Communications Crossroads - Fall 2007 - (Page 16)

COVER STORY largest supplier of satellite services in the U.S. Both companies expect the deal to extend their ability to deliver international programming to more customer groups. Ozkan himself immigrated to the States in the eighties, and found that he missed access to soccer programming. “Sunday mornings, at 9 o’clock, I used to go to the Sons of Italy to watch the soccer games coming live from Italy and Germany,” he remembers. That made him think there must be a better way of getting the content to the U.S. In the latter part of the 1990s, he set up a business in Europe and became very successful in the European markets doing exactly what they’re doing now. Ozkan believes that there’s much to be done in delivering international programming within the U.S. He says, “There are 10,000 international channels in the U.S., there are only about 400 international that are available.” Looking ahead for Home2US, he wants to reach key stakeholders in the business who will help the company reach more of the audience. He says he’s looking forward to working with small and large telecom companies to help them enter the market “when they’re just scratching their heads about how to do this.” “I think the best advice I can give to telcos of any size is to couple their efforts with a company like Home2US with a deep knowledge of the market, [because the company] can help them slice and dice the opportunities in their home market, and show them how to be proﬁtable.” Bill Squadron, President of IPPRIME at SES AMERICOM, also spoke with us. IP PRIME, which promotes itself as “America’s premier IPTV distribution system,” sources international programming both independently and through Home2US because they think it’s an important market to be in. “One of the key goals that we have is to use IP-PRIME as a platform to deliver programming from all over the world,” Squadron says. “You can’t help but notice that America is becoming increasingly multi-ethnic, and people, when they come here, while they certainly embrace the U.S., also want to stay in touch with home.” The View from a Viewer Home2US put us in touch with a happy subscriber in the Washington, D.C., area. Daniel Kim is a Korean-born Intellectual property law attorney with a focus on patents. He subscribes, both at home and at the ofﬁce, to Asian network channels, primarily Korean ones. He pays about $20 per month per location for the service, and is pleased with the value for the price. The Kims don’t subscribe to any other channels because they don’t have much time to watch TV. “The main advantage for me,” says Kim, is that “it’s on any time. I don’t have to wait. Regular cable TV like Cox has regular Korean channels, but it’s only on weekdays from 6-11 a.m., for example.” Kim ﬁnds that means the programs are often out of date by the time he sees them. “[The Home2US] program is available any time, any day, which is very convenient.” At home, the whole family gets value from the package; Kim likes to hear the Korean language since it’s not common where he lives, and he likes to keep up on the news from his homeland. “It helps me keep up to date,” he says. His children, aged 6 and 8, were born in the U.S., so Kim and his wife like to use the programming to ensure that the children are exposed to the Korean language. They like to watch EDS, which he says is similar to PBS and offers children’s and educational programming. “The important thing for us right now is to have them familiar with the language.” They speak a little Korean, with an English accent. Mrs. Kim enjoys seeing popular dramas from the Korean networks. At work, the television doesn’t get used as much, but he ﬁnds it can make his clients feel more at home, and they enjoy seeing it on breaks. “One of my main clients in Korea is LG Electronics, and I keep their ﬂat screen TV in the conference room, and sometimes they take a break by watching Korean TV.” 16 COMMUNICATIONS CROSSROADS www.ustelecom.org http://www.ustelecom.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Communications Crossroads - Fall 2007

Up Front Contents TeleBites Cover Story: The World at Your Doorstep Business Advantages: Reaching Out to the Fast-Growing Hispanic Market Technology Today: Ideas from Foreign Telecoms You Should Consider Industry Calendar Index to Advertisers People Straight Talk

Communications Crossroads - Fall 2007

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