This news is provided free of charge to on-line users by TELE-satellit magazine and TS News Service GB. IT IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. It may not be reproduced for commercial reasons by any means what so ever. If you wish to reproduce this news or redistribute it for non commercial use please contact the email address below. Der TS Nachrichtendienst ist ein Service fuer die Freunde von TELE-satellit und TS-TV und ist nur fuer persoenliche infromation freigegeben. TELE-satellit EUROPE'S SATELLITE MAGAZINE International Satellite Broadcasting News Number 42, Week ending 12 March 1995 By Martyn Williams News Desk : Internet martyn@euro.demon.co.uk or CompuServe 100025,1637 (c) TELE-satellit Magazine IT'S ON, IT'S OFF ! ANOTHER DELAY FOR HOTBIRD Kourou, French Guiana (TS) -- A leak in Ariane's troublesome third stage has meant a postponement of this week's scheduled launch. The new details are : Ariane Flight 71 March 14 - Satellite composite transfer to launch pad March 15 - Satellite composite mating onto launcher and overall checks March 16 - Launch rehearsal March 17 - Launch rediness review, launcher arming March 19 - First and second stage filling March 20 - Third stage filling, launch Launch Window March 20, 2303 - 2353 UTC (March 21 0003 - 0053 CET). NETHOLD ANNOUNCE DIGITAL TV SERVICE VIA ASTRA, EUTELSAT Hoofddorp, The Netherlands (TS) -- Nethold has announced it is to launch digital pay televison later this year into various European countries including the Benelux and Scandinavian nations. In multiple news releases this week Nethold announced the lease of eight transponders on Astra 1E, 1F and 1G and the lease of three more transponders on the new Eutelsat Hor Bird 2. According to SES, "By leasing these transponders, Nethold intends to develop a direct-to-home digital satellite network that will offer viewers ...more than 70 television programmes and other home entertainment services". In Europe Nethold owns FilmNet, operators of seven pay TV networks, MultiChoice and Irdeto, a pay TV technolgy company. Nethold also owns 25% of Italian pay TV networks Telepiu which this week also confirmed the lease of four channels on Hot Bird 2. KINNEVIK SELL OFF RUMOURS By George Wood Stockholm, Sweden (RADIO SWEDEN) -- There are a few interesting developments at the Kinnevik media empire, which owns the satellite channels TV3, TV6, TVG, Z-V, FilmMax, TV1000, and the largest interest in Sweden's only terrestrial commercial station TV4, along with local radio stations and magazines around Scandinavia. Not to mention the first long distance and cellular telephone companies to challenge Swedish Telecom's former monopolies. Now TV4 Vice President Arne Weiss claims that Kinnevik owner Jan Stenbeck is preparing the sell off his TV interests. (Svenska Dagbladet) This is the Nordic equivalent of Rupert Murdoch deciding to get out of broadcasting. But it remains to be seen if the report is true. CANAL PLUS PROFITS NOSE DIVE Paris, France (TS) -- A surprise 48% drop in profits from Europe's biggest pay TV group, Canal Plus, caused stock in the company to collapse on Friday whilst trading was twice suspended on the Paris Bourse because of the dive. Profits for 1995 were just FFr626 million, down from FFr1.2 billion in 1994. Company officials balmed the dive mainly on projects in Germany where the company owns stock in ailing movie channel Premiere and a 25% share is the almost failed Vox. Other costs were involved in the start up and development of Canal Satellite, the French pay TV packet on Telecom. Officials warn for much of the same this year with Vox continuing to loose money. EU REVIEWS NORDIC SATELLITE VENTURE Brussels, Belgium (TS) -- The European Commission is reviewing the plans of Nordic Satellite Distribution (NSD). The company plans provides a package of satellite TV stations to Scandinavia including those of Kinnevik. NSD is jointly owned by Kinnevik, Tele Danmark and Telenor and is under investigation by the EU because of the dominant position that it holds in satellite TV distribution and encryption is Scandinavia. A 1,000 page report was delivered to the Commission which has a month to judge the operation. SWEDEN GOLD ? By George Wood Stockholm, Sweden (RADIO SWEDEN) -- Non-commercial Swedish Television, which is investigating a merger and