Pay television , also known as subscription television , premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel , refers to subscription -based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television . In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era . Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.
108-582: NXE Australia Pty Ltd , trading as the Foxtel Group , is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television , direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was established as a 50/50 joint venture between News Limited and Telstra , with News Corp and Telstra holding 65% and 35% ownership shares respectively. It shares many features with
216-775: A denial of service attack. Some people linked the attack to RT's connection with Assange, and others to an impending court verdict related to Pussy Riot . On 23 October 2012, RT, along with Al Jazeera and C-SPAN , broadcast the Free and Equal Elections Foundation third-party debate among four third-party candidates for President of the United States. On 5 November, RT broadcast the two candidates that were voted winners of that debate, Libertarian Party candidate Governor Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein , from RT's Washington, D.C. studio. In May 2013, RT announced that former CNN host Larry King would host
324-469: A trial period , often one to three months, though there have been rare instances of free trials for pay services that last up to one year for newer subscribers to that provider's television service. Pay television has become popular with cable and satellite television . Pay television services often, at least two to three times per year, provide free previews of their services, in order to court potential subscribers by allowing this wider audience to sample
432-1427: A virtual channel order that groups channels by their content. General entertainment channels are from 100 to 151 which includes metropolitan/state-based localised advertising primary channels the Nine Network , ABC TV , SBS TV , the Seven Network and Network 10 , with general entertainment and informational channels Crime , Arena , LifeStyle , Fox8 , Showcase , Foxtel One , WWE , Comedy , British , Comcast 's Universal TV , Real Life , LifeStyle Food , LifeStyle Home , Famous , Discovery , Real History , Real Crime , Warner Bros. Discovery 's Animal Planet , Discovery Turbo , Investigation Discovery , TLC , BoxSets and FashionTV . Metropolitan/state-based localised advertising multichannels are from 152 to 172 for ABC Kids / ABC Family , ABC Entertains , 7two , 7mate , 7flix , 7Bravo , 9Go! , 9Life , 9Gem , 10 Bold Drama , 10 Peach Comedy , Nickelodeon , SBS Viceland , SBS Food and NITV . Special interest channels are from 173 to 179 which includes Aurora , TVSN and Expo . Religious channels are from 180 to 189 which includes Australian Christian Channel , Daystar and SBN . High definition and Ultra High definition channels are from 200 to 299 which includes metropolitan/state-based localised advertising versions of
540-420: A "Broadcasters license, only". Assange said that RT allowed his guests to discuss things that they "could not say on a mainstream TV network". Assange's production company made the show and Assange had full editorial control. Assange said that, if WikiLeaks had published large amounts of compromising data on Russia, his relationship with RT might not have been so comfortable. In August of that year, RT suffered
648-728: A 22.5%. In October 2022, RT presenter Anton Krasovsky said on air that Ukrainian children who had in the past criticised the Soviet Union as occupiers of Ukraine should have been drowned or burned; he additionally laughed at reporting that Russian soldiers raped elderly Ukrainian women during the 2022 invasion. He was subsequently suspended by Simonyan, and criminal case investigation was opened. In September and October 2022, RT launched RT Hindi and RT Balkan, to expand its audience. In September 2023, RT launched its online platform in Portuguese, as "RT Brazil". On August 9, 2024
756-631: A Maffick-owned channel. In February 2021, Matt Field from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reported that RT had created an account on Gab , a social network known for its far-right userbase, right before the start of former U.S. President Donald Trump 's second impeachment trial . Field commented that RT had posted several articles on its Gab account, including one criticizing The Lincoln Project , an organization run by anti-Trump Republicans . In December 2021 RT launched
864-1012: A TV channel in Germany, RT DE TV using a license for cable and satellite broadcasting issued in Serbia. A week after the launch, on 22 December the channel was removed from broadcasting via European satellites by the European satellite operator at the request of the German media regulator. On 27 February 2022, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced the European Union would ban RT and Sputnik (plus their subsidiaries) from operating in its 27 member countries. The ban resulted in RT being blocked on downstream television networks located outside EU, such as
972-406: A crude decrypting of the over-the-air television signal and a decoding box, but never caught on for use at that time. It took another four decades when cable broadcasters started using pay-per-view on a widespread basis. "Free" variants are free-to-air (FTA) and free-to-view (FTV); however, FTV services are normally encrypted and decryption cards either come as part of an initial subscription to
1080-632: A focus on their parent companies' libraries, with HBO Now replaced by HBO Max (now Max) in 2020 (which adds content from other Warner Bros. properties and third-parties, and would also be included with existing HBO subscriptions via television providers), and Showtime formally merging with Paramount+ in 2023. Canadian premium service The Movie Network similarly merged with the CraveTV service owned by parent company Bell Media in 2018. Pay-per-view (PPV) services are similar to subscription-based pay television services in that customers must pay to have
1188-513: A lower subscription fee. These are called "mini-pay" channels (a term also used for smaller scale commercial-free pay television services) and are often sold as a part of a package with numerous similarly priced channels. Usually, however, the regular pricing for premium channels ranges from just under $ 10 to near $ 25 per month per suite, with lower prices available via bundling options with cable or satellite providers, or special limited offers which are available during free preview periods or before
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#17327836252661296-522: A majority of Maffick stock was controlled by Ruptly , an RT subsidiary, with Naouai owning the remaining 49%. Facebook unblocked the page on 25 February 2019; Naouai said the company had agreed to do so once the page was updated to feature information on In the NOW ' s funding and management. She added that this requirement has been applied to no other Facebook page. In the NOW also has an active channel on YouTube and regularly posts videos from Soapbox ,
