HellasHab

They air Super League (they have the rights to the teams that ERT World had the rights to), Football League, A1 Basketball and some volleyball. I agree, if Sport Plus were to acquire exclusive rights to the Super League then at least half the games would be shown tape delayed every week. Exclusive rights would bring them more subscribers and expanded coverage (right now they are only available on 1 provider in the USA and 1 in Canada), which is why they are probably looking into acquiring the rights to all teams. The present situation with ANT1 & Sport Plus airing games is the best for soccer fans IMO. However, both of these broadcasters need to start airing games in HD- are any Super League matches aired in HD in Greece?! Sport Plus should have launched in HD, what kind of sports channel launches in this day and age and broadcasts in standard definition?! At the very least both ANT1 Satellite and Sport Plus should upgrade their signal and transmit in widescreen format if not outright HD.

Is this thing legal?! Also, it looks like the channels they offer are direct from Greece not the international feeds we get here in North America?! There is a 7 hour time difference with Greece, unless there is a time shifted option I don't see the point of subscribing to these as you won't be able to watch much do to the time difference (i.e. prime time in Canada/USA would be early morning in Greece). Its not much better on Bell but the problem has to do with Odyssey not Antenna. The channel we receive here is a Canadian service with programming from Antenna NOT the actual channel as they receive in the U.S. and Australia. If you were to receive Antenna Satellite directly you would see a difference in picture quality. OTN is a low budget outfit that probably has decades old equipment plus the channel is transmitted in SD which results in pretty crappy picture quality. It would be nice if Antenna would start broadcasting in HD (or at least widescreen format), not sure why they don't since they are in a much better financial situation then other Greek broadcasters and thus can afford to upgrade.

Hey Mike0257, Welcome to the forums! How long ago did you contact Bell, I am curious as I have been hassling them on and off for the past few months about adding Alpha Sat to satellite. Who did you talk with, if I may ask, I am a bit stunned that they told you that there are more Greek subscribers on satellite then on Fibe?! The frontline customer reps don't know jack, they just feed you BS most of the time. If they actually do have more customers on satellite then why the heck won't they add Alpha Sat which IMO is the only channel available on Fibe that is worth adding to satellite. You will never get all the channels they have on Fibe TV added to satellite because they don't have the capacity to add as many channels as they want- IPTV on the other hand has unlimited capacity. I think they are trying to get people to switch to Fibe TV as that is the service they want to push and its the future. Bell Satellite will remain for those in rural areas but I believe they will focus more and more on Fibe TV going forward. I have Bell TV as well for my parents and have no interest in switching to Fibe TV either (although its not yet available in my area). I do not like the new combo they have created which has channels I am not interested in. As for pick and pay coming soon, Bell fought this tooth and nail and was not at all happy that the CRTC approved this so I am very weary as to what they plan to offer. They recently introduced pick and pay and are charging $4. per channel, although not all channels are available on their own. That is too expensive, other providers that offer pick and pay charge between $2-3 per channel. I don't like the $25 basic package, it's still too high IMO but not much you can do about it- if you want TV service your options are pretty limited, especially if you want the Greek channels where Bell & Rogers are your only options.

I agree, why do they have to create a new broadcaster from scratch, just re-organize the existing one?! Like you said, it sounds like an ego trip, they have to put 'their' stamp on it so they can take the credit- typical political B.S. Did the article mention whether they plan to have 3 channels like the old ERT or 2 like NERIT?! I think they should stay with two, one based in the north (Thessaloniki) and one based in the south (Athens), there is no need for three channels IMO. Wow, I did not know that they would be tweaking the name when I heard ERT I assumed they would be restoring the old ERT- perhaps that is not possible since it was shut down?! I wonder what this means as far as the historical archives of the original ERT go- will they retain this library of programming (hopefully it hasn't been destroyed by previous governments) and use it with the new channel or are they going to do like NERIT and create entirely new content?! I like the new name, especially since it retains the 'ERT' abbreviation. Good luck with that, I hope they succeed but can anything in Greece really be run free of government interference?! This supports what I recently read, that the new ERT will operate as a public broadcaster (operates independently, at arms length from the government) as opposed to the old ERT and NERIT which are both state broadcasters (operated directly by the government). I don't think the residents of Greece will be happy to see this fee (essentially a TV tax) continue as I recall there was quite the uproar with most people wanting it abolished. I think they need to find a different way to fund ERT, people are having a hard enough time as it is to pay their hydro bills, they don't need another fee tacked on, especially one that has nothing to do with electricity service. Hopefully this is a temporary measure and someday if they ever establish a system where people pay taxes, they can allocate a portion of the taxes collected to go towards funding of ERT.

