# Indian Channel Package?



## amit5roy5 (Mar 4, 2004)

I was wondering if Dish Network has any plans of making a bigger Indian channel package. I was wondering if there were plans to include:

Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, AMERICAN DESI/SOUTH ASIA WORLD. All these channels are either in English or all the languages are derived form Sanskrit. So, you can understand the other non-Hindi languages. (that is how non-Hindi speakers in India can watch Bollywood movies). Is Dish planning such a package?

Also, I feel the South Asian channels are WAY overpriced.


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

Of course, the South Asian channels are overpriced, but the economics allow Dish to charge the maximum price.

From what I've seen Dish does not plan to remix the South Asian packages in any other way. I don't understand your question either on the other South Asian languages (non-Hindi) are not very useful to those who don't know the language as English translation are not very frequent.

Rasheed


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## pacman99 (Oct 9, 2005)

dish has a lot of programming in different languages
-malayalam
-tamil
-kannada
-telugu
-conversational hindi
-REAL hindi 
-urdu
-punjabi

Although I'll tell you, probably the only good channels, i find, are SET Max, Zee Cinema, SET India etc...they are overpriced but you really can't do anything about that 
I'm just waiting for Indus Vision now.

I'd just buy one or two channels A la carte.


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## amit5roy5 (Mar 4, 2004)

They recently introduced B4U music. Now the Hindi package has 11 channels! Yay! Maybe soon it will become a basic package, like Dish Latino and Great Wall. I'm surprised they don't have Star TV yet (DirecTV has it). That channel is very popular in India.


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## JKnight (Oct 28, 2005)

amit5roy5 said:


> They recently introduced B4U music. Now the Hindi package has 11 channels! Yay! Maybe soon it will become a basic package, like Dish Latino and Great Wall. I'm surprised they don't have Star TV yet (DirecTV has it). That channel is very popular in India.


yeah directv has 4 channels, star plus, star news, star one, mtv desi.

I have those on Directv, but i also have dish network and those 11 channels on dish, I just wished that they all would come on satellite.


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

JKnight said:


> yeah directv has 4 channels, star plus, star news, star one, mtv desi.
> 
> I have those on Directv, but i also have dish network and those 11 channels on dish, I just wished that they all would come on satellite.


My impression is that none of the Star channels will come on Dish as the parent company of DirecTV owns the Star channels (News Corp.).

Howeer, there is no reason why MTV Desi can't be added (especially since it is actually a channel made and targeted toward the US audience). You need to visit the MTV Desi site and request that they get a contract together with Dish. I'd like to see it at a $1.00 and added to all of the Jumbo/Mega packs for free (or they can include both music channels for 2.99 like they did a news package).

I believe Dish is feeling some pressure as South Asian market was minting money for Dish, but now there is some comeptition if people prefer Star over Sony/Zee (or I guess Sahara).

Rasheed


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## amit5roy5 (Mar 4, 2004)

Well, if you think about it. Indians will pay $30 for these channels. Plus 40 for a programming package. That is a lot of money for Dish Network.  My bill is around $100  I know, too high. And this includes the AT180 and the Mega Pack. And adding all those DVR and 2nd receiver fees.


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## rnbmusicfan (Jul 19, 2005)

amit5roy5 said:


> I was wondering if Dish Network has any plans of making a bigger Indian channel package. I was wondering if there were plans to include:
> 
> Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, AMERICAN DESI/SOUTH ASIA WORLD. All these channels are either in English or all the languages are derived form Sanskrit. So, you can understand the other non-Hindi languages. (that is how non-Hindi speakers in India can watch Bollywood movies). Is Dish planning such a package?
> (


They should relabel their packages, by classifying the Hindi ones as Hindi, not just South Asian. Farsi speaking region are in South Asia, but Farsi isn't in Dish's South Asian. According to every source I've looked, Pakistan is part of South Asia.



amit5roy5 said:


> Also, I feel the South Asian channels are WAY overpriced.


Well, be greatful Dish is providing Channel 580, and Channel 599. Dish is proud to offer them free, and at no cost. Didn't you see the ads? 

As far as being overpriced, it's because Dish got away with it, before DirecTV and Globecast started competing and offering services. DirecTV offers 4 totally different channels, at a slightly lower price, but not a big reduction. If DirecTV competed earlier on in the game, pricing structure may have been different on Dish. Originally, Dish was offering 5 South Asian channels for $49.99, but have added new ones into the same package rate. Dish wants to sign contracts (probably all being exclusive) before DirecTV signs them.


