Thursday, April 27, 2006

DTH Operator's in South Asia

For most of you who know and for those who do not know there are three operating DTH Operators in this region as of today.

1) Dish TV India
2) CBNSat Sri Lanka
3) DD Direct India

Dish TV which started a few years before CBNSat is the first DTH operator in this region and now at present provide well over 100 channels including Movie on Demand Services, Gaming, DVR's and a host of other facilities. This DTH Service is a Pay TV service and also provides channels not available on regular Cable TV.

CBNSat which started last year has under 45 Channels as of now. There is no clear indication about the services that they will provide us with since their Electronic Programme Guide is not also not in operation and they still have a lot of work to do with their service which is happening at a very slow pace since the competition that they face in Sri Lanka is not as compared to the operators from India since there is stiff competition there from regular Cable TV Operators. In Sri Lanka regular Cable TV is also just getting off the ground. This is a Pay TV operation.

DD Direct which is operated by Doordharshan India is a DTH provider who provide a Free-To-Air Service. This means you pay only for the equipment and no charge is levied monthly for viewing the channels. This also means that you do not get the Pay TV Channels on this platform and therefore can view only the free to air channels on offer. This FTA DTH Service provides approximately 30 channels now but from May it will provide more than 50 channels.

In addition to the above Tata and Star TV have already set themselves up for a launch of their own DTH Service supposedly named Space TV or T-Sky. This DTH Service will be launched in another few months for Indian viewers.

Also another one operated by the Sun TV network too may be launched as they are also looking for the prospects of entering the DTH frontier.

It looks like the DTH frontier is hotting up in this region as more companies jump on the platform. As long as the viewer gets a quality service the services will continue to improve.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Over 1000 teams apply for AXN's 'The Amazing Race Asia'

Applications reveal the passionate, adventurous and crazy side of Asia. AXN's The Amazing Race Asia looks set to feature some of Asia's most passionate and colourful characters, after registration for The Amazing Race Asia closed on 31 March. AXN received over one thousand applications from all corners of Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, India, Korea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Brunei and even Nepal.

The hopeful applicants come from a broad and fascinating cross-section of Asia. From rich businessmen to people who need a new start in life, and from young students to the elderly, the applications revealed that people from all walks of life have gone to extreme lengths to compete in The Amazing Race Asia.

Hopeful contestants stripped, danced, cried and begged for the adventure of a lifetime, demolishing the myth that Asians are conservative and reserved when it comes to television.

Applicants performed crazy stunts, acted out Amazing Race fantasies, and bragged about past glories in their videos, which brought out the creative and quirky side of Asia, and demonstrated the passion Asians have for The Amazing Race Asia.

The application process also showed that the digital revolution has well and truly taken hold in Asia. More than a third of the applications were shot and edited professionally, and the AXN application committee was incredibly impressed by the quality of the video applications. The videos were so entertaining and inventive that they would make a fantastic program on their own.

Potential amazing racers also gave some intriguing reasons why they want to take on the challenging race, guaranteeing there will be plenty of personal drama as The Amazing Race Asia unfolds. For example, some teams are couples who want to revive the love in their relationships, while others want to use the race to rediscover themselves. For some, the race would be a once in a lifetime chance for challenge and adventure.

"The response has been amazing, and AXN wants to thank everyone for the tremendous effort they have put into their applications, and for the passion they have shown for The Amazing Race Asia," said Ricky Ow, General Manager of SPE Networks - Asia.

The 10 to 12 teams who will compete in The Amazing Race Asia will be cast by the end of April.

Courtesy IndianTelevision

AXN can be viewed in Sri Lanka via CBNSat, Comet Cable, LBN and all of the Multivision Cable TV Networks.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

DCV Cable TV Provider

Just this morning I was travelling on the Negombo Road when my eyes caugth the attention of a board saying DCV (D??? Cable Vision) I did not see what the D letter stood for. Anyway this was after Mahabage junction on the Negombo Road and also passing the Abans showroom at Mahabage. All this is when you travel towards colombo. I could not catch details about the channels that they show, etc. If anyone has any information about this Cable TV provider please post your comments here.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Bloomberg on Comet Cable ?

There are reports that Bloomberg the International Business Channel is available in Sri Lanka via Comet Cable. Could any of the Comet Cable viewers please confirm this and also the time of the broadcast. Is it available 24 Hours a day on Comet Cable? Please help me in getting this information clarified.

If this is true then Comet Cable will become the second Cable TV nework to carry Bloomberg since LBN Cable Tv already provides Bloomberg.

Friday, April 21, 2006

ESPN to telecast Sri Lanka - England Test Series

ESPN will be carrying out the live telecast of the Sri Lanka vs England Test Series which is commencing next month. This will be a great treat for local viewers who are able to receive ESPN via CBNSat, Comet Cable & LBN since this broadcast will be accompanied by the International match analysis panel. Viewers who are new to Cable TV will notice that the ESPN broadcast quality and the match analysis panel will be far better than what is provided by the local broadcaster in Sri Lanka.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Welcome to our new site

Hello this is your favourite blogger again. After a few months of research we have decided to move this blog to Blogger. From now on you will not have to register to comment on our topics. We have made this into a dedicated blog only, without the fancy stuff. All the entries we had in our previous site are available minus your comments. We included the original posting date for our old entries so that our visitors will know when those old entries were posted. The entire migration of this site took two days to complete. Hope to keep all of you informed on the latest in the Sri Lanka Media Industry.

