textfiles/magazines/SKYGUIDE/skyguide.36

Skyguide Issue 036

--------------------------------- SKYGUIDE ---------------------------------
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|    Your digest of the latest news in the world of Satellite & Cable TV   |
|                                                                          |
---------------------- Week Ending Sat May 28th 1994 -----------------------

* APOLOGIES

Huge apologies for the enormous delay in getting this issue out - such a long
delay between issues isn't normal, and hopefully it won't happen again!

* SKY GUIDE

Sky is set to spectacularly annoy UK programme listings magazines publishers
with its latest announcement that it intends to enter the market itself.

Sky will put together a monthly 150 page magazine listing all the Sky Premium
and Multi channels, which will be distributed FREE to all 2.7 million Sky
satellite subscribers.

The magazine will be called "Sky TV Guide". Readers with long memories may
remember "TV Guide" as one of the first satellite listings magazines in the
UK market. At the time it featured full satellite listings (since the magazine
was owned by Rupert Murdoch), and not-very-complete listings of terrestrial
channels, since at the time the "Radio Times" and "TV Times" still had a
monopoly on the printing of terrestrial programme schedules.

TV Guide failed miserably, and the name was eventually sold to Satellite TV
Europe, just one party who is liable to be less than happy with the new
magazine.

* SCRAMBLED SOUND

A UK online service reports that Sky have commissioned GEC to build an audio
decoder for use with existing Videocrypt transmissions.

The Videocrypt scrambling system currently does not affect the audio
soundtrack of a programme, although if the device were to become commonly
available (Sky giving one away to each subscriber was mentioned), this could
change.

What motives Sky could have for introducing such a step is unclear. Videocrypt
already has a sound scrambling facility built in, although in many receivers
it is not connected.

More reports if we get them.

* STILL BROADCASTING

Troubled German satellite station VOX is still broadcasting, despite constant
rumours of impending closing dates.

The latest reports indicate that the station may be saved by the RTL group.
If this is so, the station may be renamed - currently touted names for the
channel are "RTL Classic" and "RTL 3".

* SKY EURO SPORTS 2

Eurosport is understood to be in discussions with Sky with a view to joining
the Sky network, either as part of Sky Multi-channels or as a bonus channel
for Sky Sports subscribers.

Should the deal go ahead, it still leaves the way open for European viewers
to receive Eurosport via the MultiChoice package.

Eurosport is thought to be keen to start drinking from the fountain of
subscription revenue, and even the 15p/month per subscriber income from the
Multichannels package could put the channel on a firm financial footing.

The possibility cannot be ruled out that Sky may be tempted to take a
controlling interest in the channel, in which case it is more likely to be
packaged with Sky Sports as a second channel, which not only has a good supply
of sports material but would provide a good outlet for clashing sporting
events. In such a case, expect to see substantial presentation cases.

In other news, Sky has appointed Mark Sharman of London News Network as
programme controller of Sky Sports.

Meanwhile, Eurosport will follow Teleclub's lead, moving from Astra 1A to
Astra 1C in the next few months.

Existing viewers will not be affected - while the channel will be broadcasting
from a back-up transponder on 1C, it will remain on the same frequency. It
will, however, affect viewers in Spain, who will find themselves with a much
stronger signal for the channel than is at present provided by Astra 1A.

* CON NEWS

A Manchester man has been arrested following bogus mailshots offering decoders
for the proposed adult channel TV69. A number of Red Hot Television viewers
have received the offer of a decoder for 99 pounds.

Dt. Sgt. Townsley of Manchester Fraud Squad would like to hear from anyone who
has sent money in response to such a mailshot. Telephone 061 856 4251 or 4252.

* SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Red Hot Television claim they will relaunch on Eutelsat 2F3 on May 27th. The
Videocrypt-compatible 'Enigma' scrambling system has been dropped, it is
claimed due to piracy levels.

The channel now intends to broadcast using the SAVE encryption system (which
is even easier to pirate), although it will only charge 40 pounds for a
decoder. Mark Garner, RHTV supremo, claims that they will broadcast 70% in the
clear, showing soft porn, and the other 30% will be encrypted hardcore.

