they had a whole range of channels that were unique to their platform. These days it's totally different. The only real customised services they have are the interactive services and the structure of their packages.

[Smacca]

antzzz, on 09 November 2009 - 04:08 PM, said:

I think having any FTA services available on our subscription platforms is a win-win situation for all parties involved - remember, even in subscription households, FTA is still dominant.

No disputing that. I've been wishing for Perth Freeview on Foxtel for years. Networks are mad for not using Foxtel's audience to regain what they've lost.

It's a different story though, in this case, when the channels aren't available for free in the first place. It's unfair to pay for a Freeview channel. That's the whole point of this debate.

antzzz, on 09 November 2009 - 04:08 PM, said:

If 7TWO is on the satellite, why can't Seven / Prime cut a deal with Austar to broadcast 7TWO to the relevant subscribers - technically this is actually very easy, provided its on the satellite.

This could be possible, after it's launched terrestrially. Take WA for instance; they could easily share GO! with both Perth and regional WA on the Foxtel platform.

[kimberb]

If PRIME don't put to air the channel by the end of the year then really they should't have been airing those freeview adds last year and through this year promising new channels.

So thats a bit outrageous come to think of it!