Most people don't know what FTA satellite TV is

[Bill_KY]

Ever been to a Best Buy - rhetorical. I find it amazing they have no OTA equipment for sale. Now if we could convince the manager of one of the Best Buy stores to allow a small display in the store of a OTA and FTA setup complete with a Ku dish, and OTA antenna with the DVD above playing on a small HD TV and with brochures on the display I think you might get some interest. If you can't get Best Buy to play maybe try HHgreg. Just some thoughts, DC

Agreed, it would be nice if I could just drive to a local store and buy a Ku Band dish and needed parts. Not just for convenience, but to save money on shipping costs.

The shipping costs vary between $30 to $ 82 (on E-bay) for a 30 to 39 inch dish. That is almost as much as the cost of the dish itself! So that $59 dish now becomes a $100 dish.

Parts and accessories, while one can run to 'Shack or Lowes Depot to get coax, and maybe a inline satellite amp...good luck trying to find a 22 khz switch or a DiSEqC switch at those outlets.

But that goes back to the classic dilemma, what comes first? As demand for FTA
increases, so will the demand for local stores. But in order to promote (and sell) FTA properly and create a demand...I believe a local FTA store is essential.

These forums are great and a lot of valuable information is available here. But seeing closeup how the receiver operates and how the dish is mounted .... at a FTA store would be invaluable for getting new customers and maybe some impulse buying too.

 

[Blindowl1234]

Bill, While I was out shoveling snow this morning I had a similar idea. Nothing against our fine sponsor Sadoun but you and I both have visited their location. I'd love to see a working display in their showroom. A receiver setup with a 30"? dish hooked up for Ku and the big dish in the parking lot hooked up for Cband. Perhaps none of our sponsors has a big amount of walk in customers, but a working display would be really nice. When I got my Gbox and accuator it would have been really neat to see a working model. I worked for 18 years for two very large wholesale supply companies and their displays sold a lot of stuff. Advertise locally and use the tag line stop by today and see our working model etc...Just an idea. How many of us would buy a new big screen tv without seeing a working model first at one of the big box stores? Blind

 

[zamar23]

Having a local FTA store with good display is definitely the right path to promote FTA. Having it at Best Buy would be every FTA fan's dream. It's probably not that easy to develop and keep interested required for that distribution network, when many local stores are flooded with low end clones. I like Sadoun's efforts on keeping up strong direct EBay presence, which is not typical for other sponsors. It helps promote the brand as well as it helps to move more stuff out of the door. May I suggest to add more technical info or links to such info on your site in your EBay item descriptions. I was trying to buy a simple stuff like splitters, but found info in your Ebay posts insufficient for me to distinguish Sadoun's branded products from others. Just a suggestion. Selling on EBay is the good channel to promote FTA. Further, IMHO it may help to promote interest to a basic FTA system setup, if you explain on your site how such basic signal distribution system would usually look like, including info on selecting appropriate distro components like switches and splitters, and adding more instructional material and manufacturer spec sheets on these FTA product pages. :up

 

[guapoharry]

...What can we (the forum members and sponsors) do to make FTA more popular amongst the masses?
...

What is needed for FTA to appeal to the masses, is for it to have something they want... and then to provide a vehicle for them to get it.

:

Not sure how we can do the first part...

 

[AcWxRadar]

It is my personal contention that we should not do too much to promote FTA at this time other than what we are currently doing.

"WHY"?

First of all, the channels available currently would not all appeal to the masses. If we enticed or persuaded anyone to switch from DN or DirecTV or cable to FTA soley, they might be disappointed enough and put out with our recommendations that they might abandon the notion entirely and never ponder it again.

Secondly, for most people out there, the notion of this being a primarily DIY adventure may seem too involved and too much without guarantee. That is going to turn many off right from the start.

Third, the best way to grow a stable market, company or following etc. is to slowly and steadily work with diligence and passion. Word of mouth and local support from a friend or relative or close neighbor goes a long way in promoting such endeavors.

Let's take a glance at our own forum right here. If we can be so bold as to think that the numbers we have represent a fair cross section of the desires of the people from Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America and other parts of at least this hemisphere, then maybe we can extrapolate some information. Let's look at the numbers of posts and replies from the "BIG THREE" here.

DN 45,750 / 592,200

DirecTV 22,360 / 238,900

FTA 28,100 / 253,800

If we could assume that these numbers are reasonably accurate in reflecting what the rest of the people in this hemisphere are doing, then FTA has roughly 25-30% of the market share of viewers, and basically tying with DirecTV. I find this highly interesting. Granted, these numbers may be skewed and biased towards FTA, but they are the only figures which are easily accessible for comparison. They couldn't be truly counted on to sell the point to any investor, but these numbers do reflect something positive.

