Apparently-to: scdx@get.pp.se
From: "George Wood" 
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  ::           MediaScan             
  ::      SWEDEN CALLING DXERS       
  ::       from Radio Sweden         
  ::    Number 2258--Oct. 15, 1996   
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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 SCDX2258
All times UTC unless otherwise noted.
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NORDIC MEDIA NEWS:
NOBEL PRIZES--The last 10 days have seen the awarding of this year's
Nobel Prizes, and there are some connections between the prizes and
the world of media. On Friday, the Norwegian parliament awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize to two activists working for human rights and self-
determination in Indonesian-occupied East Timor, Bishop Carl Felipe
Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta. This may be a sign that shortwave
broadcasts may begin from Norway to East Timor.
The 1989 Peace Prize went to the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai
Lama, and the 1991 award was to the Burmese opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi. In both cases Norwegian authorities seemed to feel some kind
of involvement or responsibility, and began shortwave radio broadcasts
on behalf of the opposition groups in those countries.
So, is it possible Norway is going to begin broadcasts to East Timor?
In today's program, our Oslo correspondent Tony Samstag reports on the
speculation.
The Voice of Democratic Burma went on the air in July, 1992, just six
months after Aung San Suu Kyi's Peace Prize. It broadcasts from
Norway's Kvitsoey transmitter station, and beginning October 28th, the
schedule will be at 11:00 hrs UTC on 15170 kHz, and at 14:30 hrs on
11850 kHz.
The Voice of Tibet began broadcasts in May this year, organized by
Norway, but using the transmitters of the FEBA in the Seychelles, in
the Indian Ocean. Unlike the Voice of Democratic Burma, the Voice of
Tibet is not directly funded by the Norwegian government, but rather
is supported by the Worldview International Foundation, the Norwegian
Tibet Committee, and the Norwegian Human Rights House. There are 15
minute broadcasts weekdays at 11:45 hrs UTC, on 15445 kHz. ("Passport
to Worldband Radio" and "Monitoring Times")
Meanwhile, another of this year's Nobel Prizes has a direct
application to media. The Bank of Sweden's Economic Prize in Alfred
Nobel's memory has been awarded to James Mirrlees of Britain's
Cambridge University, and William Vickrey of Columbia University in
New York. They've been honored for research concerning "asymetric
information", situations where the different parties to a transaction
hold different knowledge. Sadly, one of this year's Economics
laureates, William Vickrey, died just three days after learning he'd
won the Nobel Prize. As Peter Englund of the Nobel Selection Committee
explains in today's program, Vickrey's work has turned out to be very
applicable to the allocation of the broadcast spectrum in the United
States, where the FCC has been using auctions to grant frequencies.
RADIO SWEDEN--The new Radio Sweden schedule goes into effect on
October 27th. The switch from our Summer to our Winter schedule was
delayed by one month this year, because Europe changed the date of the
switchover from Daylight Savings to Standard Time. 
Our relays on Canada's CBC Overnight and South Africa's SAFM should
remain the same: across Canada at just after 2:00 AM local time and in
South Africa Saturdays at 2:30 AM Central African Time. But there are
changes in many of our other satellite and shortwave relays. And all
times are UTC unless otherwise indicated.
To Europe, we'll be on satellite at 13:30, 17:15, and 19:30 hrs, which
maintains the same local time as our current schedule. Our satellite
relays remain Astra transponder 33, which is ZDF, and Tele-X on Kanal
5's 12.475 GHz. We'll also be on satellite to Europe via the World
Radio Network at 21:00 hrs, on Astra transponder 22, which is VH-1.
And in all three cases, our audio subcarrier remains 7.38 MHz. 
Our shortwave schedule to Europe and Africa will be:
19:30 hrs on 1179, 6065, 7240, and 9655 kHz
20:30 hrs on 1179 and 6065 kHz
21:30 hrs on 1179, 6065, and 7230 kHz (weekends only)
22:30 hrs on 1179, 6065 and 7325 kHz
We'll be broadcasting to North America on satellite via WRN, still on
Galaxy 5 transponder 6, audio 6.8 MHz. but the time changes to 02:30
hrs UTC. That's 9:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, 6:30 PM Pacific
Standard Time.
Our shortwave schedule to North America will be: 
12:30 hrs on 15240 and 11650/13740 kHz (Swedish Teracom refuses to
decide, and the channel can change from day to day)
14:30 hrs 15240 and 9885/11650 kHz
02:30 hrs 6200 kHz (East Coast)
03:30 hrs 7155 kHz (West Coast)
Latin America: 
00:30 hrs on 6065 kHz 
01:30 hrs on 7265/7290 kHz
Asia/Pacific:
13:30 hrs on 7155 and 13740/15240 kHz
14:30 hrs on 9485 kHz
01:30 hrs on 7265/7290 kHz
Beginning January 1st, we'll be starting a new satellite channel to
Europe on Eutelsat II-F1, on the NBC Super Channel transponder on
10.987 GHz, audio 7.56 MHz. But we'll continue on Astra and Tele-X for
the first three months of 1997 as well.