1404-535: A mix of original series, films, and specials. The shift towards SVOD has resulted in increasing competition within the sector, with media conglomerates having launched their own services (such as Disney+ , Paramount+ , Peacock , and Disney's acquisition of the majority of Hulu ) to compete, and existing premium networks such as HBO ( HBO Now ) and Showtime launching direct-to-consumer versions of their existing services to appeal to cord cutters . HBO and Showtime later absorbed their DTC offerings into wider services with
1512-461: A new facility in Moscow. The move coincided with RT's upgrade of all of its English-language news programming to high-definition . In 2013, a presidential decree issued by Vladimir Putin dissolved RIA Novosti, replacing it with a new information agency called Rossiya Segodnya (directly translated as Russia Today ). On 31 December 2013, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the RT news channel,
1620-406: A new talk show on RT. King said in an advertisement on RT: "I would rather ask questions to people in positions of power, instead of speaking on their behalf." As part of the deal, King would also bring his Hulu series Larry King Now to RT. On 13 June 2013, RT aired a preview telecast of King's new Thursday evening program Politicking , with the episode discussing Edward Snowden 's leaking of
1728-453: A pay television bouquet – in other words, an offer of pay-TV channels – or can be purchased for a one-time cost. FTA and FTV systems may still have selective access. ABC Australia is one example, as much of its programming content is free-to-air except for National Rugby League (NRL) games, which are encrypted. RT (TV network) RT , formerly Russia Today ( Russian : Россия Сегодня , romanized : Rossiya Segodnya ),
1836-412: A resolution with RT. Simonyan said the decision showed that "common sense has prevailed". In 2018, some of the RT staff started a new media project, Redfish.media, that positioned itself as "grassroots journalism". The website was criticized by activist Musa Okwonga for deceptively interviewing him and then distributing it across RT channels while hiding its real affiliation. Another similar RT project
1944-693: A restriction as a few providers optionally sell that service without requiring a Showtime subscription. Unlike other cable networks, premium services are almost always subscribed to a la carte , meaning that one can, for example, subscribe to HBO without subscribing to Showtime (in Canada, there are slight modifications, as most providers include U.S. superstations – such as WAPA-TV – with their main premium package by default). However, subscribing to an "individual" service automatically includes access to all of that service's available multiplex channels and, in some cases, access to content via video-on-demand (in
2052-764: A result, pay television outlets are most concerned with offering content that can justify the cost of the service, which helps to attract new subscribers, and retain existing subscribers. Many pay television services consist of multiple individual channels, referred to as " multiplex " services (in reference to multiplex cinemas ), where a main flagship channel is accompanied by secondary services with distinct schedules focusing on specific genres and audiences (such as multiplexes focusing more on "classic" films, or family-oriented programming), time shifting , or brand licensing deals (such as channels focusing specifically on Disney films , or content from U.S. pay television brands if they do not specifically run their own network in
2160-425: A seasonal package. They are typically the most expensive type of pay services, generally running in the range of $ 35 to $ 50 per month. Some pay services also offer pornographic films ; Cinemax was well known for carrying a late-night block of softcore films and series known as "Max After Dark"—a reputation that led to the network often being nicknamed "Skinemax" by viewers. Cinemax phased out this programming in
2268-540: A short time during the 1980s, and unlike other general-interest pay services accepted outside advertising for broadcast during its sports telecasts), Preview , SelecTV and ON TV in the late 1970s, but those services disappeared as competition from cable television expanded during the 1980s. In Australia , Foxtel , Optus Television and TransACT are the major pay television distributors, all of which provide cable services in some metropolitan areas , with Foxtel providing satellite service for all other areas where cable
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#17327836252662376-401: A specific market). Typically, these services are bundled together with the main channel at no additional charge, and cannot be purchased separately. Depending on local regulations, pay television services generally have more lenient content standards because of their relatively narrower distribution, and not being subject to pressure from sponsors to tone down content. As a result, programming
2484-566: Is In the NOW , started in 2018. On 15 February 2019, Facebook temporarily blocked the In the NOW page, saying that even though it does not require pages to disclose who funds them, it had suspended the page so viewers would not "be misled about who's behind them". Anissa Naouai , CEO of Maffick , which published the page, described the blocking as "unprecedented discrimination", and said that Facebook did not ask other channels to declare their parent company and financial affiliations. As of February 2019,
2592-485: Is Canal+ and its scrambled services, which operated in France from 1984 to the 2011 closedown of analogue television, Spain from 1990 to 2005 and Poland from 1995 to 2001. Some U.S. television stations launched pay services (known simply as "subscription television" services) such as SuperTV , Wometco Home Theater , PRISM (which principally operated as a cable service, only being simultaneously carried over-the-air for
2700-460: Is Telstra's responsibility. In many markets Telstra has outsourced installation and maintenance to large communications contractors, including ABB Communications and Siemens - Thiess Communications joint venture. In 2007, Network 10 formed an agreement with Foxtel to allow them to carry a digital version of Ten's programming. Included in the deal is electronic program guide data, which allows Foxtel iQ users to schedule recordings on Ten. Before
2808-534: Is a Russian state-controlled international news television network funded by the Russian government . It operates pay television and free-to-air channels directed to audiences outside of Russia, as well as providing Internet content in Russian, English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Portuguese and Serbian. RT is a brand of TV-Novosti - self-named an "autonomous non-profit organization" (ANO) - founded by
