31/8/01

Intelsat 602 Launched to 62E the beams should make it to Western and Central Australia, I will add this satellite once it has some services running.


From my Emails & ICQ


From John Kahler

*** FEED REPORT***

Optus B1
Goodwill Games related Feed
TNT Feed Channel
12385 V
Sr 6620 3/4


Live feed earlier today (before 12 noon AEST) from Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, back to some TV show in the U.S.A.

The shows American interviewer was wearing a Goodwill Games logoed jacket.

I would say that this OB feed was for TNT and that their feed from the Games event locations would be sent out through the Nine Networks facilities somehow as the camera crew used on the feed mentioned above was a Channel Nine team.

TNT is obviously using Nines facilities and personnel here in Brisbane. Do we know what Sat/Transponders Nine uses for O/S material - maybe we will also find the outbound feed there as well?

EQUIPMENT: 90cm Ku / 1.2m Ku / 1.8 Ku Nokia 9800s / Pacific Satellite DSR-2800

John.


From Bill Richards

Thaicom3

0835 UTC 30/8/01

3551 H Sr 13330 Fec 3/4

Vpid 257 Apid 258 SID1 "TRT"
Vpid 1025 Apid 1026 SID4 "RR FEED"
Vpid 1537 Apid 1538 SID6 "TRT beackup" Same as TRT Channel, there spelling is not correct !!..
Vpid 2049 Apid 2050 SID8 "3ABN"

0845UTC

My lineup for

3640H as follows

ATV
MEGA
TVP
KDTV
MKTV
NTV
NTVP
TGRT
ERT
ANT
TVG
PINK

Regards
Bill


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 3901 H "Fox News Channel" has left , replaced by occasional feeds.

Agila 2 146E 4080 H "KSTV" has started , SID 2, Vpid 1160 Apid 1120.

Apstar 1A 134E 3737 H "Hunan Life Channel" is now in clear.

Thaicom 1A 120E 3768 V Bayon TV has left

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3551H" TRT International" has started on , SID 6, Vpid 1537 Apid 1538, in addition to Vpid 257 Apid 258.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3551 H The info cards and tests have left


NEWS


Indosat knows nothing of plan for new Palapa bird


From sat-index.com

PT Satellite Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo) wants to launch a
new satellite by 2003, but the company's majority owner — PT
Indosat — says it has not approved the plan. An Indosat
spokeswoman was quoted as saying, "Satelindo has not submitted a
business plan on the satellite deal."

At least, Indosat could be interested in the venture. "If the
[satellite] business becomes more competitive and has good
growth, why not?"

Earlier, Satelindo had said potential investors in the project
included Boeing Co and a consortium of firms from Australia,
Thailand and Malaysia.


Intelsat 902 Launched


From sat-index.com

Rocket: Ariane 44L; Payload: Intelsat 902; Date: 30 August
2001, 0646 UTC; Launch Site: Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite
was placed in a 199.8 km x 35,924 km x 7.00 degrees
geostationary transfer orbit. Flight 143 was carried out by an
Ariane 44L with four liquid-propellant strap-on boosters.

Built by Space Systems/Loral, USA, Intelsat 902 will be
positioned at 62 degrees East. It will provide Internet access,
broadcasting, telephony and business network services for Europe,
sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, the Far East and Australia.

Intelsat 902 (a version of SS/L's 1300 geostationary satellite
platform) weighed 4,723 kg at lift-off, and is equipped with 72
C-band and 22 Ku-band transponders (in 36 MHz equivalents) as
well as advanced features like selectable split uplink for SNG.
It has a design life of more than 13 years.

Its solar arrays will generate more than 8.6 kW of power
(beginning of life). The Intelsat IX series of spacecraft
carries a much greater percentage of high-power amplifiers and
generate more solar array power than its predecessors with only
a small increase in dry mass.

The new satellite will replace Intelsat 602 and in addition
provide high-power Ku-band spot beam coverage for Europe and the
Middle East, as well as more C-band capacity to the Indian Ocean
region. Intelsat 602 will be relocated to 33 degrees East.

It is estimated that Intelsat 902, launch and insurance cost a
total of around US$250 million.

The launch was delayed from 24 August on request by Intelsat,
in order to allow SS/L to conduct checks on the satellite after
an anomaly was detected on a solar array on another satellite
manufactured by SS/L.

The next launch in Intelsat's campaign, that of Intelsat 903,
is scheduled for November 2001 using a Proton K/Block DM launch
vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakstan. In total,
Intelsat plans to deploy seven satellites of the IX series,
which will replace the Intelsat VI series.

The next Arianespace launch is scheduled for 25 September 2001
when an Ariane 44P will orbit Atlantic Bird for Eutelsat. On 18
October 2001, an Ariane 44LP will loft DirecTV-4S for DirecTV.
Arianespace said its Ariane 5 launcher should be ready for
service end of November.

Statistics:

-- Intelsat 902 is the 26th satellite delivered to Intelsat
since 1980 by SS/L. With the delivery of the Intelsat IX series,
SS/L will have built 31 spacecraft for Intelsat, nearly half of
its fleet, and significantly more than any other manufacturer.

-- Intelsat 902 was the 19th satellite launched by Arianespace
for Intelsat. 60 percent of all Intelsat satellites now in
operation were orbited by Ariane launchers


Sony Entertainment goes pay on Sept 1


From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010830/con6.html

SONY Entertainment Television is going pay on September 1. The channel had gone digital on August 6, the day it shifted from PanamSat-4 to PAS-10 satellite.

?SET will be going pay from September 1. We were waiting for the migration to a new satellite,” said Shantonu Aditya, senior vice-president, franchisee channels and distribution, SET India Ltd.

With the flagship channel going pay, SET India is targeting an increase of 300 per cent in subscription revenues in the current financial year.

?Sony TV will drive our pay revenues and the connectivity of paid subscribers upwards. We also have Max, which is strong in the northern and western regions. AXN is well-accepted in the southern, eastern and western regions,” said Mr Aditya.

Cable operators will have to sign up for a minimum of 800 subscribers for the channel. While Sony TV is being priced at Rs 8 per subscriber a month, the stand-alone cost of the channel is fixed at Rs 15. But to some operators, the company has communicated a price of Rs 25 for the channel.

The bouquet of four channels will cost Rs 22. The strategy is to sell all the channels in the Sony bouquet—Sony TV, Max, AXN and CNBC. This is the first time SET India is bundling the channels and having a special bouquet price.

Sony TV has already been signed on by the majority of the multi-system operators (MSOs). The Hinduja-owned INCablenet and the Rajan Raheja-owned Hathway Cable & Datacom have signed for the same number of paid subscribers in Mumbai.

Sources said both the cable networks will be paying for 35,000 subscribers in Mumbai. Sony has already distributed 5,000 Scientific Atlanta decoder boxes. The target is to seed the market with 10,000 boxes in the next three months.

The price for these boxes are Rs 12,000, which cable operators can pay in two equal instalments. Sources said the latest price for the decoders is Rs 20,000 each.

?We have fully covered the TRP-cities (television ratings points). Our next drive will be in the other towns,” said Mr Aditya.




30/8/01

Satfacts page has been updated!

Lets have some reports of Goodwill Games feeds there has to be some up there! Not much News happening today.

"Turner Network Television (TNT) will present 83 hours of original programming from the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, 55 hours (66%) of which will be live, from August 28 - September 9. In addition to the 12 straight days of live coverage, TNT will also air an additional 37 hours of encore performances, giving the network a total of 120 hours of competition and 31 hours in prime time. Sister network CNN/Sports Illustrated will re-air TNT's 5 - 8 a.m. morning show from August 29 - September 8 at 2 - 5pm (ET), with the exception of Aug. 31 and Sept. 7 due to Nascar programming. "


From my Emails & ICQ


From Salah M Romane

Dear Craig.

Since last night a new channel (11) on B3 Mediasat BQ Freq 12336 V Sr 30000 Fec 3/4 is displaying color bars with Mediasat logo and on the audio channels the new service is labelled Arabic Radio Test (3).

Regards.

Salah.


Craigs comment, Sid 13, Apid 1122


From Chris Pickstock 29/8/01

8 pm SA time
B1, 12397 H Sr 7200 Looks like an awards night for the Wendy Ice Cream Franchises


From the Dish


Agila 2 4080 H "A Kusan TV test card" has started on , SID 7, Vpid 1660 Apid 1620. RPN 9 and IBC 13 are encrypted again.

Agila 2 3931 V "Occasional feeds here" , Sr 14882, Fec 7/8.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 3720 H "National Geographic Adventure One" has replaced National Geographic Channel , SID 3, Vpid 1360 Apid 1320.

PAS 10 68.5E 3716 VThe info card has left


NEWS


Antrix leases transponders on GE-1A


From sat-index.com

Americom Asia-Pacific (AAP) announced that Antrix Corporation
Limited has signed a multi-year service agreement to lease as
many as three transponders on the GE-1A satellite.

The satellite will supplement Insat's domestic satellite fleet
and will be able to provide Ku-band service to VSAT operators
throughout India, AAP said.

GE-1A, located at 108.2 degrees East, provides service via
three beams to greater China, south Asia including India, and
Northeast Asia and the Philippines. The spacecraft features 28
active 36 MHz Ku-band transponders with 120 watt SSPAs, eight of
which are focused over India.

The satellite is an A2100AX spacecraft, manufactured by
Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems and launched on 2
October 2000.




29/8/01

Well the chatroom was very interesting lastnight! More odd sightings on Mediasats feeds channels keep an eye our for Goodwill games feeds, possibly Pas 3872H Sr 6620 As well as B1


From my Emails & ICQ


From John Kahler

Optus B3 29/8/01

TBS Superstation - baseball
Mediasat Occasional 2

12336 V Sr 30000 Fec 2/3 "Live baseball from Canada - in NTSC"
EQUIPMENT: 90cm Ku / 1.2m Ku / 1.8 Ku Nokia 9800s / Pacific Satellite DSR 2800

John.


From Chris Pickstock

2 pm SA time

B1, 12385 V Sr 6620 "TNT"

Live action of a suburban roundabout, somewhere sunny.

10.25 am SA time when I turned on this morning

B3 12336 V Mediasat, Baseball from US in NTSC format.

10.30 Back to Colour Bars now (still NTSC), but just beforehand there was an advert running for "TNT Sports" for the Goodwill Games. Yesterday colour bars were up on 12390 V sr 6620 labelled "TNT" so perhaps we will find some feeds of these games.

and this report from Chris after the site had gone up yesterday. 28/8/01

5.20 pm SA time

On Mediasats second feed channel there is what looks like Chinese News. TVBS-N is at the bottom of the screen. It is in NTSC format.

Update 5.25 pm.

Now has a testcard saying "PANAMSAT NAPA" Still in NTSC


From "Jfkennedy" in the Chatroom

Pas 2 , 3872 H Sr 6620 "CH 9 feeds" Could be for the Goodwill games


From "Nick Sat"

Hi!

Can anyone confirm,I seem to have lost signals off Measat2..at 148E Freq's
11478 H,and 11664H they were encrypted but radio was fta. All gone now ?

Regards
Nick


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 3901 H It's only occasional feeds, Sid 8, Vpid 1860 Apid 1820.
PAS 2 169E 3798 V The Fox mux has moved here from 3992 V, Sr 26470, Fec 7/8.

Agila 2 148E 3834 H "A Kusan TV test card has started" on SID 2, Vpid 32 Apid 33.

Apstar 1 138E 4180 V "The PHTV" mux is still on , Digicipher 1/enc., Sr 19600, Fec 3/4.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3900 V Indus Vision has started here , Sid 22, Vpid 1220 Apid 1221.(Perhaps they will go off analogue?)

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3676 H "MRTV 3 (Myanmar)" has started, Sr 5787, Fec 3/4, Vpid 4130 Apid 4131, Sundays, global beam.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3551 H Four info cards and tests have started VPIDs 1537, 1553, 1569 and 1586.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 3720 H "National Geographic Channel Asia has replaced Kermit Channel", SID 3, Vpid 1360 Apid 1320. (as mentioned on the site yesterday as unconfirmed)


NEWS


Rah-rah boys to rev up Optus iTV


From http://www.itnews.com.au/story.cfm?ID=7672

The Seven Network is stepping up its interactive TV efforts, with punters on the $50 million Optus cable iTV trial able to run statistics checks during the Tri Nations decider between Australia and New Zealand which appears on free-to-air on Seven next Saturday.

In what amounts to an early poke in the eye for the ambitions of the Channel Nine/Telstra/Foxtel triumvirate, the interactive broadcast is a local first and is the result of a collaboration between Seven, Optus, Oracle backed ICE Interactive and listed sports and technology outfit Pineapplehead.

But while Optus is charging ahead with iTV, Telstra and Foxtel are baulking at digitising their network following court rulings that the companies open up their cable to all comers. Optus CEO Chris Anderson told iTnews this week “our cable is open.”

?We will deal with anyone who wants to put content on our network,” he said.

Optus iTV users will be fed the same statistical information that Pineapplehead supplies to the Seven broadcast unit at the game. Appearing in the top right hand corner of the screen, users will be able to select from a pull down menu of real time statistics such as turnovers, kicks and passes, mauls and pack weights.

Seven has already tested the multi view aspect of digital TV but the Network’s iTV boss Mark Cloudsdale said: “We are taking this softly, softly. We are going to make sure we can crawl before we walk.”

The partners verified the new service on the Optus test network during the Australia versus South Africa Rugby test in Perth on August 18.

Sport is widely seen as the key to opening the interactive TV success box and has driven a strong uptake of iTV in the UK, which is the world leader in iTV.

But there is still a platform question mark hanging over interactive services in Australia. Optus, Foxtel and the free to air stations have all opted for different platforms. The free-to-airs have gone for the emerging MHP (multimedia home platform) industry standard, which has suffered from a slow development and acceptance cycle. Optus said its Liberate platform has a migration strategy to MHP. Foxtel and Austar are both committed to News Limited’s Open TV middleware.

Meanwhile, Optus has also released some early results from its trial across 300 homes on Sydney’s North Shore, which includes around 1000 people and started two months back. One hundred percent of users are using the near-video-on-demand and the electronic program guide.

Optus interactive manager Liz Norris said 96 percent of households had used the TV email product, with peak times for this service being during movies.

NVOD was most popular during the week, scuttling the Sunday movie myth, Norris said. 75 percent of users used TV Net - the so-called walled garden of interactive content on the service. Most popular were pay-by-play games and for transactions – interactive trivia games.


A paid-up Austar is set to play


From http://australianit.news.com.au/

REGIONAL pay TV and internet group Austar United Communications yesterday paid the final $30 million owed to Television and Radio Broadcasting Services for its microwave-based spectrum, paving its way into metropolitan markets.

Austar has now paid in full the $140 million agreed last October.

The funds will come from the company's cash balance of $253.2 million at the end of June, but a spokesman said that had been fully accounted for in its budgets.

"Any statements we have made to the market about our confidence of our cash position and ability to manage it forward all took into account the fact that payment was going to be made," he said.

Austar has said it has cash to see it through to mid-2002 and is renegotiating its bank facility to take it to break even by 2004.

The spectrum will eventually be used to provide high-speed internet access and possibly telephony services in metropolitan markets.

Meantime, Austar's soft launch of its interactive TV product is faring well, with the spokesman saying there had been "significant" take up of the $5 a month interactive games option.

About 200,000 of Austar's 432,000 pay TV subscribers are now able to access the two-way interactive services.

That news came as C&W Optus' interactive TV (iTV) pay TV trial announced a deal to provide enhancements to the Seven Network's broadcast of rugby's Bledisloe Cup.

The application will use real-time match statistics collated by listed TV graphics company Pineapplehead and run on iTV software from ICE Interactive.

ICE Interactive's software has been used for the trial since it commenced in June.

Optus yesterday said the iTV trial in more than 300 homes had found that 96 per cent of people were using the TV-email function and all were using the near video on demand service and electronic program guide.




28/8/01

Live satellite chat in the chatroom tonight 8.30pm Syd time onwards and from 9.15pm NZ onwards. Happy birthday Optus B3 7 years old,Yesterday. Some great news Fox News back FTA, on Pas 2 (probably not for long) The Globecast LF8 signal was back on Optus B1 last night this time it had the pids. It was encrypted and I am pretty sure it was feed of the NRL.

The U.S Tennis Open is live on Star sSports (Asiasat 3) has anyone seen a feed of it on Pas 2 or Pas 8?

For those that can get it Big Brother 24 hours, channel has started on Pas 10 , Multichoice Mux.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock

3.05 pm SA Time
B1, 12390 V Sr 6620 Colour Bars at the moment. Channel is labelled "TNT"

Perhaps it could be for the opening of the Goodwill Games in Brisbane. I notice that no Aust TV is taking the opening ceremony tonight.

I get a very good signal on the following PAS 8 frequencies here in SA but no channel loads. I am assuming internet data, but I thought that always carries a high sr.

12477 H Sr 4500
12660 H Sr 5000

12635 H is the one I find interesting as I can get a good signal using sr from as low as 4825 all the way up to 7000. I find that to be such a wide range as it never happens on any other freq. or sat.

I am using an "Integra 640 S" and a 90cm dish. Any clues would be appreciated.


Chris


Craigs comment, Thanks Chris everyone be on the lookout for feeds on B1/B3 could this be the reason for Fox News and Fox Sports showing up on Pas 2? do they have people in Australia covering the Games for them? As to those Mystery Ku freqs lets hope someone with a Nokia can have a look.


From John Harrison

12354H on B1 the feed is from Telecasters Australia in Townsville who are
the licence holder for seven central they have been showing the same
programming as the local Ten channel with some minor differences in
advertising


From George (Thailand)

Dear Craig
Hello. I have compiled some news about satellite changes up here in Thailand.

Thaicom 3

R.R.Com mux have three new video channels listed as
-Video 7
-RR Video
-RR Text
- Test 1
- Test 2

along with the TRT Int and 3ABN

Insat 2E

-Aaj Tak still on (wonder why Lyngsat doesn't report it?) 3580 V SR 3255
-DD Hyderdrabad 3979 V SR 5000
-DD Calcutta 4075 V SR 5000
-Jaya TV Tests have left the Sky Bangla Mux

Lyngsat doesn't report changes on Insat 2E properly

Palapa C2

-Metro TV
-JKT Test2

Thaicom 1A

-Bayon TV


Craigs comment, Thanks for your report, Lyngsat can only report the information if people send it! That is why we have to give them our full support. If you are supplying details Christian asks you to send as much info as possible, including pids and sids if you know them. He is providing an excellent service for us all and its up to us all to help him.


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 3901 H "Fox News Channel" started Vpid 1460 Apid 1420 Sid 4 (welcome back)
PAS 2 169E 3901 H "Fox Sports News Channel" started Vpid 1860 Apid 1820 Sid 8

Insat 2E 83E 3525 V "Jaya TV" tests have left.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 3720 H "Unconfirmed report of National Geographic here" possibly FTA Sr 29265, Fec 5/6 (Please report if you check this out)

LMI 1 75E 3410 H "TV Lanka" is testing again, Sr 5750, Fec 3/4, Vpid 1160 Apid 1120.(This received in Australia, before)


NEWS


SingTel slams Stokes as Feds give final Optus OK


From Itnews

SingTel has hit out at Channel Seven boss Kerry Stokes for trying to scuttle its $14 billion bid for Cable and Wireless Optus - a deal the Asian telco received final approval for from the Federal Government on Monday.

SingTel CEO Lee Hsien Yang said that Stokes’ recent comments, aimed at keeping the Singapore government controlled telecommunications company out of Australia, may done Stokes more harm than good.

?I wonder whether it has damaged Mr Stokes reputation internationally, “ Lee mused adding that Stokes has opposed the bid “for reasons best known to himself.

Lee said SingTel already has 77 percent acceptances for the bid if Cable & Wireless plc sells in its 52.5 percent of the Aussie carrier. Lee said that the company expects the bid to go unconditional by August 30 at the latest. At this time C&W plc is committed to sell in 19.8 percent but is most likely to sell in its entire stake. Once acceptances reach 80 percent, CWO shareholders are eligible for GST rollover relief.

In a statement Monday, Federal Treasurer Peter Costello said that Singapore Telecommunications Limited has provided, to his satisfaction, confirmation that an export licence is not required by the US Department of State, for the A3, B1, B3 and C1 satellites, ground support equipment and technical data.

SingTel has lured Optus independent director John Morschel to its board. Morschel is also chairman of CSR, chairman elect of Leighton Holdings and a board member of Rio Tinto.

Morschel lead the group of Optus independent directors through the protracted negotiating period between C&W and SingTel.


SingTel deal takes last regulatory hurdle


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?id=2001082706

Singapore Telecom said it has obtained all the necessary regulatory approvals to proceed with its A$14 billion take-over of Cable & Wireless Optus Limited, Australia.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority approved the take-over, SingTel said in a statement.

SingTel also said it received formal confirmation from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) that the Australian Treasurer is satisfied with notification received from the U.S. Department of State in relation to export licenses for the Optus satellites, ground support equipment and technical data.

"SingTel is delighted to have received all the regulatory approvals required for the Optus transaction," SingTel president and chief executive officer Lee Hsien Yang was quoted as saying.

The only condition remaining is a minimum of 50 percent acceptance of the deal by Optus shareholders, which is expected to be reached soon.


Shinawatra wants compromise with China on 120 degrees East


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?id=2001082707

The upcoming visit of Thailand’s premier Thaksin Shinawatra to China will probably be closely followed by his son, Panthongthae. He holds a 37-percent stake in Shin Satellite, which plans to launch its "Internet-only" iPSTAR satellite into an orbital slot reserved by China. The conflict is reportedly one of the top items on premier’s agenda during his visit to the country.

Thaksin is expected to urge his Chinese counterpart Zhu Rongji to help resolve the issue to prevent it from escalating into a dispute, according to Thai newspaper The Nation.

The orbital slot in question, 120 degrees East, was awarded by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to AsiaSat, which is jointly controlled by a Hong Kong company and SES of Luxembourg.

As a result, iPSTAR was not able to get what was considered the optimal slot for its purpose, despite repeated attempts to negotiate with China over the years, The Nation reports.


Austar: The virtues of interactive TV


From http://www.bandt.com.au/articles/88/0c006b88.asp

TWO-WAY interactive advertising debuted on Australian television this week when Austar deployed its technology for Sony Computer Entertainment, promoting its Grand Turismo game.

More than 100,000 Austar customers have a connection that allows them to use two-way iTV services.

The TVC was created by Whybin Lawrence TBWA.

Here's how it works:

The Grand Turismo TVC was made interactive by putting a small overlay at the bottom of the screen, containing a simple call to action offering viewers the chance to win the game.

That first screen then leads to the second part of the interactive advertisement, called the dedicated advertising space. This is a virtual channel that allows the advertisers to present extended product information.

The viewer moves into the dedicated advertising space and sees a video running in a quarter of the screen. The video is generally an advertiser's promotional video—in this case, for the Sony GT3 game.

The viewer then sees a menu screen that gives four different types of information. One allows viewers to enter a competition, two of the other screens give them information about the game itself, and a fourth screen allows the viewer to register their address to receive PlayStation news and information.

B&T spoke to Austar head of corporate affairs Bruce Meagher, and Austar product manager interactive advertising Suzie Cameron about the significance of the launch.

Why has Austar pursued iTV?

Meagher: We've been developing the interactive platform for the better part of two years. And we think interactivity as a whole is going to be a major differentiator for our product from free-to-air and other competitors.

Obviously when you can build in the two-way element, that allows you to do a lot more with the interactive platform than you could do if it was just sitting in the broadcast stream.

What is the advantage for advertisers?

Meagher: I think it's the ability to tailor advertising to extend the range of information that they give to customers.

It means that people go in there and look at your extended information. It's almost a way of economising, in a way, and then capitalising on interest.

Cameron: It takes your traditional advertising campaign from purely a branding and communications vehicle to very much a direct marketing vehicle.

That dedicated advertising place for the advertiser is an opportunity to gain leads. It's a direct marketing-type tool.

It allows them to generate a database of leads. It also allows them to present that extended product information, so it works on two different levels.

Meagher: Clearly, for advertisers it's a very attractive way of enhancing what they offer, particularly the information that they get.

The other major advantage, of course is to generate leads from the space.

Cameron: If you put a compelling enough, and interesting enough offer in your interactive ad [then] that [will] prompt people to make a response to you.

Then, you're obviously hearing from those people who are responding to you.

Does interactive advertising suit some products or categories more than others?

Cameron: [Yes, specifically] for advertisers who require four or five leads to help sell their products. [For example,] for large ticket item products such as cars, those sorts of things, obviously interactivity is particularly compelling because it can generate that lead.

[It is also good] for someone such as Sony, who doesn't necessarily look for the sales lead but looks for the opportunity to talk more about their product. For a large product such as a game that has a lot of different components to it, interactivity suits well, because it allows them to present that extended product information.

It will depend on an advertiser's strategy around their particular products and around their brands but it does suit both those strategies.

Meagher: There is the example of the pizza sales in the UK, where it is effective as a direct selling tool [and has yielded particularly effective results].

Cameron: It will depend on what the nature of the product is and the objective of the advertiser but there are a number of layers on which it can be used.

Will it revolutionise television advertising?

Meagher: It'll certainly change TV advertising. I think in some respects it's another string in the bow.

I think you'll find, as with any advertising campaign, that sophisticated advertisers are going to look at the tools they've got available to them in print and radio and television, and now interactive television, and they'll choose a blend to target different messages in different ways.

I don't think it will completely revolutionise it. It will certainly be a much more sophisticated tool that people will be able to use over time.

Cameron: I think in terms of the next step for us—allowing people to actually make a purchase from an advertisement--that will be the next phase that we will move towards.

27 August 2001

27/8/01

A likely feed tonight is the NRL Warriors vs Melbourne Storm match. My reception on B3 12363 V is back to normal perhaps thats where it will show up. Some interesting items in the News section today.

I have Updated most of the gallerys and satellite pages. Pas 10 gallery to come soon


From my Emails & ICQ


From Andrew Harrisson (Servicom, Vanuatu)

RE: Pas 2 3776

Using freq of 3776 I put the Satcruiser on auto SR and it loaded 4
channels on SR11145, 2 Japanese FTA and 2 scrambled. Channel 3 has screen
logo YTN.


Andrew Harrison


Craigs comment anyone else have info on this one?


From the Dish


Optus B1 160E 12354 H "Network Ten" feeds on SID 2, Vpid 1296 Apid 1298. (Not sure about this one may have been test only)

Agila 2 146E 4080 H "ABC 5" has left, replaced by a test card.

Thaicom 1A 120E 3768 V "Bayon TV" has started, Sr 1860, Fec 7/8, Vpid 308 Apid 256.(Not likely in Australia)

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3784 H "Globecast feed seen" Sr 5632



NEWS


Malaysia Invites Africa to Share Next Satellite


From Satnewsasia.com

On an official visit to Uganda, Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad told African nations that satellites could help promote the continent's image worldwide.

He invited Africa to share the launch cost and use Measat 3, Malaysia’s third satellite, to bolster Africa’s image overseas. Mahathir said sharing the cost of the satellite would enable African countries to reach out better to Europe, South East Asia, Australia and the U.S.

?We have found that control and ownership of satellites is important in promoting our image abroad," Mahathir said at the Global 2001 SMART Partnership International Dialogue in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

Several African leaders lamented the continent's negative image worldwide, blaming bad press for deterring much-needed foreign investment in the continent.

Malaysia already has two in-orbit communications satellites, Measat 1 and 2, that cover much of Asia. Both satellites are operated by Binariang Satellite Systems.

A third satellite, Measat 3, was to have been launched in 2001 but was postponed to end-2002 and now apparently to 2004 for technical reasons. Binariang said Measat 1 and Measat 2 are fully utilized and that more satellite capacity is necessary as Malaysia expands its high-speed Internet transmission capacity through satellites instead of conventional cable.

Measat 3 is due to launch in 2002 but Mahathir’s revelation of a 2004 launch may herald a prolonged postponement of the launch, or he may have just gotten his dates crossed.

Measat 3 will be co-located with Measat 1 at 91.5° East. Its C-band will cover East Asia and Australia while its switchable beams will blanket Africa, China, India and the Middle East. The satellite can be used for digital DTU broadcasts, analog TV, digital audio, VSAT, telephony, SNG, data broadcasting, Internet services and multimedia applications.


TVB Extends Service To Malaysia and Singapore


From satnewsasia.com

Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, the world's largest creator of Chinese-language programming, will begin distributing its TVB8 channel in Malaysia and Singapore by October.

TVB continues its relentless Asian expansion in fulfillment of its strategy to increase its presence in Chinese-speaking parts of Asia. It expects over100,000 subscribers in Singapore within the year and is confident of attaining equally optimistic numbers in Malaysia.

In Singapore TVB is reportedly targeting 50% of Cablevision’s 250,000 subscribers, while in Malaysia TVB expects subscriber revenue to be HK$6 million within a year.

TVB is one of the leading television stations in Hong Kong. Its major activities include television broadcasting, program production and other broadcasting related activities such as program licensing, video distribution and satellite broadcasting etc. It transmits about 15,000 hours of programming on its Chinese Jade channel and English Pearl channel free of charge to over 2.05 million homes in Hong Kong.

Most of the Chinese programs are dubbed into other languages and are distributed to more than 30 countries, accessible to more than 30 million people every day. During the prime time viewing hours, the Chinese Jade Channel and English Pearl Channel achieve a remarkable average of 81% and 76% of Hong Kong's television audience share respectively.

Now more than 30 years old, TVB continues to deliver excellent programming and cutting-edge broadcasting technology primarily to the people of Hong Kong and to Chinese communities around the world.

TVB managers said they expect to generate HK$120 million in ad revenues in 2001 rising to HK$200 million next year, when breakeven point is forecast.


Regional Group Raises Concern Over Piracy


From satnewsasia.com

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) is concerned about the weakness of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in Thailand.

Citing the 150,000 pay TV homes that don't actually pay for their pay TV, CASBAA told the government that it must take a more proactive stand against piracy.

It pointed out that anti-piracy measures could be as simple as adding a clause to annual licensing conditions insisting that local cable operators provide proof that they hold legally binding contracts to distribute individual channels.

If a cable operator is unable to demonstrate a contractual relationship with rights owners, it would not have its license renewed. The anti-piracy roundtable drew representatives from AOL Time Warner, Star Group, Discovery Channel, Turner Broadcasting, Hong Kong Cable, UBC, Astro, Irdeto Access, NDS and the Motion Picture Association.


DD World readies to become pay channel


From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010827/con4.html

DOORDARSHAN’S international channel, DD World has plans of becoming a pay channel. A free-to-air channel now, DD World will start earning subscription-based revenues once it goes pay. DD World will then become the second channel in the DD bouquet to become a pay channel. Last year, DD Sports had turned pay during the Olympics 2000.

In a move towards becoming a pay channel, DD World has floated a tender for setting up a distribution network in the UK and Europe. Depending on the response to the tender, Prasar Bharati will decide when to go pay, according to a Prasar Bharati official. The global tender closes on August 27. After UK and Europe, DD World will float a tender for the US market, the official said.

So far, DD World has a formal distribution network arrangement only in the Middle-East, where a local cable network distributes the channel. In that region, it is a government-to-government arrangement, according to the official. However, it is not a pay platform there, adds the official.

The decision of the channel to go pay follows a recent analysis of the channel by a consultancy firm. As per the SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis of DD World, the channel was suffering because of lack of resources. And the decision to make it a pay channel, it is felt, would improve its revenue prospects.

Immediately after the SWOT analysis, Prasar Bharati has been working out plans to strengthen the channel. Among other things, DD World plans include substantial investment to build up a library of high-quality programmes. All this is being done after over five years of operation of the channel.

