203 lines
9.5 KiB
Plaintext
203 lines
9.5 KiB
Plaintext
Skyguide Issue 035
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--------------------------------- SKYGUIDE ---------------------------------
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| Your digest of the latest news in the world of Satellite & Cable TV |
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--------------------- Week Ending Fri April 8th 1994 -----------------------
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* NEW FOR NICK
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Nickelodeon is making deals with a number of independent producers for
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original programming for the station, including a music series and a drama
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series about ghost stories.
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Amongst the parties concerned are Ardent Productions, (owned by Prince Edward)
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and Initial Films and Television, a large independent producer that has
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contributed much work to Channel 4.
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Rumours also suggest that some UK involvement with the game show 'Guts' is
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soon to occur. While there is a slim possibility that Nickelodeon may produce
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its own UK version of the show, it is more likely to take a number of British
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children across to the show's American home in Florida.
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Ren and Stimpy, a 'Nicktoon' not yet seen on Nickelodeon, although broadcast
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in the UK by BBC2, will also come to the station. The previous agreement had
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been that the BBC would have rights to the show for two years, but rights to
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screen the series after the BBC showings end have been secured.
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* OLD RUMOURS DIE HARD
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A fresh round of speculation has begun involving Sky's subscriber centre at
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Livingston, Scotland. There have been a number of rumours that the centre is,
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or will be, equipped with CLI - 'Caller Line Identification', or Caller ID as
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it is known.
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This will enable Sky to pinpoint exactly where in the country a caller is
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dialling from, which will make card fraud more difficult, and prevent
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international callers from upgrading legal cards which have found their way
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abroad.
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Such rumours have had currency for a long time, although they have been
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primarily centred on Sky's ability to detect international calls - something
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which is possible without CLI just by listening to the quality of the line.
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* MULTICHANNELS 2
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It has been reported that Sky may be intending to launch a second
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Multichannels package on the Astra 1D satellite.
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It is understood that Sky is currently negotiating with SES to purchase all
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available transponders on Astra 1D, in some cases in partnership with other
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broadcasters in Europe.
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Such a package would be likely to encourage existing viewers to upgrade their
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equipment to receive Astra 1D. Currently, the large majority of satellite
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systems in use in the UK are not equipped to receive Astra 1C without
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extensive modification, if at all.
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Potential names for the new package could include some channels rumoured for
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the first package, namely The Sci-Fi Channel and The Family Channel, existing
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members of Multichannels seeking a full transponder (CMT Europe), as well as
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other channels yet to be announced. There is also a distinct possibility that
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Eurosport may join the package.
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The pricing of the package, if it is launched, is not yet known, although the
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possibility of it being made available to existing subscribers for a small
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charge, or even no charge, cannot be ruled out.
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* ONE BILLION!
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Sky's three movie channels and Sky Sports will be softscrambled this weekend.
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The weekend is called "The Billion Dollar Preview Weekend", and will be hosted
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by Gaby Roslin, co-host of Channel 4's "The Big Breakfast"
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Films that will be seen include Alien 3, Lethal Weapon 3, Star Trek 6, Wayne's
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World, The Addams Family, Hook, and Basic Instinct.
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* FACING THE MUSIC
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Ice skaters Torvill and Dean have been signed up by Sky in a long-term
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commitment to feature in advertising and promotions for the satellite
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broadcaster. The skaters will receive 150,000 pounds each.
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Torvill and Dean are spearheading the new Sky 30 day home trial campaign,
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understood to have been christened "Project Y" by Sky insiders.
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'Project X' was launched shortly after Sky began broadcasting, and allowed
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viewers to rent a Sky satellite dish and the movie channel for under five
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pounds a week. The campaign then was a success for Sky, fuelling the then
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almost non-existent dish market.
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The new home trial offer is a no-obligation installation of a Sky dish,
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decoder, and all Sky premium channels, including Multichannels, for 30 days.
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At the end of the home trial, viewers then have the option of purchasing the
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satellite system from their local retailer [Project X infuriated satellite
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dealers by completely bypassing them], or to have the dish removed at no cost.