2916-707: Is not available. Austar formerly operated as a satellite pay service, until it merged with Foxtel and SelecTV . The major distributors of pay television in New Zealand are Sky Network Television on satellite and Vodafone on cable. In the 2010s, over-the-top subscription video on demand (SVOD) services distributed via internet video emerged as a major competitor to traditional pay television, with services such as Amazon Video , Hulu , and Netflix gaining prominence. Similarly to pay television services, their libraries include acquired content (which can not only include films, but acquired television series as well), and
3024-606: Is now available within Telstra Next G (HSDPA/850 MHz) coverage areas, which covers 99% of the population. With the transfer in ownership of Telstra's HFC network to NBN Co for the provision of broadband services, Foxtel announced in 2022 that it would be abandoning HFC in favour of satellite and IPTV services. The transition was completed in 2023, after which no Foxtel services have been provided via HFC, thus making NBN's HFC network all-IP, solely carrying DOCSIS services. Telstra's network and Foxtel were created to combat
3132-603: Is significantly lower compared with market penetration rates in the US (over 85%) and in Western Europe (over 55%). This is due to the fact that Australian pay-TV fees are significantly more expensive and pay-TV began delivering its service much later in Australia than in the US. Foxtel announced its maiden annual profit in 2006, more than 10 years after it commenced services. The installation and maintenance of Foxtel services
3240-717: Is typically aired with limited to no edits for time or, where applicable, mature content such as graphic violence , profanity , nudity , and sexual activity . As premium television services are commonly devoid of traditional commercial advertising, breaks between programming typically include promotions for upcoming programs , and interstitial segments (such as behind-the-scenes content, interviews, and other feature segments). Some sports-based pay services, however, may feature some commercial advertising, particularly if they simulcast sporting events that are broadcast by advertiser-supported television networks. In addition, most general interest or movie-based pay services do not adhere to
3348-467: The "Z" military symbol – a pro- Kremlin and pro-war emblem – a few days after the start of the invasion. In March 2022, Vice News reported that RT had established a channel on Gab 's video sharing platform Gab TV, which describes itself as a "free speech broadcasting platform." Vice News observed that Gab CEO Andrew Torba had given his support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Torba publicly supported RT, claiming that they are being subject to
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3456-457: The 2007 AFC Asian Cup quarter-final between Australia and Japan , which drew an average of 419,000 viewers, an Australian pay television record at that time. This ratings record has since been eclipsed by the 2011 Rugby World Cup on Fox Sports 1 averaging around 500,000 viewers, which was smashed by the 2012 London Olympics Coverage, broadcast on 8 dedicated channels in both HD and SD formats, which saw an average of 946,432 viewers tuning in on
3564-3284: The ABC HD , 7HD , 7mateHD , 9HD , 9Gem HD , 10 HD , SBS HD , SBS Viceland HD and NITV HD , as well as timeshifted versions of general entertainment and informational channels for a two-hour delay of Fox8 , Crime , Foxtel One , Comedy , Arena , LifeStyle , LifeStyle Food , BBC UKTV , Showcase , British , Real Life , Discovery and Discovery Turbo . As well as national channels Fox8 (native & SD upscaled) and Discovery . Movie packaged channels are from 400 to 499 which includes Foxtel Movies Hits (themed movies and pop-up events), Ultra HD , Premiere , Action , Comedy , Romance , Family , Drama , Greats , LMN and SBS World Movies . Metropolitan/state-based localised advertising Sports Channels packaged channels are from 500 to 599 which includes Fox Sports News 500 , Fox Cricket 501 , Fox League 502 , Fox Sports 503 , Fox Footy 504 , Fox Sports 505 , Fox Sports 506 , Fox Sports Ultra HD 508 , Disney 's ESPN and ESPN 2 , Main Event (pay-per-view), Sky Racing 1 , Sky Racing 2 , Sky Thoroughbred Central , Racing.com , Fox Sports News , Fox Cricket , Fox League , Fox Sports , Fox Footy , Fox Sports More , ESPN and ESPN2 . Metropolitan/state-based localised advertising News and Coverage channels are from 600 to 699 which includes Sky News Australia , Sky News Weather Channel , Sky News Election Channel , Sky News UK , Fox News (U.S sister channel of Sky News Australia), Warner Bros. Discovery 's CNN International , NBCUniversal 's MSNBC and CNBC , ABC News , SBS WorldWatch , Bloomberg Television , Al Jazeera English , CGTN , CGTN Documentary and NHK World-Japan . Pre-Teenage entertainment channels are from 700 to 799 which includes Warner Bros. Discovery 's Cartoon Network and Boomerang and DreamWorks Channel . Music video channels (operated by Paramount ) are from 800 to 829 which includes MTV Hits , NickMusic , Club MTV , MTV 80s and CMT . Audio only channels are from 830 to 899 which includes Foxtel Music (formerly known as Air Active), SBS AM , SBS FM and SBS Chill. Foreign language channels are from 900 to 989 which includes Greek radio Ant1 Radio and Antenna , Italian radio Rai Radio 1 and Rai Italia . Interactive services available are Foxtel Music and Modem Connection Test. Also available on iQ3, iQ4 and iQ5 set top boxes are ABC iView , ABC Kids , SBS On Demand , 7plus , 9Now , 10Play , Netflix , Disney+ , Paramount+ , F1 TV , Optus Sport , YouTube , YouTube Kids , Vevo , Amazon Prime Video and Stan apps. Channels that were re-branded include: 13th Street (rebranded as Fox Sleuth), Syfy (rebranded as Fox Sci-Fi), 111 Funny (split and rebranded into Fox Hits and Fox Funny), W (renamed SoHo ), BBC HD (replaced by BBC UKTV HD), Fox Kids Australia (shared with Fox Classics), Weather 21 (replaced by The Weather Channel), The Weather Channel (replaced by Sky News Weather), Encore (renamed to Showtime Greats) (replaced by Showtime Action, Showtime Comedy and Showtime Drama, both swallowed with Foxtel Movies), VH1 Australia (Replaced by MTV Classic), MTV Live HD, Air Active (which
3672-630: The Arabic-language channel in 2007, Spanish in 2009, German in 2014 and French in 2017. RT America (2010–2022), RT UK (2014–2022) and other regional channels also produce local content. RT is the parent company of the Ruptly video agency, which owns the Redfish video channel and the Maffick digital media company. RT has regularly been described as a major propaganda outlet for
3780-578: The Brisbane , Sydney, Melbourne , Adelaide and Perth metropolitan areas, along with the Gold Coast . Foxtel now also transmits its satellite service into these cities as well as all over Australia, including regional areas since the takeover of Austar. Previous Austar customers are now 100% Foxtel customers with the conversion from Austar to Foxtel in regional Australia now complete. Foxtel on Mobile launched on Telstra's Next G Network in late 2006 and