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## rnbmusicfan (Jul 19, 2005)

rasheed said:


> My impression is that none of the Star channels will come on Dish as the parent company of DirecTV owns the Star channels (News Corp.).
> 
> Howeer, there is no reason why MTV Desi can't be added (especially since it is actually a channel made and targeted toward the US audience). You need to visit the MTV Desi site and request that they get a contract together with Dish. I'd like to see it at a $1.00 and added to all of the Jumbo/Mega packs for free (or they can include both music channels for 2.99 like they did a news package).
> 
> ...


DirecTV likely has an exclusive contract for MTV Desi. I'm sure DirecTV would like to offer Zee, and some services on Dish, but they can't because of exclusive contracts.


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## rnbmusicfan (Jul 19, 2005)

pacman99 said:


> dish has a lot of programming in different languages
> -malayalam
> -tamil
> -kannada
> ...


I don't think the Hindi speaking families are really interested in any of the languages (channels) from the South, or Gujurat or Bengal. Unless, it was a North Indian who married a South Indian (or any two different types of Indians), and as a family, they want channels originating from both places. It would be unfortunate for them that Dish has no discount(s) in place, for different language packages.


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## SummitAdvantageRetailer (Feb 20, 2005)

Well, at least DirecTV got Star recently. Until about 6 months ago, DirecTV only had what Chinese and Vietnamese programming for their international programming? Before then, DISH, cable, and FTA were the sources for South Asian (Indian) programming. Other than low-quality video rentals I suppose. So yeah, you really can't have all your eggs in one basket, but at least it's offered now. In a stretch of an analogy, it's like having one game exclusive for PS2 while another game is exclusive to the XBox. You have to have both to enjoy both. International programming is expensive because consumers will pay to watch it. If not for themselves, their 1st gen. parents. 

I believe they use the term South Asian to differentiate from Native Americans that are ignorantly labeled Indians as well. Plus, it's more PC to use the term South Asian, not that I think it's accurate either.


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

ravi said:


> DirecTV likely has an exclusive contract for MTV Desi. I'm sure DirecTV would like to offer Zee, and some services on Dish, but they can't because of exclusive contracts.


I agree that Zee is likely under an exclusive agreement for satellite services with Dish, but I don't believe that agreement has much time left with Dish looking for new channels to stay competitive (like Sahara).

I do not believe MTV Desi is exclusive to DirecTV. I believe the problem is that Dish and Viacom/MTV Networks do not get along so it is really hard for them to have a relationship to get a new channel going. I've emailed an executive at MTV who is involved with MTV Desi to see if I can get some sort of reply or at the very least remind them that there is a need to get this channel carried on Dish. The fact that Dish added B4U Music (which frankly, has been around for awhile) shows that they know this type of programming is important.

As far as the South Asian labelling, I think it would easily make sense that the Urdu channels could be under the same South Asian category. I believe most of the Urdu subscribers likely have South Asian programming (Dish even acknowledges this on the website when talking about which subscribers are eligible for which add-ons). Since Urdu channels came later, I think Dish wanted to create a new market distinction. It would be nice to have some packages that cross-over these two markets (I believe the News Add-On should include ARY One). Right now, there is a satellite problem as they have stopped adding new Urdu channels to 148/61.5. I think Dish needs to either get all of the South Asian viewers a 121 dish or better replicate the South Asian (Urdu and India based) channels on 148/61.5 to better think long-term in these markets.

Rasheed


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## rnbmusicfan (Jul 19, 2005)

rasheed said:


> I agree that Zee is likely under an exclusive agreement for satellite services with Dish, but I don't believe that agreement has much time left with Dish looking for new channels to stay competitive (like Sahara).
> 
> I do not believe MTV Desi is exclusive to DirecTV. I believe the problem is that Dish and Viacom/MTV Networks do not get along so it is really hard for them to have a relationship to get a new channel going. I've emailed an executive at MTV who is involved with MTV Desi to see if I can get some sort of reply or at the very least remind them that there is a need to get this channel carried on Dish. The fact that Dish added B4U Music (which frankly, has been around for awhile) shows that they know this type of programming is important.
> 
> ...


I agree Dish needs to consider long-term for these ethnic markets, including satellite positioning. The packages (from the website) as of now are not easy to follow, and not generally inclusive, nor is there a reasonable alacarte in place. For example, the $49.99 MEGA package is supposed to the utmost complete package, but for American Desi and South Asia World, nope, you have to pay extra for them. And no further discounting on the close related Urdu channels, or semi-close Punjabi, Guju services. BTW, is there any likelihood for a Sindhi channel?

It's also confusing why some new channels are being added on the SuperDish, while some are just arriving on the 61.5 bird, like Sahara. Customers don't like being toyed with, but Dish won't give a reason.

