-The TV type service won't be delivered via the TV spectrum, it will be delivered to PCs using satellite and cable services," Access1 Executive Chairman David Spence told ZDNet Australia.
In a statement made a couple of weeks ago, Senator Richard Alston said that Internet Video streaming is not classified as a broadcasting service by Australian regulators. Which immediately changed the state of play for Internet content providers and TV networks, putting them both in direct competition of each other. This is despite the strict controls that have been placed on the content available to potential datacasting services.
-It's hard to see from the competitors point of view what this will mean for free to air and pay TV services. It's a bit like saying that cinemas were debunked when video came in," Spence said.
Video streaming is currently available to customers through Access1's broadband channel, which delivers TV type services through Windows Media Player.
According to Spence, the company's content is provided by Channel 7, and financial service Bloomberg. There will also be two Olympic channels provided by channel 7 during the upcoming Sydney Olympic Games.
-Channel 7 see it as an extension of their distribution by gaining access to a wider audience," Spence said.
Access1 is planning to add to the service by building a niche stream channel, which will show ethnic and extreme sports type programs, which he claims will appeal only to a small market.
-We want to build a platform that can deliver niche type services you wouldn't get on the free-to-air or pay TV networks," Spence told ZDNet Australia.
-Some services will be on subscription, some services will be free. It's a bit like Pay TV in a way," he added.
