Competition for Dialog DTH from IPTV

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With SLT IPTV running teasers over the media such as "What about tomorrow - wait for a better option than satellite tv" and with Dialog TV answering that in an advertisement saying "even tomorrow - the future is today".

All this is marketing but then there is the real thing whether SLT IPTV will be the next phenomenon in Sri Lanka is yet to be seen.However Dialog will not have it easy now since for the last one year being the sole pay television provider to cover the entire island, Dialog TV did not perform as expected but now with competition this will have to change since the people are now getting choices.

Under competition Dialog Telekom has always done well but then Dialog TV is a totally different thing altogether. Dialog cannot wait for ages to introduce a new channel they should be able to do it as soon as the channel is launched in addition all this pixelation, etc will have to be sorted out and subscription rates should be reduced.

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SLT IPTV is now running teasers over radio, television and the print media about the impending launch of their subscription service. The teasers run as "What about tomorrow - wait for a better option than satellite tv" and several variations of that.

SLT IPTV can be expected to launch this month or next since the promotions have already started. A new pay television service is indeed good for the country since it will lead to more competition and reduced rates (hopefully).

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Two years since that fateful day.

Exactly two years ago when Dialog TV was known as CBNsat the entire station was abruptly shutdown at approximately between 9pm and 9:15pm on June 6th while many of its users were using the service. The shutdown resulted in a court battle that lasted almost 6 months after which the company was taken over by mobile operator Dialog Telekom.

Now many who condemned and called the service "clandestine" are now benefiting in various ways due to the service and are themselves using the service and are benefiting from the previous management whom they portrayed as traitors.

After the take over by Dialog there have been many positives and negatives. We take this opportunity to thank the previous management headed by Mr. Muhunthan Canagey, the management of Dialog Telekom, the Dialog TV staff who originated at CBNsat, the subscribers who so valiantly fought for the resumption of this service and also to Dialog TV Subscribers Unite who did an invaluable job of raising subscriber concerns.

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PEO TV the IPTV pay television platform by SLT was officially launched yesterday (Sep 22nd 2008) at the Cinnamon Grand.

At present package and installation rates are not yet available and according to sources the information should be available by the end of this month. PEO TV is operated by SLT Visioncom a fully owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka Telecom.

SLT IPTV will be the next phenomenon in Sri Lanka. However Dialog will not have it easy now since for the last one year being the sole pay television provider to cover the entire island, Dialog TV did not perform as expected but now with competition this will have to change since the people are now getting choices.

Under competition Dialog Telekom has always done well but then Dialog TV is a totally different thing altogether. Dialog cannot wait for ages to introduce a new channel they should be able to do it as soon as the channel is launched.

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At present the following channels are available on PEO TV

Rupavahini
Channel Eye
ITN
Derana TV
Max TV
NDTV Good Times
CNN International
BBC World
NDTV 24X7
Al Jazeera
Ujala
Eurosport
Eurosport News
VH1
MTV
Luxe TV
B4U Movies
Fashion TV
Trace TV
C Music TV
STC
B4U Music
HBO
HBO Signature
HBO Hits
HBO Family
Star Movies
Star One
Toon Disney
Disney Channel
Travel Channel
Wedding TV
Bollywood
Wine TV
Star Vijay
Ten Sports

More channels are slated to be on the platform in the near future.

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Channels with Time shift Facility in PEO TV (IPTV in Sri Lanka)

1. Rupawahini
2. Channel eye
3. ITN
4. Derana
5. Max

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Please check the SLT IPTV details on

http://www.peotv.com or
http://www.sltvisioncom.lk

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SLT VisionCom Private Limited launched the much-awaited Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) yesterday at the Cinnamon Grand.

Speaking on the significance of the much-anticipated launch, CEO, SLT VisionCom Private Limited, Thusha Weerasooriya, said they were happy to be the first business entity to introduce interactive television, based on Internet Protocol technology to Sri Lanka.

With IPTV, SLT will be enabled to offer a real time broadcast programming, Video on Demand, Time Shift TV and other advanced services over broadband connection to televisions.

Features of the product include Video on Demand, allowing access to a large library of movies and songs, which you can search to watch or listen to at your own leisure.

The Trick Play functionality consists of the features pause, slow-motion, rewind and fast forward of live television.

Time Shift TV allows you to watch your favourite television shows that you have missed, giving a greater degree of flexibility to the user, with amazing high definition images and high quality audio. Programming will cater to all genres, such as entertainment for adults and kids, business, education, sports in addition to free-to-air local television stations.

With IPTV, SLT will be enabled to offer a real time broadcast programming, Video on Demand, Time Shift TV and other advanced services over broadband connection to televisions.

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Sri Lanka Telecom Launches IPTV SERVICE[u]

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the island's largest fixed access provider, has launched Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) with a target of reaching 7,000 customers by year end, officials said.

IPTV uses SLT's wireline network to pipe video to customers who are already using Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) connections.

SLT is now an affiliate of Malaysia's UT group.

VisionCom has a target of reaching 7,000 customers by the year end and 100,000 customers in three years.

An IPTV connection, which comes with a set top box, is sold for 9,950 rupees followed by a monthly fee of 1,000 rupees a month.

At the launch, SLT's IPTV service had 14 international and 5 domestic channels including CNN, Al-Jazeera, BBC World and HBO. Officials say it will be eventually boosted to 40.

Discussions are on the pipeline with other channels like ESPN and Start Sports, Weerasuriya told LBO.

Officials did not reveal break-even subscriber levels.

Other value added services are video on demand, music video and a movie library.

Video shuttling (where subscribers have playback and fast forward options) and interactive educational programs for children are also expected to boost revenues.

Dialog Telekom, a unit of Malaysia Telekom, is already offering a satellite TV service which had reached 100,000 customers. But its high operating costs resulted in large losses in the start-up phase.

There are also competing cable operators.

K'S Chowdrey from Aksh Optifibre who attended the launch, says his firm became India's first commercial IPTV provider using Mahanagar Telephone Nigam copper lines.

Chowdrey says IPTV reversed a decline in fixed access services where subscribers were dis-connecting their lines with the wide availability of mobile phones.

Aksh IPTV's average revenue per user is between four to five dollars.