According to a Prasar Bharati note, the channel mission is ‘‘to build bridges of communication with Indians living abroad and to showcase the real India—its culture, values, tradition, modernity, diversity, unity, agony and ecstasy—for the entire world through high-quality programmes that will inform, educate and entertain while maintaining the highest traditions of the National Public Service Broadcaster of India’’.

The SWOT listed the weaknesses as total lack of direction, inadequate manpower, lack of facilities, poor technology, lack of quality consciousness and no budget allocation.

The SWOT spotted some strengths and opportunities as well. Among the strengths of the channel are the DD brand and its infrastructure associated with it. The opportunities include the potential to capture vast audiences in 79 countries and become the voice of India for NRIs and others.


T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 34/2001 - August 26 2001 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by Tele Satellite International

Editor: Branislav Pekic
Edited Apsattv.com Edition



A S I A


ESPN ASIA TO BECOME PROFITABLE IN 2004

ESPN, a division of Walt Disney, on August 20 announced it expects to reach
profitability in Asia within three years. ESPN, which operates in Asia as
a joint venture with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., has been in the red since
incorporation of News Corp.'s Star Sports in 1996. ESPN Star Sports made
a pre-tax loss of US$3 million on revenue of US$29 million in the quarter
ending June 30, compared with US$1 million profit on US$25 million revenue
in the same period last year due to higher programming, production and personnel
costs. In the fiscal year ending June 30, ESPN narrowed its pre-tax loss
to US$21 million on earnings of US$96 million from a loss of US$26 million
on revenue of US$87 million in the previous year.


CHINA - HONG KONG


ESPN IN TALKS WITH YES TV AND GALAXY

UK based pay-TV operator Yes TV says it is talking to ESPN Star Sports about
a content deal for its planned pay-TV channel, but a deal has not been done.
Local press reports say ESPN Star Sports is talking to Galaxy Satellite
Television as well as Yes. Star TV was originally granted a Hong Kong pay-TV
license but has since pulled out. Yes, Galaxy and Pacific Digital Media
are the three remaining operators planning to roll out pay-TV services on
the island.


INDIA


ZEE TO RELAUNCH NETWORK

As Zee Telefilms continues its search for a strategic partner the Indian
national broadcaster has announced a makeover of its network of 15 channels.
Channel Zee TV will be the first to change with 24 new programs being aired
from the end of August. Zee News will be next for a revamp, which is scheduled
for October, followed by Zee Music, Zee Cinema and Zee English in November.
The Alpha regional channels, formerly known as Asianet Kavereree and Asianet
Bharati, will be made over by end of the year.


MALAYSIA


ENGLISH LEAGUE FOOTBALL ON ESPN AND ASTRO

English Premiership football will be available on Malaysian pay-TV after
ESPN Star Sports and Astro Satellite Broadcasting inked a deal. Astro is
ESPN Star Sport's pay-TV partner in the country and will show 165 live games
for the next three seasons. Highlights will be broadcast over Malaysian
terrestrial channel TV3.


NEW ZEALAND


TVNZ STILL ON TRACK FOR DIGITAL SERVICE

According to information supplied to us by TVNZ, the broadcaster is still
on track to launch a digital service and plans include both open access
and open standards for one set top box. No agreement for open access has
yet been reached with DTH operator Sky but negotiations are still going
on. TVNZ has an open access agreement in place with TelstraSaturn, which
is also providing some infrastructural services to TVNZ for its digital
service. Meanwhile, the New Zealand government has persuaded Sky to give
TVNZ access to its decoders after threatening to implement legislation that
would force Sky to do so if it did not act voluntarily, according to local
press reports.




26/8/01

Lots of Emails from the readers today, Some very good news about ABC Asia Pacific channel its going to be Pas 8 Cband!

IndusVision on Asiasat 3, Website and Program guide added for it on Asiasat 3 page.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Tony Drexel

Hi Craig,

Studio 23 has encrypted on Pas 8 as from today (Saturday), after about 14 months of broadcasting. But as one door closes, another opens. As you know Australia TV recomences later this year, and I can tell you it will be on Pas 8 C band! This means great footprint coverage, and FREE! I will keep you posted with any info that can be made public, from my inside source.

Kind regards,

Tony Drexel. FTASS


From Chris Pickstock Sunday 26/8/01

Same as yesterday, but I have a slightly better signal today.

B1, 12427 H sr 19800
Coverage is 16:9
D2 is alternative vision, in car cameras, pits etc.
D3 is race scoreboard
Ten Main is pixilated so have to use Imparja for main channel. Hopefully Imparja is live and not delayed.

(Screenshots grabbed by Bill Richards)

Chris


From Bill Richards Sunday 26/8/01

0100UTC
Optus B1 12354 H Sr 3688 "Another Channel has started" Fec 3/4
Vpid 1296 Apid 1298 SID2 "B/Up Tx Feed" is the channel name


Regards
Bill


Craigs comment, this reported gone, so perhaps a test


From Robert Anthoney


Was curious if anyone knows a good SR for PAS-2 3776 MHz (H)? I see a
strong signal on the (borrowed) spectrum analyzer but fail to load anything
with SRs of 6620, 5560, or 5600. I have seen references to this being an
occasional feed and it's a strong signal


Craigs comment, can anyone help with this one?


From Me, Saturday 25/8/01

Optus B1 12367 V "Globecast LF8" feed seen last night, but no pids transmitted? vpid 308 apid 256 didn't produce anything either. Nokia reported NTL format.


From Chris Pickstock Saturday 25/8/01

V8 Supercars on B1, 12427 H Sr 19800 Three Channels load.

Ten Main Vpid 308, Apid 257
Ten D2 Vpid 309, Apid 258
Ten D3 Vpid 310, Apid 260

Ten Main is Pixlated, although bad weather here in SA at the moment.


3 pm SA time

B1, 12450H "Sydney Club Rugby" analogue. No sound.On Pas 8 I am receiving a very good signal (in SA) on 12477 H and 12660 H, both sr of 4500 Nothing loads, possibly Internet. Any clues anybody?


Chris


From Me, Friday 24/8/01

B3, 12336 V "Mediasat Ocassional 2" had AFL
Friday 7.38pm Syd time


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 3880 V "Studio 23" is now encrypted.

Agila 2 146E 4080 H "KSBN News" has left, replaced by Zoom TV tests, clear.The Zoom TV tests have left PIDs 1460/1420, replaced by a test card. ABC 5, RPN 9 and IBC 13 are now in clear.

Apstar 1 138E The SCTV and PHTV muxes on 3636 V and 4180 V (Digicipher 1) have ceased.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3585 V "Suprabhat and Prabhat" are back

PAS 10 68.5E 3776 V A new MUX started here, SR 9000 Fec 3/4 Power Vu Encrypted
PAS 10 68.5E 3776 V "Discovery Channel India" Vpid 1260 Apid 1220 (ENCRYPTED)
PAS 10 68.5E 3776 V "Animal Planet India" Vpid 1160 Apid 1120 (ENCRYPTED)

PAS 10 68.5E 4104 H "Feeds", Sr 5632, FEC 3/4.


NEWS


Asiasat expects "year of consolidation"


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?id=2001082411

Hong Kong-based Asia Satellite Telecommunications company (AsiaSat) reported a 4.2 percent drop in net profit for the first half of 2001 caused by lower regional demand for its satellite services. AsiaSat Holdings’ Chairman Romain Bausch stated, "The year 2001 will be one of consolidation for AsiaSat after a year of rapid growth in 2000. The Group anticipates that in 2001 it will be very difficult to achieve growth, or even maintain the same levels achieved in 2000."

Construction of the company's next satellite — AsiaSat 4, to be positioned at 122 degrees East — remains on schedule, though. Built by Boeing Satellite Systems, it is due for launch in the first half of 2002 aboard an Atlas 3B rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA.

As of 30 June 2001, 59 percent of transponder capacity on AsiaSat 2 (2000: 73 percent) and 71 percent on AsiaSat 3S (2000: 60 percent) were being used and generating revenue. Asiasat attributed the decline in usage rates of AsiaSat 2 to either to customers not renewing their contract, or their migration from analogue to less bandwidth-consuming digital broadcasts.

The company also said it had contracts worth HK$4.8 billion (US$616 million) on hand, most of which would be realised over the next few years.

The company's two major shareholders are China International Trust and Investment Corp. (CITIC) and Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), which operates the Astra satellite system in Europe.


Indian customer for Shin’’s iPSTAR project


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?id=2001082406

Shin Satellite Plc chief commercial officer Yongsit Rojsrivichaikul said the Thai company was in talks with an Indian client about a possible co-operation on its iPSTAR broadband satellite project. An agreement is expected to be signed in 2001.

"We expect to appoint an Indian client as National Service Operator (NSO) in India by the end of this year. The Indian NSO would take up about 5–6 percent of our iPSTAR capacity," Yongsit was quoted as saying.

Other NSOs include China Railway Communication (Asia Pacific) Co Ltd (20 percent of the iPSTAR capacity) and BayCom, Malaysia (5–6 percent). The company expects to sign NSO agreements with Japan (12 percent) and Australia (about 20 percent) in the next six months, bringing the total capacity usage up to 50 percent.

According to Yongsit, the Malaysian and China deals alone would bring the iPSTAR project (which reportedly costs US$300 million) nearly to break even.

iPSTAR services are currently offered using existing satellites prior to the launch of the Loral-built iPSTAR-1 spacecraft, scheduled for 2003.




25/8/01

No site update today taking a break.




24/8/01

Let me know if you see any good feeds on from Friday night onwards theres usually something on B1 or B3. My dish is still on Asiasat 3, hopefully for the All Blacks tommorow night.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Bob Cooper (Satfacts Magazine)

SatFACTS needs help. Recent engineering studies of the UEC 642 and 660
series IRDs has revealed apparent major design flaws in the 22 kHz switching
voltage and its support software. Many people have reported problems with
trying to use the 642 or 660 between vertical and horizontal on Optus B3 -
we think we now know why. Can those who have had difficulties trying to use
the 642/660 for this purpose please drop notes detailing their experiences
to [email protected]? And to be fair - anyone who has done this and found
no problems with 642/660, we'd like to hear from you as well. Please mention
the make and model of IRD (if not UEC) as well as the 22 kHz switch.


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 3901 H "NITV" has replaced Future TV USA, PowerVu Encrypt, Sid 7,Vpid 1760 Apid 1720.

Optus B3 156E 12313 H "An Austar promo has started" Vpid 101 Apid 640.


NEWS


New Palapa satellite to be launched in 2003


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?id=2001082300

PT Satellite Palapa Indonesia (Satelindo) will launch a new satellite by 2003 to support and ultimately replace its Palapa C-2 satellite, according to the Jakarta Post. The report said Satelindo needs a new satellite to meet demand from broadcasting companies, with the current Palapa C-2 satellite already operating at 85-90 percent capacity.

"We will invite bids for the manufacture and launching of the satellite next year and we expect the launching to take place in 2003," the report said, quoting Satelindo satellite services director Djoko Prajitno.

"Our Palapa satellite has the widest coverage in Asia Pacific and demand for its services has been growing," he said, adding there has already been demands from 14 new customers for transponder lease. Currently the satellite services 55 domestic and foreign audio and video broadcast companies.

The new satellite, expected to cost US$120 million (not including launch and insurance), will back up Palapa C-2 and replace it at the end of its lifetime in 2011. The plan is subject to approval from shareholders, who comprise PT Indonesia Satellite Corp with 75 percent and DeTe Asia with 25 percent.

Djoko was quoted as saying, "Many investors have expressed interest in funding the new satellite, including from the U.S., Australia, Malaysia and Thailand."

Palapa-C1 and C2, both manufactured by Hughes Space and Communications Corp. [Boeing Satellite Systems], were launched on 1 February 1996 and 16 May 1996, respectively.


JCSAT-2A land in Hawaii


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?id=2001082304

Transvision International Teleport LP, Hawaii, has won an exclusive contract from Japanese satellite operator JSAT Corporation to provide satellite uplink and downlink services to JSAT’s new satellite, JCSAT-2A.

JCSAT-2A, which will be launched at the end of this year, replaces JCSAT-2 at 154 degrees East.

Transvision will link Internet and data users on the JCSAT-2A spacecraft with other satellites and fibre-optic cables serving U.S. and Latin American markets, using a new 11-m C-band antenna.


Soccer, Formula 1 new focus areas, but the bucks still in cricket: ESPN


From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010824/con1.html

IN a bid to consolidate its brand, ESPN Star Sports is focusing on key deliverables these days. That includes focus on soccer and Formula 1. But, said channel managing director Manu Sawhney that the decision does not mean that ESPN is moving away from cricket.

Mr Sawhney said: “We’re focussing on the best in sporting action and programming.” English Premier League (EPL), a soccer event with worldwide popularity, is one such sporting action about which ESPN is upbeat.

Is the high cost of acquiring cricket rights behind the shift? Mr Sawhne said: “We’re not shying away from investments.” ESPN holds telecast rights in 7 out of 10 cricketing countries.

ESPN is still trying to find out the difference in TRPs and ad revenues between cricketing and other events.

Mr Sawhney said Pepsi, Samsung and Madura Garments have signed up for EPL sponsorship. And for Formula 1, MRF, Ford and Pepe Jeans have signed up. Mr Sawhney said the ad rates are healthy. Though rates differ, he admitted that the rates were the highest for cricket.




23/8/01

I had an email last night to say Tv5 Asie is about to sign a contract to stay on the Mediasat service. No word yet as to if RTPI will be back or if Dwelle will stay. I wonder what's up with CCTV 3 seems to have left all its usual transponders.

DVB 2000 tip I read this in one of the forums,

The Spec analyser feature in the advance tuner menu, to make some sense from it.

Put the menu on screen, press 9 (advanced settings) , press "A" general settings, Then 7 then press 8 until Display Freq comes up. Now when the spectrum scan is running you will see which freqs are being scanned!


From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock 23/8/01

12.15 pm SA time
Optus B3 12363 V Mediasat Vpid 4160, Apid 4120. Feed for Sky Racing from Gympie in Queensland. On now.

Austar Demonstration continuous loop has started on 12312 H, Sr 30000. Vpid 101, Apid 640, FTA

Chris


John Kahler reports Austar B3 12313 H


This frequency comes up with 8 or so Open TV applications on receivers capable of running Open TV applications.
Only one - Austar Gamespace seems to be FTA.


From Cengiz Umekkan

For soccer fans

TRT Int
UEFA Cup 1.lap

24 08 2001 5:30 NZ time
Zimbru Kisinev (Moldavia)
G.Antep (Turkey )


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 3716 V "CCTV 3" has left

PAS 8 166E 3829 H "CCTV 3" has left

Gorizont 25 140E 3675 R "Radio Rossii" has started: 8.00 MHz.(not much activity seen here usually)

Palapa C2 113E 3880 H "Metro TV" has started on ,Sr 28125, Fec 3/4, Vpid 160 Apid 80.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 4129 H "CCTV 3" has left

Asiasat 2 100.5E "CCTV 4" and "CCTV 7" have left 12305 V (Digicipher 2).CCTV 2 has started in this mux, enc.
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3640 H "Tele Liban" has started, encrypted., Sid10, Vpid 521 Apid 649.
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3696 V "Occasional feeds" , Sr 5700, Fec 3/4.(Worth checking tell me if you see anything)
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3714 V "Ekushey TV feeds" have ceased.

PAS 10 68.5E 4090 H "CCTV 3" has left
PAS 10 68.5E 4090 H "China Radio Internationa" has started, Apid 1322.


NEWS


SingTel bid for Optus: it's on


From http://finance.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,2662721%5E462%5E%5Enbv,00.html

THE federal Government has given its long-awaited stamp of approval to Singapore Telecommunications' $14 billion bid for Cable & Wireless Optus, citing the need for a strong domestic competitor to Telstra.

Treasurer Peter Costello attached conditions to the SingTel proposal to protect Australia's security interests.

The takeover "means that Australia's second-largest telephone network will be able to provide strong competition to the largest network, owned and operated by Telstra", Mr Costello said.

"Consumers will benefit from competition."

SingTel chief executive Lee Hsien Yang said he was "delighted" with the decision.

However, Seven Network executive chairman Kerry Stokes, who has waged a high-profile campaign against the bid, expressed disappointment.

"Our concerns about foreign-government control of national infrastructure remain in place," he said.

The Seven Network chairman had raised the stakes in a magazine interview published yesterday in which he described the Optus takeover as "the biggest sleeper (election issue) of all time".

"If the Government approves this it will cost them the election," he said.

A Seven spokesman said the network would pursue Freedom of Information applications with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to see if the takeover featured in recent trade negotiations between the Singapore and Australian governments.

Documents were also being sought from Treasury, including the SingTel submission to the Foreign Investment Review Board.

The spokesman said full foreign ownership of the Optus Vision pay TV business was also "contrary to government legislation".

"We will be seriously considering the implications of this," he said.

The Government's approval of the SingTel bid has three conditions, two of which relate to agreements with the Department of Defence and government agencies which have already been signed.

The third requires US Department of State confirmation that technology export licences are not needed for Optus's satellites, including the C1, Defence Department and Optus joint venture satellite to be launched next year.

Optus and SingTel have already furnished the required undertakings and are awaiting developments in the US.

Mr Lee said SingTel did not believe the conditions were unreasonable or unexpected, and he expressed hope the "positive" discussions with the US State Department would bear fruit.

The conditions, according to Mr Costello, were designed to protect Australia's security interests and were imposed at the request of the Defence Department and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.


SingTel gets conditional nod for C&W


From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1892510551

CANBERRA: The Government on Wednesday said it had given conditional approval to Singapore Telecommunications' bid for Australia's second-largest telecom, Cable & Wireless Optus.

"After consideration, I have decided to raise no objections under foreign investment policy to the proposal for Singapore Telecommunications to acquire Cable & Wireless Optus, subject to a number of conditions," Treasurer Peter Costello said.

The conditions relate to security concerns raised by the Department of Defense that SingTel's bid for Optus would give the company, which is 78 per cent owned by the Singapore government, access to satellites that carry Australian military data alongside telephone traffic.

Costello said SingTel and Optus would have to adhere to agreements signed with the Defence Department, the government and other government agencies in June relating to security concerns.

Before the bid could proceed SingTel would also have to satisfy the Australian government that the US State Department's Office of Defence Trade Controls did not require export licenses for a range of satellites to be used by the company.

"These conditions are designed to protect Australia's security interests and are imposed at the request, and with approval, of the Department of Defence and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation," Costellosaid.

SingTel launched a formal takeover for Optus on May 21, but since then the 14 billion Australian dollar ($7.4 billion) friendly bid has been subject to intense scrutiny.

Australia's Foreign Investment and Review Board had to assess the offer and then provide its advice to Costello who, as treasurer, makes the final decision on whether to allow the bid to proceed.

A US government approval process relating to satellites designed to carry military information also delayed decision on the bid.
( AP )


Measat 3 in Africa?


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?id=2001082205

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad invited African countries to share the cost of the launch and use of his country’s third satellite in 2004 [which in November 2000 still was expected to be launched in 2002].

Mahathir said that a satellite with 24C-band and 12 Ku-band transponders would be launched to complement two others that cover South East Asia.

"While the costs may be prohibitive for you to start your own satellites, we could share the satellite to lower costs and enable African countries to reach out to Europe, South East Asia, Australia and the US," Mahathir was quoted as saying.

"We have found that control and ownership of satellites has been important in promoting our image abroad," Mahathir added.

Malaysia currently operates Measat 1 and 2. Measat 3 was announced back in 1997 but hasn't materialised so far.


Russia is to launch an earthquake-forecasting satellite in November or December 2001


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?id=2001082002

However, this is no giant apparatus using laser or radar to track the movement of the Earth's crust. Instead, scientists think they have found a number of physical effects in the ionosphere that can be seen as earthquake precursors. They can't be used for forecasts but increase the reliability of ground-based forecasting methods.

The theory goes like this: Processes taking place in the earth's crust prior to earthquakes change the chemical composition of underground water and atmospheric gases, causing temperature anomalies in the area of the potential earthquake and altering the electric conductivity of near-earth atmosphere. As a result, change occurs in all major ionospheric characteristics before an earthquake.

The 80-kg satellite will be the secondary payload aboard a Zenit 2 rocket to lift off from Baikonur, Kazakstan. The spacecraft was developed at the state missile centre's Academician Makeyev Design Bureau (Chelyabinsk Region).

Itar-Tass gave no further usable details.


Zee not interested in DD Metro primetime slots


From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/today/23tech03.htm

SUBHASH Chandra promoted Zee TV on Wednesday said it had opted out of the bidding race for Doordarshan's Metro channel since the terms and conditions of the bid were "unacceptable".

Zee had earlier indicated keenness to bid for the 7-9 pm primetime slot on DD Metro when bidding was opened first in May 2001.

Senior vice-president (marketing) Partho Pratim Sinha said: "We have decided not to bid for Metro slots. A lot of homework is needed for bidding, we did all of it before realising that what DD said and what it finally offered were two entirely different things."

He said Zee had earlier been keen on placing a bid for the 7-9 pm primetime slot since it had been confident about the vast variety of content it had access to and could leverage from.

"We have a very large offering in terms of number of options for advertisers. We can effectively leverage this strength," Sinha said adding the focus of Zee was to improve and consolidate its viewership position both in India and abroad.

In May 2001, Prasar Bharati had invited bids for the primetime band of 7-10 pm and for the 10 pm to 0030 am slot on DD Metro for a period of three years, but no decision has yet been taking on awarding the slots to any private company so far. (PTI)



22/8/01

Quiet again today, had a little earthquake last night around 7pm NZ located 420 km north-east of Gisborne it was a 7 which is quite a big one but lucky it was a long way out to sea. It wasn't felt strongly in Nelson. In fact there was 3 people in my room and 1 of them didn't even notice. Anyway I hope it didn't upset my dish pole alignment. Another not much happening day. I had a look at Pheonix Chinese channel on Asiasat 3 when I went to bed, at 2.30 a.m NZT they were running Survivor 2 in english with Chinese subtitles it can't of been screening for very long think they were at approx episode 2 or 3.


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E FTV Entertainment and FTV News Channel have left 12679 V, moved to 12318 V.

PAS 10 68.5E 3863 V "Big Brother" has started in the Multichoice mux, Encrypted, Vpid 521 Apid 649.


NEWS


Nothing to report




21/8/01

Not much seems to be happening today, Live chat in the chatroom tonight I know the last 2 Tuesdays have been a bit of a disaster but I checked the chatroom 5 minutes ago and it was working fine. We are on at the usual time 8.30 PM Syd, but I am in there from 9.15pm NZ onwards that way other people in NZ can join in without having to stay up to late.

Sorry not much in the news section today, just the way it goes sometimes.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock 21/8/01

12415 H Sr 6111 Vpid 308, Apid 256 - labelled as TCN 7.5MHz
Horseracing. Been on since midday.


From John Kahler via the mailing list, last night reports a feed

Optus B1
Fox Sports NRL- Melbourne Storm vs Penrith Panthers
Globecast Feed channel
12366 V Sr 5632 Fec 3/4


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 12480 H "IHUG (internet service)" , Sr 19440, Fec 3/4.(Strange this ones been here for months, I can get this one on my 60cm JUST) Lyngsat site says its North East Asia Beam, I don't think so!

PAS 8 166E 4140 V "The Disney Channel" mux has a new SR of 28125
PAS 8 166E 4140 V "The Disney Channel Taiwan" has replaced "The Disney Channel Philippines".

Cakrawarta 1 107.7E 2535 H Swara, Quick Channel and 88 Direct are still here with new SR of 10800

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3900 V "Indus Music" running video? (Unconfirmed)

Intelsat 804 64E 4080 L "Hero, NPR Worldwide AFRTS and Z Rock" have started (RADIO) SIDs 301-302, Apidss 2120,2220, 2320.(Global Beam)


NEWS


NZ Government 'too slow' on TV front


From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=208722&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

The technological path to a future of television where viewers could create their own personal channel is being hampered by a lack of Government leadership, says a report.

The study of digital broadcasting and new technologies warns of the need to develop strategies to avoid a digital divide between people with access to services and those without.

"The Government may respond that it has a phased plan of policy development, but the reality is that it is simply moving too slowly," says the study, commissioned by New Zealand On Air and written by Paul Norris and Brian Pauling of the New Zealand Broadcasting School.

It maps the possibilities for consumers when television, computers and telecommunications converge.

In future, viewers may use personal video recorders to select programmes from a range of sources and dramatically alter the way they watch television.

Personal video recorders, or PVRs, are available overseas but are not compatible with New Zealand set-top boxes. Both Sky and TVNZ are planning to introduce their versions of PVR.

The PVR is a digital hard-disk drive which can record a television programme in the same way as the present video recorder. It stores the information to be watched at another time or while it is still recording.

The report says New Zealand has so far failed to regulate some areas crucial to the digital future. New Zealand has no legislation in place for the transition to digital and no timetable for the switch-over from analogue, it says.

Broadcasting Minister Marian Hobbs said the "big picture" hinged on TVNZ's public service role.

Now that a decision had been made, she said, other issues - including the Government's role in the digital era - could follow.




20/8/01

My dish survived the storm ok just needed a bit of tweaking back to Asiasat 3 as I had left it a little loose to enable me to peak the signals a bit better. Good luck to you guys up North who are getting the storm about now.

Satfacts website, should be back soon perhaps by Friday

You may notice a few changes I have added on the left hand side down the bottom some satellites that are comming soon. Also I had a big cleanup on the satellite pages. Adding screenshots removing old channels etc, there is still plenty of work to do as I have not updated the gallerys yet.



From my Emails & ICQ


Nothing to report


From the Dish


Cakrawarta 1 107.7E 2535 H Swara, Quick Channel and 88 Direct have left.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "MTA International" has new pids Vpid 514 Apid 652.

Mystery signals to check? and report

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V Sr 27500 "res asiasat?" new service?
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3765 H Sr 6100 something new here? new radio is most likely
Asiasat 3 105.5E 3900 H? maybe 3901 sr 27897 fec 7/8

Pas 8 3850 H Sr 13238 Fec 3/4 20 music channels???
Pas 8 4050 V Sr 12000 Fec 3/4 Something new here?


NEWS


DD bags Afro-Asian games rights for Rs 2 crore


From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010820/con1.html

New Delhi, August 19: Finally, it is Doordarshan. The Indian national broadcaster will be the sole broadcaster of the first Afro-Asian Games, to be held in New Delhi from November 3 to 11. Doordarshan will get the right to telecast the games for a meagre Rs 2 crore. The games have come cheap to DD, mainly due to slowdown and lack of popularity of non-cricketing sporting events.

Even as the Afro-Asian Games Organising Committee was eyeing a much higher figure, the deal was finally clinched at Rs 2 crore as there were not many takers for the games. This is despite the fact that 96 countries participating in the games— a fact often touted by the organisers.

In fact, the organisers are claiming that this will be the second biggest sporting event after the Olympics, the greatest show on earth.

Says a Doordarshan official: “We have been given to understand that DD will get the telecast rights for the games.” Responding to a question on why the deal was struck at such a low rate, the official said recession was one of the reasons.

The bid amount for the telecast rights depends on the ad revenues that a broadcaster can garner from beaming the event on TV. Since corporates are not willing to shell out much on advertising, DD cannot offer a higher amount, explains the official. Even at a deal for Rs 2 crore, DD is not expected to make a profit. DD will spend Rs 1.5 crore on production cost itself.

Among other things, DD attributes the low offer price to the fact that these games are being organised for the first time. Also, in some of the disciplines, the best teams are not participating.

But international sports officials contradict the DD viewpoint. Asian Amateur Athletic Association general secretary Maurice Nicholas said it is wrong to say that competition will not be good in the Afro-Asian Games. “We’re fielding the best Asian team to match the world beaters, Africans,” he said. The Asian team would have several Asian and Olympic champions, he added.

Marketing and competition manager of the African Amateur Athletic Confederation Alassan Thierno Diack also has similar views. Said Mr Diack: “The African continent is sending its best athletic contingent for the games.” Both these officials were in New Delhi during the weekend to attend an Afro-Asian Games meeting.

Armed with the assurance that it has bagged the telecast deal, DD is working on the modalities of covering the games. Prasar Bharati CEO Anil Baijal is slated to hold meetings this week for technical arrangements for the coverage. Prasar Bharati will interact with the Asian Broadcasting Union and television networks of Africa to beam the games in the two continents.


Space Systems/Loral to Build Digital Satellite for Japan's MBC


From satnewsasia.com

Japan's Mobile Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has contracted American satellite maker Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) to design and build MBSAT, a satellite that will deliver data, MPEG 4 video and other digital multimedia information services to mobile users in Japan beginning 2004.

MBC was established to provide cars and mobile terminals with digital satellite broadcasting. Its major shareholders are Toyota, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Panasonic and Nippon TV plus 35 other Japanese companies.

MBC will become the world's first provider of high-quality music, video and data to mobile users. Special mobile receiver terminals will allow receipt of MBC broadcasting signals inside buildings and in moving vehicles.

These terminals can be attached to cars, ships, trains, handheld terminals, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cellular phones. Terrestrial signal repeaters will maintain signal strength.

MBSAT is due to launch in late 2003 and is to begin service in early 2004. It has a 12-year service life. The satellite is a version of SS/L's three-axis, body-stabilized 1300 bus outfitted to meet MBC's specific requirements.

Using MPEG-4 and AAC compression, MBSAT's S-band payload will deliver data, CD-quality audio and TV-quality video using code division multiplexing (CDM) MPEG-4 for video, and advanced audio coding (AAC) for audio. The system will be able to broadcast more than 50 programs simultaneously.

The satellite will provide 2400 watts RF power over 25 MHz of S-band spectra to run more than 50 channels of audio and video from 16 S-band transmitters operating at 120W. It will also provide a 25 MHz Ku-band service link to transmit the broadcast signal to terrestrial repeaters.

MBC's new broadcasting system was authorized by the Japanese government and is registered with the International Telecommunications Union. System capabilities and performance quality were verified by various field demonstrations in Tokyo..

SS/L is a designer, manufacturer and integrator of satellites and satellite systems. SS/L also provides a range of related services, including mission control operations and procurement of launch services.

Its parent organization, Loral Space & Communications, concentrates primarily on satellite manufacturing and satellite-based services, including broadcast transponder leasing and value added services, domestic and international corporate data networks, broadband data transmission, content and Internet services.


Japan's Sky Perfect Posts $24.6 Million Net Loss for April-June Quarter


From satnewsasia.com

Sky Perfect Communications, Inc. reported a sharp 175 percent cut in its parent-only net loss from April-June to US$24.6 million from US$67.6 million in the same period last fiscal year.

Sky Perfect said its significant loss reduction was due mainly to the increase in subscribers for its digital communications satellite broadcasting. Total subscribers rose by 108,000 from the end of March to 2.72 million in June when DirecTV subscribers switched to Sky Perfect following the merger of both companies.

Sky Perfect expects subscriber volume to grow 21 percent to 3.2 million this fiscal year.

Unconsolidated Sky Perfect sales rose 37 per cent US$12 million helped along by an increase in basic subscriber fees last October.

Subscriber marketing expenses dropped to US$5.3 million from US$7.1 million due to the absence of costs for switching DirecTV subscribers to Sky Perfect. Advertising and promotion costs also rose slightly.

Analysts expect full-year earnings to rise 23 per cent to US$49 million and net loss to fall to US$11 million from US$19 million.

Sky Perfect Communications operates the SkyPerfecTV satellite broadcasting service. Together with communications satellite operator JSAT, telecommunications giant NTT, and others, Sky Perfect Communications develops advanced data services for cable TV operators.

The company was formed through the mergers of Japan Sky Broadcasting (JSkyB), Japan Digital Broadcasting (PerfecTV), and the Japanese subsidiary of DirecTV. Shareholders in Sky Perfect Communications include Itochu, Sony, Softbank and Fuji Television Network, and a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. of Australia.