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The campaign is likely to boost dish ownership, and hopefully compensate for
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the large number of satellite viewers who are completely giving up their
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dishes. It is estimated that some 200,000 viewers de-installed their dishes
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last year - thought to be as a result of the Sky Multi-channel package.
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* NEW ARRIVALS
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Game show 'Blockbusters' begins screening on Sky One from April 18th.
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David Letterman's top-rated American chat show also come to Sky One on the
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same day. The show will air daily at 11pm UK Time, less than 24 hours after
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the show's transmission in the USA.
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Viewers who missed the Season 4 screenings of Star Trek: The Next Generation,
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or who want to see the series without commercial breaks, will be able to see
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re-runs of the show on BBC2 from Wednesday April 13th.
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* SCRAMBLE!
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Sky viewers can expect new viewing cards over the next few months. Sky is
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slowly introducing Series 9 smartcards in an effort to beat the flood of
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pirate cards that are now becoming widely available. A number of pirate card
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manufacturers are attempting to dump their existing stocks onto the market at
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discount prices, in some cases reported to be as low as 35 pounds.
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The cards, like their Series 7 counterparts, will contain pay-per-view
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programming.
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* SKY DISCOVERS DOCUMENTARIES
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Sky has commissioned three documentary programmes for Sky One, in a ground-
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breaking move for the channel.
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The subjects are somewhat tabloidish, namely a documentary about Jack the
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Ripper, Stephen Waldorf (a man who was shot by policemen in 1984 when he was
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mistaken for a terrorist), and a feature on Terry Venables, which will be
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produced by Chrysalis Television.
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* EC ATTACKS BRITISH BROADCASTING
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The European Commission has announced that it is going to take legal action
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against the British Government.
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Central to the dispute is that many channels broadcast via satellite from the
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UK do not meet the required 51% quota of European-sourced programming which
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is required under EC Broadcasting rules.
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While this rule had been effectively ignored by many broadcasters across
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Europe for several years, the point has been brought to the fore again largely
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due to the French Government, lobbied by French broadcasters such as Canal
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Plus.
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As reported in previous editions of Skyguide, the problem revolves around TNT
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and The Cartoon Network. The French authorities are furious that the channel
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is allowed to broadcast in the French language without governmental controls.
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When the authorities approached TNT and asked it to cease broadcasting in
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French, it refused. The current situation is largely as a result of this
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dispute, in an attempt to prevent the channel broadcasting in French, by way
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of it being forced to stop broadcasting entirely.
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Satellite broadcasters in France, such as the Canal Plus empire, have been
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keen to keep French programming on French satellites. By way of an example,
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the French language soundtrack for Eurosport was removed some time ago, and
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now if you want to watch Eurosport in French, you can only do so on the
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Telecom satellites inhabited by other French channels.
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* BROADCASTING ON BORROWED TIME
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German channel 'Vox' is now likely to close within weeks, if not days, after
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its major shareholders all pulled out of the channel.
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230 of Vox's 290 staff have now left the station, and the remaining staff of
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60 intend to keep the channel running for as long as they can.
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When Vox does cease, the transponder will revert to its original owners,
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European Television Networks (ETN), owners of the defunct Lifestyle and
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Screensport channels. It is thought that they will have no trouble selling the
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transponder space, and a prime favourite is NBC Superchannel, now "desperate"
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for space on Astra.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Skyguide Issue 35 Edited by Ant Purvis
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Skyguide is usually published fortnightly, but can be erratic at times,
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depending on news availability. You can find it on London's CIX system in
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the Skyguide conference, Fidonet's Satellite TV echo, the Packet Radio
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Network, on internet in the alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup, and now in
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the French language on Minitel in the 3615 SURPIN area.
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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. It may not be distributed for profit and is copyright.
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Nevertheless, free distribution (via BBSs, FTP sites, etc.) is encouraged,
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provided that permission is asked first.
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Errors and Omissions expected. If we get something wrong, let us know and
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we'll put it right!
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Back issues can be mailed to internet mailboxes on request.
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Comments, suggestions, and stories are always appreciated! You can contact
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Skyguide in the following ways:
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CIX : mail to bignoise, or use the Skyguide/comments conference.
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Fidonet : Leave a message in the Satellite TV echo
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Internet: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk
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