Yes FM is playing dirty

Hi Folks! This is your favourite blogger again. Looks like the Maharaja's are upto no good. Just like them. After being blasted through the local newspapers about the unfairness of "Superstar" and the big tricks that are going on in the programme, they are attacking American Idol.

They are announcing the results of American Idol before ETV shows the results show. It is their dumb DJ's Shaq ad Mark who are upto this no good. Looks like they know that Superstar is a useless show.

Maybe the listeners of Yes FM should stop listening to this mad radio station.

Originally Posted on Tuesday April 18, 2006 - 04:12pm (IST)

AXN Changes time for "The Amazing Race 9", Art TV where is Lost

AXN has changed the time for its hit reality series "The Amazing Race 9" from Wednesday @ 7PM Sri Lankan time to Thursday @ 7PM Sri Lankan Time. The change is due to CBS America making a change.

In addition does anyone know whether Art TV is telecasting Lost. It still says comming soon on the Web Site but I have never seen any trailers. Art TV is Lost about when they are to telecast Lost.

Originally Posted on Thursday April 6, 2006 - 02:08pm (IST)

BBC increases its presence on FM in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankans can now enjoy ten hours of BBC World Service programming, thanks to a new agreement with the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). BBC output in English has increased by five hours on all SLBC national FM networks across the country in addition to programmes in Sinhala and Tamil.

BBC business development manager, Asia and Pacific region Michel Lobelle said, "I am delighted that listeners in Sri Lanka are now able to enjoy the full range of BBC programming in perfect sound quality on FM across the country. Sri Lanka is a key market for the BBC World Service and this new agreement consolidates our excellent relationship with SLBC."

SLBC chairman Sunil Sarath Perera said, "SLBC is proud to be associated with the world's leading international radio broadcaster and we look forward to building more bridges in the future."

Audiences listening in English can enjoy a broad mix of BBC programming ranging from news and current affairs to science and technology. Highlights include Newshour, which is 60 minutes of news and analysis of the day's top stories, and the interactive global news programme World Have Your Say, giving listeners an opportunity to share their views and questions on topical issues.

For sports fans, the BBC has daily hourly updates in news bulletins and Sports Round Up. Cricket enthusiasts can stay across the latest in World Cricket while football supporters tune into World Football. BBC programmes in English also tap into the world's cultural scene. The Beat is a guide to popular global music while On Screen brings the latest stories from the world of film, TV and video games.

Culture Shock looks at trends in cultural expression and Close Up gives listeners new insights into well established artistic movements.

Courtesy IndianTelevision.com

Originally Posted on Thursday April 6, 2006 - 02:00pm (IST)

ESPN & Star Sports Now on CBNSat

Hey Sports Lovers!

ESPN & Star Sports is available on CBNSat with effect from today. All the customers of CBNSat are required to call (011) 4606060 (as if you did not know their phone number) and carry out the activation. This wonderful and after this the guys over at Comet Cable will have to turn their guns only on themselves as this is certainly the boost that CBNSat needed. Now CBNSat will only have to get themselves Ten Sports, DD Sports & Zee Sports to complete an unrivalled Sports coverage. Next they better concentrate on getting Ten Sports and then adding channels like Star World & Zee Cafe, etc. Now definitely the customer base of CBNSat will grow.

Originally Posted on Friday March 24, 2006 - 02:43pm (IST)

Comet Cable Problems

In the true tradition of action movies maybe spreading into the management of Comet Cable due to the fact that they are watching too much of action movies on AXN and Star World, there have been reported incidents of armed personnel at Comet Cable Head Office. What worries us is that while all this is going on what is going to be the future of Multivision. There so called Digitalization is also been postponed due to this. There are also reports that many customers are disconnecting and moving to rival CBNSat. They are not issuing any new connections but they are reissuing the disconnected connections to new cutomers who purchase their connections without any idea of what they are getting into.

Given below is the Newspaper article that appeared on the Daily News of 15th March 2006.

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Colombo District Court reinstates Hettiarachchi Group at Multi-vision

COLOMBO: The Colombo District Judge G. A. D. Ganepola lifted the enjoining order against the Hettiarachchi Group on Friday March 10 which was obtained on June 13 last year on an ex parte basis by Chalmway Proprietary Ltd one of the shareholders of Ruhuna 2001 Multivision (Pvt.) Ltd.

The case:

Chalmway filed an action under the sections 210 and 211 of the Companies Act with the case number HC (Civil) 2/2004 (2) on the 24th of March 2004 against Multivision naming it the 1st Respondent and making all the shareholders and the directors respondents.

On the 21st April 2005 the Commercial High Court Judge A. W. A. Sallam held that the shares issued to Osni Lanka Company (Private) Limited were issued incorrectly and were annulled. The said Order has been appealed by Multivision and the Hettiarachchi Group and is currently pending in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

Chalmway Proprietary Limited of Australia took control of Multivision in July 2005 pursuant to an Enjoining Order obtained by Chalmway claiming that a new Board of Directors have been appointed and the Board of Directors controlled by the Hettiarachchi Group has ceased to exist.

