Noulakaz

The blog of Avinash, Christina, Anya and Kyan Meetoo.

Parabole and Canal Sat to merge in Mauritius

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I’ve just read an article describing negotiations between Parabole Réunion and Canal Sat Réunion on an eventual merging following the union of TPS and Canal Sat in France.

According to the article (which dates from July 2008), the merging discussions are going on and things will become clearer in September i.e. this month. This means that Parabole Réunion and Canal Sat Réunion might announce in a few weeks that they’ll have a combined satellite offer.

 

I’ve done a bit of research and I’ve found out that, in Réunion, Outremer-Télécom has started offering via ADSL a number of channels which are normally available through TNT in France. I’ve also read that one member of the CSA has said that TNT will be available throughout Réunion by 2010 at latest. I’m talking of the French TNT here with such channels as TF1, France2, France3, Canal+, Canal+ Cinema, Canal+ Sport, M6, TF6, W9, i Télé, Virgin 17, TPS Star and Eurosport. No wonder Parabole Réunion and Canal Sat Réunion are eager to merge with the sudden arrival of such formidable competitors.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that the same thing will happen in Mauritius between Parabole Maurice and Canal Sat Maurice. Here, we won’t have the French TNT channels (we do have TNT but nothing comparable with what is available in France.) So there is less pressure on Parabole Maurice and Canal Sat Maurice to merge.

Economy of scale?

But, I believe that if Parabole Réunion and Canal Sat Réunion merge then the same will have to happen here eventually. The reason is that there is only one satellite (Eutelsat W2) which broadcast TV signals to Mauritius, Réunion, Madagascar, Mayotte and Comoros. It would be costly to continue broadcasting Parabole and Canal Sat signals separately over Mauritius while people in Reunion get their own distinct combined signal. The market here is simply too small to justify the cost. According to some statistics, about 5-10% of Mauritian households have a satellite subscription and this is small compared to the situation in Reunion where 50% of the households have satellite TV (and I don’t think that percentage will grow a lot here because of the price of a satellite TV subscription.)

So there is a distinct possibility that we, Mauritians, will have a combined TPS (Parabole) / Canal Sat offer in a few months. Now, this might seem a step backwards as we’ll essentially have less choice. But there is one big consequence of all this merging which is…

High-definition TV

Plasma and LCD high-definition TVs are relatively common now in Mauritius. They are getting cheaper and cheaper and I can forecast a lot of them being sold in December because they are so, ahem, sexy. I was speaking to a Sony sales representative and he was telling me that, for the time being, people who bought high-definition TVs were not very happy because of the lack of HD content in Mauritius (I blogged on that last year.)

It seems that people in Réunion already have two HD channels: TF1 HD and Canal+ HD. This is not yet the case in Mauritius as far as I know. If we get the same offer as in Réunion, then it’s logical we’ll get the HD channels as well… if we are prepared to pay for them of course (Both HD channels cost €7 per month in Réunion i.e. Rs. 300)

Furthermore, if you look at the channels available in Parabole Maurice and Canal Sat Maurice, you’ll notice a lot of duplication. For instance, TF1, M6, TF6, RTL9, Antenne Réunion, Tempo, Kanal Austral, LCI and Eurosport (9 channels!) are available on both. Combining both satellite offers means that there will be no need to broadcast those 9 channels twice thereby saving a lot of bandwidth… which can then be used for additional HD channels.

My predictions

In 2009 at latest (and, maybe by the end of this year), we, Mauritians will get a combined Parabole / Canal Sat satellite offer with at least two HD channels (maybe more, say, Disney Cinemagic HD or National Geographic Channel HD.)

Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

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Comments

  1. hi… I heard Canal Sat will soon announce the availability of HD Channels in Mauritius (last time I heard about it, it was due October this year!)… Those wishing to receive those will have to pay a higher decoder monthy fee… (s*ckers as always…)

  2. TNT means DVB-T, which can only be broadcasted via airwaves. What you meant is DVB.

    I think the real problem is that many people are buying HD-Ready (720p) TVs, which are much cheaper, instead of the True HD (Full HD) 1080p TVs. & many of these TVs don’t even have the proper HDMI input. :S

    & blu-ray players (apart from the PS3) aren’t that common in Mauritius, so definitely there’ll be a lack of HD content & of course our crap connections doesn’t allow HD downloads… :(

  3. Hi carrotmadman6,

    Thanks for this info. In fact, I meant that Outremer-Télécom has started offering via ADSL a number of channels which are normally accessed in France through DVB-T (i.e TNT.) I’ve slightly modified the main text to make it clearer.

