13/12/02

End of the week and a few news items to end with.

From my Emails & ICQ

From TVK

Hi Craig,

Could you please post this urgent message on your noticeboard to all Sydney installers?

Attention all Sydney Installation companies:

tvKorea currently requires installations for customers in the Sydney Metro area prior to Christmas. You must be able to provide a set top unit with Irdeto Version 2 encryption capability, compatible for the Globecast platform on the Optus B3 satellite. The signal will be encrypted and the customers provided with a Smart card.

Please forward all applications and queries to:
Sohi Kang
[email protected]

Thank you,
Sohi Kang.

From Victor (NZ)

Hi Craig,

I intend to recieve all the Indian and English free to air signals from Asaisat 3.
Would a 1.8m solid do the trick or do I need to get a 3.1m mesh.

If you know of some one selling dishes at a cheap price let me know.

Secondly do I need to get a council permit to set up a dish. I live in South Auckland.

Regards
Victor

(Craigs comment, A 3M is the recommended size. As for the permitt well officially you should get one but really it depends where the dish is going if its in your backyard and neighbours have no problems with it then you should be ok.)

From the Dish

Intelsat 701 180E 3769 R "HRT TV 1" has started , Fta, PIDs 2160/2120.(this one been there a while the source feed for HRT on B3)

Palapa C2 113E 3916 H "MAC TV" has started, Fta, Sr 2900, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256.
Palapa C2 113E 4015 H "TVRI Banda Aceh" has started, Fta, Sr 6000, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256, 17:30-20:00 HKT.
Palapa C2 113E Occasional feeds on 3990 H and 4005, SR 6000, FEC 3/4.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3480 H "ATV and Show TV have replaced Thai TV Global Network and VTV 4" on, Fta, PIDs 512/640 and 513/641.

NEWS

Optus satellite under cloud

From http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5668398%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

THE launch of the Optus-Department of Defence C1 satellite is under a cloud after the Ariane 5 rocket booked to carry it into space early next year exploded yesterday on take-off.

The launch of the satellite – which will carry Australian telecommunications and military traffic – could be postponed or shifted to another family of rockets.

Arianespace's Ariane 5 failed just three minutes after take-off, exploding and plunging two satellites into the Atlantic.

Described by the company as an "anomaly", the explosion will be the subject of an internal inquiry.

The failure followed several aborted launches of the payload, two communications satellites used by carrier Eutelsat and French space agency CNES.

"We have many options available to us and we are talking to Arianespace at the moment," an Optus spokesman said.

Yesterday's mishap was the second embarrassing failure for the Ariane 5, which was withdrawn from use for several months last year when it launched two satellites into the wrong orbit.

A board of inquiry into that flight found that a hydraulic problem in the upper stage of the Aestus engine caused poor thrust, shooting a European scientific satellite and a Japanese TV satellite into a lower than normal orbit and cutting the lifespan of the two, which had to use up fuel firing booster engines.

Satellite launch failures remain a sore spot for Optus, which lost its B2 satellite in 1992 when the Long March rocket carrying it from its launch site in China exploded.

All eyes at Optus will now be on the launch of competitor New Skies Satellite's NSS-6 satellite next week. But NSS-6 is likely to be successful, piggybacking on the more stable Ariane 4 rocket.

New Skies – which acquired AAPT Sat-Tel in 1999 – plans to provide telecommunications services in the Asia Pacific in competition with C1.

Arianespace is the commercial arm of the European Space Consortium, and is backed by 12 European countries headed by France.

It has launched hundreds of satellites from the European Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.

The failure comes as Japan's National Space Development Agency prepares to launch the Australian FedSat satellite from Tanegashima on Saturday.

FedSat – the first Australian-built satellite since the 1967 launch of the Weapons Research Establishment satellite from Woomera – will have a life of two to three years.

Satellite could beam fast net to bush

From http://abc.net.au/news/scitech/2002/12/item20021213150947_1.htm

The nation's first satellite in more than 30 years will be launched on the weekend and could result in super-fast and affordable broadband Internet services for rural and remote areas.

The research satellite FedSat will launch from Japan on Saturday and will conduct the first in-space experiments into the reliability and efficiency of a high-frequency communication band.

Dr Brian Embleton from the Co-operative Research Centre for Satellite Systems says the research could mean improved communications for regional areas.

"It's very exciting indeed. The experiments are designed to investigate how we can deliver Internet services more efficiently using satellite technologies," he said.

"It will be the first micro-satellite carrying a very high-speed broadband communications frequency - the kinds of frequencies people in remote areas will be relying on in the future to deliver Internet-like services to them," he said.

Minister backs Japan satellite launch

From http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5671403%255E15306,00.html

AUSTRALIA'S science minister says he's confident of a successful launch of a domestically produced satellite by Japan's space agency - despite recent failures.

Science Minister Peter McGauran says he has great faith in not just Japanese knowledge and ingenuity but also their capacity to learn from past experiences.

Australia is the first country ever to entrust Japan with launching a satellite into space.

Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo, Mr McGauran says Japan offered last year to put the research pod, FedSat into space as a gift for the centenary of federation.

Japan will launch its H-2A rocket into space tomorrow, placing into orbit the first Australian-made satellite in 35 years.

The H-2A will also carry three Japanese-made satellites.

The FedSat has high-tech communication, space science, navigation and computing equipment and Canberra will share data from the satellite with Japan.

New satellite boosts Aust broadband

From http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/communications/story/0,2000024993,20270667,00.htm

In a move which will boost broadband provision to Australia and throughout the southern hemisphere, New Skies Satellites is set to launch its first ever custom-built broadband satellite from the Arianespace launch site in Kourou, French Guiana.

The NSS-6 will be New Skies' sixth satellite in orbit, and extend the company's reach from Southern Africa, throughout the Middle East, and through the Asia -Pacific region, covering two thirds of the world's population.

According to Alan Marsden national marketing manager for New Skies Networks, the company's Australian division, the launch will significantly boost access to satellite services throughout Australia.

"The launch of this new satellite will enable us to provide two way services on antennas about half the size of those that are currently in use, and make us more capable of providing cost effective coverage," Marsden said. "Our number one competitor in the Australian market is Optus, in the sense that they have their own satellite and provide value added services, but the difference is that we can provide global rather than just domestic services."

Purpose built for broadband provision the NSS-6 will be located 95 degrees, just west of Singapore and provide coverage via six high-powered, Ku-band beams and up to 10 Ka-band uplink spot beams.

A licensed carrier in the Australian market New Skies Networks provides enterprise-level satellite connectivity for video broadcast, as well as voice and data networks.

New Skies Networks already operates three major city earth stations in Australia, where bandwidth from both New Skies and competitor's satellites provides the backbone for the company's national service.