3888-784: The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission officially banned RT and RT France from the list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution . On 8 March 2022, RT France challenged the EU ban of its activities in the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union . After refusing to "urgently" consider the case on 30 March, the General Court dismissed
3996-646: The National Administration of Telecommunications of Uruguay announced the removal of RT from the Antel TV streaming platform. New Zealand satellite television provider Sky also removed RT, citing complaints from customers and consultation with the Broadcasting Standards Authority . Reddit blocked new outgoing links to RT and Sputnik on 3 March. On 11 March, YouTube blocked RT and Sputnik worldwide. From 16 March,
4104-708: The PRISM surveillance program . Vladimir Putin visited the new RT broadcasting centre in June 2013 and stated: "When we designed this project back in 2005 we intended introducing another strong player on the international scene, a player that wouldn't just provide an unbiased coverage of the events in Russia but also try, let me stress, I mean – try to break the Anglo-Saxon monopoly on the global information streams. ... We wanted to bring an absolutely independent news channel to
4212-405: The Russian invasion of Ukraine , the European Union and Canada formally banned RT and independent service providers in over 10 countries suspended broadcasts of RT. Social media websites followed by blocking external links to RT's website and restricting access to RT's content. Microsoft removed RT from their app store and de-ranked their search results on Bing , while Apple removed
4320-521: The Sky service in the UK and Ireland — including the iQ box, the electronic programme guide , a similar remote control, and Red Button Active. In 1995, a venture between News Corporation (in particular 20th Century Fox Media ) and Telstra took place whereby Telstra would transmit a TV signal through its coaxial network and News Corporation would be the basis for offering channel negotiations and connections. Foxtel
4428-472: The United Kingdom and Singapore as they were dependent on EU companies for the signal feed to RT. Canadian telecom companies Shaw , Rogers , Bell and Telus announced they would no longer offer RT in their channel lineups (although Rogers replaced its RT broadcasts with a Ukrainian flag ). This move was praised by Canada's Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez who called the network
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4536-547: The Wimbledon tennis tournament. Specialty pay sports channels also exist—often focusing on international sports considered niche to domestic audiences (such as, in the United States, cricket ), and are typically sold at a higher expense than traditional premium services. Out-of-market sports packages in North America are multi-channel pay services carrying professional or collegiate sporting events which are sold in
4644-563: The business cycle , some broadcasters try to balance them with more stable income from subscriptions. Some providers offer services owned by the same company in a single package. For example, American satellite provider DirecTV offers the Encore channels along with the Starz multiplex (both owned by Lionsgate 's Starz Inc. ) in its "Starz Super Pack"; and The Movie Channel , Flix and SundanceTV (the latter of which continues to be sold in
4752-508: The "propaganda arm" of Vladimir Putin. On 28 February, Ofcom announced they had opened 15 expedited investigations into RT. These investigations will be focused on the 15 news editions broadcast on 27 February between 05:00 and 19:00 and will check if the coverage broke impartiality requirements in the broadcast code. On 2 March, the regulation was published which meant the ban was in force. Facebook , Instagram , and TikTok made RT's and Sputnik's social media content unavailable to users in
4860-586: The 2010s, citing that it did not align with its current focus on action programming, and that internet porn and the amount of sexual content in other mainstream premium series (such as Game of Thrones ) made a specific block for such content redundant. Specialized channels dedicated to pornographic films also exist, that carry either softcore adult programs (such as Playboy TV ), or more hardcore content (such as The Erotic Network and Hustler TV ). Pay television channels come in different price ranges. Many channels carrying advertising combine this income with
4968-456: The ACCC. Prior to the acquisition, Discovery backed out from bidding partnership with Foxtel. Ten was later fully acquired by American media group CBS Corporation (now Paramount ) in 2017. In June 2017, Foxtel announced that it would be undergoing a major rebrand – the first in its 22-year history – as part of a move to convey an image that "Foxtel is for everyone". The former logo (inspired from
5076-477: The American Fox network's 1996–present logo), described by the company as "quite aggressive, quite arrogant, quite elitist", would be replaced with an all lowercase logo, and its Foxtel Play service would rebranded to Foxtel Now . On 6 March 2018, News Corp Australia announced a merger of Fox Sports Australia with Foxtel (co-owned by News Corp Australia and Telstra ). News Corp owns a 65 percent stake in
5184-591: The British Awards for National Newspaper Advertising "Ad of the Month". In 2010, Walter Isaacson , Chairman of the U.S. Government's Broadcasting Board of Governors , which runs Voice of America , Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia , called for more money to invest in the programs because "We can't allow ourselves to be out-communicated by our enemies", specifically mentioning Russia Today, Iran 's Press TV and China's China Central Television (CCTV) in
5292-472: The DirecTV package despite Showtime Networks no longer owning Sundance, that channel is now owned by AMC Networks ) along with Showtime in its "Showtime Unlimited" package; Cinemax and its multiplex networks, in turn, are almost always packaged with HBO (both owned by Warner Bros. Discovery ). Though selling premium services that are related by ownership as a package is common, that may not always be
5400-535: The East Coast (satellite) and 7two and GO! to cable subscribers. ABC3 was recently introduced on 4 December 2009 to all Foxtel and Austar subscribers. On 20 May 2010, Foxtel and Microsoft announced a new way of receiving Foxtel through Xbox 360's online service Xbox LIVE. The service launched November 2010 with 30+ channels and an additional 12 Video-on-demand channels. It also provided Foxtel's movie service, known as Foxtel On Demand, to non-subscribers for
