Indonesia’s fast-growing DTH market has a new player after local media group PT. Digital Media Asia forged a capacity deal with Hong Kong-based satellite operator AsiaSat.
Digital Media, whose CEO David Khim helped found satellite broadband firm…
Indonesia’s fast-growing DTH market has a new player after local media group PT. Digital Media Asia forged a capacity deal with Hong Kong-based satellite operator AsiaSat.
Digital Media, whose CEO David Khim helped found satellite broadband firm Speedcast with AsiaSat back in 1999, launched Viva+ with Ku-band transponders on AsiaSat 5, which is located at 100.5E.
Plans for the platform were revealed last year when Digital Media said it was buying broadcasting rights for the football World Cup that starts on 12 June 2014.
Viva+ will initially broadcast two HD and 35 SD channels, including nine dedicated to coverage of the World Cup in Brazil.
Khim said: “With AsiaSat’s support, we are able to move swiftly to introduce our unique World Cup package to all soccer fans in Indonesia. We are delighted to have this opportunity to work closely with AsiaSat in the coming years to expand our services and to offer more programme options to our customers.”
PT Digital Media Asia is a subsidiary of PT Visi Media Asia Tbk. (VIVA), which owns free-to-air platforms TVone and ANTV, as well as the viva.co.id news portal.
Local investor KIA Group (Konektivitas Infrastruktur Asia) acquired a 49% stake in Viva in February 2013. That same year VIVA president director Eric Tohir was cited saying it had allocated a US$40m budget for its upcoming new satellite TV platform. Around US$30m was reportedly earmarked for capital spending while the budget was supported by a facility of up to US$80m from Deutsche Bank.
Tohir was also quoted at the time dismissing speculation of a plan to sell VIVA to MNC Group, which dominates Indonesia’s pay-TV market with the MSKY platform.
MSKY, which last year secured a deal for capacity on SES-7, had around 71% of the market in July 2013. It operates through the Indovision, Top TV and Okevision brands.
Viva+ is reportedly vying for around 300,000 customers in its first year, and aims to later reach one million subscribers by poaching them from other pay-TV services with unique content.
AsiaSat 5 was built by US-based Space Systems Loral and launched in August 2009 with a design life of 15 years.