If we discuss FTA with our friends and family and neighbors more and more, the number of FTA posts here will grow and the number of people adopting FTA will grow. If we continue this practice and we work one-on-one with manufacturer's and retailers to improve the equipment (debug it and make it all more simple for the end users) we can slowly but surely increase the following of FTA users.

If we "nibble" at this big pie rather than trying to take big bites, we will grow the FTA industry as a more secure and viable entity. Akin to a large, slow growing oak tree. The slower it grows, the more stable and strong it will be when it matures. This is how we will win in the end.

Letting the technology and the availability of equipment catch up with our desires will help in the long run. More FTA stations will come on line over time and we can promote them to our friends. Eventually, the whole concept of FTA will begin to become a household term and then it can really take off! More FTA stations will be developed, which will attact more audiences and advertisers and hence more end users. It is a self-maintaining cycle of growth, based upon free market enterprise.

Consider it an investment plan for the future. If you keep saving your pennies, nickles and dimes, they become dollars and more! Slow and steady, slow and steady.

RADAR

 

[Bill_KY]

We could promote in every way possible on our own. But we need new networks, and we need to find a way to keep networks and stations on FTA. I believe the loss of Equity, WSEE and others set back FTA quite a bit.

While we can't stop a company from becoming bankrupt, we CAN contact TV stations not currently on FTA to ask them to go on FTA. I'm sure a TV station might be interested in increasing their audience. I think a lot of the LP TV stations might be have a interest in FTA if approached. Question is...can they afford to...in this economy?

Some of these State type networks that run on cable would be fine candidates for FTA, ONN is a good example of State type network. Wouldn't it be nice to have one from Each state on FTA?

The Louisiana Channel is another State type network , while on C-Band ITC...I think they could double or triple their audience by going to Ku Band FTA. For PBS, here in Kentucky we have KET, they have good programming and it would a great FTA candidate.

If a State wanted to promote and increase their tourism efforts...FTA would be a great way with a 24 hour channel with various programming from around the State from Cable and local sources with the emphasis on outdoors and tourism for that particular State.

Another thing that might be keeping back FTA, is the scattering of stations and networks on many different satellites. The NBC mux is on 72W, RTN on 83W, ABC on 89W, Pentagon on 103W, Research Channel on 123W and Montana PBS on 125W. It would be great if they migrated to 101W or 97W, then instead of buying a motor or 5 dishes. Maybe just one dish with 2 or 3 lnb's.

But if there is not a lot of programming on FTA for the masses, then it will remain mostly hobbyists, DIY crowd, and those interested in niche programming. We need to brainstorm on how to get more stations on FTA, the suggestions I made might be a good start. We could try to ask existing stations and networks on C- Band to add a Ku Band feed as well.

I think where FTA has succeeded is with the Glory Star model and with the niche programming on 97W for those looking for TV networks with their native language.

 

[Sadoun]

If we enticed or persuaded anyone to switch from DN or DirecTV or cable to FTA soley, they might be disappointed enough and put out with our recommendations that they might abandon the notion entirely and never ponder it again.

RADAR, FTA is not a substitute for DN, DirecTV, or CATV by any means. The channels and programming are different. FTA could be a sublimate to premium TV, but not a replacement.

However, some people don't watch TV because they don't care about the channels offered by the Big three (i.e. DN, DirecTV, or CATV ) and don't want to pay the monthly fee. Then, FTA might appeal to them since it is a one time deal and they can develop it into a hobby.

If a State wanted to promote and increase their tourism efforts...FTA would be a great way with a 24 hour channel with various programming from around the State from Cable and local sources with the emphasis on outdoors and tourism for that particular State.

I agree with this suggestion. Maybe state tourism office marketing managers are not aware of this medium being available to them? That is an area we can explore by visiting our state tourism office and introduce this concept to them. We have a winner here.

 

[AcWxRadar]

RADAR, FTA is not a substitute for DN, DirecTV, or CATV by any means. The channels and programming are different. FTA could be a sublimate to premium TV, but not a replacement.

However, some people don't watch TV because they don't care about the channels offered by the Big three (i.e. DN, DirecTV, or CATV ) and don't want to pay the monthly fee. Then, FTA might appeal to them since it is a one time deal and they can develop it into a hobby.

Jamal,

Actually, that was precisely the point that I was introducing. You, our other friends here and myself understand this looking at it from our side, but those who have not been exposed to it yet, won't understand our interest.

They need time to develop the taste for FTA and the feed channels and all that it means. Some will take to this right off, others may sinply scoff at first. In time, they would all like it.