5508-692: The European Union on 28 February. Microsoft removed RT and Sputnik from MSN , the Microsoft Store , and the Microsoft Advertising network on the same day. YouTube, on 1 March, banned access to all RT and Sputnik channels on its platform in Europe (including Britain). Apple followed by removing RT and Sputnik from its App Store in all countries except Russia. Roku dropped the RT app from its channel store, while DirecTV pulled RT America from its channel lineup. On 1 March,
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#17327836252665616-645: The Interactive Sports Selector. Also discontinued in July 2020 were music channels [V], Max, Country Music Channel and Foxtel Smooth (replaced by NickMusic, MTV Classic and CMT respectively, with Foxtel Smooth closed down). TV1 and SF ceased transmission at 11:59pm, on 31 December 2013 after Foxtel chose not to renew their contracts as they wanted to bring as many channels in house as they did with their movie offerings. STUDIO ceased transmission at 11:59pm, on 27 March 2015 after choosing not to renew
5724-503: The RT app from all countries except for Russia. However, RT content continues to be laundered through third-party sites. RT's formation was part of a public relations effort by the Russian Government in 2005 to improve Russia's image abroad. RT was conceived by former media minister Mikhail Lesin and Aleksei Gromov . At the time of RT's founding, RIA Novosti director Svetlana Mironyuk stated: "Unfortunately, at
5832-800: The RTDoc documentary channel. RT maintains 21 bureaus in 16 countries, including those in Washington, D.C., New York City; London, England; Paris, France; Delhi, India; Cairo, Egypt and Baghdad, Iraq . The sharp decline in the ruble at the end of 2014 forced RT to postpone German- and French-language channels. In addition to news agency Ruptly , RT also operates the following websites: RT на русском (in Russian), RT en français (French), RT DE (German). In 2015, RT's YouTube news channels were: RT (the main channel), RT America, RT Arabic, RT en Español, RT Deutsch, RT French, RT UK, RT на русском and
5940-469: The Russian government and its foreign policy . Academics, fact-checkers, and news reporters (including some current and former RT reporters) have identified RT as a purveyor of disinformation and conspiracy theories . UK media regulator Ofcom has repeatedly found RT to have breached its rules on impartiality, including multiple instances in which RT broadcast "materially misleading" content. In 2012, RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan compared
6048-465: The Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti in April 2005. During the economic crisis in December 2008, the Russian government, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin , included ANO "TV-Novosti" on its list of core organizations of strategic importance to Russia . RT operates as a multilingual service with channels in five languages: the original English-language channel was launched in 2005,
6156-556: The Russian television network RT in Australia. In late September 2022, Foxtel extended their partnership with WWE to become Australia's exclusive home of WWE. Foxtel is to relocate WWE Network into Foxtel's Binge streaming service in January 2023, following the launch of its dedicated linear TV channel in December 2022. In August 2024, News Corp put Foxtel up for sale. Foxtel grew rapidly in 2007, with most of Foxtel's highest-ever rating events being broadcast that year, including
6264-639: The US ;– Pawn Stars (85,000), Hardcore Pawn (85,000), and Storage Wars (90,000). BBC UKTV also consistently rates well with British soaps EastEnders (80,000) and Coronation Street (65,000). The LifeStyle channel has experienced audiences in excess of 100,000 people for its Premiere shows Location Location Location Australia , Grand Designs Australia , Selling Houses Australia , Disney Channel (Australia) and The Real Housewives of Melbourne brings strong ratings. Foxtel transmitted its cable service via Telstra hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) cable into
6372-786: The United States – in 2010, and the RT Documentary channel in 2011. In August 2007, Russia Today became the first television channel to report live from the North Pole (with the report lasting five minutes and 41 seconds). An RT crew participated in the Arktika 2007 Russian polar expedition, led by Artur Chilingarov on the Akademik Fyodorov icebreaker . On 31 December 2007, RT's broadcasts of New Year's Eve celebrations in Moscow and Saint Petersburg were broadcast in
6480-431: The United States, Cinemax , HBO , MGM+ , Showtime , and Starz , but such services can also include those devoted to sports , as well as adult entertainment . In contrast to most other multichannel television broadcasters, which depend on advertising and carriage fees as their sources of revenue, the majority of pay television services rely almost solely on monthly subscription fees paid by individual customers. As
6588-737: The aforementioned leniency in content standards, they too can contain content that is more mature than those of other cable channels or television networks . These series also tend to be high-budget and aim for critical success in order to attract subscribers: notable premium series, such as HBO 's Curb Your Enthusiasm , Game of Thrones , Sex and the City , and The Sopranos , and Showtime 's Dexter , Homeland , and Weeds , have achieved critical acclaim and have won various television awards. Some premium channels also broadcast television specials , which most commonly consist of concerts and concert films , documentaries , stand-up comedy , and in
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#17327836252666696-840: The agency after being appointed in 2003. In 2007, RT established offices in the same building as RIA Novosti, after the Russian Union of Journalists was forced to vacate them. In 2012, Anna Kachkayeva, Dean of Media Communications at Moscow's Higher School of Economics , stated that the two organizations "share the same roof" because they are located in the same building, but in "funding, editorial policy, management and staff, they are two independent organisations whose daily operations are not interconnected in any way". In 2008, Simonyan noted that more than 50 young RT journalists had gone on to take positions in large Western media outlets. By 2010, RT's staff had grown to 2,000. In December 2012, RT moved its production studios and headquarters to
6804-431: The agreement, Ten was carried in an analogue format on cable only. In 2008, Seven Network entered an agreement to allow Foxtel to carry its SD signal. In 2008, the first Pay TV package comparison site YouCompare was launched to allow Foxtel packages and pricing to be compared to SelecTV , however this service was ceased along with the ceasing of SelecTV 's service in late 2010. On 24 November 2009, Foxtel added 7two to
