Apparently-to: scdx@get.pp.se
From: "George Wood" 
07:15-12:15 hrs UTC, bringing the daily broadcast to 17 hours and 45
minutes, continuously between 03:30 and 21:15 hrs UTC. (UPI)
TURKEY--The Turkish government banned private TV station Flash TV
yesterday. The authorities had already cut off the station's access to
the national cable network, limiting it to local broadcasts in the
western province of Bursa, where Flash TV is based. The government
said the station had used unauthorized satellite and cable links. 
But opposition parties and media groups suggest both bans against
Flash TV were revenge for a recent harsh account about Deputy Prime
Minister Tansu Ciller. In the disputed report, a prominent crime
figure said Mrs. Ciller's husband had offered him favorable terms to
buy a bank and a television station. In return, he was to broadcast
pro-Ciller views. The following day, 50 gunmen raided Flash TV's
Istanbul studios. (AP)
ASIA/PACIFIC
PAS--Bloomberg Information TV has started on PAS-2, 12.595 GHz in
clear PAL. ("SATCO DX Chart Update")
ASIASAT--Sky Racing/Sky Channel are on Asiasat-2 in encoded MPEG on
4.020 GHz. ("SATCO DX Chart Update")
In a bid to take on NBC Asia, Rupert Murdoch's Star TV has changed the
name of its Star Plus International channel to Star World. Star is
expected to revamp the channel's programming over the next few months.
The former Star Plus is known for running television relics such as
"Lost in Space" and "Charlie's Angels" (just as Murdoch's original Sky
Channel did in Europe), in addition to more up-to-date choices such as
"The X-Files" (which is produced by Murdoch's Fox Television). 
A Star TV spokesman says one reason for the name change is to reduce
viewer confusion between Star Plus International, which is transmitted
on Asiasat-1's northern beam, and Star Plus, which is on the southern
beam. The southern Star Plus has changed drastically in the past 8
months with the addition of Hindi-language programming, and its name
may soon change to Star Plus India. ("Wall Street Journal")
INDIA--On April 29 the Indian cabinet approved a proposal for a bill
that would end the state monopoly in broadcasting. But the proposal,
which was due to be submitted for parliamentary approval this week,
was quickly opposed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the
second largest member of the 15-party United Front ruling coalition.
The bill, if approved by parliament, would allow cable television
stations to beam into Indian homes only if they had licenses to uplink
from India. It would only allow foreign companies to uplink from India
in partnership with Indian firms. Satellite broadcasters, such as
Rupert Murdoch's Star-TV, currently broadcast to India from Hong Kong
and other centers. (Reuters)
India's Information and Broadcasting Ministry has told the Delhi High
Court that it has no knowledge of the planned launch of an adult
channel called Plus 21. Citing media reports, the Ministry said the
channel would distribute its programs with encrypted signals from
outside India and cable networks would have to use decoders to receive
and retransmit the signals. The use of the decoders would put them
under the jurisdiction of local authorities, but the Ministry says the
Indian government is not obliged to prevent import of the decoders.
("The Hindu" via Curt Swinehart)
Hughes Network Systems will supply its Internet by satellite service
to India's National Informatics Center Services. The contract includes
more than 1000 small satellite dishes, and covers Internet feeds to
nearly all of India's national and state governmental bodies. (ZDNet
News, via Pointcast)
AUSTRALIA--On April 22 the Australian government slashed Radio
Australia's funding by more than two-thirds, breaking an election
commitment to maintain the 60 year old international radio service. On
April 29 Radio Australia won a reprieve when the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation board voted to keep the broadcaster's
shortwave services in Indonesian, Mandarin, Khmer, and Vietnamese.
