With so many packages vying for our attention the question of what to watch on TV has never had so many answers. But where is it all leading us?
FIFTEEN YEARS ago and you would’ve been better off doing anything, including dusting the furniture, than watching television. There were no options you either watched the semi government channel CyBC for a few hours in the evening or you didn’t.
What was on the box back then not only brought the integrity of the government into question but also made people wonder about what kind of people were actually working there? CyBC would blast off at five in the afternoon with one hour of cartoons, much to the delight of beady-eyed little Cypriots, then the news in Greek, Turkish and English followed by what seemed like an hour of non-stop commercials, something which no doubt delighted beady-eyed little shop owners advertising on CyBC. What followed would either be a film, or a discussion programme or a documentary highlighting how the Dodo, if not entertainment in Cyprus, was close to extinction.
Oddly enough the pace of change was forced not by the television viewer but a band of priests. During the early nineties, the Church of Cyprus decided that they too wanted a slice of the television pie and created Cyprus’ second TV channel: ‘O Logos’ [The word]. The response was huge and despite overwhelmingly censoring films, with the slightest bit of nudity, homosexuality and swearing edited out, despite airing hours and hours of horseracing, they overtook their semi-government rival.
CyBC later went on the counterattack. A year later they came out with CyBC 2 with the aim luring housewives to the box by airing endless South American dramas and American soaps, of which The Bold and The Beautiful is still being showed today.
Greek, cigar-smoking television station owners began to take notice of the blossoming television market and up popped Cyprus ANT-1. Then came Sigma and, wow, all of a sudden we had five free stations in Cyprus. The same as England!
With Logos later being bought out by another Greek station, MEGA, the idea of a private television station offering top-notch movies, endless sports coverage and a chunk of porn surfaced in the shape of LTV. A huge marketing campaign saw LTV take Cyprus by storm and, after watching the success of horse racing from the God-fuelled station of Logos, obtained exclusive rights for horseracing and other local sports on the island.
So where are we today? The package deals now available for cable, satellite and terrestrial television are enough to boggle the mind. Which to choose, unless you are first cousin to Aristotle Onassis and can afford around £100 per month for all of them, is a bit of a nightmare.
What is for sure is that every single utility on the island wants a piece of the action. We have the government with CyBC, the church still heavily involved with MEGA, several radio stations and newspapers with Sigma, Frederick College with Nicosia based FRED TV and now The Cyprus Electricity Board (EAC) with Cablenet and the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) with MiVision. What can we expect next, the Cyprus Water Board to come up with TAP TV?
But is the overpowering choice of television packages going too far? Broadcasting Authority Director told seven that although it is a case of ‘the more, the merrier’ he is still unsure about the long-term prospects of so much TV.
“I believe that the more choice the Cypriot viewer has the better. However, it is still too early to determine if whether all these packages in the market is healthy. Only time will tell,” Neophytos Epaminondas said.
And who is controlling all this competition?
“We have just assembled a committee that comprises myself and other representatives of certain sectors, such as the Ministry of Communication and the Ministry of Interior, to overlook and regulate the three other types of television on the island, namely satellite television such as Athina Satellite, terrestrial television and cable television such as Cablenet,” added Epaminondas.
In any case, it may come down to what you prefer, how much you need to cough up and of course, if it’s worth it. Here is what’s on offer so far.
Athina Sat
Set price: Free for the installation of the satellite dish, the receiver, the card and a nice fellow to pop round and install it within two weeks.
Payments: £25.67 per month with payments made only through the bank. A two-year contract must be signed. Magazine comes free.
Programmes: Two local channels, Family and Beat. Currently negotiating with EUROSPORT 2 and HBO.
