Rapid TV News reports that there are about 1.5 million illegal decoder boxes in the Gulf. At least 60% of the UAE’s large south Asian community is illegally subscribing to the Indian satellite broadcaster Dish TV, which does not have licenses to broadcast in the Middle East. Last July Showtime Arabia merged with arch-rival Orbit in an attempt to start making progress and profits out of pay-TV through swapping hundreds of thousands of set-top boxes for new ones with proprietary encryption technology that will better protect its investment in the region’s first portfolio of high-definition satellite channels.

Rapid TV News reports that Orbit-Showtime Network will add another six high-definition channels for Middle East viewers, marking the biggest development in TV in the last 15 years. OSN now has a total of nine HDTV channels in less than two months. Only subscribers who have swapped their old receivers with the new ones can view the new services.

Rapid TV News reports that Orbit-Showtime Network (OSN) is planning to ultimately switch all channels to MPEG-4 transmission during the next year, aiming at providing greater bandwidth efficiency. The new set-top boxes will soon be arriving and the swap will begin within the coming weeks. 

Rapid TV News reports that Orbit-Showtime Network (OSN) has been relaunched yesterday to offer a new look and eight new channels, three of which are in high definition. Viewers will not be able to view the three HDTV channels unless they get the new set-top box, which will not be available for a few weeks. It will take about 9 months before all subscribers get a new one.