Why No Network TV on Cruises ?

[wee-haggis]

I was always curious as to why major cruise lines are not able (or permitted) to have at least the 3 major networks on their cabin TV's ?

Is is a legality issue....or technical reason? (I think Satellite should be available anywhere around the Caribbean area.....at least for aircraft it is)

[igraf]

Have you considered the difficulty of keeping a receiver dish trained on the transmitting satellite from a moving ship?

 

Also, I for one can live without network TV while on a cruise. Just set your DVR at home to record your favorite shows and they will be there for you to watch when you return home.

 

igraf

 

 

 

I was always curious as to why major cruise lines are not able (or permitted) to have at least the 3 major networks on their cabin TV's ?

Is is a legality issue....or technical reason? (I think Satellite should be available anywhere around the Caribbean area.....at least for aircraft it is)

[jtl513]

Is is a legality issue....or technical reason?

It's just a cost issue. For special events (Super Bowl, World Cup, etc) the network time is purchased in addition to the standard channel package.

Have you considered the difficulty of keeping a receiver dish trained on the transmitting satellite from a moving ship?

It's done constantly for the internet, and the current ESPN, CNN, etc are received via satellite. (Sometimes in rough seas it becomes a little difficult.)

[wee-haggis]

It's just a cost issue. For special events (Super Bowl, World Cup, etc) the network time is purchased in addition to the standard channel package.

It's done constantly for the internet, and the current ESPN, CNN, etc are received via satellite. (Sometimes in rough seas it becomes a little difficult.)

 

Thanks jtl513.

I wondered about the cost as well....but its done by every major airline (I would guess that the costs for aircraft satellite coverage would be similar)but they have no problem carrying it.

I'm guessing they use a carrier like Directv or Dish Network ?

[Cruisinetta]

I wondered that same thing on my last cruise so I asked James Deering, HM for the Noordam. He told me it was a satelite issue. He added that they are adding Fox News as of Dec 1st. He said that we won't always get Fox News due to satelite problems. I was told that for every channel they use on the satelite, it costs $1000 per day per channel even if they can't pick it up. They are enduring a huge cost for Fox News even though they won't be able to pick it up everywhere. That's a lot of moolah for TV!! :eek: Hope this answered your question. Thanks James. ;)

[Mary Ellen]

The TV shows on the airplanes I've been on have not been 'live' broadcasts. They are recorded (just like the movies shown) and not received by the plane via satellite.

[CruiserBruce]

Thanks jtl513.

I wondered about the cost as well....but its done by every major airline

 

It is? I have never seen current TV shows on United, one of the largest airlines in the world. The "current" shows are tapes brought about.

[wee-haggis]

I wondered that same thing on my last cruise so I asked James Deering, HM for the Noordam. He told me it was a satelite issue. He added that they are adding Fox News as of Dec 1st. He said that we won't always get Fox News due to satelite problems. I was told that for every channel they use on the satelite, it costs $1000 per day per channel even if they can't pick it up. They are enduring a huge cost for Fox News even though they won't be able to pick it up everywhere. That's a lot of moolah for TV!! :eek: Hope this answered your question. Thanks James. ;)

 

Thanks James.....I guess the previous poster was correct in saying that it is indeed a $ factor.

[wee-haggis]

It is? I have never seen current TV shows on United, one of the largest airlines in the world. The "current" shows are tapes brought about.

 

I think I exagerated a bit :rolleyes:

There are a few (but not all) that show live TV including Jetblue,Westjet,Frontier,Virgin,Continental and Air Tran

[igraf]

And we all know how well it works for internet on a HAL ship. Not exactly transmitting data at blazing speeds!! :-)

 

There are new TV technologies being developed for ships, though quite frankly I would rather see the money going into live music and shows. I can watch TV at home.

 

What will happen is that there be more TVs in adjacent staterooms blaring away because the elderly occupants are hard of hearing.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

...It's done constantly for the internet,,,,

[jtl513]

Thanks jtl513.

I wondered about the cost as well....but its done by every major airline

There are a few (but not all) that show live TV including Jetblue,Westjet,Frontier,Virgin,Continental and Air Tran

Maybe they've got a a different contract deal, or a different "package" of channels. I'm guessing that service for 250 or so people on a plane would cost less than for 2000 or so on a ship. :)

[m steve]

since so many networks slant or even make up the news (faux) I find it's enlightening to see what is happening of importance in the rest of the world. And football news (soccer) is less annoying than the over the hill quarterbacks giving their opinions on every play as well as the replays of every score. If there is a problem in the States it will make it to CNN world. And you can always read the mini NY Times delivered to your stateroom every morning.

[jtl513]

And we all know how well it works for internet on a HAL ship. Not exactly transmitting data at blazing speeds!! :-)

That's not because the dish can't track the satellite, it's because the passengers' internet is only allocated about 1/2 of the bandwidth of the link and too many users are splitting that half. (The other half goes to the crew internet and ship's functions.)

[igraf]

We are not talking about a factor of 2 here, and it goes without saying that there will be many users. Bottom line, it can be done but it is not the same (or as cheap) as getting TV or data from a stationary location.

 

The question is why would you want to watch a common TV show with commercials while on a cruise? How boring! Reminds me of the type who cruise to a port and run off to shop at the local Walmart.

