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Subscription Television
Foxtel demands sport “use-it-or-lose-it” for FTAPay TV provider Foxtel wants the right to transmit sports events that free-to-air TV broadcasters are failing to bring to the public, AAP reports today.
Chief executive Kim Williams again lashed out at free-to-air TV broadcasters at a breakfast briefing in Perth on Friday in the long running battle over sports rights regulation, or the so-called […]
Foxtel has announced that fifteen new and returning local productions will be featured on its channels over summer and the new year.
The new shows include satirical drama 30 Seconds, from Andrew Denton’s production company Zapruder’s Other Films, and new reality series The Phone.
Also appearing in the new year will be Crime Investigation Australia, Maggie With…, […]
The departing chairman of the Australian Subscription Radio and Television Association (ASTRA), Nick Greiner, has criticised the fierce rivalry between the pay-TV and free-to-air sectors, describing it as juvenile and demeaning for the proffesionalism of all involved.
Speaking at the Association’s annual general meeting, the former NSW premier said he now realised he had been “deluded” […]
Regional subscription television provider Austar have been excluded from the digital changeover planning and marketing according to its chief executive John Porter, and they want in. Speaking at a luncheon on Friday, Porter questioned how a digital migration strategy could exist without the involvement of the subscription providers.
With switchover commencing in regional Australia, Austar want […]
Austar today said it was confident of 20 per cent earnings growth, as it reported deeper market penetration amid tough economic times.
The regional pay-TV group said it had recorded a 14 per cent increase in third-quarter profits.
A statement by Austar United Communications said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to $53 million in […]
Former Victorian premier Steve Bracks has been appointed as the new independent chair of the pay-TV lobby group ASTRA (the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association).
His appointment comes as the pay TV sector fights the federal government’s push to change anti-siphoning laws restricting the appearance of first-run sports programming on commercial digital multichannels.
Bracks replaces another […]
An episode of cartoon series Family Guy depicting the Grim Reaper having sex with a dead girl has landed Foxtel in trouble with authorities.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has responded to a complaint made following the screening of the episode, Death Is A Bitch, and found that the material exceeded acceptable levels of […]
Foxtel will launch three new family-oriented channels this coming November. BBC Knowledge and CBeebies will launch on November 1 alongside Channel 111, a general entertainment channel to be based alongside the Comedy Channel in Melbourne.
BBC Worldwide anounced their intentions to bring Knowledge and CBeebies to Australia in June, while TSR reported on rumours in August […]
Digital television could become a must-have for sports fans with the Federal Government looking to overhaul televised sport restrictions.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said he would review a contentious rule that currently bans major sporting events on any digital channels launched by the big three commercial networks next year, The Australian Financial Review reports.
The move, […]
The Age reports that authorities are moving to prevent an anti-semitic satellite TV channel from broadcasting into Australia. Al Manar is owned by Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant Shiite Muslim political party in Lebanon listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States.
The Australian government lists only its armed wing, the External Security Organisation.
Al-Manar promotes and […]