The NSS-6 satellite is due to hit the skies on the 18th of December, subject to weather conditions, and final testing of the rockets. New Skies will be cautious not to repeat the ill-fated launch of the Ariane 5 rocket, which exploded soon after take off on December 13, taking with it a Hot Bird 7 satellite belonging to French-based carrier Eutelsat valued at US$250 million.

"The NSS-6 will be launched using Ariane 4 rockets, which have been much more stable than the Ariane 5s," Marsden said.

Arianespace Releases Initial Information On Flight 157

From http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/release_html_b1?release_id=49595

KOUROU, FRENCH GUIANA -- (INTERNET WIRE) -- 12/12/2002 -- During a press conference today in Kourou, French Guiana, Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall provided initial information on the failure of Flight 157. He also announced the establishment of an independent inquiry board.

The flight

Initial data analysis performed last night showed that the countdown, engine ignition and initial phase of flight were normal. A first anomaly occurred 96 seconds into the mission, involving the cooling circuit for the Vulcain 2 engine that powers the main cryogenic stage. From T + 178 sec to T + 186 sec, the engine speed changed and a significant flight control perturbation occurred.

At T + 187 sec, the Ariane 5’s payload fairing was jettisoned as planned, but the launcher’s attitude was not correct. The launcher subsequently demonstrated erratic behavior. In compliance with range safety procedures, the launcher was destroyed at approximately 456 sec. into the mission. The Ariane 5 was at an altitude of about 69 kilometers and a distance of 800 kilometers off the coast of French Guiana.

Data analysis and inquiry board

Jean-Yves Le Gall announced that an independent inquiry board is being set up, with members to be named within a few days.

The board will have two main objectives:

1 – Ensure that the Flight 157 anomaly will not affect upcoming
launches of the baseline version of Ariane 5.

2 – Analyze, understand and correct the Flight 157 failure causes
so that the 10-ton-payload Ariane 5 version can resume launches with high reliability.

Next press conference

The date for the next press conference will be announced shortly following the submittal of initial conclusions by the inquiry board.

Arianespace next mission

The launch date for the next scheduled Arianespace mission, Flight 156 – which will use an Ariane 4 to orbit the NSS-6 satellite – has been confirmed for the evening of Tuesday, December 17.

About Arianespace

Arianespace is the commercial launch services leader, holding more than 50 percent of the international market for satellites launched to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Created in 1980 as the world’s first commercial space transportation company, Arianespace has signed contracts for the launch of more than 250 satellite payloads. For further information, see the Arianespace Web site at www.arianespace.com.

iPSTAR launch still on schedule

From http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/13Dec2002_bus10.html

Ariane-5 blast won't delay plan

Shin Satellite says the launch of its iPSTAR satellite by the end of next year would not be affected by the failure and explosion of a new Arianespace rocket at the French company's site in French Guiana.

A spokesperson for the company said that Shin Satellite was a good customer that had used Arianespace's service for its first three satellites, and that failures were expected in the high-risk launch industry.

Shin Satellite would remain an Arianespace customer for the launch, the spokesperson said.

Shin Satellite Plc has secured $390.2 million in loans for iPSTAR, which will be the world's first broadband satellite. Of the total, $184.5 million was borrowed from the US Export-Import Bank, and $80.7 million from the French export-credit guarantee company Coface. The Coface loan will be used to defray the cost of the launch.

The first upgraded Ariane-5 rocket exploded soon after blast-off from French Guiana on Wednesday, sending two satellites plunging into the Atlantic Ocean in a $600-million space disaster.

The explosion, the fourth failure of an Ariane-5 rocket in its 14-mission history, was a major setback for the European space programme.

``About three minutes after lift-off an anomaly occurred,'' Arianespace chief executive Jean-Yves Le Gall said. ``It is impossible to say now what actually happened, just three minutes after launch the mission failed.''

Aboard the doomed rocket was the Hot Bird 7 satellite owned by the Paris-based operator Eutelsat. Eutelsat executives declined to give the cost of the satellite, its launch cost and the extent of insurance coverage.

Specialists estimated the cost of Hot Bird 7 at more than $250 million but were unable to estimate the scope of its insurance.

Wednesday's flight was the first attempt to launch an upgraded Ariane-5 rocket with a launch capacity of 10 tonnes. Previous versions of Ariane-5 had a maximum capacity of 6.8 tonnes.

Since the Ariane programme began in 1979, 11 of its 157 missions have failed. The extremely reliable Ariane-4 has failed only three times in over 100 launches, but is due to be taken out of service after two more flights.

Specialists said Wednesday's failure would make financing and insuring satellite ventures more expensive.

A total of 15 commercial satellites are expected to be ordered this year.

US firms have aggressively entered the launch sector with Boeing successfully launching its maiden Delta-4 rocket earlier this month and Lockheed Martin Corp introducing Atlas-5 in August.

Ariane space project in doubt after explosion

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,859111,00.html

Europe's troubled space programme was yesterday plunged into a new crisis after its most powerful rocket exploded shortly after take-off, sending more than $600m (£380m) worth of satellite equipment crashing into the ocean.

An unspecified "anomaly" was blamed after the Ariane 5 rocket disintegrated just three minutes after lift-off from the European Space Port on the coast of French Guyana on Wednesday night. Early reports suggest motor failure was to blame.

The explosion could be a fatal blow to the reputation of Ariane-5 rockets, which have a history of technical problems. It is also likely to hinder efforts by Arianespace, the European consortium, to return to profitability in the face of fierce competition from the US and Russia.

The space transport market is suffering from overcapacity due to a fall in demand from the financially stricken telecoms firms that form the bulk of its customer base.

The European Space Agency immediately launched an investigation into the failure, the second aborted attempt to get Ariane airborne in less than a fortnight.

Last month, Ariane and its business partners chartered an Air France jumbo to fly more than 100 dignitaries to the heart of the French Guyanan jungle to watch Ariane 5 take off. At the end of a dramatic countdown the rocket failed to ignite.

Jean-Yves Le Gall, Arianespace's chief executive, apologised for the loss. "We've been through difficult times before and we will overcome this challenge," he insisted.

The launch was seen as a test of Arianespace's abilities to cut costs by placing two heavy satellites into geostationary orbit at a time. Satellite insurance premiums are likely to rise as a consequence of the explosion.

Last month, the largest communications satellite ever built was lost after failing to reach orbit after being launched on a Russian rocket.

The Ariane 5 launch programme was only restarted in March when it successfully launched a weather-monitoring satellite.

12/12/02

I have hooked up an old UHF video sender in my room so I can beam the cricket off Sky tv into the pc room. Its only through 1 wall so works okay. I just have to contact Sky and arrange for a 2nd Digital receiver for in my room during the cricket season and I will be all set.

