This is more about the UK based FetchTV rather than Hyro,...

This is more about the UK based FetchTV rather than Hyro, however Hyro specilises in IPtv, so any boom which seems inevitable will hopefully benefit HYO.





MALAYSIAN billionaire and media investor T. Ananda Krishnan has seized an opportunity created by the government's proposed national broadband network, whereby he could challenge traditional media players for Australian television viewers.

Mr Krishnan, ranked by Forbes as Southeast Asia's richest man and worth $US7 billion ($7.6bn), has taken a significant stake in internet-delivered TV company Fetch TV, which is expected to launch in Australia early next year. Former ACP Magazines chief and Optus executive Scott Lorson, and telco executive Simon Cathcart, are believed to be fronting Fetch TV Australia, which is expected to begin shortly to test low-cost pay-TV as well as on-demand TV and movie services.

The business model relies on signing up a number of second and third-tier telcos and internet service providers.

These would on-sell Fetch TV's internet-enabled set-top box and video content to their broadband customers.

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That would enable smaller ISPs to compete directly with the Tbox unveiled by Telstra last week.

Telstra intends to launch its Tbox next year to its 2.3 million broadband customers. It is understood the nation's third-largest ISP, iiNet, is on board, although the company would not confirm the deal yesterday.

A spokeswoman for Australia's second-largest ISP, Optus, said the company had "nothing to confirm at this stage" about a deal with Fetch TV, but was "watching closely".

Network Ten chief digital media officer Nick Spooner said Ten had held discussions with Fetch and that the talks were "encouraging and interesting", but it "was early days".

"Our focus is on expanding opportunities for our great content, continually growing our audience and creating attractive commercial opportunities for our clients," Mr Spooner said.

"We're agnostic about platform as we are in a good position with a large degree of flexibility to be able to assess various options."

The ABC has also held talks and is expected to provide access to its on-demand content to Fetch TV via its iView internet TV player. Fetch TV is just one of a swag of players -- including pay-TV operators, TV set manufacturers, free-to-air TV broadcasters and games console makers -- jostling to deliver video content and services to Australian TV sets over an internet connection, therefore competing with free-to-air and pay-TV services. The TiVo digital set-top box, which is owned by Seven's Hybrid Television, will unveil its on-demand TV content play next week.

And Sony's PlayStation 3 games console, which earlier this year launched on-demand content including music video channel VidZone, will announce new services next week.

The proposed high-speed NBN, much of whose traffic is expected to be generated by media content that would be free of the current download charges levied by ISPs, is no doubt fuelling that interest. This is because it would remove the advantage telcos have in offering internet video content to consumers.

But it has also left the government grappling with how to regulate internet protocol TV (IPTV) alongside the heavily regulated free-to-air and pay-TV sectors.

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy told an audience of film and TV producers last week that Australian TV content rules needed to be reconsidered.

"In response to these changes, the government will need to consider the degree to which existing regulatory settings for audiovisual content, including those dealing with Australian programming, remain relevant," he said.

Meanwhile, several sources have indicated that Malaysia's pay-TV business Astro All Asian Networks, which is controlled by Mr Krishnan through investment company Usaha Tegas, was a major backer of Fetch TV.

The Malaysian government vehicle Khazanah Nasional is also believed to be involved.



Last week, the Melbourne- and Harvard-educated Krishnan listed Malaysian mobile phone company Maxis in an initial public offering worth US$3.3bn.

It is believed Fetch TV's digital TV set-top box will: receive digital free-to-air channels; include access to more than a dozen pay-TV channels; act as a personal video recorder; offer photo storage and other media centre services; include a pay-per-view movie and TV show download service; and allow people to view other internet content.

Fetch TV video content would be delivered unmetered by the ISP, meaning it would bill its customers an estimated $20-$25 per month for the basic service and set-top box but would not charge additional download fees.

According to one source, an IPTV trial with ACT-based pay-TV provider TransACT was to begin next month.

A TransACT spokeswoman said there were no current trials involving Fetch TV but confirmed it was working with a third party to deliver a new internet TV set-top box and personal video recorder by next year.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/investors-eye-internet-tv-boom/story-e6frg9rx-1225801828612