Optus Television is the
cable televisionCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
division of
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n telecommunications company
OptusSingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
.
History
Its immediate predecessor was
Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and Continental Cablevision with small shareholdings by media companies
Publishing and Broadcasting LimitedPublishing and Broadcasting Limited was one of Australia's largest companies, with interests primarily in media and gaming. The company demerged in late 2007, spinning out its gaming interests into Crown Limited...
and
Seven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. The Optus Vision joint venture was founded to handle residential
cable televisionCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and local telephony, while its parent concentrated on corporate, long-distance, satellite and interstate communications. Optus Vision used a hybrid fibre coaxial cable network to connect homes to its network. Optus Vision added
broadbandThe term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
cable internet accessA cable modem is a type of network bridge and modem that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a HFC and RFoG infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, taking advantage of the high...
to its network.
Optus Vision used the Optus telecommunications licence as authority to build a cable network. The Optus Vision network was rolled out in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The major competitor to Optus Vision was
FoxtelFoxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, a 50/50 joint venture between
TelstraTelstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
and
News CorporationNews Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
. These competed heavily in the metropolitan areas.
Optus Vision negotiated exclusive access to AFL (Aussie Rules) football Rugby League, and other sports. It also had exclusive access to
Disney ChannelFor the Disney Channel in other countries, see Disney Channel . For the original Disney Channel, see Disney Channel.Disney Channel Australia is a television channel that is broadcast in Australia and New Zealand...
, ESPN and
MTV AustraliaMTV Australia is 24 hour general entertainment channel specialising in music and youth culture programming which serves Australia and New Zealand. It is operated by Viacom International Media Networks Australia owned by Viacom and primarily features imported shows as well as locally produced...
though it always lacked the general entertainment channels that
FoxtelFoxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
had.
From 1995 to 1997, the
Super League WarThe Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...
waged between the two consortia over lucrative rugby league rights.
In March 1997, Optus bought out the other shareholders in exchange for equity in itself, in order to float.
In 2002 Optus let go of some of its exclusive content contracts, replacing them with non-exclusive ones.
MTV AustraliaMTV Australia is 24 hour general entertainment channel specialising in music and youth culture programming which serves Australia and New Zealand. It is operated by Viacom International Media Networks Australia owned by Viacom and primarily features imported shows as well as locally produced...
,
Disney ChannelFor the Disney Channel in other countries, see Disney Channel . For the original Disney Channel, see Disney Channel.Disney Channel Australia is a television channel that is broadcast in Australia and New Zealand...
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and the premium
Movie NetworkMovie Network Channels is an Australian premium television movie service that consists of five original channels , two SD timeshifts and three HD simulcasts...
channels all became available on Foxtel as soon as they were able.
In 2009 Optus Television stopped offering its service to new subscribers, with service still available to existing subscribers.
From February 2011 Optus will again be offering Optus TV featuring Foxtel including IQ2 serivces.
Satellite Broadcasting
Optus, along with Austar had a joint venture in the use of Satellite broadcasting for the delivery of Subscription Television. Originally, Foxtel had not previously offered a Satellite service, until purchasing the satellite subscribers from Australis Media within their service area. Until 2004, Foxtel was a customer of the Austar/Optus joint venture.
Optus utilised this joint venture to initially trial and subsequently offer a basic satellite service, named VIP. The service was very select with not many being able to access the service. It was also offered to Norfolk Island and some smart cards were enabled for some residents (who had the required satellite receiving equipment) to take part in a trial of the service. The ability to offer the service came about due to Optus offering a large number of channels to East Coast Television (now apart of Austar). After Optus axed the "VIP" Service, it also sold its share in the joint venture to Austar.
In 2004, the roles reversed and Austar became the customer to Foxtel for satellite delivery.
Sports Programming
Until 2002, Optus did not offer the Fox Sports sporting channels on their service as Foxtel and Austar did, instead offering channels from
SportsvisionSportsvision was a subscription TV service founded by Chicago White Sox owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn, and media mogul Fred Eychaner. The service broadcast live sporting events....
, (later
C7 SportC7 Sport was a pay-TV service in Australia, owned and run by Kerry Stokes' Seven Network. The service was carried on the Austar and Optus Vision pay-TV networks between 1995 and 2002, when it was removed in controversial circumstances...
) and
ESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
During the Super League/ARL war, the Optus sports channels had the rights to the ARL competition and the Super League rights were held by Fox Sports.
Seven bought Sportsvision, which became Optus and Austar exclusive C7 Sport and progressively lost sporting rights to Fox Sports. During that time Foxtel granted Optus an "
NRL ChannelFox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
", screening all of the NRL matches that had previously been shown exclusively on the Foxtel platform.
C7 Sport for some time had attempted to access the Foxtel platform for their service - however Foxtel were hesitant to accede to the request, with one exception being the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where C7 offered two extra channels dedicated to Olympics coverage.