Anyways, Zee would be in best position to seek non-exclusive contracts, to gain both satellite provider exposure and greater revenue. On Dish, they are one of the original channels, and most subscribers have that channel. Dish can't ignore it, and Dish would be dumb to let Zee go. Nor, would Dish be in a position to pay a steep amount to still keep it exclusive, if Zee knows DirecTV is around.

If its a bid war on fees (over amount Zee keeps of subscription programming revenue), DirecTV could present a better offer to Zee, over Dish. If Dish were to balk at the idea that Zee wants DirecTV, or DirecTV were to demand exclusivity the other way, Zee would still have their digital cable base as leverage. Short story, Zee's best interest would be getting on both providers.

As for MTV Desi and/or B4U Music, I think they are ancillary. It's like VH Uno; neither Dish or DirecTV have this Spanish music channel, but both providers have other Spanish music channel(s) in their packages. Not a core must-have channel. DirecTV just thought MTV Desi would be good to fill in their startup HindiDirecTV services, and Dish is beefing up their packages (where channels are now added at no extra cost to the high package subscribers) in small fear that DirecTV could surpass them if channels changed providers.


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

Side note: B4U Music is on free preview for folks like me who only have two South Asian channels on 599.

I expect the preview might go until 11/9/2005.

Rasheed


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## amit5roy5 (Mar 4, 2004)

Well, if you speak Hindi, you can understand Punjabi and Bengali. Also, I think it's best to organize the channels by country rather than language. I would not want to accidently order a channel from Bangladesh when I really wanted an Indian channel. I think the channels should be split into Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi.

For the Indian category, subdivide into languages. And yes, redo the packaging.


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

rasheed said:


> I do not believe MTV Desi is exclusive to DirecTV. I believe the problem is that Dish and Viacom/MTV Networks do not get along so it is really hard for them to have a relationship to get a new channel going. I've emailed an executive at MTV who is involved with MTV Desi to see if I can get some sort of reply or at the very least remind them that there is a need to get this channel carried on Dish. The fact that Dish added B4U Music (which frankly, has been around for awhile) shows that they know this type of programming is important.


I wanted to update my post. During the past week, I was able to share correspondance with the person in charge of MTV Desi (and other related MTV properties) about Dish carriage issue. I didn't get a definite response to what will happen about the carriage issue, but I do have an acknowledgement of the issue and will contact in a few months to get a status on this channel on Dish.

B4U Music has become super popular in just the past month it has gone live, and I believe will also get a good number of a la carte subscribers since it is available practically to any subscriber with a 148/61.5/121 angle connected.

Rasheed


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## mruk69 (Jul 26, 2003)

What gets me is in the UK you get B4U music, Zee music, Star News and some others free with no subscription required as long as you have a Sky receiver.
Over here they are ripping off the Desi's bigtime. I have complained in the past to Dish about this. I have at 180 + HBO and the 49.99 Desi pack. I am planning on dropping the Desi pack as it is to expensive. My main point is how come the latinos get a much better deal. Most desi's are well off and are more likely to subscribe if they got a good deal like the Latino's do, by including American and Desi channels into one or two packages. This would play well with Dish as they will reduce the number of Desi's sharing receivers, under one subcription.


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

I think this is one of the reasons Dish continues to put South Asian channels on 148, 61.5 and 121 is that there is a lot of options on how to package these channels. I think Dish will always charge the maximum it can in light of practically no competition. As have already been said, when cable operators do offer such channels, they are almost always cheaper than the Dish a la carte or package prices.

DirecTV is only carring a few channels. Their price is better at 19.99, but they are not carrying many of the popular channels Dish is offering.

If more of the nationwide cable systems carried the channels (or maybe the fiber services), Dish would respond competitively. However, cable systems are bandwidth starved too with things they consider to be higher priority such as HD channels.

I have a hunch that Dish is about to add two more South Asian channels now that they have re-added 574/575 Free Preview channels to air in the near future.

Rasheed


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## mruk69 (Jul 26, 2003)

Heres another thing i have been paying $50 a months for years, even when they only had four or five channels. Now you get more for $50 bucks but then again 3 of the channels are news channels. How much of the news do you really need.


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## JKnight (Oct 28, 2005)

what channels do you think they will add on 574 and 575?


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

I think we'll find out tomorrow or next Wednesday. In the past Dish has spent the most promo actions on new South Asian channels (for using the two free preview channels).

I wish they were adding MTV Desi as one of them, but I find this unlikely.

Another option is Tez (more Hindi news?) or Music Today. Frankly, there are no other major networks I can tell from my research that are not already available in the US.

