Seven Regional

my understanding is they have no intention of launching 7flix in the immediate future

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So true and it for some reason its Southern Cross Nine thats getting the mud thrown at them on these forums. They might be a mirror image of nine but at least they give us HD and all of the digital channels!!

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I think the only ā€˜solutionā€™ - if you can call it that - is to stream 7FLIX onlineā€¦

Personally I think all affiliates should be required to carry all multichannels within a reasonable time frame of them being added (no more than 12 months after first launched) but as we all know in the real world of contracts and dragging of feet, this is an issue unlikely to be fixed anytime soon !

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One possible reason, is Sevenā€™s multi-channels are so dominant in regional Australia, so for leadership purposes, 7flix may not be justified?

Poor reason, but vaild, when you see 7Two & 7mateā€™s regional shares!

Cost to run and advertising revenue would also be a factorā€¦

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hence why i watch 9 and only 9:)

I have to admit if I am not watching Netflix or the Footy, I am mostly watching Nine now days

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Long post alert!

Are you a regional viewer who is unhappy about the lack of 7Flix and a main HD channel through Prime7? Send a message to Prime byā€¦

1: Seeking alternative sources for your favourite programing on the Prime7 network. Eg: Plus7 online streaming, Fox Footy for live/HD AFL coverage. If for whatever reason(s) that is not possible, well you should still have access to plenty of other television channels and entertainment options!
2: Ask Prime directly why they arenā€™t broadcasting Prime7 HD/7Flix. Donā€™t bother with Facebook or Twitter where they can easily ignore your complaints, directly contact them via email, phone or via snail mail.
3: If you are unhappy with their response, bring this up with ACMA and/or your local MP. Point out that Prime is not broadcasting the same amount of services that Seven is providing metropolitan viewers with, despite the fact that the entire scheme of regional television aggregation was for regional areas to have the same choices that those in metropolitan areas get.

No, Iā€™m certainly not saying that peopleā€™s complaints about the lack of Prime7 HD/7Flix via Prime7 arenā€™t valid. Yes, I live in Sydney. But at the same time I can understand why regional viewers are unhappy at the lack of main HD channel/7Flix. Personally I missed the former considerably moreso than the latter when I had my last trip to Prime7-land in March, although thatā€™s really beside the point.

Unfortunately, continually complaining about Prime7ā€™s lack of a main HD channel and/or 7Flix on forums and/or social media probably isnā€™t going to achieve much so if you are really unhappy about this, I would recommend doing the above. I would recommend similar action for other perfectly valid complaints about things related to regional television like the quality of the regional editions of Nine News, but thatā€™s for another topic!

Also remember to keep in mind that while you may be missing out on Prime7 HD/7Flix, other regional viewers donā€™t have access to 9Life, Nine HD or even a Ten/WIN HD service in the case of the very few regional/remote areas not covered by WIN.

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One readerā€™s comments make little sense:

Why blame Prime? Seven are the ones who canā€™t be bothered broadcasting outside of 5 state capitals and a few Qld regional areasā€¦

Yep, realise all that [Seven doesnā€™t broadcast outside metro]. Still, 7flix is a 7 channel, not Primeā€™s ā€“ I think itā€™s a bit rich to complain about Prime not carrying one of 7ā€™s minor niche channels when theyā€™ve got their own to look after.
Then again, people wanted to kick NITV to the kerb just to make room for community TVā€¦

While another has a good solution

There is an easy way to get 7Flix in regional areasā€¦ just buy the box set of the big bang theory.

But the general consensus in those comments is disappointment.

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I thought the purpose of aggregation was to give regional viewers the same choice as what there city cousins haveā€¦ Prime has seem to forgotten this but than again in regional Victoria we had to wait three months for Prime back in 1992.

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Bit different having three commercial channels full of compact content compared to over a dozen with a lot of filler. Many regional markets do not have the advertiser base to support each and every new channel the networks decide to pull out of their arse for ā€˜theirā€™ own markets. It should always be the regional networks own discretion as to whether there is the market support to sustain a new channel in the medium term.

The only bad thing is Prime isnā€™t re-scheduling the new content over the existing channels. That is what should be happeningā€¦ Unfortunately they are too lazy in this regard.

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Aggregation was written up before anyone could have even considered the post-analogue environment. Itā€™s probably unfair to translate it quite so literally now. And essentially there are still 3 commercial broadcasters, same as the cities.

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I canā€™t disagree more:
Aggregation was all about providing the same content/channels for regional viewers as metro, and the larger areas formed by aggregation were to make the competition (of three commercial networks) practical/viable.

The fundamental principle of same content availability still applies.
The issue of TV channels being commercially viable is another matter, and the current issues with Network Ten show that itā€™s not exclusively a metro viable/regional unviable thing.

Thereā€™s no legitimate excuse for Prime7 not providing 7HD. 7 has been number 1 in the ratings for ages, including Prime7, so if SC9 can provide all the Nine channels in the regions, with regional 9News bulletins (despite their quality being less than expected), why canā€™t Prime7 have 7HD and 7flix?

I donā€™t care if 7flix were area/region/state-wide like 7mate has been; just give us all the channels.

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Is the GWN 7 watermark the same as Prime7s

Agreed. Even if they did a ā€œTasmaniaā€ and only launched their HD simulcast, like SCTV and TNT did.

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Except SCTV HD has been fake HD since day one. I completely agree with TV-ACT but in this case we need to look at why Southern Cross is only broadcasting an upscaled SD version of their main channel, and how it would apply to PRIME in this case. The general consensus on this website at least is that Seven is asking for a higher cut from SCA and until they provide it, they wonā€™t be getting their main channel content in HD. It is a possibility that PRIME are facing the same issue

:thinking:

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It would appear that way for SCA. However, one advantage that Prime has over SCA is the fact that Prime is a Seven-only affiliate, while SCA is Nine and Seven. Seven have the advantage of arguing ā€œyou pay Nine amount, we want the sameā€ to SCA, while they lose that with Prime.

But yes, Seven possibly wants an increase in affiliation fees before they provide an HD feed to Prime. However, if that is the case, I wonder why Prime just donā€™t come out and say itā€™s Sevenā€™s fault instead of saying that itā€™s all too hard tech-wise.

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Something that came to mind is how long after Ten replaced One HD with Ten HD, SC Ten kept One HDā€¦

Of course near the end they were preparing to switch their affiliation to Nine, but obviously SCA werenā€™t too interested in spending the money to provide Ten HD, so the same thinking seemed to be behind SC7 HD taking so long, but now, since they finally have the channel, it not being true HD seems very strangeā€¦have SCA not updated enough equipment to do what they need for true HD? Or Seven are the problem.

If seems like there is a dispute over $$$$ with Seven regarding affiliation fees, and Seven not willing to provide HD or maybe even Flix as well until their terms are met.

The problem has to be somewhere in the link to Seven. All they need is an HD encoder which they obviously have otherwise it wouldnā€™t be HD at all.
The problem is that the signal is upconverted - something they would only need to do if they were getting an SD from Seven instead of HD.

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