Friday, July 24, 2009

Channel Number 7 is "Nat Geo Wild" and more on the "trial" saga

Nat Geo Wild is expected to officially launch on Sunday July 26th on Dialog TV completing the marathon weekly channel launch. With this channel there is just one more slot in Dialog TV 4th transponder for a channel. Some channels such as SET Asia, AXN Beyond Asia, BBC Entertainment & Disney Channels which were expected have not made it onto the platform as yet but we hope that Dialog will take steps to bring them on in the near future.

As mentioned before just one more channel can be added to Dialog TV and then for further expansion they will either have to secure another transponder or will have to go 100% MPEG4. The latter looks to be the option that Dialog is pursuing since they started replacing MPEG2 decoders with MPEG4 ones from last year.

It just maybe that the only slot remaining on Dialog TV maybe for "Prime TV" that is to be launched by ITN in the near future. However we are unable to confirm this.

We have also received information that the word "trial" that was used in the advertisement indicating the launch of Fox FX last week, was to indicate that Fox FX will be available FOC for all packages until December 2009 (either upto the 25th or 31st) and thereafter it will continue to be available FOC for Value Plus Rs 1949/= package only but will be available only as a SET Plan for the other packages. We hope that those who are using packages such as Super 700, ect can confirm whether they are able to watch Fox FX at the moment. We believe that this week's channel Nat Geo Wild may also be on trial for all packages until a specified date too.

With Nat Geo Wild the number of educational channels on Dialog TV increases. Now Dialog TV will have to speed up the MPEG4 changeover and add some of the above mentioned channels with more Tamil Language channels. They should also look at alternative revenue sources with unobtrusive advertising on selected channels without damaging the viewing experience so that channels can be increased with out increasing package rates.

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

Nat Geo Wild Asia - http://www.ngwild.com/

Fox FX Asia - http://www.fxtvasia.com/

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Fox FX on trial?

Last sunday the advertisement indicating the launch of Fox FX television channel had a condition for Rs 1949/= package holders. It indicating that this channel is added free for the Rs 1949/= but will be on trial until December 31st 2009.

So what does this trial mean? Either Dialog may discontinue with the channel after December 31st depending on its popularity or there will be a Millionaires Package which will include this channel free of charge ultimately moving this channel to the new package. So what Dialog will end up doing is yet to be seen and we will find out soon enough. There is still one more channel to be revealed, and it will be out this Sunday and if that channel also carries the same condition then the case towards a higher priced package will become stronger. However lets not jump into conclusions here.

The new educational channel Nenasa TV will not be revealed to subscribers since it is only for schools. It is great that Dialog TV is becoming a major player in the education industry by incorporating distance education facilities.

We hope that Dialog will look for alternative sources of income like advertising, ect without reducing the user experience instead of increasing package rates which are already high.

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


Sunday, July 19, 2009

6th channel is "FX"

The sixth channel to be launched by Dialog TV is FX. This channel is part of the Fox channels in Asia. This channel will be available on the Rs 1949/= package. The channel will be activated on 19th July 2009. Please keep us updated on the latest as the days progress.

Posted via Yahoo GO!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Zee Tamil.. Channel No 5

According to reports reaching us, Dialog TV seem to have uplinked Zee Tamil but will be releasing it to subscribers from this sunday onwards. Zee Tamil which is the tamil channel associated with Zee Networks that operates Zee Cinema, Zee TV, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, ect launched this channel back in October 2008.

This will be the third Tamil channel on the Dialog TV network and we believe that it will contribute positively to Dialog TV in terms of sale among Tamil Language viewers. However a channel such as Sun TV would have had a better impact but we believe that due to a certain organisation in Sri Lanka that has access to Sun TV broadcast rights, none of the local pay television networks such as Dialog TV, LBN & PEO TV are able to broadcast Sun TV on their network. We will do a seperate post on this on our blogs later.

Zee Tamil is the second Tamil channel by Zee Networks after the first was closed down several years ago according to what Zee has termed "lack of content".

We are not sure what package this channel has been allocated however this seems to be channel no 5. That leaves just two more channels to come on board. In addition there are rumors that local channel "Max TV" will launch on 10th July on the Dialog TV platform.

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

Zee Tamil Website : http://www.zeetamizh.com/

Sunday, July 5, 2009

4th channel Learn TV

It looks like Learn TV is part of the 7 channel line up. This weeks addition according to the Sunday Observer is Learn TV. This channel is available FOC until September 30th. Thereafter the channel will be added to the Rs 1949/= package and available as a SET Plan for other packages.

Posted via Yahoo GO!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Learn TV now on Dialog

Sri Lanka's first educational channel is now available on Dialog TV according to reports received by us. The channel was being tested by Dialog TV for a few weeks now. Since Learn TV is already on air, it means that Learn TV may not be part of the 7 exclusive channels that are to be launched on Dialog TV.

This leaves us all wondering what is the next channel on Dialog TV. We hope that Learn TV will be able to cater to the educational needs of the children in Sri Lanka. We are not sure to which package this channel will be added but it is most likely that it will be open for all packages initially.

Please keep us updated on the latest developments regarding Dialog TV as the days progress and keep us informed of the channels that may be expected on Dialog TV in the future.