Looking at the ratings last week in India, Star had some of the number 1 shows. I would imagine that die-hard Indian television viewers may have started switching to DirecTV which will just cut the revenue of Dish Network's position. I expect Dish is going to face the most threat in the Korean and South Asian markets from DirecTV. Dish was really too lazy these past few years in improving these packages.

By the way, here are the India country market share number for the main Hindi entertainment networks as of Q3 2005:

42% Sony (on Dish Network in the US, famous programs like Indian Idol season 2, Jassi, etc.)
31% Zee (on Dish and cable networks in the US, famous programs like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and other dramas with English-subtitles)
27% Star One (on DirecTV exclusive)

Star One had only 7% marketshare in 2004 and still wants to overtake Sony and Zee prior to end of the year (it already has in certain regions apparently).

For Dish to not have what could become the #1 network is going to hurt new subscription growth.

I agree that the many news networks added are superfluous, but was a competitve issues as DirecTV is adding NDTV24x7 (a news channel).

Rasheed


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## JKnight (Oct 28, 2005)

yeath that ndtv 24x7 is already on directv on channel 2007.


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## JKnight (Oct 28, 2005)

I would hope they add some sports channels, or youth channels like mtv india, I think they have few options for news channels
-Channel 7 JTV (most likely)
-DD news (unlikely)
-Tez (Possibly)
-Perhaps some regional channels from India, either something from the Sun network or Punjabi, or maybe Gujrati.


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## pacman99 (Oct 9, 2005)

Well according to Indus TV, they will be launching their channel on dishnetwork by the end of this month so that may be one of the new channels they might be adding. But it's not an indian channel, it's pakistani.


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## SummitAdvantageRetailer (Feb 20, 2005)

mruk69 said:


> What gets me is in the UK you get B4U music, Zee music, Star News and some others free with no subscription required as long as you have a Sky receiver.
> Over here they are ripping off the Desi's bigtime. I have complained in the past to Dish about this. I have at 180 + HBO and the 49.99 Desi pack. I am planning on dropping the Desi pack as it is to expensive. My main point is how come the latinos get a much better deal. Most desi's are well off and are more likely to subscribe if they got a good deal like the Latino's do, by including American and Desi channels into one or two packages. This would play well with Dish as they will reduce the number of Desi's sharing receivers, under one subcription.


Probably due to a combination of many things.

1. Hindi channels are more expensive than Latino channels

2. Fewer subscribers to Hindi channels vs. Latino channels therefore the economies of scale will dictate that less demand = higher cost per unit.

3. People will pay that much to watch the Hindi channels

Some of the commonalities of International programming subscribers is that despite its higher cost compared to other channels, many international programming subscribers will pay the premium to watch it as it's much more convenient to get it via Dish or DirecTV vs. FTA or other means, such as the Internet, VHS, or DVD. Since the demand is there, the price is what it is. If demand wanes or competition becomes more fierce, we may see a price war or other incentives.


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

pacman99 said:


> Well according to Indus TV, they will be launching their channel on dishnetwork by the end of this month so that may be one of the new channels they might be adding. But it's not an indian channel, it's pakistani.


Thanks for that information. Basically, this is new news for me. I don't know if it is still just speculation of carriage of Indus channels on Dish in the US (the carriage on Sky in the UK is a different topic, but related).

Anyway, if Indus does come to the US, I still expect it to be only on 121 as there has not been new Urdu channels added to 148/61.5 aside from the older stuff (PTV and ARY -- new channels like ARY One and GEO are 121 exclusive).

Interestingly, these two channels may have interest from South Asian audiences.

IF DISH IS EVEN CONSIDERING INDUS, I expect these are the two networks it will upload:

Indus
Indus Music

I believe Indus Vision, Indus News, and Indus Plus are less likely.

Pak Dramas are pretty popular, so it is possible that there will be South Asian interest (especially in the music channel as well).

IT APPEARS THE NEW CHANNELS FP CHANNELS ARE ARABIC at this time, but I haven't checked to see if they were turned on for me.

Related: http://www.indus.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14

Rasheed


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## pacman99 (Oct 9, 2005)

darn. Got my hopes up  Oh well.
Geo is on 61.5 so I'm HOPING they'll add the two pakistani channels *when they get around to doing so* on 61.5 as well. 121 is just too trouble to point to or so I hear.

It said before December 2005 and now it says Dec 2005 OR Jan 2006...That's never a good sign.


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

574 is showing an Italian or Russian channel, I can't tell..didn't watch enough to get the station ID.

575 is showing Aajtak again for free, I don't know why. Aajtak is a 148/61.5 channel, so again, not sure why the duplication. If they want to show Aajtak for free, just unlock its normal number instead of multi-uploading it.

I am able to see both for free as part of that 'select' subscribers group.

