For those who do not want "CiTi HiTz" - get it deactivated or pay

Today is the last day that CiTi HiTz will be available free of charge and those of you who do not want the channel will have to call Dialog TV and get it disconnected tomorrow or the SET plan that contains "CiTi HiTz" will be activated automatically tomorrow.

Normally the process should be to call and get the channel activated but there is a twist in the process regarding "CiTi HiTz" probably since Dialog thinks that it is extremely popular which would result in Dialog TV customer care being inundated with calls for CiTi HiTz activation. However the other might prove quite true for Dialog. "CiTi HiTz" telecasts old stale teledrama's and not many movies or no movies at all and is an utter disappointment. For a channel that boasts of following international channels such as HBO there is a long way to go. However "Channel C" is proving to be more popular. On the long run if there is no major improvement with "CiTi HiTz" the channel will have to be discontinued. Now lets see if there is any improvement with "CiTi HiTz" once they start getting subscription revenues however so far the channel has shown no reason why it should be paid subscription to be watched.

The Dialog TV bill for the month of March gives an indication that the CiTi HiTz rental of Rs 50/= will be charged automatically unless disconnected by request. The request is also not a simple process and has been made as complicated as possible to discourage subscribers from requesting removal of "CiTi HiTz". Subscribers who have requested for CiTi HiTz removal over the weekend have been informed that the request is possible only on April 1st and thereafter. Upon request the channel will apparently be available until end of April and the agent will issue a complain number requesting for Rs 50/= refund on the bill. It is however not clear whether the customer will have to call at the end of April and initiate a complain requesting for a refund of Rs 50/= or whether this will be done at the time of requesting for removal of "CiTi HiTz".

This is "Dialog TV - The Future Today" way of doing it when it comes to an unpopular channel and is quite contrary to the way that "Dialog GSM - The Future Today" does business. We hope that Mr. Nushad CEO of Dialog TV and Dr. Hans CEO of Dialog Telekom and officials of Telekom Malaysia take note of what is happening right under their noses and hopefully will not turn a blind eye to these developments. It is hard to image that something like this is happening under companies managed by these esteemed individuals in Sri Lankan Corporate circles.

In addition "CiTi HiTz" was introduced after the removal of Animax (a channel available FOC for certain packages) and "Channel C" was introduced upon removal of Zee Music (a channel available FOC for certain packages). The replacement channels are to be charged for in almost all packages as SET plans. Dialog should provide suitable free replacements for Animax and Zee Music (according to the packages that the channels were available in originally) or reintroduce the channels ASAP.

The recent happenings at Dialog TV indicate that the management of Dialog TV is not capable of handling their operations and it is upto Dialog Telekom to take steps to replace the individuals concerned.

In other news we have reliable information that Dialog TV are testing MPEG4 internally but they have not formulated any rollout plans as yet.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.

Increasing capacity a priority to include upcoming channels

Information coming out of this region suggests that more English General Entertainment channels are slated to be launched very soon. Universal USA, Sci FI channel are planning to uplink two English Entertainment Channels from India & Reliance has also applied for permission to uplink an English General Entertainment Channel plus a movie channel. In view of these recent developments Dialog TV should take steps to increase capacity on its platform so that these channels can be included soon after launch and not one or two years later since these channels are capable of giving Star World and Zee Cafe a run for their money. These channels are expected to follow a model of launching programmes soon after they are premiered in USA since Star World & Zee Cafe generally broadcast programmes after they have completed running in the USA. Zee Cafe at the moment is launching a few programmes on par with the American broadcasters but most programmes on the upcoming channels is expected to be broadcast on par with American broadcasters. Dialog should at least start negotiating with these channel providers prior to their launch when they publicise their launch dates.

In other news it seems that TP3 is experiencing heavy pixelation owing to adding channels far above the recommended levels.

"Channel C" will be available to all packages free of charge until May 31st and CiTi HiTz will cost extra from 1st April. The wisest thing Dialog TV can do is to include these channels FOC in some packages such as the high priced packages.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.

