FREESAT BOOSTS HIGH-DEFINITON CHOICE WITH BET AWARDS 2009
On American Independence Day, Saturday 4th July Freesat will bring viewers the prestigious BET Awards 2009 in brilliant high-definition (HD) – a UK exclusive for the subscription-free digital satellite TV service.
Held in Los Angeles on Sunday 28th June, this year’s BET Awards are hosted by Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and will feature performances from Hollywood A-listers Beyonce Knowles, Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Watching this year’s BET Awards in HD is a special bonus for Freesat HD viewers who can catch an HD simulcast of the ceremony exclusively on the BET HD channel (Channel 142), on Saturday 4th July from 8.30pm. Freesat standard-definition (SD) viewers will not miss out though and can watch the awards by tuning in to the BET channel (Channel 140) at the same time.
The BET Awards were established in 2001 by Black Entertainment Network to celebrate the best African American talent from music, film, television and sport and previous winners include Prince, Mariah Carey, Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Halle Berry.
Viewers should look out for the special BET HD channel (142) as it appears in the Freesat EPG from Thursday 2nd July until after the event
Freesat’s MD Emma Scott comments “Being able to broadcast this year’s BET Awards exclusively on Freesat in HD is a real coup and we hope Freesat viewers will really enjoy watching some of the world’s biggest entertainers like Beyonce and Jay Z with amazing HD picture and sound quality”.
“We’re committed to bringing our viewers brilliant HD programming completely subscription-free and we hope this will be the first of many Freesat HD exclusives”.
This is an official press release - 25th June 2009.
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The Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports has gone into administration after failing to make a number of payments to sporting organisations.
Setanta has now stopped broadcasting to customers in Great Britain, but the administrator Deloitte said it would continue to operate elsewhere.
They said they would immediately stop collecting subscription payments.
About 200 employees involved with the British operations will be made redundant, the firm said.
Setanta had a total of 420 employees in the UK and Ireland.
TECHNISAT LAUNCHES ADVANCED FREESAT HIGH DEFINITION DIGITAL BOX
Consumer electronics company TechniSat today announced the launch of a new Freesat high-definition (HD) digital box, equipped with a range of advanced features which will give viewers greater functionality and ease-of-use.
Receiving a Gold Award in a recent review by What Satellite & High Definition magazine, the TechniSat HDFS Freesat digital box comes with an extended feature set which allows the playback of movies, music and pictures from either USB memory sticks, memory cards, or from a PC using the LAN connection or a TechniSat WiFi adaptor. The receiver is also eco-friendly, consuming just 0.25 watts in standby mode.
Cementing the partnership TechniSat and Freesat announced earlier this year, Martin Cole, TechniSat’s MD comments “We are very pleased with our relationship with Freesat which has given us the opportunity to create an award winning HD digital box, helping to position TechniSat as a premium UK brand.”
Emma Scott, Freesat’s MD, added “With the arrival of their new Freesat box, TechniSat are providing viewers with yet another compelling way to access the range of channels and services available on Freesat.”
The HDFS Freesat digital box comes with a three year manufacturer’s guarantee and is available now from Currys, Comet, Maplin, Alltrade and Double D.
German based TechniSat Digital Group have a dedicated UK office and is a leading consumer electronics organisation with a strong history of producing high quality set top Boxes, PVRs, and IDTVs.
For more information on Freesat, please visit www.freesat.co.uk
For more information on TechniSat, please visit www.technisat.co.uk or www.technisat.com
MSP CALLS FOR SCOTLAND GAMES ON FREE TO AIR
SNP MSP Stuart McMillan will today call for a higher number of Scotland international football games to be reserved for free to air television.
Mr McMillan’s comments come as the review of events reserved for free to air television comes to the Scottish Parliament.
It also comes as the problems faced by Setanta raise concern over the stability of TV deals.
Mr McMillan and his colleague Keith Brown have repeatedly raised the issue with the UK Department for Culture and Mr McMillan has now written to the review.
Research for the Scottish Broadcasting Commission showed a majority of Scots support Scotland’s international football matches being available on free to air television.
Speaking ahead of the visit by the Review to Holyrood Mr McMillan said;
“For too many Scotland fans the option of watching the match at home with their family or friends is one they cannot afford.
