Foxtel to axe Ovation Channel
Arts lovers get bad news as the Ovation Channel is told it will no longer be broadcast on Foxtel from early 2010.
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under Subscription
The Ovation Channel is set to disappear from Foxtel and Austar platforms in early 2010.
A statement appears on the Ovation Channel’s website which says:
The Ovation Channel has been advised that from early next year it will no longer be broadcast on Foxtel.
As a result Ovation will also not be available on Austar.
In the meantime, Ovation will continue to provide you with the excellent arts and entertainment programming that you have enjoyed for over 13 years.
Ovation thanks you, its large and loyal audience, and invites you to make a comment if you wish.
The channel, which focusses on classical music, concerts, theatre, ballet, and the performing arts, was started by Optus TV and sold to Sydney based firm Independent Entertainment in 2006. It also airs on the SelecTV subscription network.
The channel is popular with many elderly viewers, and has been almost single-handedly responsible for the success of Andre Rieu in Australia. Some have cheekily branded it “Channel Andre.”
Its original hosts have included Leo Schofield, Ita Buttrose, Glenn A. Baker, Lenny Bartulin, Michelle Hanna and Cyrus Meher-Homji. It supports several arts organisations including Sydney Symphony, The Australian Ballet, Glen Street Theatre and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. This year it recorded specials at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival including Bernadette Peters.
Whilst the reasons behind the move are unclear, the channel was included in the new pricing packages as part of the Knowledge & Adventure in early November. A new satellite giving Foxtel extra capacity for its new channels went up in August. Only last week Foxtel included the channel on its list of current widescreen channels to TV Tonight.
At this stage it is unknown when the channel will exit the platforms, if it will be replaced with a new Arts channel, or whether subscribers will see a reduction in their subscription package.
The Ovation website is also encouraging viewers to express their feelings to Foxtel via email [email protected]
TV Tonight will be following this story with interest….
UPDATED March 9: Ovation will no longer be on Foxtel packages, to be replaced by arts channel STVDIO, but will become available as an add-on channel from June 1st at $9.95 per month. More info.
79 Responses
Shame on you foxtel for axing ovation channel, have enjoyed watching concerts , big fan of helmut Lottie and would not have known about him if not for ovation channel.
Sorry to see ovation channel go, Im a big fan of Helmut Lottie, it was ovation that introduced me to Lotties music, hope it will continue when ovation stands alone. not sure how this is going to work, will keep watching ovation til the end.
Shame. Shame, Shame. One of the best channels on Pay Tv, and to axe it would be taking away one of the best forms of entertainment TV has to offer. Are you really out of your minds?
Ovation is one of my favourite channels; I would be very disappointed if it comes to be axed.
There are many other channels that viewers don’t even have a side glance at; if it is for economy, please axe a few of them.
Foxtel you may yet regret this decision there are thousands of silent viewers that may just delete this package maybe then and only then you will get the message
laurie
Ovation has introduced us to many artists that we woulf not have viewed particularly Andrea and Lottie. Shame on Foxtell for deleting this contact.
I was horrified to learn that Foxtel
is closing down the Ovation Channel.
They would do better to close down their
terrible Movie Channels which are absolute
rubbish. I am an avid viewer of UKTV, Hallmark
& Ovation channels
The Only channel on Foxtel that is seriously different, that offers quality, artistic content and that I so enjoy watching is going to be axed by Foxtel. I find this unbelievably hard to understand and makes me extraordinarily angry. No, I am not a ‘nerdy’ type as I am an avid football watcher and also subscribe to Setanta to see even more football. But sport lovers can also be art lovers and I condemn Foxtel for this move. I also strenously object to Foxtel’s predictable lack of advice and total lack of transparency in its operations. Its opinion of its subscribers is clearly that of absolute disrespect. If only there was an alternative! I would certainly be going there. Maintain Ovation, Foxtel.
Foxtell.I think this is the biggest mistake that you can make in not having Ovation anymore.This is by far your best channel You have so many repeats in the other channels that it is very frustrating at times.Your movies have been so bad lately and so many repeats that we have just got rid of all the movie channels
Ovation is the channel we watch the most .If you do not change yor mind or replace it with something of equal value we will be looking at our package again.