Australian citizen, James Scobie and others representing Chalmway filed the said action with case number 7284 SPL in the Colombo District Court on the 27th of April 2005 stating that since the shares that were issued to Osni Lanka were annulled by the Commercial High Court Order, the remaining two shareholders, namely, Chalmway and the Southern Development Authority have passed a Special Resolution to amend the Articles of Multivision, thereby removed the Hettiarachchi Group from control of Mulitivision.

Defendants in the case, the Hettiarachchi Group, claimed that the said James Scobie has sworn to an affidavit as the Managing Director of Multivision whereas he has been working illegally in Sri Lanka on a Tourist Visa and that the matter in hand is a commercial matter hence the District Court has no jurisdiction along with their objections.

whilst dismissing the said claims, the Additional District Judge G. A. D. Ganepola held that the Enjoining Order against the Hettiarahchi Group should be dismissed with costs against the Plaintiffs. In his Order, Judge Ganepola has stated that the problem as to whether the appointment of new Directors has been duly done by amending the relevant section of the constitution of the company arises.

If the appointment of the said new Directors were not dully done, it cannot be accepted that there exists prima facie case to obtain relief prayed for in the plaint by the Plaintiffs.

In such circumstances, it is clear that by the issue of the Interim Injunction will cause a grater loss to the Defendants than the loss that may cause to the Plaintiffs by the non-issue of the Interim Injunction prayed for by the Plaintiffs.

By way of a Further Order Judge has stated that 'the relevant amendment of the Multivision constitution and all steps such as appointment of new Directors has been done based on the Final Order of the Commercial High Court case. However, the Plaintiffs have not disclosed to Court up to this moment that the Defendants have preferred an Appeal against the said Final Order of the Commercial High Court.

From this it appears that the aforesaid Order of the Commercial High Court on which the Plaintiff's case is based, is not a Final Order. Therefore, if an Interim Injunction is issued as prayed for by the Plaintiff it would result in acting on a decision which is still subjected to argument and where a final decision is not given by Court up to now.

If acted so, it may be a violation of the rights of the defendants (Hettiarachchi Group). Furthermore, on account of the said Appeal, the right of the Plaintiffs to act as Directors of Multivision is still being debated.

Therefore, I am not satisfied prima facie with regard to the legal right of the Plaintiffs to have and maintain this case and I conclude that the application of the Plaintiffs for Interim Injunction should be dismissed.

Accordingly, as it appears that the duty and the responsibility of disclosing essential and important matters have been neglected by the party of the Plaintiffs and for that reason, too, I hereby conclude that the Plaintiffs are not entitled to obtain and Interim Injunction."

S. A. Parathalingam, President's Counsel and M. U. M. Ali Sabry, Attorney-at-Law instructed by Paul Ratnayake Associates appeared on behalf of the Defendants, the Hettiarachchi Group. K. Kanagiswaran, President's Counsel and Avindra Rodrigo and Manoj Bandara, Attorneys-at-Law instructed by F. J. and G. de Saram appeared on behalf of the Plaintiffs.

Nihal Hettiarachchi, Chairman of Multivision stated that "soon after the order of the Court, we visited the Multivision premises to resume duties, but we were restrained by certain people who are currently occupying the premises including one Gerald Junkeer. Said Gerald Junkeer is not even a Director or a shareholder of Multivision, but simply a thug who has been hired by the Australians to oust us from the Company by using methods other than legal.

These people have been spending the shareholders' money of an Australian Public Company by making the shareholders believe that their Company have ownership in Multivision without informing them of the ground situation. Now the shareholders are taking action against them in Australia", he added.

It is learnt that there was a minor confrontation when Hettiarachchi and his staff attempted to move in and take control of the Company as he was entitled by the Order of the Court.

"We were threatened and a weapon was pointed at me by the thugs who were in control of the Multivision premises", Hettiarachchi added. At a previous occasion on 16th December 2004 a hand grenade was thrown at the residence of Hettiarachchi in connection to this dispute and an inquiry is still being held in this regard.

"We acquired Multivision from its ultimate owner in Canada back in 2001 when the Company was faced with a winding up action and most of the pay television channels were disconnected for non payment. In 2004, the same people who sold Multivision to us have arranged to sell the same company under its fully owned subsidiary, Chalmway, when we have made it a profitable venture and thereby defrauded our investment.

It was the new claimant for Multivision. HLT Limited of Australia, who appeared as Chalmway and filed the cases in Sri Lanka", Hettiarachchi explained to the Daily News.

"It was disheartening to see some Sri Lankans helping these Australian swindlers outside of legal procedures to defraud us, simply for a profit out of the dispute", stated Mr. Hettiarachchi who went on to say that "it is not the Australians who are not letting us go back into Multivision, but those Sri Lankans including Gerad Junkeer, who has no investment or any position whatsoever."

Currently there is another case which has been field by the Hettiarachchi Group in the Commercial High Court with the case number HC (Civil) 246/2005 (1) seeking certain reliefs including an order of court directing Rystar and Chalmway to transfer all their shares held in Multivision to the Hettiarachchi Group controlled Osni Lanka; and a permanent injunction preventing Rystar and Chalmway and/or their servants, agents and all those acting under and through them from in any way dealing and/or voting on the said shares.