“It is ridiculous that for many people the only way to watch Scotland’s international games is to go to the pub – often leaving our young footballers of the future unable to see the match and putting pressure on parents already stretched budgets to sign up to satellite or cable stations.
“There is overwhelming public support for bringing Scotland games, particularly our home games in the European Championships and World Cup to Scotland’s television screens.
“Last year’s study into Scottish broadcasting showed not only that 96% of football fans want coverage on free to air television, but 70% of those not interested in football believe there should be public access to the Scotland teams international adventures.
“As Scottish football considers the impact of Setanta’s cash crisis the importance of stability for our game and for its future is clear for all to see.
“This review is a prime opportunity to press that case and I urge every member of the Tartan Army to take up the case and argue for Scotland’s international matches to be available to all Scots on free to air television.”
1. Public Attitudes to Broadcasting in Scotland (2008) asked the public if it supported coverage of Scotland’s national football team on free terrestrial television – 96% of those interested in football agreed and 70% of those who were not interested agreed that these football matches should be on terrestrial television
2. Mr McMillan’s letter to the Review is below
I write to you in connection with the current Free-to-air listed events consultation.
I have, for sometime, been advocating that more sporting and cultural events be taken out of the private broadcasting streams and put on terrestrial, free-to-air television. It’s vital that the greatest amounts of people are able to see sporting and cultural events.
Before becoming elected I submitted a public petition to the Scottish Parliament calling for BBC Scotland to provide coverage of all Scotland national team matches. I said then and still feel now that it is appalling that Scotland’s national broadcaster does not have the rights to show every Scotland national game.
I feel it is important that international competitive football matches for the home nations are shown on terrestrial television. At the moment there is a monopoly on Scottish international football matches between BSKYB and the currently struggling Setanta. This situation means that many members of the public cannot watch their country compete on the national stage, unless they go to a pub. I believe this is wrong as many members of the public will have no desire to enter a pub to watch sporting events. The current set-up affecting the broadcast of Scotland football matches is depriving ordinary members of the public the opportunity to cheer on their nation as they try to qualify for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
As you will be aware, Setanta are currently struggling to survive and in this current financial climate it is imperative that stability is provided to fans and football clubs in Scotland.
I would urge the consultation to consider adding Scotland’s competitive international football matches to the list of ‘crown jewels’.
Yours sincerely
Stuart McMillan MSP
FREESAT’S EMMA SCOTT WINS MEDIA GONG AT FIRST WOMEN AWARDS.
Emma Scott, Managing Director of the subscription-free digital satellite television service Freesat, took the top prize in the media category at last night’s First Women Awards, held at the Marriott Hotel in London.
The annual awards, founded in 2004 by the CBI and Real Business magazine, celebrate the achievements of women who are trailblazers and pioneers in business, across sectors including media, finance, business services and manufacturing. Also nominated in the media category were Yasmin Jeetha, COO of the Financial Times and Carol Stone, MD of YouGovStone. The award comes in the same week that Freesat won ‘Best New Brand or Business’ at the Marketing Society Awards for Excellence.
Emma comments “It's important to recognise the achievements of women in business everywhere. So to receive this prestigious award is a real honour, especially when Jetha and Carole are such exceptional women. I couldn’t have won this award without the support of many great people during my career – and now thanks to our shareholders, the BBC and ITV and the fantastic team at Freesat who have worked incredibly hard to make the service such a brilliant success in only its first year.”
Freesat is a subscription-free digital satellite television service providing UK viewers with a range of over 140 TV, radio and interactive channels, including the high-definition (HD) services from the BBC and ITV. Freesat is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV.
For more information on Freesat, please visit www.freesat.co.uk
FREESAT SCOOPS ‘BEST NEW BRAND’ AT MARKETING SOCIETY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
Freesat, the subscription free digital satellite service, has won the ‘Best New Brand or Business’ category at the Marketing Society Awards for Excellence, beating off competition which included Innocent and the BBC’s iPlayer service.
The award reflects the great strides Freesat has made in only its first year, exceeding 400,000 sales and offering viewers over 140 digital television and radio channels, including the BBC and ITV HD services.