Thailand's Shin Sat Reports 139% Surge on 2Q Profits


From satnewsasia.com

A hefty spike in revenues from transponder rentals and the Internet boosted second quarter profits of Thai satellite operator Shin Satellite Plc by 139 percent to US$8.0 million from US$3.38 million year-on-year.

The firm said its consolidated revenues for the second quarter increased 32 percent to 1.24 billion baht while its expenses rose 11 percent to 926 million baht.

Revenues from its transponder service business rose 26 percent year-on-year to US$22 million. Shin Sat said revenues from its Internet service business rose 52 percent year-on-year while revenues from its international long distance service jumped 88 percent.

Executive Chairman Dumrong Kasemset revealed that Shin Sat had received orders worth US$371 million from advance customers who had already bought a quarter of the capacity of its new broadband iPSTAR-1 satellite due to launch in 2003.

Dumrong said the contracts achieved so far prove that the project is commercially viable. He added that the value of orders placed so far were higher than total projected expenses for iPSTAR, which stand at some US$330 million at present.

The iPSTAR-1 satellite is expected to be the main driver of the company's earnings and will become the fourth Shin Sat satellite in orbit.

The iPSTAR Broadband Satellite System is capable of providing a nominal capacity of over 50 gigabits per second that is equivalent to more than 1,000 standard 36 MHz transponders.

Using this technology, iPSTAR-1 should be capable of offering far more capacity than other proposed broadband satellites. Shin Sat expects that the cost effectiveness of iPSTAR-1 will allow it to offer its services at much lower prices than competing technologies.

iPSTAR-1 will provide telecommunications and multimedia services to households, business and private organizations. Shin Sat operates three in-orbit satellites, Thaicom 1, 2 and 3 making it one of Asia's leading satellite operators.

Shin Sat is 52 percent owned by Shin Corporation, Thailand's largest telecoms group, which is majority owned by the family of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.


Pakistan TV Signs AP Deal


From satnewsasia.com

Pakistan TV has signed a multi-year news and sports agreement with video news agency Associated Press Television News (APTN), the international video news agency of The Associated Press.

PTV will take APTN's News Service, with its 16 bulletins a day in addition to live and flash material. The agreement marks the first time in 36 years that the broadcaster has opted to take material from an alternative supplier.




19/8/01

Having a storm here in Nelson today a good test for my dish! The rugby last night was a great match, seen on Mediasat Ocassional 2 and also on Star Sports, I had both dishs and receivers hooked up and Picture in Picture running Star Sports Analogue and on the main screen I had Mediasats lovely Digital pic. Speaking of Sports, Sky NZ had David Tua vs Chris Byrd a $25 NZ Pay-per view on Sunday 2pm NZ. For some reason (perhaps due to stormy weather) they left it FTA! A new internet signal on B1 see details in the "From the Dish" section it will be interesting to see who is using this transponder the signals good on my 60cm.

Apstar 2r, And Asiasat 2 pages updated, gradually getting these updated



From my Emails & ICQ


From Ren , NZ 2pm NZT

Tua boxing on B1, Sky Boquet. 12608v ENG 26 channel.
Pre match Bouts running FTA now.. Hopefully they dont encrypt at 3.00 Nz
time for Tua..


Ren.. Nz


Craigs comment those poor suckers that paid $25 NZ to watch Tua lose again would be real mad to know it was FTA


From Bill Richards

2245 Utc

Optus B1 12268 V Sr 2665, Fec 3/4 "Internet Data"

(Craigs Comment, this one strong in NZ, Who is it though? Sky? TVNZ? Saturn? Ihug?....)

2222 UTC 19-08-01

Optus B1 12360 H Sr 5424, Fec 3/4
Vpid 1024 Apid 1025 SID2 ABC Imparja TV NT
Vpid 1040 Apid 1041 SID1 ABC Imparja Program Guide

Regards
Bill

(Notice this was dropped from Lyngsats B1 page but is still active)

Some new screenshots from Bill, We now have screenshots of everything on Asiasat 2!




From the Dish


Agila 2 146E 4080 H "Zoom TV" has started testing, Sid 6, Vpid 1460 Apid 1420.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3459 V "TMG Enter TV" has started, Sr 4040, Fec3/4, Asian beam.


NEWS


T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 33/2001 - August 19 2001 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by Tele Satellite International

Editor: Branislav Pekic
Edited Apsattv.com Edition


UNITED STATES


DISH NETWORK ADDS PAKISTAN TELEVISION

DISH Network has started offering Pakistan Television (PTV) on August 14 to its
customers a la carte for the monthly price of $14.99. PTV offers a variety of
programming in Urdu, Punjabi and Pushto languages, offering coverage of
national news, major events and current affairs as well as TV series, plays,
comedies, plus traditional and pop music. PTV is available from the 61.5
degrees West and 148 degrees West orbital locations.


400 TV STATIONS TO MISS DIGITAL DEADLINE

About 400 local TV stations will miss a key federal digital-TV-transition
deadline next May, five years after gaining free spectrum from the Federal
Communications Commission, the National Association of Broadcasters said August
14. All 1,288 commercial TV stations are required to be beaming digital signals
by May 1, 2002. The NAB said 68 percent of stations -- 875 -- would in fact
make the deadline. But that also means 413 stations, or 32 percent, will miss
it. The number of stations the NAB projected to miss the deadline is slightly
more than twice the number -- 202 -- already beaming digital signals. The
association has already asked the FCC to establish a simple process for
stations to seek deadline extensions. The NAB told the agency that about
one-half of the stations that said they won’t make the deadline in the survey
would need no more than another 12 months.


A S I A


(approximately $213 million).

AUSTRALIA


ABC DIGITAL SIGNS PAY-TV CARRIAGE DEAL

Australian regional pay TV broadcaster Austar Entertainment has settled on a
deal to retransmit the new children’s digital television service from the
government-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It will offer the ABCKids
channel to its satellite customers throughout regional Australia as well as
Darwin customers who already receive free to air services over the cable
system. The primary ABC service will be screened on channel 2 in the Austar
channel line-up and will feature a new national news feed. ABCKids will be
carried on channel 14 as part of Austar’s “Family” line up. There are over
350,000 households which will receive the ABC through the Austar satellite or
cable service. In addition, Austar believes that there are tens of thousands
more homes which cannot receive or have poor quality terrestrial television.
This agreement will enable them to receive a clear ABC signal if they subscribe
to the Austar satellite service. The services will be supplied to Austar at no
cost and will be available to customers at no additional charge, beginning on
November 1. Austar and the ABC will also work together to explore developing
interactive applications to further enhance both services and enable the ABC to
exploit the many opportunities that digital television provides.


AUSTAR REPORTS INCREASED LOSSES

Australia’s number two pay-TV provider Austar United Communications Ltd. on
August 15 reported that its operating loss widened to A$196.1 million in the
first half of 2001, compared with A$120.7 million one year ago. CEO John Porter
added the company was still on target to reduce its loss in EBITDA to A$50
million by end-2001. Austar said that it was also on track to meet year-end
forecasts for capital expenditure of A$110 million, but it had lowered its
revenue forecast by A$10 million to A$340 million It also lowered its total
subscriber acquisitions target by 8% to 569,000. The company posted total
revenues of A$171.5 million, up 17% from the previous half.


CHINA - HONG KONG


TVB EXTENDS TO MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE

Hong-Kong based broadcaster TVB will distribute its TVB8 channel in Malaysia
and Singapore in an attempt to increase its presence in Chinese-speaking Asia.
In Singapore TVB is targeting 50% of Cablevision’s 250,000 subscribers, while
in Malaysia TVB expects subscriber revenue to be HK$6 million within a year.
Broadcasts will start in October. TVB managers expect to generate HK$120
million in ad revenues in 2001 rising to HK$200 million next year, when
breakeven point is forecast.


STAR TV TO LAUNCH CANTONESE MOVIE CHANNEL

News Corp.’s Star Television plans to launch a Cantonese-language movie channel
for Hong Kong pay-TV audiences according to the South China Morning Post. The
channel will be launched within the next year, and be the ninth feed in the
Star and Phoenix movie channel series. “There will be 25 new movies every
month. Usually the films will be shown in the pay-TV window nine to twelve
months after their cinematic release,” Star senior vice president Jamie Davis
said. China Star entertainment will be supplying 100 new titles over three
years, in a deal worth HK$300 million. Other partners in the venture include
Media Asia Group and Teamwork Motion Pictures.


CELESTIAL PICTURES ALSO PLANS MOVIE CHANNEL

A Mandarin-language movie channel is to be launched next summer by Celestial
Pictures, aimed at key Asian markets such as China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Celestial will have access to the Shaw Bros. film library, which it bought
previously for HK$600 million, but will also generate its own content.
Celestial CEO William Pfeifer said that it will reach commercial agreements
with rival movie channel MATV, which also operates a Chinese-language film
service, to avoid taking market share of one another.


JAPAN


LOSSES DOWN AT SKY PERFECT

Pay-TV operator SKY Perfect Communications, Inc. on August 14 announced
financial results which show a reduction in its second quarter 2001 pre-tax
loss to ¥3.01 billion from ¥8.32 billion. Revenue rose 37.3% on year to ¥14.21
billion thanks to a steady growth in subscriber acquisitions of its satellite
broadcasting services. SKY Perfect posted an operating loss of ¥2.67 billion in
the three-month period versus ¥7.29 billion in the second quarter of the
previous year and recorded a ¥3.14 billion net loss, on revenue of ¥14.26
billion on a group basis. Its consolidated accumulated losses increased to
¥3.14 billion in the latest quarter on revenue of ¥14.26 billion.


WOWOW REPORTS FINANCIAL RESULTS

Wowow has posted revenues of Y15.88 billion and an operating loss of Y518
million in the three months to June 30. Wowow, which has 2.66 million
subscribers blamed the high losses on increased content costs and start up
costs associated with the launch of new digital channels. The company forecasts
half year group revenues of Y31.5 billion rising to Y65.5 by year end in March
2002.


NEW ZEALAND


TVNZ WINS COMMONWEALTH TV RIGHTS

TVNZ has won the exclusive New Zealand TV rights to air the 2002 Commonwealth
games, held in England. In addition to airing the games in NZ the public
broadcaster will beam a multi-channel satellite service to other Commonwealth
countries in Asia and Africa.


TVNZ DIGITAL PLANS DEAD

TVNZ’s digital plans look dead in the water after an agreement under which the
state broadcaster will use the Sky platform. On August 17, Broadcasting
Minister Marian Hobbs said she supported having just one set-top box in
households. The deal between TVNZ and Sky, which will give TVNZ open access to
Sky decoders, is close to being signed. It will enable Sky subscribers to
receive TV One and TV2 through their decoders. Any digital channels launched by
TVNZ could also be carried by Sky. In the pipeline is an education channel
which will have a trial run on TV One before the end of the year, with a view
to launching it as a complete channel. The trial is expected to screen on TV
One between 06:00 and 09:00 on Saturdays. TV2 is also about to launch an
overnight music service, M2, next month. TVNZ is expected to focus on its
commitments under the charter, and any digital strategy would not be considered
for at least a year after the charter’s introduction next July. It is
understood Sky is open to taking new channels provided by TVNZ, as long as they
do not conflict with Sky’s core channels.


THE PHILIPPINES


PLAYBOY SIGNS LOCAL CABLE DEAL

Playboy TV International has signed an exclusive agreement with Solar
Entertainment, the Philippines-based production and distribution company and
operator of the country’s leading cable network. Under the terms of the deal,
Solar Entertainment will license the Playboy TV Network to cable systems and
DTH platforms in the Philippines. Solar Entertainment plans to launch Playboy
TV on the to direct-to-home Phillipine Satellite Multimedia System and the
newly merged Sky/Home Cable platforms in October 2001.


SOUTH KOREA


DTT LICENSES AWARDED

The Ministry of Information and Communication on August 15 approved five
terrestrial digital television channels, opening a new chapter in the history
of domestic broadcasting and the home electronics industry. Under the proposed
timeframe, broadcasters will launch full-fledged commercial digital television
services in November by offering programs in a new crystal-clear,
high-definition format. Four terrestrial broadcasters - state-run Korea
Broadcasting System (KBS), semi-state Munwha Broadcasting Corp. (MBC),
Education Broadcasting System (EBS) and the commercial Seoul Broadcasting
System (SBS) - have already begun trial services of digital television last
August. However, what is unclear is how the government and broadcasters will
promote the purchase of the pricey digital TVs that are capable of receiving
digital signals. As a result, consumers are expected to be slow in adopting
digital TV as the sets can be prohibitively expensive - they can cost from
three million to ten million won. So far, KBS, were awarded two channels, and
MBC are among the networks that have taken the lead in providing
high-definition shows to their audiences. Though a specific timetable has not
yet been fixed, broadcasters are likely to return their analog channels to the
government by 2010 or when digital TV reaches 95 percent of the market,
whichever comes later, said Cha Yang-shin, a ministry official at a press
conference. By 2005, the government will promote infrastructure investment at
broadcasters with various financial supports, pushing the early adoption of
digital television.


THAILAND


WORLD STAR TV LICENSE DISPUTED

A new free-to-air TV station, which had its licence irregularly changed from
pay-TV by the Public Relations Department, is set for launch next month.
Although Suchat Suchatvejapoom, the department director-general, asserts there
is nothing illegal or irregular in the decision to allow World Star TV Co to
operate, academics in the broadcasting industry said it violates the new
National Broadcasting Act. Under the act, which took effect on March 8, 2000,
all new frequencies must be allocated by the to-be-established National
Broadcasting Commission. The department granted the licence to World Star TV on
August 18, 2000, but Mr Suchat argued that it was not a new licence. “It is a
licence granted to Thai Star TV on May 30, 1996, and the company just changed
its name to World Star TV with a new management team,” the department said in a
statement . However, in June this year, at a press conference to introduce its
new pay TV project, World Star TV president Jakrapob Penkair said the company
had nothing to do with Thai Star TV. World Star TV obtained the licence after
it agreed to settle a debt of about 20 million baht owed by Thai Star TV to the
department. It also agreed to pay the licence fee of around 400 million baht
for the concession, which will expire on May 30, 2021. Informed sources in the
broadcasting industry said World Star TV, which has been broadcasting on a
trial basis since December 3, 2000, under the broadcast logo of TTV (Thai TV),
will run a total of 16 channels, a least one of them fully commercial-free TV.
Subscribers will only pay about 2,000 baht to install an antenna and will not
have to pay any monthly fee. An executive at Shin Satellite Plc said World Star
TV plans to lease a transponder from the firm to broadcast its programmes
nationwide.


UBC RELEASES SUBSCRIBER FIGURES

Thai pay-TV operator United Broadcasting Corp. on August 16 released subscriber
figures for the first half of 2001, reporting 381,028 subscribers to its
services. UBC’s churn rate also rose in the same period to 1.1%, compared to
0.98% in the previous year, due to an 18% price increase effective from August
1. UBC also posted a net loss in that period up to B445.1 million compared with
a B443.1 million net loss posted the previous year. Losses widened to B966.5
million, compared to B869.8 million last year.


CONCERN EXPRESSED OVER PIRACY

Regional trade group the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia
(CASBAA) has expressed concern about intellectual property rights (IPR)
protection in Thailand, highlighting the 150,000 pay-TV homes that don't
actually pay. Regulators from the Public Relations Department of the Prime
Minister's Office (PRD) and the Mass Communications Organisation of Thailand
(MCOT) both met CASBAA officials after a piracy summit in Bangkok earlier this
month. They were told that government bodies had to take a more proactive stand
against piracy. " Anti-piracy measures could be as simple as adding a clause to
annual licensing conditions insisting that local cable operators provide proof
that they hold legally binding contracts to distribute individual channels. If
a cable operator were unable to demonstrate a contractual relationship with
rights owners, it would not have its license renewed. The anti-piracy
roundtable attracted representatives from AOL Time Warner, Star Group,
Discovery Channel, Turner Broadcasting, Hong Kong Cable, UBC, Astro, Irdeto
Access, NDS and the Motion Picture Association.




18/8/01

Hungarian G.P on tonight Star sports, also Aus vs SAF in the rugby hopefully a feed of that one somewhere. The new Splash Kids channel has turned up on NSS at 57E this will be a Kids channel all in english a pity its not on a nearer satellite most will miss out unless they live in W.A


From my Emails & ICQ


Some Saturday afternoon feeds,

From Chris Pickstock

2.35 pm SA time
12425 H analogue, Sydney club Rugby starting soon. "Sydney Uni v Eastwood". A C7 Sports feed but I can not find sound.
12450 H analogue, Colour Bars with Alice Springs on screen. Possibly a newsfeed from the Northern Territory Elections.

And for those with Aurora; Has anybody noticed that the picture quality of AFL football is quite poor on GWN compared with 7 Central. Same game is on both channels right now, Richmond v West Coast.


Chris


From John Kahler

Optus B1 12366 V Sr 5632 3/4 X-Games or something - showing colourbars now

Anyone see anything else feed wise?

John.


From Dave Ross 18/8/01

Palapa C2 3880 H Sr 28121 Fec 3/4
Loads as Satilindo Asialink1
Has audio from Metro Tv


Dave


From Me 17/8/01

Optus B3 12336 V "Ocassional 2, AFL Feed, Adelaide vs Kangaroos, seen 7.50 pm Syd


From the Dish


Optus B3 156E 12658 V "SET Asia" has replaced Zee News , Sid 706,Vpid 2608 Apid 2609.

Palapa C2 113E 3980 V "CNN International" and CNN Radio have left.

Yamal 102 90E 3587 L "TV Nord" test card has started, Sr 4285, Fec 3/4, Vpid 308 Apid 256.

Insat 2E 83E 4005 V "ETV Urdu" has started regular transmissions, Sid 5, Vpids 1560 Apid 1520.

Pas 10 68.5E 3785 V "Discovery Channel India" has left (B-MAC) great more room for decent stuff.
Pas 10 68.5E 4154 H "A test card has started here" , Vpid 1760 Apid 1720

NSS 703 57E 3888 R "Splash has started testing" Vpid 1057 Apid 1058,New SR for this mux: 9766.PIDs for Southern Spice: Vpid 33 Apid 34. (Splash is a new Kids channel with all prgamming in English)


NEWS


Sky digital deal sinks TVNZ plan


From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=208322&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

TVNZ's digital plans look dead in the water after an agreement under which the state broadcaster will use the Sky platform.

Yesterday, Broadcasting Minister Marian Hobbs said she supported having just one set-top box in households.

The deal between TVNZ and Sky, which will give TVNZ open access to Sky decoders, is close to being signed.

It will enable Sky subscribers to receive TV One and TV2 through their decoders.

Any digital channels launched by TVNZ could also be carried by Sky, although details on how much Sky might charge and issues over any conflict of business interests have yet to be worked out.

In the pipeline is an education channel which will have a trial run on TV One before the end of the year, with a view to launching it as a complete channel.

TVNZ sources confirmed the agreement with Sky after reports that Ms Hobbs had threatened a law change to open Sky's decoders to other broadcasters if it did not agree to a deal.

"My priority is ensuring that all New Zealanders have access to the choice and opportunities that digital can offer," she said.

"This requires setting a direction that supports open access and open standards for one set-top box for consumers."

The Weekend Herald was told that the deal meant the Government would be unlikely to put money into a TVNZ stand-alone digital service.

"TVNZ [is] very lucky to get out without egg all over their face," said one source.

"They've been asking for 18 months for open access. They will grab it with both hands, but they will still continue to develop their own digital philosophies and their own digital mix.

"It's just not going to happen in the immediate future and as long as this Government is around.

"While they are encouraging about the prospect of developing such a vehicle, I don't think they're going to fall over backwards to help fund it."

TVNZ is expected to focus on its commitments under the charter, and any digital strategy would not be considered for at least a year after the charter's introduction next July.

Television producer Robert Boyd-Bell has been hired by TVNZ to develop the education programme and channel.

The trial is expected to screen on TV One between 6 am and 9 am on Saturdays.

The three-hour programme will initially be aimed at adults, and will include information supplied by Government departments such as the Ministry of Education.

TV2 is also about to launch an overnight music service, M2, next month.

This was considered to be a channel TVNZ could offer on its own independent digital service.

It is understood Sky is open to taking new channels provided by TVNZ, as long as they do not conflict with Sky's core channels.


Zee, Sony join hands for telecast in Australia, New Zealand


From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010818/corp15.html

Sydney, Aug 17: In a rare show of unity, arch competitors Zee and Sony Television channels have joined hands for telecast in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

The Sony Entertainment Television was launched here as part of the Zee Link’s Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite platform by Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Phillip Ruddock at a function.

On the occasion, Mr Ruddock said, it is very important for us to have these media linkages. Through television, the migrant Indian community can maintain its links with its roots.

?Maintain your linkages, but commit to Australia and this will go a long way in sustaining a rich and enduring relationship between the two countries,” he said.

Three Australian born Indian girls performed a symbolic invocation dance to Lord Shiva, about which Saba Zaidi-Abdi, proprietor and director of Zee Link said: “This dance itself represents the connectivity and continuity to our art form.”

Zee Link had commenced as a pay TV service in Australia and New Zealand in September last with the Zee bouquet comprising Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Music and Zee News.

CEO of Sony Entertainment Television Kunal Dasgupta said: “It is a small niche market which cannot be divided and bringing entertainment together makes commercial sense. We did not
want the subscribers to pay separately.

This channel is specially crafted for the region and we will be involving the local community in our programmes.”

Bollywood star Jackie Shroff, who is also one of the directors of Sony, said: “As a director I would feel very responsible that programmes with strong family values are telecasted. It is my first visit to this beautiful city and I look forward to shooting some feature films here in the near future.”

Indian High Commissioner to Australia RS Rathore said: “Sony has added a new dimension to entertainment.

Zee and Sony play a vital role in our cultural and emotional links. In uniting the community and encouraging young talent they are providing yeomen service.”.


ETV Urdu hopes to score on the programming front


Fromhttp://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k1/aug/aug39.htm

Going strong on its expansion plan despite the depressed media scenario, the Ramoji Rao owned Eenadu Television Network on Wednesday added "ETV Urdu" to their kitty of regional channels. The 24-hour free-to-air digital channel was finally launched on 15 August (Independence Day) after a long wait by the chief editor Eenadu group of publications and chairman of the Ramoji Film City (RFC), CH Ramoji Rao, at the RFC complex in Hyderabad.

ETV has been building its programming content for the Urdu channel for more than one-and-a-half years now. The target audience will not only be the Urdu-speaking audiences in India but also the Gulf countries. The Urdu spoken on the channel will not be pure Urdu (which not many people understand) but that spoken by common people so as to give it a broader viewership, company officials say.

Khaas Baat (Urdu News) The Channel will have a fair mix of entertainment and information with hourly news updates, telefilms, family dramas, daily soaps, devotional and musical programmes. The USP of the channel will be fresh and original programming rather than dubbed or outsourced programmes, say officials.

Special efforts have been taken to strengthen the news section. Khaas Baat, a news capsule specially designed to cover Urdu speaking areas. ETV has tied up with Reuters Television, CNN International and Transworld International so as to ensure comprehensive coverage of international news and current affairs, according to a company release.

Adakaar is a weekly acting competition hosted by well known actor Nirmal Pandey. And for those die-hard fans of Urdu poetry, Mushaira, a monthly mega event of lyrical excitement, will quench their thirst.

To develop the channel's indentity, films will not be shown in the initial period. Instead telefilms are being produced that will be telecast exclusively on the channel. Game shows, talk shows and song-based programmes like Mehfil, Gazal Sara, Qawwali are also going to be an intrinsic part of the programming.

The majority of the programming is being done in-house though there are some programmes which are on commissioned basis. The network's headquarters is in Hyderabad.

On the ad rate front, the figures being quoted would appear a tad optimistic and it remains to be seen whether the channel will be able to get buyers for its time slots. Spot rate for prime time (7pm to 10pm) has been kept at Rs 20,000 as per the rate card. Industry sources say as of now no advertiser has been confirmed though talks are going on.

A still from the serial Kachchi Basti Even on the distribution front, the channel is likely to face a long haul. According to industry sources, cable connectivity is going to be a major issue the channel will face. In this direction, channel executives have been contacting cable operators in Mumbai and also distributing set top boxes.

That apart, looking at the past record of the group and the amount of homework done by ETV Urdu as far as its programming goes, the channel is certainly expected to make a difference in today's cluttered scenario.

ETV already has Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada channels. Next in the pipeline from the ETV stable are Gujarati and Oriya channels.

Technical Specification :

ETV Urdu:

Satellite - APR-I (INSAT-2E) at 83.5 degree East
Downlink frequency - 4005 MHz
Downlink Polarisartion - Vertical
Symbol rate - 27000 Symbol/sec
FEC - 3/4
Downlink EIRP - 38 dbW
Signal type Digital,MPEG 2/clear
Free-To-Air.


Scientific-Atlanta withdraws 2002 financial guidance


From http://news.ft.com

Shares in Scientific-Atlanta fell more than 16 per cent on Friday after the US set-top box manufacturer withdrew its first-quarter and 2002 financial forecasts, citing difficulty in gauging future demand for its products.

The Georgia-based company is one of the largest makers of set-top boxes, which are used to transmit cable television and interactive online services, such as movies-on-demand, e-mail and internet connection.

Shares in Scientific-Atlanta dropped 16.6 per cent in after-hours trading to $20.86 on Friday afternoon. Before the announcement, on Thursday evening, the stock had closed down less than 1 per cent to $25.01.

Wallace Haislip, chief financial officer of the company, said: "A declining economy may adversely affect consumer purchases of new digital services, and thus purchases of our digital products by the multiple system cable operators."

He added: "The uncertainties created by these factors make it difficult to forecast future results, and we are therefore at this time withdrawing any previous guidance we may have given for the first quarter and our 2002 fiscal year."

The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of one penny per share, payable on September 14, 2001.




17/8/01

Not much happening today, hopefully there will be some interesting feeds on the weekend to watch.I will be updating the satellite pages later tonight and checking the links.

Updated Optus B1 page, added ABC Kids, Abc Sydney



From my Emails & ICQ


Hi Craig,


From Skip

Regarding my e-mail of yesterday concerning CCTV 3, 4
and 9 moving to Pas10 from Asiasat3 as of next week.
The bird they are leaving is Pas3R and not Asiasat3.
This was a comprehension error. My apologies to your
readers.


Skip.

From the Dish


Palapa C2 113E 3980 V The Analogue CNN service has left (The last FTA CNN in our region!)


NEWS


Ariane 5 may launch Insat-3C in November


From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k1/aug/aug35.htm

India's next generation communication satellite Insat-3C, which was scheduled for launch on 11 September on an Ariane 5, is likely to be lifted into orbit only in late November instead of September as earlier scheduled.

There has been speculation over what would happen to the Insat-3C launch after Ariane 5's Flight 142, launched on 12 July, failed to achieve proper orbit.

A seven-member probe team instituted by Arianespace after the launch failure identified combustion instability during upper stage engine ignition as the source of Flight 142's malfunction. The origin of the combustion instability was attributed to an unfavourable hydraulic dynamic coupling between the propellant feed system and the internal fluid cavities of the combustion chamber.

The upper stage malfunction, which occurred during Flight 142's final propulsion phase, resulted in the mission's dual satellite payload being delivered to a lower than expected orbit, the probe team concluded.

Arianespace has set a comprehensive recovery plan to address the upper stage malfunction and now expects to return Ariane 5 to commercial service by late November. This represents a delay of two months compared to the original launch manifest and will cause relatively minor schedule implications for the remainder of 2001 and early 2002, an official release states .

Insat-3C, which has 30 transponders, will be catering to the growing demand for V-SATs (very small aperture terminals) and broadcast services in the country.

The 1,170 kg Insat-3C will provide fixed satellite services (FSS) in the normal and extended C-bands, as also broadcast satellite services and mobile satellite services in the S-band.

Insat-3C will replace India's current workhorse, Insat-2C, whose capacity would be transferred to the new bird. Insat-2C is expected to reach the end of its seven-year life span in another six months.

The next launch schedule for Arianespace (flight 143) originally set for 24 August has now been rescheduled to 30 August. An Ariane 4 4L launcher is putting an Intelsat 902 communications and television satellite into orbit.


ESA’s big ear in Australia


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?url=2001081603.html

The European Space Agency said it was building a Deep Space Ground Station in New Norcia, Australia, with a 35-m wide antenna to communicate with interplanetary missions, such as the comet probe Rosetta.

When all the work is finished, the parabolic reflector will reach 40 metres into the sky (higher than a fourteen-storey building), with a diameter of 35 meters and a weight of 120 tonnes. The entire antenna actually weighs 630 tonnes, 580 tonnes of which must be positioned at a precision in the range of one millimeter.

The antenna site will be controlled by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. ESOC is responsible for the operation of all scientific and applications missions of ESA. It uses a network of ground stations throughout the world. The Deep Space Ground Station in New Norcia will expand the network and be the showpiece of the ESOC ground stations, ESA noted in a press release.

It is planned that at the end of 2002 ESA will begin with the launch of a series of interplanetary probes for the exploration of the Moon (SMART), comets, asteroids (Rosetta) and Mars (Mars Express). They will be the first "customers" who will use the Deep Space Ground Station. The greatest challenge is presented by the comet probe Rosetta, because it will be sent to a distance of 900 million km, reaching its destination — the comet Wirtanen — in 2011.

The Deep Space Antenna (DSA) receives data from the probe and transmits commands to it in the S and X bands. The evaluation of the signals will also be used to decide the orbital parameters of the space probes.


Services converge in Singapore


From http://www.cabletoday.com/ic/997969404.html

A lack of competition has prevented Singapore, despite its pioneering efforts, from being a true pay-TV leader in Asia. And the situation is getting worse as pay-TV in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and even China has been developing rapidly. Not wanting to be left behind, the "Lion City" eventually decided to liberalise its pay-TV market in an attempt to regain its leadership.

The latest government measure allows SingTel, Singapore's dominant telephone company, to enter the interactive TV (ITV) market. SingTel's ITV services will be delivered through its asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) infrastructure. The set-top box is designed by Pace and made by multiple vendors. Trials, to begin by the third quarter of this year, will cost $4 million to $5 million and cover 300 households. SingTel plans to roll out the service by mid-2002.

SingTel has signed up various content providers, including Columbia-Tristar, Sesame-Workshop, Intertainer Asia and MediaCorp. SingTel's CEO Andrew Buay says negotiations also are being held with other prospective partners. In addition, Buay says ITV service will increase broadband penetration rates and an increase demand for local content to be created, hosted and distributed in Singapore.

SingTel has applied for a pay-TV license from the Singapore Broadcasting Authority, which could announce its decision after Singapore Cable Vision (SCV) loses its exclusive license next year. According to Buay, the Authority is encouraging SingTel to compete with SCV.

SCV has more than 265,000 subscribers on its SCV MaxTV cable TV service, while its broadband access subscribers number 56,000. SCV CEO Yong Lum Sung hopes to bring cable telephony to Singapore to establish a world-class communications powerhouse. SCV already is working on a price structure that could reduce rates by 20%.

Overseas development

SingTel has been negotiating an acquisition of Australia's multiple service operator Cable & Wireless Optus. It also reached an agreement with the Bharti Group to build a broadband network in Chennai, India. The cable would add 8.4 terabits per second of capacity. StarHub, Singapore's second largest telephone company, is building a submarine cable, linking India to Malaysia and Singapore, in collaboration with Malaysia-based Maxis Communications and India-based Software Technology Park.

As do Hong Kong and Taiwan, Singapore has its eye on the Chinese market. China reportedly has granted MediaCorp a license to broadcast content to hotels and foreign-owned homes. Singapore's Minister of State Information, the Arts and Defence David Lm says liberalising China would open doors for the more experienced broadcast companies in Asia. Lm's goal is to have Chinese cable networks broadcast Singapore's content.

