Galaxy (a trading name of Australis Media) is a former provider of pay television programming in Australia via satellite and wireless cable (microwave) delivery methods. Pay television, or pay-TV, usually refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analogue and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly by digital terrestrial methods. ... Artist impression of a Boeing 601 satellite, as configured for digital television transmission by SES Astra Satellite television is television delivered by way of communications satellites, as compared to conventional terrestrial television and cable television. ... Multichannel multipoint distribution service, also known as MMDS or wireless cable, is a wireless telecommunications technology, used for general-purpose broadband networking or, more commonly, as an alternative method of cable television programming reception. ...

Galaxy began broadcasting on 1 January 1995 with eight channels via microwave, making it the first provider of pay-TV services in the country. Digital satellite broadcasts began in September 1995. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with 30 days. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Australis Media held an exclusive license to broadcast pay-TV in Australia via satellite until 1997. Their main competitors were Foxtel and Optus Vision, both of which operated separate cable networks. The Galaxy channel package was franchised to Austar in regional areas. Foxtel is a cable television and satellite television company in Australia, formed through a joint venture between Telstra and News Corporation. ... Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus. ... Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio frequency si sdfsdfBold textsdfsItalic textddd Bold textgnals transmitted directly to people... Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. ...

At its peak, there were around 120,000 Galaxy subscribers. The service ceased shortly after Australis Media went into liquidation on 18 May 1998. May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

History

In 1993, the Government of Australia called tenders for Australia's first pay-TV licenses. Surprisingly, the first license was purchased not by one of the major media players but by an entrepreneur, Albert Hadid, who quickly onsold it for a tidy profit. The license ultimately ended up in the hands of Australis Media, an upstart company in which TCI and Guinness Peat Group were major shareholders. Australis paid a total of AU$333 million for the satellite and microwave licenses they would require to launch a pay-TV service to be branded Galaxy. // Australia is a constitutional monarchy, a federation and a parliamentary democracy. ... Tele-Communications Inc. ...

Australis secured a contract with four major Hollywood studios - Columbia TriStar, Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures - for the exclusive rights to broadcast their film and TV product on its Galaxy service. The output of these studios formed three channels - SHOWTIME, ENCORE and TV1 - that would become the mainstay of Galaxy's programming. Columbia Pictures logo, used only in the early-1990s Columbia Pictures, now Columbia-Tristar Pictures after their merger with the former Tristar Entertainment, is a film production company, and part of Sony Pictures Entertainment. ... Universal Studios is a Hollywood film production and distribution company, controlled by General Electric Corporation. ... Fox Plaza, the company headquarters. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used since 2003. ... Showtime Australia is a pay-TV movie service, available on the Foxtel, Austar and Optus subscription TV services in Australia and produced by the Premium Movie Partnership (PMP). ... Showtime Australia is a pay-TV movie service, available on the Foxtel, Austar and Optus subscription TV services in Australia and produced by the Premium Movie Partnership (PMP). ... TV1 is a general entertainment channel available on Australias Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television pay television services. ...

After the remaining output from the major studios was purchased by Optus Vision, Galaxy's other competitor, the News Corporation and Telstra owned Foxtel, was forced into an embarrassing deal to purchase content from Australis at a reported cost of AU$4.5 billion over 25 years. Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus. ... News Corporation (abbreviated to News Corp) NYSE: NWS is one of the worlds largest media conglomerates. ... Telstra Corporation (ASX: TLS) is an Australian telecommunications company under joint public/private ownership, holding a superdominant position in landline telephone services, large share of mobile phone services, domestic consumer (including dial-up access and broadband cable modem, satellite and ADSL services under the BigPond and Hypermax brands) and business... Foxtel is a cable television and satellite television company in Australia, formed through a joint venture between Telstra and News Corporation. ...

Despite this lucrative deal, the financial situation at Australis was troubling. The installation cost of equipment was high (reportedly around $500 for a microwave antenna and $1000 for a satellite dish), forcing them to greatly subsidise installation costs. Furthermore, increased competition from Foxtel and Optus Vision forced Galaxy to lower prices further or lose customers. Foxtel is a cable television and satellite television company in Australia, formed through a joint venture between Telstra and News Corporation. ... Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus. ...

The financial crisis at Australis meant that much of Galaxy's life seemed to be spent trying to save the company from receivership. In September 1995 a merger was proposed by Australis and its biggest rival, Foxtel. The proposal was rejected by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, citing fears that a merger between the two businesses would stifle competition. Another Australis-Foxtel merger was proposed in July 1997 but was also vetoed for similar reasons. Another proposal made in August 1996 under which Australis and Optus would share satellite infrastructure (while still trading separately) was approved by the ACCC but later blocked by the Australian Federal Court. September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with 30 days. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Foxtel is a cable television and satellite television company in Australia, formed through a joint venture between Telstra and News Corporation. ... The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is an independent Australian commonwealth government authority established in 1995 to protect consumer rights, business rights and obligations, perform industry regulation and price monitoring and prevent unauthorised anti-competitive behaviour. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Note: as an adjective (stressed on the second syllable instead of the first), august means honorable. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

With hopes of a merger dashed and serious cashflow problems continuing to plague the company, Australis relied on "rescue packages" of capital injections from a number of new investors (including Kerry Packer's PBL, among others) in order to stay afloat. Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (born 17 December 1937) is an Australian publishing, media and gaming tycoon. ... Publishing and Broadcasting Limited, or PBL, is one of Australias major media companies. ...

On 18 May 1998 the Supreme Court of New South Wales declared that Australis was insolvent and the company went into liquidation. It has been estimated that losses totalled AU$800 million. Of those who purchased assets after the company's collapse, the biggest beneficiary was likely their biggest competitor Foxtel, who were able to purchase Galaxy's 65,000 remaining subscribers as well as terminate their crippling programming deal and renegotiate directly with the studios. There has been considerable controversy over the role Foxtel may have played in Galaxy's demise. May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest court in the Australian State of New South Wales. ... Foxtel is a cable television and satellite television company in Australia, formed through a joint venture between Telstra and News Corporation. ...

External links

• Australis Background - an in-depth log of the life of Australis Media. (Link no longer seems to be working, use Google's cache.)
• Rupert's killer of a deal - a news article on the allegations that Foxtel unfairly contributed to Galaxy's death.
• An extract from Mark Westfield's 'Gatekeepers' which recounts the negotiations between Australis and PBL for the first rescue package.
• The Demise of Australis - an editorial using the death of Galaxy as an example of the negative effects of Australian media regulations.
• Online news article announcing that Australis has collapsed.