The Hettiarachchi Group has filed the said action based on certain Convertible Secured Promissory Notes and corresponding Securities Pledge agreements that were issued by Rystar Communications Limited of Canada at the time of acquiring Multivision from Rystar back in 2001.

The Hettiarachchi Group has complained that Rystar and Chalmway are attempting to transfer the shares they own in Multivision to the said HLT Limited of Australia and since those shares should only be owned by Osni Lanka, the Hettiarachchi Group has requested the Court to maintain the status quo until the final determination of the matter.

Originally Posted on Thursday March 23, 2006 - 10:12am (IST)

CBNSat where is ESPN & Star Sports?

Just a few weeks ago we reported that CBNSat is advertising that ESPN & Star Sports will be launching. They said that they will be launching it by the 7th and then later said the 10th of March 2006. Well today is the 13th March 2006 and well there is nothing yet. A lot of new customers have joined them just because ESPN & Star Sports will be available. Rumours also exist that Comet Cable customers are disconnecting and joining CBNSat. CBNSat says that due to a technical problem the launch is delayed until the end of this month due to a downlinking problem. CBNSat seems to be having Technical problems always (this is actually a birth defect since they have technical problems from the start of their service). I wonder whether they are unable to maintain a service of this nature, due to incapability of their management and technical division to carry out this service. DTH is the world trend in pay television but CBNSat is making a mockery of this technology. Shouldn't CBNSat have tested the service before advertising in the media? They say "Await : More Hits, Kicks, Throws & Moves" but a further delay would only result in CBNSat getting HIT, KICKED, THROWN & MOVED. Over to the management of CBNSat for further views on this matter and explanation to the customers who have purchased connections for watching ESPN & Star Sports.

Originally Posted on Monday March 13, 2006 - 08:29am (IST)

Horrible reading on Channel One MTV - News 1st

For anyone who watches the Channel One MTV news during the weekend, is in for a real treat, at least I have seen her only on weekends . Wonder who that girl "Chandrasekaran" is, since she is the lousiest News Reader on News 1st. There is also a guy who reports with an Indian Accent. He is so annoying. There is another woman who also reports, she has no idea of pronounciation. Channel One News 1st has always had good news readers and reporters but lately standards have dropped. These people must have got their jobs due to influence. Get rid of them before people start turning Channels when they hear these people.

Originally Posted on Tuesday March 7, 2006 - 01:37pm (IST)

AXN East Asia shows Amazing Race 9

AXN East Asia commenced the broadcast of The Amazing Race Season 9 yesterday. The first day of the show took the competitors out of the country to Brazil.
AXN is available in sri lanka on LBN, Comet Cable, Multivision Cable, CBNSat.

Originally Posted on Thursday March 2, 2006 - 09:10am (IST)

ESPN & Star Sports on CBNSat

Hi Folks! Looks like CBNSat is finally going to deliver some sports action. They have been advertising through the local media that ESPN & Star Sports is coming soon. Inside sources tell me that the launch date is on 7th March 2006. With this it is certain that the subscriber base of CBNSat will grow. They will have to get channels such as Ten Sports, Star World, Star Movies, Zee Cafe, Hallmark Channel, Channel V and God TV. They will be able to add more customers when God TV comes since the christians in sri lanka will start buying CBNSat when this channel is introduced. They should also add Sony's latest channel Sony Pix which an English Movie channel due to be launched in April.

Originally Posted on Thursday March 2, 2006 - 09:06am (IST)

AXN to show Amazing Race 9, Lost, CSI latest Seasons

AXN Asia is to show the latest season of the Amazing Race with just a few hours delay as they showed Amazing Race 8 : The Family Edition. In addition AXN is to show the latest season of CSI as well as the hit show Lost. [Lost Season 1 is to be shown on Art TV in Sri Lanka].

In addition application form are available for Amazing Race Asia which is for those who are resident in Asia and these can be down loaded at www.axn-asia.com

It will be a big treat as Asians will be able to take part in a hit reality show.

AXN is available in Sri Lanka on CBN Sat, Comet Cable, LBN Cable TV, Multivision Cable TV.

Originally Posted on Thursday February 16, 2006 - 11:43am (IST)

ETV telecasts the latest season of American Idol

ETV a leading English language TV Channel in Sri Lanka is telecasting the latest season of the hit reality show American Idol with just a few hours delay.

This is the first time a local Tv channel has done this. Due to the tremendous success of the previous season which was telecast several months after the season finished in USA. Even after the viewers knew the results the show was very popular. It was more popular than the Super Star shows that are being carried out over the Maharaja Broadcasting Network since the super star show lacks originality since it is a carbon copy of the American Idol show. Superstar lacks TALENT, INTEREST & SENSE and is a waste of time and should be scrapped.

In addition the American Idol show is enjoying it's highest ratings even though it is running in its fifth season and had more viewers than the Grammy's.