* WIRE TV SPORTS 2

United Artists cable channel Wire TV is understood to be planning to launch
a 24-hour cable-only sports channel next year.

Next month, Wire TV will begin screening two hour blocks of highlights from
Wimbledon, under an agreement with the BBC. Live games may be shown as long
as they are not being covered at the same time by the BBC.

The new channel will broadcast alongside the digitally compressed UA feed of
Wire TV, The Learning Channel and The Parliamentary Channel, thus incurring
no extra transponder leasing costs.

* BBC NEWS

Two European satellite channels are to be launched in Europe by the BBC.

There will be a news and current affairs channel, as well as a general
entertainment channel. Both channels will contain advertising, be scrambled,
and will be strictly unavailable to UK residents.

* SKY NEWS

Ian Frykberg, Sky's head of News and Sports programming has left the company,
following a bitter dispute with recently-appointed managing director, Kelvin
MacKenzie, ex-editor of "The Sun" newspaper.

Frykberg was understood to be violently opposed to MacKenzie's attempts to
introduce more domestic tabloid stories to Sky News. Insiders are worried that
with the loss of Frykberg, a keen European, Sky News is more than ever set to
concentrate on domestic news, leaving it behind in International affairs.

Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch is understood to be on the verge of launching a
joint venture between CBS and Sky. CBS could acquire 50% of Sky News (UK), and
the two parties would launch a second International News Channel.

Sky is keen to complete some kind of deal, since Sky News is still losing
around 10 million pounds a year. Sky and CBS are already close partners in
news coverage, right down to identical sets and presentation.

The launch of an International channel would make it more likely that Sky News
UK would then scramble as part of the Sky Multi-channels package, securing it
over 5 million pounds a year in subscription revenue alone.

* QVC NEWS

Sky has sold 30% of its stake in the home shopping channel QVC, reducing its
stake from 50% to 20%.

The channel has now joined the Multichoice Videocrypt 2 package, and is now
available in Europe. QVC will accept orders from Europe, at no additional
cost, although delivery may take up to 2 working days longer than to the
mainland UK.

While QVC has been part of MultiChoice for a short time, it has been running
adverts telling European viewers how to purchase from them for some time,
doubtless for the benefit of European pirate card viewers.

* PIRATES OFF

Speaking of which, Sky has now changed its broadcasts to the new Issue 9
videocrypt smartcard. This has rendered all pirate cards, both in the UK and
abroad, useless.

The change to Issue 9, which has been known about for some time, caused large
quantities of pirate cards, which are based on the Issue 7 Sky card, to be
dumped onto the market at ridiculously low prices. In some instances cards
have been retailing at car boot sales for as low as #30.

Pirates claim that the Issue 9 card will be hacked shortly - if this is true,
it could be a potential disaster for Sky. The spread of pirate Issue 7
smartcards across Europe was beginning to make substantial inroads into the
UK and Ireland.

Local and National newspapers (such as the "Daily Sport", a tabloid which is
often mistaken for a newspaper in the UK) who have accepted advertisements for
pirate Sky smartcards have found themselves on the receiving end of irate
phone calls from disgruntled purchasers, angry that their cards no longer work
and angrier still that the advertisers no longer seem keen to answer their
phones..

In related news, the hot topic of discussion in hacking circles recently has
been the "OMIGOD" hack - a PC based piece of software which, when connected
to a Videocrypt decoder via suitable hardware (costing under 5 pounds
sterling), successfully emulated an Issue 7 smartcard.

For obvious reasons, this program was much in demand, and spread across the
Internet and other computer networks very quickly indeed. A version of the
program for Amiga owners also appeared.

Unfortunately, along with the pirate Issue 7 cards, this program now no longer
works. In the event of the code tables for the Issue 9 smartcards becoming
available (this will have to happen before any pirate issue 9 cards can be
made), there is a distinct possibility that the program could be upgraded.

Needless to say, this could also be another disaster for Sky, with the program
running on machines as low as 286 and above, and updates for scrambling code
changes just a modem call away.

Skyguide sends its congratulations to the author of Omigod, for an elegant,
ingenious, and perhaps best of all, non-profit-making hack.

