Bell TV: New Channels

[bigoranget]

Are people living outside these communities actually getting these channels? Seems weird that Bell TV blocks viewers from channels in smaller cities/towns such as Lloydminster, Terrace, Dawson Creek yet these channels would be open nationally.

[Bluenoser]

Are people living outside these communities actually getting these channels? Seems weird that Bell TV blocks viewers from channels in smaller cities/towns such as Lloydminster, Terrace, Dawson Creek yet these channels would be open nationally.

Yep...getting all of them down here in Nova Scotia. Didn't take long for Bell to uplink CFTV, their signal went up yesterday afternoon...though you might be better off going with the sked from CFTV's website than what's on Bell's on-screen guides as the daytime line-up is quite different from what the on-sceen guides indicate...at 7:30am Eastern this morning, what was listed as Get Smart actually ended up being a Three Stooges short...late-night line-ups appear to match up, based on last night.

[Bluenoser]

Bell is adding another South Asian network this morning...Zee TV Canada launches on 679 at 10am ET. Zee TV programming was previously carried by ATN's main channel (which also aired Star Plus programming; ATN dropped Zee's programs last month, opting to stay with Star Plus as running programming from 2 channels was causing ATN to miss out on some programming from both services). Zee will be in Free Preview through March 27th.

[CDN Viewer]

ATN dropped Zee's programs last month, opting to stay with Star Plus as running programming from 2 channels was causing ATN to miss out on some programming from both services).

Actually, its the other way around, Zee TV dropped ATN and opted to sign a distribution deal with Ethnic Channels Group instead.

http://www.zeetvcanada.ca/press.php

[musimax]

Actually, its the other way around, Zee TV dropped ATN and opted to sign a distribution deal with Ethnic Channels Group instead.

http://www.zeetvcanada.ca/press.php

The thing is both sides are saying something different. ATN says they opted to drop Zee TV because they couldn't accommodate both Star Plus and Zee TV on one channel appropriately.

ATN's licensing agreement for rights to the ZEE TV Hindi programming expires on 31 January, 2013. It would have automatically renewed but is not being renewed following ATN's decision not to do so. The US affiliate of ZEE was notified of that decision on October 28, 2012.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1103...nges-to-follow

[CDN Viewer]

The thing is both sides are saying something different. ATN says they opted to drop Zee TV because they couldn't accommodate both Star Plus and Zee TV on one channel appropriately.

I think its fairly obvious that Zee dumped ATN, it looks like the two had a falling out and ATN is trying to putting their own spin on the situation. ATN has had programming from Zee TV for over 10 years, now all of a sudden they decide to ditch them?! Zee TV is one of the most popular networks in India, it makes no sense to sever ties with them, the only logical explanation is that Zee decided to move to Ethnic Channels, who probably offered them a better deal. The two companies only recently partnered up and already ECG has launched 6 Zee branded channels (including Zee TV Canada), pretty impressive if you ask me.

ATN added content from Star Plus in October 2006 which means they have had programming from both Zee TV & Star Plus on their channel for over 5 years. Now all of a sudden, they are saying that they couldn't accommodate programming from both on one channel, sorry not buying it. There was nothing preventing ATN from moving the content from one of the two networks onto it's own separate channel, they operate over 30 channels so they clearly have no problem getting providers to carry their services.

[musimax]

I think its fairly obvious that Zee dumped ATN, it looks like the two had a falling out and ATN is trying to putting their own spin on the situation. ATN has had programming from Zee TV for over 10 years, now all of a sudden they decide to ditch them?! Zee TV is one of the most popular networks in India, it makes no sense to sever ties with them, the only logical explanation is that Zee decided to move to Ethnic Channels, who probably offered them a better deal. The two companies only recently partnered up and already ECG has launched 6 Zee branded channels (including Zee TV Canada), pretty impressive if you ask me.

ATN added content from Star Plus in October 2006 which means they have had programming from both Zee TV & Star Plus on their channel for over 5 years. Now all of a sudden, they are saying that they couldn't accommodate programming from both on one channel, sorry not buying it. There was nothing preventing ATN from moving the content from one of the two networks onto it's own separate channel, they operate over 30 channels so they clearly have no problem getting providers to carry their services.

I'd be more inclined to believe ATN here. ATN is providing clear specifics about what happened. I haven't seen anything about Zee TV specifically saying that they were the ones that decided not to renew the programming deal. The only thing so far I've read is some vague statements about "cutting ties" and "outgrowing the relationship" with ATN. That sounds like spin-wording to me. ATN is actually saying they pulled the cord and the reasons why, giving very specific details.

We don't know the specifics as to why ATN dropped Zee TV. Zee TV may be the most popular in India, but Star Plus programming may actually do better here on ATN, maybe Zee was asking too much for their content, maybe Zee really wanted ATN to drop SP programming and rebrand solely as Zee TV but ATN wasn't willing to accept that, especially for their flagship channel, even though SP and Zee have been on ATN for over 5 years but with a growing popularity for Star Plus, it was starting to become harder and harder for ATN to schedule the content appropriately. I mean, who knows the reasons why, those are just some hypothetical situations, but all we do know is that ATN says they couldn't accommodate both appropriately.

[Bluenoser]

When I posted the original info, I was going by what ATN was saying on their website...didn't know there was a "he said, she said" between ATN and Ethnic Channels Group. The promos on Zee TV Canada do mention ATN (as does the website). From what I've seen so far, the bulk of programming appears to be in Punjabi with some Hindi content. And also a fair bit of US advertising (similar to ARY Digital) with program promos geared to ET (and in Zee's case, PT).

