ExpressVu will begin beaming to earth its direct-to-home satellite service early next month and has hired Vickers & Benson Advertising to assist with the launch.
But, as has been the case with the North York, Ont.-based dth supplier since it received its licence last year, the company’s chief executive is revealing little beyond what he absolutely has to.
Michael Neuman, ExpressVu’s president and ceo, still won’t discuss the service’s programming menu or the cost of the packages but maintains the flexibility of the offerings will make them more palatable and better priced than cable services.
He d’es, however, reveal that the high quality of the picture and sound is one of the key messages that will be communicated through the launch campaign.
Neuman says the ExpressVu system will feature a user interface that allows viewers to choose programming by channel or by genre, for example, sports or movies.
Competitor Star Choice, which launched in April, will be offering a new set-top box in a few weeks that also features a user interface. Customers with the original box will have the new software downloaded automatically.
Rather than rent a set-top box as people do from cable companies, dth subscribers must first purchase a satellite dish and box.
The ExpressVu system, which includes a 24-inch dish, begins at $599 with other models at $749 and $999.
Installation costs $100 for a do-it-yourself kit or $200 for a professional job.
The cost of the system parallels Star Choice, which is available from 3,000 outlets including Radio Shack, Adventure Electronics, and Leon’s.
Star Choice, based in Fredericton, n.b., has a mixed-media launch campaign underway from SGC Marketing Communications of Sackville, n.b. that uses the theme ‘Elevate Your Expectations’ to communicate the quality of picture, sound and service offered by the dth system.
Brian Neill, ceo of Star Choice, says the system currently offers one programming package at $37 per month and will soon be offering other options.
Star Choice is currently the only dth system now operating in Canada following the demise of Alphastar Canada earlier this month.
Right now, Star Choice offers 60 tv channels, about half of them Canadian, and 30 digital audio channels. Neill says a total of 30 u.s. and 45 Canadian channels are expected to be on the menu by this fall.
According to Neuman, ExpressVu will initially be able to offer up to 100 channels but he says that number will increase to 200 when it launches a new satellite in September 1998.
Neill says Star Choice may eventually move to another satellite but that its present one is good until 2002 and has lots of space available for its growing program offering.