6912-695: The approval of the ACCC on 10 April 2012, and has had approval from a Second Court Hearing. Austar shares were suspended from the ASX on 16 April 2012 and delisted on 27 April 2012. The takeover was completed on 24 May 2012. News Corporation acquired Consolidated Media Holdings in November 2012, bringing its stake in Foxtel to 50%, up from 25%. On 15 June 2015, Foxtel officially agreed to buyout 15% shares in Ten Network Holdings , subject to approval from
7020-463: The broadcast and other equipment from the RT studio in Washington DC were auctioned off. On September 16, 2024, Meta announced that it would ban RT from its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, for foreign interference activity. State-owned RIA Novosti news agency, which founded RT in 2005, is one of the largest in Russia. Its former chairperson was Svetlana Mironyuk, who modernised
7128-419: The broadcast decrypted for viewing, but usually only entail a one-time payment for a single or time-limited viewing. Programs offered via pay-per-view are most often movies or sporting events, but may also include other events, such as concerts and even softcore adult programs. In the U.S., the initial concept and technology for pay-per-view for broadcast television was first developed in the early 1950s, including
7236-419: The case on 27 July 2022, ruling that the ban against RT was justified. Between 22 and 26 February 2022, a couple of days before and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine , "posts on Facebook from RT and Sputnik got more than 5 million likes, shares and comments". On YouTube, videos of "false stories, claiming that Ukrainians had attacked Russians or describing a 'genocide' against Russian-speaking Ukrainians in
7344-943: The channel to the Russian Ministry of Defence . Referring to the Russo-Georgian War , she stated that it was "waging an information war , and with the entire Western world". In September 2017, RT America was ordered to register as a foreign agent with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act . RT was banned in Ukraine in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea ; Latvia and Lithuania implemented similar bans in 2020. Germany banned RT DE in February 2022. During
7452-598: The channel was launched, James Painter wrote that RT and similar news channels such as France 24 and TeleSUR saw themselves as "counter-hegemonic", offering a differing vision and news content from that of Western media like CNN and the BBC . RT launched several new channels in ensuing years: the Arabic language channel Rusiya Al-Yaum in 2007, the Spanish language channel Actualidad RT in 2009, RT America – which focuses on
7560-451: The combined entity, with Telstra owning 35 percent. The combining of the two businesses places emphasis on live-streaming sports and entertainment. On 4 May 2020, it was announced that Foxtel would be closing down its owned & operated music video networks and replacing them with a new suite of MTV , Nick and CMT -branded channels, as part of a wider deal with Paramount . On 26 February 2022, Foxtel suspended broadcast distribution of
7668-428: The common top and bottom of the hour scheduling of other cable channels and terrestrial broadcasters. As such, programs often air using either conventional scheduling or have airtimes in five-minute increments (for example, 7:05 a.m. or 4:40 p.m.); since such channels broadcast content without in-program break interruptions, this sometimes leads to extended or abbreviated breaks between programs, depending on when
7776-575: The company's corporate logo was changed to attract more viewers: "who is interested in watching news from Russia all day long?" Julia Ioffe also describes 2009, when the Barack Obama administration came to office "promising a different approach toward Russia", as a time when RT became "more international and less anti-American", and "built a state-of-the-art studio and newsroom" in the U.S. capital In early 2010, RT unveiled an advertising campaign to promote its new "Question More" slogan. The campaign
7884-448: The contract with SBS Television . This was replaced by Foxtel Arts in both SD & HD on Channel 132. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) was discontinued on 13 December 2016. Disney XD ceased transmission on 6 January 2019. The Comedy Channel ceased transmission on 1 September 2020. Pay television The term is most synonymous with premium entertainment services focused on films or general entertainment programming such as, in
7992-417: The distribution of its channels in 2014. In 2014, RT received 11.87 billion rubles ($ 310 million) in government funding and was expected to receive 15.38 billion rubles ($ 400 million) in 2015. (For comparison, the bigger BBC World Service Group had a $ 376 million budget in 2014–15.) At the start of 2015, as the ruble's value plummeted and a ten percent reduction in media subsidies
8100-535: The first time on a pay-per-view basis. Further linear channels were added in April 2011 with the addition of 7 Telstra BigPond channels. In June 2011, Foxtel launched an over-the-top service on Telstra's IPTV set top box called Foxtel on T-Box carrying the same services as the Foxtel on Xbox service. Also as of June 2011, Foxtel's subscribers numbered just over 1.65 million. In November 2014, Foxtel added 2 new SD channels, 9 new HD channels and rebranded 2 sports channels to satellite and cable subscribers. Foxtel defines
8208-766: The following sentence. He later explained that he actually was referring to "enemies" in Afghanistan , not the countries he mentioned. In 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the U.S. was "losing the information war" abroad to foreign channels like RT, Al Jazeera and China Central Television and that they were supplanting the Voice of America. In early 2012, shortly after his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to Russia , Michael McFaul challenged Margarita Simonyan on Twitter about allegations from RT that he had sent Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny to study at Yale University . According to RT, McFaul
8316-647: The form of a conventional VOD television service, and in some cases, a companion on-demand streaming service as well). Most pay television providers also offer a selection of premium services (for example, the HBO, Showtime and Starz packages) in one bundle at a greatly reduced price than it would cost to purchase each service separately, as an inducement for subscribers to remain with their service provider or for others to induce subscribers into using their service. Similarly, many television providers offer general interest or movie-based premium channels at no additional charge for
8424-465: The hours prior to the New Year's Eve event at New York City's Times Square . Russia Today drew particular attention worldwide for its coverage of the 2008 South Ossetia war . RT named Georgia as the aggressor against the separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia , which were protected by Russian troops. RT saw this as the incident that showcased its newsgathering abilities to