reorganization of its two channels to deal with a 50 million dollar budget cut imposed by the government, wants to launch a cable-based pay-TV channel, carrying classic programming from the archives. The channel would go on the air this Fall, but to make it a reality, Swedish TV needs the government to give it back those 50 million dollars to buy digital compression equipment. The channel would later be carried on satellite. ALBANIAN RADIO ENDANGERED BY VANDALISM By Fabian Schmidt Tirana, Albania (OMRI) -- Albanian TV and Radio broadcasts are endangered in more than one-third of Albania because of robbery and vandalism at transmitter stations, Gazeta Shqiptare reported on 8 March. Over the past two years, 76 such cases have been reported. The director-general of Albanian TV and Radio has asked the government to cover the costs for reconstruction, estimated at about $500,000. Meanwhile, it is reported that Tirana will have its own public TV and radio channel. FUJI TV GOES MPEG WITH TRW Redondo Beach, California, USA (TS) -- TRW announced last week that they had signed a deal with leading Japanese TV network Fuji TV for digital satellite transmission services from the US to Japan. Fuji TV will make use of a C band transponder on NASA's TDRSS satellite to carry material for Fuji's nationwide Fuji News Network (FNN) in Japan. TRW uses five of NASA's TDRSS satellites worldwide. The use of those satellites by Fuji also marks the first time that a Japanese broadcast network has moved away from Intelsat for full time international circuits. TRW also distributes BBC World TV to Satellite News Corp in Tokyo for distribution via a domestic Japanese DBS satellite. MORE CAPACITY PLANNED IN US SKIES By Fred deFerbrache III Elkhart, Indiana, USA (SDA) -- More investment is going into putting C-Band, as well as Ku-Band, capacity in the sky. AT&T applied to the FCC for construction permits for a fleet of three new hybrid satellites. Each of these birds will carry 28 100-watt Ku-Band transponders and 24 16-watt C-Band transponders. AT&T hopes to launch Telstar 5 in the summer of 1997 for the 93 degree orbital slot; Telstar 6 in 1999 to reside at the 129 degree slot; and Telstar 7 in the year 2000 to orbit at 83 degrees. INDIA GETS SINGAPORE UPLINK LICENSE Singapore (TS) -- The broadcasting authorities in Singapore have issued a broadcasting license to Golden Eagle Communications Ltd (GEC) of India. The company, based in India, will uplink it's Tamil language TV channel via Singapore back into viewers in India via Rimsat 2. COMPRESSION LABS WINS AUSTRALIAN MPEG ORDER San Jose, California (TS) -- Compression Labs has won a $2 million order from NEC Australia for the Company's Magnitude MPEG-2-based compressed digital video broadcast systems for a pilot for Telecom Australia. The order is part of a new Video on demand trial set to start in the country soon. Magnitude will be used to provide both real-time encoding for digital broadcast as well as receiving at the homes of more than 300 pilot viewers located throughout Australia. Telecom Australia will broadcast seven live channels over telephone lines using Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) transmission technology and CLI's Magnitude real-time encoder. A video server will also be used to offer viewers a variety of video-on-demand programs, including movies and special interest features. In the home, viewers will use Magnitude set-top receivers to watch either the live channels or to select programs from the server. NEC Australia will provide the switching, management and integration of the project, which is scheduled to begin this summer. Currently in Australia, television broadcasts are transmitted either over the air, or in some areas, over satellite. Cable television systems like those in the U.S. are not yet established in Australia. The Telecom Australia project represents the first instance of a telephone company providing video services in Australia. ADSL technology, combined with the compressed digital video from CLI enables the transmission of visual communications over telephone wires. IS DSS LOOSING STEAM ? By Fred deFerbrache III Elkhart, Indiana, USA (SDA) -- As of January 21st, 457,000 DSS units were authorized for either DirecTv, USSB or both. This represents an average of about 2200 authorizations