Latest on It's TV

JTMan

Just got this email from It's TV.

Thanks for your enquiry about it'sTV. We are in the process of finalising our funding arrangements but unfortunately I cannot go into any specific details as the digital multiplex licence process is ongoing.

So they have not finished their funding rounds yet. It is encouraging however that they claim to be in the final stages of it.

byte

I also sent em email yesterday but no reply yet. The only interest I have in DTT is the possibility of UK terrestrials and mainly high speed internet ( i notice it's not "broadband" so me thinks iSDN speeds?).

PacMan

I very much welcome "Its Tv" to the marketplace, If, and When it arrives. The more competition the better.
However is the It's-Tv name, just a working title, or a definate trading "Brand name".
I dont like it. The maybe should have a name that is more appealing. It sounds Bland like the On Digital brand.

JTMan

high speed internet ( i notice it's not "broadband" so me thinks iSDN speeds?).

If you don't call 256K broadband. They will offer 56K, 128K and 256K internet access.

Taken from Ireland.com:


The company plans to offer three internet services to consumers, which would run at speeds of 256, 128 and 56 kilobytes per second, said Mr Brannigan. It's- TV plans to establish a network of 50 to 100 cells to provide national internet coverage, he added. The company plans to offer three internet services to consumers, which would run at speeds of 256, 128 and 56 kilobytes per second, said Mr Brannigan. It's- TV plans to establish a network of 50 to 100 cells to provide national internet coverage, he added.

I bet it will be called itstv in the end. They have registered the domain and no other name has been mentioned in media articles.

mike65

Interesting. I'd forgotten about the RTE DTT plan, the price looks right if there's no cap (would that even be possible over the air?)on the interent use.

If they can get it right mix of channels I'd switch from NTL.

The name much be changed, how about RTE Digital it says what it is and who does it on the can!
Why ITV did'nt go with ITV Digital from the off is a marketing mystery.


Mike.

JTMan

It is not owned by RTE so they can't call it RTE Digital

icdg

The whole sorry history of the DTT platform is on the ICDG site in the Digital Terrestrial section. RTE would have been the 40% owners of the DTT company in the original scienario, but that's changed and RTE will just be a content provider now. It will have the rights to one multiplex on the DTT system, but in the financial state its in I can see them not taking up the capacity. (As an aside, many of the Its'TV executives are former staff members at RTE).

I agree, It'sTV is a daft name. Perhaps Martin Lambie-Nairn, the English branding consultant who designed the new BBC1 logo you will see from next weekend, could be brought in to give them a makeover?

mike65

Originally posted by Fungus
It is not owned by RTE so thye can't call it RTE Digital

Oops! :eek:

Mike

Well, whatever about the name...
There are three good things about It's TV when it arrives.
One is the competition it will bring-especially to repressed Chorus land.
And two-the fact that being separate from a broadcaster,it won't suffer from the problems and conflicts of interests that berate Sky as a broadcaster and platform owner.
Sometimes I wonder if all the dross( about a third of the stuff ) being offered as "Choice" by Sky digital is real choice at all and only there to make their channel's service look good:rolleyes:

And third is the whole new player on the internet market.
mm

mike65

Its the net access that has me interested no question, that plus
40 channels at say 30-35 euro a month would be the clincher, but maybe that price is waaaaay off.

Mike.

byte

Maybe it would start at €30-35 for 56k connection? I would be interested in 128 or 256k provided price was right. I would continue to have Sky but DTT has its pluses, mainly that you can connect the stb to any connection in the house without worrying about LNBs etc.