I saw the ad again the other day, it says that it will be on channel 2763.

Sport Plus will be launching in Canada on Feb. 19 on Bell Fibe, according to an ad that just started airing on Odyssey. It will be interesting to see how many subscribe to this, I wonder if they will try and obtain the rights to all super league matches once they are up for renewal?! Anyone from the USA who can comment on the quality of this channel, is it worth subscribing to?! Do Super League games air in HD in Greece, if so these guys need to start airing them in HD here too.

Actually the 3 companies are OTN, ECG & Titan Television. Soundview acted as a sponsor for some channels to get them on the approved list, I don't think they own the rights to any of them?! Here is the breakdown of who distributes what: Odyssey Television Network OTN1- ANT1 Satellite OTN2- MEGA Cosmos Alpha Sat* Greek Cinema* Sport Plus* Ethnic Channels Group Greek Music Channel NGTV Titan Television 4E RIK Sat Star International *- OTN is the official distributor for these channels, they are foreign services (no CDN content)

Interesting, I did not know that they offer content from so many channels, especially Star?! If I am not mistaken, isn't Action 24 an over the air station in Athens that used to be a sports station and is owned by the guy who owns Olympiakos? Dis this air anything significant that is worth watching?! Good question, Star does not air a lot of Greek content and arguably there are only 2 or 3 shows that might be considered popular so I am not really sure why this channel was added nor why Star International even exists?! I think they just jumped on the bandwagon with the rest of the Greek channels who have launched international services, trying to cash in thinking that those in the diaspora are starved for content from Greece and will subscribe to just about anything- think again! ;) I think Bell Fibe should dump Star, now that they carry NGTV- the fact that they have now included Star International in their Greek combo package and are forcing it on all new subscribers, should tell you how well it was doing before when it was sold on its own. Wow, I didn't know that they had gutted the channel of original content, I wonder what the reason is for that?! Here I was thinking that they should make the channel national, make it available in other parts of the USA but without any original productions and the niche content they have acquired from Greece, I don't think too many providers would agree to carry it?!

Skai TV and MAD World are no longer available. Ethnic Channels Group has replaced Skai with New Greek TV (according to MCIBUS, this is technically what this channel was anyway not the real Skai from Greece) and MAD World has been replaced with some channel called 'Greek Music Channel'. I think GMC is an in-house channel created by Ethnic Channels, I presume they are getting the content from MAD?! Music TV doesn't work, there were two such channels in the USA and both eventually shut down, I think ECG should just forget the music channel as I doubt they will get very many subscribers. NGTV is aimed at Greek-Americans, not sure how many will subscribe to this?! It has programming from Skai and Epsilon TV but both of those are niche channels that don't really have any popular programming so this channel might not last very long in Canada IMO.

Happy New Year fellow Phantis members! All the best for 2015, may the New Year bring Health, Happiness and Peace to everyone!! :tup: Also, I hope the new year will see a resurgence in the level of discussion on the forums, this place has been very quiet for a long time now. KALI XRONIA!! :gr:

Bell has updated their website with the programming changes to the Greek channels, I do not like the new 'Greek Combo' at all, not sure what they were thinking?! Good thing I am a satellite customer, I have no desire now to switch to Fibe as this new combo makes things more expensive and you are also forced to pay for channels you don't want- how many are going to be interested in PIK Sat, Skai or Star International?! I get ANT1 Satellite & MEGA Cosmos on satellite which is good enough, wish I had Alpha Sat as well but that will never happen. EDIT: MCIBUS is CHTO Radio still available on Fibe, its not listed on Bell's website?!

The old combo might remain for those who currently subscribe to it (grandfathered) but for new subscribers you will probably only have access to the new combo. You definitely won't see any of the new channels on satellite but they also will not be getting rid of the ones they currently carry. Bell TV is a national service, those who live in other parts of Canada only have access to OTN so Bell TV is the only way they can watch MEGA Cosmos and Greek Cinema. Also, there are many parts of Ontario where Fibe TV is not available and in some cases never will be- this service will only be available in big cities, satellite will serve the smaller cities and towns as well as rural areas. Bell recently dropped some Chinese channels from the satellite service, probably because they didn't have many subscribers, however I see no sign that they plan to drop all their ethnic channels?!