8532-644: The launch of a dedicated news channel, RT UK , aimed at British audiences. The new channel began operating on 30 October 2014. In October 2016, the NatWest bank stated that they will no longer provide banking services to RT in the UK without providing any reasons. This decision was criticised by Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of RT, and the Russia Government. Simonyan sarcastically tweeted that: "Long live freedom of speech!" However, NatWest reversed its decision in January 2017, said it had reached
8640-454: The launch of a network's prestige series. However, some other channels, such as sports and adult networks may ask for monthly pricing that may go as high as near $ 50 a month. There are also premium television services which are priced significantly higher than the mini-pay channels, but they compensate for their higher price by carrying little or no advertising and also providing a higher quality program output. As advertising sales are sensitive to
8748-522: The level of mass consciousness in the West, Russia is associated with three words: communism, snow and poverty", and added "we would like to present a more complete picture of life in our country". RT is funded by the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Media , part of the government of Russia. In 2005, RIA Novosti founded ANO TV-Novosti (or "Autonomous Non-profit Organization TV-News") to serve as
8856-472: The liquidator of Australis Media and immediately commenced supplying programming to Galaxy's subscribers on an interim basis. In February 1999, Foxtel began offering its own satellite service to new customers. Publishing & Broadcasting Limited bought half of News Corporation's shares in October 1998, giving each quarter ownership. In 2002, a Content Sharing Agreement between Foxtel and Optus Television
8964-525: The network's feed is carried by 22 satellites and over 230 operators, providing a distribution reach to about 700 million households in more than 100 countries. RT also stated that RT America was available to 85 million households throughout the United States, as of 2012. In addition to its main English language channel RT International, RT UK and RT America, RT also runs Arabic-language channel Rusiya Al-Yaum, Spanish language channel Actualidad RT, as well as
9072-418: The news arena. Certainly the channel is funded by the government, so it cannot help but reflect the Russian government's official position on the events in our country and in the rest of the world one way or another. But I'd like to underline again that we never intended this channel, RT, as any kind of apologetics for the Russian political line, whether domestic or foreign." In early October 2014, RT announced
9180-504: The opening weekend, with around 600,000 to 700,000 viewers nightly thereafter. As of 2012, Fox Sports channels, particularly Fox Footy , average between 90,000 and 300,000 + viewers for NRL/AFL matches throughout the week. The highest-rated light entertainment shows are The Simpsons most weeknights on FOX8 with around 110,000 viewers, as well as Family Guy with around 70,000 viewers. A&E has also recorded healthy audience numbers for its TruTV & A&E US syndicated shows from
9288-494: The original term of license agreements with a distributor may also be broadcast as "sub-runs", in which a service holds rights to film long after the conclusion of a distribution agreement (under this arrangement, the pay service that originally licensed the rights to a particular film title, or one other than that which had held rights, may hold the broadcast rights through a library content deal). Many general interest premium channels also produce original television series . Due to
9396-429: The other half came from pro-Kremlin commercial banks at the government's request. Its annual budget increased from approximately $ 80 million in 2007 to $ 380 million in 2011, but was reduced to $ 300 million in 2012. President Putin prohibited the reduction of funding for RT on 30 October 2012. About 80 percent of RT's costs are incurred outside Russia, paying partner networks around $ 260 million for
9504-481: The parent organization for RT. ANO TV-Novosti was registered on 6 April 2005, and Sergey Frolov ( Сергей Фролов ) was appointed its CEO . The channel was launched as Russia Today on 10 December 2005. At its launch, the channel employed 300 journalists, including approximately 70 from outside Russia. Russia Today appointed Margarita Simonyan as its editor-in-chief; she recruited foreign journalists as presenters and consultants. Simonyan, aged 25 years old when she
9612-597: The past, theatrical plays . Sports programming is also featured on some premium services; HBO was historically known for its broadcasts of boxing , while Showtime and Epix also carry mixed martial arts events. Some general interest premium channels have aired other professional sporting events in the past: HBO for example, carried games from the National Hockey League (NHL), National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) in its early years, and from 1975 to 1999 aired
9720-521: The previous program concludes and when the start time of the next program is. The only universal variation to this is prime time , where the main channel in each pay service's suite usually schedules films to start on the hour. Films comprise much of the content seen on most pay television services, particularly those with a general entertainment format and those that focus exclusively on films . Services often obtain rights to films through exclusive agreements with film distributors . Films acquired during
9828-436: The program was Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah . The interview made global headlines as Nasrallah rarely gives interviews to Western media. Commentators described this as a "coup". WikiLeaks described the show as "a series of in-depth conversations with key political players, thinkers and revolutionaries from around the world". It stated that the show is "independently produced and Assange has control"; WikiLeaks offers
9936-589: The same censorship as American conservatives "by Big Tech and the globalist regime". Torba also falsely claimed that Gab is "the one place on the internet where you can find RT News" when RT also has a presence on video sharing platform Rumble . Not all branches of RT have suffered declines since the war started. Interactions with the Arabic-language Facebook page "RT Online" grew 161.2% from 28 February to mid-March, "RT Play in Español" went up
10044-403: The separatist Donbas region," were watched "73 million times." During the invasion, hacktivist collective Anonymous launched a distributed denial of service attack that temporarily disabled the websites of RT and other Russian government-controlled organizations. In March 2022, RT America closed and most of its staff ceased to work for the outlet. RT began selling merchandise emblazoned with