I assume that DTT muxes will broadcast at different frequencies to the analog transmissions. So from Truskmore, where TV3 and TG4 are Group C/D, DTT would be Group A (may cause probs for ppl getting UK Terrs. from Brougher Mtn) or Group B? Meaning another aerial change! I already have 3 (colourking, VHF and GrC/D)!:rolleyes:

Irishbyte,
Aparently at 50kw, an indoor aerial will be enough,so it is likely that all you aerials will bring the signal in regardless.
But a grid at ground or chimney should guarantee;)
mm
provided they get their finances......

lawhec

Originally posted by irishbyte
I assume that DTT muxes will broadcast at different frequencies to the analog transmissions. So from Truskmore, where TV3 and TG4 are Group C/D, DTT would be Group A (may cause probs for ppl getting UK Terrs. from Brougher Mtn) or Group B? Meaning another aerial change! I already have 3 (colourking, VHF and GrC/D)!:rolleyes:

DTT from Truskmore Mountain will be in Group C. The allocated channels are 48, 55, 59, 62, 65 & 67 each with 50kW of power. Existing UHF aerials I'd assume would be perfectly OK.

byte

Thanks for that NC. Existing aerials may be OK in some cases indeed though not mine. Looks like another aerial!:rolleyes:

Anyway, back to the great email I got from it's TV. I must say, I am liking them already!

Thanks for your interest in it'sTV and our plans for digital terrestrial services (DTS). As you pointed out we are in an advantageous situation compared to ITV Digital with higher power allocations, the use of 8k versus 2k, improved software and far cheaper STBs. In addition, and fair dues to the Govt, the Broadcasting Act is a great piece of legislation and acknowledges the importance of using Broadcast spectrum for Internet and electronic services. Also setting us apart from ITV Digital is the fact that the licensee in Ireland will operate all six multiplexes with content control over a minimum of four. In the UK, the broadcasters operate their own muxes etc.

it'sTV plan to launch with two services, multichannel TV and high speed always on Internet access. By high speed I mean up to 512kbps. Both services will be wireless to and in the home. Wires mean installation costs and we want to avoid those costs.

With the multichannel TV service, we will probably offer a few content tiers but the UK terrestrial channels will definitely be part of the product offering.

I can't really go into the specifics on price but I can tell you that our TV service will be very affordable compared to other platforms and our wireless broadband Internet service will stun the public -and for the first time Ireland will lead Europe in the provision of an affordable high speed Internet service.

I can't go into the level of subsidy on the STBs but as you may be aware, Pace are introducing a stg£99 (retail price) digital terrestrial STB in the UK. We are obviously in discussions with Pace and other manufacturers planning similar boxes and by the time we launch (second half of 2003) the boxes will be even cheaper. Subsidising them may not be a big issue.

Looking good though not until late 2003

mike65

Feck, I was hoping to give NTL the heave-ho this year.

Mike.

Mossy Monk

this is probably a question with an obvious answer.

will the internet be accessable through the television or the PC?

cableskeptic

The answer is PC: as STBs don't have the capability to handle all the different types of applications available on the internet (e.g. Flash, Java etc.). If anyone ever used the ill-fated Unison box then they will know what I mean (by the way is anyone still using Unison?).

I wouldn't be so worried by the lateness of their proposed launch.
After all there are a lot of lessons to be learned from the experience across the water and it is important to get the thing right.
The e-mail quoted by Irishbyte describes something to look foward to.
I suspect that"its TV" are hoping to launch internet and tv services at the same time-Now that would be better than a bag of nitrogen on your garden in the month of may for growth,considering the sorry state of the ISP services here.

Reading the e-mail the technology is improving all the time.The price of the boxes going down, coupled with "plug in and play", backed up by a realistic strong signal bringing "indoor aerial" reception capability and if you are offering internet facilities alongside television, imho, poaching customers from Sky would not be too dificult.
mm

Mossy Monk

Originally posted by cableskeptic
The answer is PC

thank god for that. the thought of having broadband and not being able to download is disturbing

NIBBS

It all sounds great as have other schemes in the past, the one and main problem with this project is that the company hasn't got funding to carry anything out, and without funding what can they do ?????
I'd love to see it happening, but as others have said in the last day or so getting investors into the TV area as a whole is going to be increasingly difficult in the short term with the collapse of ITV Digital and the possible demise of NTL and Telewest, it just creates a bad feeling in general..............but it is of course better that they wait and learn the lessons from ITV Digital, just doesn't look like anything will be happening in the near future, can someone remind me of the supposed timescale for the DTT launch ?