Ariane 5 blew up on launch, lucky for us it didn't have Optus C1 or NSS6 onboard! see this link for some video clips. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2565387.stm

A late update on my Sky situation, Sky are wanting $200! to install a 2nd decoder ! what a ^%$^@ joke!! how big a joke? well Sky is doing installs for $99 at the moment! gee work it out Sky. Any SKY installer know the code or reference details for self installed dish or prewired house? the phone dummy had no idea. Basically all I need to do is pick up the decoder and card. Everything else is allready taken care of

From my Emails & ICQ

From Andrew Harrison

Arianne 5 Explodes

Arianne 5 just explodsd after takeoff from French Guyana sending 2 satellites plunging to their deaths into the Atlantic.
BBC said no on was hurt in the accident - bullshit.

Andrew Harrison

From the Dish

Koreasat 3 116E 12550 V KBS Korea and ABC Asia Pacific have replaced Dong Ah TV and Arirang TV Korea on , PowerVu, PIDs 1260/1220 and 1660/1620.

Yamal 102 90E Khabarovsk TV has moved from 3735 L to 3725 L, clear, SR 3200, FEC 3/4,PIDs 4194/4195.
Yamal 102 90E 3729 LN ew APID for Radio Rossii on : 257.

NEWS

Ariane-5 launch fails and rocket falls into ocean

From http://world.scmp.com/worldnews/ZZZDNGY2H9D.html

Europe's most powerful rocket lifted off early on Thursday (HK time) from its South American base, sailed into the heavens, then plummeted in pieces into the ocean.

It was the second botched attempt to put the souped up Ariane-5 rocket on its maiden voyage and a blow to the European consortium behind the Ariane program. Ariane is in heated competition with the United States for orders in the lucrative satellite launching market.

The unmanned rocket - carrying a 10-ton payload of two satellites - appeared to make a perfect lift off from the Kourou base in French Guiana, at 6.21am (HK time).

However, three minutes later, technical problems developed, according to Arianespace, the launcher's commercial arm, and the rocket fell into the Atlantic Ocean in pieces, along with its multimillion-dollar payload, according to Arianespace.

''Approximately three minutes after liftoff an anomaly occurred, thus ending the flight 157 mission,'' Arianespace said in a brief statement.

The nature of the anomaly was not immediately known. There was speculation of a combustion problem.

Experts immediately began deciphering the data, and Arianespace set a news conference for Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the space station was the object of a bomb threat that proved unfounded, officials said.

Ariane 5 Fails on Maiden Flight

From http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=646

Today's maiden flight of the updated version of the Ariane 5 failed shortly after takeoff. Flight 157 was to have placed two satellite payloads into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

The flight was to demonstrate the Ariane 5's capability to pair up all types of spacecraft for efficient dual launches. The first satellite that would have been deployed was the Eutelsat HOT BIRDTM 7 TV broadcast platform, followed minutes later by the French CNES space agency's STENTOR telecom demonstrator spacecraft.

The Ariane 5 used for today's mission is the first launcher with a 10-ton payload lift capacity to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said it was too soon to give an explenation of the failure. A press conference is scheduled for 8 a.m. EST tomorrow.

Europe's super rocket explodes

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2565387.stm

Europe's new heavy-lift rocket has failed on its maiden flight.

The Ariane 5-ESCA blasted off from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana at 1921 (2221 GMT) local time and exploded over the Atlantic three minutes later.

"We have already known failures, we will know more " Jean-Yves Le Gall, Arianespace

Sources close to the launch site have told BBC News Online that first indications suggest a failure of the rocket's main Vulcain-2 engine, as its performance was seen to reduce dramatically before the vehicle veered off course.

All Ariane 5 launches have now been put on hold, which threatens next month's daring Rosetta mission designed to put a lander on a comet.

Slow speed

According to our sources, it seems that after the rocket's two solid-fuelled boosters separated from the core stage, the pressure of the liquid fuel entering the Vulcain-2's combustion chamber was less than expected.

The effect became apparent three minutes into the flight when it was clear the Ariane 5 was not gaining the required altitude or speed.

Seconds later the vehicle's self-destruct mechanism activated.

The Vulcain-2 engine is supposed to power the rocket for the first nine minutes of flight. The debris from the rocket, and its dual satellite payload, fell into the ocean.

Arianespace, the rocket's operators, have scheduled a media conference for Thursday.

Main stage

Wednesday's launch was the second attempt to get the Ariane 5-ESCA airborne. The first countdown on 28 November was halted because of a computer glitch.

The launcher was a beefed-up version of the vehicle that first went into full commercial service in 1999.

Wednesday's explosion was the fourth failure, and the third total loss of an Ariane 5 rocket in its 14-mission history that goes back to 1996.

The enhanced Ariane 5 has a payload capacity of 10 tonnes, as opposed to the standard Ariane 5 capacity of six tonnes. This is achieved by increasing the performance of its rocket motors by about 20% and incorporating better fuel pumps and bigger fuel tanks.

A new cryogenic upper stage has also been included in the enhanced Ariane 5 concept.

Comet question

The setback has put an enormous question mark over Europe's upcoming science mission Rosetta, which was built to put a lander on Comet Wirtanen.

The Rosetta mission would land on a comet

The Rosetta craft was due to launch on the next Ariane 5 flight on 12 January. Its eight-year journey to the comet requires the probe to be swung around Mars once and Earth twice to get it in the right position to catch the comet.

This means Rosetta has a tight 20-day launch window. If it is not despatched during this time, it is likely the spaceprobe will have to be directed towards another comet.

There are several other possibilities but astronomers would be dismayed to rule out an encounter with Comet Wirtanen.

Cruel reminder

The Ariane 5 launcher lost on Wednesday was carrying two satellites: a Hotbird TM7 for the European telecoms consortium Eutelsat, and Stentor, an experimental communications satellite for the French space research institute CNES.

The Eutelsat had an estimated value of about 250m euros; the Stentor was said to be worth 380m euros. Both were insured.

The CEO of Arianespace, Jean-Yves Le Gall, immediately apologised to his two customers.

"At this stage it is too early to give precise reasons for this failure," he said.

"Our job is difficult. It's at moments like this we are cruelly reminded of it," he added. "We have already known failures, we will know more."

Australia blasts back into space game

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/12/11/1039379882750.html

The first Australian-built satellite in 35 years is due to be launched on Saturday as the nation re-enters the Space Age.

The $20 million, 60-kilogram, half-metre, cube-shaped FedSat - a so-called "micro-satellite" - will be launched on a Japanese rocket from Tanegashima space centre, 900 kilometres south-west of Tokyo, at 12.31pm Melbourne time.