Singapore has always been poised as a major broadcasting centre in Asia, and it is hoping to strengthen its presence with the offering of pay-TV.


U.S., China, G7 Countries Flout Satellite Registry


From http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010816/sc/space_satellites_dc_1.html

BOSTON (Reuters) - The United States, China and most other major nations with satellites in space have failed to register all of them -- a violation of a Cold War-era U.N. convention intended to keep the arms race from moving into orbit, a Harvard University astronomer said.

Jonathan McDowell, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said in telephone interviews with Reuters on Wednesday and Thursday that nearly all of the omissions were due to administrative error.

He played down any danger that weapons systems were being put in orbit, but singled out the United States, saying the issue was of growing concern as President Bush (news - web sites) considers plans for a national missile defense system that could include some space-based systems.

The United States is conducting a sweeping review of its defense capabilities and is considering spending billions of dollars for development of the system.

``I can say the U.S. doesn't have 50 laser battle stations in space, but the more cavalier you are with this registration convention, the harder it is for us to have confidence that we can say that,'' McDowell said.

``The reason it's an issue is the U.S. is the only country that is going on about putting weapons in space.''

The 1975 Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space obligates countries to keep a registry of what they launch and file it with the United Nations (news - web sites).

The United Nations first passed a resolution to keep track of space objects in 1961 and Washington and Moscow started registering satellites in 1962 as the space race heated up. The 1975 convention is an offshoot of the first resolution and created the registry for the objects.

``The reason for the convention ... was for the United States and the Soviet Union to reassure each other that they weren't stashing nukes in space,'' McDowell said.

COMPLIANCE IS SPOTTY

At present, the United States is the worst offender in terms of raw numbers, having failed to register 141 of the 2,000 satellite payloads launched since the start of the space age, McDowell said. Of those, he estimated seven were military or spy satellites that Washington deliberately did not register.

Other countries such as China, Germany, France, Italy and Britain have failed to register a higher percentage of their payloads, McDowell said.

Only the Russian Federation is in full compliance, as was the Soviet Union, which registered all its space objects from 1970, McDowell said.

The U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs in Vienna confirmed that most nations fail to register all their space objects and said administrative error caused most of the omissions.

``It's a technical problem, not a political or strategic problem,'' said Petr Lama, an official in the Office of Outer Space Affairs. ``Speaking of recent things, these are only omissions, those deliberately unregistered are from the Cold War.''

But McDowell's data shows China, which has launched about 70 payloads, has failed to register about half and France, which has fired 60 payloads into orbit, has not recorded 15.

Germany has 28 satellites circling the globe and has not registered 16; Britain has launched 40 and not registered 10 and Italy, which has 15 satellites in the sky, has failed to register six, according to the data.

Japan has launched 84 satellites and not recorded 10. Even Canada, with 15 payloads in orbit, has not listed three.

McDowell said that in nearly all cases, there were no nefarious motives behind the lack of registration.

``In those cases I'm quite convinced that it's just incompetence,'' he said.




16/8/01

I am thinking of changing the message forum software I have neglected that side of the site a bit. Perhaps we should change to the software they are useing over at cdcopyworld. That may be more familiar to some people.


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 12326 H "TCM Australia" encrypted.
PAS 8 166E 12606 H "TRT International" has started, Vpid 512 Apid 640.

Optus B3 156E 12336 "Mediasat MUX"

Optus B3 156E 12336 V "Feeds" Sid 3 Vpid 1360 Apid 1320
Optus B3 156E 12336 V "Feeds" Sid 4 Vpid 1460 Apid 1420
Optus B3 156E 12336 V "TV 5 Asie" is back, Sid 6 Vpid 1660 Apid 1620
Optus B3 156E 12336 V "Deutsche Welle TV" is back, Sid 7 Vpid 1760 Apid 1720

Agila 2 146E 3824 H PIDs for TBN Vpid 33 Apid 36.

PAS 4 72E PAS 4 has reached 72 East.

PAS 10 68.5E 3836 H The mux with BBC World (enc.), ARY Digital, B4U Music and B4U Entertainment is back, Sr 19850, Fec 7/8, PIDs 2160/2120-2660/2620.


NEWS


TVNZ and Sky poised to sign deal


From http://onenews.nzoom.com/news_detail/0,1227,53210,00.html

TVNZ and Sky TV are poised to sign a deal over digital television which is likely to give TVNZ access to Sky's set-top decoders.

Behind the scenes there are intense negotiations about TVNZ and digital television and the National Party claims a deal has been done.

Both broadcasters admit they have been talking but TVNZ says "no agreement has been reached as yet".

ONE News understands the deal would give TVNZ open access to Sky's set top decoders.

Media commentator Paul Norris says open access should mean the viewer will really only need one set top box to access a variety of different programming schemes from different providers.

TVNZ and Sky TV have not had a happy relationship since TVNZ sold its stake in Sky two years ago and Sky pulled TVNZ's access to rugby and cricket.

Last year negotiations between the two broadcasters over a digital platform fell over and TVNZ's own digital plans are still up in the air.

The opposition claims the government has threatened Sky with regulation if it did not negotiate.

Prime Minister Helen Clark denies involvement while the Broadcasting Minister says it is no secret she has been looking at regulating the industry.

"They may take it as a veiled threat, it was not intended," Marian Hobbs said.

If the deal goes through the opposition claims it will leave the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sky TV with too much power.

But back on the couch it should make the digital scene a lot less complicated.


Craigs comment, they left out the huge monopoly it creates, and who cares about 2 different set-top boxes, not many could afford Sky + another pay provider and the boxes are supplied as part of the subscription anyway.


Austar picked to stick


From http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,904765a13,FF.html

TelstraSaturn chief executive Jack Matthews today poured cold water on speculation that half-owner Austar United Communications Ltd is looking to ditch its stake in the New Zealand telco.

"I have never heard or been party to any discussions that they (Austar) don't want to be involved with TelstraSaturn," Mr Matthews said today.

Austar yesterday posted a sharper than expected half-year loss, of $A196.09 million ($NZ240.8 million), compared with a loss of $A120.71 million in the prior corresponding period. Shares in the Australian pay-TV and Internet operator are wallowing in the mid-to-late A40c range.

That sparked analysts' predictions that it may have to sell its New Zealand operations.

But Mr Matthews said a sale was unlikely. He could understand market speculation during a difficult time for the telecommunications industry, but he believed Austar was not looking for a way out.

"They have always been a company that takes a long-haul view at investments," he said today.

Austar chief executive John Porter said TelstraSaturn Ltd, its New Zealand joint venture with Aussie telco No 1 Telstra, contributed significantly to losses. Losses from associates increased to $A17.9 million for the June 2001 quarter from $A11.4 million for that quarter in 2000.

Mr Porter would not answer specifically what asset sales Austar might consider.

Mr Matthews said even if Austar did sell out of TelstraSaturn, it would not be a killer blow.

"We like Austar as a partner because they bring a different element to the partnership . . . but the fact of the matter is we are a standalone entity here," he said.

Mr Matthews also said rumours that TelstraSaturn's cable-laying in Christchurch was not going to plan were wrong. "Christchurch has gone far better than the one in Wellington did."

But an analyst said competitor Telecom was providing tough competition and Austar might be forced to offload its stake in TelstraSaturn.


NZ exit a way out for Austar


From http://www.smh.com.au/news/0108/16/biztech/biztech1.html

Austar is expected to abandon its unprofitable New Zealand pay-TV joint venture and call on its parent for more funding to ensure its long-term survival.

Austar's results for the June half. issued yesterday, revealed that the regional pay-TV provider is facing a severe cash crunch. Its net loss blew out to $196 million in the six months to June, 62 per cent higher than the $120 million booked a year ago.

Analysts have forecast full year losses as high as $390 million as US dollar programming costs, slowing subscriber growth and high capital expenditure take their toll on its balance sheet.

If the company is unable to renegotiate its $400 million bank facility by the end of the year, it might have to repay the loan in the first quarter of next year. Austar shares fell 4.5c to 47.5c yesterday.

With $253 million cash on hand at the end of June, managing director Mr John Porter said Austar had sufficient funding to keep the business afloat for 12 months. "We remain very confident appropriate funding can be obtained on a timely basis."

He said Austar was canvassing other options, including internal cost reductions, which would negate the need to raise extra funds. The company has already negotiated a reduction of $US2 per subscriber for programming bought from 50 per cent subsidiary XYZ.

Selling its half share in Telstra Saturn, its capital hungry New Zealand joint venture with Telstra, would relieve some of the financial pressure on Austar. Having invested $38.6 million rolling out the New Zealand pay-TV cable network in the June half, Austar is expected to outlay as much as $100 million on the venture this year. Austar and Telstra have agreed to invest more than $NZ1 billion in Telstra Saturn over the next five years. Austar needs to raise $150 million to meet this commitment.

Telstra Saturn's losses more than doubled to $65.4 million in the June half, while average revenue per subscriber fell 6 per cent. Although Austar maintains it wouldn't sell the asset in this economic environment, it is understood that Telstra, the most likely buyer, does not want to assume Austar's share of Telstra Saturn's losses.

Analysts expressed concern at the apparent lack of urgency displayed by Austar management towards resolving financing issues. In the absence of a complete restructure of the company, it is estimated that Austar will need up to $200 million fresh funding each year.

Analysts believe that 81 per cent shareholder United Global Com will have to provide more funding if Austar is to stay afloat. "Between the banks and United Global Com, that's who is running this company now," said one media analyst.

Given that United Global Com's objective is to be the biggest cable operator in the world outside the US, the company is expected to step in to save Austar from going broke. United Global Com is likely to inject fresh capital into Austar in the first half of next year if its operating performance improves.

"The last thing UGC want is Australia keeling over, because of the message it sends out about their business model globally," said the analyst. Austar, however, does not want to dilute its existing shareholder base by issuing more equity to United Global Com.

Austar added 5,534 subscribers in the June quarter, boosting its customer base to 432,197.


ETV launches Urdu channel


From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=561599037

HYDERABAD: A 24-hour exclusive Urdu channel was launched here Wednesday by ETV, making it the fifth language channel offered by the popular television group.

The free-to-air digital channel, 'ETV Urdu' will have a fair mix of entertainment and information with hourly news updates, telefilms, family dramas, daily soaps, devotional and musical programmes.

The channel was formally launched by the chief editor of Eenadu group of publications and chairman of the Ramoji Film City (RFC) Ch Ramoji Rao at RFC complex here.

Offering a bouquet of regional channels, ETV already has Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada channels.

Having a tie-up with Reuters Television, CNN International and Transworld International, the channel would ensure comprehensive coverage of international news and current affairs, an ETV release said.

It also offers talk shows, mushaira and weekly serials, it said adding that the channel would fulfil the 'Arzoo' of Urdu-loving population for wholesome entertainment.

A special news capsule 'Khaas Baat' has been designed to cover news from important towns and cities where Urdu is the most cherished language, the release said.


Craigs comment this one available on widebeam Insat 2E 4005V Sr 27000, Fec 3/4


TechTV Sets Biography Series


From http://www.tvinsite.com/multichannelnews/index.asp?layout=story&doc_id=41808&display=breakingNews

TechTV will launch a biography series focusing on high-tech executives.

Titans of Tech will launch Sept. 6 with a feature on Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer, and it will return in November with a profile of Sun Microsystems Inc. chief researcher and director of the science office John Gage, executives said.

TechTV will air two original episodes per quarter of the one-hour show, which will feature insightful interviews and in-depth profiles of technology CEOs, entrepreneurs and visionaries through archival footage, historical photos and interviews.

The show will also have a companion Web site that will provide in-depth biographies of each subject, as well as at least one digitized video clip per episode.




15/8/01

Sorry about the chatroom last night problem was beyond my control the chat was moved to cdcopyworld where 6 or 7 showed up which wasn't to bad considering. Pas 4 mentioned yesterday is moving to 72E I don't know if the beams will change much or even who will be useing them. We will have to wait and see what turns up. I unrolled the rest of the co-ax cable that runs from my dish and found it can reach into where I have the computer that should be very handy it means I can signal scan with the Nokia do screenshots etc. With Dwelle and Tv5 turning up back on Mediasat I will wait a few days before adding them back to the Optus B3 page just to be sure. Some changes in the Zee Mux on B3 see the from the dish section Sony tv is there now.

Satfacts page has had a slight update check the link on the left to it if you want to read what this months issue covers.

Some feeds to look for Tonight, Australia vs Japan Soccer and Sri Lanka vs India Test Cricket. Speaking of Cricket Indus Vision on Asiasat 3 has a cricket show called "Cricket Mania" its 8.30pm Pakistan time Tuesday nights, (Wednesday 3 a.m NZT) (1a.m Syd)

The latest version of Universal Scssi has been released for the Nokia if you havn't tryed this program its well worth looking at it records flawless MPG2 video and audio to your hard disk. It also has heaps of features, its like a Swiss Army Knife for Nokias Here is the Link http://www.no-access.de/de/de_software_multifunctional.html



From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock 15/8/01 12.45 pm SA Time


TV5-asie (Vpid 1660, Apid 1620) and Deutsche Welle TV (Vpid 1760, Apid 1720) are back on Mediasat. No sign of RTP International as Vpid 1360 Apid 1320 still comes up as MSAT Occasional. Some feeds were here a bit earlier today.

Chris


Craigs comment, thats great news lets hope they stay!


From Skip

Hi Craig,

Thought your readers may be interested to know CCTV
has announced that their signals on Asiasat3 are due
to be turned off on August 20. They will be moving to
Pas10 as of that date. This follows their recent
shift from Pas2 to Pas8. I would imagine that their
Chinese viewers on fixed dishes would be less than
impressed with the shifts.

Skip.


Craigs comment, great another Asiasat 3 transponder freed up for some more Indian services ;-)


Reported last night by Dave on the Mailing list

Hi Guys,

Just been sat surfing (18:42MELB) and found Rove Live on GlobeCast LF8 -
Optus B1 12369 V Sr 5632 Fec 3/4.

They did have a burst of promo's a coupla minutes ago, but it's now back
to the Colorbars "GLOBECAST AUSTRALIA - ROVE LIVE EX NUNAWADING".

Rgds,Dave.


Craigs comment, hmm this is usually on B3, never seen it on B1 before.


From the Dish


Optus B3 156E 12658 V "Zee mux changes" some changes to the lable names , Zee News is now sharing with Zee Music. Zee News has been replaced by Sony Entertainment Television (Zee TV4), Services here are labled Zee Link 1,2,3 Zee TV4, Zee TV5, Zee TV6.

Agila 2 146E 4080 H,"Zoom TV" is new Sr 26700, Fec 3/4

Telkom 1 108E 3995 H "Indonet" has started, Sr 6000, Fec 3/4, Vpid 308 Apid 258. (Can someone who gets this satellite give me a report on what this service is?)

LMI 1 75E 3410 H "TV Lanka and Radio Lanka" tests have left.

Pas 4: has left 68.5 East, moving east by 0.5 degrees/day.This one heading to 72E! no idea of coverage or services yet.

Pas 10 3812 H "B4U Music and B4U Entertainment" have left.
Pas 10 3836 H "BBC World, ARY Digital, B4U Music and B4U Entertainment" have left


NEWS


SportsCenter launches in English for S-E Asia, Mandarin for China


From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k1/aug/aug31.htm

ESPN Star Sports yesterday introduced an Asian version of the popular sports news show Sportscenter.

SportsCenter will be Asia's first live half-hour sports news programme which will provide millions of television viewers with a crisp and incisive update of the latest happenings from international and regional sporting events, a company release states.

SportsCenter will be broadcast in English to viewers in Southeast Asia via ESPN Asia. A Mandarin language version will be broadcast on ESPN China, covering North Asia (China and Chinese Taipei).

ESS introduced a Hindi version of SportsCenter to viewers in India in April this year. Since its inception four months ago, SportsCenter Hindi has attracted 24 per cent of the cable viewing population, the release says.

Launched in 1979 in the US, SportsCenter is so popular that it is watched by more than 11 million people daily. Currently SportsCenter (International version) is watched by more than 150 million households outside the US on 20 international networks, the release says.

The Asian version will be following the US programme's original format of news, feature stories, analysis, clippings and guest commentators. ESS' managing director Rik Dovey said: "SportsCenter is a habit for millions of diehard sports fans across the world. With the introduction of a SportsCenter tailored to the viewing habits and tastes of our Asian audience, we will create millions more fans for this landmark show."

He also stated that that this initiative was a big step for the company as developing such a comprehensive news bureau was a major investment. The resources required to put out live news are considerable. And doing so in multiple languages only intensifies the effort required. In fact, with the introduction of the English and Mandarin services to Asia, ESPN STAR Sports has tripled its output of live sports news programming.

He further went on to explain that: "ESPN Star Sports has set itself the target of being Asia's complete sports provider and the benchmark by which all other networks measure themselves. To achieve this ESPN must continue to innovate and to provide viewers with what they want to watch, when they want to watch it, and in a format that is relevant to them."

SportsCenter will be aired daily from Monday to Friday. Bulletins will be telecast Live at 8 PM with a repeat at around 11:30 PM, then at 2:30 am , with one more repeat thereafter.

ESS'own 60,000 sq. ft production facility in Singapore will be producing SportsCenter. It will include sports news clippings from ESPN SportsCenter, SNTV (Sports News Television), - a leading provider of sports news clippings - and Sky Sports. SportsCenter will also include cricket clippings from ESS' portfolio of sporting rights - including the English Premier League, Formula One and the major tennis and golf events throughout the year.

For each live program broadcast of SportsCenter, ESS utilises a team of 40 veteran news and sports producers, presenters, technical/production assistants, editors and reporting crewreporters. The news team brings to Asia a wealth of knowledge and experience from the international and regional sports television scene sourced from all over the world, including ESPN's SportsCenter, TWI, BBC, ITV, New Delhi Television, Hong Kong's TVB, Australia's Channel 9 Network, TV South Africa and Australian Broadcasting Corporation.







14/8/01

Livechat tonight 8.30pm Syd time onwards, I am in there from 9.15pm NZ. Pas 4 is on its way east. Does anyone know where its heading? Perhaps between 128E and 134E perhaps it could go in the middle? 163E would be a good location next to Pas 2 and 8. New Star Sports Asia to start tommorow so be on the lookout for changes on Asiasat 3. Also starting soon Splash English Kids channel, which will probably be fta, on Asiasat 3 hopefully.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Jundong Wu

I also lost abc-nt on my 90cm dish(Sydney). I guess probably they haven't
increased the uplink power in time during the bad weather condition.

Regards,
Jundong Wu


From the Dish


Pas 4 71.5E (Currently moving east)


NEWS


Cricket under threat in pay TV shake-up


From http://www.smh.com.au/news/0108/14/national/national1.html

Fans of cricket will be the losers under plans to offer more international matches to pay TV.

Under proposals put to the Federal Government yesterday, free television would lose first rights to show one-day and Test matches played outside Australia or England.

In exchange, the stations would win new rights to show international soccer and swimming.

In its proposal, the Australian Broadcasting Authority said the current regime, which exists to protect the interests of consumers without pay TV to watch major sporting events on free-to-air television, was in need of a "thorough re-examination".

The ABA chairman, Professor David Flint, said the rules "were not intended to limit the enjoyment of pay TV subscribers to sports channels by reducing the amount of sport available on new services". The report said a number of events should be removed from the anti-siphoning list because they had not received consistent free-to-air coverage.

These include AFL State of Origin matches, certain international rugby league matches, the Hong Kong Sevens Rugby tournament, doubles matches and singles preliminary rounds and quarter-finals of the French Open tennis tournament, the Australian men's and women's hardcourt tennis championships, semi-finals of the Australian National Basketball League, as well as overseas cricket matches.

However, it said free-to-air broadcasters should have the first chance to buy the rights to broadcast certain international soccer matches and the FINA World Swimming Championships and Pan Pacific Swimming Championships.

The report, which also recommended the anti-siphoning list be extended by two years to run until 2006, received a mixed response.

The chief executive of the Federation of Australian Commercial Television Stations, Ms Julie Flynn, said the two-year extension was insufficient, "given that in many cases rights are purchased for a substantial period of time and networks and pay operators for that matter need certainty when negotiating for rights". Ms Flynn, whose comments were supported by the Seven Network, said the recommendations to add swimming to the anti-siphoning list but not the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games was "inconsistent".

"The removal of events as suggested by the ABA will mean there will be no prospect of viewers seeing these events for free, because free [to-air broadcasters] will not be in a position to purchase when circumstances change in the future," she said.

The executive director of the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association, Ms Debra Richards, said the pay TV industry welcomed "the recognition that the system is flawed and that the ABA has recommended a thorough re-examination of the anti-siphoning rules".

However, Foxtel's CEO, Mr Jim Bloomfield, criticised the report for recommending "tinkering but not meaningful change".

"Free-to-air TV is showing less than 15 per cent of sports on the anti-siphoning list live and to simply alter the list does not help viewers or ensure free-to-air coverage," he said.

This was echoed by Mr Jon Marquard, director of business and corporate affairs for Fox Sports.

"We are of the view more events should be delisted and only those events shown live in full should be protected on the anti-siphoning list," he said.


Seven snubs blockbuster


From http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,2586634%255E9787,00.html

SATURDAY night's Collingwood-Essendon blockbuster will not be broadcast live into Melbourne on Channel 7 – regardless of a sellout.

Instead viewers will be treated to coverage of the tri-nations rugby union Test between Australia and South Africa in Perth.

AFL fans wanting to catch a glimpse of the clash vital to the Magpies' finals aspirations will have to wait an hour-and-a-half after the opening bounce to catch the action on television.

A delayed telecast of the MCG shootout expected to challenge the huge crowd of 83,905 that turned out for the thrilling Pies-Bombers Anzac Day clash in April will be shown from 9pm.

It's the second time this sea son Collingwood fans have been snubbed by Seven.

The network delayed its telecast of the Round 13 fixture against the Crows in Adelaide in favour of a rugby union Test.

But a Seven spokesman said the network is snookered by its commitment to show live telecasts of all Test matches involving the Wallabies.

"Clearly we would like to broadcast the Collingwood-Essendon game live into Melbourne but a pre-existing arrangement with the Australian Rugby Union precludes us from doing that," said Seven's director of corporate development Simon Francis.

He said Seven has successfully negotiated with rugby officials to bring the Test match kick-off forward by one hour to lessen the inconvenience for AFL supporters.

Magpie president Eddie McGuire said it is disappointing some Collingwood fans would miss out on seeing the showdown between the two arch rivals.

"You would have thought that after what happened last time when they played the rugby instead of Collingwood-Adelaide, which was probably the match of the season, that they would wake up and play the game," McGuire said yesterday.

"It's should be a sensational game, the Bombers want to stay on top and we want to make the eight."

The delayed AFL coverage spells more bad news for cricket buffs who will have to wait until 11pm on Saturday for coverage of the fourth Test between Australia and England at Headingley.

Seven's Saturday afternoon TV schedule remains sport-free.

But Seven and the AFL said plans to move the game to the vacant MCG on Saturday afternoon were prevented by catering and ticket arrangements.


Craigs comment, there may be a fta feed of this game on B1 or B3..


Norsat Data Hub for ST-1 ready


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?url=2001081306.html

SingTel Aeradio Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecom, and Norsat International Inc. announced that the SpectraWorks DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) Data Hub purchased in January 2001 has been installed, commissioned and is ready for delivering DVB broadband services across Asia on the ST-1 satellite.

The SpectraWorks DVB Data Hub is installed at the Bukit Timah Earth Station in Singapore and used for a range of DVB over IP (Internet Protocol) applications including high speed Internet, video conferencing, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and data transfer.


Craigs comment, St1 at 88E is received in some parts of Australia perhaps a bit more activity will happen on the Bird now.


Business Security, Spying Claim Stalk Satellite Bid as Singtel Raises Optus Stake to 24.5%


From satnewsasia.com

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd's US$9 billion bid for Cable & Wireless Optus (ASX:CWO) faces further delay as a defense academic said today the takeover could make confidential business deals an open book to the Singaporean government. Defense academic Des Ball said the deal could have commercial and military secrecy implications.

C&W Optus and the Australian Defence Force are partners in a $500 million Optus C1 satellite due to be launched next year. The spying allegations raise the prospect that SingTel's involvement with the C1 satellite would enable Singapore to eavesdrop on Australian defence communications.

But SingTel's takeover has been stalled while the Australian government consults the defense and national security agencies. The Singaporean government has majority stake in SingTel.

A respected defense analyst, Des Ball of the Australian National University (ANU) revealed that there was evidence going back to the 1980s that Singapore had recruited agents. He said Singapore had also sent spy planes over Australia in the early 1990s, while former assistant defense secretary Ross Babbage told ABC radio many officials were "very uncomfortable" about allowing Singaporeans access to army installations.

"An enormous amount of traffic that goes through these satellite systems concerns commercial matters, business deals, discussions about forthcoming business deals, those sorts of things, and much of this would become an open book to whoever controls that satellite system," he told ABC radio.

"They can use it for their own business purposes to trump particular deals, to negotiate for whatever, they know what the bottom line of a particular negotiation is, they can work directly to get that bottom line."

Meanwhile SingTel has raised its stake in Cable & Wireless Optus Ltd to 24.5 percent, C&W Optus said on Monday. SingTel now owns 928.2 million ordinary shares, or 24.51 percent, of C&W Optus, C&W Optus said in a substantial shareholding notice to the Australian Stock Exchange.

The investment is up from 878.2 million shares, or 23.19 percent previously.

In the meantime, the new revelation is provoking fresh objections to SingTel's bid for Cable and Wireless Co's Australian assets. The Australian Democrats, the third force in the upper house Senate, said on Thursday the claims obliged Canberra to conduct a deeper review of SingTel's bid to buy Australia's No 2 telco.

The government has so far refused to comment on claims Singapore was spying on some of Australia's most sensitive defense facilities.

Earlier, Defence Minister Peter Reith gave the go-ahead to SingTel after assurances that Australian military satellite communications, run by Cable & Wireless Optus Ltd, would be safeguarded.


Myanmar Radio and TV to Launch Global Service


From satnewsasia.com

Myanmar [Burma] Radio and Television has launched a new channel MRTV 3, which could be seen in the homes of prospective viewers in some 120 countries.

Trial broadcast has started last August 4, aired three times a day at 13:00, 18:00 and 23:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. Signals are being carried by Thaicom-3 (78.5 East), global beam, frequency 3675.5 MHz, symbol rate 5.787234 M Syn/sec, FEC ¾, horizontal polarization.

MRTV 3 broadcasts news, features, anyeint ( traditional dance) and musical programs together with commercials of entertainment, educational and business enterprises, all of which fall into the realm of public information, said officials of Radio Myanmar.

For months now, Myanmar Radio and TV had been carrying national and foreign news made available by wire services as well as communications satellites. Transmission of satellite news had been made under arrangement with the Cable Network News (CNN) with the cooperation with the NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation.

Anxious of its seeming isolation from the rest of Asia, Burma's military intelligence chief, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, had been telling the state broadcasting agency that it must rapidly expand its capacity to reach international audiences. Speaking at a meeting of officials of Myanmar Radio and Television on Februar 2 this year, General Khin Nyunt said there is a need to distribute objective news about Myanmar to the world "to counter false news reports of the western media are flooding the world."

The recent move to launch MRTV 3 is seen by observers as the military government's move to project a more favorable image of the country.


Japan to Help Asia-Pacific Region Expand Net System


From satnewsasia.com

The Japanese government plans to connect far-flung parts of the Asia-Pacific region with a high-speed Internet network using satellite communications, a report today from Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

This will mean expanding the region's high-speed, low-cost Internet access network, even to remote areas of the sphere beginning next year, Yoshiaki Takeuchi, director at the ministry's Space Communications Research Office said.

When developed, the system would allow international video conferencing easier than through conventional telecommunications methods, and also enable city-based medical specialist in one country to examine patients in remote areas.

Japan's Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications is spearheading the project but will ask other nations in the region to help in the project, the paper said. The office aims to test the network by April, the daily quoted the ministry as saying.

A network currently connects some of the countries such as Thailand and Fiji as early as in 1996 and this will be upgraded to a high-speed communication network to cover the the whole region. By using more satellites, the network will be able to cover a wider area, spanning from China and India to the Pacific islands, Yoshiaki Takeuchi said.

"We hope the project will provide a foundation for further economic activities in the Asia-Pacific region," he added.


13/8/01

ABC Asia-Pacific Television a bit of a mouthfull but thats the new name of the Australian television service to start soon on Palapa C2 see the news section for a bit more info. Asia Pacific Satellite TV hmmm, ABCaptv could get a bit confusing! I am trying to get all these photos scanned of my dish. It Will take a while, but I will finally be in the users page section of the Site. Don't foget anyone out there is welcome to send pictures of there setup and as much or as little info as they like and I will put up a users page for them. Its good for seeing other setups, yes if you wish you can supply as "ANON:"

B1 ABC Northern, gone for NZ viewers? A huge drop in signal reported on this service.

A new beta version DVB 2000 2 beta 5 is out, get it from the usual place


From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock

At 1.55 pm on B1, 12397H, Sr 7200. The ATN Test Card is up at the moment, but with different Pids to that of what has been their normal. Vpid 49, Apid 52

Chris


From the Dish


Optus B1 160E 12258 V "ABC Northern" huge power drop reported signal %90 less strength in Perth!

Agila 2 146E 3824 H "TBN" has moved here .

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3860 V "ESS Radio" has started , APID 646. (Encrypted)


NEWS


Austar to carry ABC


Austar to carry ABC: greater reach and new services for regional Australia

Austar Entertainment today announced that it had reached an agreement with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to retransmit the ABC’s digital television service and new ABCKids channel to Austar's satellite customers, throughout regional Australia.

ABCKids will also be available to Austar’s Darwin customers who already receive free to air services over the cable system.

The primary ABC service will be screened on channel 2 in the Austar channel line-up and will feature a new national news feed. ABCKids will be carried on channel 14 as part of Austar’s “Family” line up.

There are over 350,000 households which will receive the ABC through the Austar satellite or cable service. In addition, Austar believes that there are tens of thousands more homes which cannot receive or have poor quality terrestrial television. This agreement will enable them to receive a clear ABC signal if they subscribe to the Austar satellite service.

The services will be supplied to Austar at no cost and will be available to customers at no additional charge, beginning on 1 November 2001.

Austar and the ABC will also work together to explore developing interactive applications to further enhance both services and enable the ABC to exploit the many opportunities that digital television provides.

Austar’s digital interactive platform will transform the television, making possible for example:

- polling of viewer opinions;
- enhancement of programmes, adding detailed information to sports, lifestyle or news and current affairs shows; and
- sending t-mails to provide immediate viewer feed back.

All of this functionality will be available to the ABC as it develops ideas for its interactive applications.

Bruce Mann, Managing Director of Austar Entertainment said, “This is great news for Austar customers and others in regional Australia who will be able to receive an excellent quality ABC signal and be among the first to experience the new ABCKids Channel.

?We know that for many Australians living outside the major centres television reception can be a major issue. You do not have to be far out of town to find your reception affected by topography or lack of signal strength. The satellite provides a reliable quality signal for the vast majority of homes throughout the country,” said Mr Mann.

*ustar is Australia’s first truly interactive broadcaster, we are proud that we are bringing this technology to the people of regional Australia before it is available in the largest cities.

?We are also delighted to have the possibility of working with the ABC to develop interactive television. Much of the ABC’s programming lends itself to interactive applications and we are sure that together we can create some truly innovative services.”


ESPN hopes to hit the target with English Premier League soccer


From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k1/aug/aug29.htm

Sports in India means cricket, cricket, and only cricket. To the world at large however there is far more to sport and that is what ESPN is attempting to bring to the notice of the Indian viewer. Come 18 August, ESPN kicks off an ambitious programming initiative built around the world's most popular sport - soccer.