    As for 720p vs 1080p, this is another debate but it seems that most people can’t see the difference from normal viewing distances on sensibly-sized TV sets (see this for example). I’ve read that, in fact, the processing makes all the difference. By the way, do you know Sony Bravia sets are powered by Linux?

  4. There is no such thing as HD Ready versus True HD. There is only one HD with different resolutions.

    The HD standard has evolved, that is all. All TV sets are still sold under the HD Ready banner in the UK, and consumers are expected to check which formats are supported by the HD Ready set that they buy.

    Eddy.

  5. I have read this article some months ago and inquired with parobole maurice and canalsat maurice since i have a subscription with both of them by all they said is that indeed they have plan to merge but this won’t be the case in maurice, it will happen only in reunion

    But incase if this happens will it mean that canalsat subscribers or parabole maurice subscribers will get common channels?

  7. Hi Sailesh,

    That’s what I hinted in my post. Due to lack of competition here, they won’t feel pressured to merge… except if they find out they are spending too much money to keep the two offerings and/or they do get some competition in the shape of IPTV.

    One possibility, in case the merging does not happen here, is to get a subscription from Réunion. You only need to have a bank account there I think. This is perhaps the only way to get HD here.

  8. HI avinash canalsat has already started offering HD channels in mauritius, the 1st channel is canal+ HD available on canal 91 for those having canalsat :) am already getting the Images at my place

  9. Ah bon?

    Are you paying something extra? Are you sure it’s HD (720p or 1080i)? Have you had to change your satellite decoder with one with component or HDMI outputs?

  10. Avinash canalsat is offering a new decoder for 5 months now which is HD enabled :), am not paying anything for now but manybe canalsat is doing that for testing purposes as the HD broadcast is not 24/24 but if you go to the newly opened canalsat showroom at john kennedy street p-louis , just infront of paille en queue court, you can see the decoder and the HD channels on show there

  12. Do let us know if ever you get additional info :) like when will the channels be officially launched and the price ect…

  13. before we can run, we need to be able to walk.

    first of all, we need EPG – Electronic Programming Guide.
    then we will think of HD.
    then we will think of 1080i or 1080p
    then we will think of True HD.

    until then, shops like cash and carry can always sell HD compatible, HD ready, HD upscaling technology to us all buyers and retailers.

    it’s only then and then we will fall in love with TV.

    i have a True HD 1080i enabled tv, and have watched 1080i movies,
    and evertime i watch 1080i movies, i get a very very large erection

  16. selven, the only way for you to understand this erectile function is if you watch a 1080i/p movie or clip, then you’ll understand.

    to me as long a monitor/lcd tv can display 1080i/p then it’s good enough
    only picky purist are the ones that would really find a difference between i and p

  17. In fact, only picky purists can find a difference between 720p and 1080p at normal viewing distance with a moderately-sized LCD or plasma TV (say 42-46″)

  18. there you go.
    most people dont. and we again we can have 1080i/p monitors, but not a single air frequency displaying 1080i/p.
    which is the same as driving a ferrari FXX through Curepipe. at 5 kph
    p.s moderately sized isn’t 42/46 more like 30/32

    thinking in perspective, only a handful of people know about those technologies profoundly, and the ones that know, know enough to not buy them or buy a smaller screen till the technology becomes widely available

    now only people with money and the stupid are the ones going to buy massive lcd panels, only to realise later that OMG shit f@#k HD gives me a boner, i need another HD tv,
    very expensive flat panel = very redundant peice of technology

    me = laugh at all of them

  19. That’s what we’re all saying.

    Most people (including myself) will be very happy with a 720p LCD or plasma TV as there is absolutely no perceivable difference with 1080p and there is a lack of HD content right now and SD (576 lines) is easier to display properly on 720p sets than 1080p sets as fewer pixels need to be interpolated.

    That’s why many “picky purists” still consider the 720 lines (or rather 768 lines) plasma sets from the Pioneer Kuro line the best in the world… Have a look at the PDP-4280HD for instance.

  21. Do you anything about the merger between Parabole and Canal yet? We don’t hear about it anymore?

  22. hi avinash, tell me is it possible to activate the chaine charme here(mauritius), thx , waiting for ur ans

  24. hello
    i need to buy a tv set full hd. can anyone help me out here before the salesman couyonne moi??!!

