Globecast is adapting with the changing market demographics. I understand that they have performed a subscriber analysis which showed a large percentage of the customers subscribing to specific services had broadband. The new customer cost and content delivery cost is considerably lower with IP. IP opens a new market in large population areas that may have not allowed a dish installation. Starting a new customer is as easy as shipping a $75 box instead of rolling an installer and providing a dish, lnb, distribution, set-top box and access card. Service calls are all but eliminated and enables delivery of new content like PPV and on demand.
Doubt that any of these channels would change from subscription to FTA. This shift isn't about about Globecast terminating their subscription platform on G19, it is about reliably providing the content to the most potential subscribers at the lowest cost per sub.
Globecast is the subscription mechanism for these encrypted channels and this management service is not going away. If the encrypted channel moves to another uplinker, they would need a service to manage the CAS and viewer payments. This sideways move is always possible, but Globecast has a proven worldwide mechanism for cost effective subscription management. If satellite delivery is reaching the encrypted channel's demographic, I would expect them to remain encrypted with Globecast on G-19.
Globecast is currently load balancing and getting rid of unused bandwidth to minimize leased transponder costs. Remember, this channel movement is only visible to FTA boxes as Globecast STBs are automatically updated. Outside of the subscribers moving to IP, most of their subscribers are likely unaware that this realignment is happening.
