Apparently-to: scdx@get.pp.se
From: "George Wood" 
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  ::           MediaScan             
  ::      SWEDEN CALLING DXERS       
  ::       from Radio Sweden          
  ::    Number 2276--August 5, 1997    
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Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio
Sweden.
This week's bulletin was written by George Wood.
Packet Radio BID SCDX2276
Updated Web edition at: http://www.sr.se/rs/english/media/
All times UTC unless otherwise noted.
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NORDIC MEDIA NEWS
THOR--Norway's new Thor 2 satellite is in position at 1 degree
West, and has been lighting up with new analog and digital
services. On the analog side, the three stations owned by
Disney's Scandinavian Broadcasting System, Sweden's Kanal 5,
Norway's TV Norge, and the new Danish TV Danmark, have all
appeared in the clear on the new satellite. Kanal 5, which
continues to broadcast on Sweden's aging Tele-X satellite at 5
degrees East, will move to Sirius 2 at that position when it
launches in October.
A number of digital services are on Thor 2 as well. Here is the
latest list of what is available (from the "SATCO DX Chart"):
11.216 GHz     TV Danmark (D2-MAC)
11.229         Canal Digital package  (MPEG-2)
                    TNT
                    Cartoon Network
                    Kanal 5
11.247         Telenor package  (MPEG-2)
                    DR1
                    TV2 (Denmark)
                    SVT1
                    SVT2
                    NRK1
11.261         (unused so far)
11.278         Canal Digital package  (MPEG-2)
                    FilmNet 1 Nordic
                    FilmNet 2 Nordic
                    Nelonen
                    Hallmark Nordic
11.293         (unused as yet)
11.309         1 degree West promos  (MPEG-2)
11.325         NRK 2  (D2-MAC)
11.341         Kanal 5  (PAL)
11.357         NRK 1  (D-MAC)
11.372         (unused as yet)
11.389         TVS - Sportskanalen  (D2-MAC)
11.403         (unused as yet)
11.421         TV Norge  (PAL)
11.434         MTV Europe  (D2-MAC)
("SATCO DX Chart") For updates, see SATCO DX at:
http://www.satcodx.com/thor2.html
Multichoice Nordic has now left Intelsat 601, 11.504 GHz. ("SATCO DX
Chart")
Meanwhile there is other activity at 1 degree West. TV Finland
is now broadcasting in MPEG-2 on Intelsat 707 at that position
on 10.960 GHz, after a short period on Intelsat 601 before Thor
2 was activated. Nelonen is also reported to be part of the
package. It appears that TV Finland will be using Telenor's Conax
encryption system. (Richard Karlsson and "SATCO DX Chart Update") TV
Finland is also reported to be part of a package with NRK 1 and TV
Norge in clear MPEG-2 on Intelsat 707 on 11.174 GHz. 
McDonnell Douglas (now merged with Boeing) has been awarded a
contract by Telenor to launch Norway's Thor 3 satellite in July
1998. The satellite, a Hughes HS 376, will initially have 14
active Ku-band transponders, for direct-to-home TV programming
to Scandinavia as well as Eastern and Central Europe. The
Norwegians have an option with Hughes for a Thor 4 satellite,
which will be larger, and will cover parts of Europe besides
Scandinavia and the Baltic states. (Curt Swinehart)
NSAB has ordered Sirius 3 from Hughes. It will also be on an HS
376 platform, with 15 transponders for 5 degrees East. It will
be launched by Ariane in August 1998. ("Elektronikvaerlden")
TV3--TV3 was Sweden's first satellite TV station, and to get
around the country's then very tough broadcast laws, the station
set up in London. Because TV3 is still operating from outside the
country, the Swedish government recently lost a case at the European
Court, trying to make the station conform to Swedish laws banning
advertising aimed at children.
But TV3 is not operating in a vacuum. Britain's Independent
Television Commission says the station must conform to UK
television codes, even for programs not aimed at British viewers. The
ITC has issued a formal warning for serious breaches of the codes
concerning sponsor credits. TV3 Sweden has had to take one series off
the air, and a series on TV3 Denmark has also been criticised.
(Reuters)
SESAM--Here at Swedish Radio we have computer networks around
Broadcast House, and connecting the 24 local radio stations.
There's also the BASYS news system with wire service copy for
journalists, and several departments have their own individual
systems for digital editing. But now there are ambitious plans
to upgrade to one unified system called Sesam, or Sesame. Bror
Jansson of Swedish Radio's Development Department joined me in
the studio to explain about Sesam. If you missed the broadcast,
you can access RealAudio of our interview on our Web pages:
http://www.sr.se/rs/english/media
EUROPE
PIRATE DECODERS--While the Maastrict Agreement promises access
to the same services across the European Union, satellite TV
stations cite copyright laws from the pre-satellite days, in
order to restrict their offerings. That's led to a flourishing
business in pirate decoder cards.