  26. hi..i just want to know wht is happening with the tnt channels? y there is no more b4u n even zoom..???tnt is now boring..
    if u have some info concerning it plz let me knw..
    thnks
    shakila

  27. They are not showing B4U because the satellite(Intelsat 10) which was broadcasting it, is not doing it anymore. As for Zoom which is found on the same satellite is an encrypted channel and I think they don’t have the rights to broadcast it (opposed to B4U which was free to air).

  28. Sir,
    Do we get Formula 1 Races on Canal or Parabole if so then in which channel.
    Thanks

  30. Le bouquet satéllite Parabole Réunion vient de rajouter dans son bouquet une chaine, une nouveauté au nom de STAR PLUS (chaine actif). Une chaine typiquement indienne au thématique variée mêlant séries, films, docs, musique. Rapellons que c’est cette thématique qui manquait au bouquet, de plus cette chaine est sans aucun supplément de prix.

  32. MC Vision has just changed my Decoder for a new HD one… However the time is not good on this one… Can this be set on each decoder or It is preset and syncronize by MC Vision itself? Also we are not able to view complete Programmes for a day or even next day which i used to check on my previous Decoder… Can anyone help?

  34. Hi can u help me out..in aret gagne meteo dan canal sat..i think there’s some prblm..plz try to find out wat has happned!!

  35. @ natasha,

    There is a button marked ” serv ” on the HD decoder remote, press on that, this will bring up the meteo :)

    Zee tv is being broadcasted 24/24 and what i like with canalsat is they broadcast EPL matches on HD :P , i love it, i get to watch LFC matches in HD even though it’s just 720p

  36. I think its unfair to pay for the all the channels and when you want to watch some of them Like Doctor House, it shows that its unavailable.

  37. hi dude u were completely wrong about the merging of canal sattelite and parabole maurice .But we have two hd channels offered by canal sattelite .I think that though
    the price of hd tv has fallen consequently around the world and here too ..we are still having the old models at the same price the new models are being sold in europe and the developed world .Yep we are still as always one step behind buying old for new lol..Long life to mauritius the tiger with no teeth of the indian ocean..aahaha

  38. Yeah, I was wrong. I didn’t anticipate the fact that, no matter what, the two companies behind CanalSat and Parabole here would not be able to compromise their respective positions.

    I know about the HD channels on CanalSat (I blogged on that on the ThreeBags Blog) but I am wary of the bitrate being used. Anyone has an idea?

  39. Zot pe donne gran gran lesson bane zen.kan moris pu emette an HD. Zot kapav rode sa reponse la pu mwa. sanks

  41. Hi,everybody be careful of canalsat maurice, zot arnaque poor people, with their false pub , they told you that now you watch 3 channels HD on your HD TV, the proposed channel are Canal+,Canal+ Sport and Canal+ Cinema ,so it’s not true, they give you the TF! ,canal+ and Canal+sport and you must change your BOUQUET as well , because the HD plays on certaine bouquet where you pay more and also you pay for the 3 HD channel which will cost you more,
    So it’s the last time that they will get my money, Bye ……..A+

  42. @beardoyja I have CanalSat at home and I have TF1, Canal+ and Canal+ Sport in HD. Personally, I’ve never had been told that Canal+ Cinema is in HD…

    BTW, I’ve just noticed that I’m getting a lot of new channels for free at this moment (mostly documentaries.) Must be some kind of promotion to attract new subscribers…

  43. Recently there has been some sort of ”changes” about canal sat….. I’ve no more rtl9,cine famiz and cine emotion… so whats going on with this??????? Weren’t they suppose to add channels instead of deducting it!!!!! And when I tried to call on the number of canal sat I’m left in wait more than 15 minutes……

  44. Personally, I’ve had no issues whatsoever. All my channels are fine. I’m waiting for CanalSat to add a few of them to my subscription :-)

  45. @ when real tnt no epg,no digital sound,audio L,R.channels mixed up,outdoor cameraman use hd camera new building apparently equipped with transferred material from forest-side and icing on the cake data sent 2 governing body doesn’t exploit to full potential,ABOUT HDTV in mauritius keep dreaming my friends if i didn’t have satellite tv,i’d b better off streaming what I choose 2 watch on my pc since I got a led monitor but I can still enjoy tf1 m6 canal+…. on fullhd42″ shame that I can’t get fr2 3 5 even discovery on hd even though eutelsat is broadcasting cause I got both subscription

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