Pay TV FAQ's
What Is Pay TV?
No doubt you've heard of Pay TV before - but are you totally familiar
with what it is? If not - Pay TV is a service where a customer pays
a subscription price to access additional television channels. There
are three ways to get this service - analog transmission, digital cable
and satellite. The most common method used (nowadays) is the digital
terrestrial method.
As an offshoot of Pay TV - Pay-Per-View services are slightly different
to subscription-based Pay TV, in that PPV involves just a one-off payment
for a single or time-limited session of viewing. They both, however,
come under the same umbrella term.
The major distributors of pay TV in Australia are Foxtel, Optus Television,
Austar and Select TV. The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal made pay
TV available to Australian audiences in 1982, and this was seen as a
way to increase both the range of available television programs and
the number of companies in the TV industry. Since then, the popularity
of the service has grown exponentially - resulting in a majority of
homes now having some type of Pay TV subscription.
Ever wondered why people at work were talking about something which
happened on CBN, MTV, ESPN, Discovery, the Disney Channel, National
Geographic or Nickelodeon? It's probably because they are subscribed
to these channels through a Pay TV provider - hence they are able to
access them any time from the comfort of their own homes.
Pay TV Operating Environment.
Pay TV generally enjoys a less restrictive operating environment than
free-to-air television, simply because of the unique choice subscribers
are making by paying to receive the channels. As most people will already
know, free to air channels are required to have a certain number of
hours of "local" content.
Depending on the country you live in - this could be both a good or
a bad thing. However, for most people - this legal framework turns them
away from free-to-air TV, because of the very limited number of programs
which are able to be screened.
Another major advantage of Pay TV over free-to-air broadcasting is that
diversity of the service offering. The fact that Pay TV packages can
be customized, with some customers choosing to receive sports packages,
movie addons, news and current affairs channels, and so on - truly boosts
the appeal of Pay TV.
With free-to air TV, a viewer is severely limited to what that particular
broadcaster has chosen to show at any particular time.
Paying The Price.
Of course, one major difference between normal TV and Pay TV is
that you do indeed need to... pay. Whilst there are a number of providers
in the industry - prices can still reach in to the hundreds of dollars
per month for a comprehensive Pay TV package subscription.
Fortunately however, the providers are also able to accommodate for
those consumers on a lower budget - with basic and start-up packages
and subscriptions venturing in to the realm of $40 or $50 per month.
Ultimately, the decision on the provider and the plan you sign up for
is yours to make. However, we recommend that you take a good look around,
and become familiar with the offerings, policies, and pricing of each
Pay TV company. In the long term, this could save you a lot of money.