In 2000, Seven and C7 Sport lost the
AFLThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
rights to a Nine/Ten and Foxtel-based consortium leaving C7 with only the Olympics and 6 Nations Rugby rights of major substance.
In 2002, the commencement of the new AFL broadcasting deal with Foxtel led Optus and Austar to drop C7 Sport from their services, leading to the demise of the channel. Optus replaced the C7 channels with an Optus rebadged version of Fox Sports.
The dropping of the C7 service led to Optus being a party in the unsuccessful legal action taken by the Seven Network over the demise of the C7 Sport service.
Subscriber Numbers
For some time, Optus has not explicitly released subscriber numbers for their Optus Television service, however combining them with other services offered under the division of which Optus Television is a part.
Since December 2002, subscriber numbers have dropped considerably to almost half of the 241,000 reported. Since that time, Optus has repositioned its television service to being a major component of bundled services, rather than a service by itself. By August 2010 only 96,000 subscribers remained.
Optus iTV Trials
During 2002-03, Optus trialled
interactive digital televisionInteractive television describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.- Definitions :...
over part of its Sydney network. This was known as Optus iTV. The service was unique to Optus and had a good deal of positive consumer feedback. The iTV service utilised the Liberate platform instead of
OpenTVOpenTV is an interactive television company founded in 1994. Its main business involves the sale of set-top-box operating systems and software. On March 28, 2010 OpenTV became a fully owned subsidiary of the NAGRA Kudelski Group and officially delisted from the NASDAQ, where it was previously...
, as used by Foxtel Digital. The trials were canceled by Optus after the Content Supply Agreement with
FoxtelFoxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
was reached. One byproduct of the new agreement was the re-engineering of the Optus iTV broadcast centre in Macquarie Park to become the new broadcast centre for
FoxtelFoxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
.
A notable difference between Optus iTV and Foxtel Digital was that the Optus system used the same
HFCHybrid fiber-coaxial is a telecommunications industry term for a broadband network which combines optical fibre and coaxial cable. It was commonly employed globally by cable television operators since the early 1990s.-Description:...
cable network both for delivery and for the
return pathIn communications systems that use star topologies, the return channel is the transmission link from a user terminal to the central hub....
, meaning no additional hardware or service was required for this return path. By contrast, the Foxtel Digital system at the time relied on a
telephone connectionPlain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....
for the return path. The advantage of this system is that it is
platform neutral, meaning that the same telephone-based return path can be used for both
cableCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and
satelliteSatellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
installations.
The Optus iTV system also allowed true
video on demandVideo on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
. Foxtel Digital provides near video on demand, with featured content broadcast on multiple
channelsIn telecommunications and computer networking, a communication channel, or channel, refers either to a physical transmission medium such as a wire, or to a logical connection over a multiplexed medium such as a radio channel...
with staggered start times available at frequent intervals.
Other potential features of Optus iTV included
e-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and
walled gardenA walled garden is an analogy used in various senses in information technology. In the telecommunications and media industries, a "walled garden" refers to a carrier or service provider's control over applications, content, and media on platforms and restriction of convenient access to...
InternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access.
Optus TV featuring Foxtel
After signing up to the Content Supply Agreement with Foxtel, Optus Television changed their channel line up to reflect the offerings from Foxtel. Optus were able to have a number of differences between their offering and the Foxtel offering, so that Optus could meet some contractual obligations they had, as well as satisfying a number of requirements placed on the organisation by the
ACCCACCC may refer to:In Education:* Association of Canadian Community Colleges, a national association formed in 1972 to represent the interests of its member institutions to government and industry....
.
A number of channels that had previously been unique to Optus (in comparison with Foxtel) such as the
Odyssey ChannelThe Odyssey Channel was an award-winning documentary channel that was previously available on Optus Vision in Australia.It was one of the few channels on pay TV in Australia that had a large amount of Australian content available...
were removed from the Optus lineup, as they competed with channels that Foxtel offered. Other channels crossed from Optus to the Foxtel lineup such as the
Ovation ChannelThe Ovation Channel was created by Optus Television to "present dance, opera, theatre, literature, jazz, classical music, design and even fashion, food and wine", modelling it on Canada's Bravo!....
. Optus was required to have a number of channels that were unique to their service, though the flagged channels are now available on both platforms without any change in regulation nor penalty.
Optus TV featuring Foxtel Digital
In April 2005, Foxtel granted Optus the right to carry the "
FoxtelFoxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
Digital" platform (one year after being available to Foxtel subscribers) The service would be resold by Optus, utilising the same equipment as Foxtel (such as the Foxtel set top box, remote, NDS technologies for encryption and OpenTV for interactivity delivery).
This agreement also allows for non-exclusive resale rights to the Foxtel Digital service using Satellite Delivery within Foxtel's service area.
Commencing trials in November 2005, the service became fully operational in December of the same year.
Optus is believed to be permitting wholesale access to the network so third party broadcasters can sell subscription services over Optus cable.