per day. This is 45% less than the 3200 authorizations a day that was being touted two months ago! It should be noted that the 3200 per day published in the press does not appear to be a realistic average even for the Christmas season. This number may have actually represented the peak authorization days. Still, even with more realistic numbers, the average of daily DSS authorizations appears to have slipped significantly for the last two months. This could represent the wider economic slowdown that traditionally effects residential satellite sales in the first quarter of the year. There was an average of 1387 VideoCipher (C-Band Satellite) authorizations in January. This is 15% less than December's daily average. This is also nearly 38% less than last August, when authorizations were averaging 2236 per day. PLAY TV HITS IT BIG IN MEXICO By Fred deFerbrache III Elkhart, Indiana, USA (SDA) -- Interactive TV appears to be a grand success in Mexico. For about six dollars, Mexicans can buy a dedicated little device that uses an acoustic modem. This handheld mini-computer is used to respond to the daily quizzes aired on Television Azteca. It is called "Telegana" and it is being hyped as the world's first interactive TV quiz show. Viewers can win prizes such as VCRs and vacation trips. In 11 days a major supermarket chain sold some 25,000 Telegana units. Hopes of winning may be shifting many Mexicans from Pay TV to Play TV. TELE-satellit Magazine This news is from the English language news service of TELE-satellit, a monthly satellite magazine edited in Munich, Germany. It consists of 164 pages, full colour with tables, charts and news with many off-screen photos of the satellite channels plus an informative technical section and Europe's best satellite frequency guide. Subscriptions are available for DM 120, Europe surface mail; DM 144, Europe airmail and DM 192, ROW airmail. Orders for subscriptions and more information should be sent to : TELE-satellit Customer Service, Silheimer Str. 6a, D-89278 Nersingen, Germany, Fax +49-7308-919001 or email 100543.660@compuserve.com Where to find satellite news : TELE-satellit News, English : CompuServe UK Forum (UKFORUM) - Windows Write / ASCII version, library 19 CompuServe European Forum (EURFORUM) - Windows Write version, library 5 CompuServe Deutschland on line (GERLINE) - Windows Write version, library 15 CompuServe Telecommunications Forum (TELECOM) - Windows Write version fax on demand +49-8282-81003 fax on demand +49-2163-81744 fax on demand +49-7308-919009 fax on demand +44-1875-614888 NBC Super Channel - NBC Text page 171 alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup on Usenet World Wide Web : http://xan.esrin.esa.it:2602/satellite.html Fidonet SAT.028 Fidonet SATELLITE.FR Fidonet RU.SAT Fidonet SATELLIT_R23.PUB Maus Net : tv.grp America On Line - from the "ham radio" area in the General file library. Anonymous FTP to : ftp.funet.fi /pub/dx/text/satellite/telesatellit CIX Skyguide/telesat conference SAT NET BBS network SweDX BBS, Swedish DX Association. +46-8-53034727 / Fidonet 2:201/339 Short Wave Paradise BBS, online 24 hours a day ! USA 616-383-4979 TELE-satellit News, German : CompuServe Deutschland on line (GERLINE) - ASCII version, library 15 CompuServe Der Spiegel Forum (SPIEGEL) - ASCII version, library 11 fax on demand +49-8282-81003 fax on demand +49-2163-81744 fax on demand +49-7308-919009 SAT 1 Text - page 513 3sat Text - page 279 SAT NET BBS network Other reliable sources of satellite news : • Radio Sweden Mediascan. 1st and 3rd Tuesday, 20 minutes into the English programme via Astra, Shortwave, Mediumwave 1197 kHz and the World Radio Network. Text and audio files of Mediascan can be found in the SCDX directory on ftp.funet.fi • Radio Netherlands Media Network, Thursday, 23 minutes into the English programme via shorwave and The World Radio Network • World Wide Web users can access TS News and the electronic journals above and more information via the European satellite home page, URL http://xan.esrin.esa.it:2602/satellite.html • The ProShow. Every Sunday night starting at 9:00 pm EST on the Omega Radio Network - Galaxy 3, Transponder 17, 5.80 MHz. -- Martyn Williams | Internet : martyn@euro.demon.co.uk | CI$ : 100025,1637 | Nifty : PXQ00623 | GEnie : NB.LON2 | The views above are my own, I think