The centrepiece of the thrust is the pan-Asia telecast rights ESPN Star Sports has acquired for the English Premier League (EPL). And in keeping with the current thinking among television strategists, appointment viewing is what ESPN hopes to garner in this no-expenses spared soccer-centric programme push.

Speaking at a press briefing in south Mumbai yesterday, Manu Sawhney, managing director, ESPN India, outlined four thrust areas which would be utilised to push the property in India. Multimedia - print, television and online activities; contests, live screenings in clubs, and school campaigns. Sawhney said the various promotional activities would be rolled out over the coming two months and expressed confidence that there was a market just waiting to be tapped on the soccer viewing front. He identified the big cities and the states of Kerala, Goa and West Bengal as primary focus areas.

Pepsi, Samsung, Madura Garments were the three principal advertisers for EPL and had signed one-year deals, Sawhney said. Questioned on whether the soccer initiative was a joint one with Star Sports, he said this was essentially ESPN's baby.

On the programming front ESPN is set to showcase three live games a week on prime time - one on Saturday and two on Sundays. The network also will telecast one additional game every Saturday (deferred relay), one additional Manchester United game and football-related magazine-style programmes, through the week .

And the backend efforts that go into getting a real "close-up and personal" fell of the goings-on on the pitch is quite amazing, going by the information put out by ESPN (no costing figures though). A total of 130 crew on-ground and at studio are involved. A fleet of ten trucks and support vehicles, with standby power generators. Twenty-five cameras are used for each game with that number going up to 35 for a finals fixture. For the audio 20 directional microphones are deployed.

Queried on what other properties ESPN was focussing on other than cricket and now soccer, an ESPN official said Formula One car racing, sports news and quiz-based shows had a lot of potential for development. Actions


ESPN-STAR Sports ready to play ball


From http://www.economictimes.com/120801/12tech01.htm

ESPN-STAR Sports is now looking beyond cricket to get the moolah flowing in the country. It is, in fact, planning to get into the big league in football.

And if one goes by what ESPN MD Manu Sawhney says, advertisers are also willing to look beyond cricket while deciding their ad-spend for sports channels. The channel has already tied in advertisements from Pepsi, Madura Garments and Samsung for its telecast of the English Premier League.

"I think there is advertiser interest in sports as a genre, and that is not limited to cricket. For highprofile events like golf, Formula 1 Racing and tennis we do get advertising," says Sawhney.

However, ESPN-STAR Sports is also tightening its grip over cricket telecast in India. He adds that sports content and movies are among the top draw items on television and advertisers zoom in on these as key areas.

But it’s still cricket that stirs up passion in the country and ESPN-STAR Sports has also been putting a lot of international cricket action on the telly. "We have India telecast rights for seven out of the ten cricket-playing countries.

The forthcoming foreign tours of the Indian cricket team, in South Africa, West Indies and England will be shown on ESPN-Star Sports," says Sawhney. However, at home, there’s no beating Doordarshan, as the national broadcaster has the rights to show all of Indian cricket team’s home games.

ESPN-Star Sports also lost out on the thrilling Sri Lanka tour of India, both one-dayers and Tests, to SET-Max. However, all the big boys of sports broadcasting in India will now be vying for the lucrative rights for telecast of World Cup Cricket and World Cup Soccer.

"We are in talks with WSGNimbus for World Cup cricket rights and Stracon India for World Cup soccer rights," says Sawhney.

ESPN-Star Sports had gone pay some time back, and the ESPN and Star Sports Channels are available at Rs 16 per subscriber. According to Sawhney, ESPN has a penetration of 23 million homes in India.

While Sawhney refuses to give the breakup of subscription and advertising in the company’s revenues, he says that "it was a healthy mix". "India is one of the key markets for ESPN," he adds.


T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 32/2001 - August 12 2001 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by Tele Satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition


BULGARIA


NEW TV LOSSES TOP $800,000

The loss of New Television for the second quarter of the year is almost
$800,000, announced Reuters, citing the financial report of the Greek owner of
the TV 𠇊ntena TV”. The expenses of New Television for the period from April
to June 2001 increased by $1.6 million, and from the beginning of the year to
June by $2.7 million. These include the expenses for the activity, the
administrative expenses and the devaluation of the assets. The incomes of New
Television for the quarter increased with $800,000, and for the half year with
$1.5 million. Almost all of the incomes came from advertising. The losses of
the Bulgarian branch significantly worsened the general financial condition of
*ntena TV”. The net profit of the group for the second quarter of the year
decreased by $3.5 million or 48 per cent. For the half year the net profit
dropped by $6.5 million, or 71 per cent.


United StatesGerman law up to 30 seconds of each game can be used free of charge.

CNN RE-LAUNCHES HEADLINE NEWS

CNN relaunched its headline news cable channel on August 6. Changes include
much more on-screen information (including weather map, sports scores and stock
prices) as well as a new head for the channel. Later this autumn, CNN will also
relaunch another network, the financial cable channel CNNfn, with the new name
of CNN Money.


ECHOSTAR BLAMES DIRECTV FOR PIRACY PROBLEM

EchoStar Communications Corp. chief Charlie Ergen on August 3 laid the blame
for the satellite-television industry's piracy problem at the feet of rival
DirecTV. Ergen questioned the wisdom of his rival's sales programs and accused
it of slow enforcement efforts. In particular, Ergen cited a DirecTV sales
program under which a national retailer sells DirecTV satellite systems for a
low price without requiring an appointment for a technician to install the
equipment or a commitment to order DirecTV programming for a set period. Such a
program is thought to be ripe for piracy because it allows people to buy
DirecTV equipment cheap, equip it with a black-market "smart card" for
unscrambling DirecTV's satellite signal and thus bypass the process of paying
for DirecTV's programming. Analysts predict piracy will cost the satellite-TV
industry nearly $300 million in lost revenue this year. DirecTV executives said
that they intend to alter certain retailer sales programs to require more
commitments from customers, such as mandating a credit card number with every
equipment sale. EchoStar often leases its satellite equipment to customers for
little upfront cost, but requires those customers to commit to buying a year of
programming and provide a credit-card number to back it up. Also, EchoStar
retains the right to retrieve its equipment if a customer stops paying. Ergen
criticised DirecTV for not swapping out the smart cards in its customers'
satellite receiver boxes more frequently. DirecTV has not conducted a broad
swap of its customers' smart cards since 1997, though it began installing a new
model of smart card in its new receiver boxes in 1999. In a separate press
conference, DirecTV officials waved off Ergen's comments, saying that DirecTV
has made fighting piracy a top priority and launched numerous programs to
thwart the practice. Market research firm the Carmel Group estimates that
500,000 to 1 million satellite-TV systems will be pirated in the United States
this year, costing operators $292 million in revenue.


A S I A


STAR MOVIES TO BUY OUTPUT FROM CANAL PLUS GROUP

News Corp. Ltd.’s Hong Kong-based STAR said that its STAR Movies channel has
reached a three-year output agreement with Canal Plus that calls for exclusive
pay-TV broadcast rights to new films produced by StudioCanal France and Working
Title Pictures, production companies associated with the pay-TV unit of Vivendi
Universal. Under the deal, STAR Movies is also entitled to air select titles
acquired by StudioCanal from major U.S. studios and about 45 features from
StudioCanal’s existing film library. STAR Movies said it will premiere the
titles throughout the Asian region, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast
Asia, India and the Middle East.


HUMAX TO SUPPLIES DIGITAL BOXES FOR ORBIT

Korean company Humax has signed a strategic supply agreement to produce up to
one million digital Integrated Receiver Decoders for Orbit, the Middle East and
North African satellite operator. Humax, one of the largest suppliers of
digital set-top boxes in Europe and the market leader in the Middle East will
supply its MG-8830 set-top box to the satellite operator in 23 countries
throughout the Middle East and Africa. Equipped with a high-speed
microprocessor to give the terminals the same level of processing power as a
standard MHP (Multimedia Home Platform) product, the MG-8830 can be used with a
number of different software applications, including applications tailor-made
for Orbit. The Humax MG-8830 set-top box uses Mediaguard technology as its
conditional access software and features Mediaguard interactive middleware for
compatibility with Java Virtual Machine. Orbit is set to offer an expanded
line-up of interactive services for its viewers in the Arab world, with the
introduction of this new receiver designed to consolidate the operator’s
dominant regional position.


ESPN STAR SPORTS LAUNCHES TWO FEEDS

ESPN Star Sports has repackaged its Star Sports service and created two
dedicated Asian sports feeds. Previously, there was one sports feed for North
and South East Asia. In addition to the South East Asia feed announced
recently, a Star Sports Asia feed has been created. It will air around the
clock. However, unlike its South East counterpart, it will be a free to air
service and will broadcast in Mandarin.


AUSTRALIA


ABC SIGNS ASIA-PACIFIC TV AGREEMENT

The managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC),
Jonathan Shier, on August 9 signed an agreement with the Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade formalising the establishment of an Asia-Pacific Television
broadcast service. The ABC will receive around A$90 million over five years to
broadcast ABC Asia Pacific, as the new service will be called. A project team
has been brought together to oversee implementation. Jonathan Shier said: ‘It
is particularly pleasing that the government has decided to re-establish the
service and increase its financial commitment […] The ABC is firmly committed
to a high quality knowledge and education based service, with a strong emphasis
on news and current affairs.’ He added ABC Asia Pacific will ‘utilise
multimedia platforms to produce an integrated television, radio and new media
service,’ and new programming will be specially produced for the new service.


CHINA


SHANGAI TV STATION IN TAIWAN

Satellite television programmes produced by Shanghai TV Station is to be
available to viewers in Taiwan amid a growing cultural and economic exchanges
between the two regions. Zhu Yonglei, president of Shanghai Television Station,
said the broadcasting service will provide business information for Taiwanese
investors. Satellite TV programmes produced by Shanghai Television Station
(STS) will enter Taiwan's cable TV network, said Zhu. But negotiation is still
going on regarding the timing of launching the service.


PAKISTAN


PAKISTAN TV SIGNS AP DEAL

Pakistan TV has signed a multi-year news and sports agreement with video news
agency Associated Press Television News (APTN), the international video news
agency of The Associated Press. Under the terms of the agreement, PTV will take
APTN's News Service, which delivers 16 scheduled bulletins a day in addition to
live and flash material. The agreement marks the first time in 36 years that
the broadcaster has opted to take material from an alternative supplier.



SOUTH AFRICA


TECHNICAL CHANGES FOR SABC SATELLITE TV SERVICE

Due to satellite changes and signal redistribution by Sentech, the SABC service
viewed on the digital satellite platform will be changing. With this latest
move in technology there will be accompanying changes for viewers which
presently receive SABC 1,2,3 and Bop TV via the Vivid digital platform. The
channels SABC1, 2, 3 on PAS 10 and BopTV on PAS 7 will be encrypted and will
only be received by owners of the Vivid platform via a smart card. The South
African signal distributor Sentech will distribute smart cards via registered
post to all Vivid subscribers during the month of August 2001. As from August
2, satellite viewers of the SABC channels (SABC1, 2, 3 and Bop) will receive
their signal from PAS 7 as a temporary measure. This is to ensure that viewers
receive interim coverage until encryption is implemented. These viewers will be
informed via the VIVID Information Channel 6 on how to reset their decoders in
order to receive these temporary channels. Smart cards will be activated during
the month of August and all viewers should be able to revert back to the
encrypted channels by the beginning of September. The temporary channels on
PAS7 will then be terminated.

12/8/01

Not much happening today. Did some more playing today trying to work out the ADL Cp400 Feed made zero progress. I still need a analogue unit with positioner so I can control the Feed and the actuator. I may have to try and locate someone who knows what they are doing to set it up. In the meantime I can manage to get Ekushey, Bharathi and Kaveri fta off the V plus some sparkly H analogue signals. Sahara, Indus and PTV are pretty good on the V analogues.

I have started adding the Panamsat 10 Screenshots, more to come they take a while to setup.

PAS 10 and Asiasat 3 pages updated



From my Emails & ICQ


From "Goose" 11/8/01 not sure of there name but they sent it via the mailing list

19:30 MELBOURNE TIME.
On B1, 12369V Sr 5632 Fec 3/4, Vpid 308 Apid 256 "Globcast LF8, NRL Fox Sports feed Tigers vs Knights".


From Mike Brown 11/8/01

7pm Syd Mediasat Feed 2

AFL - Carlton v Adelaide
Great news as this game isn't on live into Melbourne =)


Mike Brown


From the Dish


Nothing to report


NEWS


Sorry nothing for today.




11/8/01

I watched the NZ vs Aus test on Star Sports, I won't say anymore about that one..

There is a new issue of Scat India online magazine, click the picture to view it, They have some interesting info, even some info on the Indus Vision channel which I didn't know much about but can receive./

I just received 8 megs worth of screenshots off of PAS 10 they will go up as soon as I manage to convert them to a more suitable size.

Ekushey Tv on Asiasat 3 has upgraded thier website, it's now easy to check the program schedule for anyday of the week. For those Interested in wrestling they show WWF Smackdown at 10 pm Syd time Friday nights.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock 11/8/01

B1 12426 H ."C7 Sport feed of Sydney Rugby"Analogue, it had the team stats up a while ago but back to colour bars at the moment.

B1 12386 H "7 Network" is back in Analogue, Epal at their old frequency again.

Chris


From George in Thailand

Dear Apsattv'ers


Sat News from up in the far east

Insat 2E 83.0E

-DD Hyderabad and DD Calcutta Zone Beam still on ocassionally

Palapa C2

-CNNI to encrypt on August 15 (has anyone seen the message running?) (no reports)

PAS 10
-Maharishi Veda Vision encrypts (whats next?) but not recievable MPEG-2
-CCTV is also not recievable on PAS10 at the new frequency MPEG-2-3836V not recievable
-All analogue transponders receivable up here witha threshold extension of 20 but clearer reception

Agila 2

-TBN only on the new frequency of 3824 H SR 3400 (confirmed from there website)

From the birdwatcher in the far east
George
THAILAND


Craigs Comment, George also goes on to ask why are all the CNN channels encrypting, well it comes down to $$ CNN can make more money by providing their signal to pay tv providers. I think for about $250 NZ and purchase of the expensive Power Vu box you can sub to the Pas 8 CNN service. Try www.telsat.co.nz for info.


From The Dish


Intelsat 702 176E 4027 L "RFO Polynesie" is back, Sr 4566, Fec 3/4, SE zone beam.

Agila 2 146E 3824 H "TBN" has started , Sr 3400, Fec 3/4.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3470 V "ETC" has left, replaced by an info card.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3551 H Occasional feeds , Sid 4, Vpid 1025 Apid 1026.

PAS 10 68.5E 3932 V "Maharishi Veda Vision" is now encrypted. (Yahoo!)


NEWS


Sky Television To Screen English Premier League


Source : Sky Network Television Limited

SKY Television is pleased to have secured the rights to screen English Premier League Soccer.

SKY’s coverage, which has significantly increased from last season, will include up to five Premier League matches each weekend for the upcoming season, starting on August 19th 2001.

Kevin Cameron, SKY Television’s Director of Sport said, “We are pleased to be able to continue our commitment to soccer fans in New Zealand and we believe that this acquisition is an important part of the sporting mix that we are able to bring to our subscribers.”


Craigs comment, Pay TV related but, I saw adverts on Star sports they will have it as well!


Tenders sought for marketing, distribution of DD-World, DD-News in UK, Europe


From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k1/aug/aug26.htm

National broadcaster Doordarshan has invited fresh sealed tenders to market and distribute DD-World and DD-News channel in the UK and rest of Europe on the DTH platform and cable networks.

The national broadcaster has set 28 August as the deadline by which the tenders should reach the Controller of Programmes, DD-World Channel. These will then be opened on 29 August at 3.00 PM, Doordardshan Bhawan, New Delhi, in the presence of the representatives of the parties.

The applicant whose tender is accepted will have to sign an agreement with Doordarshan within 30 days of receiving the award letter, failing which the next highest bidder will be awarded the contract.

According to the tender document, both the channels DD-World and DD-News are transmitted as digital multiplex in the compressed mode through the PAS-4 satellite (currently in the process of switching to PAS-10, the process is expected to be complete by end-August). The signals of these channels are downlinked in London by British Telecom. DD-World and DD-News transmission can be encrypted at Delhi end for uplink to PAS-4.

Meanwhile, the programme composition of DD-World as per the Fixed Point Chart (FPC) are: Entertainment / Feature Films/ Film based programmes / Serials / Music and Dance / Cookery shows / Travelogues / Documentaries / Children's programmes / Women programmes / News & Current Affairs, etc.And for DD-News: News / Current Affairs / Documentaries.

As per the tender document available on www.ddindia.net, the prospective bidder will have to pay a non-refundable processing fee of £250 and an earnest money deposit of £1000 in the form of a crossed bank draft drawn in favour of PBBCI, Directorate General, Doordarshan, New Delhi, payable at any bank in New Delhi. (Indian parties can pay the fee in Indian Rupees equivalent to pound Sterling).

The bidder will also have to submit an audited account indicating its turnover for the past three years. Foreign parties can obtain more details from Indian High Commission in UK. Indian Parties can obtain such details from Doordarshan Kendra, Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. The tender documents can be downloaded Doordarshan's website at http://www.ddindia.net.


Music World, B4U enter into tieup


From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/today/11comp19.htm

MUSIC World Entertainment, the music retailing arm of the RPG group, has tied up with B4U music channel for jointly promoting their respective products, services and building up brands for each other.

The tie-up envisages combined initiatives for promotion of each other's brands through their respective outlets both on ground and air, according to a music world press release here on Friday.

These initiatives include various ground and on air promotions like contests, celebrity visits and other interactive schedules during festivals and special days like Valentine's Day.

B4U is claimed to be a leading music channel which reaches over 12 million viewers in India while Music World with its leading position in the music retailing industry has a turnover of over Rs 40 crore.

Music World has targetted a turnover of Rs 75 crore in the current fiscal, the release said. (PTI)





10/8/01

I am trying to locate an old analogue receiver with built in Positioner, I need one with skew control to control the ADL feed. Let me know if you have one collecting dust on a shelf somewhere that you no longer require I am interested. I updated the picture posted yesterday with a much improved version see yesterdays page for it. A small shot up the top of the page many more pictures to come as soon as the photos are developed.

New release of DVB2000 due soon to fix problems when useing the excellent DVB2000 Recorder util


From my Emails & ICQ


From Thomas Baxter

As some maybe aware the Pay TV Bouquets on Optus B3 have not been
updated for quite a while (from LyngSat point of view) - currently i
have only been able to update the channel names and channel lineups.

I would like to ask all who have the available equipment to please
keep the charts at LyngSat upto date

The information especially needed is SIDS/PIDS/APIDS for the channels.
you can submit these to [email protected] or email them to me and
i will pass them on.

Thanks
Thomas 'b@cco007' Baxter
-- 81G 8r07h3r --
[email protected]
ICQ: [email protected]
MSN: [email protected]


From "ANON"

WSTV at last are about to launch their Digital MMDS service in Thailand.
Interestingly this project has been on hold for a few months now, and is
"back on schedual" now that the owner of WSTV, Dr K's good friend, Mr
Shinawatra, has a "get out of jail free" card!
They have got the head end working , 12 channels, 8mghz COFDM MMDS.


From the Dish


Thaicom 3 78.5E 3585 V "Suprabhat and Prabhat" have left, replaced by test cards.


NEWS


Security analyst warns of Singtel satellite control dangers


From http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/nat/newsnat-10aug2001-22.htm

A leading Australian security analyst, Professor Des Ball, says the Australian economy could have the most to lose from the Singaporean control of Cable and Wireless Optus satellites.

Australian business secrets could be the most vulnerable to eavesdropping if Singtel gains control of satellites currently run by Australia's second largest telecommunications company, Cable and Wireless Optus.

That is the opinion of Professor Ball, who revealed two days ago on the ABC's Lateline program that Singapore was suspected of recruiting a spy within Australia's highly secret defence signals directorate.

Speaking in Singapore, Professor Ball has now told the ABC that Australian business is largely unprotected from the sophisticated eavesdropping techniques that Singapore specialises in.

He said Australian business should be very worried about the proposed satellite sales.


Challenge to ABC's digital TV


From http://australianit.news.com.au/common/storyPage/0,3811,2553812%5E442,00.html

PAY-TV children's channel Nickelodeon has accused the ABC of unfair competition and entering the pay-TV market by stealth, in a stinging response to the launch of the public broadcaster's first digital TV channel.

Nickelodeon Australia general manager Ian Fairweather said the ABC was "throwing little tantrums" and "blowing hollow trumpets" by criticising the level of US children's programs on Australian television.

Mr Fairweather also said Nickelodeon would investigate whether it can withdraw its programs, including Catdog and Hey Arnold, from Australia's first digital TV channel ABC Kids.

But the ABC's head of multi-channelling, Ian Carroll, said the ABC respected, and had bought, programs produced by Nickelodeon.

"We do not want to get into a tussle with them, but the fact remains that however good these international companies are, there is a need in this country for storytelling and values from an Australian perspective, and there is a danger we are going to lose that," Mr Carroll said.

ABC Kids began screening last week and was officially launched at parliament house on Tuesday by ABC managing director Jonathan Shier.

But digital TV sets are not available in Australia yet, eight months after the start-date of January 1, and only a few thousand set-top boxes that convert the digital signal for existing TVs have been sold.

The ABC has therefore struck a deal with two of Australia's three pay-TV networks, so that at least some viewers will be able to watch ABC Kids and the youth channel ABC Fly due to be launched by Christmas.

Both ABC digital TV channels will be carried on the Optus and Austar pay-TV services, at no cost to either the ABC or the pay-TV groups.

At the ABC Kids launch, Mr Shier said the channel was needed to counteract the influx of US-owned, US-produced programs and TV channels.

Mr Shier did not name any channels, but it was a clear reference to Nickelodeon Australia, ultimately owned by the US Viacom media group, as well as the Cartoon Network, the Disney Network and commercial free-to-air stations.

Yesterday, Mr Fairweather said the ABC should not be using taxpayers' money to compete with pay-TV operators.

"I suspect that the ABC under Mr Shier just wants lots more audience numbers. The ABC, having failed in this (pay-TV) business before, is now clawing its way back," Mr Fairweather said.

"I would be very happy to have a competitor if it was the ABC doing what they ought to be doing. But they should stick to their digital TV platform and not get into pay-TV."

Mr Carroll rejected the accusation that the ABC wanted a permanent home on pay-TV.

He said the deal for Austar and Optus to carry ABC digital channels was only a "transitional" arrangement until enough consumers gain access to the digital TV signal.

ABC Kids is showing many programs from the US and other countries, including shows from Nickelodeon, as well as repeats of its own locally produced shows such as Bananas in Pyjamas.

The pay-TV industry has circulated figures claiming nearly 80 per cent of ABC Kids programs are from overseas, a fact the ABC's Mr Carroll agreed with yesterday.

But Mr Carroll said 20 per cent Australian content was a good figure and the ABC hoped to achieve 30 per cent - on all its channels - if it won more government funding.


Foxtel awaits set-top box ruling


From http://australianit.news.com.au/common/storyPage/0,3811,2553537%5E442,00.html

PAY TV group Foxtel faces a crucial court decision today which will determine how much of its infrastructure is open to rivals.

As the pay TV industry becomes increasingly bogged down in legal argument, Foxtel will seek leave to appeal in the High Court against a ruling that allowed the Seven Network access to Foxtel's set-top boxes.

The Full Bench of the Federal Court ruled in August last year that Foxtel was a "carriage service provider" and must therefore provide competitors access to its analogue set-top boxes.

If leave is granted, Foxtel will have the matter heard in the High Court.

The decision, which is expected within an hour of the appeal beginning, will affect whether Foxtel upgrades its boxes to digital so it can offer interactive services.

A rejection would be a further disincentive to digitise, as Foxtel may then also have to provide access to digital boxes.

If the appeal succeeds, critics say TVs will be burdened by the boxes of individual providers.

Some were also expecting Foxtel to appeal against the Federal Court's decision forcing Telstra, which owns 50 per cent of Foxtel and the cable used to provide analogue pay TV services, to provide cable access to companies other than Foxtel.

The appeal comes as Seven prepares to launch a discovery action in the Federal Court against Foxtel, Publishing & Broadcasting, Telstra and others this month to determine if they used their market power to stymie its pay TV sports channel, C7.

Seven is seeking to learn whether those companies colluded and potentially breached the Trade Practices Act.

C7 is shown on the Austar and Optus Television services but faces an uncertain future as its rights to the AFL coverage expire at the end of this season.

That contract is expected to cover much of its costs, and Seven managing director of new media and investments Steve Wise admitted in his affidavit that C7 faced a precarious future.

Seven is also in mediation with Foxtel and Telstra over C7's access to Telstra's cable, stemming from the August court decision.

The parties were unable to reach agreement on C7 using the cable in time for the first sessions of the Ashes Test cricket series to be available on pay TV.

Seven blamed Telstra for not providing the necessary equipment, while Telstra said the responsibility for acquiring the equipment was Seven's.


Ten dumps stake in Southern Cross, eyes CanWest NZ


Ten Network has dumped its 14.4 per cent stake in regional affiliate Southern Cross Broadcasting in a possible precursor to acquiring CanWest's New Zealand television and radio assets.

Stockbroker Macquarie was last night offering Ten Group's 7.8 million Southern Cross shares to institutions in an auction that Ten hopes will raise about $95 million.

Based on the bottom end of the indicative price range of $11.75 and yesterday's close of $12.39, Ten stands to receive between $91.65 million and $96.6 million for its holding.

Market sources expected the bookbuild for the Southern Cross shares to close at $12. This is almost triple Ten's average entry price of $4.25 and a 3 per cent discount to the price at which Southern Cross last traded yesterday.

A spokesman for Ten said last night the company was not in a position to comment on the sale. It is understood, however, that Ten decided to sell its stake in Southern Cross to increase its financial flexibility ahead of future acquisitions.

Sources speculated that Ten could be cashing up to finally make the long-mooted play for CanWest Global Communications' television and radio assets in New Zealand.

CanWest holds a 57.5 per cent economic interest in Ten. The Canadian media company also owns two television stations in New Zealand and the main commercial radio network. It is estimated that Ten would have to pay about $150 million to acquire the Kiwi businesses.

Ten, however, is expected to focus on improving the performance of Eye Corp, its last acquisition, in the short term. Ten paid $189 million for a 60 per cent stake in the outdoor advertising business last December.

Crippled by inventory and management problems at a time when the advertising market is in decline, Eye Corp has failed to meet original projections of $130 million revenue and $40 million earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in its first year of operation.

Eye Corp is now not expected to achieve those forecasts until 2003 at the earliest.

Ten has held an interest in Southern Cross since 1994. Institutional investors approached about the bookbuild were told that Ten no longer considered the Southern Cross stake "strategic".

Southern Cross managing director Mr Tony Bell said Ten's decision to sell had been prompted by Southern Cross's $217 million takeover of Telecasters Australia. "With the consolidation of Southern Cross and Telecasters Australia they no longer place the same strategic importance on having a shareholding," said Mr Bell.

Southern Cross stock was worth $10.50 when it bid one share for each Telecasters share in early May. The timing of Ten's sale is seen as opportunistic, given that Southern Cross shares hit a record high of $13.60 in the aftermath of the Telecasters takeover.

Southern Cross owns television and radio stations around Australia. Following the acquisition of Telecasters, Southern Cross's television assets include Ten affiliates in Victoria, NSW and Queensland. In March it added to its stable of radio interests with the $90 million purchase of the 2UE, 4BC and Sky Radio stations from the Lamb family.

Ten shares closed unchanged at $1.86 yesterday.


From the what the Hell were they thinking column

Fijian TV Dumps Beeb For China


From http://www.newsroom.co.nz/story/59398-99999.html

A decision by Fiji's television channel to dump BBC World Service programming and replace it with cheaper Chinese television has angered viewers.

The Fiji Times reports viewers are disappointed, angry and highly critical of the decision.

Ten hours of BBC programming has been replaced by Chinese state television, CCTV, broadcast from Beijing.

One letter writer to the Fiji Times said "Fiji TV and the governments should unplug CCTV because it fails entirely to serve media demands in Fiji".

Fiji TV has defended its action by saying the BBC was too expensive.

The programme director, Richard Broadbridge, says China TV will not be phased out but there may be a programme mix with some Australian TV by December.

Only last week, the US State Department protested to China TV over its censoring of an interview with the visiting secretary of state, Colin Powell.


STAR set to take over Vijay TV


From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1249278709

BOMBAY: A year after turning its flagship channel from English to Hindi and grabbing the top slot in the Indian cable TV market, Rupert Murdoch's STAR Television is plunging into the nation's fast-growing regional language market.

STAR is taking control of Tamil language satellite broadcaster Vijay TV in league with Bombay-based content provider UTV to take aim at a leading southern Indian market, an industry source told Reuters on Wednesday.

STAR and UTV are expected to announce details of the deal at a news conference in Madras on Thursday, the source said.

Vijay TV, which is mainly watched in Tamil Nadu, is a laggard in the state's market, which is dominated by local player Sun TV, which consolidated on its early start.

Murdoch's News Corp has a 12 percent stake in UTV, which has proved to be a strategic ally for STAR in one of its fastest growing markets.

India has about 35 million cable TV homes.

The takeover of Vijay TV will be done through a joint venture in which UTV will hold a majority stake, the source said.

Officials from STAR India had earlier said the company was keen to tap into the vast potential of the regional language television market.

Regional language channels have mushroomed over the past two years in India, where some 16 regional languages are spoken outside of the main Hindi-speaking heartland in the north and central parts of the country.

Foreign broadcasters cannot hold more than 20 percent in Indian companies that beam their signals from Indian soil. Some companies target the Indian market by beaming their broadcasts from alternative centres, such as Singapore.


Multichoice to start OpenTV next March


From http://www.cabletoday.com/ic/996673980.html

Multichoice South Africa will introduce a comprehensive OpenTV-based interactive service on its digital platform next March.

Viewers will be able to send and receive e-mail, shop and play games on a television set. MIH, which owns Multichoice, says its iTV service could be extended to include online banking and a wider range of shopping facilities. According to local reports, Multichoice's South African digital business base has grown strongly by 30 per cent year-on-year, however, overall subscriber numbers in Africa have flattened as low margin analogue subscribers have churned.

MIH, via its Mindport subsidiary, is also the controlling shareholder of OpenTV, which declared strong Q2 results last week with revenues doubling year-on-year from $11.3m to $22.8m. Losses were also up, on a pro-forma basis, its net loss was $4.1 million for the quarter ended June 30 compared to a pro-forma net loss of $3.3 million for the same period last year.

At present, OpenTV says its software has been shipped with or installed in more than 16 million digital set-top boxes worldwide and has been selected by 44 digital cable, satellite and terrestrial communications networks in over 50 countries, including BSkyB in the UK; TPS and b in France; PrimaCom in Germany; Via Digital in Spain; Stream in Italy; DirecTV Latin America and Echostar's DISH Network.

MIH also owns a majority stakes in NetMed in Greece, Multichoice Egypt and has 'large' minority holdings in UBC Thailand. MIH/Mindport also owns Dutch based Irdeto Access encryption technology company.


Craigs comment , Multichoice is on PAS 10, Irdeto encrypted




9/8/01

Thought I should trim the page, last months History is up as well, I forgot to add the link to it at the end of last month I tweaked the dish a little to the West more I am not getting the H digitals yet. I can get all the V ones, except the Fec 7/8 ones the feed is still on LHC. So its nowhere near what the signals should be, Analogs are still around p3-p4 quality Sahara, PTV and Indus Vision all pretty good, no sign of Asia Plus or CETV or Urdu TV network.