To deal with this, rather than force broadcasters to offer
subscriptions anywhere in the EU, the European Commission has
proposed new legislation to outlaw pirate decoders and decoding
smartcards for pay-TV and online computer services, as Radio
Sweden's Brussels correspondent Joe Kirwin reports in today's
program. RealAudio of his report can be found in the WWW edition
of this bulletin. See:
http://www.sr.se/rs/english/media
SKY--Meanwhile, one of the main targets of those pirate decoder
cards, British Sky Broadcasting, is reportedly set to announce
changes in its packaging system, with one popular premium channel
unbundling. According to the "Independent" newspaper, cable and
satellite viewers will be able to subscribe to the Disney Channel
without having to subscribe to Sky's two film channels. The
Independent Television Commission, the watchdog which oversees
commercial television in Britain, has been investigating the way Sky
markets its channels following a complaint from cable operators. The
"Independent" says BSkyB was taking pre-emptive action before the ITC
delivered its verdict. The announcement is expected this week.
(Reuters)
SKY/BBC--Talks between BSkyB and the BBC about the digital
satellite transmission of BBC programs are close to breaking
down, according to the "Daily Telegraph" newspaper. The two have
been unable to agree on how much the BBC should pay for
tranmission. The BBC is planning to develop additional
programming, both free and pay channels, to exploit the extra
capacity offered by digital. BSkyB plans to launch a 200 channel
digital service into the UK early next year. (Reuters)
SHOPPING--Britain's television watchdog says it has approved
changes that will allow cable, satellite, and new digital
channels to carry additional advertising and open the way to the
licensing of self-promotional channels. The Indpendent Television
Commission says the changes reflect provisions of the revised European
Union directive on Television Without Frontiers adopted on July 30.
The EU directive was revised to permit up to three hours a day of
tele-shopping windows (an advertisement that lasts a minimum of 15
minutes). Tele-shopping includes home shopping channels, infomercials,
and advertorials. A self-promotional channel is a form of
all-advertising channel where the broadcaster promotes its own
products, services, or channels. The ITC says that under the new
rules, a computer company, for example, could apply for a license to
showcase its own computers and software. (Reuters)
DMX--Digital Music Express has ceased on Astra and Hot Bird 1/2.
Music Choice Europe has replaced the DMX channels in the DF-1
package on Astra. ("SATCO DX Chart Update") See DMX under North
America below.
Several Swiss radio stations have appeared as part of ADR (Astra
Digital Radio) on 11.141 GHz, replacing DMX. ("SATCO DX Chart
Update")
TV Norge (and DMX) have stopped digital transmissions on Astra
1E. (Richard Karlsson, "Aftonbladet")
ASTRA--Astra transponder 47, which has carried no less than
7 of Sky calls "channels" is spreading out. The Christian Channel
Europe, Sky Soap, the History Channel, and the Sci-Fi Channel have all
started on transponder 24 (which used to carry BSkyB promos). ("SATCO
DX Chart Update") According to information on the channel, they are to
start regular service there on September 1. There is an announcement
on transponder 44, where Galavision has cut back its broadcast hours,
saying that Sky Travel and Sky Movies Gold (two other channels on
transponder 47) will be broadcasting there from September 1 with the
following schedule:
Weekdays: Sky Travel 11:00-16:00 British time, Sky Movies Gold
16:00-05:00 hrs
Weekends: Sky Movies Gold 11:00-05:00 hrs
Galavision may continue at 05:00-11:00 hrs. (Although there was
a report in last month's "What Satellite TV" magazine that
Galavision would be switching to part-time operation on
transponder 47.)
The question is what happens now on transponder 47, which all
these channels have shared with Sky Sports 2. Will Sky Sports 2
be expanding on 47, or will Sky use the extra capacity for pay-
per-view?
Bloomberg TV has started in clear PAL on transponder 11. ("SATCO
DX Chart Update") Couldn't Warner Brothers TV have taken over
this transponder, after being denied access to a BSkyB
transponder? Now that the Time Warner/Murdoch war is over (see
below under North America), will WBTV finally be appearing in
Europe?