FedSat was built by the Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems, a consortium comprising the CSIRO, four companies and six universities, including La Trobe. It aims to test space-based broadband communication and new satellite computers. It will also collect data on solar radiation and the Earth's ionosphere.

The executive director of the Australian consortium, Brian Embleton, said FedSat was the first satellite developed in Australia since WRESAT and Oscar 5 were built in 1967-1970. He said technology had made satellites smaller and cheaper to build.

"It's just been so expensive to get into the (space) game; now it's affordable," Dr Embleton said. "Ten years ago, you needed a very large, expensive satellite . . . (now) it's just a question of getting on the bandwagon."

The satellite was built by 15 engineers and scientists at Auspace in Canberra. Most of the on-board equipment was built in Australia, although NASA contributed a payload.

Dr Embleton said the Aussat satellites, launched to improve Australia's communications in the 1980s, were Australian-owned but built overseas. "It didn't rub off on the local industry and that was a great disappointment to many," he said.

CSIRO chief executive Geoff Garrett said: "We have extremely high hopes for FedSat, which will end a long drought in Australian satellite flights. The scientific data it returns will be helpful for our own research, and will also contribute to research efforts in Japan."

FedSat is built to last three years, although its 800-kilometre, low-Earth polar orbit means it will be about a century before atmospheric drag condemns it to a fiery re-entry. The satellite has six experiments on board. Dr Embleton said FedSat was being launched free in return for sharing the satellite data with Japanese scientists.

Science Minister Peter McGauran said the launch - which "dwarfed" the cost of building FedSat - was a "generous gift from Japan for our centenary of Federation".

Although Australia was the third country after the US and USSR to launch a satellite from its territory, it has fallen behind in the space race. It is not one of the 15 countries involved in the International Space Station, a project that includes even small nations such as Denmark.

Mr McGauran said Australia "lost our way . . . we didn't assign space exploration and space technology the importance it needed and we are making up for lost time".

The launch will be shown live at www.crcss.csiro.au

Phoenix TV may win China hotel rights

From http://www.thestandard.com.hk/thestandard/news_detail_frame.cfm?articleid=36105&intcatid=1

Putonghua broadcaster Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings is on the landing-rights list to broadcast its InfoNews channel in three-star hotels on the mainland from the beginning of next year.

AOL Time Warner's China Entertainment Television Broadcast (CETV), Bloomberg TV and News Corporation's Star Xing Kong Wei Shi are also included, Ming Pao newspaper reported yesterday.

Phoenix deputy chief executive Leung Noong-kong told The Standard: ``We are still waiting for the approval and will have an official announcement once it materialises.''

Taiwan-backed applicants Asia Plus and Eastern Television had been removed from the list, sources said.

Phoenix had said the InfoNews channel, started last January, cost about US$20 million (HK$156 million) a year to run.

The company, which had permission to downlink its flagship Phoenix Chinese channel and a movie channel in Guangdong, also said InfoNews was likely to continue to lose money for up to four years even if it won China landing rights.

Media Partners Asia analyst Vivek Couto said: ``Phoenix InfoNews has been loss-making since its launch, depressing Phoenix's overall cashflow generation, so any kind of extended distribution is welcome.''

At present, CETV can reach more than 13 million homes in Guangdong and more than 18 million in total on an unofficial basis.

Xing Kong expects to break even in three years largely due to its general entertainment programming formula, based on the approach of ratings leader Star Plus in India.

``India's TV market is far different from China, and while Xing Kong is gaining in popularity ... it remains to be seen whether its ratings success, delivered on a very small reach, can translate into sizable ad dollars,'' Couto said.

The US$2.4 billion TV ad market remains dominated by CCTV and aggressive provincial broadcasters.

``Phoenix has made a dent historically ... while others [CETV, Xing Kong] have yet to really register on the radar screen,'' Couto said.

Phoenix's losses narrowed to HK$20.4 million in its fiscal first quarter from HK$34.88 million a year earlier.

Its shares closed unchanged yesterday at 73 HK cents.

11/12/02

Thank you all those that showed up in the chatroom it was interesting discussing what new channels people would like to see in our region. Let me know if you have some good sugestions!

Site updates might be a little delayed over the next few days as NZ is playing India in the Cricket so I will be watching that.

From my Emails & ICQ

Nothing but spam !

From the Dish

Intelsat 701 180E 4174 L AFN News and AFN Sports have started , PowerVu, PIDs 1260/1220and 1360/1320. New PIDs for AFN Pacific: 1160/1120.

PAS 8 166E 12366 H "MCM Asia" has left , replaced by a Les amis info card.The Les amis test card have left again.
PAS 8 166E 12646 H A new mux has started, Sr 28066, Fec 3/4.
PAS 8 166E 12686 H "CNBC Asia" has left .

Koreasat 3 116E 12530 H "ECN" has started testing on , clear, PIDs 2320/2321, Sky ch 722.A test card has started on PIDs 2336/2337, clear.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 4020 V "Sahara TV" and seven test cards have started , fta, Sr 27250,Fec3/4, PIDs 512/650-519/720.

Asiasat 2:100.5E 3660 V "EuroSport News" has left .

Yamal 102 90E 3725 L GTRK Dalnevostochnaya and Radio Rossii have moved to3729 L, Sr 4285, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256.

Thaicom 2 78.5E 3764 H "BBTV Channel 7" has left .

NEWS

Astra Satellite Splashes Into Pacific

From http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2002/12/11/048.html

The Associated Press The world's largest communications satellite plunged into the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, two weeks after a Russian booster rocket failed to put it into the correct orbit, the Russian Aviation and Space Agency said.

European mission control used the Astra-1K's engines to push it back into the earth's atmosphere and push it into the southern Pacific Ocean, said space forces spokesman Vyacheslav Davidenko.

The French-made Astra-1K was rendered useless following its Nov. 26 launch atop a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan when the Russian-made DM-3 boosting unit failed to give a secondary impulse to send it to a higher orbit, said Konstantin Kreidenko, a spokesman for the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.

Kreidenko said in a telephone interview that a glitch in the software that controls the DM-3 may have caused the failure, saying the DM-3 boosting unit, manufactured by RKK Energia, is used frequently to launch satellites to high, geostationary orbits without any problems.

With a height of 6.6 meters and a total span of 37 meters and equipped with 10 antenna reflectors, the satellite had been intended to replace three Astra satellites now in orbit.

Its owners later established partial control over the satellite but said it would never be able to fulfill its main mission of handling signals for radio, television, mobile telephones and the Internet.

Interfax reported an insurance industry source as saying the satellite was insured for more than $217 million.