Nobody knows what the funding situation is with "It's Tv" except themselves and their bankers.I am sure they will be keeping that specefic information private for the moment.

The fact that the technology and market place for this venture is completely better in the Republic of Ireland versus the UK, would make the difficult job of obtaining finance that bit easier.
The timescale for their launch would probably depend on ODTR regulation and finance.
mm

NIBBS

I agree madman, but we do know that they didn't have the funding in place when they made their bid........I was really just trying to make the point that the project is still very much at the beginning........although I'm sure they are working very hard in the background........
but at the end of the day the start date keeps getting pushed back by months each time......so when will it start - and as things go on and on the actual likelihood falls that it will happen......as with the RTE digital channels.......

Nibbs,
As I said earlier,I don't think the start date is such an issue now, but getting the formula right is.
Ireland is a much more fertile ground for this sort of enterprise than in the UK,for all the reasons stated before.

It is clear that RTE do not have the funds to provide extra digital channels at the moment-They need a forensic examination of their affairs as they are sitting on an infrastructure and audience that should not be losing money. If they had their house in order in the first place, it would probably not have been neccessary to re organise DTT in ROI in the way that it has been.

mm

mike65

Given the collapse in hype regarding telcos and digital telly finance houses are going to be much more circumspect in their dealings with fledgling broadcasters so the mere fact that ITsTV are still going ahead suggests to me backing is not an issue.

Mike.

triple-play

I don't think RTE (not to mention TV3 and TG4) not having plans for digital channels will worry it'sTV too much as under the broadcasting act the space allocated for these new digital channels reverts back to it'sTV if the Irish broadcasters don't use it... so I am sure it'sTV will have plans on how best to use that additional space. Hopefully they will use it in a way that adds value to the customer proposition -maybe more value than a few dodgy digital channels provided by RTE on a shoestring budget.

West Briton

It's highly likely that I would be a customer for itstv. I would welcome fast internet access, however my only worry is the following.

BBC1 and 2 have been seemingly grudgingly left onto the Sky EPG for RoI customers. There seems to be an insurmountable problem in getting the rest of the BBC Channels and ITV/C4/C5 on..if the UK achieves its ambition to become the world's first fully Digital TV nation, then access to the UK channels becomes more or less controlled outside the UK.

One of the side effects of this will be to give the broadcasters the power to decide if the Irish can access UK TV or not.

And there lies the rub. All our huffing and puffing to be able to legally get the UK channels here seems to have no effect whatsoever. The main selling point for the majority of people will be easy and reliable access to UK television, however there is no guarantee that this will happen. It's remarkable how indignant many people in the UK are when they are told that Johnny Foreigner can get their TV in Belgium, Netherlands or Ireland, not just on "another place".

Maybe more people will have to get their eyepatches and peglegs on before the content providers realise that there can be good business done by dealing with itstv for a Republic of Ireland audience.

triple-play

The UK free-to-air channels are only free-to-air in the UK because UK citizens pay their licence fee. If it'sTV want to offer the UK FTA channels on their platform then they must enter into a commercial arrangement whereby it'sTV pays the UK FTA channels for their content -just like cable in Ireland does today.

I imagine the UK FTA channels are anxious for greater geographical coverage as it helps increase advertising revenue. The BBC, although they don't have advertising, have a commercial desire to increase revenue which is why they offer BBC content (for a price) to countries outside the UK.

I don't believe it'sTV would launch a pay-TV service without the UK terrestrial channels -otherwise how could they effectively compete against Chorus and ntl?

Originally posted by triple-play
I don't believe it'sTV would launch a pay-TV service without the UK terrestrial channels -otherwise how could they effectively compete against Chorus and ntl?

I agree.
You see "it's TV" are a platform owner(assuming they have the license etc) but not a programme provider.
Their platform is their commercial business.They will most likely agree a deal with UTV and ITV , Ch 4 etc and charge their customers accordingly.
Sky are obviously asking too much at the moment for Carriage of these and other services in ROI.
No doubt any deal done by "it's Tv" will include all payments for programme rights.
As I've said before on other threads,the rights issues are really only red herrings thrown in by Granada to protect it's interest in TV3.They do not want UTV there before TV3.