(The government had already indicated it was prepared to fund English
and pidgin services.) The decision came after the government agreed to
give the ABC additional funding for Radio Australia, on top of its
base funding. However, Radio Australia will still receive less than
half of its previous programming budget. (AP)
NORTH AMERICA
AMERICAN MURDOCH BROADCASTING--Rupert Murdoch has vowed to continue
with plans to launch a US digital satellite service, American Sky
Broadcasting, despite recent suggestions his USD 1 billion deal with
EchoStar Communications is unraveling. Murdoch's News Corp announced
it was delaying the deal on April 28, setting new conditions for its
agreement. EchoStar says it has delaying regulatory filings on the
venture because of News Corp's demand that it abandon its current
conditional access system. In another set-back, the head of American
Sky Broadcasting, Preston Padden, has resigned. And the Clinton
administration has asked regulators to open an inquiry into foreign
ownership of direct broadcast satellite licenses. That is directly
aimed at the Australian-born naturalized US citizen Murdoch, who's
News Corp is headquartered in Australia. (Reuters and AP)
PRIMESTAR--"USA Today" reports from Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin has
rejected Murdoch's efforts to merge with rival direct satellite
broadcaster Primestar. Time Warner owns 21 percent of Primestar, which
is the second largest DBS service in the US. (Michael Murray)
Primestar subscribers who hadn't been paying attention work up on
April 20 with a confusing line-up of channels. After a 5:00 AM upgrade
the service had 65 more channels, up to 160, all grouped according to
format. The company has also unveiled a new Website at
http://www.primestar.com
("Tele-satellit News")
GALAXY--CNN Headline News has left Galaxy 6 transponder 20. Arab
Network of America has left transponder 10. ("SATCO DX Chart Update")
ORION--The Serbian Satellite Channel SST has left Orion 1 11.868 GHz.
("SATCO DX Chart Update")
TELSTAR--Telstar 402R has been officially renamed Telstar 4. ("SATCO
DX Chart Update")
TEMPO--Tempo 2 has moved to its final location at 118.8 degrees West,
after testing at 109.5 degrees West. ("SATCO DX Chart Update")
DIGITAL TV--The budget-balancing agreement reached last week between
President Clinton and congressional Republicans includes USD 5.4
billion in proceeds from an auction of TV channels broadcasters are
currently using. For the money to help balance the budget, the
broadcasters would have to have their digital TV channels up and
running by 2006. That may be a problem for broadcasters, who have been
complaining about the expense and trouble of switching to digital.
("Variety" via "Wired News") Broadcasters have been given the new
channels for digital transmissions.
MONITOR RADIO--The Christian Science Church has announced plans to
sell major portions of Monitor Radio, its 13 year old public radio
broadcasting operation. The church's Herald Broadcasting Syndicate
also says it will lease or sell two shortwave stations it owns: WSHB
in South Carolina, and KHBI on the island of Saipan in the Pacific
near Guam. The church's radio efforts will continue on a smaller
scale. The Christian Science Monitor is the second largest provider of
public radio news in the US, after National Public Radio. Monitor
Radio is carried on more than 200 public radio stations, and is heard
by 1.1 million listeners each week. (AP) It's also carried in Europe
on satellite and cable via America One.
LATIN AMERICA
PAS--There are a number of new channels on PAS-3:
Fox Sports Americas is on 3.716 GHz (MPEG-2/PowerVu)
MTV Latino and Nickelodeon are on 3.863 (MPEG-2/PowerVu)
CNN en Espanol is on 4.053 (B-MAC)
CNN International is on 4.026 (B-MAC)
ESPN has moved from 4.109 (in B-MAC) to 4.106 (MPEG-2/PowerVu)
("SATCO DX Chart Update")
There are four new channels on Brazilsat B1, all in clear PAL:
Cultura 4.130 GHz
CNT 4.150 V
Rede Mulher 4.150 H
Canal Rural 4.170 
("SATCO DX Chart Update")
LAUNCHES
BEAM ME--On April 21, the ashes of "Star Trek" creator Gene
Roddenberry and LSD guru Timothy Leary were carried into space on
board a rocket carrying Spain's first scientific satellite. Along with
the ashes of 22 other space enthusiasts, the cremated remains of
Roddenberry and Leary will orbit the Earth for anywhere between 18
months and 10 years. (Reuters and AP)
ARIANE--Thailand's Thaicom 3 and  Japan's BSAT 1A were successfully
launched with Ariane V95 on April 16. Thaicom 3 has been testing at