The Astra-1K, manufactured by France's Alcatel Space corporation for the Societe Europeene des Satellites of Luxembourg, was the largest communications satellite ever built, at 5.25 metric tons.

The failure marked another setback for Russia's satellite-launching program, which Moscow sees as a potential cash cow for its depressed space industry. It followed the Oct. 15 explosion of an unmanned Soyuz-U rocket, also carrying a satellite, half a minute after liftoff.

New TV network will air programmes from Oman

From http://www.timesofoman.com/newsdetails.asp?newsid=20517&pn=local

MUSCAT — Middle East Television (MET), a Dubai Media City (DMC)-based broadcaster, will be airing programmes from Oman, early next year.

Although it is only just over a month since MET has begun beaming its programmes, the overwhelming response this first 24-hour free-to-air Indian satellite channel and the first overseas Malayalam Channel has received, specially from Oman, has prompted the channel to produce programmes specifically from Oman, the promoters said yesterday.

These programmes would be interactive in nature, mainly chat programmes and the like. Furthermore, there will also be special programmes on the activities among various communities in Oman, which will soon be covered and aired.

The enquiries that Oman has generated in this regard is very optimistic, says John Thomas, managing director of MET.

The MET is a 24-hour free-to-air digital satellite channel in Malayalam (with regular slots for Hindi and other south Indian languages) catering to the Indians in the Gulf and the rest of the world with local programmes produced mainly in the UAE. Apart from attracting substantial viewership of expatriate Malayalam-speakers and Indians, the channel has also appealed to a large number of viewers in Kerala and India with its highly entertaining content produced and broadcast with world-class production and technical standards.

The main target audience of the new channel is from the AGCC countries. Regular time slots are being offered for Hindi and other South Indian languages. Compared to other Malayalam channels the viewership of MET is much more because of the multi-language programme platform.

The project called for an initial investment of $20 million, Thomas noted.

The new channel, a sister concern of the Dubai-based Alan Technology LLC, a leading player in the Gulf information technology sector, has been airing many programmes produced locally with specific time slots focusing on Dubai and other AGCC countries, covering business activities, local festivals, tourism spots, conferences and exhibitions.

?Our goal is to provide quality entertainment with a difference. Although our primary target is South Indian viewership, we will have several programmes tailor-made to appeal to all Indians living within and outside the country thanks to our global reach,” Sudhir Kumar, executive director of MET, noted.

?Unlike other Malayalam television channels that rely mostly on film-based programmes, MET will focus primarily on news-based as well as feature programmes. Innovation will be our strength, and we have lined up a lot of exciting and refreshing topics for telecast,” Sudhir added.

The MET uses the latest server-based transmission technology and is uplinked from Dubai Media City’s teleport facilities. In a short span of time that MET has started, it has been regarded as a well-packaged family entertainment channel for the subcontinental viewer residing in Middle East, Far East, Africa, Europe and Australia.

MET will be available on the following specifications.

Satellite — Panamsat 10 (PAS 10) at 68.50 E., Frequency — 4131 MHz, Symbol Rate — 3308, FEC-2/3, Polarisation: Horizontal, Service ID-MET, Video PID-33, Audio PID-36.

Any individual receiving any of the Malayalam channels at the moment can receive MET by adding one LNB to his existing dish, John Thomas noted.

Ahimsaa channel to be launched on 30 Jan 2003

From indiantelevision.com

MUMBAI: Ahimsaa, a 24-hour global satellite television channel is all set for its launch on 30 January next year. The content of the channel will primarily comprise social, environmental and women empowerment issues.

The first official announcement about the launch was made at the 'Converging World 2002' held in Bangalore between 3-5 December. The channel is promoted by the Kolkata based Santosh Kumar Jain who besides being a partner in Aastha Television and CMM Music has also promoted ATN World and ATN Bangla in West Bengal. It is being backed by The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU) which is headquartered in Mount Abu, India.

"We propose to have kids shows; serials aimed at the youth and career guidance; women's rights and issues beauty tips; and even cooking. We shall even cover issues like Aids, health, alternate therapies and cures," Ahimsaa Global Media Director, Sonal Jain elaborated while speaking to the indiantelevision.com team.

The channel will reach out to over four billion people in more than 150 countries through its programmes on spiritual, ethical and social themes, stated an official release. It will show children's programme like 'moral story telling' sessions, alternate methods of education and special programmes for the youth on career guidance, awareness regarding drugs, AIDS and other issues, the release added.

"Negotiations are on with the managements of PAS-10 and Thaicom for uplinking facilities. We are also commissioning inhouse content at Kolkata. Within two years, we expect the advertisers to provide content. At present we have programming content of around eight hours and there will be repeat telecasts. We propose to increase the programming content as time goes by, " said Brahma Kumaris' chief of multimedia, B K Karuna.

Consumers to pay only for channels they view

From indiantelevision.com

NEW DELHI:The Rajya Sabha today unanimously passed the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill. The Lok Sabha had earlier passed the Bill in May this year.

Piloting the bill, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Sushma Swaraj said that the bill provides protection to the consumers and they would be required to pay for only those channels that they would like to view and not for the arbitrarily prepared bouquet by the broadcasters. This would also resolve the controversy of actual subscribers, which had all along been a contention between the broadcasters and cable operators. She said the Government will fix the number of channels in the basic tier and not the specific channels.

The rate for each pay channel would be decided by the broadcasters and the rate lists would have to be displayed by the cable operators. Swaraj hoped the cost of Set Top Boxes (STBs) would come down once these are produced at a mass scale. The STBs would be allowed both in analog and digital forms, she said.

The Bill seeks to provide for:

Empowering the Government to mandate through notification, in a phased manner, installation of addressable systems for viewing pay channels;

/ree-to-air channels in the areas thus notified , to continue to be received by the subscribers in the existing receiver sets without having to go through the addressable systems;

A provision that the subscriber would not be required to change the receiving set irrespective of the channels that he wishes to receive and to provide that he would be free to view the channels from amongst those offered by the cable service providers;

The flexibility for adoption of technological advancements and upgradation in the addressable systems and to provide that the technical standards and performance parameters of the systems would be laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards, from time to time;

The Government to prescribe, from time to time, the maximum amount to be paid by the subscriber to the cable service provider for the ‘basic service tier’ consisting of the bouquet of notified ‘free-to-air’ channels and to determine the number of channels to be included in this ‘tier’ and the maximum cost for the same in different States/cities/areas of the country, from time to time; and

Effective enforcement of the amendments, violations of which would constitute a cognizable offence.