When DTT starts here with all the UK terrestials expect an immediate arrival on Sky in ROI of all the channels campaigned for, if they haven't arrived already.
This is because for competition reasons,I expect Sky to over rule the current impasse as if they don't they will lose ground to "It's TV"
Comparing the Irish tv market with the UK one by the way is like comparing chalk and cheese-they are so different.
mm

icdg

Originally posted by madman
Irishbyte,
Aparently at 50kw, an indoor aerial will be enough,so it is likely that all you aerials will bring the signal in regardless.
But a grid at ground or chimney should guarantee;)
mm
provided they get their finances......

Remember that portable reception may be possible for It'sTV but iis not guarenteed . The network is not being planned specifically for portable reception, but it may well be available in certain areas, mainly close to transmitters.

cableskeptic

Quote from the Irish Times quotong it'sTV CEO:

---

"The ITV Digital service requires consumers to use a rooftop antenna and the service provider must send someone out to connect consumers," he said. "People who want to go with us (it'sTV) just have to go to Dixons and buy a set-top box with a node attached to it to receive the digital signal."

The nodes would receive a powerful digital signal beamed from RTÉ's existing network to provide the consumer with "portable grade reception".

---

So it'sTV are planning for portable grade reception for the majority of people (I would estimate 60% to 70% with the powers already agreed by the ODTR).

Just to add to this and I appreciate that untill there is testing there can only be an element of guesswork here.
I live in a rural area.
As the crow flies I am aproximately 3-5 miles from the neares town.
I am around 30 miles from Mount Leinster.
I have good quality analog portable reception from Mount Leinster and almost as good from Kippure,which is further away and has many hills between me and it.

By good quality portable reception, I mean about equal to what I get on an aerial in analog from wales and mostly better in fact.
Based on being able to receive ITV digital here , I would reckon as it stands, given the stonger digital signals being proposed that as Cableskeptic has pointed out,portable reception should be possible in 60-70% of cases, if not more.

I wouldn't regard 30 miles as being near a transmitter,yet I expect if the analog signal is ok at that so will the digital .
mm

DMC

Loads of stories in The Irish Times today, I'll reprint them here....

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2002/0408/3647227484BZDIGITALTV.html

Irish digital TV applicant in cash quandary

By Jamie Smyth

The sole bidder for a licence to operate a national digital television service is lobbying the telecoms regulator to amend a draft licence that it believes is preventing it from raising the funds required to support its application.

It'sTV, a consortium headed by former RTÉ executive, Mr Peter Branagan, is the sole bidder for a licence to operate the proposed digital television service. But it has been told by the Government that it will not be awarded the licence unless it secures a principal financial backer for its plan.

It is understood It'sTV has told the regulator, Ms Etain Doyle, that it will not be able to raise venture capital funding without amending a clause within the licence to enable it to supply internet services, as well as more than 30 television channels. The draft licence currently restricts the amount of radio spectrum a licence holder can use to supply internet and data services to customers at "up to 20 per cent of each digital multiplex at any given time". But It'sTV believes this would undermine the quality and reach of its internet services and is lobbying to have this amended to up to 20 per cent of "all six digital multiplexs".

A digital multiplex is a combination of digital television channels and other material. There are six multiplexes planned for the Irish services, one of which will be assigned to RTÉ, with TnaG and TV3 sharing another. The operating company for the service would rent the remaining four multiplex's to other parties.

The amendment sought by It'sTV would enable it to use one of these multiplex's solely to supply high speed internet services, enhancing the quality and reach of the service. Industry sources said It'sTV's move to amend the draft licence reflected the consortia's change in emphasis from seeking to be mainly a pay television provider to placing internet services at the core of its plan. This reflects the downturn in the pay television market which has seen an equivalent service in the UK, ITV Digital, go into administration, and cable group NTL amass huge debts of $17 billion, sources said.