What’s it got: Films Cine comedy, Cine Action, Cine Greek, TCM. Sports Eurosport, Extreme, ESPN Classic. Documentaries Discovery Science Channel, Chasse et Peche, BBC Docs. Children’s Joy TV, Cartoon Network. News CNN. Miscellanous Family (Cypriot). Music Beat (Cypriot). Adult Playboy TV, Spice Platinum
Contact: Tel: 77772455, website: under construction, email: not yet available
Cablenet
Set price: £51.35 installation charge. A nice fellow will pop round to install it in no more than two weeks
Current special offer: £15.00 installation charge
Payments: Monthly fee of £11.50 plus VAT, payable either through bank accounts or cash: Pay for three months and get one free (£34.50) or get a free month when you pay for a year
Programmes: Offers the five main local channels of CyBC 1, CyBC 2, MEGA, ANT1 and Sigma
What’s it got: Films TCM. Sports Fox Sports, Magic TV, Sports RAI, Eurosport, Eurosport News, ESPN classic, Extreme. Documentaries Discovery Channel, Discovery Travel and Adventure Channel, Discovery Science Channel. Game Network Discovery Civilisation Channel, Sailing Channel, Coming Soon Channel. Children’s Cartoon Network. News CNN, BBC World, Euronews, CNBC, Bloomberg News, BBC Prime. Miscellanous FashionTV, TV Moda, TVE, Reality TV, ERT Sat, One TV, Vox, Extra TV, Thae Asty, UK TV, TV5, Rai Uno. Music Mezzo Classic Jazz, MCM Pop, MCM Top. Adult XXL, Private Gold
CONTACT: Tel: 22 399399, website: www.cablenet.com.cy, email:[email protected]
MiVision
Set price: £50 for the installation of modem, television plug (if needed), remote control and keyboard, installed within two weeks.
Current special offer: The first 10,000 subscribers will get free installation.
Payments: £23 per month if you are not an I-choice member of CyTA or £14 per month if you are a member of I-choice of CyTA. £2.00 for the adult channel.
Programmes: Viewers of MiVision are able to select films from the Video on Demand gallery for either £1 or £1.50. Internet access as well as email is also available.
What’s it got: Films TCM, Videos on Demand. Sports Eurosport, ESPN Classic, Live Transmissions. Documentaries Discovery Channel, Discovery Travel and Adventure Channel, Discovery Science Channel, Discovery Civilisation Channel. Children’s Cartoon Network. News CNN, BBC World, Bloomberg Television. Miscellaneous E-Entertainment, Fashion TV, Reality TV, internet, TV Mail (Coming soon). Music MCM Top. Adult Private Gold
Contact: Tel: 132, website: www.mivision.com.cy, email: [email protected]
NOVACYPRUS
Set price: If you have the receiver (LTV/ALPHA) already: £** for the satellite, the card and a nice fellow will pop round to install it within 3 working days. If you don’t have the receiver (LTV/ALPHA): £199 for the receiver, satellite, the card and a nice fellow will pop round to install it within 3 working days.
Current special offer: If you have the receiver (LTV/ALPHA) already: £79. If you don’t have the receiver (LTV/ALPHA): £99
Payments: Monthly fee of £27.65. Payment through a bank account with a one month deposit of £27.65.
Programmes: Also includes an additional 80 free television channels and 80 free radio channels.
Wha
t’s it got: Films, LTV (Cypriot), Alpha (Cypriot), MGM, TCM. Sports LTV (Cypriot), Alpha (Cypriot), Eurosport, Eurosport 2. Documentaries Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, Animal Planet, Travel Channel. Children’s LTV (Cypriot), Alpha (Cypriot), Cartoon Network. News CNN International, BBC World, Euronews, GBC, Bloomberg Television, CNBC Europe. Miscellanous Fame Story, ANT1Gold, FashionTV, TV5, ERT Sat, Vouli Television. Music MTV, VH1, Mad, Mad Music. Radio Stations Supersport FC, Skai Radio, ERA 3, Love Radio, Melodia Radio, Church of Greece, Nitro Radio, Flash 9.61, Sfera, Radio Greece, Kiss FM, Radio Gold, Athina 9.84, NSR, Rock Radio, Rock FM, Radio Thessaloniki, Alpha News, Church Of Piraeus
Contact: Tel: 22 357272, website: www.novacyprus.com, email: [email protected]