We pay a lot of money a year for this service we do not get it for nothing and we expect value for our money .Please reconsider this bad decision
Yep – just another Foxtel rip-off! They see lots of extra $$$$$$ replacing this fantastic channel with something less pricy, and certainly, less classy. The axing of Ovation will deprive a culture-hungry Australian audience of a trace of culture. I suppose it’s a just another case of aiming for mediocrity. And succeeding.
Shame on you Foxtel!!
Disgusted and shocked at the best channel going under for SBS which is very rare I watch it as I hate not being able to hear in English I can’t understand why it should fold It is the finest art channel on TV today its always interesting whatever I watch
Well all I can say its goodbye to culture I doubt if SBS will have such proficiency as Ovation or the best programs today I watches the Imperial stars on Ice Swan Lake
what a super performance so good I ordered the dvd of it
Austar will never be the same without Ovation where will we be able to watch shows like Andre rieu or anything cultural Foxtel should be ashamed take some of the sports channels off and replace it with Ovation
It seems that Australia is determined to become a cultural desert. Free to air television consists mostly of re-cycled American programmes. It seems we just have to lose our unique culture and local programming. Ovation is the oasis in the desert, and it looks as though we are doomed to die of thirst.
Charmain Pomfret
Great channel, Ovation, lots of excellent shows like the recent Tony Palmer. Can’t understand this dog-in-the-manger attitude with people being glad it’s being axed. If you don’t like it don’t view, you have a hundred odd others to watch. Channel Nine shows the greatest load of garbage for morons in the history of civilization but I don’t want it closed down, I just ignore it.
To express your disappointment with this decision and to lobby for the continuation of Ovation – in addition to the proposed new arts channel – on the Foxtel and Austar platforms, please contact:
Foxtel
Email: [email protected]
(Feel free to CC Ovation Channel – [email protected])
Phone: 131 999
Austar
Email: Use contact form on Austar website
(Note: select ‘General Enquiries’ from ‘Enquiry Type’ dropdown-menu)
Phone: 132 432
Ovation to close?
Why no explanation from Foxtel?
Is there a valid reason or is it just plain perversity?
Bad move by Foxtel. Ovation has a huge, loyal fanbase. I seriously doubt this new SBS channel will show the sort of stuff that makes Ovation unique. How Foxtel have the nerve to one day announce all their shiny new channels to drive up subscriptions, then the next day announce the axing of one of its biggest cult channels, what a joke?!
Thank god for that! What a cheap, sad little channel, now we just need to flick TVSN, Expo and everything else in the high one hundreds and they can free up some space for some real channels!
the best channel being taken off what a load of crap, they were putting on a pile of adds (funny that they now call them infomercials now) I think they need a new accountant to do a costing for the Ovation channel, maybe some bright spark like Rove can float this channel and sell it back to the various subscriber networks
I’d take a few shares as I am sure a lot of others would, as it has been shown by the success of Andre Rieu Artists would pay to go on it
peter c
This is pretty lame, Ovation is one of the best places to go on Foxtel for Classic Rock concerts.
Apparently SBS is launching an arts channel on Foxtel to replace ovation.
Good to see Aussies still like to knock.
Dumb place this Australia.
Wait, so will it still be avail on SelecTV? Who’s Ovation owned and broadcasted by?
Since Ovation is going to be axed I just wonder if Foxtel could put the Sci fi channel back to the 132 channel slot and replace it with Bravo – an entertainment channel dedicated to reality and talk shows 24-7 and have its very own specialized music channel featuring classical and opera music as well as concerts that will be guaranteed to please everyone. A lot of Ovation’s programming is music anyway and besides Foxtel needs to launch several new music channels anyway as they neglected to launch them from November 15.
I can’t see that if Ovation got axed that it couldn’t split itself up into three channels. C’mon that’s what happened when showtime greats got axed, why can’t it happen to Ovation. Now when Ovation gets axed viewers can have three channels to get their fix from instead of one.
I have been considering cancelling my subsciption after the price rise (since I am unable to access all the available services but still get hit with the price rise) and now with my favourite channel Ovation facing the axe looks like the last straw has been added.
Go right ahead Foxtel and cancel your Ovation channel and I’ll go right ahead and cancel my subscription after I have been a paying consumer for five years. Why not get rid of some of those sub-standard channels like the new one discovery you and keep Ovation. Mark my words get rid of Ovation and I’ll be the first in line to get rid of you and I’ll never return ever!!!