On B3, Mediasat Occasional 1 is on Vpid 1360 Apid 1320 and new is Occasional 2 on Vpid 1460 Apid 1420

Sorry about the size and quality of this digital camera picture it was pouring down with rain and nearly dark when taken I will try to get some better ones when the suns out. But I should have the Photos developed and scanned in on the weekend they will be much better. I just put this up as proof. Its aiming at Asiasat 3 the feed not reachable unless the dish is brought right down to about Asiasat 2 or lower level!



From my Emails & ICQ


From Mada via ICQ

There is a small news about ABC kids, we talked to someone here in Perth, some local "boss" at ABC and He said, it will be on for a long time on B1, because this is the feed for ABC-s digital service and if we lucky, SBS will do the same thing. the guy told us, it will stay fta, but there is a bad news to, maybe ABC NT will go off air soon, because they can use the cable now.


From the Dish


Intelsat 702 176E 4027 L "RFO Polynesie" has left (Can someone double check this?).

Optus B3 156E 12336 V "Msat Occasional 2" is on Vpid 1460 Apid 1420

Apstar 1A 134E 3820 V CETV SD is still here.

Palapa C2 113E All channels in the MMBN package on 3760 H and 4000 H are now encrypted.
Palapa C2 113E All channels in the MMBN package on 10972 V, 11008 V and 11132 V are now encrypted.

Sinosat 1 110.5E 3706 V "MTV" has started testing , Sr 2168, Fec 3/4, Vpid 41 Apid 42

Asiasat 3 105.5E 12595 H "Macau Five Star Satellite TV" has started, Irdeto, SID 3, Vpid 750 Apid 751. (Yes this one can be recieved in Australia)

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3951 H "Macau Five Star Satellite TV" has started, Irdeto, SID 3, Vpid 750 Apid 751.

Intelsat 801 64E AFN News and AFN Sports have replaced NewSports on 4080 L,PowerVu,


NEWS


TelstraSaturn’s Long Term Future In Doubt


From http://www.spectrum.net.nz

By : Abe Orchard

Dow Jones has reported a more regulated New Zealand telecommunications market, poor performance at Austar in Australia and the slow rollout of TelstraSaturn’s Auckland network as reasons why TelstraSaturn is shelving its DHS service.

At the same time the Australian Financial Review reported that similar problems may cause TelstraSaturn’s infrastructure rollout across 65% of New Zealand to be rolled back and the sale of Austar’s share in the 50-50 joint venture to Telstra as the pay television company faces pressure in its home market.

Austar chief executive John Porter told the Australian Financial Review that Austar remained committed to the business but that moving Austar to a cash flow-positive situation was a priority. He said profitable growth rather than growth for growth's sake was the key.

?We are focused on bringing the business to profitability as quickly as possible, whether it is through ruthless execution of its business strategy or potentially through other transactions in the marketplace.

?I think it (the NZ business) is worth $A1 per share to the Austar stock price. No one is going to stand up tomorrow and offer us $A1 for a share for our half, so the challenge is to continue to execute.''

Austar has recently reported a string of bad results. Last week it reported negative operating cash flows of $A35 million ($NZ44 million) for the June quarter, increasing outflows for the first six months of the year to $A64 million on revenue of $A190 million.

Australian Telecommunications Conultant Paul Budde said in a report released yesterday TelstraSaturn's decision too drop the DHS joint venture with TVNZ indicated that the company was facing difficulties. “The current move by TelstraSaturn to quit their national satellite service could be seen as a small victory for Telecom,”

The satellite joint venture with TVNZ would have gone head-to-head with Sky and TV3 in a way that the company had previously avoided. TelstraSaturn already has a resale agreement for the Sky satellite product signed which has never been used. The company has in the past sought to resell Sky channels on the Saturn cable services since it began its first major expansion in Wellington and before Sky had developed its DHS service.

Telecom’s 12.1 percent holding in Sky will now limit any attempt of TelstraSaturns partnering with Sky. Telecom’s relationship with Sky and INL, its major shareholder, is seen as less than perfect. Both Sky and INL have viewed Telecom as being aggressive in its acquisition. However, Telecom was forced to take the shareholding to secure resale and packaging agreements because of reluctance on the part of Sky to become involved with the telecommunications company.

Budde is picking recent comments from TelstraSaturn as indicative a return of Telstra’s plan of focusing on the business market. Budde said TelstraSaturn’s “vision of a nationwide residential broadband network is fading''.

With the prospect of a second telecommunications infrastructure decreasing and open access requirements being introduced Sky may be dragged into regulation that will force it to allow other providers to deliver services over its DHS platform at regulated prices. Without the competitive satellite service from Television New Zealand or a signal from BCL and TV3 that digital territorial is on its way further pressure may be put on the company to provide more open access.

The Ministerial Inquiry Into Telecommunications released in October last year found Sky's conditional access systems should be specified to allow a industry forum to develop a code to prevent any foreclosure of competition. This was a lower level of regulation that did not include the price regulation that the inquiry proposed for Telecom’s lines network.

Mr Budde said competition in the New Zealand communications market won't properly develop until “competition between networks'' is replaced with “competition between services over networks''.

However neither Austar in Australian nor Clear Communications in New Zealand were ever very successful in the reseller model. Most of Austar’s television and Internet products are delivered over others’ networks. Budde, having laid at least part of the blame on Austar’s problems in its domestic market, suggests a change of strategy in New Zealand may solve its problems. This may simply create a messy debt problem as the company renegotiates banking-agreements as well long-term profitability problems similar to those of Clear Communications.

With the exception of Wellington and Christchurch suburban networks, TelstraSaturn have to-date spent a considerable amount of their money on the already heavily competitive central city areas. These networks compete for business with Telecom, Clear and United Networks and other providers.

But a sale to Telstra would be unlikely to allow TelstraSaturn to continue its network rollout plans. Budde said: “Profitability is years away and the New Zealand market is small and not strategically significant for Telstra. Its partner Austar has enough financial problems of its own, so it is highly unlikely that they will be interested in deeper investments''.




8/8/01

Sorry the page is a little small and delayed but its better than nothing right? Lets hear some more Pas 10 reception reports, if I can get Asiasat 3 through my car shed have a go at Pas 10 you never know your luck..

A very late night edition of Apsattv, because about 4 P.M today an Analogue receiver arrived donated to me by Bob Cooper. Had it plugged in and hooked up within 5 minutes of it arriving. The dish had been left so it could swing left or right because yesterday we put guy wires on the pole to keep it a bit more stable. I swung the dish and set the unit to 3840 (pol didn't matter as I didn't connect the feed up yet, then I went outside and through the window could watch the tv. A swung it right and up flicked a framebar and I had the signal I had found Palapa C2 (DAMN FLUKE) a coloured mess was on screen but I had no idea how to get the pic I still thought i wasn't quite there somehow, so when someone arrived home to help we try to move the dish up/down a bit we ended up actually dropping it down because it got to dark to continue. So I thought well thats Pal C2 if we are lower lets see if Asiasat 3 or 2 are about (Asiasat 2 the lowest satellite in our skys) So I set the unit at 4020 V and swung it west furthur and once again i got the coloured mess on screen so I went in and studied the unit then I notice on the back a switch that inverts the video ah lets see what that does. Oh look theres the picture. I can manage most of the analogues about P3, P4 thats without having done anything like set declination, and all that other special stuff. The main problem where I am losing a lot of signal is the dish is pointing at the car shed and a bush in front of it. To top it off the ADL feed I thinks still set on LHC which adds a lot of loss. I plugged the Nokia in and I can get a few to lock like the FTA Zee's and Sabe. Oh well a good start the rest of the satellite arc should be clear for me! before I wasn't quite sure where the satellites were. Pictures tommorow hopefully I am getting hold of a digital camera.

GOOD news in the news section about Star Sports Asia!

DVB2000 BETA 4 is out on schedule , A beta a day like I suggested

Sorry about the chatroom last night, Ihug lost international service so I couldn't get back in for an hour and most were gone by then.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Hans Spitaler

Hi Craig

Some time ago, someone on the message forums, was talking about building a pulse unit for operating polarotor skew. I've just had a look but I can't find the message. (deleted?)

Not a lot of receivers seem to have this feature any more. According to Satfacts polarotors are not being made any more. (?!)

I've got a ADL RP3 C/Ku still sitting in a box, been meaning to put it up, my Satcruiser 201P has the skew facility although the Humax that I use in a different location doesn't have the skew feature. I would also be interested in a circuit to perform the skew pulse.

Can you post it on your site in case someone knows of a circuit or ready made unit to perform this task?

cheers

Hans (Canberra)


From "ANON"

Hi Craig,
Here are my details regarding reception of Pas10 from Melbourne.

2.3mesh Cband LNBF and a 3 in 1 manhatten receiver.

Able to view:

1) 3716V, 3744V, 3836V and 3863V all multichoice africa 55% on the strength bar.
2) 3730H registers 75% on the strength bar (the best reception)
3) 3974H registers 55% on the strength bar
4) 4034V registers 60% on the strength bar
5) 4154H registers 60% on the strength bar
6) all the analogues but lots of noise

Can't get any of the others.


From David Leach

RE: PAS 10

Dear Craig,

hi we are seeing it here not very clear but visable ,

regards
david

NSW Australia


From Raj

Anyone from South Australia, in particular Adelaide getting the PAS10
signals?? If yes, then whats the signal strength like???

Thanks,
Raj


From the Dish


There is no Lyngsat update, wait untill tommorow!


NEWS


ESPN Star Sports splits Asian telecast beam


From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k1/aug/aug16.htm

The sports television juggernaut rolls on. Come 15 August 2001, ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) broadcaster is going to launch two new services Star Sports Southeast Asia and Star Sports Asia. The channels - an outcome of a repackaging exercise of its Star Sports service will take the number of feeds it has in Asia to eight, reveals an ESS Press Release.

Southeast Asian sports fans earlier shared a Star Sports feed with their North Asian counterparts, which carried a combination of English and Mandarin commentary, graphics, presentation and programming. With the introduction of the new feed, the service has been split, to better cater to the specific sports and language preferences of the two regions. The presentation, graphics and packaging of the televised sports will reflect these changes.

Star Sports Southeast Asia will continue as an encrypted service broadcasting 24-hours-a-day and seven-days-a-week. It is targeted at the Southeast Asian viewer and incorporates his/her viewing habits and preferences which includes soccer, Formula One motor racing, tennis and golf programming. The service will be available Asia-wide in English.

Star Sports Asia will be a free-to-air service, but will have programming around basketball, billiards/pool/snooker, baseball and bowling, which are popular among North Asian sports fans. Star Sports Asia will be available in China and Chinese Taipei, broadcast in Mandarin.

"This is part of our on-going customisation strategy, designed to bring our brands closer to our viewers," says ESS managing director Rik Dovey. "Localisation sends the message that we are listening and catering to viewership needs. Content is tailored to the culture, language and viewing habits of the region. Audiences want relevant content and familiarity."

Dovey adds that the two new feeds will function as even more efficient media for advertisers wanting to target specific audiences. "We have already done this in India and Taiwan and the returns in respect of brand equity and consumer loyalty are very apparent. Viewers get to see more of what they want, platforms are better able to sell our channel and advertisers can target their audience more efficiently, eliminating wastage It is a win-win situation for viewers, platform operators and advertisers," he says.


SingTel selects Pace for Singapore iTV trial


From http://www.365broadcast.com/editorial/current/0708B002.shtml

Asian telecommunications company, SingTel, has deployed Pace Micro Technology's internet protocol television (IPTV) set-top boxes for interactive TV services (iTV) on its ADSL copper wire network in Singapore.

The deployment is part of an extensive trial of multichannel digital TV, video-on-demand (VOD) and broadband interactive entertainment services.

Pace's DSL4000 set-top box is being deployed in some 300 households in the Ang Mo Kio, Bishan and Thompson areas of Singapore. The trial is part of SingTel's strategy to explore opportunities for a full-scale commercial deployment of iTV, with a potential roll-out as early as 2002.

It also marks the first full range deployment of triple-play IPTV services in Asia, as Pace's technology will enable SingTel to add iTV to its existing telephony and internet services.

In addition to VOD services and multichannel digital TV, Pace's IPTV technology will provide a host of interactive TV services including email and Internet access, gaming, home shopping and the provision of information services. Additional services such as enhanced TV, targeted advertising and educational services will also be introduced at a later stage of the trial.

Pace has also customised its IPTV set-top box, specifically for the trial, to include a three-language menu system using both English and Chinese characters.

Pace's DSL4000 technology is the company's fourth generation IPTV set-top box. It has already been deployed by operators worldwide including Kingston Communications in England, for one of the world's first commercial applications of payTV services on an ADSL network, and for Canadian telecom operator, Aliant.

"The worldwide IPTV market is growing rapidly and presenting exciting new revenue-generating opportunities for telecommunication companies to exploit," said Andrew Clifforth, managing director, IPTV. "Pace is fully committed to developing IPTV technology solutions that have already and will continue to, enable telcos around the world to fully capitalise on its potential.

"Pace's agreement with SingTel is particularly significant since Asia is one of the most important future markets for IPTV," he added. "Once again, Pace is in at the very beginning, working closely with SingTel, to use its technological knowledge, expertise and foresight to ensure the telco is able to deliver high quality interactive television services."




7/8/01

Livechat tonight in the chatroom tonight 8.30pm Syd time onwards, or 9.30pm NZ

Some Pas 10 reports today, we need more!! especially from those in locations other than Western Australia!

No work done on my dish today as its raining, I have to work out how to hook up the ADL Cp400 Cband feed the Nokia dosn't have skew control and I dont have a positioner for it either. I am looking at the Vbox as a temp solution untill I get a new receiver with Positioner built in. The Nokia dosn't have the Skew connections either for the Polar roter to connect to. So a bit stuck at the moment. Send me your ideas if you have some solutions!

New DVB2000 Beta 3 released, this usually happens after a major release it wouldn't surprise me if we got a new version each day this week so hold off upgrading unless you are having trouble. I have the new version running it's mostly the graphics and fonts they have upgraded but I notice a few new menu items. The E.P.G look good but I feel the channels list font is to small I think they should run it across the screen and split it into Dual Columns and make it bigger. The channel change is a pain as well having to hit ok before it will change I read they had to do this due to extra cpu usage. I think they are better off to split that channels list (who wants to scroll through 2000 or so possible channels) would rather see it list by satellite, like a dir tree listing in windows explorer. In fact I am going to suggest it on the ideas board.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Zapara in W.A

Hi Craig.


Here are my signal strength reports for the various Digital Services on Pas10 as requested. I was never able to receive any of these services before.

The reference receiver is a Humax 5400 and a 3mt KTI Mesh, ADL RP3 C band Feed and Calamp 17deg LNB.

These signal strength can only be used as a rough reference as different Receiver/LNB combinations may report different numbers on the same service at the same location. but as Humax is a popular receiver it was felt that this would do..


17% is cutoff no signal on my Humax 5400 receiver.

Doordarshan 4034V 71%
NHK 3730H 60%
B4U 3812/3836H 40%
Sony Ent TV, 3932H 44% (Sorry Craig heard the cricket in this, but it is all encrypt)
CCTV 4090H 20%
Multichoice 3716/3744/3836/3863V 44%
Turner Int 3974H 71%
MOU 3932V 18%
Nickelodeon 4154V 80%
Discovery 3799v 70%

I hope that is what you wanted, after minor peaking of the Feed/LNB, I now get all Analog services P5.

We ran a spectrum over the KU side using a 2.4my Hydro, we could see small spikes but defiantly to low for us here on the West Coast.

Zapara


From Jason

Hi Craig

Pas 10 report from Perth using a 2.3m mesh dish with dual C/ku feed
and a Phoenix 333 receiver.

All analogue channels are about a P4 except BBC World which requires
threshold extension to be a P4 otherwise its a P3.

Not all digital channels can be received.
NHK is about 35% and Nickelodeon is about 50%.


Regards
Jason


From George in Thailand

Hi Craig

This is me again from the far east
PAS 10 is great! worth the wait!

These are the channels I can recieve with a 8ft dish movable
3730 H NHK Sr 26470
3812 H B4U Sr 6620
3932 H Maharishi Sr 20000
4034 V Doordashan Sr 19565
4154 V DD News
4182 V BBC

Before I could not get any Vertical transponders now I finnaly can get the
Doordashan Mux
Also is it true that BBC on PAS 10 will encrypt?

CNN will surely encrypt on Palapa C2 on the 15 this month
how will we watch CNN now

I guess BBC on PAS 2 is an option

Anymore news plase tell me

Thanks
GEORGE
THAILAND


From the Dish


Nothing to report today!


NEWS


ESPN Star Sports back in Hong Kong after deal with Cable TV


From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k1/aug/aug13.htm

ESPN Star Sports (ESS) and Hong Kong pay-TV operator Cable TV have reached an agreement for non-exclusive distribution of ESPN and Star Sports channels in Hong Kong, a company release says.

With news of the agreement comes confirmation that the multiple-year contract will include broadcast rights for full soccer coverage of the English Premier League.

Announcing the conclusion of the contract with Cable TV, ESS managing director Rik Dovey said: "We're thrilled to have arrived at this agreement with Cable TV and to being back in the territory (Hong Kong). This agreement between ESS and Cable TV represents a renewed commitment and partnership, and together we look forward to bringing viewers in Hong Kong the best sports television including the English Premier League which kicks off in two weeks."

Dovey said that the agreement was timely as it ensured that viewers in Hong Kong did not miss out on the expanded coverage of the upcoming EPL season, which includes a record five live matches a week on ESPN and Star Sports. Live broadcast of these matches will not be seen on local free-to-air terrestrial television.

On 15 August, ESS will also launch its new encrypted South-East Asia feed for Star Sports. The feed, which is based on viewing habits and preferences of viewers from this region, is customised in both programming and presentation to deliver sports popular with Hong Kong audiences.


CNBC Asia launches SMS service


From http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k1/aug/aug14.htm

Business news network CNBC Asia has incorporated cellular phone short message service (SMS) into its programming. Viewers can now send questions and comments to analysts, market watchers, corporate personalities, and CNBC anchors directly via SMS and get the responses live on air.

The network says this will allow it to become more interactive with and accessible to viewers across the region, as well as gain valuable viewer feedback.

Queried whether the service would also be incorporated in CNBC India, CEO Haresh Chawla said there were no immediate plans in that direction. "We will be studying the response to CNBC Asia's service before taking a call on that," Chawla said.

CNBC India is a joint venture between Television Eighteen India Limited (TV18) and CNBC Asia. Raghav Bahl is the promoter of TV18 and holds 49 per cent stake in CNBC India. CNBC Asia holds a majority 51 per cent stake.


DD bids Rs 2 cr for Afro-Asian Games rights


From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010807/con6.html

Telecast rights for the first Afro-Asian Games have not been allotted to any broadcaster yet, with less than three months to go for the event. Reason: the games, to be held in New Delhi from November 3 onwards, have failed to attract good offers for the telecast rights.

The games will be held in eight disciplines with participation from 90-odd countries in Asia and Africa.

Doordarshan (DD) is the sole broadcaster so far to have offered to buy the telecast rights of the games. The DD has offered to pay a total of just Rs 2 crore for both domestic and international telecast rights.


News Corp's NDS profits ride pay-TV surge


From http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/010806/l06415962_2.html

NDS, the pay-TV systems developer owned by News Corp., rode a surge in global pay TV subscribers to post a 69 percent jump in full-year operating profit on Monday but showed signs of slowdown in the final quarter.

News Digital Systems (NDS) Chief Executive Abe Peled said the UK-based company was nevertheless well on track to reach its target of 25-30 percent operating profit growth in the coming years and was on the hunt for further acquisitions.

Rupert Murdoch's vision to extend interactive TV around the world is expected to boost NDS' fortunes but the media mogul has been distracted recently by lengthy talks to bring U.S. satellite TV leader DirecTV (NYSE:GMH - news) into his News Corp empire.

NDS, part of News Corp's Sky Global satellite TV network, provides software for Murdoch's other global satellite TV operations including Britain's leading pay-TV operator BSkyB (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BSY.L). However, NDS is increasingly drawing customers from outside and News Corp now accounts for only 40 percent of sales.

Indeed, NDS has separately won the DirecTV account across the United States and Latin America -- a move which would make a deal between News Corp and DirecTV easier. But uncertainly over DirecTV's future has capped NDS' stock and the outlook clouded further on Monday as a rival bidder, Echostar (NasdaqNM:DISH - news), emerged.

NDS shares, quoted on Nasdaq and Nasdaq Europe, were three percent down at $33.9 at 1630 GMT. NDS has a total market value of around $2.0 billion but its shares are only lightly traded with the 20 percent on the market held largely by large funds.

NDS reported a 28 percent rise in fourth quarter operating profit to 11.9 million pounds ($16.9 million), taking the full-year figure to 25.8 million pounds. Conditional access revenues, which make up more than 60 percent of the total, saw a small fall in the last quarter as smart card volumes declined.

ROOM FOR GROWTH

``Just 50 million of the world's one billion TV households have digital TV and that leaves substantial room for growth,'' Peled told Reuters in an interview. ``Our business plan objective is to increase revenues by 15-20 percent each year''.

Peled said the delay of Cablevision Systems Corp's (NYSE:CVC - news) digital set-top boxes until the fall had impacted the group in the fourth quarter along with the general economic downturn.

NDS full-year revenues rose 35 percent to 215.6 million pounds as 24.5 million set-top boxes used NDS software worldwide by end June, compared to 18.5 million this time last year.

NDS provides ``conditional access'' software, which controls access to pay-television, interactive television and Internet services. Peled said one of the most buoyant markets right now was Asia, where the company has won a number of new accounts.

Having acquired betting software developer Orbis for 15 million pounds last year, Peled said he was looking for further European acquisitions in conditional access and software.

``In the area of conditional access, there are six providers in Europe and I'm sure there won't be six in five years time. We have no specific plans for an acquisition right now but we would finance any move by raising money in the markets,'' Peled said.

By 2004, NDS aims to draw 20 percent of revenues from new technologies including interactive TV, from seven percent now. New technologies offset the fall in conditional access revenues in the last quarter, as sales doubled to 5.6 million pounds.

In the final quarter of last year, NDS' net profit rose seven percent to 7.2 million pounds. Full-year cash earnings per share almost doubled to 61.1 pence.




6/8/01

PAS 10 at 68.5E Cband has been switched on lets hear some reports! please state location, dish size and signal strength

I have not had time to even look at my big dish yet today so no more progress with that.

DVB2000 new version 2 Beta has been released ! I havn't put it on yet..

http://www.dominance.net/overflow/download/dvb2000beta02.zip


From my Emails & ICQ


From Alex in Perth first reception of Pas 10 cband

Well the signals keep booming in,

besides the analog mentioned the following Digital can be received. Digital of Pas 10

3716 V Multichoice
3743 V Multichoice
3730 H NHK
3812 H B4U
3932 H SONY ENT
4090 H CCTV
4154H NICKELODEON

Analogue, All P5

Sony
Mtv
BBC World
Dordashan


From Chris Pickstock

Monday 6/8/01 B1, 12326 H Sr 6980 "Soccer"


Looks like seven aside soccer. Non English commentary so I do not know who is playing. Game is played on a small pitch, looks like astroturf or similar. I haven't seen a feed of this before, perhaps it is an important European competition.

Chris


From David Leach

Craig, Mrtv 3 has started on 3676 H Sr 5576 3/4 fta (Thaicom 3) , look angle here around 5degrees in elevation


Craigs Comment, look in the News section there is an item about it.


From the Dish


Pas 2 169E 3945 H "Fox news feed" Sr 27682

Superbird 162E (This satellite not in use much but some activity reported, beams are on Japan may make it to other parts of Asia)

Superbird 162E 12277 V "Mystery" Sr 6145 Fec 3/4
Superbird 162E 12295 V "Mystery" Sr 6145 Fec 3/4
Superbird 162E 12426 V "Mystery" Sr 4107 Fec 3/4
Superbird 162E 12458 V "Mystery" Sr 4107 Fec 3/4

Palapa C2 113E 10972 V "Tzu Chi TV and STV-MTV" are now encrypted.

Asiasat 2 100.5E Dubai EDTV Eurpe and Dubai Sports Channel Europe on 3660 V (MPEG-2) have teletext: Gulfax

Pas 10 68.5E All C band capacity on PAS 4 has switched to PAS 10, same frequencies and parameters as before, except below ( Reception reports needed from this one please!).

Pas 10 68.5E A new mux has started on 3836 H, Sr 19850, Fec 7/8, SIDs 101-106,
PIDs 2160/2120-2660/2620, line-up: BBC World (enc.), ARY Digital,
occasional feeds, B4U Music, B4U Entertainment and a test card.

The Turner International-India mux with Cartoon Network Middle East,
HBO India and CNN International India has moved from 4114 H to 3974 H,
MPEG-2/PowerVu, SR 19500, FEC 3/4, PIDs 1160/1120-1460/1420.


NEWS


SBS to run digital TV for ethnic teenagers


From http://www.smh.com.au/news/0108/06/national/national3.html

SBS will launch a digital television channel for teenagers from multicultural backgrounds, arguing their special viewing needs have been neglected.

Just days after the ABC started broadcasting on its new digital channel, ABC Kids, its fellow public broadcaster, SBS, has revealed its plans for the new station.

It is negotiating with pay-TV operators Foxtel and Optus to carry the channel, which would give it a much wider audience reach than only broadcasting in digital format. ABC Kids can be viewed on Optus, with Austar to shortly follow. Few Australians have the set-top boxes needed to view digital television.

While ABC Kids targets young children, SBS managing director Mr Nigel Milan said his new channel would attract young people with multicultural backgrounds, from their early teens to early 20s.

"Often they face a whole range of issues," Mr Milan said. "A lot of them are in a mixed marriage - in terms of mixed racial marriages - and there's intergenerational cultural issues."

He said the channel would appeal to teens who might have lost their parents' first language, but were still interested in their cultural backgrounds.

"Mum and Dad left Poland in the '50s and their cultural mindset is what Poland was like then. Of course, had they stayed in the same country they would have changed with the times, but often the way their kids are disciplined, and their [parents'] expectations, were of the old country. So there are social issues there."

Even without extra Government funding, Mr Milan hopes to launch the channel in the first half of next year. Programs would be akin to the SBS's interactive issue-based Web site, Whatever, and "off-beat" youth programs like the music show Alchemy.

Younger SBS staff and some "outsiders" had their heads down developing program ideas for the channel, Mr Milan said.

"The primary function will be a completely new approach. Whether that involves a re-use of some material on the existing channel, I wouldn't want to call just yet. It's more likely that we would be utilising product that we are using on the Web."

Although market penetration of digital was very low, Mr Milan said he was reluctant to divert resources from existing "mainstream brands and projects".

The ABC has its own plans for a second youth digital channel this year. But just how many households are equipped with digital technology, launched in Australia at the beginning of the year, is questionable.

Manufacturers such as Thomson Multimedia estimate at least 10,000 set-top boxes, which cost $699, have been distributed.

Those on the broadcasting side of digital, however, say such figures are inflated. The ABC's head of digital TV, Mr Ian Carroll, did not expect digital television to "make major inroads" for some time, but added: "In a decade we won't be talking about digital - it will just be television, and people will change to digital as they changed to TV.

"At what point ... is [it] sufficiently available worldwide to bring the prices down to the point where digital is only a limited increase on what you pay for analog?"


Pay TV lines up for racing


From http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,2517570%255E462,00.html

PAY TV companies Foxtel and Optus Television have reached an in-principle agreement in which they are expected to pay millions a year to the NSW TAB for access to its Sky Racing channel.

But the regional pay TV group Austar is holding out, sparking a dispute which is headed for the courts.

Sky Racing last week exercised an option to place the channel on a tier package rather than the current basic service.

That would have forced consumers to pay up to $15 for the channel and may have prompted those who subscribe only for the racing channel to disconnect.

Consequently, Foxtel and Optus have agreed to make undisclosed payments to Sky so the channel can remain in their basic packages.

Austar and Sky Racing are in dispute as Austar does not believe Sky has exercised its option validly. Nevertheless, Austar continues to receive the channel.

Negotiations over whether to pay for the channel have continued throughout the year. The pay TV companies argue that charging consumers would reduce Sky's viewing numbers.

NSW TAB chief executive Warren Wilson told The Australian the in-principle agreement had been reached but negotiations were continuing on the provision of interactive pay TV services.

There are two parts to those negotiations. The first relates to the pay TV companies collecting the bets on Sky Racing's behalf, for which they would receive a commission.

The other relates to extra interactive services Sky Racing could provide and whether it charged for those upfront or entered a revenue-sharing deal with the pay TV networks.

Mr Wilson said Sky Racing already offered betting on 27 sports and those services could be incorporated into pay TV. The decision by Foxtel and Optus to pay for the channel is expected to enhance Sky Racing's finances substantially.

In 2000 it achieved earnings before interest and tax of $17.4 million on revenue of $86.4 million, all of which was earned from broadcasting its signal to pubs, clubs and totes.

Some have suggested the pay TV companies are paying a combined $12 million a year but this was conditional on their being able to share betting revenues.

Interactive services can only be provided on Foxtel if it digitises its network but Optus is already trialling interactive services.

Mr Wilson expects a final agreement to be reached within eight to 12 weeks.

A Foxtel spokesman was unavailable and an Optus spokeswoman would not comment, saying any payments were commercially confidential.


Phoenix Gets License In Taiwan


From satnewsasia.com

Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television said it should start airing programs in Taiwan this month under a license from Taiwan’s broadcast authorities.

Phoenix is a sister company of Rupert Murdoch's Star TV and share the same satellite (AsiaSat 3S) for broadcasting TV programs throughout Asia. In mainland China, Phoenix beams three popular channels in Mandarin: the Chinese Channel, Movies Channel and CNE Channel.

With the new license, Phoenix believes it could reach about 41 million households in China, eight million of which are in the southern Guangdong province.

The announcement comes on the wake of moves by China’s State Administration of Radio, Film & Television (SARFT) to place foreign satellite TV channels under its administration for unified release by one central platform. SARFT wants to move all foreign satellite TV operators to one transmission platform for easier administration.

Phoenix dismissed reports in Taiwan’s media that say it will be hurt by China's plan to bring all satellite television channels under a single broadcasting platform. It said the SARFT plan has yet to be finalized and that it is too early to speculate about proposal's impact.

It intends to charge fees amounting to US$400,000 per channel fees under its planned consolidated broadcasting platform.

Phoenix CEO Liu Changle, a retired general in China’s People’s Liberation Army, considers the amount expensive when compared with current fees of US$20,000 per channel.

Phoenix said SARFT through its agent, China International TV Corporation (CITV), began discussing with foreign satellite TV operators the enforcement of a unified platform for satellite TV broadcasting two weeks ago.

SARFT is widely expected to issue a proposal regarding the implementation of the unified platform plan by October.


Indonesia's Telkom to Replace Satellite With Fiber-Optic Cables


From satnewsasia.com

PT Telkom plans to replace its satellite network with fiber optic cables by 2010 to meet the growing demand for data transmission.

The company, Indonesia’s telecoms monopoly, said that satellite was not ideal because of time delays as long as 800 milliseconds compared to fiber optic’s time delay of 400 milliseconds maximum.

It believes that fiber optic technology would ultimately be cheaper despite the initial high cost. Telkom said it is spending US$179.4 million in 2001 to upgrade its infrastructure.

Parts of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java had already been upgraded with fiber optic technology.

Demand for data transmission is expected to greatly increase and the need for seamless transmission will become more and more important.

Telkom plans to link major Indonesian islands with fiber-optic cables to meet growing demand for seamless data transmission.