The Government has been monitoring the implementation of the Act and taking corrective measures as and when considered necessary. Amendments were made in the Act in the year, 2000, vide, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2000. In recent months, there has been a great public outcry against frequent and arbitrary hike in the cable subscription charges.The subscription rates are being fixed arbitrarily by broadcasters and cable service providers in almost area specific monopolistic distribution system and the subscribers no choice to ask and pay for the channels he wishes to view.

At present, there is no legal or administrative instrument by which the Government could intervene and regulate the subscription charges or ask the cable service providers to transmit/retransmit television signals through any addressable system which would enable record of actual viewership leading to under-reporting of the number of subscribers by the cable service providers, Multi Service Operators (MSOs) and broadcasters, which, in turn, is also affecting revenues due to the Government.

The public demand for Government intervention is such that it needs to be addressed on a priority basis. Besides mandating the viewing of pay channels through an addressable system, the Government would notify from time to time and place to place, the subscription of the basic tier of free-to-air channels, since the primary objective is ensure that every subscriber receives at least a minimum number of free-to-air channels at reasonable cost.

10/12/02

Chat night live chat in the chatroom 9pm NZ and 8.30pm Syd time onwards.

Sorry things are running late busy today

From my Emails & ICQ

Nothing to report

From the Dish

Intelsat 804 176E 4177 L The AFN mux has left .

PAS 8 166E 12366 H The Les Amis test cards are back, Fta, SIDs 5-8.

Asiasat 3 105.5E Sahara TV has left 4020 V (PAL), moved to 3660 V. (start looking for the Digital version any day)

PAS 10 68.5E 4184 H Occasional feeds on, PIDs 1560/1520.

Satellite Launches:

NSS 6 is scheduled to launch with Ariane on 17 December.

Apstar 5 is scheduled to launch with Zenit/Sea Launch.

NEWS

Telecom trialling videos on PCs

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2134435a28,00.html

Telecom started a trial of movies and music videos for personal computers yesterday to compete with the pay-per-view videos of Sky TV and TelstraClear.

But the company still wanted to hammer out a deal with Sky TV for bundling pay-tv with Telecom's telephone and internet services, it said yesterday.

Telecom marketing manager, consumer, Sandra Geange said Telecom and Sky were still negotiating about bundling their products. Telecom's deal with Sky ended six months ago and negotiations for a new agreement have been protracted and difficult.

"We are hoping it will be resolved by the end of the calendar year," Ms Geange said.

Telecom's new video-on-demand service is marketed as "JetVideo". The movies and music videos are supplied by Singapore-based Intertainer Asia which has supply relationships with movie providers such as Warner Bros, Universal Studios, MGM and Warner Music.

The video and music is transmitted by Telecom's broadband service, Jetstream, and is watched through personal computers or televisions.

Ms Geane said the videos needed a minimum broadband capacity of 1.5 megabits per second. Twenty-four movies and 12 music videos were on offer and they would be refreshed in mid-January.

One hundred households in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and Taranaki are taking part in the three-month trial of the new service - 90 on PCs and 10 on televisions.

Ms Geange said Telecom wanted to assess whether the video-on-demand through PCs had significant customer appeal.

Telecom had not yet priced the video-on-demand service but it would probably have to be competitive with Sky TV's $7-$10 pay-per-view video service.

It was easier to deliver over a PC rather than television which required a set top box. The set top box technology was changing quickly.

The trial would provide Telecom with information about the potential market for the service and practical information about delivery and what support customers needed.

Trial participants required a standard PC and Jetstream.

Satellite porn gets a mixed reception

From Pacnews

Pape'ete: Satellite television has brought the world to the remote islands of the Pacific - but is it a blessing or a curse?

Tahiti Nui Satellite (TNS) TV, a multi-channel service funded by the territorial government in French Polynesia, was launched two years ago to provide a variety of programs to the outer islands and now boasts 10,000 customers. One channel, however, is proving very problematic, the porn channel.

The pornography channel is apparently very popular with viewers but has just as many detractors.

At first the satellite service was welcomed as broadening islanders' lives. Tea Hirshon, of the Opposition party, Tavini, said: "When the company was created, the goal was to open all of French Polynesia to the outside world through different programs, which is fun."

Ms Hirshon is part of a women's group in the party that recently raised concerns about the violence and pornography screened on the satellite server.

Alex Du Prel, the editor of the island's monthly news magazine, Tahiti Pacifique Magazine, said the satellite pay-TV service, which can be received across the outer islands, was of particular concern.

"On one of the islands, Ravaivai, the mayor was also the pastor on the island," he said. "Since that TV came out, he shuts down the island generator at midnight and switches it on at six o'clock in the morning. In that way, he ensures nobody is going to watch."

While the Government can put limits on free-to-air TV, it is difficult to control the use of satellite TV.

Mr Du Prel said: "They did not put that channel on for the Cook Islands, but any guy in the Cook Islands can buy a subscription and get a card because the satellite doesn't know where he is."

Cook Islands Television takes only a few of the more than 20 channels provided by TNS, none with pornography.

The Cook Islands' former telecommunications minister, Norman George, said: "Some of the programs are truly alien to our Polynesian way of life - too violent and too sexually oriented. We've gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that there is no access to pornographic material."

(Craigs comment, Welcome to the real world Pacific Islanders)

French satellite magazine fined

From http://www.advanced-television.com/pages/pagesb/newsdaily.html

The French magazine Tele Satellite was found guilty of inciting fraud in a Paris tribunal last week. The offence relates to articles it published in September 2000 and December 2001, on the Mediaguard access control system used by Canal Plus and Canal Satellite. The incriminating articles explained how information on programming pirate cards is available on the Internet and gave some information on how the cards are made.

The defence pointed out that the articles concerned the piracy phenomenon but the tribunal considered that they gave sufficient information to enable people to hack the channel.The director of the magazine and the journalist were each fined E750. Meanwhile, all the information needed to make and programme pirate cards is easily available to anyone carrying out a quick search on the Internet and blank cards can be bought over the counter from electronics components shops in Paris.

Sahara TV going digital

From http://www.hinduonnet.com/bline/stories/2002121001190400.htm

SAHARA TV, the 24-hour free-to-air general entertainment Hindi channel, has announced that it has set up its own modern multiple channel digital uplink earth station at Noida with both playout and uplinking facility directly from India.

With this Sahara TV goes digital from Tuesday next, offering higher quality of digital picture and sound.

The digital feed will now be extended on transponder 10-V of AsiaSat 3S.

Mr Sumit Roy, Head of Sahara TV, in a statement said that the preparation work was already completed.

"We have commenced our analogue services on transponder 10-V and 1-V of AsiaSat 3S in order to facilitate switchover by our cable operators. However, the channel, which has wide penetration, will continue to telecast both digital and analogue feed simultaneously for about a month."