10152-529: The service for a period of days or weeks; these are typically scheduled to showcase major special event programming, such as the pay cable premiere of a blockbuster feature film, the premiere (either a series or season premiere ) of a widely anticipated or critically acclaimed original series or occasionally, a high-profile special (such as a concert). Subscription services transmitted via analogue terrestrial television have also existed, to varying degrees of success. The most known example of such service in Europe
10260-465: The situation: for example, in the United States, Cinemax and Encore are optionally sold separately from or in a single package with their respective parent networks HBO and Starz, depending on the service provider. The Movie Channel and Flix meanwhile, are usually sold together with Showtime (all three channels are owned by Paramount Global ); though subscribers are required to purchase Showtime in order to receive Flix, The Movie Channel does not have such
10368-403: The threat posed to Telstra's local call business by the combination of Optus Television content bundling with Optus ' local telephony services; Foxtel was the content arm of Telstra's defence strategy, while Telstra's multimedia broadband network was originally the sole delivery system. In 2002, Foxtel and Optus Television agreed to a content-sharing arrangement. Programming competition between
10476-476: The two companies has now dissipated. Prior to its acquisition by Foxtel in 2011, Austar , a regional pay television operator, also carried most Foxtel programming. As of 2011, Foxtel is Australia's largest pay television operator, with programming available to over 70% of Australian homes, and delivered to over 1.65 million, either directly or by Foxtel's wholesale customers. In April 2008, Foxtel's penetration into Australian homes passed 30%. This penetration rate
10584-546: The world. Margarita Simonyan stated: "we were the only ones among the English-language media who were giving the other side of the story – the South Ossetian side of the story". In 2009, Russia Today was rebranded to "RT", which George Washington University academics Jack Nassetta and Kimberly Gross described as an "[attempt] to shed state affiliation". Simonyan said the company had not changed names but
10692-550: Was also appointed editor-in-chief of the new news agency while maintaining her duties for the television network. From 18 August 2020 to 18 August 2021, ANO TV Novosti was owned by the federal state unitary enterprise RAMI RIA Novosti ( Russian : ФГУП "РАМИ "РИА Новости" ) and the Association for the Development of International Journalism (ADIJ; Russian : Ассоциация развития международной журналистики (АРМЖ) ), which
10800-549: Was appointed, was a former Kremlin pool reporter who had worked in journalism since she was 18. She told The New York Times that after the fall of the Soviet Union , many new young journalists were hired, resulting in a much younger pool of staffers than other news organizations. Journalist Danny Schechter (who has appeared as a guest on RT) stated that, having been part of the launch staff at CNN , he saw RT as another "channel of young people who are inexperienced, but very enthusiastic about what they are doing". Shortly after
10908-509: Was approved by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). On 11 July 2011, Austar announced that "it had entered into definitive transaction agreements with Liberty Global, Inc. (LGI) and Foxtel Management Pty Limited (Foxtel) under which Foxtel would acquire Austar by a series of transactions including a scheme of arrangement (Scheme)." This takeover involved a minority shareholder approval on 30 March 2012,
11016-522: Was created by Ketchum, GPlus, and London's Portland PR. One of the advertisements featured as part of the campaign showed U.S. President Barack Obama morphing into Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and asked: "Who poses the greatest nuclear threat?" The ad was banned in American airports. Another showed a Western soldier "merging" with a Taliban fighter and asked: "Is terror only inflicted by terrorists?" One of RT's 2010 billboard advertisements won
11124-514: Was formed ("Fox" representing News Corporation's Fox and "Tel" representing Telstra). On 23 October 1995, Foxtel commenced a 20 channel service, delivered over the Telstra Hybrid Fibre Coaxial network. In May 1998, Australis Media, the owner of a satellite television service known as Galaxy , was declared insolvent. In June 1998, Foxtel was able to significantly boost its customer base by acquiring Galaxy subscribers from
11232-419: Was founded by Margarita Simonyan and few other RT associates. On 18 August 2021, RAMI RIA Novosti was liquidated and the ownership of ANO TV Novosti was transferred to ADIJ. When it was established in 2005, ANO TV-Novosti invested $ 30 million in start-up costs to establish RT, with a budget of $ 30 million for its first year of operation. Half of the network's budget came from the Russian government;
11340-571: Was imposed, it was thought that RT's budget for the year would fall to about $ 236 million. Instead, government funding was increased to 20.8 billion rubles (around $ 300 million) in September. In 2015, RT was expected to receive 19 billion rubles ($ 307 million) from the Russian government the following year. As of 2022, RT is the leader in terms of state funding among all Russian media. Between 2022 and 2024, RT will receive 82 billion rubles. According to RT as of March 2022,
11448-601: Was reduced to SD) and 9Gem (replaced by 9HD , rebranded today as 9Gem and was reduced to SD). 9Gem later relaunched an HD simulcast. Channels completely discontinued include the beIN Sports channels, MTV , Nickelodeon , Nick Jr. , PBS Kids, Disney XD, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Binge, Discovery Science, Discovery Kids, Foxtel Movies Disney, Eurosport, Your Money, The Soundtrack Channel, Movie Network (replaced by Foxtel Movies), Showtime Network (replaced by Foxtel Movies), TechTV, Ovation, KidsCo, History+2, Starpics (replaced by Foxtel Movies), Gamesworld Interactive Games and
11556-512: Was referring to a comment in an article by political scientist Igor Panarin , which RT had specified were the views of the author. McFaul then accepted an interview by Sophie Shevardnadze on RT on this and other issues and reasserted that the Obama administration wanted a "reset" in relations with Russia. On 17 April 2012, RT debuted World Tomorrow , a news interview programme hosted by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange . The first guest on
11664-454: Was replaced by Foxtel Music), KidsCo (Replaced by Discovery Kids), Fuel TV , Speed (both replaced by Fox Sports 505 & 506 respectively), SoHo (Replaced by Binge), Channel [V] (Replaced by [V] Hits, later renamed [V]), MTV Music and MTV Dance (relaunched as MTV Hits and Club MTV respectively) and MTV Classic (replaced by MTV 80s ). HD multichannels that were replaced by other HD channels include 10 Bold (replaced by 10 HD , 10 Bold
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