* JUST IN - QVC AIDS SKY IN WAR ON PIRATES

Home Shopping Channel QVC has participated with Sky on research into the
penetration of pirate Sky smartcards in the UK.

QVC has compared the addresses of people who have bought items from it against
Sky's master database of subscribers. It has revealed that approximately 15%
of all QVC customers did not live in a home with a Sky subscription.

From this, Sky has estimated that there must be around 300,000 pirate
smartcards in the UK - a potential "loss" of some 55 million pounds a year in
subscription revenue.

Skyguide notes, however, that Sky and QVC in their urge to compare notes did
not take into account viewers who might have cable television. (Who of course
do not appear on Sky's subscriber database...)

As cable accounts for some 20% of Sky's audience, the revelation that 15% of
QVC's customers do not have Sky subscriptions is not at all surprising.

* FAMILY DEAL

The Family Channel has signed a deal with UK actors union Equity to allow it
to screen UK-made programmes.

Cast members of programmes will receive around 10-15% of their original
appearance fee, with a further bonus payment according to programme ratings.

Paul Newton, Family Channel MD, was enthusiastic about the deal, indicating
that the channel wanted to begin screening programmes made by ITV companies
such as Granada, Yorkshire, Central and LWT.

Whether Granada, Yorkshire, Central and LWT will even consider dealing with
a satellite broadcaster remains to be seen.

* MISCELLANEOUS BITS OF THE SKY

Proctor and Gamble is to put 6.5 million pounds towards the costs of 'The
Wanderer', a television adventure series produced for Sky by Yorkshire
Television. The money will underwrite the series, in exchange for advertising
slots on Sky.

Philip Ley, ex marketing director of Sega, has joined Sky as marketing
director. He brings with him Sega colleagues Jim Hytner and Simon Morris, who
will work in Sky's marketing department.

Sky Sports is increasing its evening horse racing coverage to five nights a
week, with up to two hours of racing each night.

Sky have extended their free 30 day home trial offer to the end of May,
claiming that over 150,000 homes have already subscribed during April,
although UK Retailers Dixons claim that there has been only small interest
amongst its customers.

Sky has appointed John Florsheim of Dixons as marketing director of direct-to-
home marketing.

Star Trek finds itself displaced from the 10pm slot on Sky One in June, to be
replaced by a re-run of Sci-Fi series 'Alien Nation'. Star Trek will continue
screening at 5pm daily.

* AND IN OTHER NEWS

Turner Broadcasting System has commissioned 48 original cartoons from European
producers, possibly its first concession in its current wrangle with the EC
over European broadcasting quotas.

March was UK Living's most successful month, with almost three quarters of a
million viewers tuning in in one week. Since their launch, they claim over 2.3
million women have tuned in, although current weekly audiences now average
around 650,000.

Still unlaunched music channel VH-1 is reported to be interested in acquiring
repeats of The Old Grey Whistle Test from the BBC. It will join repackaged
editions of 80's music series "The Tube", acquired from Channel 4.

Irish state broadcaster RTE is planning its own satellite station, and it is
intending to secure nine hours a day of time on the Astra satellite.

The Sci-Fi Channel launches in Europe this autumn, and is expected to
broadcast initially in the clear on Transponder 34 of Eutelsat 2F1. Encryption
after a few months is likely.

The ITC has warned MTV for showing 'adult' pop videos when children could be
watching. In one incidence MTV mistakenly played a video containing explicit
lyrics during an evening request show.

The Adult Channel was also warned by the ITC for broadcasting unsuitable
material in the clear. The Adult Channel claim it was a technical mistake, and
that they have nothing to gain by broadcasting in the clear, being a
subscription service.

German media watchdogs have warned SAT-1 not to show explicit material before
10pm. It follows the channel's screening of a documentary on sado-masochism
at 6pm last November.

Blake's 7 begins showing on UK Gold on Saturday, June 4. All 52 episodes of
the series will be broadcast weekly at 6pm.

Channel One, a cable channel for London viewers, (See Skyguide Issue 28) will
launch in November.

Astra 1D should launch in September or October this year, Arianespace has
announced.

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Skyguide Issue 36                                         Edited by Ant Purvis

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Comments, suggestions, and stories are always appreciated! You can contact
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