Originally Posted on Thursday February 16, 2006 - 11:36am (IST)

New look CNN

CNN International did a major overhaul to it's on screen graphics on 11th February 2006. The logo position has been changed and placed on a white strip at the top left hand corner of the screen.The traditional news ticker has been replaced by a system that displays the entire news in one line. The music for the channel has also been changed.

The colour code for breaking news has also been changed to Yellow instead of their traditional red colour.

CNN International can be viewed in sri lanka via Art TV, CBN Sat, LBN Cable TV & Multivision Cable TV but not on Comet Cable.

Originally Posted on Thursday February 16, 2006 - 11:19am (IST)

Swarnavahini hops on CBNSat

Hi Folks!

Looks like Swarnavahini has begun broadcasting on CBNSat from yesterday. It seems likely that very soon CBNSat customers can say bye to their regular tv antenna if all the remaining local channels join their broadcast. Although the other E.A.P Channels are not still available via CBNSat, it is just a matter of time as they should also be available very soon. This leaves out a few more local channels to come aboard CBNSat. In addition if the CBNSat customers are to tell goodbye to their regular tv antenna, the engineering department at CBNSat should make sure that there is no disruption to tranmission. It is very sad to see that CBNSat transmission gets disrupted for rain, even though they say that it will last for only 5 to 10 minutes it usually takes longer for them to rectify and restore transmission. This is a problem that has to be addressed to by the management of CBNSat very soon. Well good luck guys!

Originally Posted on Monday January 9, 2006 - 08:47am (IST)

Rupavahini & Channel Eye on CBNSat

Hi all! It is your favourite blogger here again. First of all let me wish all of a Happy & Prosperous New Year 2006. You can be assured that we will keep you updated on the happenings in the Sri Lankan TV & Radio Industry throughout this year.

Well it is 2006 and the wonder of all wonders has happened. Whoever expected the National TV station Rupavahini and it's sister counterpart Channel Eye to hop aboard CBNSat so soon. Frankly none of us here expected it, we expected them to be last. But hats off to SLRC as this is a step in the right direction and this leaves only Maharaja's Sirasa TV, Shakthi TV, Channel One MTV then E.A.P's Swarnavahini & ETV as well as I.W.S Holdings Art TV and sattelite broadcaster TV Lanka to join in. Now I cannot think of why these stations which call themselves trendsetters in the broadcasting arena in Sri Lanka keep away from digital technology. Hopefully these remaining stations and their sister radio stations also join in very soon.

Well that's it for now. Well see you soon.

Originally Posted on Friday January 6, 2006 - 10:12am (IST)

CBNSat to launch ESPN

Hi! Everybody! This is your favourite blogger again. It is rumoured that CBNSat is to launch ESPN very soon, maybe somewhere in January 2006. It is yet to be seen whether they launch ESPN only or ESPN & Star Sports.

Well they are also discussing with Ten Sports. Although there is no such rumour about a probable launch month. If CBNSat is able to bag Ten Sports, Star Sports & ESPN then they will strike a severe blow to Comet Cable.

In addition if CBNSat is able to sign up Star World, Star Movies & Hallmark Channel, then Comet Cable can kiss the Cable business goodbye unless they speed up the launch of their Comet Digital broadcast which they initially said would be launched at the beginning of 2005.

At the moment Comet Cable has the edge over CBNSat because they have the above mentioned channels but if CBNSat is able to sign up these channels then it is bye, bye Comet Cable.

Over to the management of CBNSat & Comet Cable for their response. Anyway hope everyone of you had a wonderful Christmas, wish all of you the best for the New Year 2006.

Originally Posted on Thursday December 29, 2005 - 09:58am (IST)

MTV/MBC to import Bi Lingual Transmitters?

Hi everybody! This is your favourite blogger here. In yesterdays (05TH December 2005) edition of the Daily Mirror there was a report about MBC wanting to import Bi Lingual Transmitters. Nobody seems to be sure of what this is, but it looks like they are going to go for a technology upgrade. My guess is that they may be trying to implement a Bi Lingual Broadcast like maybe Nicam. Well the problem that has arisen is that after approval from the Defense Ministry & The SLRC looks like the Ministry of Mass Media is not giving approval. Well just like our highly educated politicians who are always interfering with the implementation of new technology they should be given a good smack on their ass for this. It is because of these uneducated rascals who are holding ministry's is that there is no way for Sri Lanka to improve.

Well hopefully they get approval and hopefully this is a technology upgrade. Hopefully they are planning to make their TV Stations Bi Lingual & Stereo. Over to the relevant ministries and the management of MTV/MBC for comments about this.


Originally Posted on Tuesday December 6, 2005 - 11:37am (IST)

Derana TV launches digital transmissions on CBNSat

Folks it is your favourite blogger here! Remember when Derana TV was lauched we requested them to commence digital broadcasts on CBNSat. Well the good news is that they have done it. From last night Derana TV was available to all CBNSat subscribers. This makes Derana TV the third local TV station to be made available on CBNSat. Well it seems that the big wigs of local TV like Swarnavahini, ETV, Sirasa, Channel One MTV, Shakthi TV, Rupavahini are still lurching around on Jurrasic Analog Technology. At the moment one of the biggest problems that CBNSat is facing with marketing it's product is the fact that they do not have the premier sports channels Ten Sports, Star Sports & ESPN.