Rasheed


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## kstuart (Apr 25, 2002)

rasheed said:


> I am able to see both for free as part of that 'select' subscribers group.


And what do you have to do to become part of that group ? 

Can the phone reps do it upon request ?

Why is it restricted at all ??


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

kstuart said:


> And what do you have to do to become part of that group ?
> 
> Can the phone reps do it upon request ?
> 
> Why is it restricted at all ??


I happen to be part of a group of subscribers that pay an absurd amount of money for a handful of international channels. You are welcome to join that group as you'd like. I do not believe you can be otherwise added for the free preview unless you have related interntional subscriptions.

I don't know why Dish restricts access except they don't see much sales opportunity among non-currently international subscribers, but I do know from time to time they have not restricted the free previews of international channels on 121. The thing was, not many people (even myself) have 121 angle.

I thought they might give you access because you have B4U Music a la carte. You can call them and ask them about it, I see no harm there. I would call the special international line..if it indeed goes to someone special (I'm not sure -- that number is: 1-888-887-7264).

I am not sure about the policy of 574/575, but the policy for 599 on the website states: "Customers attempting to view Ch. 599 on Satellite 61.5 or 148 must subscribe to at least one international channel/package in order to view this channel. ". I assume even having B4U Music would be enough to see 599 or 574/575. Maybe they will fix the access if someone notifies them they left off checking for B4U Music subscription in their access table. I would talk with their technical team and not billing by the way at the regular number if you get no where with the special international line.

Rasheed


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

I didn't want it to get lost...South Asian is also getting hit with price increases.

Mega Pack will jump 10% to 54.99 (from 49.99)
Jumbo Packs will jump 11% to 49.99 (from 44.99)

Rasheed


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## JKnight (Oct 28, 2005)

will they tell us in the bill or will it shown automatically on the bill. Or is it just for the new subscribers only. becuase sometimes the changes apply only when ppl change their service.


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## danzung (Apr 4, 2006)

Can Indian Cahnnels be viewed on FTAs....by any chance



amit5roy5 said:


> I was wondering if Dish Network has any plans of making a bigger Indian channel package. I was wondering if there were plans to include:
> 
> Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, AMERICAN DESI/SOUTH ASIA WORLD. All these channels are either in English or all the languages are derived form Sanskrit. So, you can understand the other non-Hindi languages. (that is how non-Hindi speakers in India can watch Bollywood movies). Is Dish planning such a package?
> 
> Also, I feel the South Asian channels are WAY overpriced.


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## Fifty Caliber (Jan 4, 2006)

You might try asking on the FTA forum.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Since he didn't post in the FTA forum :scratch:, here's the scoop.

Dish internationals are typically *not* free to air. It so happens that there are _currently_ two Indian channels available, ASC Flix and ASC Xtra, on Intelsat Americas 5. This is temporary; GlobeCast is already accepting subscriptions for them.

To keep track of what FTA channels are available in Hindi at any given time, bookmark this: http://www.ftalist.com/hindi.htm .


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

danzung said:


> Can Indian Cahnnels be viewed on FTAs....by any chance


According to this link, 2 Indian channels can be received FTA in USA : Zee Cinema USA and Zee TV USA. I haven't personally verified whether this is true.

http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/United-States.html


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

I can't verify it either, but it would require a C-band dish pointed at Intelsat 805.

Note that the link Chandu provided is of the free channels that *originate* in the US. The list of free channels that originate in India is http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/India.html . Note that most of them are on satellites that cannot be seen from North America, and some of them are in Malayalam. Hmm, I need to add a Malayalam page now.


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

carload said:


> I can't verify it either, but it would require a C-band dish pointed at Intelsat 805.
> 
> Note that the link Chandu provided is of the free channels that *originate* in the US.


Correct. I believe a satellite receiver and a C-band dish from a provider like Globecast will do the job. Again, I haven't spent the effort verifying this. I may do it in about a month when I get Globecast for some other program content.



> The list of free channels that originate in India is http://www.lyngsat.com/freetv/India.html . Note that most of them are on satellites that cannot be seen from North America, and some of them are in Malayalam. Hmm, I need to add a Malayalam page now.


danzung's profile indicates he's in USA. Yes, none of the FTA channels originating from India can be seen in North America.


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## rnbmusicfan (Jul 19, 2005)

Well, it appears American Desi and South Asia World are gone, now. Did Dish just no longer want them, or did these channels cease programming? With a special dish needed, and no packaging in place with the existing popular channels, and unknown content, I couldn't see a demand for it.