BONNIERS--Sweden's Bonniers publishing giant has avoided involvement
in ether media, except for its Megapol network of local radio
stations. But Bonniers subsidiary Marieberg, publisher of Sweden's
largest newspaper "Expressen" and Scandinavia's largest morning
newspaper "Dagens Nyheter", has plans to start a satellite and
cable-based TV channel, which would concentrate on news and public
affairs programming. (Swedish Radio News, "Svenska Dagbladet" and
"Dagens Nyheter")
SWEDEN, BRITAIN AND THE EUROPEAN UNION--Sweden and Britain seem to be
on opposite ends of the spectrum regarding what may be permitted on
satellite television. Britain seeks to ban adults from viewing sex or
nudity on television. Speaking at the ruling Conservative Party's
annual conference, National Heritage Secretary Virginia Bottomley
announced a ban on the sale of subscription cards for the French-based
broadcaster Renez Vous TV. This is the third such service to be banned
in the UK, after Red Hot TV in 1993 and TV Erotica in 1995. An
estimated 20,000 Britons have already purchased the cards to receive
the channel, and they will be able to use them until the expiration of
their current subscriptions. The British government has no power to
stop porno channels from beaming signals in Britain, but the 1990
Broadcasting Act allows it to outlaw the sale of equipment needed to
watch the programs. ("Tele-satellit News" and AP) 
The European Commission recently confirmed that the Television Without
Frontiers directive prevents governments of European Union countries
to ban reception of satellite channels legal in other EU states. But,
the commission specifically excluded pornography from this
interpetation. The British government's attempts to prevent adults
from viewing sex on the screen have led to a large market in pirate
cards for the Swedish pay-TV channels TV1000 and FilmNet, both of
which broadcast after midnight pornography several nights a week.
Meanwhile, Sweden has sought to protect children from violence in
children's programs and advertising directed to children. The
satellite channel TV3 has circumvented this by broadcasting from
Britain (and TV3's most notorious program of violence aimed at kids is
Rupert Murdoch's "Power Rangers"). The European Commission has
rejected Swedish government attempts to impose the Swedish ban on
children's advertising on TV3. Now a report from the pan-EU consumer
organization BEUC backs up the Swedish position, demanding an EU law
protecting children from advertising. If the EU is not willing to give
children this protection, the BEUC wants countries with stricter
regulations to be allowed to enforce them, including advertising
directed to one country from another. (TT)
SCIENCE FICTION CHANNEL--The Scandinavian service of the Sci-Fi
Channel began on schedule on October 1, but on the Tele-X satellite
rather than the previously reported TV-SAT. After starting initially
on 12.713 GHz, Sci-Fi is now using 12.600 GHz, so far uncoded.
Sweden's largest cable network, Telia Kabel TV, is including Sci-Fi in
its pay package, but has moved Cartoon Network/TNT in most networks to
make room for Sci-Fi. (Richard Karlsson, "Aftonbladet")
NICKELODEON--Swedish Nickelodeon is now sharing the Z-TV transponder
on Sirius. Nevertheless, Telia Kabel TV has no plans to introduce the
channel on its networks. So when Nickelodeon is on the air, the cable
channel picture on the Z-TV channel is still encrypted in Eurocrypt,
as on the satellite. (Richard Karlsson, "Aftonbladet")
VH-1--The Scandinavian VH-1 carried now on Sirius 11.785 GHz is
identical to the British version on Astra, with one exception: it's
commercial free! Instead of commercials the Scandinavian version
carries promos introducing the VJs and programming. (Richard Karlsson,
"Aftonbladet")
FILMNET--On January 1, 1997 FilmNet will end its analog transmissions
on Astra transponder 11. It will only be available on Intelsat 707.
