128 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
128 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
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Skyguide Issue 026
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-------------------------------- SKYGUIDE UK ---------------------------------
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| Your digest of the latest news in the world of Satellite & Cable TV |
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---------------------- Week Ending Sun October 10th --------------------------
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* DISH SALES UP
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BARB's latest figures show that 70,000 Astra satellite systems were sold in
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August this year, up 27,000 from the 43,000 figure that were sold at the same
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time last year.
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There are now 2.5 million dish owners in the UK, with around 680,000 viewers
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on cable, and approximately 300,000 viewers connected to a communal satellite
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system.
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* TWO SPORT
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Sky Sports 2 is planned to launch in February next year. The channel is
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understood to be intending to broadcast 24 hours a day, at no extra cost to
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Sky Sports subscribers.
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The channel is likely to be devoted to providing live coverage of long-running
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sporting events such as cricket, golfing tournaments, and snooker matches, as
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well as providing a handy outlet for the much-rumoured possibility of
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Pay-Per-View sporting events.
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The Astra transponder ear-marked for the service may be pressed into use in
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the next month or so to screen promotional material for the Sky Satellite
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Network, although this has not yet been confirmed.
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* BSKYBBC
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A potential agreement between the BBC and Sky to screen original film
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productions is apparently now unlikely following a breakdown of negotiations.
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The deal would have allowed Sky to premiere original BBC films from the
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"Screen One" and "Screen Two" series before they aired terrestrially, in
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return for Sky contributing to co-production funds.
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A Sky spokesman said that a deal was very close to being signed, but in the
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final event the BBC considered Sky's terms unacceptable.
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* NBC EUROPE
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American broadcaster NBC has purchased the majority 75% shareholding in
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Super Channel from the Italian Marcucci family.
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Marialina Marcucci will remain on the board of directors, but NBC now has
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overall control of the channel. NBC plans a radical change of schedules,
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bringing in a number of NBC's news and current affairs shows, including NBC
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Today, The Tonight Show, NBC Nightly News, and NBC Now.
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There will be more emphasis on News and business programming, but general
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entertainment will also remain a part of the new Super Channel schedules, with
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NBC promising to bring original productions to the channel.
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* CABLE INDUSTRY CRIES "NO FAIR!" AND WANTS ITS BALL BACK
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The Independent Television Commission has allowed British Telecom to provide
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a full video-on-demand service via its existing telephone network.
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BT's proposals centre initially around a service where viewers could select a
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video movie and have it downloaded to their home via their existing telephone
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line. Pricing has not yet been announced for the service.
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The Cable Television Association has reacted with horror to these proposals,
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and has written to the Department of Trade and Industry, seeking a block on
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the ITC decision.
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BT is currently prohibited from offering full cable-tv services over its
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network until at least 1998, and the CTA claims that the ITC's decision
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allows BT to go against the spirit of this legislation.
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A spokesman commented that "If BT can offer video-on-demand it changes the
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whole risk profile of the industry".
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* QVC ON AIR
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The new home shopping service QVC launched on October 1st. The service is
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scrambled as part of the Sky Multi-Channels package, and is not currently
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broadcasting Europe-wide, as had been predicted.
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Calls to the channel are averaging 5,000 a day, and some items have
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completely sold out within three minutes.
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* GETTING TOUGH ON PIRATES
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Satellite broadcasters in USA and Europe have joined with Hollywood film
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studios to fight the growing threat of piracy to pay-movie channels.
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The group, called the Motion Pictures Export Assocation of America, wants the
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European Commission to adopt new directives to outlaw piracy in Europe.
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* AND FINALLY...
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The latest BBC News presenter to defect to Sky News is award-winning
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journalist Michael McMillan.
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McMillan, 38, spent four years as the BBC's Middle Eastern correspondent, and
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was awarded a prize from the Royal Television Society for his coverage of the
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Palestinian uprising.
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It is understood he will present lunchtime and afternoon bulletins.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Skyguide Issue 26 Edited by Ant Purvis
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Skyguide is (usually) published every week. You can find it on London's CIX
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system in the Skyguide conference, Fidonet's Satelite TV echo, the Packet
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Radio Network, and on internet in the alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup.
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Skyguide is not a commercial publication, nor is it a cut-down version of a
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printed journal. Nonetheless, it is copyright, and is not to be redistributed
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in any form without consent. (Just ask!) Errors and Omissions expected.
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Back issues can be mailed to internet mailboxes on request.
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Comments, suggestions, stories and monetary donations are always appreciated!
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You can contact Skyguide in the following ways:
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CIX : mail to bignoise, or use the Skyguide/comments conference.
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Fidonet : Netmail to ANTONY PURVIS at 2:251/203, or leave a message in the
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Satellite TV echo. Please note the new netmail address!
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Internet: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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