CLICK TV announces PNG’s first regional HD

Papua New Guinea broadcaster Click TV has launched its Port Moresby services announcing the country's first regional direct to home service spanning 100% of PNG, Melanesia and Polynesia.
In conjunction with its own channel PNG TV, the new digital broadcaster has launched the sale of PNG's first HD set top boxes with 25 channels launched to Port Moresby on Tuesday.
At its launch on Tuesday the broadcaster also announced a five-year lease of a transponder on the satellite Intelsat 19 to beam 30 channels of local, regional and international channels to Papua New Guinea with services to be launched into Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands and small island states in the South Pacific from December 14.
Its own local channel PNG TV will be available in the region and through its local and satellite footprints be available in all PNG cities and rural areas and will also be available to broadcasters and subscribers in parts of Australasia and the South Pacific.
In Port Moresby the company announced it had secured two retail channels for customers to acquire the necessary equipment to enjoy what the platform had to offer.
Included in its Phase 1 content plan are three free to view channels and 22 Pay TV channels including the broadcast of Hope Channel free to the Seventh Day Church of Papua New Guinea.
"We're excited to finally launch our platforms. Viewers will see an improvement in local content with PNG TV and it will provide to local producers and PNG citizens more opportunities to not only partner with us but more importantly foster real change in the community. We would like to play a major part in providing family oriented learning programs to the community", managing director Richard Broadbridge said.
Click has announced Rapid Fones and Datec Mega store as their initial retail channels with early paying subscribers receiving all their channels for free.
The broadcaster says all the Set Top Boxes will be broadcasting some content in HD with their devices having the capability to record content.
Click says they are the first broadcaster to offer HD with each Set Top Box having wifi capability meaning access to the internet using the subscribers TV screen.
"We're offering PNG what it deserves. We will raise the bar in terms of local programmes, a strong and trustworthy newsroom and both LIVE and delayed sport including the first ever Pacific Games in HD, exclusively Click TV's in Papua New Guinea.
Port Moresby Set top boxes go on sale from Tuesday with their national rollout using terrestrial transmitters will occur over the next few months.
Clicks satellite only customers to be able to access their Set Top Boxes from December providing access to 30 channels of TV to viewers in remote areas of PNG and the Pacific Islands.
   
SOURCE: PACNEWS