22 Sep 2012 – PETALING JAYA: Few recent initial public offerings (IPO) have stirred quite as much polemics as the return of Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd.

While industry observers say the new RM3 retail price for the comeback listing of Malaysia’s largest pay-TV operator is “fairer” compared to the indicative RM3.60 set for bumiputra investors, the investment community is still largely divided on the stock.

One fund manager told StarBizWeek that despite Astro’s historical price-to-earnings ratio (PER) shrinking slightly to 24 times based on the retail price and net earnings of RM629.6mil for the financial year (FY) ended Jan 31, 2012 he remained unconvinced and would not be subscribing for the shares.

Read more: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/22/business/12065169

25 Sep 2012 – NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (Tdsat) has scuttled a proposed move to switch off genre-wise analogue signals of television channels before the 1 November deadline for digitisation in the four metros.

The Tdsat has sent a strong message to multi-system operators (MSOs) that they cannot switch off analogue delivery of any popular channel to force cable TV consumers to buy digital set top boxes (STBs) well in time for a complete switch over to digital delivery from 1 November.

TDSAT has directed that a senior official of the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) be appointed to make surprise checks at the premises of MSOs named in a petition by ESPN Software.

Read more: http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k12/sep/sep259.php

September 27, 2012: The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission is expected to award licences to operate broadcasting networks and services in early October for businesses that do not use frequency spectra for their service, such as cable and satellite TV operators.

The NBTC is expected to have the regulations for granting broadcasting licences for network providers, network facility providers, and service providers published in the Royal Gazette next month, said Pasu Srihiran, the commission’s acting executive director of broadcasting resource management and research bureau.

The network-provider, or “multiplexer”, licence is for those operating a network for beaming television programmes to homes, while the facility licence is for those providing basic infrastructure such as transmission networks, and the service-provider licence is for operating a TV channel.

He added that such companies as PSI Holdings, GMM Grammy, RS, Cable Thai Holding and TrueVisions could apply for these licences but only for their cable and satellite TV businesses.

The NBTC is expected to grant network-provider licences for those businesses that use spectra in December, pending its development of the regulations for this segment. It is expected to award licences for provision of terrestrial digital TV programmes in February, pending the regulations on programme arrangement and for auctioning of the digital-TV spectra. Those wanting to broadcast on the digital TV system will be required to bid for a spectrum on which to offer service.

www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Licences-for-cable-satellite-TV-operators-30191186.html

September 28, 2012: Television and radio broadcasters have raised concerns that they will face higher operating costs if the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission imposes a 2-per-cent licence fee.

Dialogue on this issue became heated among broadcasters and related business operators at a public hearing held by the NBTC yesterday on the draft regulations for broadcast-licence fees.

If the regulation comes into effect next month, radio and television broadcasters – including digital terrestrial, satellite and cable television operators – must pay 2 per cent of their gross revenue for the licence and another 2 per cent to the Universal Service Obligation fund. The USO fund is for research and development into broadcasting and telecommunication services, overseen by the NBTC.

Industry representatives said the proposed licence fee would add a high cost to their businesses, possibly causing some of them to fail in the near future.

Nipon Naksompop, president of the Satellite Television Association of Thailand, said the association’s members had called for a flat Bt20,000 annual fee.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Proposed-2-NBTC-licence-fee-too-high-broadcast–30191270.html

Internet TV Rules May Need an Overhaul

24.09.2012 – Questions about the wisdom of extending the rules that govern broadcasters and cable and satellite operators to Internet TV services, or, alternatively, rolling back regulations on traditional providers to level the playing field, figure to loom large in the next session of Congress.

A panel discussion among media experts convened by the nonprofit Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus, designed as a briefing for Hill staffers, offered a preview of the coming debate.

“The nature of this problem is that we have a classic sort of asymmetrical regulation problem, or an unlevel playing field problem, that’s developing in this country because we have very heavily regulated markets converging with very unregulated markets, and very disruptive ones at that,” says Adam Thierer, a senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.

Read more at CIO

September 21, 2012: The US Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus, which is chaired by Congressmen Adam Schiff and Bob Goodlatte, and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Orrin Hatch, has unveiled the 2012 International Piracy Watch List. In an effort to fight copyright piracy and call attention to countries where it has reached alarming levels, the Caucus highlighted the high levels of piracy and the lack of legal protections for copyright in the following five countries: China, Russia, Italy, Switzerland and Ukraine. The report also highlights Canada and Spain as countries in transition following the enactment of stronger legal frameworks for the protection of copyright in both nations.

Read more at Advanced Television

2012-09-22 – A YEAR after the cross-carriage law was put in place to keep the invisible hand in check, there is now the sneaking suspicion that someone is being shown the finger instead.

The law, which forces pay-TV operators to share exclusive content with its rivals on request, was first mooted in 2010.

Then, there were two ostensible objectives: first, to spare viewers from paying for two subscriptions and set-top boxes at once – and second, to reduce the incentive for a bidding slapfight like the one StarHub and SingTel’s mio TV got into over the Barclays Premier League (BPL) in 2009.

Read more at Business Times
Read the MDA’s letter in response here

“Between ten and twenty percent of people say they will pay for such a service,” said Sikes, “and In some countries the percentage is even higher.”

“Pay-TV seems to disintegrate, but on the other hand TV everywhere revenue is an unsustainable business. Disintegration is Potentially quite damaging, but pay-TV providers are in the best position to offer these new services.”

“Our task is to offer Convenience for the consumer,” said Erwin Rensen, director, proposition management at Ziggo, Holland’s biggest operator. “We need to ofer flexibility to make content consumption possible everywhere. Of course this may damage our business model, as Some content providers might offer it cheaper, but we try and be the best provider for our customers. The worst case scenario us that you are becoming just an access provider. We are in a battle, because consumers are leaving, so we need to offer our services across the home.”

http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2012/09/20/pay-tv-operators-best-suited-for-tv-everywhere/

2012/09/19: Following advanced-television.com’s revelation September 10th that Twentieth Century Fox Home was seeking to revive consumers’ interest in the purchase of movies, the company has confirmed the launch of its Digital HD initiative that allows consumers to download or stream their favourite Fox movies on a variety of connected devices.

More than 600 Fox films can now be enjoyed anywhere, anytime in high-definition immediately in the US from Amazon, CinemaNow, Google Play, iTunes, PlayStation, VUDU, Xbox Live and YouTube.

As previously reported, sci-fi thriller Prometheus is now available immediately on Digital HD for less than $15, arriving three weeks before Blu-ray, DVD and VoD.

http://advanced-television.com/index.php/2012/09/19/fox-confirms-digital-hd-roll-out/

2012-9-17: HONG KONG: Celestial Tiger Entertainment has increased its content distribution agreement with Lionsgate to include all of East Asia.

CTE already represents Lionsgate exclusively in Greater China and Southeast Asia, now adding Japan and Korea to that list. The pact covers Lionsgate TV content as well as the studio’s library of feature films.

“Our licensing business in Greater China and Southeast Asia has grown exponentially this past year and we are excited to now represent Lionsgate’s fantastic slate of television programs as well as Lionsgate’s prolific library, including Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment titles, in all of East Asia,” said Wendy Reeds, CTE’s executive VP of content sales and distribution.

http://worldscreen.com/articles/display/2012-9-17-lionsgate-celestial-tiger-entertainment