Pay TV providers Austar and Foxtel have made a series of announcements about their future warning of an analog cut-off in 2007 and promising HD TV by 2008.
Also included in the announcements were plans to deliver more interactive services including on-demand programming and new Electronic Program Guide services that will integrate with personal video recorders. The two service providers also promised to deliver pay TV over 3G networks to handheld phones and other portable personal digital video type devices which integrate with devices in the home.
Kim Williams and John Porter, CEO’s of Foxtel and Austar (respectively) explained their intention to switch off their analogue services by March 2007, three years after the launch of digital services in March 2004. The HDTV channels would be 24-hour-a-day, 7 day-a-week composite channels.
“The majority of Australians watching digital television today have chosen to do so through subscription television because of our superior content choices, service innovation, interactive enhancements and focus on the customer,” Foxtel’s Williams said.
The High Definition services will rely on higher bandwidth from the Optus D2 Satellite and for Digital Set Top Units when MPEG 4 chips are incorporated in the next generation devices.
The two companies have so far made an enormous investment in the provision of digital services. More than a billion dollars has so far been invested in digital services. Between them, Foxtel and Austar have so far attracting 1.1 homes to their interactive digital platforms. Once connected subscription TVs account for 55 per cent of a household’s viewing time, beating out rival free to air broadcasters.
OPTUS about to launch digital services to the general public from November.
Looking to the future, subscription television is increasing its provision of video content to 3G mobile phones, and is exploring the delivery of content over emerging technologies through the current comprehensive trial with terrestrial Digital Video Broadcast Handheld (DVB-H) mobile devices, as well as a range of broadband initiatives which will unfold over the next 18 months.
Speaking at the press conference the two broached Federal Government media ownership laws with Austar executive Porter calling for direct government intervention to be wound back and the ACCC be allowed to manage copmteition.