|
Flying Monsters' in 3D, Eastenders' to Ring In Sales for Satellite Firms
“Flying Monsters,” a documentary in 3D presented by naturalist David Attenborough, and the BBC soap opera “EastEnders” in high definition are among television programs satellite operators are banking on to ring in sales.
HDTV, widely prevalent in U.S. programs including “The Tonight Show,” is spreading across Europe, while 3D broadcasts are emerging from the realm of fiction to reality, both boosting sales for satellite companies such as SES SA and Eutelsat Communications SA. Satellite channels may rise to about 40,000 by 2019 from 27,000 last year, with more than 7,600 in HD, said Pacome Revillon, head of Euroconsult, a market research company.
“HD appears to be strong and solid, and it will be one of our main growth drivers,” Eutelsat Chief Executive Officer Michel de Rosen said in an interview at the World Satellite Business Week in Paris this month. “A year ago, 3D was almost science fiction but it’s now adding to the momentum.”
HD and 3D, which typically need more bandwidth, may offset the impact of the switch from analog to standard digital channels that need 12 times less capacity and cuts in defense spending amid the economic slowdown, Citigroup analysts including Tania Valiente estimate. SES and Eutelsat, which beam 250 and 150 HD channels, respectively, will benefit from the introduction of new HD networks as well as the migration of analog channels to the higher standard.
Satellite Market
Luxembourg-based SES, closely held Intelsat SA and Telesat Inc. and France’s Eutelsat control about 67 percent of the global fixed-satellite service market, according to Euroconsult. Video services represent more than 70 percent of revenue at SES and Eutelsat.
Eutelsat shares have risen 29 percent this year, making it the third-best performer in the 24-member Bloomberg Europe Telecommunication Services Index. In the year ended June, it had an 11 percent sales gain to 1.05 billion euros ($1.41 billion). SES, with 2009 sales of 1.7 billion euros, has risen 10 percent.
Broadcasters are adding HD and 3D channels to lure viewers and boost revenue with premium services as advertising budgets contract. Rupert Murdoch-controlled British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc, based in Isleworth, England, plans to start what it claims is Europe’s first 3D channel for residential clients on Oct. 1, offering sports, movies, and documentaries.
“Flying Monsters,” which will focus on the Pterosaurs, or flying dinosaurs that lived about 200 million years ago, is its first, original commission in 3D. BSkyB has signed accords with Walt Disney Co. and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. for 3D movies.
‘Weakest Link’
The British Broadcasting Corp., or BBC, said it plans to broadcast “EastEnders,” “Holby City” and “The Weakest Link” in HD before the end of the year.
National Geographic Channel and Discovery Communications Inc., the owner of Animal Planet, have launched HD documentary channels in more than 20 countries and expect further expansion of this platform with close-up views of how fish swim, birds fly or breeding, according to their websites.
Vivendi SA unit Canal Plus SA broadcast nine matches in this year’s soccer World Cup in 3D and plans to boost its HD and 3D broadcasts, according a statement on the company’s website.
“Besides HD, new platforms in emerging countries will help growth in our business,” SES Vice President for Strategic Market Development Christophe De Hauwer said in an interview. “Many of the newcomers go directly to HD broadcasts.”
‘Big Growth’
Regional operators in high-growth, emerging economies such as Arab Satellite Communications Organization, known as Arabsat, also expect HD expansion in their regions.
“We see big growth in the coming years in HD in the Middle East and North Africa,” Arabsat Chief Commercial Officer Nabil Shanti said in Paris.
Denis Pivnyuk, chief financial officer of state-owned Russian Satellite Communications Company, or RSCC, said that “the most dynamic growth in Russia will be in HD.” He said 3D will remain a “premium service.”
HD is becoming the standard for the industry, Eutelsat’s de Rosen said. He said 3D broadcasts still have some technical, cost and content issues to address. “Content is not evolving as fast as technology and there aren’t yet 3D glasses that can be used with all TV sets,” he said.
News Corp’s Sky Italia SpA, which expects to operate 50 HD channels by mid-2011, is focusing its current marketing campaign on HD programming for Italy’s top soccer games.
HD is still a small part of satellite operators’ business. The HD standard accounts for 3 percent of channels in Europe, compared with 30 percent in the U.S., Benjamin Rousseau, an analyst with CM-CIC Securities wrote in a note on Sept. 21.
“Visibility is still weak regarding the change in demand in the medium term, especially since the popularity of 3D could encourage a certain number of TV operators to switch directly from standard-definition to 3D,” he wrote.
3D Push
Exane BNP Paribas analyst Mathieu Robilliard expects 3D to remain “marginal for the time being.”
“3D will remain pretty much a niche,” said Nomura Holdings Inc. analyst Henrik Nyblom. “It will take a long time to emerge.”
Broadcasters are beginning to offer 3D and Euroconsult forecast there will be almost 1,800 3D channels by 2019.
BSKyB, which “successfully” introduced a 3D channel to commercial customers in April, said July 29 the service has more than 1,400 pubs and clubs accessing live events such as soccer and cricket.
Britons who own a HD definition television set are more than twice as likely to buy a 3D TV within the next 12 months as those who have not yet bought an HDTV, according to a Sept. 2 statement by Strategy Analytics.
“HDTV ownership is clearly no barrier to 3DTV adoption,” said David Mercer, an analyst at Strategy Analytics.
“Sports will be the number one content for 3D, followed by movies and special events,” according to SES’s De Hauwer. “Broadcasters and TV-set manufacturers are pushing 3D but in the end consumers will determine whether 3D is a niche or a much larger market.”
|
