Orcus to dish out international ethnic channels

The Indian community will be served, as well as the French and Chinese. File picture

Indian, Chinese and French TV channels will be transmitted in New Zealand by an Auckland technology company aiming to cash in on the viewing habits of an increasingly diverse population.

Orcus has bought a previously disused satellite dish in Parnell, capable of carrying 120 channels, to broadcast international TV via the NSS 5 satellite, said business adviser Pavitra Roy.

It had signed exclusive redistribution contracts with four overseas channels, said Roy, and aimed to have its service running by next month.

Viewers will need a satellite dish and decoder to receive the signal and it was possible some channels would be a mix of pay-TV and free-to-air, said Roy.

The company's income would come primarily from renting space to content providers and also from selling decoders.

Orcus aimed to later this year list on Australia's Inipax Capital Market, which provides services for businesses working towards a formal stock market listing. The company is working with venture capital company Kiwi Growth Partners to raise $5 million.

But TV industry figures said next year's launch of Freeview, the free-to-air digital TV service led by a consortium including TVNZ and CanWest, could prove a challenge for Orcus.

Viewers will need to buy a set-top-box, expected to cost around $200, to receive Freeview.

Triangle TV founder James Blackman, whose channel screens a range of ethnic programming, said the Orcus service would need quality content to convince viewers to buy a satellite dish and decoder.

"It's going to be a very volatile year, I think, for any new player," he said. "You are coming into direct confrontation with Freeview next year. And there will also be the Sky TV promotion countering Freeview."

Dozens of international channels, including Thai and French TV, can already be picked up free-to-air using a satellite dish.

Orcus chairman Ayman Hamid said the company was set to bring in new channels and the channels already available would be able to be picked up with a smaller satellite dish.

He said the company planned to expand its coverage to include all of Australia and would build satellite dishes in Darwin and Dubai to further increase services.