I’m off to Astra in a couple of weeks – March 15 actually – I really want to ask about the Current.TV model and if it’s applicable in Australia:

The ASTRA Conference 2007 is the leading conference to draw together subscription television in Australia.

The ASTRA Conference 2007 provides the opportunity to showcase subscription television businesses, discuss critical issues and policy and inspire and stimulate the industry for the year ahead.

With new digital and active services, many more channels provide thousands of hours of Australian and international programming each year to approximately 1.7 million Australian households (5.5 million Australians).

ASTRA 2007: It’s All About Growth – a one day packed forum of discussion, presentation and interaction offering a stimulating opportunity for engagement with the Australian subscription television sector.

James Packer is presenting keynote but I really want to hear what Dr. Jeffrey Cole of Center for the Digital Future sees in his glass ball. I wasn’t too impressed last time – I spend most of my time debunking myths, such as in this post about Dr. Cole’s contribution to the NineMSN show last year. But there’s a light on the horizon. This year’s report is all about online communities. w00t! And nice statistics to feed hungry audiences. Such as 20.3% of online community members take offline action related to their online community. That should make Marketing bods sit up and take notice.