Discuss: An interesting week for media news

Discuss: An interesting week for media news:

Newsprint links:
http://logofreetv.org/?mode=newsfeed


- ITV and Channel 4 have bought more Astra 2D capacity.

- Dyke admits FREEVIEW was a ploy to scupper licence fee reform.

- The BBC admits:

Appearing before the public accounts committee for the first time earlier this week, Caroline Thomson, the director of policy and legal at the BBC, confirmed to MPs that while it costs £2 per licence fee payer a year to transmit an analogue signal and £3 a year to broadcast on digital satellite, licence fee payers shell out £7 a year for Freeview customers.

- Not new news but the Public Accounts Committee slams the BBC.

- OFCOM sets the Digital switch-over time table.

- Sky sells its 3 music channels.



and that's just the media village news which we have picked out as
interesting.


My comic moments of the week: Mark Mardell's batman sketch on "This
Week". Had a touch of "Nige and Stef" to it to cap a very surreal week
of news.




Most interesting speculation:

When will ITV and Channel 4 really announce that they will ditch Sky's
closed-architecture NDS encryption system in favour of true FTA (Free to
Air) broadcasting?

When the five UK PSB channels are on Astra 2D FTA then we know the
digital roller-coaster has passed the point of no return.




News Highlights:
http://logofreetv.org/?mode=newsfeed

Automated News captu
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--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

NO LOGO wrote:

When will ITV and Channel 4 really announce that they will ditch Sky's
closed-architecture NDS encryption system in favour of true FTA (Free to
Air) broadcasting?

Dual-encryption would do and shouldn't be expensive to implement
either.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/yvnsy
How to get UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
Fed up with logos / red buttons? : http://logofreetv.org/
BBC gone? : http://www.astra2d.co.uk/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

"Jomtien" wrote in message


NO LOGO wrote:

When will ITV and Channel 4 really announce that they will ditch Sky's
closed-architecture NDS encryption system in favour of true FTA (Free to
Air) broadcasting?

Dual-encryption would do and shouldn't be expensive to implement
either.


Why do UK services on Astra 2D need encryption at all?

If the BBC can go FTA and is not over-paying for rights (not that we
will ever know due to the BBC's open and accountable closed accounting
system that is exempt from full Parliamentary and NAO scrutiny), in
theory the others should be able to follow now?

Now that a BBC stooge, Andy Duncan, is CEO of Channel 4, and former
"President" of "Freeview", it would be in his character to do something
dramatic for C4 such as move it to FTA satellite.

My guess is that BBC, ITV plc, C4 corporation, and C5 corporation will
only move FTA as part of a "marketing consortium" akin to the "freeview"
consortium otherwide FTA Satellite will be perceived as a cowboy outfit
like driveway contractors, plumbers, and small car mechanics.

I suspect the deal they will require is to find STB manufacturers,
possibly software vendors, marketing agents, contractor services, and
network of installers. There would be no point in them going back to
BSKYB for this as BSKYB would simply continue to impose its own terms.

By default, they will just leave the promotion of Freesat to Sky, but
then Sky has no intention of developing a Free to Air Satellite market.
Who's going to blink first?

I'd love to be a fly on the wall of these boardrooms.


http://logofreetv.org/




--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

On Sat, 18 Sep 2004 11:27:05 +0000 (UTC), "NO LOGO"
wrote:

Why do UK services on Astra 2D need encryption at all?

Because Astra 2D is easily receivable well into large parts of Europe
for which these channels do not hold the rights to broadcast
programming.

If the BBC can go FTA and is not over-paying for rights (not that we
will ever know

Exactly - you'll never know how much the BBC is over-paying. They're
doing it for the same reasons as GD has already admitted were the
motivation for Freeview - to try to get enough people watching on
equipment which CANNOT support encryption, thereby protecting the
BBC's enforced licence fee and ruling out any possibility of
encryption.

ITV, C4, C5, have no such motivations - for them, being FTA would
bring them no benefits (quite the reverse, in fact) and cost them
more. As commercial companies, they're not going to do the same thing.
They, unlike the BBC, have an obligation to their shareholders to
spend their money properly.

NO LOGO wrote:

Dual-encryption would do and shouldn't be expensive to implement
either.

Why do UK services on Astra 2D need encryption at all?

Those in favour of encryption would argue that overspill from 2D
covers a large English-speaking area and so a means must be found to
prevent viewers there from (easily) watching programmes that haven't
been paid for in that area by the UK broadcasters.

Those against would argue that anyone who wants to watch encrypted
transmissions outside the official area will just find a viewing card
and box anyway, which indeed they do.

I still think that dual-encryption would solve a lot of problems for
very little cost and would also have the benefit of encouraging Sky to
release a VideoGuard CAM, to the great benefit of all viewers and
manufacturers and broadcasters (except Sky).

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/yvnsy
How to get UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
Fed up with logos / red buttons? : http://logofreetv.org/
BBC gone? : http://www.astra2d.co.uk/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

Zero Tolerance wrote:

ITV, C4, C5, have no such motivations - for them, being FTA would
bring them no benefits (quite the reverse, in fact)

I can think of several benefits of being FTA. Several million pounds
saving per year on encryption costs, the moral satisfaction and clean
feeling of no longer dealing with Sky (except for the EPG), the
greater revenue from advertising (there is no doubt that more people
potentially watch FTA channels than watch FTV channels, especially
when FTV cards aren't even available).


and cost them
more.

That supposes that rights would indeed cost them more. This has yet to
be demonstrated and could be circumvented by legislation anyway.

--
Digibox problem? : A reboot solves 90% of these.
The Sky Digital FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/yvnsy
How to get UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
Fed up with logos / red buttons? : http://logofreetv.org/
BBC gone? : http://www.astra2d.co.uk/
----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

I still think that dual-encryption would solve a lot of problems for
very little cost and would also have the benefit of encouraging Sky to
release a VideoGuard CAM, to the great benefit of all viewers and
manufacturers and broadcasters (except Sky).


....which $ky will never do without coercion and no political party has
either the wit nor will to see this through.

This leaves Free To Air as the only way for the UK's PSB broadcaster to
go IF they even consider FTA worthwhile.


http://logofreetv.org/


--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG

On Sun, 19 Sep 2004 05:57:24 GMT, Jomtien wrote:

I can think of several benefits of being FTA. Several million pounds
saving per year on encryption costs,

Outweighed by the increased cost of rights for acquired material,
the potential loss of audience when major events (e.g. football)
cannot be broadcast or acquired (as happened to the BBC)..

the moral satisfaction and clean
feeling of no longer dealing with Sky (except for the EPG),

BS doesn't pay the bills.

the greater revenue from advertising (there is no doubt that more people
potentially watch FTA channels than watch FTV channels, especially
when FTV cards aren't even available).

Not significant enough to make a difference.

That supposes that rights would indeed cost them more. This has yet to
be demonstrated and could be circumvented by legislation anyway.

In much the same way as King Canute's followers felt that a royal
commandment would stop the tide coming in. It just isn't that simple.

On Sun, 19 Sep 2004 12:52:12 +0000 (UTC), "NO LOGO"
wrote:

This leaves Free To Air as the only way for the UK's PSB broadcaster to
go IF they even consider FTA worthwhile.

No, because as Jomtien said, there is always the possibility of dual
encryption.

In article ,
says...
the moral satisfaction and clean
feeling of no longer dealing with Sky (except for the EPG),

BS doesn't pay the bills.

This is why I killfiled Jomtien a while back. He's a complete waste of blood
cells.
--

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