News

Sky Deutschland and Deutsche Telekom are in negotiations with Deutsche Fußball Liga (the German football league) for the rights to broadcast the Bundesliga games in 3D.

Sky Deutschland currently pays about €240 million per year to broadcast Bundesliga games live, and showed a live 3D broadcast of the Bayer Leverkusen vs Hamburger SV match to an invited audience in March. Deutsche Telekom showed the first European live 3D broadcast of ice hockey in May with the opening match of the 2010 world championships.

The tendering process for the broadcast rights from the 2013-2014 season will begin next year, a year earlier than normal to allow for more time for discussions with the Bundeskartellamt (German competition authority) and the European Commission.

Visit www.focus.de for more info

Global Christian network God TV is now available as part of the UK’s Freesat network (channel 694) broadcasting via the ASTRA 28.2°E satellite position. Established in 1995 as Europe's first daily Christian TV network, God TV now reaches 14 million UK homes.

New channel, Vintage TV is aimed at the over-50s, providing music and popular culture from the 1940s to 1980 with a mix of music-themed original programming, specially created music videos, classic programmes, films and documentaries. Vintage TV will launch on September 1 on the Sky and Freesat platforms.

Visit www.god.tv or www.vintage-tv.tv for more info

France Télé-Numérique, the French body setup to oversee the digital switchover in France, has reported that the switch-off on March 9 of analogue terrestrial TV services in Lower Normandy has left some of those viewers who were previously dependent on analogue terrestrial TV, without access to television, and that research by the Agence nationale des fréquences (ANFR) has shown that these households will require satellite TV systems to restore their TV viewing.

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Secretary of State for the Development of the digital economy has asked France Télé-Numérique to extend the period of subsidies for households in this region to purchase digital satellite TV equipment.

A satellite alternative to digital terrestrial TV in France is provided by TNTSat via the ASTRA satellites at 19.2°E.

Visit www.tousaunumerique.fr or www.tntsat.tv for more info

ASTRA is joining forces with Spanish pay-TV operator Sogecable to further develop high definition TV for Spain with the lease of two additional transponders on ASTRA satellites at 19.2°E in 2010. The ASTRA transponders will carry HD channels for subscribers of Sogecable’s Digtal+ service.

"We are very pleased to further intensify our relationship with Sogecable and support its HD developments,” said SES ASTRA President and CEO, Ferdinand Kayser.

Digital+ has been broadcasting via ASTRA 19.2°E since 1993 and currently provides 14 HD channels. Some 1.9 million homes in Spain watch Digital+ and free-to-air channels via ASTRA satellites.

Visit www.sogecable.es for more info

The first consumer 3D channel to broadcast in Europe will launch on October 1st when BSkyB launches Sky 3D to the UK from ASTRA 28.2°E. Sky 3D will offer viewers a mix of sport, films, entertainment and culture, all broadcast in 3D, with Ryder Cup golf and films, Bolt and Monster vs. Aliens boosting the channel’s debut.

Viewing Sky 3D requires a standard Sky+ HD set-top box and a 3D Ready TV set (reception works with both ‘active’ and ‘passive’ 3D formats and any of the 3D TV sets produced by LG, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony).

The channel has been testing since April 2010, with preview programming available to Sky subscribers and live sports events to some 1500 specially-equipped UK bars.

The Sky 3D channel will be encrypted and available at no extra charge to subscribers of the top tier ‘Sky World’ UK channels package.

Visit www.sky.com/3d for more info

3.4 million 3D Ready TVs will be shipped worldwide in 2010 according to forecasts by market research company DisplaySearch, with the market expected to reach 42.9 million in 2014.

“TV manufacturers have managed to launch products very rapidly,” said DisplaySearch’s Paul Gray. “We have seen a full range of 3D TVs in sizes from 40in [98cm] to 63in [154cm] already available, and without a doubt, there will be another wave of new products at the IFA show in Berlin in September.”

However, DisplaySearch warns that the consumer electronics industry is running ahead of content availability, as 3D TV programming is currently limited to a small number of films and some sports events on pay-TV, with 3D blockbusters, such as Avatar, not available for 3D TV in 2010.

Visit www.displaysearch.com for more info

Dance TV has begun free-to-air test broadcasts from ASTRA 23.5°E. A new high definition channel based in Hilversum, Dance TV provides coverage of the international dance and club scene, with footage and reports of DJ concerts, festivals, events, and parties. Dance TV is using the enlarged footprint of the newly-launched ASTRA 3B satellite, which offers coverage from Spain to the Black Sea, to deliver the service to HD bouquets across Europe.

Visit www.dancetvhd.com for more info

Also from the Netherlands, Eredivisie Live, the Dutch pay-TV football service broadcasting as part of the Canal Digitaal package from ASTRA 19.2°E and ASTRA 23.5°E, is starting the new football season in August with a high definition version of the Eredivisie Live Kanaal 1 channel carrying all live games in HD quality.

Visit www.canaal-digitaal.nl for more info

Meanwhile, over one million viewing cards have been ordered for the HD+ package of high definition channels for German-speaking viewers broadcast from Astra 19.2°E, with more than 220,000 HD+ receivers now sold. HD+ viewers can choose from over 25 different models of receiver certified for HD+ viewing, or use the HD+ viewing card in a plug-in CI Plus module in other receivers and integrated TV sets.

Visit www.HD-plus.de for more info

The WWW.ONSASTRA.COM website has a new look and extra content to help satellite viewers and would-be viewers get the most out TV via Europe's favourite satellite provider, ASTRA.

The comprehensive and easy-to-use ASTRA viewers' portal has a unique TV Guide with details and times of programmes showing on ASTRA channels across Europe which can be customised to suit your own location, tastes, and language. Visitors can also consult the fully searchable guide to over 2600 free and pay-TV channels available via ASTRA, as well as access news, help, FAQs and tutorials on selecting and installing equipment to receive ASTRA TV anywhere in Europe.

TNTSAT, the satellite-delivered offer of French digital terrestrial TV, is now received by over 2.3 million homes. Broadcast since 2007 via ASTRA 19.2°E, TNTSAT provides 43 free-to-view channels (including the 24 regional versions of France 3) in SD, and four channels in HD, across France for homes unable to receive the terrestrial broadcasts.

Nearly 9% of TV households in France now use a TNTSAT compatible receiver and smart card, with 800,000 receivers bought in the 12 months to June 2010. SES ASTRA CEO, Ferdinand Kayser commented, "The consistently strong growth shows that French households outside the reach of terrestrial networks adopt TNTSAT as a solution to easily switch to digital television."

Visit www.tntsat.tv for more info.

The Sirius 4 satellite has been renamed ASTRA 4A, following the change of its owner SES Sirius to SES ASTRA. ASTRA 4A is located in the Astra 5°E orbital position and will continue to provide digital television and radio broadcasts, data, and interactive services to Nordic and Baltic countries, eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa using both Ku and Ka bands.

ASTRA 4A brings the number of satellites called ASTRA currently in operation to 15. The ASTRA 4B satellite is in construction and is expected to be launched to join ASTRA 4A at ASTRA 5.0°E at the end of next year.