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## katellite (Jul 30, 2006)

Chandu said:


> According to this link, 2 Indian channels can be received FTA in USA : Zee Cinema USA and Zee TV USA. I haven't personally verified whether this is true.
> 
> <Lyngsat URL>


Has anyone verified that these cannot be watched? This is exciting for me if these channels can be watched free, I may buy the equipment...


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

katellite said:


> Has anyone verified that these cannot be watched? This is exciting for me if these channels can be watched free, I may buy the equipment...


I have not yet heard from anyone who is watching either of these Zee channels on FTA. Maybe someone at Sadoun knows..?

Rasheed


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## katellite (Jul 30, 2006)

EDIT: anyone know good sites for receiver and dish info?

Also anyone know if it's possible to modify a dish network receiver to receive FTA (I don't want the dish channels, just fta channels, it's an mpeg2 receiver), and what size dish this intelsat 805 would require?


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## katellite (Jul 30, 2006)

rasheed said:


> I have not yet heard from anyone who is watching either of these Zee channels on FTA. Maybe someone at Sadoun knows..?
> 
> Rasheed


I've e-mailed Sadoun's CS dep., hopefully they've something to say..


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

katellite said:


> EDIT: anyone know good sites for receiver and dish info?
> 
> Also anyone know if it's possible to modify a dish network receiver to receive FTA (I don't want the dish channels, just fta channels, it's an mpeg2 receiver), and what size dish this intelsat 805 would require?


You can try our FTA forum. Lots of nice people there.

As far as modifying an E* receiver, sorry. The only FTA feeds you will get on an E* receiver are the ones offered on E*'s satellites (a handful - not a lot). E* receivers cannot be modified to pick up other satellites.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

I have 2 questions:

1.)What happened to sahara filmy which was supposed to come in directv from this week?

Any update on this--when will it come and if yes will hindi direct pricing remain the same?

2.)What happened to South Asia World channel these days? It used to come with SuperDISH some time back. Is there any way we can get it now without superDISH (jus the normal International DISH) or DirectTV???


Thanks


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## prashp1 (Jul 31, 2006)

Sahara filmy is now going to be launched from Sept 14 or so I heard. Hindidirect pricing is going to change from what I heard, from $29.99 to $39.99. Also it will be availabe as a la carte for $19.99 I heard.



quizzer said:


> I have 2 questions:
> 
> 1.)What happened to sahara filmy which was supposed to come in directv from this week?
> 
> ...


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

Unbelieveable to have Sahara one on Dish and Sahara Filmy on DirecTV. I don't know why Sahara would sign contracts like this....

I think South Asia World is gone.

Also, there is more South Asian program out there...look for Indian Waves and IW Youth on Colours, AVS (also carried on Sony) is also there. Free channel at 9407 if you have a wing dish.

Rasheed


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Rasheed,

Did you mean those free indian channels come on dish channel 9407?

i have a small international dish and i cant see 9407???

what comes in place of south asia world in dish tv?

is it CNN-IBN?

Thanks


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

South Asian World is just gone..no replacement.

If you can't see 9407 which is free to all Dish subscribers (no matter what package you have) because you don't have that particular Dish satellite location, since you are Southern California, KVMD (31 on Dish) is also carrying AVS on Saturdays also. (I assume you already see the other Indian shows on KSCI on 18 on Saturdays as well).

Rasheed


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

I can see 9407. It is showing some Colours TV AVS right now. Don't think I'll watch it for too long, but it's good to know of the existance of this option. Not sure what a wing dish is. I have a DISH 500 pointing to the bird carrying international programming.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

I have directv as main and dish (jus for international 61.5).

you are right, i get showbiz India and namaste america on saturday morning from 11 to 1 on channel 18 in directv.

I heard south asia world is going to come in directv in future?

Any idea about this?


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

I have no idea what is happening with SAW. Because it wasn't part of a combo package, it had very low subscription I think.

Rasheed


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

You are right.

SAW was not part of normal combo and was coming only with SuperDish.

But it was a good channel for infotainment.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

E* has delivered a master stroke by covering both these series ($150) at a price less than D for champions trophy ($200)

Has anybody already ordered this PPV from E*???

One more question:

I have only the international dish from E* pointed at 61.5...can i get the cricket PPV???

Thanks


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## prashp1 (Jul 31, 2006)

Sahara Filmy is now showing on channel 2008. Enjoy 



prashp1 said:


> Sahara filmy is now going to be launched from Sept 14 or so I heard. Hindidirect pricing is going to change from what I heard, from $29.99 to $39.99. Also it will be availabe as a la carte for $19.99 I heard.


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

prashp1 said:


> Sahara filmy is now going to be launched from Sept 14 or so I heard. Hindidirect pricing is going to change from what I heard, from $29.99 to $39.99. Also it will be availabe as a la carte for $19.99 I heard.