Where did you get this information about new packages, they are not listed on Bell's website?! The new combo is crap IMO, why are they forcing you to subscribe to all those niche channels that most people probably won't be interested in?! Is MEGA Cosmos an add-on to the combo or can you combine it with OTN, allowing you to subscribe only to those two channels?! I wonder if they will make any changes with the channels on Bell satellite, I hope they get rid of ERT World/Greek Cinema and add Alpha Sat. I have a feeling that they might drop ERT World and not add anything, leaving just ANT1 & MEGA on satellite and forcing you to get Fibe if you want other channels?!

It looks like Sport Plus is coming to Canada. An application from OTN was posted on the CRTC website today, requesting addition of the channel to the approved list of foreign channels. In the list of documents filed it states that this channel airs live soccer, basketball and volleyball from Greece. However, in the sample schedule they submitted I also see sailing as well as old super league games- how many will want to watch old games which I noticed go back at least 3 seasons?!

MCIBUS, Alpha Sat is not avaialble on Bell satellite, only Fibe. I had it out with Bell recently about this, why they refuse to add this and continue to offer 'ERT World' which doesn't exist and currently airs programming from Greek Cinema which doesn't interest me. They just fed me a bunch of BS about how OTN supposedly is currently trying to negotiate the rights to NERIT and that if they are successful they will add this channel- Hello?, NERIT hasn't fully launched in Greece, they are light years away from launching an international channel. :rolleyes: They also told me about some new phantom channel that is coming soon that is supposedly more popular than Alpha Sat?! :huh: Instead of taking responsibility they are passing the buck on to the broadcaster, they are the ones that determine what channels they carry on their service, if they want to drop a channel or in this case replace an exsting channel with another one they are well in their right to do so. Both cable providers that carried ERT World, dropped it shortly after ERT was shut down in Greece and replaced it with Alpha Sat, Bell kept the defunct channel for some inexplicable reason?! Gyros, If you want the full picture of how things are in Canada, check out my page here on the forum: http://forums.phantis.com/topic/11367-greek-tv-in-canada/. Basically, Odyssey (which airs programming from ANT1 Satellite) is must-carry which means all providers have to carry it. This is due to some stupid CRTC regulation whereby the very first multicutural channels that launched in Canada (4 of them- Greek, Chinese, South Asian & Italian/Spanish) get preferential treatment and all TV providers are forced to carry them and those that are interested in channels catering to these ethnicities are forced to subscribe to them. For example, in order to subscribe to any Greek channel, you must subscribe to Odyssey no matter what, you can't just subscribe to MEGA Cosmos or Alpha Sat if you wanted to. Corruption at its finest, its alive and well everywhere it seems not just in Greece.

Nice work Grk101! How did you find the website, I tried different name combinations but didn't come up with anything. I should have known 'the' would be part of it, Greek Cinema's web address also starts with 'the'- what is with these Greek broadcasters and the word "The"?!? :huh: :D I think the Sports.Comm company is a telecommunications company that the owner of Sport Plus partnered with to create the channel. In any event, I hope this channel is a permanent one and the owner (whomever it is) adds more content, specifically qualifying games for the National team.

You mean *if* the international channel ever launches because at this point I am very skeptical about whether that will happen?! If it is NERIT who is behind this, then the launch of Sport Plus is a very good move on their part but it also weakens their international service IMO. From what I read and heard, a lot of people who subscribed to ERT World did so for the soccer, now that this sports channel exists there is no need to subscribe to NERIT as soccer fans will get the games via ANT1 Satellite & Sport Plus. Also, this NERIT is a whole new beast and it appears will be quite different from ERT, I am starting to lose interest and not sure I will watch. Two of the better shows that aired on ERT World (Stin Ygeia Sas & Diaspora) have moved to Alpha TV. I think it also possible that the rights holder (TAF Sports) might be behind this, they have the rights so might as well do something with them and get back the money they paid to acquire the rights.

Dish Network has launched the first ever Greek Sports channel - Sport Plus. It is currently on Free preview until Sept. 10 for Dish subs and afterwards will part of the Greek Elite package. No idea who has launched this, I suspect either NERIT or the company that owns the International rights to the Super League. Here is the official description of the channel from Dish: Its about time someone launched a sports channel, hopefully they can get the rights to air Champions League or Europa League matches for the Greek teams taking part as well as Euro qualifers so we can watch the Ethniki without resorting to online streams. I hope this plans on launching in Canada at some point, I have not been able to find a website but I will continue looking.

