ALPHA SAT LEAVING DIRECTV

[DKSat]

Alpha Sat will no longer be available on the Directv platforme as of December 28 2010.

DKSat

[HellasHab]

I guess this means that Alpha Sat will no longer be available in North America as DirecTV is the only one who carries it- is this channel shutting down or just leaving DirecTV?!

DKSat, any word on what will replace this channel, if anything?! I would assume ERT World- has that dispute with Dishnet been resolved yet?!

[Kolossos]

It isn't shutting down only leaving DirecTV

[HellasHab]

It isn't shutting down only leaving DirecTV

So where is it going then, I can't really see any other provider picking this channel up except perhaps Dish Network who seem to add pretty much any international channel they can get their hands on including niche, 2nd tier channels.

[likos]

Remember that it was Directv that brought Alpha to the US (with much fanfare); it is not represented by some other company.

[HellasHab]

Actually it appears to be represented by Greek Media Group as it is listed on their website. I suspect that maybe they asked for a price increase and DirecTV told them to take a hike instead. :D

[likos]

Actually it appears to be represented by Greek Media Group as it is listed on their website. I suspect that maybe they asked for a price increase and DirecTV told them to take a hike instead. :D

Thanks for the link. I guess they ended up representing all except ANT1, though that website is quite old. It even lists STAR and ALTER on RCN, which has not been true for months.

Given the current economic climate, you would think these companies would think twice before asking for ridiculous fees. Also, ALTER and STAR should probably have combined into one channel for the US market; they do not have enough original material for a 24-hour channel. I don't see anyone rushing to pick these up. The main interest is for ANT1 and ERT and MEGA.

[HellasHab]

Check out this thread about Greek Media Group, I posted about Alpha Sat being added to their site a little while ago. Also, ANT1 is represented by International Media Distribution, a company owned by Comcast (its mentioned in that thread as well).

Also, ALTER and STAR should probably have combined into one channel for the US market; they do not have enough original material for a 24-hour channel

I would agree and I would also add that (at least IMO) Alter, Alpha & Star do not have widespread appeal which is why they are having problems with distribution. I don't think these service providers think they can make money from these channels which is why they refuse to carry them (in Star's case) or are dropping them (in Alter & Alpha's case). I am seeing people starting to get fed up with all this cheap reality crap they are airing. Alpha Sat is full of this junk, how many subscriptions can you sell with a channel like this in your lineup?!

The main interest is for ANT1 and ERT and MEGA.

Right you are which is why I have previously stated that I believe these 3 channels are the ones that will be around long term. The rest will probably slowly fade away one by one.

[Kolossos]

So where is it going then, I can't really see any other provider picking this channel up except perhaps Dish Network who seem to add pretty much any international channel they can get their hands on including niche, 2nd tier channels.

Sorry I should of wrote it better it is leaving the USA but will continue in AU NZ etc :)

[Kolossos]

Check out this thread about Greek Media Group, I posted about Alpha Sat being added to their site a little while ago. Also, ANT1 is represented by International Media Distribution, a company owned by Comcast (its mentioned in that thread as well).

I would agree and I would also add that (at least IMO) Alter, Alpha & Star do not have widespread appeal which is why they are having problems with distribution. I don't think these service providers think they can make money from these channels which is why they refuse to carry them (in Star's case) or are dropping them (in Alter & Alpha's case). I am seeing people starting to get fed up with all this cheap reality crap they are airing. Alpha Sat is full of this junk, how many subscriptions can you sell with a channel like this in your lineup?!

Right you are which is why I have previously stated that I believe these 3 channels are the ones that will be around long term. The rest will probably slowly fade away one by one.

Reality Crap?... have you seen Ant1 recently like who watches XFACTOR, Top Chef or Next top Model I know my olds dont give a stuff about that s%$#! lol... the only thing Ant1 has appeal with is the Soccer otherwise it would be in the same basket as the rest of the channels this is even shown in the ratings in Greece, MEGA is now number one in Greece Ant1 hasn't been performing well at all with there new shows...

[HellasHab]

Reality Crap?... have you seen Ant1 recently like who watches XFACTOR, Top Chef or Next top Model I know my olds dont give a stuff about that s%$#! lol... the only thing Ant1 has appeal with is the Soccer otherwise it would be in the same basket as the rest of the channels

Well, in fairness the discussion was about Alpha Sat (until I veered it off course a bit :D) but yes I agree completely about ANT1- its gone down the tubes as well and does not appear to be changing course anytime soon. I just read that the head of programming quit and the new guy is going to start clearing house (he wants to fire a bunch of reporters from their news division). Afto mas xriastike, if they get rid of the news then I am cancelling this sucker (my provider only has Odyssey so I am stuck watching these shows you mentioned Kolossos which I HATE very much and thankfully it appears I am not alone :))

It looks like ANT1 is going in the direction of Alpha Sat, programming wise, which might not bode well for their international channels. As you mentioned, older folks don't like this reality junk, might be why I heard they will be debuting a new serial in January exclusively on their satellite channels. They need to make changes to their satellite channels IMO and not just air the same programming they air in Greece or they may see a downturn in subscriptions soon. If DirecTV can somehow pick up ERT World then I think you may see people defecting from Dish to go to DirecTV.

As far as MEGA goes, they are not doing that good either. I read that several of their new shows are not doing well, ratings wise. Also, all the new shows they were going to debut in January for the second half of the season have been shelved including the much anticipated return of popular serial Peninta Peninta (50-50). Looks like rough waters ahead for Greek media.

[HellasHab]

Sorry I should of wrote it better it is leaving the USA but will continue in AU NZ etc :)

Continuing as a separate channel or as part of that Ellas+ service?