Originally Posted on Saturday December 3, 2005 - 09:36am (IST)

Y FM Spells death blow for Classic Radio

In a move that gave Oldie Song lovers a death blow. The Maharaja Group has replaced their ever popular Classic Radio with a station called Y FM which is supposed to be targeted at the Youth and play English, Sinhala & Hindi Songs with Sinhala DJ's (Hope they know their English Music as even the English Music DJ's in Sri Lanka do not know their English Music, I can just imagine about the DJ's in Y FM).

I wonder what made the Maharaja Group make this decision as there is only one dedicated English station for Oldie songs namely Gold FM. Was Gold FM too popular for Classic Radio, were the mighty Maharaja's just too weak for Gold FM. The Maharaja Group managed to reduce their ever popular English Language TV Station MTV to only a few hours per day and now they have cut down on one of their English Radio Station's. With air time of Channel One MTV losing ground to Shakthi TV. One wonder's the fate of Yes FM. Over to the management of MTV/MBC.

Originally Posted on Friday December 2, 2005 - 09:03am (IST)

Derana TV Launched

Sri Lanka's latest TV Station Derana TV has commenced transmissions from 11th October 2005 on UHF 37 about a week after commencing test transmissions. Initially the coverage will be only for the Western Province but they will be expanded later. At present transmissions will be only for about five hours per day and it will be extended later. This is a Sinhalese language TV Station. The unfortunate point is that as the world moves into Digital Transmission, Sri Lanka keeps on launching TV Station's on the Jurassic Analogue format. This is the total fault of the politicians in this country who are not taking any steps to phase out Analogue transmission and introduce Digital Transmissions to the masses.

However the management of Derana can take some positive steps by getting CBNSat to carry the Derana TV transmissions. Over to the management of Derana and Good Luck to the management of Derana TV.

Originally Posted on Wednesday October 12, 2005 - 10:08am (IST)

CBNSat adds HBO, HBO Signature, Cinemax & Derana TV Commences Test Transmissions

In an eventful weekend in Sri Lankan Broadcasting Sri Lanka's pioneer DTH provider CBNSat has expanded it's network of channels and have added HBO, HBO Signature & Cinemax to their line up of channels.Good work Guys! Now it is upto them to give the viewers some much needed sports action by giving Ten Sports, ESPN & Star Sports. All is not well for CBNSat as there have been reports that several customers are dissatisfied over several interruptions in transmissions. They have also uplinked Raj Digital Plus and they are yet to uplink Raj TV only and it is now over 3 months since CBNsat was officially launched, I wonder why it is taking so long. Over to the management of CBNSat.

In other news Derana TV Sri Lanka's newest FTA(Free-To-Air) TV Station commenced test transmissions on UHF 37 on Oct 2nd 2005. They are broadcasting only to the Western Province. The official launch date is not yet known. I think that they are a full Sinhala TV Station and hope that our readers will tune in and help them assess their transmission quality. They also easily achieve Islandwide coverage if they join up with CBNSat. Over to the management of Derana TV.

Have a wonderful Blogging week

Originally Posted on Monday October 3, 2005 - 10:27am (IST)

CBNSat adds more channels (TNL TV, ISIRA RADIO)

Hi Folks it is your favourite blogger here.

Reliable sources say that CBNSat has uplinked Goal TV 1, Goal TV 2 & Fashion TV they have only got to uplink Raj TV & Raj Digital Plus to complete their promised channel list. They have also added all of the ABC Radio Network channels (Sun FM, Gold FM, Hiru FM, Sha FM, Sooriyan FM) to their lineup including TNL TV which has become the second TV Station to join them & ISIRA RADIO

Well we hope that they give us Ten Sports, Star Sports & ESPN as soon as possible because that is what sports starved Sri Lankans want most. Over to the management of CBNSat.

Originally Posted on Monday September 12, 2005 - 08:31am

ABC Radio, Reality TV on CBN Sat

Hi folks it is your favourite media Blogger here again. These days CBN Sat seems to be making headlines. Reliable sources tell me that Sun FM, Hiru FM & Soooriyan FM have begun transmissions on the DTH Cable TV Provider CBN Sat. with this ABC Radio is the second Radio network to go digital, but ABC's other stations such as Gold FM & Sha FM have not joined up still. I just want to know what the Maharaja's & E.A.P Edirisinghe's are going to do about this. It also seems that Reality TV has been uplinked on CBN Sat and therefore they have now to uplink Raj Digital Plus, Raj TV, Fashion TV, Goal TV 1 & Goal TV 2 from their presently advertised line up of channels. I also hear that CBN Sat has also activated about 33 Video Channels on its network. They are currently advertising 24 Video Channels this means that they will be expanding their channel lineup soon, hopefully. By the way my previous entry said that TNL Radio, Lite FM & Asura FM have to be activated, I am sorry I was wrong as they were already activated. Any subscriber of CBNSat or even the management of CBNSat are welcome to give their views on this piece of information.