Yes, I would like to know if this thing is ever going to launch as well- I want my ERT back!! I know, ERT is gone (unfortunately) and this new NERIT thing will probably be very different but at least we will have something to watch other then the same old black and white movies that are currently airing on the old ERT World channel. Stupid Bell refuses, for whatever reason, to drop 'ERT World/Greek Cinema' and add Alpha Sat like other providers have done here in Canada so we are stuck with this temp channel that still says ERT World even though its not, it seems that the new ERT is never going to launch?!? Can someone from Greece post some comments on this new entity, what is NERIT like compared to ERT?! Also, any news on a possible launch for the satellite channel or *if* they even plan on launching a satelite channel?! I thought they were going to launch 2 domestic channels and the satellite channel but from what I see above in Grk101's post they have launched 1 regular channel and 1 sports channel in Greece- what happened to NERIT 2?! It appears as though things are just as screwed up with NERIT as they were with ERT!? :rolleyes:

It looks like a rush job here to get this new service on the air before Eurovision starts. I like the new NERIT logo, its not too bad looking but is a lot better then the original logo IMO. I seriously hope they will rename the channels at some point down the road as I don't really like the current NERIT branding- NERIT 1, NERIT 2 just sounds horrible and doesn't really fit IMO as the name of a radio station or TV channel. As for the satellite channel, I think it might not launch until well into the summer unless they decide to do another rush job and get it on the air as quickly as possible which IMO would be a mistake. They should focus on the domestic service for now, get those channels operating properly and then later on focus on launching the international channel.

Is this thing ever going to launch, why announce a launch date if you are not go to adhere to it?! They are better off just giving some vague response like 'summer 2014' instead of attaching a hard date to the launch which makes them look like fools if the thing doesn't launch by the date they announced. Personally, I don't think this will launch anytime soon, eventually an election will be called and then everything will be on hold until after the election and if Syriza get in then who knows what they will do. They have the temp channel on the air so they probably are not in too much of a rush to get NERIT launched or so it seems?! ;) Any news on the naming contest for the channels, it would be interesting to know how many people sent in submissions and whether they have picked the names yet?!

My suggestion for the names of the TV channels would be EDT- Elliniki Dimotiki Tileorasi. I would name them E

The CRTC takes forever to update their website, so forget about finding any information from them. ECG has a license for a Greek chanel which they could use to launch Skai. However, Skai & MAD World have most likely been launched as exempt services IMO. This is a new category that the CRTC introduced recently where you don't have to go through the long process of acquiring a license, you just launch the channel as soon as you have secured carriage with a TV provider. They have list of such channels on their website (http://crtc.gc.ca/eng/BCASTING/catb_e3l.htm) but thus far Skai & MAD World are not on the list. Considering that ECG just issued a press release announcing the launch of this channel a couple of days ago, I think it will be a while yet before we find out whether these channels are licensed or exempt services. I find that most of these broadcasters (not just in Greece), tend to be run by arrogant pricks who only care about taking your money. They don't care at all about subscribers, I have contacted many over the years with questions about programming and most tend to be rude and only reply to emails after I have sent them 2 or 3. I tend to be a persistent individual and keep at it until they reply to my email- I am a paying customer and its part of their job to provider customer service to those that keep them in business by subscribing to their channels. Having said that, I recently emailed MEGA about the MEGA Cosmos distributor info listed on their site being incorrect and surprisingly even though they didn't reply back to me they did update the info, see here: http://www.megatv.com/summary.asp?catid=17829

Thanks for the link, it works. Can someone who subscribes to this channel confirm that this is the correct schedule?! I was thinking about emailing Alpha to inquire about why they don't have any info about Alpha Sat on their website but I noticed they don't have an email address for general inquiries?! Also, I recall that at one point there was an email address for Alpha Sat listed on their contact page but its gone?! I think I will just send my email to every address listed on their website and see what happens?! :D I think they should at the very least do what MEGA does and first of all acknowledge that this international service exists and secondly post a schedule for it, I don't think its that hard to update a schedule once a week. NGTV airs several original programs aimed at Greek-Americans, see here: http://www.newgreektv.com/index.php/tv-shows The schedule cannot be the same, Skai TV is not listed on the approved list which means its operating as a Canadian service and as such is required to air some Canadian content. Something seems fishy here, looks like they are trying to flaunt the rules and not air any local programming?!