The new British Channel 5 will take over the Astra transponder on that
date (assuming it's satisfied its licence condition that a sufficent
number of British VCRs are retuned in time, as Channel 5 will be using
terrestrial frequencies usually used by VCRs). (Richard Karlsson,
"Aftonbladet")
BBC--BBC Prime is expected to take over MTV's former Thor transponder
on 12.092 GHz. MTV, which is now on 11.679 GHz on Intelsat 707 at the
same position, will cease on November 11. BBC Prime will start
transmissions on November 13. (Richard Karlsson, "Aftonladet")
EUROPE:
WORLD RADIO NETWORK--WRN has appointed Simon Spanswick, from the BBC
World Service, longtime host of the "Waveguide" program and formerly
Assistant Secretary General of the European DX Council, as Director of
Corporate Affairs. (WRN)
SKY SCOTTISH--Updating the report last time, Sky Scottish, due to
share Astra transponder 59 with Granada Talk TV beginning November 1,
is a partnership between British Sky Broadcasting and the regional TV
company Scottish Television. The two hours of programming every
evening will include a news broadcast and other Scottish-related
programs, such as the arts, etc. The idea is to offer the service to
Scottish ex-pats who live elsewhere in the UK. (Gordon Watt)
EUTELSAT--MTV has stopped PAL broadcasts on Eutelsat II-F1. Vox is now
on Eutelsat II-F1 11.590 GHz. RTL2 on II-F1 has activated its sound
carriers. Among these is 8.10 MHz, which is carrying Radio Free
Europe. (Pedro Sedano)
Arte began broadcasts on II-F1 11.055 GHz on October 8. Arte is
ceasing transmissions from Kopernikus 3 on October 31. ("SATCO DX
Chart Update" and Pedro Sedano)
After being forced off the French TV5 and Deutsche Welle transponders
on Eutelsat II-F1, the US government's WorldNet has left Eutelsat
II-F2 11.575 GHz. ("SATCO DX Chart Update") Apparently the end of an
era in Europe.
ASTRA--Bloomberg Radio begun on Astra transponder 31 (Sky Sports 3) on
7.38 MHz. ("SATCO DX Chart Update")
INTELSAT--The United Artist and Multichoice Nordic MPEG-2 packages are
now on Intelsat 601 on 11.018 and 11.506 GHz. ("SATCO DX Chart
Update")
CANAL PLUS/NETHOLD--The definative merger agreement between France's
Canal Plus and the Swedish/Dutch-based (Swiss/South African-owned)
Nethold is likely to be signed in the next few weeks, according to a
spokesman for Nethold. (Reuters)
Canal Plus is fully focused on making its merger with Nethold work,
but has not ruled out working with media mogul Rupert Murdoch, says
company chairman Pierre Lescure. Speaking to an industry conference in
Paris, Lescure said he did not think Murdoch would launch his British
Sky Broadcasting into the French market "because there is no room for
competition between two premium channels". Richard Dunn, executive
director of Murdoch's News Corporation, told the same conference that
his group would "work with Canal Plus ins ome areas and be fierce
rivals in others". (Reuters)
Canal Satellite, the digital pay-TV unit of Canal Plus, says it has
signed an agreement to carry programs of NBC Europe and the business
channel CBNC in its basic tier. In a statement, Canal Plus said the
services would be added before the end of the year. Both parties
expect their agreement to be extended to include the MSNBC venture
when it launches in the last quarter of 1997. (Reuters)
BERTELSMANN/CLT--The European Commission has no objections to the
merger between Ufa, a subsidiary of Germany's media giant Bertelsmann,
and Luxembourg's commercial broadcast company CLT. Having been given
the green light by Brussels, the deal that will create the largest
European media company can go ahead as planned. ("Tele-satellit News")
ITALY--Italy is to get its first dedicated news and information
channel thanks to an agreement between Bloomberg Information
Television and the news agency Ansa. The new channel will be
transmitted via Eutelsat's about to launch Hot Bird 2 satellite as
part of the Telepiu DSTV digital package. (Hot Bird 2 is currently
expected to launch on around November 13.) The 24 hour service will
start broadcasting in January, 1997, using the format pioneered by
Bloomberg, with the screen divided into four smaller screens. One will
show a newsreader reading the news, another will show other news in
real-time, while the other two will show weather reports and financial
news. ("Tele-satellit News")
EUR0PEAN BUSINESS NEWS--EBN is showcasging three new multimedia TV
initiatives at the European Cable Communications show, which opens
today in London and runs until Thursday. EBN Talking Business is an
interactive home computer channel for the family, launched in
partnership with American Online. Dream Stocks is a new interactive
share game, available at EBN Interactive (http://www.ebn.co.uk). EBN
is also launching a new personal finance TV show called "Your Money".
EBN is also launching a live 24 hour audio feed from its TV channel on
the Internet, using RealAudio. (Curt Swinehart)
MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA:
CANAL PLUS/NETHOLD--Canal Plus has signed a deal with Nethold
subsidiary Multichoice Africa that will put Canal Plus' Canal Horizons
service onto the Multichoice digital TV package. The relays will begin
on November 1, and brings the number of channels in the package to 16.
("Tele-satellit News")
ARABSAT--After about one week, the MBC on Arabsat 2A has moved from
12.735 GHz back to 4.098 GHz. Nile TV International has started on
Arabsat 2A 3.802 GHz. Syria's SRT is on 3.999 GHz. There's an Algerian
test card on 12.521 GHz. ("SATCO DX Chart Update")
EUTELSAT--Libya's Foreign Channel has ceased broadcasts on Eutelsat
II- F3 11.080 GHz. It's been replaced by a test card from Algeria.
--- NetMgr 1.00.g4+
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