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SelecTV folds English-language platform
Rose Major ©RapidTVNews | 20-08-2010
Australia satellite pay-TV provider SelecTV is closing its English-language offering, with an agreement to market Foxtel and Austar services to the subscriber base instead.
SelecTV, which offered a low-cost English-language satellite package as well as various foreign-language (eg. Spanish, Greek, Italian) packages aimed at diasporas living in Australia, had struggled to sign customers. Various reports put English-language subscriber figures at just 22,000, although including foreign language programming this is thought to be around 45,000.
Channels available included Turner Classic Movies, EuroNews, BBC World, CNN, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Nat Geo Adventure, Eurosport Asia, Ovation Channel, E!, MTV, Nat Geo, Discovery Turbo and Discovery Home & Health.
The platform is owned by privately-held WIN Corp.
SelecTV will continue to offer services for a 90 day transition period after which the English language service will cease.
Foxtel said: "We are working with SelecTV to contact relevant SelecTV customers to offer them Foxtel, ensure a continuity of their service and to manage their transition from SelecTV to Foxtel as seamlessly as possible over the next 90 days."
Austar CEO John Porter said: “AUSTAR wants to ensure that all regional SelecTV customers will have the opportunity to have not only continuous service, but also an improved product offering for a very similar price.
“Every English language service SelecTV customer will receive a letter setting out our offer and explaining what to do to ensure we can assist them to transition smoothly and not lose service.”
Of SelecTV’s subscriber base, around 8,000 are in Austar regions with the remainder in cities served by Foxtel.