So, where are you "hearing" these things? Is there a link you can point to? DirecTV's website still has all old information, with no mention of Sahara Filmy. (BTW, this discussion probably belongs in the DirecTV subforum.)

I can see programming on channel 2008 with "To be announced" in program guide. If it stays there without price going up, I could live with it. If they increase the price, I'll call DirecTV to protest and drop it from my programming, as I didn't ask for it. Or, I'll drop HindiDirect completely altogether.


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## prashp1 (Jul 31, 2006)

I called the distributer for Sahara channels in USA. The guy there told me all this info. The actual launch is for Sep 14th. Right now its a soft launch (free preview, maybe). Maybe on the 14th its going to be on DirecTV website with price info. Don't know.
(yes this should be on the DirecTV subforum  )



Chandu said:


> So, where are you "hearing" these things? Is there a link you can point to? DirecTV's website still has all old information, with no mention of Sahara Filmy. (BTW, this discussion probably belongs in the DirecTV subforum.)
> 
> I can see programming on channel 2008 with "To be announced" in program guide. If it stays there without price going up, I could live with it. If they increase the price, I'll call DirecTV to protest and drop it from my programming, as I didn't ask for it. Or, I'll drop HindiDirect completely altogether.


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## ilgman (Aug 10, 2005)

Hi all,

I work in the International Language Group at DTV.

For all with a DTV international dish:

Filmy is free to view until 10/12/06. It will be added to HiniDirect II on 10/02/06 and
go for 39.99. ch 2008

DD India (Doordarshan) is free to view all the time. ch 2025

Hope this helps,
Larry


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Larry,

What if am not interested in sahara filmy channel.

I would be given an option not to subscribe that channel -- right??? 

I dont want to pay anyhting for that useless channel...

One more thing -- are any new channels planned in southasia direct???

Do you have any idea whether "SouthAsiaWorld" is going to come in directv?

Thanks


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

Welcome to an employee from the internationals team. Credit to DirectTV for working to offer some competitive offerings to Dish in this space.

If you see his note carefully, he is indicating that a package called HindiDirect II is coming -- so I expect your existing package to remain available at a lower price without the new channel....but expect all new channels to be only available via HindiDirect II or whatever new packages come -- I think HindiDirect is 'full' at its current price point.

Rasheed


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

quizzer said:


> What if am not interested in sahara filmy channel.
> 
> I would be given an option not to subscribe that channel -- right???
> 
> I dont want to pay anyhting for that useless channel...


Yeah, exactly. I'm not interested in paying for that ..... ahem, let me search for a polite word here .... crap. And if it's possible, also take away MTV Desi along with it and put it in HindiDirect II exclusive. Those 2 channels can safely coexist with each other and away from my receiver


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Rasheed's statement makes sense in terms of pricing.

Agree with chandu that thos channels are crap.

Iam longing for quality channels similar to NDTV.

Southasiaworld was a nice one..it was yanked for poor patronage. i really hope it will be back soon.

What about CNN-IBN or Times NOW or CNBC TV18???

Thanks


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Larry,

What are the other channels in Hindi direct II???

Thanks


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Rasheed/Larry,

Its a long time since we had new south asian channels on dish and directv?

Any news on forthcoming possibilities???

CNN-IBN
TeZZ
Times-NOW
BBC World
SKY
STAR Gold

Thanks


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

quizzer said:


> Rasheed/Larry,
> 
> Its a long time since we had new south asian channels on dish and directv?
> 
> ...


BBC World could be possible. There is now a US feed for this channel. Dish needs to get encouragement to add this channel I think. The others -- no idea.

Rasheed


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

Larry,

Oct 2 is here..whens hindi direct II kicking off???

Thanks


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

prashp1 said:


> Sahara filmy is now going to be launched from Sept 14 or so I heard. Hindidirect pricing is going to change from what I heard, from $29.99 to $39.99. Also it will be availabe as a la carte for $19.99 I heard.


Prashp,

can you talk to ur retailer and find out when the hindi direct II (sahara filmy) is going to be introduced and priced???

I know its free as of now..just curious to know the same.

will hindi direct II have any othet channel besides filmy?

Thanks


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## prashp1 (Jul 31, 2006)

quizzer said:


> Prashp,
> 
> can you talk to ur retailer and find out when the hindi direct II (sahara filmy) is going to be introduced and priced???
> 
> ...


Directv website has hindi direct II now. Which is priced at $39.99 with Filmy. Also you can get Filmy as a la carte for $19.99.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

prashp1 said:


> Directv website has hindi direct II now. Which is priced at $39.99 with Filmy. Also you can get Filmy as a la carte for $19.99.