[Kolossos]

As is now Alpha Australia full channel on its own nothing has changed here for the past 6-7 years only change has been Alter changing to Ellas+ recently everything else has stayed the same :)

Australia and North America have different audiences I think, since these channels have worked here just fine for many years.

[Grk101]

What a shame! There are still some worthy shows on Alpha. If any of the channels were to leave, I think it should by Alter. They have little original programming anymore. It is all mostly re-runs of older reality stuff. Let's hope they at least try to get ERT World on board. I wonder if Dish would try to pick them up. There were rumors that they were looking to add another Greek channel to their package a while ago. But if that were to happen, that just would make the platform division even worse...

Wasn't their deal with Direct until 2014 or something? Is there any chance for a last minute deal?

[Grk101]

As far as MEGA goes, they are not doing that good either.

[HellasHab]

With all due respect, you read wrong. The economic crisis has hit everyone and forced cutbacks, but it isn't due to poor ratings in Mega's case. For them, it is due to a decline in advertising revenue, which is their main stream of revenue.

You are correct, my mistake I misread the article. In any event, the bottom line is they won't be airing anything new come January like they were planning to do. Here is the article I was referring to: http://tvnea.blogspot.com/2010/11/50-50_20.html

f you are referring to Giorgos Leventis, he wasn't the head of programming. He was the general manager. He left for a much bigger job. (heading a division of Simon Cowell's Syco) Giannis Latsios is the head of programming.

Yes, that is the guy I was referring to, I thought he was the head of programming- guess not?! Here is the article I came across that refers to the person taking his place looking to make cuts: http://tvnea.blogspot.com/2010/11/blog-post_8757.html

Article about him resigning: http://tvnea.blogspot.com/2010/11/1-tv.html

[HellasHab]

What a shame! There are still some worthy shows on Alpha. If any of the channels were to leave, I think it should by Alter. They have little original programming anymore. It is all mostly re-runs of older reality stuff.

I think what you need is an omnibus channel that airs the best from each channel, like UBI World TV has done with their Ellas+ service. Take the most popular shows from Alpha, Alter & Star and slap everything together onto one channel. There is not enough good programming on these channels to justify each one launching their own service, at least IMO. Also, all these Greek channels are way overpriced IMO but since people keep paying these high prices, there is not much you can do?!

Actually, it appears that NGTV which is available in NY/NJ does exactly what I mentioned above. Looking at their schedule I see programs from Alpha, Alter, MEGA and even a couple from ERT.

[Grk101]

Alpha Sat is leaving December 28, 2010 confirmed. Just got a letter in the mail from Directv. :(

GreekDirect will be reduced to $14.99, and GreekDirect II to $29.99.

Don't know how this will work though, since the current "GreekDirect" package includes Mega and Alpha. I guess it will just switch to Mega only? The price decrease reflects it's a la carte price. Why even have a package for 1 channel?

[Grk101]

I think what you need is an omnibus channel that airs the best from each channel, like UBI World TV has done with their Ellas+ service. Take the most popular shows from Alpha, Alter & Star and slap everything together onto one channel. There is not enough good programming on these channels to justify each one launching their own service, at least IMO. Also, all these Greek channels are way overpriced IMO but since people keep paying these high prices, there is not much you can do?!

Actually, it appears that NGTV which is available in NY/NJ does exactly what I mentioned above. Looking at their schedule I see programs from Alpha, Alter, MEGA and even a couple from ERT.

I agree, honestly it seems like the best solution especially since this Greek Media Group seems to own the rights to all the channels. I would be nice to have a mix channel consisting of programs from Alter, Alpha, and Star. Mega Cosmos should be left as a separate channel. They have tons of great programming. Maybe this mix channel would be more attractive to service providers as well.

[likos]

Directv's second forray into Greek programming is beginning to look more and more like the first one. No wonder ERT doesn't want to mess with them a second time.

[HellasHab]

Maybe Greek Media Group should take their channels to GlobeCast WTV, they might be interested in adding these channels?! It was rumoured that ERT World might wind up on that platform some day as a FTA channel (good luck with that one), adding these channels would give them a nice little package. Of course since they only offer international services, I am not sure how many would subscribe?!

[Kolossos]

This model works in Australia for pay tv which only offer International channels like UBI the main one, there is nothing like that in America it may work there also and offer better packages etc :)

[HellasHab]

DirecTV has removed Greek package info from their website, looks like the whole package may be dropped not just Alpha Sat?!

[Grk101]

Maybe they removed it while they remove Alpha Sat from the sub-site?

Interestingly enough, this morning, I saw a scrolling message across the bottom of Alpha Sat channel saying the channel would be leaving DirecTV on December 31st, and to call if there are any questions. I decided to give DirecTV a call for myself. Got some interesting information, the representative seemed very informed. He stated that Alpha Sat is in fact scheduled to leave DirecTV by the end of the month. He said that contract extension negotiations failed, but they were still working on the situation. He said that if Alpha does end up leaving, DirecTV will work on getting another Greek channel to come on board and fill the void. I asked him what kind of channel, and he said they don

[HellasHab]

Basically what we speculated seems true. It seems that this Greek Media Group asked for more money, and DirecTV has called their bluff. Now what happens after this is a mystery.

The Greek package is still a no show on the DirecTV website, which means the supposed (just speculation on my part) dispute between DirecTV & GMG has escalated. Either DirecTV just told them to take a hike and dropped the entire package OR GMG has decided to part ways with DirecTV?! I wonder how much these guys are asking for these channels- they do know we are in the middle of a severe recession don't they?!

If they are being greedy and asking for a lot then I don't see Dish Network adding any of these channels since they have a history of playing hardball with broadcasters. Recent disputes include News Corp. and Cablevision with their MSG channels. Also, I noticed several internationals have been removed as well, I think some of those might have been due to price disputes as well?!