Foxtel

Encyclopedia : F : FO : FOX : Foxtel

Foxtel is a cable television and satellite television company in Australia, formed through a joint venture between Telstra and News Corporation. Half of News Corp.'s stake was later sold to businessman Kerry Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting Limited. The current ownership is 50% Telstra, and 50% to a joint venture company which is itself 50% owned by News Corp and 50% by PBL.

Contents

1 Service Availability
2 Foxtel Digital

2.1 Foxtel iQ
2.2 Encryption

3 TVN Explanation
4 Channels on the Foxtel Digital Service

4.1 General
4.2 Movies
4.3 Sports
4.4 Interactive Gaming
4.5 News, Weather
4.6 Documentaries & Infotainment
4.7 Kids
4.8 Music
4.9 Foxtel air Digital Audio
4.10 Foxtel Box Office - PPV Movies
4.11 Other

5 External links

Service Availability

A typical subscriber guide

Foxtel transmits its cable service into the Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth Metropolitan areas. Foxtel transmits its satellite service into some of these cities, as well as the Newcastle and Canberra Metropolitan areas. It also transmits its satellite service to many areas of Regional WA.

Telstra's network and Foxtel were created to combat the threat posed to Telstra's local call business by the combination of Optus Vision (now known as Optus TV) content bundling with Optus' local telephony services. Foxtel was the content arm of Telstra's defence strategy. Telstra's multimedia broadband network was originally the sole delivery system.

The installation and maintenance of Foxtel services is Telstra's responsibility. In many markets, Telstra has outsourced Installation and Maintenance to large communications contractors, including ABB Communications and Siemens-Thiess Communications Joint Venture.

Foxtel Digital

Foxtel launched its digital service (Foxtel Digital) in March 2004. The service is loosely based on another of News Corporation's Subscription Providers, BSkyB. Features of the digital service include:

Channels with Widescreen and Dolby AC3 5.1 channel surround sound
Pay-per-view and Near Video On Demand services
Interactive television services including multiple camera angle sports, news, games and others
An interactive TV and AIR Radio guide.
"+2" (timeshift) channels of popular channels, showing programs two hours later than the original channel.

Like many other NewsCorp owned digital platforms Foxtel uses NDS the OpenTV interactive platform and runs on primarily Pace Set-top boxes.

Foxtel iQ

Foxtel has also launched Foxtel iQ, a timeshifting personal digital recorder, in which subscribers are able to record programs onto a hard drive inside the set-top unit for later viewing. Foxtel iQ also allows viewers to use the rewind or pause features during television programs.

Pace Micro Technologies are the Set Top Box provider for iQ - of which, they [claim] that the cable version of iQ is the first DVB based Cable personal digital recorder.

Encryption

Like BSkyB, Foxtel Digital utilises NDS services, including their Videoguard encryption system (for both Cable and Satellite). This is a change from previously using Irdeto and more recently Irdeto 2 on their Satellite service.

TVN Explanation

Although TVN Racing is available to Foxtel subscribers it is not a Foxtel channel, due to Foxtel's exclusivity agreement with Sky Racing. To subscribe you need to contact TVN directly, and not Foxtel. TVN has reached an agreement with Telstra to carry the channel available on their cable, and unless you subscribe to the channel it is not visible. This is due to the fact that it's not registered with Foxtel in anyway.

Channels on the Foxtel Digital Service

General

Channel 100 - Channel 9 (Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in digital format. Adelaide and Perth in analogue format)
Channel 101 - TV1
Channel 102 - ABC
Channel 103 - UK.TV
Channel 104 - SBS
Channel 105 - Arena TV
Channel 106 - The LifeStyle Channel
Channel 107 - Channel 7 (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth only, in analogue format)
Channel 108 - FOX8
Channel 110 - Channel 10 (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth only, in analogue format)
Channel 111 - FOX Classics
Channel 112 - FOX Classics + 2
Channel 113 - W (formerly known as fx)
Channel 114 - FOXTEL BOX OFFICE Preview Channel
Channel 115 - The LifeStyle Channel + 2
Channel 116 - LifeStyle Food
Channel 118 - How To Channel
Channel 120 - THE COMEDY CHANNEL
Channel 121 - THE COMEDY CHANNEL + 2
Channel 122 - E!
Channel 124 - Hallmark Channel
Channel 126 - ABC2
Channel 129 - Ovation Channel
Channel 130 - Fashion TV
Channel 135 - TVSN
Channel 140 - Australian Christian Channel
Channel 150 - FOX8 + 2
Channel 151 - TV1 + 2
Channel 152 - Arena TV + 2
Channel 153 - UK.TV + 2
Channel 183 - Aurora Community Television
Channel 187 - Expo Channel

Movies

Channel 401 - SHOWTIME
Channel 402 - SHOWTIME 2
Channel 404 - SHOWTIME GREATS (formerly known as ENCORE)
Channel 409 - Turner Classic Movies
Channel 410 - World Movies
Channel 411 - MOVIE ONE
Channel 412 - MOVIE TWO
Channel 413 - MOVIE EXTRA
Channel 415 - MOVIE GREATS