SET Asia to commence operations in Canada

From indiantelevision.com

MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television Asia has entered into a distribution agreement with Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN) Canada, a leader in the provision of South Asian television services in that territory.

According to a statement by Sony Entertainment Television, chief executive officer,Kunal Dasgupta, Sony Entertainment Television Asia (SET Asia) will commence operations in Canada today,

." We are delighted with our partnership with Sony Entertainment Television, an organization that is backed by Sony Pictures Television International, which was earlier known as Columbia TriStar International Television. We expect to tier this impressive channel with our current licensed service, subject to regulatory approval, to offer a compelling package of a South Asian bouquet of channels in Canada," ATN president and chief executive officer, Shan Chandrasekar is quoted as saying in a press release.

ATN currently owns and operates four South Asian channels and has been awarded licenses for eight more digital channels. Amongst the new licenses one is in collaboration with Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) and the Sports Network (TSN) and the second in collaboration with Vision TV and Radio Nord. ATN is a publicly trading company, quoted on the TSX Venture Exchange as YTN.

9/12/02

I am slowly adding more links to the links section. Please send more (saves me looking)

From my Emails & ICQ

From "SiamGlobal"

RE CNBC ENCRYPTION

BAD NEWS FOR VIEWERS IN ASIA PACIFIC . GREAT NEWS FOR BLOOMBERG .

JUST AS BBC WORLD HAS TAKEN OVER AS THE MAIN NEWS SERVICE IN ASIA SINCE CNN ENCRYPTED BLOOMBERG WILL NOW PULL WAY AHEAD OF CNBC AS THE MAIN FINANCIAL SERVICE.

BBC WORLD'S REGULAR FINANCIAL NEWS BULLETINS WILL ALSO INCREASE IN IMPORTANCE. SIAMGLOBASL BKK

PS CAN SOMEONE INFORM US WHAT ENCRYPTION SYSTEM CNBC WILL BE USING AND WHETHER CNBC INDIA WILL REMAIN FTA WHICH WILL LESSEN THE BLOW TO VIEWERS .

From Stu Mcleod (NZ) 8/12/02

Hi , just a report of two signals found on 176 East

RHC , 3874 , 6110 , 3/4 - Globo International ( Power Vu )
RHC , 3845 , 1499 , 3/4 - TBE ....176 ( TAB from Aussie , www.tab.com.au ) has video and audio . No T.Text however at the time of report .

Both signals relatively strong here on 3.0 meter .

Stu

From Bill Richards 8/12/02

Asiasat2

0600 UTC
3966 V Sr 6110, Fec 3/4, Vpid 308 Apid 256 "Globecast Kuala Lumpa Golf Feed"

0610 UTC
3846 V Sr 4800, Fec 3/4, Vpid 1110 Apid 1211 "Unidentified Chinese Channel"

0614 UTC
4055 V Sr 6200, Fec 3/4, Vpid 33 Apid 32 "SSTV-DBS-1 Chinese Basketball Feed"

Regards
Bill

From the Dish

PAS 8 166E 3860 H It's Z Channel on , PIDs 920/921, Viaccess 2.
PAS 8 166E 12366 H The Les Amis test cards have left .

Koreasat 3 116E Updates in SkyLife:

Dong Ah TV has replaced Travel & Leisure TV on 12450 H, Videoguard, PIDs 1888/1889.
Travel & Leisure TV has replaced Dong Ah TV on 11747 L, Videoguard, PIDs 4208/4209.

Koreasat 3 116E 12530 H A test card has started , Videoguard, Sr 27490, Fec 3/4, SID 901, PIDs 2320/2321.

Palapa C2 113E 11132 V TVBS and ERA News have replaced Phoenix InfoNews and Scholar Business Network on , Viaccess 2, PIDs 64/65 and 72/73.

Koreasat 2 113E 12370 H "Biz TV" is Fta again.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3660 V "Sahara TV" is back on , PAL.

Yamal 102 90E 3564 R The Netservice mux has started on , clear, SR 1240, FEC 7/8, a copy of LMI 1: 12605 V.

Intelsat 906 64E 3642 R East Africa Radio has left , APID 1027.
Intelsat 906 64E 4080 L "Hero, NPR Worldwide AFRTS and Z Rock" are now encrypted.

NEWS

No-pay TV costs industry $50m

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/12/07/1038950233423.html

Pay television piracy is rife in Australia, with at least $50 million of revenue lost to illegal activity last year.

The Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association estimates between 5 and 10 per cent of all pay TV connections are illegal.

Pirate operators are reportedly charging as much as $4000 for the full installation of a satellite dish and illegal set-top box.

Hacked smart cards that give legitimate subscribers access to premium channels for which they have not paid range between $200 and $300.

But a campaign to stop the piracy is claiming some early victories, with the conviction and fining of a 27-year-old television installer from Sunshine and a spate of arrests over recent weeks.

More than 3000 hacked smart cards have been seized in recent searches around the country. In August, 37 ACT police officers raided 10 homes after a three-month investigation into a network of ACT satellite television users illegally getting access to subscription services. Ten people were arrested and that same month, searches on two Ballarat premises resulted in the seizure of a significant amount of equipment as well as two arrests.

A man from Mill Park, alleged to be one of the country's leading suppliers of pirated smart cards and related manufacturing equipment, has been summonsed on a range of state and federal charges at a date yet to be set.

The crackdown comes at a crucial time for pay TV operators, who rely on the growth of satellite customers to bring the loss-making business into the black. Although both cable and satellite networks are prone to piracy, the ready availability of satellite dishes and set-top boxes makes this market more vulnerable to illegal activity.

According to one story reported in a trade newsletter, an executive of regional provider Austar was offered a bogus smart card by a neighbour.

However, consumers are likely to find they have been duped by the illicit equipment, as pay TV operators regularly modify their encrypted signals to screen out hacked cards. Ironically, operators can pinpoint the location of pirate activity by inquiries to call and help centres made by customers whose cards cease to work as a result of the industry's technological countermeasures.

Although pirates are being targeted in the current crackdown, consumers who gain access to pay TV services via pirated devices could potentially face criminal charges.

"Many people in the community are not aware of the consequences of pirating pay TV equipment," Debra Richards, the executive director of ASTRA, said.

"They are perpetuating a crime and exposing themselves to severe penalties of up to $60,500 in fines and imprisonment for up to five years.

"Consumers, too, are leaving themselves very exposed. If they end up being conned they can often find themselves with a faulty service that can be easily shut down or even worse - has faulty wiring and may be dangerous. As a result of this illegal practice, others pay a higher price."

Only employees and licensed contractors of pay TV providers can carry out installation work, says ASTRA. Such work is accompanied by official contracts and paperwork.