120 degrees East. It will replace Thaicom 1 at 78.5 degrees East,
while Thaicom 1 will move to 120 degrees East. Radio Thailand says all
the transponders on Thaicom 3 have been booked by mobile telephone
companies and broadcasters. BSAT 1A will replace BS 3B at 110 degrees
East. ("SATCO DX Chart Update" and AP)
GOES--the GOES-K weather satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral on
April 25. Called GOES-10 after it entered its operational orbit at 105
degrees West on May 5, it will replace either the East Coast GOES-8
(75 degrees East) or the West Coast GOES-9 (135 degrees West),
depending on which fails first. Both have motor problems. (Reuters,
AP, and Loral Space & Communications)
IRIDIUM--The first 5 satellites in Motorola's planned Iridium global
communications system were put into orbit on May 5, abroad a Delta
rocket from Vanderberg Air Force base in California. Forty of the
satellites are to launched in groups of 5 from Vandenberg. The
remainder of the 66 satellites will be launched aboard Russian and
Chinese boosters. (AP)
TELEDESIC--Boeing is joining fellow Seattle-based Bill Gates and Craig
McCaw in their Teledesic Internet-in-the-sky venture. Boeing will
invest up to USD 100 million for a 10 percent stake, and will serve as
prime contractor for building the 840 satellites. Service is to begin
in 2002. On March 14 the FCC approved Teledesic's licence to build and
operate the telecommunications network. ("Tele-satellit News")
ATT--AT&T has withdrawn its application to launch geostationary
Ka-band satellites for its AT&T VoiceSpan Satellite System. In a
statement, the company said that investment in the new Ka-band
satellite technology was a drain on capital resources. ("Tele-satellit
News" and Reuters)
THOR--Thor 2A is scheduled to be launched on May 11, at 22:40 hrs UTC.
("SATCO DX Chart Update")
PAS--The launch of PAS-6 has been rescheduled from May 13 to late this
Summer. The delay is at the recommendation of makers Space
System/Loral, which is investigating changes to the power systems on
the spacecraft. PAS-6 will carry 36 Ku-band transponders, and will be
launched to 43 degrees West. ("SATCO DX Chart Update" and "Tele-
satellit News")
INSAT--Insat 2D, to launch with Ariane V97, has been rescheduled from
May 29 to June 3. ("SATCO DX Chart Update")
THAICOM--Thaicom 4 is now scheduled for a 1998 launch, and will be co-
located with Thaicom 1 at 120 degrees East. ("SATCO DX Chart Update")
INDONESIA--Indonesia has signed a contract with Arianespace to launch
Telkom-1 in 1999. The new satellite will replace the aging Palapa B12.
(AP)
PAKISTAN--The Pakistani cabinet has approved a proposal for France's
Alcatel to launch the PAKSAT satellite. But a statement says Alcatel
must certify that it hasn't paid any kickbacks for the project. Paksat
will carry 26 transponders. (Reuters)
CYBERSPACE
INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTERS--Thorsten Koch's excellent "Internet Guide
to International Broadcasters" has been moved to the Nordic Shortwave
Center:
http://swl.sds.se/iguide
FINLAND--Radio Finland is in RealAudio on:
http://www.yle.fi/radiouutiset/finland.ram
AWL--Adventist World Radio now has a Website at:
http://www.awr.org
SWEDEN--The Swedish Journalist Union and the Newspaper Owners
Association have reached an agreement on royalties, extending use to
electronic products, including Internet magazines. (TT)
OPEN CHANNEL--Open Channel Stockholm is now at:
http://www.openchannel.se
The Global Village CAT Website, with links to 180 open access TV
stations is found at:
http://www.openchannel.se/links.htm
INTERACTIVE TV--Time Warner Cable will shut down its Orlando test of
interactive TV later this year. The Full Service Network delivered
pay- for-view movies, e-mail, and home-shopping to around 3000
residents. The service started in 1993. Time Warner says it will
continue with two smaller projects: Pegasus, a set-top box capable of
delivering digital video and Internet access, and RoadRunner, an
Internet-based entertainment and information service. Time Warner says
it hopes to launch a scaled-down video-on-demand service, perhaps in
1999. (ZDNet via Pointcast)
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Sweden Calling DXers/MediaScan is the world's oldest radio program
about international broadcasting. Radio Sweden has presented this
round-up of radio news, features, and interviews on Tuesdays since
1948. It's currently broadcast on the first and third Tuesdays of the
month.
--- NetMgr 1.00.g4+
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