RADAR

 

[nycrich]

The other main problem with FTA is that the channels are not guaranteed to be there. This creates a big problem trying to get newbies, have them invest in equipment and then have channels dissapear (Whitesprings, RTV@123W, etc) or get scrambled by providers when they know they have a large/dedicated audience.
The technology also seem to be changing. Feeds are changing to DVB-S2, most popular ethic channels (Televista, NHK, etc) to MPEG4, etc. These problems need to be addressed.
A big improvement on this site would be to record videos of FTA setups, DIY, equipment by members, recommendations, etc and have them achieved like threads under a separate column like the "C-band", "4DTV"......FTA Video Sticky............... Pictures and live demonstartions (video) makes a big difference than reading threads, gets people's attention and engage them in the products.

 

[ynnedibanez]

it would possibly be easier to target customers buying ota tuners and antennas as a supplement to antenna tv than to put it up against directv, dish, or cable.
lots of people, (im included) dont want to subscribe to any pay service for tv.
until i bought a used pansat 2700 from a pirate and put the factory software back on it, my antenna was all i had and it has served me well.
now fta is the add on that is the icing on my cake.
its kinda odd, but i have installed directv and dish and years ago i did a lot of sky angel (i also do wildblue and hughesnet) for a little over 8 years now and am not subscribed to any of them.
antenna was good enough for me, but when fta equipment prices dropped into my price range about a month or two ago, i was hooked.
admittedly though, its probably got a lot to do with the fact that i love electronics.
before i discovered fta, i thought cband was dead and was sad that i came into the satellite field after it was gone.
now i have a system that i can try all kinds of wiring configs with, try different sats, and put a lot of the "junk" (as everyone i know has called it) i have collected over the last 8 years to good use
i do think that if there were more ku channels in english it would catch on a lot more.
but if antenna is all you have, you can get a LOT more tv if you add fta
as for myself, ill be happy when me and my wife finally finish buying a house and i can put up my bud
on a side note, do you guys think its weird that a good line of sight for my bud is one of my major requirements in buying a house? my wife sure does!!(yes, i do take my inclinometer with me to look at houses) LOL

 

[Bill_KY]

The other main problem with FTA is that the channels are not guaranteed to be there. This creates a big problem trying to get newbies, have them invest in equipment and then have channels dissapear (Whitesprings, RTV@123W, etc) or get scrambled by providers when they know they have a large/dedicated audience.
The technology also seem to be changing. Feeds are changing to DVB-S2, most popular ethic channels (Televista, NHK, etc) to MPEG4, etc. These problems need to be addressed.
A big improvement on this site would be to record videos of FTA setups, DIY, equipment by members, recommendations, etc and have them achieved like threads under a separate column like the "C-band", "4DTV"......FTA Video Sticky............... Pictures and live demonstartions (video) makes a big difference than reading threads, gets people's attention and engage them in the products.

Maybe the Satellite Guys forum could start our own You Tube Channel. Maybe a mod or a admin can set it up. Then members could upload their own FTA videos. From there and within the channel, the sponsors could have their own sub channel and submit their video contributions within the umbrella of the Satellite Guys You Tube Channel.

It could call attention to our forum, visually answer questions that new members have and maybe help get more people to the FTA hobby.


As far as the changing technology aspect, 125W is a glaring example. If one doesn't have AC3, HD or DVBS2...all they are going to watch is Montana PBS and that is it. While those $25 "bargain" used receivers on E-Bay will get people into the FTA hobby.... it will not get them everything that they could legally could get....with 125W as being a prime example.

Solution? Affordable receivers that can tune all of these other channels properly.



My 300th Post!

 

[avg1joe]

While those $25 "bargain" used receivers on E-Bay will get people into the FTA hobby.... it will not get them everything that they could legally could get....with 125W as being a prime example.

I agree totally but it will be their first hit of "satellite crack" and we all know that they'll be coming back for more. Sooner or later they are going to end up here and then browsing Sadoun's. Doesn't it drive you nuts when there is a channel out there that you can't get with your current equipment? Isn't there always a channel like that?

 

[John Popper]

I agree totally but it will be their first hit of "satellite crack" and we all know that they'll be coming back for more. Sooner or later they are going to end up here and then browsing Sadoun's. Doesn't it drive you nuts when there is a channel out there that you can't get with your current equipment? Isn't there always a channel like that?

tell me about it, last night I wanted to check out the Lakers vs Portland game and while browsing I found some powervu channel @ 91 in which I could listen to the game but no picture

 

[rv1pop]

---How about exceltent LOS?---

.....
A big improvement on this site would be to record videos of FTA setups, DIY, equipment by members, recommendations, etc and have them achieved like threads under a separate column like the "C-band", "4DTV"......FTA Video Sticky............... Pictures and live demonstartions (video) makes a big difference than reading threads, gets people's attention and engage them in the products.