Originally Posted on Monday September 5, 2005 - 08:38am (IST)

CBNSat Test Transmissions

Hey folks! CBNSat is still carrying out test transmissions on its network. They have not yet activated all of their channels. At the moment CNN,BBC,Discovery,AXN,Animal Planet, Discovery Travel & Living, National Geographic Channel, Adventure One,History Channel, MTV, VH1,Nick,Cartoon Network,Animax,Pogo,Sony,Zoom,ITN are activated.

They have to yet activate Reality TV, Goal TV 1, Goal TV 2, Raj TV, Raj Digital Plus,Fashion TV, TNL Radio, Lite Radio, Asura Radio. They are expected to activate them by the end of August or the first week of September. Hey by the way some Singer outlets have already commenced sales of CBNSat equipment.

An advertisement in a Sunday Newspaper about CBNSat indicates that there are many more channels to be added to this network. Lets just hope that they add "ESPN", "Star Sports" & "Ten Sports" soon as well as "God TV". With the addition of these sports channels CBNSat will be able to achieve a higher sales figure. Lets hope that all of the local channels will be available via their network. Over to the management of CBNSat.

Well have a great Blogging Day folks.

Originally Posted on Monday August 29, 2005 - 11:21am (IST)

Latest TV Station - Derana TV

Folks remember, I wrote a while back on a new TV Station under entry titled "New TV Channel". Well it is supposed to be called "Derana". It will be launched by the September or October this year. This Station is run by a company called PowerHouse. Well I do not know whether they have started Test Transmissions yet. Let's just wait and see what these guys provide us with. I wish to welcome the management of Derana to give their comments on what we can expect from them.

Originally Posted on Monday August 29, 2005 - 10:38am (IST)

New Radio & TV Network

There are reports of a new Radio Station called Neth FM commencing broadcasts in Sri Lanka, initially they will start off a Sinhala Language Station and then later begin English & Tamil Stations. They have also acquired the license to broadcast a TV station and have become the first to be given a digital tv license. But Alas the duds are to begin broadcasts in an Analog format and then upgrade to digital. How foolish of them to begin in Analog & then move to Digital maybe they have enough money to throw around. They are hoping to begin TV transmissions by the end of this year or early next year. I would like to inform them to begin in digital straight away or begin with Digital & Analog and begin the new trend of Terrestial Digital broadcasts DVB-T. They will definitely be able to make a big impact in Sri Lanka. Well let those who have eyes read and understand. This makes the number of Tv stations to be opened in Sri Lanka to 2.

Originally Posted on Monday August 15, 2005 - 10:39am (IST)

TNL Radio Network on CBN Sat

The TNL Radio Network consisting of TNL Radio, Lite Radio & Asura Radio have become Sri Lanka's first radio network to broadcast on a digital platform. They have accomplished this by joining up with CBN Sat. I think CBN Sat is doing a great job promoting Digital broadcast platform in Sri Lanka. Hopefully the others in the market will also join them soon.

Originally Posted on Monday August 15, 2005 - 10:26am (IST)

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

ITN Hooks up with CBN Sat

Sorry, I have been away for some time. Great News ITN Sri Lanka's pioneer TV Broadcaster is now broadcasting a full digital signal via CBN Sat. This will make it the first local broadcaster to go digital. Rupavahini which was planning to go digital for some time has lost a great opportunity. Since all the local broadcasters are invited to broadcast through CBN Sat. We have to wait & see what the big wigs at Swarnavahini [E.A.P] and the Sirasa's [Maharaja] are ging to do. They also better join in this digital revolution otherwise they will be left stranded and stuck with Jurrasic technology.

Originally Posted on Friday July 29, 2005 - 08:23am (IST)

CBN Sat & Singer to make Cable more affordable

CBN Sat Sri Lanka's latest digital Cable TV Channel is to make it's connections available through Singer Sri Lanka Limited which will make Cable TV more affordable. This will mean that we will be able to purchase CBN Sat on a monthly installment basis and since their monthly subscriptions are relatively cheap compared with Comet Cable it should come upto to a fair deal in terms of pricing.

The biggest drawback in CBN Sat is it's limited choice in terms of Channels, which means that Comet Cable still offers the best in terms of choice. CBN Sat has limited itself to only GOAL TV1 & GOAL TV 2 whereas Comet Cable provides Ten,ESPN & Star Sports. CBN Sat may be able to successfully promote itself among a wide range of income groups with the monthly scheme as the Cable[Wire] based Systems are slow in their expansion and also CBN Sat uses DVB Technology they will be able to attract even more customers if they are able to provide the full choice that Comet Cable provides.

CBN Sat says that they have invited the major broadcasters to join them, we hope that this will become a reality very soon.The sales through Singer Sri Lanka which was due to be available from 1st July has now been postponed to the middle of August and we hope that Singer will make the monthly scheme affordable, accessible to the common man without having very high criteria for buying through their monthly scheme.

We would also like to encourage CBN Sat to include some religious channels in their broadcast line up including some Hindu Channel, Catholic Channel, Christian Channel such as God TV. This will enable you to attract more customers.

Hope that the authorities at CBN Sat will be able to shed more information and we welcome comments from them.