Thanks Prash...i checked it.

Good that hindi direct is unchanged at 29.99usd and we are not forced to take the crappy sahara filmy channel.

Rasheed was right about it.

Thanks


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

The free preview channel is currently showing Sony Entertainment Television Max (basically movie channel). It is on 573. Requires you have a 61.5 or 148 viewing and at least one international channel subscribed (any type).

Not sure when this preview expires. Dish has been pushing to move those who subscribe to just a few channels to the big Hindi packs, but I continue to resist based on those costs.

Not sure when the preview expires, if you need guide data, check 612 or 793

Rasheed


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

rasheed said:


> The free preview channel is currently showing Sony Entertainment Television Max (basically movie channel). It is on 573. Requires you have a 61.5 or 148 viewing and at least one international channel subscribed (any type).
> 
> Not sure when this preview expires. Dish has been pushing to move those who subscribe to just a few channels to the big Hindi packs, but I continue to resist based on those costs.
> 
> ...


55 USD for hindi megapack is outrageous.


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## ppn.rm (Oct 17, 2006)

Is dishnetwork going to realse any new hindi channel? Direct tv already realse so I think dishnetwork needs to get us some channel please


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## rasheed (Sep 12, 2005)

What new channels do you want that you think would have broad appeal that are NOT owned by News Corp.?

Rasheed


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## pacman99 (Oct 9, 2005)

^out of curiosity, Sahara Filmi is owned by NewsCorp? or does it have an exclusive contract w/ directv?

There's this channel that i've been REALLY wanting to see here but I doubt they'd be able to get the rights for that channel here since it would probably compete with other channels with similar programming. The channel is AXN and I believe it's from singapore.


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

pacman99 said:


> ^out of curiosity, Sahara Filmi is owned by NewsCorp? or does it have an exclusive contract w/ directv?
> 
> There's this channel that i've been REALLY wanting to see here but I doubt they'd be able to get the rights for that channel here since it would probably compete with other channels with similar programming. The channel is AXN and I believe it's from singapore.


Sahara has got exclusivity for filmy with directv...for one and samay they have with dish

AXN cant come in the USA as most of the programming are based out of channels already in the US.

It will be good if dish and/or diretv starts some good international news channels like BBC World, EURONEWS etc.

My another wish would be CNBCTV18 (SouthAsiaWorld was good before it got yanked from dish)

Rasheed,

Thanks to you am watching koffee with karan on saturdays.


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## ppn.rm (Oct 17, 2006)

Does anyone if Mtv desi coming to dishnetwork. Or any new south asian channel coming to dishnetwork


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

ppn.rm said:


> Does anyone if Mtv desi coming to dishnetwork. Or any new south asian channel coming to dishnetwork


mtv desi wont come in dish..as they have exclusivity with directv


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## ppn.rm (Oct 17, 2006)

Any south asian channel coming to dishnetwork? Or Hindi Channel?


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## quizzer (Aug 29, 2006)

ppn.rm said:


> Any south asian channel coming to dishnetwork? Or Hindi Channel?


from johns channel update american desi is off from today.

i dont think there are many hindi channels left to be added in dish.

zee,sony and sahara network already comes..star group is in directv

wht specific channels r u looking at?


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## ppn.rm (Oct 17, 2006)

quizzer said:


> from johns channel update american desi is off from today.
> 
> i dont think there are many hindi channels left to be added in dish.
> 
> ...


I was wondering the channels like Zee Music is coming to dishnetwork or any other hindi channel


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## rupsons (Dec 8, 2006)

katellite said:


> Has anyone verified that these cannot be watched? This is exciting for me if these channels can be watched free, I may buy the equipment...


go ahead and buy , you will realy get to watch free these two channels on intelasat 805 , i myself watching the same since two years , ( just now i am watching too while replying you this message )

have a good time

rajesh 
brazil 
land of sea and beaches


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## Chandu (Oct 3, 2005)

rupsons said:


> go ahead and buy , you will realy get to watch free these two channels on intelasat 805 , i myself watching the same since two years , ( just now i am watching too while replying you this message )
> 
> have a good time
> 
> ...


The fact that you can watch them very well in Brasil doesn't necessarily prove that you could see them in North America (especially US). Also, can you see them is Brasil with a Ku-Band or C-Band? In USA, you absolutely need a C-Band for them, if at all possible to see them.

Still waiting for someone *in USA* to confirm that they can get them FTA.


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## rupsons (Dec 8, 2006)

ok , that is true , here in brazil zee tv is on on c-band zee tv usa and zee cinema 

have a good luck 
rajesh 
brazil


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