OmegaSource

IMPORTANT C-Band PROGRAMMING UPDATE

ESPN/ESPN2

ESPN, it is true, that it is going off C-Band at the end of the year. Our supplier of programming for C-band, after receiving letters from the Attorney General in reference to other channels going dark, must notify ALL customers of pending shutoffs, when they know there is no opportunity to bring them back as is the case with ESPN and ESPN 2.
We are notifying customers of other options as we want them to continue to use their C-Band Dish for Premiums and other services where it may benefit them to do so. 
In addition our suppliers are working with IPTV transport companies that can hopefully help us bring ESPN and other services back to C-Band in 2007.

6% UPLINK SURCHARGE

Effective December 15, 2006, our supplier will be implementing a 6% surcharge on every invoice to cover the cost of uplinking channels which would otherwise be unavailable to the C-band market.  We currently uplink 12 channels and expect that to grow to possibly 25 in 2007, as the Turner services, Disney, Rainbow, Viacom and others go digital.  The cost of uplinking a digital channel is approximately $10,000, and our supplier has been the only C-Band provider willing to do so.  This fee will be discontinued if we are able to get on an IPTV platform which negates the need to uplink channels ourselves.

Service      Date Service Ends      NPS Action

ABC Family         9/30/06      Working on up linking

AMC                   9/30/06      Found on G9-701

MTV                   9/30/06      Found on GB (Galaxy 11) 800

WGN                12/15/06      Working on up linking

WE                  12/31/06      Working on up linking

IFC                  12/31/06      Working on up linking         

NICK               12/31/06      Working on up linking

COMEDY          12/31/06      Working on up linking

SPIKE              12/31/06      Possible up linking, most likely IPTV

MTV Suite thru Hits  12/31/06   Working on up linking

TNT                 12/31/06      Working on up linking

TBS                 12/31/06      Working on up linking

CARTOON        12/31/06      Working on up linking

CNN                12/31/06      Working on up linking

DISNEY E.        12/31/06      Working on up linking

ESPN               12/31/06      WILL NOT BE ON C-BAND

ESPN2             12/31/06      WILL NOT BE ON C-BAND

COURT TV         1/31/06      Working on up linking

NFL Network   Found on GB (Galaxy 11) 410

NFL Network HD  coming soon as an a la carte service.

CRTC rules Satellite TV providers can’t carry satellite radio
In a decision issued today, the CRTC has upheld an earlier ruling that prevents ExpressVu and Star Choice from offering Sirius satellite radio or XM radio channels along with their satellite television offerings.

The government agency ruled that Sirius and XM satellite were not traditional program offerings therefore the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite providers are not authorized to distribute them.
The issue began in March when the Commission received a letter from the CBC seeking clarification regarding carriage of satellite subscription radio (SSR) services by broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs). BDU’s are the term used in the industry to describe cable, satellite and IPTV companies such as SaskTel and MTS.

In the letter, the CBC stated that it had learned that one or both of the satellite television companies were considering distributing SSR services to their subscribers. The CBC argued that such distribution was not permissible under current rules.

The CRTC sent a letter to ExpressVu and Star Choice. Star Choice responded that it had no plans to distribute an SSR service as part of its DTH service and that it was aware of its regulatory obligations.

ExpressVu confirmed that it had not yet begun to distribute SSR services, but expressed the view that the current rules did not rule out the possibility of them doing so.

In April, the commission issued a staff opinion which suggested that satellite subscription radio (SSR) was licensed as a new type of broadcasting undertaking, namely a satellite subscription radio undertaking, and that they were not licensed as “programming undertakings”. Therefore, because SSR was not a programming undertaking, ExpressVu could not distribute it.

In May, ExpressVu appealed saying that after examining the definition of a “programming undertaking”, the CSR and Sirius services were indeed a “programming undertaking”.

ExpressVu then asked the commission for a ruling on the issue. That ruling was issued today in Broadcasting decision CRTC 2006-615.

In its ruling the CRTC upheld the earlier staff opinion that said that XM radio and Sirius were licensed as a satellite subscription radio undertaking and were not a programming undertaking therefore ExpressVu and Star Choice do not have the authority to distribute XM and Sirius satellite radio programming under their existing condition of licence.