It is understood that NTL and its bondholders have moved closer to a debt-for-equity swap deal to help get the British cable group back on its feet. It'sTV has met officials from the regulator's office twice to discuss the licence but as yet no decision has been reached on the issue.

A decision in favour of It'sTV could create a competitor for Eircom, but it may also distort the original intention of the Government, which was to create a TV service. This licensing issue is the latest in a slew of problems to dog the Government's plan to set up a digital television service, which has already been delayed for two years and cost about €2.5 million.

Originally four firms expressed an interest in the competition to award a licence but just one of these, It'sTV, submitted a bid by the deadline of August 3rd 2001.

On the recommendation of consultants acting for the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands a deadline of January 31st 2002 was set for evaluation.

But following It'sTV's failure to secure a principal financial backer by this date, the department granted an extension to enable the consortia to conclude talks with a "credible potential lead investor".

It is understood It'sTV has been in contact with a US venture capital firm but has not, as yet, secured the required financial guarantees that would enable it to be awarded the licence. The venture capital firm is believed to be seeking guarantees that the licence would allow It'sTV to position itself as an internet provider, as well as a provider of pay television services.

But the huge costs of launching and operating a digital terrestrial service, estimated by analysts at between €15 to €80 million, is also thought to be a major hurdle to It'sTV's quest to obtain funding. A spokesman for the Department for Art's, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, said it hoped the award of the licence would be concluded by mid-2002. The department also revealed it has paid a consortium of advisers, led by AIB Corporate Finance, €2.43 million in fees and expenses, to organise the selection contest.

---

and

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2002/0408/2212790933BZDTTANALYSIS.html

Digital woes delay start of Irish service
By Jamie Smyth

ITV Digital's recent descent into administration couldn't have come at a worse time for Mr Branagan. The Government told It'sTV in February that it must secure a principal financial backer to be awarded the licence, and the collapse of an equivalent UK service will not bolster the nerves of the US venture capitalists which It'sTV is courting.

It is almost five years since RTÉ's former director of technology, Mr Peter Branagan, first developed a plan to establish a national digital television service that could provide consumers with up to 50 new television channels.

In the technology fuelled boom of the late 1990s the word "digital" was synonymous with making money and Mr Branagan's plan had both RTÉ and the Government excited about the possibilities offered by a new service.

As head of It'sTV, the sole bidder for a licence to operate the State's proposed digital television service, Mr Branagan's dream has yet to be realised and looks increasingly likely to be torpedoed by a combination of political delay, increased competition and a slump in the technology sector.

A year long delay in the drafting of the Broadcasting Bill due to concerns raised over the ownership of the proposed television service was the first hurdle faced by proponents of the new service. Although this was subsequently dealt with and the Act finally passed last year, it delayed the competition to award a licence during a buoyant period for the technology sector. Two years later and this sentiment has changed.

Confidence in the pay television market has probably never been lower with ITV Digital, NTL and the Kirch Group all suffering severely.

The cost of acquiring subscribers, purchasing content and upgrading networks has generated huge debts and customers are not willing to spend enough extra on new services to generate returns on this extravagant expenditure. The £315 million sterling paid by ITV Digital in the UK for the rights to lower division football was made at the height of a market which is now on the brink of collapse.

Neither will BSkyB's recent aggressive push into the Irish marketplace.The success of Sky in the UK was one of the main factors in the demise of ITV Digital, which went head-to-head against the Sky service and lost.

Sky is now claiming more than 200,000 subscribers in the Republic and there would probably be little demand for a new television service. The current malaise in the pay television sector and the competition from Sky in the market form the background to It'sTV's recent lobbying to have the draft licence for digital television amended.

The delay in the roll out of competing internet technologies may offer the firm a window of opportunity to gain subscribers. But it may yet prove too little too late.

Well it looks like the good old ODTR have the make it or break it wand to wave in the case of DTT in Ireland.
It's as simple as that.
These article are very imformative and researched Except:

To be honest, I'm fed up of reading parts of articles which compare ITV digital with what could happen here.