[Bluenoser]

After about a month of a coming soon slide, CIHC Hay River went up earlier today on ch 649...bulletin board airing now (audio from Galaxie's New Country channel).

[Bluenoser]

From what I've seen so far, the bulk of programming appears to be in Punjabi with some Hindi content. And also a fair bit of US advertising (similar to ARY Digital) with program promos geared to ET (and in Zee's case, PT).

Update on Zee TV Canada...station is now primarily broadcasting in Hindi (serials and movies air w/English subtitles). All Punjabi programming appears to have been dropped.

[CDN Viewer]

4 years after they dropped its predecessor (Speed), Bell will be adding Fox Sports Racing to their lineup on July 12.

It will be available on Free preview from July 12 - August 12, on Ch. 1421 (HD only) for both Satellite and Fibe TV.

[TOM_T]

I hope they add more then just Fox Sports Racing. I hope they add more regular channels either then sports & ethnic channels?

[bigoranget]

I hope they add more then just Fox Sports Racing. I hope they add more regular channels either then sports & ethnic channels?

My guess is Bell is at a brick wall when it comes to available bandwidth. I would also assume their legacy MPEG-2 hardware is approaching end-of-life and they will likely start to eliminate any MPEG-2 services (Most of which have an MPEG-4 HD equivalent). Shaw Broadcast has been doing this for a number of years.

[InMontreal]

I hope they add more then just Fox Sports Racing. I hope they add more regular channels either then sports & ethnic channels?

Reality, english-language canadian specialties reached a peak sometime 2010-2015, now we just have too many zombie or semi-zombie channels, which are doomed for closure when they'll no longer make financial sense to their respective owner (huge subscriptions lost, dropped from cable, below 0$ profit margins, etc.).

My guess is Bell is at a brick wall when it comes to available bandwidth. I would also assume their legacy MPEG-2 hardware is approaching end-of-life and they will likely start to eliminate any MPEG-2 services (Most of which have an MPEG-4 HD equivalent). Shaw Broadcast has been doing this for a number of years.

But Bell satellite has to eventually go forward with replacing MPEG-2-only hardware with MPEG-4 compatible ones, and eliminate SD simulcasts, they'll need the bandwidth for 4K channels or any popular international channel.
Satellite is doomed for its lack of bidirectionality, not allowing services like CraveTV, Netflix, or any other on-demand video content to individual customers.

[bigoranget]

I'll be surprised if 4K content ever makes it to Satellite in any real capacity. I think HD is about the best it's going to get. Satellite still has a marketplace because there is plenty of areas not serviced by land based service providers. Not sure long term that there needs to be two providers. When I mentioned MPEG-2 end of life hardware I'm referring two headend and consumer equipment so yes, Bell would need to swap out hardware. I believe they are already doing this when MPEG-2 receivers fail.

[CDN Viewer]

I hope they add more then just Fox Sports Racing. I hope they add more regular channels either then sports & ethnic channels?

I agree with InMontreal, most specialty channels (this includes American ones as well) these days are watered down junk that have lost their niche and don't really offer unique programming. The CRTC is to blame for allowing the big conglomerates to buy up everything (Bell & Corus own the majority of specialty channels and ALL of the most popular ones except perhaps Sportsnet which Rogers owns). The result is watered down lineups, programming being spread across multiple channels and schedules that appear more designed to binge watchers then traditional TV viewers. I understand that advertisers covet the younger generation but they do most of their viewing online, the majority of regular TV viewers are older (the ones who grew up with it). I often wonder who is charge of programming some of these specialty channels- is it a person or is it all automated and done by some computer in some basement somewhere. The programming is lazy- too many repeats, too many programming strips where they air multiple episodes of the same show over and over again for hours and not enough variety.

Regarding new channels- what is left to add that they don't currently carry?! Fox Sports Racing was a big one IMO and it is being added soon. Aside from that, there aren't any other quality channels left that they don't carry. They could add a few more ethnic channels but bandwidth issues might not allow that and also the fact that most viewers of these channels live in urban areas and likely subscribe to Fibe TV which carries hundreds of ethnic channels.

My guess is Bell is at a brick wall when it comes to available bandwidth.

They can free up lots of bandwidth if they follow Shaw Direct and convert everything over to MPEG-4 AND get rid of the SD channels. I don't understand the reason why broadcasters continue to operate 2 feeds of the same channel, especially in this day and age when technology is advancing at a rapid rate. The industry has moved on to 4K (or even 6K) and these guys are still operating in SD. You can longer purchase an SD television so why keep broadcasting in this archaic technology?! The problem with Bell is they don't care about satellite, their focus is on Fibe TV which is evident in the lack of investment in satellite and constant investment in Fibe. I think one of the reasons for this is that Fibe is predominant in urban areas where they can bundle services together and it allows them to offer additional internet based services like Netflix.

[CDN Viewer]

Satellite is doomed for its lack of bidirectionality, not allowing services like CraveTV, Netflix, or any other on-demand video content to individual customers.

Dish in the USA offers On demand content and also has a Netflix app. Canadian services could offer something similar but they would need to upgrade their receivers and would likely require customers to have their receivers constantly plugged into the phone line to deliver on demand services.

[InMontreal]

I'll be surprised if 4K content ever makes it to Satellite in any real capacity. I think HD is about the best it's going to get.

I presume Bell will want to release a 4K satellite terminal and offer only TSN4K Ontario as a source to some regional cable providers.

Went to Best Buy recently, all they have are 4K TV sets. I brought my current LG HDTV 32" 720p for 800$+tx 10 years ago during a 2009 Superbowl promo. Today, I could buy a 55" 4KTV for 500$. But I'll wait a few more months for the new models with integrated ATSC 3 tuner, recently approved.