Pay TV’s upgrade to top Freeview

There are less than 24 hours remaining before major new services hit Pay TV screens. The changes, amongst the biggest the subscription sector has seen, are a challenge to the upgrade of the Freeview suite of channels.

Tomorrow Foxtel subcribers will have access to 30 new channels consisting of brand new channels, High Definition channels, and timeshift channels.

Movies shift are categorised into in genre: action, comedy, drama, family and movie stars.

The new iQ TV Guide features iSuggest and Record Me will be available to all iQ and iQ2 subscribers.

SKY News Active will offer a city-based local news service, SKY News Local, with a loop of Australian capital city news. Weather Active will relaunch with over 16,000 suburbs to provide local weather information.

Channel Seven will be added to satellite subscribers in Melbourne and Brisbane. On November 24 it will add 7TWO to the East Coast (satellite) and 7TWO and GO! to cable subscribers. ABC3 will arrive in early December to all Foxtel viewers.

Meanwhile Austar will deliver 15 new standard definition channels and 13 new high definition channels while the MyStar HD also launches.

Foxtel summary:
* 30 new channel choices including themed movie channels, new sports and documentary channels, and tailored general entertainment channels.
* 12 new channels brands: LifeStyle You, 13TH Street The Style Network, Eurosport, KidsCo, FMC, STARPICS, showtime action, showtime comedy, showtime drama, Discovery Turbo MAX and Nat Geo Wild.
* Foxtel HD+ will be home to 15 High Definition channels – including four dedicated HD sports channels and six new HD movie channels.
* The 10 new HD channels are FOX SPORTS 1HD, 2HD and 3HD, FOX8 HD, W HD, MOVIE ONE HD, showcase HD, showtime action HD, showtime premiere HD, STARPICS 1HD and 2HD, and UKTV HD.
* A brand new movie service with 16 dedicated movie channels tailored by genre with no advertising interruptions to any movie, ever.
* Foxtel is also introducing eight new timeshift channels, these are 111 HITS +2, Discovery Channel +2, Discovery Turbo MAX +2, LifeStyle FOOD Channel +2, LifeStyle YOU +2, SCI FI +2, showcase two and STARPICS +2.
* New search functionality with an interactive TV Guide feature called iSuggest for iQ and iQ2 subscribers. iSuggest provides a poster for each program or movie, the summary, and a star rating which gives subscribers more detail than just the title helping them choose from 200 outstanding television programs and movies at any one time to watch or send to the Planner for record.
* Immediate recording details of favourite shows for iQ and iQ2 subscribers with Record Me, which sends shows straight to the iQ Planner simply by pressing the Green button on the remote during a show’s promo. Record Me is the ultimate convenience – subscribers see a promo for a show they love, press one button, and it’s sent to the Planner for record. This means subscribers will no longer have to go into the TV Guide to search for programs to record, but will simply press the green button on the Foxtel remote control during a promo with the Record Me icon and the program will appear instantly in their Planner for record.
* New SKY News Local Active screens for each of Australia’s five capital cities and improved Weather Active.
* Movies On Demand – A new Foxtel Box Office with up to 40 recent release movies to choose from at any one time.
* Free On Demand changes its name to Foxtel First airing the best of what’s new on Foxtel that week – big premieres, debuts of hot series and exclusive events. The 12 hours of new programming are refreshed every Monday and best of all, everything’s free to view on the iQ or iQ2.