C-band subscription service

[DrSat]

Hello everyone,

I am currently doing research on the viability of a low-cost basic C-Band subscription service similar to the current HITS TV in order to provide a selection of Canadian and US channels which are normally not available on FTA satellite.  As all channels would be carried on a single satellite, people who currently don't have a C-band dish would have the option of installing a fixed dish instead of motorized in in order to simplify the installation and reduce equipment costs.

The service would initially provide the following channels with more being added in the future:

- CBLT - CBC Toronto HD
- CFTO - CTV Toronto HD
- CITY TV Toronto
- TVO Toronto
- PBS
- PBS World
- KTLA Los Angeles
- WGN Chicago HD
- WPIX CW New York HD
- WWOR My Network TV New York HD
- Bounce TV
- The big 4 US networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX)

I understand that some people are fortunate enough to receive one or more of these channels via OTA with an antenna but many Canadians are not so fortunate as they located outside of the coverage area.

Interested in hearing from everyone if you would be willing to subscribe to such a service and if so, the maximum subscription price you are willing to pay.

[migold]

Dr. Sat;
I get the following OTA:  CBS, NBC, CW, FOX, PBS, PBS Create, ME, My TV, ION.
I rely on FTA for ABC.  I use FTA to record (DVR) PBS, ABC, NBC.   I would be interested in subscription, if necessary to get ABC.  I would consider a small monthly fee, probably paid on an annual basis, to get subscription service.  I subscribed annually to Starz on HITS for several years, until it was no longer available. 

[g17feedhunter]

Few questions..

1. why not KU band?

2. how much cost were you thinking

3. what other channels would you add later?

4. would it be on a c-band sat that a 1.2 motorized could get reliably? thus not losing the rest of my OTA channels yet not having to put up another dish.

[Satellite_fta]

I agree with the question ... why not Ku ?

[Looker]

C band transponders are cheaper in cost to lease then Ku. I would go with Ku as you'll have a greater market that can install a 30 inch dish. Here in Mississauga there is a bylaw against 6 foot+ BUD's.

That mux with all of that HD you might just squeez it on a single transponder running 8psk and mpeg4... and possibly S2.

Just so you know, a transponder leased full time will cost you around 2 million USD per year. This does not include the teleport and all of these other fees and licenses.

[DrSat]

1. why not KU band?

I agree with the question ... why not Ku ?

Because a company would have to be licensed as a BDU and follow all CRTC policies if the service were to be offered on Ku band which would make it financially not viable. 

C-band is exempt from this requirement as it is not considered as a DTH service under Canadian regulations.  This is why we are currently able to sell HITS TV programming.

[Cham]

What kind of price point would you be looking at for subscription?

Are the channels mentioned mostly HD (720i or better)?

Particular receiver required for the subscription service?

Receiver/dish package(s) available?

I think it is a great idea if the price is low enough, would have to be in the $20/mo or less range or DBS services would be more appealing to the public...

Maybe a yearly charge of say $80...?

[PrinceLH]

If you're going to go that route, then add some of the stuff that's not available via other satellite companies, like MeTV, AntennaTV, Grit...etc.  They're available over the air, on many of the U.S. border stations, so why not uplink to C/Ku Band as part of a subscription service?  I'd buy into that, if they where available.  Already have Shaw and Directv, why not this?

[Looker]

Have you crunched the numbers on this business venture?  You will need at least 2.5 million dollars just for the satellite transponder and teleport fees, this does not even include signal collection, licensing, encoding & data transport costs.

You will need 125,000 subscribers in the first year paying $20 a month just to break even.

As for HITS they sell their service 'Direct-to-Home' only as a side business... they really make their big money as a "Headend In The Sky" (HITS) to Cable operators across the USA.

You would have a better chance at making it big by going the IPTV route. IPTV is relatively cheap to deploy these days and most everyone has a fast enough internet connection to support IPTV streaming. IPTV set top boxes are only around $100

[Gregtheham]

Sounds good- again, if a 20 dollar a month cap if possible ( tax in) ....thats the "bite the bullet" price for a tv tightwad like me.


I agree about including ME TV , and their other retro channels (heroes and icons etc) espcially since they will soon no longer be available in the clear on CBand.


I hate to be the bearer of bad news- had this discussion with Me TV / Weigal uplink Tech last fall (2014) - they are going HD (has already happened) and will then shut off S2 transponders  this fall of 2015.


I can give reason why in a new post if requested.


But a C band package with enough xponder strength to allow a 4 ft dish would be great- again with "retro" type channels- and some movies. I am in a valley north of the Toronto "oak ridge morain". No luck with any US/Buffalo  OTA ATSC reception.


Thanks
Joe

[Cham]

Problem with IP services is that the target audience likely does not have access to bandwidth for video. I am thinking rural or small towns that do not have a major cable company supplying reletively cheap cable or internet services. Where I live, I have to pay more than $100/mo for internet service that is really too slow for video; but it is the only service I have access to other than satellite which would cost even more plus bandwidth charges.

"You would have a better chance at making it big by going the IPTV route. IPTV is relatively cheap to deploy these days and most everyone has a fast enough internet connection to support IPTV streaming. IPTV set top boxes are only around $100"

[Looker]

Hi Cham,

Where about are you? IPTV has made some good advancements in recent years and now using H.264 a 1Mbps stream can provide a resonabally good SD quality video.

For example Bell Canada is no longer interested in investing in any new technology with their satellite TV service Bell TV (ExpressVU), they maintain it but they are trying to move people away from it to their new Fibe TV IPTV system.

Also Fibe TV is the best selling product in the 137 year history of the Bell Canada company.

[Cham]

I am in a fairly well populated area of southern Manitoba close to the US border. Most rural or small town residential and small businesses here only have access to 100-300Kb low speed DSL or RF. Local data from cell providers is very expensive and throughput is dismal, worse during the daytime. We have no access to Bell Canada other than Bell Satellite with dial-up uplink. No fibe IPTV here, I don't even think this service is available in Winnipeg.

One local company (Manitoba specific) installed LTE systems on their cell towers, but have no connectivity to the cell towers to support the bandwidth, so they haven't even bothered to turn them on... Smart phones do work here but loading web pages is very slow. VOIP services like Skype work but with voice only. Many rural residents still use dial-up because it's all they can afford or all that's available.

There is really no incentive for large telecom companies to provide services to rural or small town residents in this country. Their shareholders want to see more profit for their investment, and only covering the highest density population areas is the only way to achieve this.