You have only to go into the archives of Digital spy(and others) dig terrestial forum to get a feel of what the low powers ITV digtal operated on, did for it's reception.
Red dots galore-Red dots being what you get when theres not enough signal.
DTT at such low powers meant aerials and amps were needed for the first time for terrestial television in the UK.

This put ITV Digital at an obvious disadvantage as they had to finance aerial upgrades for people who never had to use them before, and in a lot of cases people had to pay more only to find out these didn't work either.I mean why pay for an aerial when you are going to get a dish for free?
Ireland is full of aerials in rural parts, so if you are in the 30% or so areas that wouldn't have a strong enough Irish DTT signal-you Use your aerial.The expensive use of an amp and large aerial would be rare from my experience.

It makes perfect Economic sense for on the one hand Venture Capital houses to look for the use of extra capacity for internet access and on the other for the ODTR to allow this.
Otherwise it's Sky for all and no competition.
mm

triple-play

A decision in favour of It'sTV could create a competitor for Eircom, but it may also distort the original intention of the Government, which was to create a TV service. This licensing issue is the latest in a slew of problems to dog the Government's plan to set up a digital television service, which has already been delayed for two years and cost about €2.5 million.

This is not true. In the Broadcasting Act 2001 in which the rules for the licence award and operation were set down, the Act clearly states in section 3 paragraphs (c) and (d) that the principal objects of the multiplex company shall be stated in its memorandum of associations will be-
" (c) to promote the development of multimedia services, and
(d) to promote the development of electronic information services, including those provided by means of the Internet."

This is VERY important as it means that if it'sTV wanted only to offer a multichannel TV service then they would not fulfil the requirements of the Broadcasting Act. Therefore, it'sTV are NOT distorting the original intention of the Government, as it was the Govts intention to establish both a TV and an Internet services company.

Sorry Jamie, but you got that one wrong...

triple-play

Sky is now claiming more than 200,000 subscribers in the Republic and there would probably be little demand for a new television service.

There is still plenty of room for a new entrant -as long as the new entrant is offering a compelling consumer proposition at a competitive price.

There are ~1.4m homes in Ireland. Sky have around 225,000 of these with cable and MMDS accounting for another 613,000. Even without taking any of these customers it'sTV would have a market of well over 500,000 homes.

If you also factor in that Chorus subscribers (~220,000 homes) are generally looking for a new reliable and competitive supplier of the UK channels then I think it'sTV could do very well.

Add in the wireless broadband internet offering and I think it'sTV is on a winner. A pity the timing is so bad with ITV Digital and Queiro (Spanish DTT) in trouble but they had lower power, expensive STB subsidies, no broadband internet service and outrageous sports rights costs to contend with -all areas in which it'sTV have cost effective solutions.

mike65

Thanks for the updates Damo,

I'm amazed that ItsTv don't have thier financing in order, that they don't plainly makes life tricky for the regulator. After all she does'nt want to been seen awarding the licence to the only
bidder then finding it can't even start opps.

That said the fact it wants to go big in wireless internet should mean the regulator should be falling over herself to help ItsTv
in any way possible- she more than most knows how the irish public has been let down by the other players, and with high-speed NTL access unlikely to be a goer in the forseeable future, if ever, we need an alternative to Eircon. Quickly.

Mike.

Originally posted by mike65
Thanks for the updates Damo,

I'm amazed that ItsTv don't have thier financing in order, that they don't plainly makes life tricky for the regulator. After all she does'nt want to been seen awarding the licence to the only
bidder then finding it can't even start opps.

That said the fact it wants to go big in wireless internet should mean the regulator should be falling over herself to help ItsTv
in any way possible- she more than most knows how the irish public has been let down by the other players, and with high-speed NTL access unlikely to be a goer in the forseeable future, if ever, we need an alternative to Eircon. Quickly.

Mike.

Venture capital firms interested in investing in this area, will have done their home work. They will know,the potential return on their investment would be greater if the go ahead was given for the use of an extra mux for internet access.

Regarding the ODTR-I along with many others have given up praying to them for progress-snails pace,they'd win awards for that:(:mad:
I simply cannot understand why they won't encourage and fast track the arrival of fast web access.
mm