HK Pacific Digital Meets Govt To Explain Pay-TV Svc Delay


From satnewsasia.com

Pay TV operator Pacific Digital Media (HK) Corporation (PDMHK) said it had explained to the Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority the reasons for the delay in launching its pay TV service in Hong Kong.

PDMHK said the major cause of the delay were changes in the shareholding structure of its parent company in Taiwan. PDMHK, however, has not set a new date to launch the service. It was due to launch services August 23.

PDMHK is one of the three remaining pay TV license holders. The others are Television Broadcasts Ltd., a subsidiary Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting and the formerly British-based Yes Television Asia, now part of CLP Holdings Ltd.

News Corporation’s Star TV pulled out of the market last December. Its withdrawal was followed by the pullout of Hong Kong Network TV last March

Pacific Digital Media Taiwan, which holds 100% in PDMHK, is in the process of merging with cable service and uplink service provider ETDTH. The merger is expected to be completed before the end of August.


T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 31/2001 - August 5 2001 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by Tele Satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition



U.S.A


GOLF CHANNEL TO SURPASS 40 MILLION SUBSCRIBER MARK

The Golf Channel estimated that it will cross the 40 million-subscriber
threshold by the fourth quarter. Network officials said carriage pacts with
such operators as Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications Inc., Cox
Communications Inc., AT&T Broadband and the National Cable Television
Cooperative Inc. put Golf on pace to hit the 40 million mark in September. A
company spokesman said the network is nearing deals with two other MSOs. With
those accords and existing distribution deals, Golf could approach 50 million
homes by year’s end.


DIRECTV HITS OUT AGAINST PIRATES

DirecTV is striking another blow in the battle to stop illegal use of its
service. The company is preparing to sue and seek punitive damages from
individuals who access DirecTV’s broadcast programming signal through illegal
access cards purchased from hackers. The company’s campaign includes mailing
strongly worded letters to an estimated 100,000 people DirecTV suspects of
illegally accessing its service. The first batch was mailed in June. The list
of individuals targeted by the letters was compiled from records the company
seized from hackers or companies DirecTV has sued. A sample letter obtained by
The Associated Press warns a person that to gain illegal access to DirecTV’s
programming violates federal and state laws and “subjects you to statutory
damages of up to $10,000 per violation.” The letter allows the end user to
escape prosecution if he or she agrees to immediately surrender all equipment
used to illegally access DirecTV’s signal, never again purchase such devices,
buy a one-year contract to legally receive the satellite signal, pay $500 in
restitution to DirecTV and provide the company with information on how the
pirate equipment was purchased.


CHILE


PIRATES TARGET SKY CHILE

The success of Sky, which saw subscriptions rise over 145 percent from 1999 to
2000, has led to a wave of pirates who now cost the company in Chile an
estimated $8 million a year, said Sky Chile president Alvaro Rudolphy in an
interview with Chilean paper El Mercurio. Pirates are using several techniques
to access the expensive satellite service which often costs $50 per month. In
some cases they sell modified computer cards that allow for a fuller range of
services that could include both the Premium signals in Chile and in some cases
a wide host of signals sent by Sky from Miami. Prices range from $50 to $500
for the entire package. Both Sky and competitor VTR (DirectTV) have recently
decided to change all the chips in Chile which should allow the companies to
disconnect illegal hookups.

(Craigs comment, Videoguard is what they use)



A S I A



EXTREME SPORTS IN SHOWTIME PACKAGE

DTH subscribers across the Middle East and North Africa region will be able to
pick up the Extreme Sports Channel, after a carriage deal with pay-TV platform
Showtime. The channel is broadcast as part of Showtime’s Sports Plus package.
The pan-regional pay-TV satellite bouquet reaches homes in 22 territories in
the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the
UAE, carried by the Egyptian-owned Nilesat satellite. The channel, jointly
owned by UPCtv and the Extreme Group, offers round-the-clock sports such as
snowboarding, mountain biking, beach wing riding, skydiving and snowboarding
plus youth lifestyle shows.


AUSTRALIA


ABC KIDS LAUNCHES

On August 1, Australia’s first exclusively digital television channel, ABC Kids
has decided to challenge pay-TV favourites such as Nickelodeon and the Disney
Channel. Available at the outset only to pay-TV subscribers, ABC Kids will run
from 06:00 to 18:00, seven days a week. ABC Kids will soon be available in
regional areas as well, via Austar. Another digital channel, Fly, aimed at
older teens and early 20s, is still under development and is expected to be
launched later this year.


CHINA - HONG KONG


STAR SIGNS LOCAL CABLE DEALS

Local cable network Cable TV has reached a nonexclusive agreement to carry four
new channels from News Corp.’s STAR. The channels, which will join the National
Geographic Channel that is already aired on the network, are ESPN, STAR Sports,
STAR Movies International and the Phoenix Infonews Channel, the last of which
is expected to start in early 2002. All other channels will bow the middle of
this month.


INDIA


ZEE TO RELAUNCH REGIONAL CHANNELS

Indian national broadcaster Zee Telefilms will take control of the remaining
channels it runs in association with regional outfit Asianet in August. Asianet
Kavereree and Tamil language Asianet Bharati will be relaunched as Alpha
Kannada and Alpha Tamil respectively when Zee assumes control.


MYANMAR


MRTV LAUNCHES GLOBAL SERVICE

Myanmar [Burma] Radio and Television is launching a new channel MRTV 3 and the
satellite footprint is capable of carrying the beam right into the homes of
prospective viewers in some 120 countries. From August 4, the trial broadcasts
will air three times a day - at 13:00, 18:00 and 23:00 on Saturdays and
Sundays. The technical data are as follows: satellite Thaicom-3 (78.5 East),
global beam, frequency 3675.5 MHz, symbol rate 5.787234 M Syn/sec, FEC ¾,
horizontal polarisation.


NEW ZEALAND


SKY SIGNS DEAL WITH OUTSIDE BROADCASTER

Sky Television on July 27 confirmed that it had signed a five-year outside
broadcasting contract with On Site Broadcasting. The Business Herald reported
that a deal between the two companies was close. It follows Sky’s decision not
to renew a contract with Television New Zealand subsidiary Moving Pictures.


SETBACK FOR DIGITAL TV PLANS

Television New Zealand said its digital TV service won’t be jeopardised by the
decision of its telecommunications partner, TelstraSaturn, to try to strike a
deal with pay-TV rival Sky Television. TVNZ is downplaying the development and
said it won’t affect the state broadcaster’s digital TV plans, although a
previously announced October launch has been postponed until next year while it
sorts out issues regarding set-top boxes. TelstraSaturn and TVNZ signed a deal
last year to bring a new free to air digital service to New Zealanders by
October. The plan was to provide TVNZ’s digital content free to air to New
Zealanders, accessible either via a digital television or through a special
set-top box used by both companies. They would then also have the option of
renting TelstraSaturn’s over 20 channels of programming on a pay-TV model
similar to Sky TV’s.




5/8/01

Not much time for a big update today to busy trying to finish off my dish and get a signal from it. As you can see Satfacts is appearing on a subpage while their server is down so be sure to check here for it untill they have got the problem fixxed.

A fairly successful weekend except my Printer decided not to spit out anymore ink (YES its got full cartridges) so I couldn't printout the info I had on how to set up the ADL feed. Probably the reason why I havn't found a signal yet.

A new version of DVB2000 (BETA) of version 2 is to be released this weekend!

Keep checking here! http://www.dominance.net/overflow/

Cricket ODI Final India vs Sri Lanka on Dordashan starts 6.30pm Syd time tonight.



From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock

Sunday 5/8/01

B1, 12326 H Sr 6980 "Highlights of Australian Rally Championship from Tasmania"

B1, 12397 H Sr 7200 "CNN"
B1, 12367 V Sr 5632 "NRL, Panthers v Warriors"

B3, 12363 V "AFL, Essendon v Carlton" usual settings
B3, 12336 V "NRL, Bronco's vs Roosters"

Saturday 4/8/01

B1, 12356 V, Sr 5632 Vpid 308 Apid 256

Boxing. Dont know where from, as I do not really care, ( The girls between fights are alright though) but some of you out there might like boxing.Note: may have been 12367 V he couldnt check.

Chris


From Me

Saturday 4/8/01

B1 12367 V NRL "Storm vs Eagles" usual Newsforce settings Vpid 308 Apid 256 Sr 5630

From Bill Richards

SAturday 4/8/01

Pas 2 1145 UTC

4148V Sr 24430 Fec 2/3 Vpid 1360 Apid 1320 SID 3



From the Dish


Apstar 1A 134E It's Hunan Life Channel on 3737 H (not Hunan TV), now encrypted.
Apstar 1A 134E 3820 V "CETV SD" has left analogue.

Palapa C2 113E 3760 H "Tzu Chi TV is now encrypted.
Palapa C2 113E 4000 H "Savoir Knowledge Channel" is now encrypted.

LMI 1 75E 3410 H "TV Lanka and Radio Lanka" have started testing, Sr 5750, Fec 3/4, Vpid 1160 Apid 1120 and Apid 1122.

Pas 4 68.5E 4181 H "MTV India" has left (PAL), moved to 4034 H.
Pas 4 68.5E 4154 H New frequency, SR and FEC for the Nickelodeon mux ,Sr 20500 and Fec 3/4.
Pas 4 68.5E The occasional feeds on 3992 V have ceased.
Pas 4 68.5E The occasional feeds 4002 V have ceased


NEWS


Sorry no time for it today.




4/8/01 9.20pm Update, mission complete 5.30pm

ITS UPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

No signals yet leaving that for tommorow, 20 Photos taken already...hopefully some pics up on Monday or Tuesday!

4/8/01

1pm update having lunch, dish is going well, only have to put the outer mesh panels on it and then the tricky bit getting it up in the air. Plenty of photos to come Monday I hope. Satfacts link on the left you may have noticed that will be running soon with Bobs usual items since his server packed up again.




3/8/01

Good news Pas 10 KU has been switched on (not expected to cover Australia but worth checking) , wont be long before Cband comes on in the next few days. So keep your eyes open. Also new is Some channels from Dubai on Asiasat 2 including the sports channel these not likely to stay fta even though they are in Europe. Tarb's I think will have control of them here.

There will probably not be a site update tommorow, a little project on at my place involving scaffolding and lifting something high up the air. If things go well I may post a little update on the site as to how things are going.

Sky NZ freq mentioned yesterday is running fta Knowledge wave conference

Yes, Satfacts site server is down in case you were wondering, hopefully back soon



From my Emails & ICQ


From David Nolan

On August 1st AUSPAYTV included a clip out the Australian Newspaper with the same date.

The reporter, Michelle Gilchrist, states in it that Telstra Bigpond two way satellite service is coming off Asiasat 3S.

Can any one out there confirm this service on A3.

If so what is the frequency?

The only Transponder I think it may be on is 3780V as there are 3 extra channels on it as well as Now & Tech TV. Am I correct? My IRD shows channels 1,3,4,5,6. There is no 2.

Any comments??


Craigs comment, Its on Asiasat 3 and supposed to be very highpower, we just need someone with a Nokia to scan for the freq.


From Chris Pickstock 2/8/01

Just a quick one. Seen earlier this morning on B1, 12317 H, usually the ABC feed, was Channel 7 national morning news, complete with adverts for the Adelaide area.

Chris


From the Dish


Apstar 1A 134E 4072 V "Shandong TV" has started on , Sr 7500, Fec 2/3,Vpid 32 Apid 33.
Apstar 1A 134E 4060 V The test card has left.
Apstar 1A 134E 3737 H "Hunan TV" has started, Sr 2803, Fec 3/4, Vpid 100 Apid 110.

Palapa C2 113E 3760 H Open TV, Tzu Chi TV and STV-MTV on (MPEG-2) are now encrypted in
both Nagravision and Viaccess.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "Dubai EDTV" Vpid 2432 Apid 2433
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "Dubai Sports Channel Europe" Vpid 2435 Apid 2436
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "Dubai Business Channel" Vpid 2439 Apid 2440
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "UAE Radio Dubai" hasstarted on Apid 2442

Yamal 102 90E 3702 LMTV Russia has started regular transmissions on ,Sr 4285, Fec3/4, Vpid 308 Apid 256.

PAS 4/10 All Ku capacity on PAS 4 has switched to PAS 10.


NEWS


TelstraSaturn hits hurdles


From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business

TelstraSaturn's plans to deliver pay TV, telephone and high-speed internet services to Auckland are in trouble as the company faces legal and regulatory hurdles in building its cable network in the region.

TelstraSaturn, which is ahead of schedule laying underground cables throughout the Auckland central business district, is expected to deliver a formal resource consent application to the Auckland City Council in the next few days.

It wants permission to hang its fibre optic cables from electricity poles owned by Auckland electricity lines company Vector, allowing the company to extend its services to the suburbs cheaply.

But Vector is an unwilling partner in the deal which TelstraSaturn struck with its predecessor, Mercury Energy, in 1996, allowing TelstraSaturn to piggyback on its network.

TelstraSaturn is pursuing a court order to force Vector to cooperate, but legal battles are an unwelcome distraction for the company.

Delays in TelstraSaturn's cable network build have already caused the company to breach a banking covenant specifying a ratio of cable laid to money borrowed to be achieved by June 30.

TelstraSaturn spokesman Quentin Bright said the breach was not a problem because the syndicate of 14 banks backing the $900 million borrowing facility had allowed the company some flexibility.

He added that delays caused by applying for resource consent had been factored into the company's schedule for cable-laying, expected to be completed by 2005 at a total cost of $1.2 billion.

Vector's chief executive, Patrick Strange, would not comment on the "dispute about access", but said Vector was putting its own cables underground over time.

"When we go underground, which will be a major programme, we'll be delighted to share costs with any utility."

Industry analysts say Telstra's plans for Auckland will be left high and dry if an overhead cable plan is not sealed with Vector, as the cost of laying cable underground is between five and eight times more expensive, something a cash-strapped TelstraSaturn would be unlikely to consider.

Telecoms analyst Paul Budde said TelstraSaturn was unlikely to make a profit in the next four to five years and a lack of access to the lucrative Auckland market would force the company into a "niche provider" role.

"If you look at the nature of Telstra and Austar, they don't want to be niche players. I think at that stage they would call it quits and try to find a buyer and get out of it."

He described TelstraSaturn's decision to axe its satellite pay TV service as the "first crack" in the company's plans for a nationwide network.

Even if Vector could be persuaded to work with TelstraSaturn, the telecommunications provider would still have to win resource consent from local councils to run its cables above ground, something that would likely draw public submissions.

Auckland City Council's manager of utility relationships, Des Hughes, said TelstraSaturn had managed to hang its cables from poles in Wellington by exploiting a "loophole" in the capital's district plan, but regulations in Auckland were tougher.

"Effectively it is not a permitted activity for them to string those cables overhead ... therefore they've got to apply for resource consent."


Prasar Bharati not keen on DTH venture


From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010803/efetop5.html

Several months into a feasibility study, Prasar Bharati is unlikely to invest in the Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasting operations in the short run, according to a senior official. Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) and Prasar Bharati had jointly taken up a study to work out whether investing in DTH was feasible or not.

Although the feasibility study is still on, Prasar Bharati has more or less decided that DTH is not a feasible proposition for it at the moment, said the official. This is despite the Prasar Bharati board giving its clearance to the public broadcaster for investing in DTH last year.

One of the hurdles in the way of broadcasters moving towards DTH is the sectoral cap of 20 per cent. Most broadcasters find it infeasible to make investments in DTH, with a 20 per cent cap. As for Prasar Bharati, it was looking at a DTH venture with VSNL as its lead partner.

DTH broadcasting was cleared by the Cabinet in November last year. But months after the government approval, not a single company has applied for permission to start DTH operations.

DTH refers to distribution of multi-channel television programmes in the KU band. As per the government guidelines, foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 20 per cent will be allowed in DTH ventures. Foreign investment through foreign institutional investors (FIIs) or non-resident Indians (NRIs) can however be up to 29 per cent. So, total foreign investment cannot exceed 49 per cent.

The applicant company will be required to pay an entry fee of Rs 10 crore in the beginning. In addition, 10 per cent per year of the revenue collected by the platform owner will have to be paid to the government as annual fee. The licensee will also be required to execute a bank guarantee of Rs 40 crore.

The licensees will be required to pay the licence fee and royalty for spectrum used, as prescribed by the Wireless Planning Coordination (WPC) authority, under the DoT. The licensing authority shall have the power to revoke or suspend the licence in public interest.


Discovery to launch two channels in India


From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/today/03tech02.htm

DISCOVERY Communications on Thursday announced the launch of two new channels, Discovery Travel and Adventure and Discovery Health, over the next one year. Plans are also afoot to have Tamil and Telegu feed in addition to existing Hindi feed.

According to Deepak Shourie, managing director, Discovery Communications India, "The channel unveiled a new programming strategy keeping in mind the needs and viewing habits of different members of the family."

Discovery channel will be introducing programming blocks during the day that would appeal to various target groups at times they prefer to watch television.

Shourie said, the introduction of the blocks is based on extensive market studies.

Discovery has gone digital from August 1. Ten per cent of Discovery's viewership worldwide comes form India, which is 21 million households.

A brand extension strategy of the channel will be unvieled in the course of this year, Shourie said.




2/8/01

Lots of news today in the news section. I hope people read it, it takes sometime to find it. A message for those calling me mr "Anti Mosc" I never said I was for or against Mosc, just that might site is located in Australia so any talk of it could get my site into trouble thats why I say no chatting about it in the chatroom. Speaking of chatrooms I have some new software to try out try the free room at www.digichat.com and tell me if you like it. I have the software it would only need me to install it on my server to get it running might be faster to use and less hassles than the current free one.

NZ vs India Cricket ODI is on Dordashan right now 3.30pm Syd time.

As I write Sky NZ, service "EXTRA EXTRA" is running FTA promos on B1 12671 V Fec 3/4 Vpid 515 Apid 653

A reminder for those EX Boomerang tv units the pin code is 120188


From my Emails & ICQ


An Email from Star TV claiming no knowledge of any shutdown of Asiasat 3 analogue service.


From the Dish


Optus B1 160E ABC Kids has started regular transmissions on 12670 H, 12688 H and 12706 H,
Vpid 2307 Apid 2308.

Agila 2 146E 3834 H "IBC (South Korea)" has been, replaced by a test card.

Apstar 1A 134E 4060 V New SR for the test card here : 7000.

Palapa C2 113E 4000 H.New PIDs for several of the MMBN channels on BBC World, SET International, HaiHua Satellite TV, FTV and Scholar Movie Channel are now encrypted.

Palapa C2 113E 11132 V HKTV and BTS are now encrypted.HaiHua Satellite TV, FTV, PTV and Scholar Movie Channel are now in clear. The mux on 11132 V is now copied to 11008 V.

Palapa C2 113E Updates on 10972 V Open TV is now encrypted.Tzu Chi TV is now in clear.

Sinosat 1 110.5E 3720 V "Beijing TV" has left

Yamal 102 90E 3702 L "MTV Russia" has started testing on , Sr 4285, Fec 3/4.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3441 V "mystery" Sr 3335, Fec 2/3
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3676 H "mystery" Sr 5787, Fec 3/4


NEWS


TVNZ vows it will press ahead with digital plans


From http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,887766a11,FF.html

Television New Zealand promised yesterday to bring free-to-air digital satellite television to all New Zealanders, despite an unexpected and crippling blow from TelstraSaturn.

TelstraSaturn scrapped plans to offer a pay digital satellite service in association with TVNZ's free service, and confirmed it may later offer its cable television service via another provider.

That could only be rival Sky Television, though TelstraSaturn refused to name Sky.

Though other features of the April agreement between TVNZ and TelstraSaturn remain in place, including TVNZ's ability to use TelstraSaturn's dish to beam its signal to satellite for relay to New Zealand homes, TelstraSaturn's decision means TVNZ has to go it alone against Sky and convince viewers to get the set-top box to decode the broadcasting signal.

The deal agreed in April would have enabled viewers to receive TVNZ's free channels and choose whether to subscribe to TelstraSaturn's pay service.

Now TVNZ will have to persuade viewers the price of a set-top box is worth it for TVNZ programmes only, with the prospect that Sky's boxes may soon have the option of subscribing to TelstraSaturn programmes.

In April, Sky had 246,000 digital subscribers and a further 170,000 subscribers receiving its signal via UHF. There are about 1.3 million households in New Zealand.

An industry source said the 250,000 New Zealand homes already hooked into Sky digital were unlikely to want to buy a second set-top box.

TVNZ recently tried to get legislation amended that could force Sky to make its boxes "open access".

Open access means people could buy Sky's boxes and get free-to-air broadcasts such as those of TVNZ without having to subscribe to Sky's service.

The satellite broadcaster already allows people to pay a weekly $4 subscription to rent a digital decoder and satellite dish but watch only free-to-air broadcasts.

Sky is uninterested in TVNZ's proposition. Negotiations between the two have been going on for months. Sky, two-thirds owned by INL, owner of Wellington Newspapers, publisher of The Dominion, has offered to beam TV1 and TV2 free but TVNZ has refused.

However, TVNZ spokesman Glen Sowry said the state-owned broadcaster was determined "all New Zealanders" would have access to free-to-air digital broadcasting.

The broadcaster had a shortlist of suppliers of the set-top boxes, which would be top quality and fully interactive, Mr Sowry said.

The cost of the boxes was not known at this stage.

Digital broadcasting allows viewers to interact with television programmes, and to order goods and services with the push of a button if the set-top boxes are the right sort. Sky will have interactive boxes on offer later this year with a more sophisticated version next year.


The digital debacle: where to from here?


From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=203457&thesection=technology&thesubsection=general

Hopes of a competitive pay television market were dashed when TelstraSaturn backed out of a partnership with TVNZ.

What could have turned into an all-out war between Telstra/TVNZ and Sky Television has ended in early surrender as TelstraSaturn puts plans on hold and investigates a possible defection to Sky.

TVNZ insists that it will go ahead with a free-to-air digital service next year, but what will it have to offer viewers?

What is digital television?

The traditional way of receiving the television signal has been an analogue system. Digital TV uses new transmission systems and computer technology to transmit sound and pictures which are then received by an aerial, satellite dish or cable.

To decode the signal back into sound and vision requires either a set-top box connected to your present TV or a digital "integrated" set with a built-in decoder.

Digital broadcasting allows many more channels to be transmitted on fewer frequencies, each with more consistent picture quality and crystal-clear sound.

With the right equipment, interactive services, such as on-screen shopping, banking, internet access and e-mail, are also possible.

Interactive TV also offers new possibilities - for example, you may be able to choose sports coverage from different camera angles or create your own action replays.

British viewers of the reality show Big Brother on digital TV this year were able to choose from four screens covering two current areas of the house, one two hours earlier and the last four hours before.

What is the difference between digital television and what most people have now?

The cosmetic difference is in the quality of the pictures and sound. But because more channels can be transmitted, it offers more choice to viewers.

Buying a subscription to Sky's digital service could give you more than 30 television channels and radio stations, including TV3 and TV4, and Prime.

What was proposed between TelstraSaturn and TVNZ?

The alliance planned to offer a satellite pay television service operated by TelstraSaturn and a free-to-air digital service from TVNZ.

The advantage of the partnership was shared operating costs and the combined bargaining strength to bid for films, international programmes and sports rights such as the All Blacks' tour at the end of this year.

TelstraSaturn is talking to Sky about selling its rights to the All Black matches, although TVNZ says it will still screen delayed coverage of the games.

For viewers, there would have been an alternative pay television operator to Sky Television, but with the complication of having to have another box on top of the set to decode Telstra's signal.

TelstraSaturn, which is geographically limited with a cable service that operates in Wellington and Christchurch only, could have covered the nation, using satellite space leased from TVNZ.

In return, it would have helped TVNZ set up its services, providing and running some of the infrastructure.

Although Telstra's pay service has now been canned, the telecommunications company has told TVNZ it will still support the free-to-air service.

TVNZ spokesman Glen Sowry said TelstraSaturn had reaffirmed its commitment to providing the "head-end" technology in Lower Hutt, which picks up the TVNZ content and helps beam it to the satellite.

By going out on its own, TVNZ will have to attract viewers to a service which is effectively a simulcast of its existing services, plus Prime, the future Maori channel and possible educational channels and interactive services such as e-mail and the internet.

Mr Sowry says the quality of the set-top boxes it will use is critical to the service and the extras it could offer to encourage viewers to invest in a set-top box - at a cost of about $500 - and receive the service without paying a weekly subscription.

[TVNZ's service] is for those viewers that do not wish to subscribe to pay television.

"Essentially, this is a stake in the ground for the future. Digital television is happening, so what we wanted to do, and what we intend to do, is to develop capability that is going to ensure that in the future New Zealand television viewers are able to view free-to-air content without having to subscribe to a pay TV operator.

"In addition to that ability to view TV1 and TV2 in that environment, we're looking at what types of applications and enhanced content can also be delivered over that platform that viewers will find of value and encourage them to make the investment in the set-top box. It may likely include a a personal video recorder and the ability to browse the internet."

By way of comparison, installing Sky Digital could cost anywhere from $99 to $495, and the weekly cost of receiving the free-to-air channels of TV3, TV4 and Prime would be $4.

What are the consequences of the deal's collapse?

TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis could be feeling the political heat of his second failed digital venture, after last year being unable to convince the Government that TVNZ should enter into a $200 million deal with British cable giant NTL.

TVNZ says it will still launch its free-to-air service, but whether it hopes to find another strategic partner or go out on its own remains to be seen.

Time will also tell what added extras TVNZ will offer viewers to entice them to the new digital service.

Without TelstraSaturn's pay service, and if viewers are not keen to spend money to get TVNZ's free-to-air service, the state broadcaster may be forced to join Sky.

"If in the future we reach an agreement with Sky which sees open access between the two networks, then certainly we will be delivering TV1 and TV2 on the Sky platform," Mr Sowry said. "There are discussions on-going with Sky and they will continue."

Does this mean Sky will dominate pay TV?

Sky is certainly in a strong position now TelstraSaturn has withdrawn its competing service.

It has 422,000 subscribers to its pay television service - more than 246,000 of them paying for the digital service.

There are hints that TelstraSaturn is talking to Sky about an alliance in which Sky would run Telstra's pay television service in return for telecommunications services such as phone, television and internet services.

That leaves no obvious competitor on the horizon.

Why was the Telstra-TVNZ deal so controversial from the start?

Rival broadcasters said the company would have been introducing outdated set-top boxes, and going head-to-head with Sky TV's already well-established digital services.

Both operators would be delivering digital versions of One and TV2, offering better picture quality for viewers in outlying areas.

A source at Australian digital pay TV operator Foxtel who did not want to be named told the Herald this year that the Austar boxes were rapidly being dropped in Australia because they did not meet emission standards, interfered with other TV and radio signals, and had been cracked by hackers trying to gain free access to services.

He said we were seven to 10 years away from a set-top box that would do what was necessary to make interactivity a commercially viable service.

Critics said the Austar boxes gave TelstraSaturn a cheap route into digital TV but little more.

While confusion surrounded TelstraSaturn's choice of technology, some had also asked whether the operator's belated arrival in the digital TV market would interest enough consumers.

What has been the political fallout from the deal's collapse?

National MP Murray McCully said TVNZ had been left "dead in the water" after being dumped by TelstraSaturn.

He told Parliament yesterday that TelstraSaturn's decision to withdraw from the digital deal was caused "substantially" by Broadcasting Minister Marian Hobbs' neglect.

"New Zealand won't get to ride the knowledge wave if the relevant ministers' backsides are firmly parked in a deckchair on the beach - and that's where they are.

"Television simply cannot proceed with its current digital plans now that TelstraSaturn has pulled the pin."

Ms Hobbs yesterday "guaranteed" that TVNZ would still be able to mount a viable, digital, free-to-air service.

"Just as Saturn has decided to postpone the launch of its satellite digital pay television services, this does not affect Television New Zealand's plans for a free-to-air digital service."

She also rejected a suggestion from Mr McCully that TVNZ stood to lose a substantial amount of the $12 million a year it had agreed to pay for transponder space for the joint digital service.


ABC to review sports coverage


From http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/2001/08/01/FFX48ISZTPC.html

The ABC is reviewing it television sports coverage and may cut telecasts of several competitions, threatening millions in sponsorship deals.

According to newspaper reports, the national broadcaster is reviewing its Saturday afternoon schedule, including broadcasts of women's netball, the men and women's national basketball competitions, the Victorian Football League and lawn bowls.

The ABC is considering replacing its live free-to-air sport coverage with a studio-based show, according to the Herald Sun.

The shakeup would leave Australia's two major women's competitions, the Commonwealth Bank Trophy netball and Women's National Basketball League, without television coverage.

It could also affect the value of major sponsorship deals and force the NBL, VFL and lawn bowls to rely on pay-TV.

The VFL and netball, supported by the Commonwealth Bank, may lose up to $1 million in major sponsorship deals without the telecast.

Netball chiefs said the move could destroy the national league and the ABC risked a backlash from the sport's 1 million players and followers.

A corporate spokesman for the ABC refused to confirm if the review was in process.

"The ABC is totally committed to sport and has not made any decision regarding its coverage," the spokesman said.


China bid to control satellite TV signals


From http://www.smh.com.au/news/0108/02/biztech/biztech5.html

Beijing is considering plans to tighten control over the distribution of foreign television programming in China - a move that could have grim implications for channels backed by Mr Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and other foreign broadcasters.

Under a plan still being drafted by officials at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, Beijing would set up a centralised system to collect broadcasts from foreign satellites, scramble the signals, and then retransmit them via Chinese satellites to authorised viewers, according to foreign executives recently notified of the plan.

The arrangement would in theory make it easier for authorities to determine who watches foreign programs and to enforce often-ignored rules that forbid Chinese cable networks and households from using satellite dishes to pull in foreign channels themselves.

While regulators characterise the plan as a way to "level the playing field" for foreign channel distribution, several industry analysts and broadcasters say it would give Beijing the ability to censor foreign programming at the flick of a switch.

Commercial considerations may also lie behind the proposal: each broadcaster would be required to pay $US400,000 ($782,800) annually for the service, executives familiar with the plan say. That would ensure that China's State-owned China International Television, in charge of distributing foreign channels, reaps some benefit from increasingly popular foreign fare.

"I personally think the impact is going to be quite severe," said Mr Jim Lam, senior China analyst for CLSA in Shanghai.

Mr Xiao Yu, an official at CITV, confirmed that the Government intended to centralise distribution.

Under current rules, 27 foreign channels are authorised to be distributed within the country but only to a tiny audience, mainly hotels and compounds where foreigners live, and Chinese research facilities and media outlets. Combined, that pool represents a mere 3 million viewers of a population of nearly 1.3 billion.

A handful of broadcasters led by Phoenix Satellite, a Chinese-language broadcaster 37.4 per cent owned by News Corp, simply beam unencrypted signals into China.


Japan's JSAT in Americas venture with PanAmSat


From news.ft.com

Shares in JSAT rose 12.5 per cent on Wednesday as Japan's largest satellite communications company announced a cross-pacific tie-up with PanAmSat of the US.

JSAT briefly touched its daily Y100,000 limit or 16 per cent to Y715,000 in morning trade before dipping slightly. The 16-year old JSAT closed up Y77,000 or 12.5 per cent to Y692,000.

The 50-50 joint venture will give JSAT, whose largest investors include trading giant Itochu and NTT Communications, a toehold in the Americas for its data transmission and high-speed internet access services.

The company is the largest leaser of satellite transmission lines in the Asia/Pacific region, but has recently moved into more of its own transmission-related operations.

With an initial capitalisation of $100m, Horizons Satellite, the name of the new venture, is set to launch its first satellite at the end of 2002, to be managed by a US-based subsidiary of JSAT.

Takuya Yoshida, president of JSAT, said he expected Horizons Satellite to generate Y3bn annually by 2005.

