Network Insight Institute

Digital TV growth and policy

This seminar discussed the likely changes to digital TV business strategy and official policy.  It was about how to increase services and audiences for both subscription and free TV.   It looked at the policy and regulatory decisions affecting the players.

SESSION 1 (9:30-11:15):  PROGRESS ON DIGITAL UPTAKE, INQUIRIES, REGULATION
Tim O'Keefe/Ian McGarrity, Digital Broadcasting Australia slides
Giles Tanner, General Manager, Australian Communications and Media 
Authority notes
Ian McGill, Parnter, Allens Arthur Robinson slides
- How many households have digital now, and what are the uptake trends, challenges and demographics?
- Frequency allocations for digital: how will they work now, and from 2008 onwards?
- Regulatory update: ACMA activity plus the recent and pending government announcements.
- What impact will the ACCC have on the new industry structure?

SESSION 2 (11:45-1:00): SUBSCRIPTION TV ISSUES
Kim Williams, CEO, FOXTEL slides
Deanne Weir, Group Director Corporate Development & Legal Affairs, Austar slides
- Marketing and digitalisation progress and plans
- Sporting rights and anti-siphoning rules
- Opportunities for new program and advertising channels, formats, strands.
- Strategies for embracing the emerging broadband and wireless platforms

SESSION 3 (2:00 - 3:30): FREE TV ISSUES
Julie Eisenberg, Head of Policy, Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) notes
Chris North, Managing Director, Wattle Park Partners
Julie Flynn, CEO, Free TV Australia
- Marketing and digitalisation progress and plans
- When and how should analogue be switched off, and what should happen to the spectrum released?
- Program production, funding, plans, strands, opportunities
- Prospects for multi-channelling and multi-platform delivery

SESSION 4 (4:00 - 5:30): NEW PLATFORMS (eg. triple play, IPTV, DVB-H, 3G)
Will Berryman, Vice President, Technology, Strategy and Operations, Technicolor Network Services notes
Scott Davies, CEO, Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group slides
Kim Anderson, COO, Southern Star Entertainment
- How do the new concepts such as mobile video and triple-play fit in with broadcast TV?
- Progress with the technologies and consumer equipment, including MPEG4, PVRs, EPGs, 3G, DVB-H
- New distribution systems including 3G, DVB-H and IPTV
- What does all this means for program production?

Previous Network Insight seminars
Digital rights: management and co-operation (2004)
Reviewing the progress of digital TV (2004)
Digital free to air TV: getting serious (2003) 
Interactive TV and datacasting (2001)

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