 

igraf

 

 

 

That's not because the dish can't track the satellite, it's because the passengers' internet is only allocated about 1/2 of the bandwidth of the link and too many users are splitting that half.

[jtl513]

The question is why would you want to watch a common TV show with commercials while on a cruise?

Hunh? :confused::confused: I'm not questioning that at all. About the only time we have the TV on is while we're changing clothes! I'm simply explaining to you why your first statement:

Have you considered the difficulty of keeping a receiver dish trained on the transmitting satellite from a moving ship?

has nothing at all to do with why there are no network channels.

[igraf]

Perhaps you should revisit the title of this thread. The rest of us were talking about why there are not more TV channels.

 

My statement has everything to with network TV. If the TV channels were free and simple to obtain on a ship, then would be there to be viewed in our staterooms. Do a Google search and you will quickly find that it takes special (read "expensive") systems and equipment for the ship to offer live network TV.

 

igraf

 

 

 

Hunh? :confused::confused: I'm not questioning that at all. About the only time we have the TV on is while we're changing clothes! I'm simply explaining to you why your first statement:

has nothing at all to do with why there are no network channels.

[jtl513]

Perhaps you should revisit the title of this thread. The rest of us were talking about why there are not more TV channels.

 

My statement has everything to with network TV. If the TV channels were free and simple to obtain on a ship, then would be there to be viewed in our staterooms. Do a Google search and you will quickly find that it takes special (read "expensive") systems and equipment for the ship to offer live network TV.

Get Real! Your first statement for the reason that network TV was not available was:

Have you considered the difficulty of keeping a receiver dish trained on the transmitting satellite from a moving ship?

That has absolutely no bearing on the question in the title of the thread.

 

Live ESPN and CNN International (etc) are already transmitted via satellite.

 

It would take absolutely ZERO additional "special (read "expensive") systems and equipment" to add network TV. It is already being done in the case of special events like the Super Bowl and World Cup, etc.

 

The sole reason that network channels are not offered is the price of the service.

[jsummerton]

Carnival had the network channels but they were local to Denver, I think.

[cruzn single]

Just another thought on this subject. If people are in their cabin watching network TV, then they aren't in the bars or the casino spending $$$$. Also, they aren't going to the shows, which the cruise line is paying for. Lots of simple economic answers for this problem. Guess I, for one, don't care what is on network TV when I am cruising. They distribute a "newspaper" and have at least one news channel. Enough, already!

[catl331]

Most cruise ships could carry both CNN and Fox (and several others; How about BBC?) But to carry any televised anything on a ship, the cruise line needs to download it via satellite, via a special (read very expensive) decoding license. The CNN package, which includes several channels (TNT, Cartoon Network, CNN Headline News, CNN World News, CNN International, ESPN) costs about $25,000 per ship, per month. The Fox Package, which includes Fox News and Fox Channel, costs about $30,000 per ship, per month.

I would guess that each of the other three major networks would cost in that same ballpark.

[mariner]

Royal Viking used to carry a few of the network satellite feeds. They were real feeds. You could see Connie Chung futzing during commercial breaks.

 

 

There is a cost issue. Not as much as previously quoted. It would be based on number of sets (a la cable).

 

Technology makes it doable.

 

I believe previous poster who opined butts in cabin don't equal onboard revenue hit it on the head.

[igraf]

Calm down. This is a discussion board. We discuss things, and we can get our points across just fine without the underlining and bold letters.

 

I thought that pointing a dish at a satellite from moving ship was in interesting problem, and I never said that they couldn't do it. Obviously they must use a fast tracking gimbal that references some sort of attitude reference. Perhaps something like this:

 

http://www.mobilsat.com/marine-satellite-internet-andTV/Marine-internet/SeaTel/seatel-usat24-MST4.pdf

 

I agree that if they already installed such a system then there is not much hardware cost to add additional channels, and I agree with you in that the subscription fees would be a hindrance.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

Get Real! Your first statement for the reason that network TV was not available was:

That has absolutely no bearing on the question in the title of the thread.

 

Live ESPN and CNN International (etc) are already transmitted via satellite.

 

It would take absolutely ZERO additional "special (read "expensive") systems and equipment" to add network TV. It is already being done in the case of special events like the Super Bowl and World Cup, etc.

 

The sole reason that network channels are not offered is the price of the service.

[igraf]

A logical possibility, but then on our last cruise HAL invited us to select a DVDs from their large video library (200+ titles?) to view in our room.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Just another thought on this subject. If people are in their cabin watching network TV' date=' then they aren't in the bars or the casino spending $$$$..... ![/quote']

[cruz chic]

The question is why would you want to watch a common TV show with commercials while on a cruise? How boring! Reminds me of the type who cruise to a port and run off to shop at the local Walmart.

 

igraf

 

Why does it make any difference to you if people want to watch tv on a cruise? I'm sure there are activities that you do that others may find boring. Talk about judgemental:rolleyes:.

[jtl513]

I agree that if they already installed such a system then there is not much hardware cost to add additional channels, and I agree with you in that the subscription fees would be a hindrance.

There is no "if". There is no hardware cost. The only thing that is stopping network TV from being on HAL ships tomorrow is the license costs.