My pitch for fta would not benefit from any of those items, but then very few of you would want to do what we do or live where we live. I am showing FTA to dozens of people out here and most of my "neighbors" do not have (high speed) (or any!) internet; most do not have 120 VAC except from generators or inverters. Those that have inverters do not want to use them for TV receivers.

OUT HERE : we need 12 VDC receivers, decent 12 VDC receivers (color, please), the rest would fall in place fairly fast. Finding good LOS in most areas is not too hard. With property going from $1500 to 8000 an acre, wells at $25/foot or less and 300 to 1000 feet deep, the land investment is not always too bad. But, then 20 mile drive to reach "Boonies" and another 40 miles to Kroger/Fred Meyers, 100 miles to Wal-Mart, Lowes, a "chain" bank or Costco m,ay be considered a drawback. But, I USUALLY enjoy it!

 

[classicsat]

I'd love to see a joint effort with our friends in Canada and in England. There's a lot of great programs that they have many of us would enjoy. With a service like that as an alternative to the pizza guys...well that might just work. Fta? or a low cost service. Hey it could easily be on one satellite 123w? Blind

It would be more profitable for them to sell it to channels in other countries, than to have it FTA.

In the case of Canada, they would likely need to encrypt a North American feed anyway, to protect domestic distribution.

 

[classicsat]

Unfortunately I think if we did raise awareness of FTA and the big players really started to notice a drop in revenue, they would likely have some of their "friends in high places" do something about it.
As for there being talk of OTA not being free anymore, what the hell are we watching the endless commercials for? I thought that was supposed to pay for it.

That was supposed to be the model, but now it has changed to a combination of advertising revenue (which has somewhat gone down, especially with the recession), and subscription revenue.

The only channels you pay for and don't have to watch commercials seem to be the movie channels and they seem to be doing just fine! Someone is lining their pockets quite nicely.

That is because they are expensive. Normal broadcast and cable channels, are generally a better value per channel.

 

[classicsat]

I still don't understand european FTA...

My way of thinking is this.

Before 1990 or so, satellite TV was only used for program distribution, the large majority of TV viewers watching TV from antenna, often only one public broadcaster and one or two private broadcasters. There was no consumer satellite TV in many places, especially Eastern Bloc countries. Cable TV, where it was, was no more than MATV. Basically like it was around 1975 in the US.

From that point, the satellite specialty channels basically came first, and they basically dictated the rules to the cable companies on how they would be carried, and many decided FTA would suit them.

In the USA where cable TV systems were well established by the early 1980s as home satellite grew and new cable channels came. As the channels established themsevles, the cable providers demanded scrambling, to protect their customer base.

 

[zamar23]

It remains a mystery to me, why this OP's call for suggestions on how to promote FTA was received with notable public interest, while basically similar call with very interesting principally new feature introductions from another SatGuys sponsor faced a lot colder reception!? "Analyze this"...Anyone?

 

[Bill_KY]

It remains a mystery to me, why this OP's call for suggestions on how to promote FTA was received with notable public interest, while basically similar call with very interesting principally new feature introductions from another SatGuys sponsor faced a lot colder reception!? "Analyze this"...Anyone?

The OP and this thread was about how to promote FTA in general. The other one seems to center on a new piece of equipment.

 

[woodheat/nooil]

A FTA service in North America would help

"What can we (the forum members and sponsors) do to make FTA more popular amongst the masses?"

To me Sadoun is asking what will work to make more homes use FTA receivers. Which might mean more advertising dollars for a FTA service in North America. It is not the equipment needed to receive FTA that we all that know can be found at some low prices. It is the basic networks that I would like to see on Ku DVB from the US and Canada. Everyone has a wish list and I would like CBC, NBC, ABC, PBS, FOX, one 24h News service, knowledge network, TV Ontario and a few others perhaps. On one high Satellite so I would not need a mover.

I made a post sometime ago, http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/116920-old-idea-used-marketing-tool.html

People with the money control the game and I got nowhere with any email or letter I made. Maybe this site's members could check a box for support for FTA bill in congress and Canada? Wishful thinking? Probably. Or don't ask don't tell because they might scramble the whole lot on FTA for spite? Hey Iceberg, can we start a new post for a survey? A petition for support for FTA bill or Don't Ask Don't Tell box to check? Oh and a box for undecided? A grass roots movement needs a spark plug for a start?