Time to prepare for competition

After years and years of stagnation in the pay television industry it looks like the pay television market in Sri Lanka will get into full swing with the impending launch of SLT IPTV and also a probable launch of Airtel's DTH service which may be launched by next year in Sri Lanka once Airtel launches their mobile service as well and after they launch the DTH service in India.

So it seems that Dialog have their work cut out for them with these operators hoping to grab a foothold in the pay television market in Sri Lanka. If the mobile industry is anything to go by then it can be safely said that Dialog works best when there is intense competition. No one can say for certain whether that level of competition will ever come to the pay television industry however any level of competition is required to get things moving.

Dialog have to seriously review the way they operate their DTH service and make improvements unless they have a wish to get thrashed by the competition. People who are capable and have experience in handling a venture of this nature should be consulted and if required must replace existing personnel.

There is little doubt that "Channel C" will do better than "CiTi HiTz" and will become a good marketing tool to sell these connections to those who are not so interested in English Language programming. Dialog should immediately take steps to make "Channel C" and "CiTi HiTz" available to all packages at no extra cost otherwise the objectives of these channels will be lost.

Except a few Hindi Channels there is not point of the other Hindi channels, so after retaining Hindi movie channels the others like "SET", "Zee TV", "Star Plus", etc should be removed and replaced with a few more Tamil & English channels. Transponders are costly and these channels are only wasting the transponder space on the platform. Dialog is not marketing to India and Indian content providers are trying to shove their content down our throats and this should be avoided at all cost.

It seems that the pixelation problem on HBO channels is still continuing and hopefully Dialog is looking into this matter and will sort it out soon. It is time for Dialog to take this service into the next level if they want to prepare themselves for the coming onslaught.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.

"Channel C" launches today

The latest channel on the Dialog TV platform and also Sri Lanka's first 24X7 Sinhala Music Channel will be launching today officially after replacing Zee Music temporarily a few days ago. Zee Music is expected to be reintroduced later on.

We are not sure on which package this channel will be included and charging extra like they plan to do for "CiTi HiTz" from the end of this month is not a wise idea. However Dialog TV may give "Channel C" free of charge for a period of at least 3 months. This channel may prove to be more popular than "CiTi HiTz" if handled properly. It is yet to be seen if Dialog TV will give "CiTi HiTz" free for any of the existing packages after March 31st.

In other news HBO pixelation problem is still continuing and the removal of the EPG data stream, if it was done to improve picture quality has not worked. We hope that this problem is sorted out soon since this is a premier package channel and people pay more to watch these channels.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.

More on "Channel C" - TV Radio Sri Lanka Blog

"Channel C" on test

The test transmissions of the first 24X7 Sinhala Language Music television channel commenced on Dialog TV from last evening. This channel replaces Zee Music temporarily until transponder space is increased enabling Dialog TV to reintroduce Zee Music. "Channel C" is expected to launch officially on 10th March 2008.

This channel is expected to follow formats adopted by international music channels such as MTV and VH1. It also seems that Dialog TV have disabled the EPG on HBO in order to increase the bandwidth to that channel so that pixelation may be reduced. We are not sure whether this has been of any help and those of you who have HBO in their package could update us on whether there has been any improvement.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.

4th TP Launch postponement

The launch of the 4th TP of Dialog TV has been postponed along with the launch of new channels. MPEG4 will be launched but may take a few more months. However rumors indicate that some new channels may come to existing transponders. However this will only result in the further cramping of TP3 which has some 20 channels due to moving "Ranaroo" and "Shruthi" when TP4 was turned off.

In addition the pixelation problem on HBO is still not sorted out and subscribers continue to have pixelation problems on HBO channels. The EPG of HBO is still not available and even though the EPG of other channels is now loading faster it seems that the programme descriptions on the EPG has reduced due to the laziness of people who are entering data to the EPG. Hopefully these are rectified.

There is no sign of "Channel C" which was due to replace "Zee Music" temporarily. With SLT IPTV due to launch in May it is good news indeed as companies like Dialog only perform well when there is increased competition from others. So it is now time for Dialog TV to perform better or else SLT IPTV will come up with strategies to lure Dialog TV subscribers onto their platform.

Please keep us updated on the latest on Dialog TV as the days progress.