Sports

Channel 500 - Interactive Sports Selector
Channel 501 - FOX Sports One
Channel 502 - FOX Sports Two
Channel 506 - FOX Footy Channel
Channel 508 - ESPN
Channel 513 - FOX SPORTS NEWS
Channel 514 - EUROSPORTNEWS
Channel 516 - FUEL TV (Formerly Fuel)
Channel 517 - A1 (Formerly Adventure One)
Channe1 518 - Main Event
Channel 519 - Sky Racing
Channel 520 - TVN

Interactive Gaming

Channel 555 - Gamesworld

News, Weather

Channel 601 - Sky News Australia
Channel 602 - FOX News
Channel 603 - CNN International
Channel 604 - BBC World
Channel 605 - Bloomberg Television
Channel 606 - CNBC Australia
Channel 609 - The Weather Channel
Channel 610 - SBS World News Channel

Documentaries & Infotainment

Channel 630 - Discovery Channel
Channel 632 - National Geographic Channel
Channel 634 - Animal Planet
Channel 638 - Discovery Travel and Living Channel (Formerly Discovery Travel and Adventure Channel)
Channel 640 - Discovery Home and Health Channel (Formerly Discovery Health Channel)
Channel 642 - The Biography Channel
Channel 644 - The History Channel
Channel 645 - The History Channel + 2
Channel 646 - Discovery Science Channel
Channel 648 - Crime and Investigation Network

Kids

Channel 701 - Nickelodeon
Channel 703 - Nick Jr.
Channel 707 - Disney Channel
Channel 709 - Playhouse Disney
Channel 713 - Cartoon Network
Channel 715 - Boomerang

Music

Channel 801 - Channel [V]
Channel 803 - Club [V]
Channel 805 - MAX (formerly musicMAX)
Channel 808 - MTV Australia
Channel 810 - VH1
Channel 815 - Country Music Channel

Foxtel air Digital Audio

Channel 830 - Air active - Hits, Radio 2, Pop, Groove, Rock, Jukebox, New Wave, Home Grown, Urban, Dance, Anthem, Soul, Easy, Lounge, Café, Spa, Blues, Light Classical, Sound Tracks, Crooners, Today’s Country, Classic Country, BBC World Service, Special Events, Edge, ‘70s, ‘80s, Alt-rock, Classic R&B, News and More
Channel 867 - SBS AM
Channel 868 - SBS FM
Channel 875 - ABC NewsRadio (Satellite Only)
Channel 876 - ABC Parliamentary News Network (Satellite Only)
Channel 877 - ABC Radio National (Satellite Only)
Channel 878 - ABC Local Radio (Satellite Only)
Channel 882 - ABC Classic FM (Satellite Only)
Channel 883 - ABC Triple J (Satellite Only)
Channel 884 - ABC DiG Radio
Channel 885 - ABC DiG Jazz

Foxtel Box Office - PPV Movies

Channels 901-927 - FOXTEL BOX OFFICE Channels

Other

Channel 928 - Main Event
Channel 928 - FOXTEL BOX OFFICE Preview Channel
Channel 941 - Antenna (Greek) (formerly known as Antenna Pacific)
Channel 942 - RAI International (Radiotelevisione Italiana) (Italian)
Channel 955 - Adults Only (Late Night to early morning only), Main Event (Special Occasions Only) and when neither are running, there is a second broadcast of Fashion TV
Channel 960 - Adults Only Select 1
Channel 961 - Adults Only Select 2
Channel 998 - Test Channel
Channel 999 - FOXTEL Digital and Foxtel IQ Help Channel

External links

List of cable, satellite and other specialty television providers
Cable television: Adelphia \| Bresnan \| Bright House Networks \| CableOne \| Cable TV Hong Kong \| Cablevision (US) \| Cablevision (Canada) \| Canal Digital \| Charter \| Cogeco \| Comcast \| Cox \| Eastlink \| Foxtel \| GCI \| Global Destiny \| Insight \| Kabel Deutschland \| Knology \| Mediacom \| Midcontinent Communications \| Millennium Digital Media \| NTL \| Neighbourhood Cable \| Optus \| Persona \| RCN \| Rogers \| Service Electric \| SkyCable \| SelecTV \| Shaw \| StarHub CableTV \| Suddenlink \| Telewest \| Saturn \| Time Warner \| TransACT \| Vidéotron \| WOW! Internet Cable Phone \| WightCable
Satellite television: Athina Sat \| Astro \| Austar \| Bell ExpressVu \| Canal Digital \| CanalSat \| Cyfra+ \| DirecTV \| Dish Network \| DStv \| Freesat \| Freesat from Sky \| FreeView (NZ) \| Foxtel \| GlobeCast World TV \| Home2US \| NTV Plus \| NOVA Cyprus \| NOVA Greece \| Sky Angel \| Sky Digital \| Sky Italia \| Sky PerfecTV! \| Sky TV (NZ) \| StarChoice \| STAR TV \| Tata Sky \| TPS \| Viasat \| Voom \| WOWOW
IPTV: Canal Digital \| now TV \| TeliaSonera \| HomeChoice
Terrestrial television: Boxer TV Access \| FreeView (NZ) \| Freeview (UK) \| Top Up TV \| MiTV \| USDTV
Fiber-Optic: Verizon FiOS
''[edit template]

News Corporation

Annual Revenue: .9 billion USD ( 17% FY 2005) | Employees: 44,000 | Stock Symbol: NYSE: [NWS] ASX: [NWS] | Website: [www.newscorp.com]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.