Will Abbott, Freesat’s marketing director comments “We are delighted and proud to win this award as it highlights the impact we have made over the last 12 months – spending a fraction of the budget of our competitors – and the incredible work of the whole company. We’re already building on this success through 2009 – adding more customers, channels and launching IPTV services such as BBC iPlayer.”
Freesat has used PR agency Borkowski since launch. Farm handle all advertising creative work and media is planned and bought by MPG.
For more information on Freesat, please visit www.freesat.co.uk
This is an official press release.
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Setanta faces administration "within days" unless backers provide more funds to pay £30m it owes to the English Premier League, reports have suggested.
The broadcaster has already failed to pay the Scottish Premier League £3m it owes in television rights money.
Setanta, which also shows cricket, golf and rugby union, has about 1.2 million subscribers but is losing up to £100m a year, analysts say.
Deloitte is set to step in to run the firm if it goes into administration.
'Weaker' matches
The rights to show the English Premier League - and the subscribers that this pulls in - lie at the heart of Setanta's business model.
But the firm had only about 60% of the subscribers it needed to break even, said Professor Chris Brady of the BPP Business School.
"They have predicated the whole thing on getting those subscribers. The problem is they are taking on Goliath in BSkyB," he told the BBC.
Not only did Setanta have only a small percentage of televised Premier League games but they tended to be "weaker" matches, he added.
There had also been problems with customer service, Professor Brady told the BBC.
Setanta's viability was cast into doubt earlier this year when it lost the rights to show 46 live Premier League matches from 2010/2011.
In future, it will show only 23 games per season, compared with BSkyB's 115, with industry observers saying that thousands of customers would give up their subscriptions.
Falling values?
It is expected that a rival broadcaster - perhaps ESPN - would buy up its Premier League football rights.
But the worsening economy has led observers to suggest that the rights to 46 games that Setanta holds for next season, the final year of its current contract, would not be worth as much as they had been.
There are also doubts about whether the Premier League could match the £159m Setanta paid for the right to screen 23 Premier League games each season from 2010-11.
A shared deal with ITV saw them secure rights for England and FA Cup matches for £425m - and it is likely another firm would buy up these rights.
One SPL club has told BBC Scotland that income from Setanta alone accounts for 33% of their income, while another said it was 20% for his club.
"With cuts already being made for next season, the loss of revenue of 20% would undoubtedly have a knock-on effect on and off the pitch," said one a source.
It is feared that the loss of cash from Setanta could force as many as three SPL clubs into administration.
WHY SETANTA SPORTS IS CRUMBLING.
Full story from the BBC.
FURTHER ACCESS FOR THE DISABLED - OFCOM REPORT.
04|06|09
With so many TV channels now available in the UK, it's important that everyone can enjoy the full range of programming on offer.
An Ofcom code - published in 2004 - requires most channels with an audience share of 0.05% to provide subtitling, signing and audio description (television access services) for a growing proportion of their programmes.
Subtitles are provided for deaf and hard of hearing people on at least 80% of programmes on the five main terrestrial channels, with the BBC subtitling 100% of its shows.
Today we are publishing our mid-year review of television access services which states that 72 channels will be required to provide television access services in 2010 including, for the first time, Sky Movies Screen 1, Sky Movies Screen 2, FX and Watch.
Audio description (AD) is an additional narration that is inserted between dialogue on some TV programmes on more than 60 channels.
AD describes on-screen action, body language and facial expressions to aid the understanding of visually impaired viewers.
Our guide to audio description services will tell you more about this feature and how to get AD on your TV.
Some sign interpreted programming (where a signer is featured in the corner of the screen) is also available on the five terrestrial channels and some digital TV services.
From the start of 2009 the signing obligations for smaller channels changed.
After research revealed that sign interpreted programming on small channels was not benefiting BSL users, Ofcom altered the regulations to require smaller broadcasters to either provide a minimum of 30 minutes of sign-presented programming each month or propose alternative arrangements to make more sign presented programming available to deaf or hearing impaired sign language users.
As a result, over 60 channels came together to fund the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust (BSLBT) which commissions sign presented programmes to be broadcast on the Community channel's new Sign Zone, which is broadcast 3 days week. You can read more about these changes, and how to find the Sign Zone here.