Deutsche Welle TV, ESC, RTM 1 and France's TV 5 Europe have
started on Astra 1F transponder 98 (12.363 GHz) in clear MPEG-
2. (Richard Karlsson, "Aftonbladet" and "SATCO DX Chart Update")
Radio Nederlands' Zomer TV has now started on Astra in uncoded
PAL on transponder 58 (after the Computer Channel signs off) and
in uncoded MPEG-2 on transponder 102 (12.441 GHz). (Richard
Karlsson, "Aftonbladet")
The Auction Channel has put off its decision on whether to join
the Sky Multichannels package until September. Rupert Murdoch's
music TV station Channel V, part of Star-TV in Asia, is expected
to join Sky's analog package later this year. ("What Satellite
TV")
The German documentary channel Phoenix on Astra transponder 61,
will move to transponder 36 in January, when that transponder is
vacated by Spain's Documania. ("What Satellite TV")
EUTELSAT--Animal Planet has started in clear PAL on Eutelsat II-
F1 on 11.055 GHz. (Richard Karlsson, "Aftonbladet" and "SATCO DX
Chart Update")
Another new station coming to 13 degrees East this Fall is the
Mosaic Channel, with Asian and Afro-Caribbean programming. ("What
Satellite TV")
Eurotica and Rendez Vous have merged into a single sex channel
called Eurotica-Rendez Vous. Eurotica's transmissions on Eutelsat
II-F3 11.163 GHz have ceased, while the new channel continues on Hot
Bird 2 11.785 GHz, daily between 1:00 and 5:00 AM CET. (Richard
Karlsson, "Aftonbladet" and "SATCO DX Chart Update")
Following a contract between Eutelsat and TDF (part of the France
Telecom group), the TDF2 satellite has joined the Eutelsat fleet. The
satellite is currently being repositioned from 19 degrees West to 36
degrees East to provide capacity for a private Russian TV broadcaster
who will transmit programs over European Russia. The satellite
downlinks in the 11.7-12.5 GHz BSS Ku-band. TDF2 will be joined next
year at 36 degrees East by Eutelsat II-F2 (currently at 10 degrees
East) and Sesat to establish a "key eastern orbital position" for
Eutelsat. (Eutelsat) The last TV channel to leave TDF2 at its old
position was Canal Plus, which ended its transmissions there in eary
July. (Richard Karlsson, "Aftonbladet")
Eutelsat says that Hot Bird 3, which will be launched sometime
this month, will be solely used for digital transmissions. The
Swiss DRS will be the satellite for a package consisting of DRS
1, DRS 2, TSR 1, TSR 2, and TSI, which will be transmitted in
MPEG-2 with Viaccess encryption. (Richard Karlsson in
"Aftonbladet")
INTELSAT--With the cessation of SuperSport on Intelsat 707, the
Slovakian VTV has moved to 11.534 GHz in clear PAL. It's been
succeeded on Eutelsat II-F2 10.972 GHz by the anti-Turkish
Kurdish station Med-TV. There's a report Med-TV has been jammed.
(Richard Karlsson, "Aftonbladet" and "SATCO DX Chart Update")
VIRGIN--Richard Branson's Virgin Media Group is planning to
launch a satellite channel dedicated to travel and music. The
group has held talks with BSkyB about acquiring analog capacity
and says it has "serious intentions of launching one or two TV
services" by this Autumn. Virgin had considered buying the cable
channel Travel, but has now decided to launch its own service in
its own name instead. ("What Satellite TV")
SHALOM--A Jewish channel called the Shalom Channel is expected
to start broadcasts to Europe during the first quarter of 1998.
This will be a pay channel in both analog and digital modes. More
information at:
http://perso.club-internet.fr/shalomtv
(Richard Karlsson, "Aftonbladet") There's no indication as to
what satellite will be used. It could be Israel's Amos-1.
FRANCE--Canal Plus says it is suing French terrestial channels
over their refusal last April to accept a commercial promoting
Canal Plus. In a statement, Canal Plus says private channels TF1
and M6 and public channels France 2 and France 3 have "seriously
abused their position to the deteriment of the principles of
freedom of commerce and competition".
Meanwhile, TPS, the digital satellite television service operated by
TF1, which rivals Canal Plus' Canalsatellite, has taken Canal Plus to
the competition court, saying the pay TV gorup has used its dominant
position to prevent competitors from buying film rights. (Reuters)
ITALY--Canal Plus has signed a preliminary accord with a group
of Italy's top media and telecommunications companies for the
joint creation of a single digital television platform. A joint
statement said full details would be finalized by the end of
September. Besides Canal Plus and its Italian pay-TV service
Telepiu, the agreement involves the communications group
Mediaset, state broadcaster RAI, the state-controlled
telecommunications group Telecom Italia, and Cecchi Gori
Communications. The statement says the digital platform would be
available to third parties, but gave no timetable for the
project. In early July Canal Plus increased its stake in Telepiu
to 91 percent, but now says it could reduce the holding to less
--- NetMgr 1.00.g4+
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