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Seven to launch TV4 datacasting

Seven is set to extend datacasting channel TV4, which has been screening branded content in rural areas on Prime Media, into metropolitan markets.

Seven is set to extend datacasting channel TV4, which has been screening branded content in rural areas on Prime Media, into metropolitan markets.

From next month Channel 74 will offer lifestyle, finances, community, education and shopping in a deal with with Brand New Media.

TV4 will be seen in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and in regional Queensland through Seven Queensland.

Commenting, Seven’s Chief Sales and Digital Officer, Kurt Burnette, said: “As Australia’s leading broadcast television platform, we are committed to taking the lead in innovation and are delighted to be in partnership with Brand New Media on this new datacasting service. Seven continues to focus on providing our advertising partners with new ways to engage with our audiences and TV4 on Channel 74 represents a significant new development for our clients and our audiences.”

Brand New Media produces multi-platform content for broadcasters and has offices in Singapore, London, New York and Toronto.

30 Responses

  1. The answer is simple: don’t watch it. Encourage everyone you know not to watch it. Detune it on any TVs you have access to. And it shall die the horrible death it deserves.

  2. @Steve, you see no harm? Then how come there’s an half hour segment or advertisement for Scientology, I think that’s pretty harmful given all the horror stories we’ve seen about it.

  3. So TV4 is “innovation”? God help up all! We have it here in Newcastle and it’s preposterously bad. As mentioned in other posts, the picture quality is out of the 80s and so are a lot of the actual infomercials. Why bother?!

    And Steve – sure, no-one is forcing us to watch it, but it means I have to press the remote button one more time to scroll through all the channels. Think of all the precious seconds (and calories of button-pressing exercise) I could have saved.

  4. Calling it a datacast station is an extremely loose application of the definition. It does have a number of regular programs that fall neatly outside what could reasonably be termed datacast programming. Still, nobody watches it, so I guess it doesn’t greatly matter. (as observed by Paul, the pic quality = VHS tape)

    At least they gave 64 an EPG a week ago, so some digital receivers will no longer “trip over” it.

  5. “Datacasters will be able to provide some services Without any restrictious. These include:

    •information-only programs (including those enabling people to carry out transactions)
    •educational programs
    •interactive computer games
    •Internet content
    •electronic mail
    •Parliamentary broadcasts
    •content in the form of text or still images
    •electronic program guides, and
    •Advertising or sponsorship material”

    Regional viewers have had this channel since Sept 18 and it’s obviously been profitable so it’s now being extended to the cap cities.

    Seven has had a datacasting licence since 11 March 2002.

  6. oh great.. so the picture quality of the existing 7 channels will have to be even further reduced to squeeze in this awful channel onto their bandwith! what a waste!

  7. @Steve – so… it’s like the internet? Except you can’t buy or find out “anything”, just what is being shown when you happen to tune in. So, if I want to purchase a nose-hair trimmer but they’re demonstrating magnetic pillows or glass jewellery, I’m out of luck?

  8. Their media release said the channel is not there to be a ratings winner. It’s there for when people want to buy or find out something.

    I see no harm in it being there – no one is forcing you to watch it.

  9. I am based in Ballarat in Victoria and this channel appeared about a month or two ago branded as Channel 64 (no PRIME or 7 watermarks.)

    It consists purely of informerical content and seems to be transmitted at a very low bit rate resulting in significant macro blocking issues.

    I can see no distinction between this datacasting service and another television channel except that its content consists of endless dull informericals and nothing else. The standard EPG’s note its existence but do not provide any information on individual programs.

    Seems a complete waste of bandwidth to me. I hope Freeview does not start trumpeting it as another station as it does not broadcast any non-advertising content whatsoever.

  10. Ah, loopholes. So this is allowed as an extra channel – providing next to no public benefit – yet additional channels for actual news or entertainment are not allowed.

  11. So many questions on this so David, please explain?

    e.g what makes this datacasting as opposed to tv broadcasting? Did 7 have to buy another licence? Do 7 have spare spectrum in their existing frequency?

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