With eight satellites currently in space, JSAT's announcement on Wednesday comes as part of the group's efforts to increase its international operations.


JSAT, PanAmSat set up JV for new satellite at 127W


From http://sat-index.com/archive/display.php?url=2001080205.html

JSAT Corp., Japan’s largest communications satellite operator, has agreed to set up a joint venture with PanAmSat Corp. of the United States to expand communications businesses linking North America and Asia.

Horizons Satellite, whose ownership will be divided equally, is capitalised at US$100 million. The joint venture company plans to launch a communications satellite in late 2002 to distribute digital images and other Internet-based data throughout the United States and Canada.

The new spacecraft will carry 24 Ku-band and 24 C-band transponders, providing comprehensive coverage of North America. The C-band payload will replace the Galaxy IX satellite in PanAmSat's domestic U.S. cable arc. Galaxy IX will then migrate to a new orbital location where it will continue to provide C-band services as part of PanAmSat's Galaxy fleet.

The new satellite will operate under dual licenses at its orbital location of 127 degrees West with the C-band payload licensed through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S., and the Ku-band licensed through Japan's Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT).

The satellite will be connected to Japan through the PanAmSat teleport in Napa, California/USA, to PanAmSat's Pacific Ocean Region satellites and through JSAT's Hawaii teleport to JSAT's fleet of eight satellites.

Horizons Satellite estimates that the joint venture will generate sales of US$16 million within three years of the start-up of new services.

JSAT registered its wholly owned unit, JSAT International Inc., in the United States, becoming the first Japanese communications satellite company to advance into overseas markets.


BBC World to air new reality show by year end


From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010802/con3.html

After Hospital, BBC World is rolling out another reality series. The new programme, which is expected to hit the TV screens by the end of this year, may focus on Indian soldiers, their gruelling training and their lives.

A television content company, which has made several programmes for BBC, is working on the film based on Indian soldiers, according to sources close to the project.

Mr Narendhra Morar, commissioning editor, regions, BBC World, confirmed that a new reality show would be aired by the end of this year. But he neither confirmed nor denied that the subject of the series will be Indian soldiers. ‘‘We are talking to several people,’’ Mr Morar said. No contract has been signed so far for the new reality show, but things will be finalised within a month, he added.

Among the subjects that might interest BBC for reality shows are airports, railway, army, navy, airforce or even big hotels, said Mr Morar.

Spurred by the success of Hospital, BBC is pinning big hopes on the new reality show. But whether the show will garner advertising/sponsorship revenues or not will depend entirely on the subject of the series, said Mr Morar. BBC programmes follow strict programming and advertising guidelines.

On the success of a programme, Mr Morar said that ideally it should meet the editorial standards of BBC; it should sustain audience interest; and it should be financially viable.

Different shows fulfill different criteria, he pointed out.

As to what BBC expects from these new programmes, Mr Morar said the aim is to broaden the audience base.

Already, the channel, which was seen more as a man’s channel till recently, has roped in a record number of women viewers.

On how BBC commissions programmes to companies, Mr Morar said mainly there are three criteria.

Track record of the company and relevant experience of the company in that kind of programming are among the criteria to commission programmes.

But, if a company is without relevant experience, but BBC feels that it could develop and deliver consistently, even newer players are welcome.


Convergence Bill may hit sports telecasts


From http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/020801/detECO07.asp

THE COMMUNICATIONS Convergence Bill 2001 in its present form could well impact telecast of important events such as sports tournaments and beauty pageants.

The bill seeks to confer on the public broadcaster rights of important events, without taking into account the underlying market economics.

Clause 32.2, chapter IX of the draft bill states: "National or international events of general public interest will have to be carried on the network of the public broadcaster(s) as well."

To ensure a ‘level-playing field’ for bidders, the bill adds that "the commission shall determine well in advance of such events, the principles and terms for the access to the network of the public service broadcaster." However, it is not clear what kind of events will be targeted. According to legal experts, sport events and beauty pageants could well fall in its ambit.

While the broadcasters themselves are tight-lipped, legal experts are of the opinion that this clause is yet another means of the government exercising its influence. Advocate Ramji Srinivasan, termed the clause as "clearly anti-competitive."

Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj, however, declined to comment, indicating that the last word on the bill has not yet been said. "It is a highly technical and complex issue. The cabinet has still to approve the bill," she said.

Others are skeptical about enforcement of such a clause. Peter Hutton, joint managing director, IMG-TWI South Asia said: "It is difficult for the Indian government to legislate over the actions of sports agencies that exist outside the country which make marketing decisions based on their respective financial needs and brand images." IMG-TWI is the rights holder of many key national and international sporting events.

Since Doordarshan's signals can be received in West Asia and South East Asia, hence compulsory rights for Doordarshan could create legal conflicts over exclusivity, caution industry experts.

A clause like this could frustrate the growth of international sports in India in the long term, as Hutton explains: "Television income is a major source of revenue for international events. If events have to be broadcast on the public broadcaster, then the value for exclusivity is diminished and the potential income for the event reduces."

G. Krishnan, executive director and CEO of the TV Today sums it up: "The public broadcaster should have priority, only as far as it does not commercially exploit that opportunity."

DD, however, competes with the private broadcasters for advertisements also, thus violating the principle of 'level-playing field, added Krishnan.


B4U to set up Rs 100 crore film fund


From http://www.business-standard.com/today/corp11.asp?Menu=2

B4U Television Network (India) has decided to set up 'B4U film fund' with an initial corpus of Rs 100 crore within the next 6-12 months.

The company will enter into production and co-production of films. B4U will also fund projects of other film producers.

The company is currently in talks with several Indian financial institutions and overseas funds to raise funds.

Ravi Gupta, chief executive officer of B4U Television Networks, said, "Setting up of the fund is part of our consolidation process where in we are repositioning our entertainment channel to relaunch it as a movie channel in October."

The strategies for movie production and financing of movies are the same. These will centre around themes such as music, romance and strong family dramas. The fund structure is being set up in such a way that there are more hits than losses.

Gupta said, "All the films that we finance would be for theatre releases. But these need not be big-budget films with popular stars. The criteria would be a good and saleable storyline and a movie that will also appeal to the television audiences."

The company feels the advantage with music is that it will then become a fodder for their B4U Music and also for B4U Movies channel.

B4U Movies is already a hit channel in the overseas market and it currently has a library of 1,700 films overseas and close to 650 films in India.

B4U is already available in 15 million C&S households in India. "Serials are in over supply in general entertainment channels and the returns are not commensurate unless you are in the top three. As of now we are a free to air channel and we will also be going pay soon. We are looking at the possibility of tie-ups or be a part of a bouquet," said Gupta.

The new relaunched movies channel will air three movies a day. Besides, it will have Bollywood star talk shows, lifestyles, masala clips and chat lines related to the website. The channel will have a total Bollywood flavour.




1/8/01

Well bad news to start of the day Telstra Saturn has canned its plans to start its satellite pay tv service here in NZ. They are hinting at a deal with Sky. I don't like the sound of it we don't need a pay tv monopoly like we have now with Sky. Saturn was going to give them some competition and hopefully bring down the prices. As someone who hasn't signed up with Sky I was looking forward to what Saturn was going to offer. I guess we will have to wait and see what TVNZ comes up with on there service.

Zee TV, reported in the chatroom last night Zee TV channels are missing on B3, a call to Zee Link PTY gets a recorded message saying they are having technical difficultys.

Cricket NZ vs Sri Lanka reported last night Insat 2E DD1 channel. Should be Sri Lanka vs India there Today and NZ vs India on Tommorow.



From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock

7 Network are back in Analogue and Epal at the moment at 12386 H


From the Dish


Apstar 1A 134E 4050 V "ZheJiang TV" has started , Sr 7820, Fec 2/3, Vpid 38 Apid 39.
Apstar 1A 134E 4060 V "A test card has started" Sr 8000, Fec 2/3, Vpid 1110 Apid 1120.

Palapa C2 113E 11132 V New line-up for the MMBN mux .

Sinosat 1 110.5E 3720 V "Beijing TV" has started, Sr 6000, Fec 3/4,Vpid 1160 Apid 1120.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3600 H New PIDs for Anjuman TV, Vpid 525 Apid 761.

Pas 4 68.5E 3716 V An info card has started, Vpid 98 Apid 99.

LMI 75E Some unknown MPEG-2 signals are here, take a look see what you come up with note some details could be incorrect

3426 H, SR: 5785, FEC: 3/4
3576 H, SR: 1084, FEC: 1/2
3649 H, SR: 5491, FEC: 5/6


NEWS


Setback for digital Saturn TV plan


From http://onenews.nzoom.com/news_detail/0,1227,51414,00.html

TVNZ is playing down reports that telecommunications company TelstraSaturn has pulled the plug on the two companies' multi-million dollar digital television deal.

TelstraSaturn and TVNZ signed a deal last year to bring a new free to air digital service to New Zealanders by October.

The plan was to provide TVNZ's digital content free to air to New Zealanders, accessible either via a digital television or through a special set-top box used by both companies.

They would then also have the option of renting TelstraSaturn's over 20 channels of programming on a pay TV model similar to Sky TV's.

Officials from both companies met at TVNZ on Wednesday morning to discuss the future of the service.

TVNZ says TelstraSaturn has reaffirmed its commitment to provide the necessary infrastructure to allow TVNZ to launch its free to air digital service at some time in the future.

TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis stated that TVNZ's contract with TelstraSaturn is about sharing infrastructure. This infrastructure now exists and is operational.

"Some of this morning's media reports incorrectly state that TelstraSaturn's proposed launch of its pay television service was a joint venture with TVNZ," says Ellis. "This is not the case. TVNZ has no plans to enter the pay television market."

TelstraSaturn boss Jack Matthews called his company's decision "potentially a delay or... potentially a very brief hiatus."

"It is potentially a cancellation if we get the other things we need, jointly, with TVNZ," he says.

"It remains to be seen, but I don't think it's anything unusual for a company right at the verge of pulling the trigger and making this very long term commitment, just taking one last look and saying 'let's make sure that the reasons we did this a year ago still make sense'."

Ellis says the joint venture between TVNZ and TelstraSaturn was to share resources for the development of interactive digital content and this opportunity remains unchanged by TelstraSaturn's announcement.

"TVNZ's objective is and remains to bring a genuine digital free-to-air digital television service to all New Zealanders. We have always stated that we will ultimately be on multiple platforms as they develop in New Zealand, and as open access agreements are reached," he says.

TelstraSaturn and TVNZ have always said they wish to have an open access deal with Sky, Ellis says. "It is important to note that TelstraSaturn's announcement does not impact on TVNZ's ability to launch a digital free-to-air service."

TV3 and TV4 screen on Sky's digital pay TV service, but agreement for broadcast of TVNZ's television channels has foundered over open access.

TelstraSaturn has live broadcast rights to the All Blacks tour to Ireland and Scotland later this year. If it cannot broadcast the games on the digital service, TelstraSaturn says it will ask another service to screen the tour live.

A leaked memo sent to all TelstraSaturn staff by Matthews on Tuesday said the digital platform would not be launched at this time, and that the company was exploring alternative opportunities and would be focusing on its core markets of cable services and expanding in business markets.

"The board of TelstraSaturn was keen to avoid unnecessary duplication of infrastructure and investment," Matthews said. "If it made sense to do it a smarter way, then TelstraSaturn should do it."

The company says it is negotiating with other parties in the pay television area.

A Telstra Saturn spokesperson, Quentin Bright, says while the company had the TVNZ satellite plan ready to launch, other opportunities have since arisen.

He has confirmed the company is talking to other parties about another project in the pay television area.

Prior to the announcement, TelstraSaturn was on the brink of launching its digital television platform and sources within the company have told nzoom.com that many staff are "gutted" by the decision.

TelstraSaturn has the rights to live coverage of the All Blacks' end-of-season tour to Argentina, Scotland and Ireland.

If it cannot broadcast the games on the digital service, TelstraSaturn says it will ask another service to screen the tour live.

TVNZ has the rights to show matches delayed, and says it is keen to buy the live rights if it can.


MEDIA RELEASE FROM TVNZ

Wednesday 1 August 2001

TVNZ’s digital plans remain unchanged by TelstraSaturn announcement


TVNZ Chief Executive Rick Ellis met with TelstraSaturn CEO Jack Matthews this morning to discuss the implications of this decision. TelstraSaturn has reaffirmed its commitment to provide the necessary infrastructure to allow TVNZ to launch its free to air digital service at some time in the future.

Mr Ellis stated that TVNZ’s contract with TelstraSaturn is about sharing infrastructure. This infrastructure now exists and is operational.

"Some of this morning’s media reports incorrectly state that TelstraSaturn’s proposed launch of its pay television service was a joint venture with TVNZ," said Mr Ellis. "This is not the case. TVNZ has no plans to enter the pay television market.

"The joint venture between TVNZ and TelstraSaturn, referred to in April at the time the agreements were signed between the two companies provides for us to share resources for the development of interactive digital content. This opportunity remains unchanged by TelstraSaturn’s announcement.

"TVNZ’s objective is and remains to bring a genuine digital free to air digital television service to all New Zealanders. We have always stated that we will ultimately be on multiple platforms as they develop in New Zealand, and as open access agreements are reached.

"TelstraSaturn and TVNZ have always said they wish to have an open access deal with Sky.

"It is important to note that TelstraSaturn’s announcement does not impact on TVNZ’s ability to launch a digital free to air service," said Mr Ellis.

For further information please contact:

Glen Sowry, General Manager, Public Affairs (09) 9167565/(021) 461 775


Digital partner dumps TVNZ


From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=203302&thesection=news&thesubsection=general

TVNZ's plans to launch a digital television service by October are in doubt after its partner backed out.

The move by Sky TV rival TelstraSaturn to pull the plug on the proposed joint venture was revealed to senior TelstraSaturn staff yesterday. TVNZ staff have not yet been told.

TVNZ is left with little to offer digital customers, other than One, TV2 and Prime. It has been unable to convince TV3 and TV4 to join the service.

Viewers would have needed a special set-top box to receive the service, but are now unlikely to spend the money.

Instead, TVNZ may be forced to join Sky's service - an option it has so far resisted.

TelstraSaturn's move is believed to have been prompted by a desire to concentrate on its telephone customers, rather than pay TV.

At present, it delivers 26 channels to subscribers in Wellington and Christchurch through fibre-optic cable.

Although it will continue to extend its cable service to Auckland, it is not clear whether it will still move into other centres.

The deal with TVNZ would have enabled it to cover the entire country by using space TVNZ has already bought on an Australian satellite.

The collapse of the deal dashes the hopes of many sports fans of watching live coverage of the All Blacks' end-of-season tour to Scotland and Ireland.

TelstraSaturn has exclusive rights to the tour, as well as the Six Nations and Heineken Cup rugby events for 2001 and 2002.

Its director of customer operations, Rhoda Holmes, said last night that TVNZ would continue to offer delayed rugby coverage.

Although TelstraSaturn has naming rights to Tiger Woods' golf games in New Zealand, it does not have rights to screen the games.

Ms Holmes said TelstraSaturn would continue to provide call-centre support and installation services for TVNZ's digital service, if the service itself continued.

TelstraSaturn has spent up to $25 million preparing for the deal.

The company, which has committed $1.2 billion to extending its cable network, made the decision to abandon its joint venture with TVNZ on Friday.

It is believed to be secretly courting a partnership with Sky TV.

TelstraSaturn staff involved in the plans were briefed yesterday. They were told the pullout would not lead to job losses.

In a memo obtained by the Herald, TelstraSaturn chief executive Jack Matthews hinted that a better deal was being negotiated.

TelstraSaturn is thought to be keen to allow Sky to take over its pay TV business in return for becoming Sky's telecommunications partner.

Media companies are moving towards bundling together a range of services for customers, including television, internet and phone services.

Sky is believed to have about 422,000 pay TV customers. At the end of last year, TelstraSaturn had about 21,000 subscribers in Wellington.

Telecom is likely to be less than impressed with TelstraSaturn's plans. It has already bought 12 per cent of Sky TV, partly to persuade Sky to allow it to provide telephone services for Sky customers.

In the memo to staff, Mr Matthews claimed that canning the satellite TV plans would not wreck TVNZ's own plans.

However, the decision is another blow for TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis, who last year failed to secure a $200 million digital TV deal with British cable giant NTL.

As a further insult, TVNZ may miss more than $1 million of advertising TelstraSaturn planned to put its way to publicise the launch.

TVNZ spokesman Glen Sowry said last night that he knew nothing of the decision. He was unable to comment until TVNZ had talked to TelstraSaturn.


TelstraSaturn stalls digital, but ABs are on


From http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,887317a11,FF.html

TelstraSaturn has put its nationwide digital plans on ice - but has promised the All Blacks' year-end tour to Britain will still be screened.

TelstraSaturn, a Wellington-based pay-TV and telecommunications company, has told TVNZ it hasn't dumped their joint deal to share digital services but wants to delay its own service while it pursues other options.

However, it does put in doubt the ability of TVNZ to roll out its own service later this year.

The Evening Post understands TelstraSaturn wants pay-TV rival Sky TV to be its telecommunications partner and also to have its TV services delivered together with Sky's through a single set-top box.

TVNZ and TelstraSaturn signed a deal in April that provided for open access to each other's transmission networks and set-top boxes.

It allowed TelstraSaturn to become a direct competitor with Sky TV by using a TVNZ satellite to broadcast its pay-TV channels nationwide.

Both services were originally expected to be unveiled in the next few months.

TelstraSaturn chief executive Jack Matthews said yesterday it wanted the pay-TV market to be "rational" with a single set-top box that multiple companies could use.

Asked if the digital deal with TVNZ was still going ahead, Mr Matthews said: "That's a bit up in the air I suppose".

"I think it will go ahead. There are a lot of things going on."

He said he couldn't talk further but did say that TelstraSaturn was determined to stay in the pay-TV business.

However, he said the All Blacks' games against Scotland and Ireland at the end of the year, to which it has the rights, would still be screened - either on its cable service, or it would sell them in some format to other broadcasters such as Sky.

Sky said today it wasn't commenting on market speculation.

TVNZ spokesman Glen Sowry said today he couldn't comment on the state of its own digital plans till it had met with TelstraSaturn today.

Sky TV has more than 400,000 subscribers - 30 per cent of all households; TelstraSaturn has more than 20,000 on its cable network in Wellington.

TelstraSaturn is owned as a joint venture by two Australian companies, Telstra Corporation and Austar United.


TelstraSaturn set to court Sky TV


From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=203272&thesection=business&thesubsection=media

Telecommunications company TelstraSaturn is believed to be keen to sell its pay-television business to rival Sky TV.

The company, which wants to be seen as a key player in New Zealand, is understood to have begun high-level talks with Sky executives, behind the back of its jilted partner, TVNZ.

TelstraSaturn favours a trade-off with Sky that would involve exiting pay-TV in return for becoming Sky's preferred telecommunications partner.

The plan is likely to cause friction at board level, with Telecom also trying to develop a relationship with Sky by buying a stake in the company.

TelstraSaturn yesterday told staff it was pulling the plug on a joint venture with TVNZ that would have extended its 26-channel Wellington and Christchurch cable-TV service nationwide, by sub-leasing space TVNZ has bought on the Optus satellite.

Millions of dollars are believed to have been spent on the venture, but TelstraSaturn told staff that due to "much more aggressive activity from Telecom in particular" it has decided to focus on its core markets.

In an internal memo, the company said it had been "pursuing other opportunities with various players" that would better position it in the New Zealand market and "avoid unnecessary duplication and infrastructure".

TelstraSaturn said it had not yet had the chance to "fully explore" such opportunities, but the Business Herald understands it has already begun courting Sky chairman Tom Mockridge.

Industry insiders have speculated that TelstraSaturn always wanted to form a partnership with Sky, and signing a deal with TVNZ was a strategic move it hoped would force Sky to negotiate.

But the decision is also likely to have been sparked by concerns that its Australian part-owner, Austar United, is struggling across the Tasman.

The Australian company said yesterday that it had spent $A71 million ($87 million) more than it received from customers in the three months to June 30.

If it continues at that rate, it will run out of cash by the end of next year.

In March, TelstraSaturn revealed that it made an operating loss of $117 million on revenue of $127 million last year.

Yesterday, Austar confirmed that it would borrow $A150 million more from banks to help finance its New Zealand expansion plans.

"The funds will be used to get the existing businesses to a cashflow break-even point, which we expect will be in 2004," said spokesman Bruce Meagher.

While TelstraSaturn intends to continue expanding its cable service to Christchurch and Auckland, it has stressed to staff that the business market is crucial to its success.

At the end of last year, it had 32,000 residential telephone customers in Wellington, as well as 1500 business clients, 21,000 pay-TV subscribers and 45,000 internet subscribers.

But several issues remain up in the air, including how it will extract itself from the deal with TVNZ to sub-lease the satellite space.

The legal position of three companies contracted to install the digital service - GDC, Downer Connect and Strongline - is also unclear.

TelstraSaturn may be forced to compensate the companies, on top of the money it has already spent on the venture.

The company is believed to have been ready to launch the service with TVNZ, and has told staff it could still go ahead if the Sky proposal falls over.


Telstra ditches pay TV plans


From http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,2483768%255E643,00.html

TELSTRA has moved to stem the flow of red ink from one of its big loss-making investments – the Telstra Saturn joint venture in New Zealand is ditching plans for a satellite pay TV service.

The downsizing of Telstra Saturn, a $NZ1.2 billion ($980 million) broadband network joint venture with regional pay TV group Austar, comes as Telstra tightens the screws on capital outlays in response to a new, low-growth outlook for telecommunications services.

The carrier is also under mounting pressure to rein in an estimated $240 million a year in equity accounted losses from associate companies, including $53 million from Telstra Saturn for the December 2000 half-year alone.

Austar is facing its own problems.

While the company's shares gained 2.3c yesterday to 51.3c, they are still trading near all-time lows as doubts persist about its business model.

Telstra Saturn staff were told of the revised pay TV plans by internal email, a copy of which has been obtained by The Australian.

The note says Telstra Saturn was ready to launch satellite pay TV to complement its cable service, but other opportunities were now being pursued to avoid "unnecessary duplication of investment and infrastructure".

A source said a deal with rival pay group Sky Network Television, 47 per cent owned by News Corp's Satellite Independent Newspapers and about 12 per cent by Telecom New Zealand, was "imminent".

"They are now gambling on this going ahead and have cancelled the launch of their satellite TV service," he said.

Sky is New Zealand's biggest pay TV operator, reporting almost 400,000 subscribers at the end of last year.

Telstra Saturn, for its part, provides an integrated package of telecommunications services, with 21,000 pay TV subscribers, 45,000 internet and 32,000 residential telephony customers as at last December.

A Telstra Saturn spokeswoman said she could not comment on any speculation involving Sky. "But satellite pay TV was never part of our original business plan, so this decision does not reflect any decision by either shareholder to pull back from the initial plan," she said.

Telstra Saturn has also encountered problems with its cable network rollout. It had been designed to pass 65 per cent of the population, concentrating on Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland.

However, the same source said it was possible that the Auckland rollout might never be completed because of local council problems with overhead cabling. The satellite pay TV proposal addressed some of the problems.

Delays in the rollout triggered a technical breach in one of Telstra Saturn's banking covenants relating to achievement of a certain ratio of fibre laid to drawn debt by June 30.

A syndicate of 14 banks for the $NZ900 million total facility agreed to waive its rights.


Austar's funding picture still snowy


From http://www.smh.com.au/news/0108/01/biztech/biztech3.html

Austar trod water in the June quarter, but the loss-making regional pay TV provider is expected to come under increasing pressure to sell some assets to resolve longer-term funding issues.

The satellite TV broadcaster burnt through $35 million cash in the three months to June, $6 million more than the $29 million reported in the March quarter. It had $253 million cash on hand at the end of the first half, including the $201 million raised from its rights issue in May.

The group booked $94 million in customer receipts last quarter, just below the $96 million booked in March. Austar shares rose 2c to 51c yesterday.

If it continues to burn cash at the current rate, analysts estimate that Austar has just 10 months left before it will have to raise further funding.

The broadcaster is in discussions with its bankers to raise the extra $150 million it needs to fund its business to break even. Austar lost $319.4 million in 2000.

Given Austar's strained financial position, analysts believe its bankers would demand asset sales before agreeing to lend more.

Telstra Saturn, Austar's capital-hungry New Zealand joint venture with Telstra, is expected to be one of the first businesses put up for sale.

Telstra and Austar have agreed to invest more than $NZ1 billion ($815 million) over five years on rolling out a broadband network in New Zealand. Austar must contribute NZ50c for every $NZ1 Telstra Saturn draws down of its $NZ900 million debt facility.

Austar has invested $38.6 million in Telstra Saturn so far this year. Telstra Saturn lost $98 million on revenue of $110 million in 2000.

Austar is expected to review its commitment to Telstra Saturn.

Under one scenario being touted in the market, Telstra would continue to fund the broadband roll-out in exchange for a portion of Austar's holding in Telstra Saturn.

"Austar is best served by focusing on its core pay TV business," according to a media analyst. "It doesn't need to own the infrastructure."

It maintains it has no plans to pull out of the NZ operation, forecast to break even in 2005.

"We are committed to New Zealand," a spokesman said. "We think it's a good business and in the current market with the current valuations of telecommunications assets we would not want to sell."

Austar rejected suggestions that it would come under pressure from its bankers to divest some of its underperforming assets.

With investors remaining risk averse in the current economic climate, Austar's chances of raising fresh equity are slim. Parent UnitedGlobalCom was forced to take up the shortfall in the recent rights issue, boosting its holding to 81 per cent.


Zee shelves plans for its own teleport


From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010801/efetop2.html

Zee Telefilms has shelved its plans to uplink the network’s channels from India through its own teleport. The decision has been taken due to the promoters inability to bring down foreign holding in the company to 49 per cent, a requirement for getting a licence to uplink from its earth station.

The company will, however, approach, for the uplinking of its channels, an Indian company which has set up an earth station. It currently uplinks its Alpha group of channels from Singapore, while the Zee channels are uplinked from Hong Kong.

?Zee Telefilms is not pursuing a teleport permission. But we have applied for a licence to uplink our channels from India. We expect to get it within a week,” said RK Singh, chief executive officer, corporate, Zee Telefilms.

Mr Singh, however, did not reveal the company whose uplinking services Zee would use. Neither did he name the city from where Zee would be uplinking. Zee is already uplinking its news channel from Delhi through VSNL. Sun and Jain TV are some of the companies who have already set up their teleports.

Media analysts said Zee was likely to uplink from Delhi, since this way it will be able to use the playout facility at Noida near Delhi. No company has the infrastructure to provide uplinking from Mumbai. VSNL has built the infrastructure in Chennai. Incidentally, Zee Telefilms has already created a teleport facility at Noida at an investment of around Rs 25 crore.

The use of an earth station in India will help the company to mop up income from non exporters who can advertise on the channels only if they are uplinked from within the country. Besides, this would also reduce costs and the logistics problem. For interactive programming, domestic uplinking will be an advantage.

The reduction in the promoter’s holding to below 50 per cent would depend on the strategic investor, Mr Singh said. “The idea is to get a partner. The exact dilution will unfold when the partner comes in,” he added.

This would, however, not imply the coming down of ZTL’s foreign holding to 49 per cent. Zee Telefilms chairman, Subhash Chandra has already indicated that he would prefer a strategic investor who would be able to provide the company access to global markets. The promoters foreign holding as on June 30, 2001, was around 36 per cent, while their Indian equity is 23 per cent. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) hold 19 per cent in ZTL.

Zee has been wanting to uplink from its earth station in Noida for more than a year now. But it couldn’t meet the guideline, which stipulated that earth station would not be permissible to a company where the foreign holding is more than 49 per cent.

A different unit under ZTL will be created for the movie business. Gadar, ZTL’s movie venture, has already earned Rs 35-40 crore in gross collections, said Mr Singh.


SingTel Q1 profit slips but revenues up


From http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow.asp?art_ID=2071601588

SINGAPORE: Singapore Telecommunications Ltd posted a fall in net profits for the quarter ended June 30 amid competition from market liberalisation and a slowdown in Singapore and global economies.

Asia's eighth largesttelco reported a drop of 4.8 percent in net profit attributable to shareholders to S$601.2 million ($334 million) compared with year ago levels, which was dampened by lower contributions from associated and joint venture companies such as Belgacom.

Thetelco said profit after tax before exceptional items was down 2.5 percent at S$579 million.

In line with changes to Singapore's new accounting criteria, SingTel said extraordinary items previously excluded from the bottom line profit are now included above the line.

Operating revenue edged up to S$1.24 billion in the latest quarter from S$1.23 billion in the same period a year ago.

"The group's turnover grew 1.2 percent year on year despite pricing pressures and the current economic downturn," SingTel chief executive Lee Hsien Yang told a news conference.

The latest results were affected by a 8.4 percent fall on the year in contributions from associates and joint venture companies. The decline was due to lower earnings from Belgacom, down 27 percent, and losses from certain start-ups and new ventures.

A Reuters poll of five analysts showed government-linked SingTel was expected to deliver net earnings of S$507 million to S$561.6 million for the three months to June 30, the first quarter of its financial year ending March 31, 2002.

OUTLOOK CLOUDY

Looking ahead, SingTel's Lee said the telco has not made any revision to its earnings outlook for FY2002.

"The results of the company will be dependent on the state and growth of the Singapore economy, and there is a lot of uncertainty right now," he said.

SingTel had said in its FY2001 results statement in May that it expects lower earnings in the current financial year due to a fall in contributions from existing international investments.

The group noted more effective cost controls had supported its bottom line in its fiscal first quarter.

Operating expenses were "well controlled" with a five percent increase over the first quarter of last year, but a significant 13.5 percent decline against the preceding quarter, it said.

Selling and administrative expenses fell 1.4 percent on year and 30.9 percent against the preceeding quarter, mainly from a reduction in general and administrative costs.

Given the negative domestic business sentiment, Lee said SingTel has been consciously monitoring expenses and discretionary items in the event that revenues slow further.

REVENUES HOLDING UP

The biggest revenue growth was registered by public data and private network services, which increased by 25 percent on year to S$303 million, the group's second largest revenue contributor.

Lee said SingTel expects this segment to continue to post "good growth although slower growth than last year."

"The guidance we gave was 20 percent plus growth for this year versus 45 percent in the previous year, and we came in just a shade under 25 percent for the quarter. We would be watching the state of the economy and the rate this business is growing."

SingTel said the largest revenue segment, by a slight margin of 24 percent, remained international telephone services at S$304 million, a decline of nine percent compared with a year ago.

Mobile communications services contributed S$220 million or 18 percent to group turnover, a 0.5 percent increase on year.

The carrier said SingTel Mobile's subscriber base as of June was 1.64 million, a rise of 42 percent from a year earlier.

Tjandra Kartika, analyst at GK Goh Securities, said SingTel performed well in its fiscal first quarter, as its operating profit had fallen less than anticipated.

"But its public data and networking segment was below expectations, and remains one of our concerns going forward as there is the risk that this segment will slow down further as the (local) economy slows," he added.

AUSTRALIAN ACQUISITION ON TRACK

SingTel, currently in the midst of acquiring Australia's second dominant carrier Cable & Wireless Optus, said earnings per share before exceptionals was 3.76 cents against 3.84 cents a year ago.

SingTel said earlier this week it will extend its takeover offer period for Optus by a month to September 3, its second such extension so far, pending approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

Lee said the approval for the Optus deal had taken longer than expected, but "the transaction is progressing along well and we believe it is on track."

Thetelco's share price has slumped about 24 percent since it launched its cash plus scrip offer of up to A$17.2 billion for Optus in March.

The stock has underperformed the broader Straits Times Index by about 25 percent over the last six months.

SingTel's shares closed unchanged at S$1.82 on Tuesday, before the release of its results.
( REUTERS )