Have a wonderful Blogging Day

Originally Posted on Friday July 15, 2005 - 02:35pm (IST)

Comet Cable to go Digital

Comet Cable Sri Lanka's first Cable TV Operator which uses wireless technology is about to commence Digital broadcasts that will give them a greater capacity of channels. After the digitization is completed they will be able to carry over 60 channels [actual figures are yet to be confirmed] and the expansion will be in several phases. This digitisation plan is mentioned on Comet Cable's web site but sadly it has been around for a few months now and when an inquiry is made they say it is on hold yet. We hope this becomes a reality very soon.

Since Comet Cable's Analog System is not very much affordable to the common man we hope that their digital broadcasts will at least be more affordable and not priced for the upper class only. Hope that the authorities at Comet Cable will be able able to shed more light on this issue. Be sure that this blog will keep you updated as things unravel on the broadcasting arena.

Originally Posted on Friday July 15, 2005 - 02:09pm (IST)

Channel One MTV - Schedule, Full Day & Sound

Just like to inform Channel One MTV to do some major changes to their line up.

Have a full day broadcast. Do not broadcast Shakthi TV & Channel One on one frequency as MTV is only available in the morning for two hours and then after 9:00PM. Get Channel One on a seperate frequency and then there will be more popularity. Commence the transmissions of BBC World once the full day broadcast is initiated. The Simpson's is shown at 11:00PM whereas She Spies with provacatively dressed women is shown at 10:00PM. Wonder which can be watched by children.

You guys show great movies at times, but keep up the good work. A full day or 24 hour broadcast would be ideally and then you can say "ONE IS ENOUGH, TWO AND THREE MEAN NOTHING".

Please integrate NICAM Stereo also into broadcasting sound and give us a full stereo experience.

Please comment on this and others raised in this blog.

Thank You for your time Sir,

Originally Posted on Thursday July 14, 2005 - 03:18pm (IST)

Rupavahini to go Digital

Great News Rupavahini is going Digital. A recent report on Wired which is shown every first sunday on ETV carried a report that Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation is going Digital. They expect to carry out digital transmission by the end of this year. User's will have to make use of a Set Top Box which will enable them to receive these transmission's. TV's enabled with digital receptions will not require the Set Top Box. Rupavahini Authorities I hope will give us more information using this Blog.

The question is what are the other TV Station's doing like the mighty corporate hands of the Maharaja's and the E.A.P Edirisinghe's.

The Government should draft up a plan to phase out Analog Transmission as it is happening in the rest of the world. It should be easier as in Sri Lanka there are comparatively fewer TV Stations compared to other countries and it should be done soon wihtout any political wrangling.

Originally Posted on Thursday July 14, 2005 - 02:32pm (IST)

TV & Radio Station's in Sri Lanka & Technology Used

We have 11 TV Channels in Sri Lanka

Rupavahini [Nicam Dual/Stereo]
Channel Eye
Channel One MTV
Shakthi TV
Sirasa TV
Swarnavahini
ETV

Art TV [FM Stereo]
ITN
TV Lanka
TNL

Only Art TV is a full time Stereo TV Station and Rupavahini broadcasts in Stereo for only selected programme’s and not all dubbed programmes are in Dual Language, they do not make full use of the technology available to them. All the other TV Stations broadcast on MONO.
Even though new TV’s with Nicam Stereo/Dual facility and FM Stereo facility have penetrated the market no one else has thought of upgrading sound in their braodcasts. Even though Art TV is Stereo it is not always clear and there can be more that can be done to improve it. But Rupavahini whenever they broadcast in NICAM STEREO it is always clear.

We have a few Wireless Cable TV Channels most of which are too expensive for the common man to make use of.

Comet Cable
CBN Sat

The only Cable TV that can be afforded by the common man is LBN Cable TV and it is available only in Colombo. There is a Cable TV in Wattala and Negombo but they are expanding very very slowly and are concentrating only on highly residential areas.

LBN cable TV is using a Cable based system and so is the cable tv available in Wattala and Negombo.

I was told at the beginning of this year that in 4 months I will have cable, but now they say that I have to wait until next year.

We have only two full time English Channels ETV and Art TV. Channel One MTV broadcasts only for 2 hours in the morning and is then replaced by Shakthi TV [a full Tamil Language Tv Station] and then resumes transmission after 9:00PM. Channel One MTV has not even thought of having a seperate frequency and going for a full day broadcast.

We have a lot of FM stereo radio stations, the English one’s are

E FM
YES FM
SUN FM
TNL RADIO
LITE FM
CLASSIC FM
GOLD FM
SLBC English Service

The standard of English in these stations are not up to the standard. SLBC which maintained a very high standard but this too has slumped.

News reading in these stations is like 5 to 10 minutes of comedy.

They have to pull up their socks.

Originally Posted on Thursday July 14, 2005 - 08:54am (IST)

Introduction

I am maintaining this blog to highlight what is happening in the broadcasting industry in Sri Lanka and campaining for the introduction of better quality sound and video broadcasting. So please join me in the quest to improve the face of entertainment in Sri Lanka. This Blog will also give Applaud a Job well done as well as Crticise the ones who do not perform upto standard. It will also give out tips that TV & Radio Stations should take note of. Any E Mails should be addressed to tvradiosrilanka@yahoo.com. I prefer posted comments though. You can call me TvRadioSriLanka.

Originally Posted on Thursday July 14, 2005 - 08:50am (IST)