ASTRA has set up a hotline for the reporting of suspected pirate activity at 1 800 428 888.

Gilat contending for New Zealand tender

From http://www.haaretzdaily.com/

Israeli satellite communications company Gilat Satellite Networks (NASDAQ:GILTF) is competing for a New Zealand "Probe" tender, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Gilat will be going head to head with Optus, PanAmSat, Intelsat, New Skies and Hughes over the broadband contract, which is to supply high-speed Internet to rural areas in the island nation. The scope of the tender is not known.

No comment could be obtained from Gilat.

Optus already provides nationwide broadband services in New Zealand, the Herald reported. Intelsat has New Zealand within the beam of its satellites, and so does PanAmSat.

The winning vendor may have to establish a satellite earth station to secure the tender, the paper said. The winner will be announced on December 20.

Gilat has rich experience in establishing broadband data networks, through rStar, a subsidiary recently acquired in the U.S.

RStar, formerly known as ZapMe, has supplied free broadband networks to schools in the U.S., hoping to generate revenues from advertising.

Gilat has yet to publish its third-quarter results, but is expected to do so mid-week. For the second quarter, the company reported revenue of $51.6 million, down 30% from the first quarter. Its net loss totaled $35.7 million in the second quarter.

Several weeks ago, Gilat announced the guidelines of its arrangement with creditors, mainly bond-holders and Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI ). The bond-holders will be converting most of the debt owed to them into shares, bringing them a holding of about 80%. After the arrangement, Hapoalim will have a 14% interest.

Multichoice Clamps Down On Hotel Piracy

From http://allafrica.com/stories/200212080200.html

MultiChoice Africa limited and MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd., in conjunction with the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has taken its campaign against broadcast piracy to a higher dimension. On Tuesday, 26th November, 2002, the bailiff of the Federal High Court, accompanied by copyright inspectors of the Nigerian Copyright Commission, and officers of the Nigerian Police Force (CID), raided the premises of an Ibadan based hotel, D'Rovans Hotel Ltd., for engaging in the infringement of MultiChoice copyright in its transmission.

The raid was in execution of an Anton Pillar Order of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, which empowered the plaintiffs through the court Bailiff, to enter the premises of the hotel and take possession of equipment, machines and contrivances which constitute evidence of the infringement.

Items confiscated by the court bailiff during the raid includes, DStv satellite decoders, a MultiChoice Smartcard, satellite receivers and other equipment used by the hotel for the illegal distribution of MultiChoice broadcast.

The plaintiffs, acting through its solicitors, Abraham and Co. had sought and obtained a "Search and Seizure Order" from the Federal high Court Ibadan, following the complaint of an infringement on its DStv broadcast by the hotel.

Copyright inspectors of the Nigerian Copyright Commission conducted an investigation, further to a complaint by the plaintiff, which led to obtaining of the court order. This is in furtherance of the commission's drive to ensure that the incidence of piracy in the country is curtailed. Frikkie Jonker, MultiChoice Africa Anti-Piracy Manager confirmed that the raid on D'Rovans Hotel is one of several raids that will be carried out against hotels and other establishments in Nigeria involved in the illegal re-distribution/transmission of their broadcast without obtaining proper licence

BBC World's Asia audience growing: report

From indiantelevision.com

NEW DELHI: The sixth Pan Asia Cross Media Survey (PAX) has found that unlike other news channels, BBC World has held onto the audience it gained in 2001 as well as showing annual growth in some of Asia's biggest urban centres.

BBC World's monthly audience grew by 14 per cent year-on-year to 993,000 - the fastest growth for any of the top ten international channels, according to a press release from BBC. BBC World enjoyed particularly large growth in Kuala Lumpur - up 79 per cent, Bangkok - up 41per cent, Hong Kong - up 17 per cent and Taipei - up 16 per cent.

According to the study, BBC World also attracts a further 590,000 monthly viewers in Seoul and in India which combined with the rest results in a total panel viewership of 1.58 million. This confirms the trend seen in the recent IATS survey among air travellers, the only other recent survey in Asia which even attempts to measure viewership amongst such business audiences.

In particular, BBC World's investment in business programming is attracting a loyal audience of senior business people. Findings show that more than 44,000 'Top Management' in Asia tune into BBC World 'Every day/ Almost every day' - more than any sports or business news channel. Among those in such senior positions in medium and larger firms (50+ employees), BBC World's 21,000 regular viewers makes it the fourth largest international channel and the eighth largest among all the channels across Asia, including terrestrials (and among the top five outside Korea).

BBC World's overall audience profile also remains enviably upscale. Among the largest ten international channels which business decision-makers in Asia-Pacific watch, BBC World's audience includes the highest proportion of top management (34 per cent) and opinion formers involved in more than three business activities (30 per cent).

The PAX 2002 survey was conducted from July to September 2002 among 3,976 respondents in nine markets in South East Asia and India. This release is based on the full nine-markets (Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, and India).

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 49/2002 8 December 2002 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International

Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A

CASBAA REPORT FORECASTS 45% GROWTH FOR CABLE AND SATELLITE

The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) on
December 3 revealed the latest figures and forecasts for Asia Pacific's
pay-TV industry. According to CASBAA, the cable and satellite (C&S)
industry in Asia-Pacific is set to grow from the current 157 million C&S
subscribers to over 228 million subscribers in the next eight years,
registering a 45 per cent growth rate from 2002 to 2010. China and India
will continue to be the key markets in 2010, with 128 million subscribers
in China and 53.35 million subscribers in India. CASBAA forecasts that
there will be a dramatic growth in the number of households with digital TV
from the existing 7.9 million homes in 2002 to 166 million by 2010. The
CASBAA report states that the total Asia-Pacific subscription TV revenues
are forecast to rise by more than 58 per cent, from $13 billion in 2002 to
almost $31 billion in 2010. Japan, China, India and South Korea will
account for 81 per cent of the total subscription TV revenues in 2010. By
2010, cable will bring in more than two-thirds of subscription TV revenues,
with direct-to-home (DTH) satellite broadcasts accounting for 19 per cent,
and telephony-based services accounting for 12 per cent. There are
currently 450 million TV households in Asia-Pacific, and the figure is set
to hit 555 million TV households by 2010. Of the total TV households in
2010, 53 per cent of the households are expected to subscribe to either
cable services (both analogue and digital), DTH packages, telephony-based
services and Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) signals. This leaves 47 per cent
of TV households that will only receive analogue terrestrial signals,
demonstrating the growth potential of Asian subscription and digital
systems even after 2010. This new report has been jointly developed by
CASBAA with research specialists, the Informa Media Group.

MTV OPTIMISTIC ON ASIAN OPERATIONS

MTV Networks said on December 4 it expected earnings from international
operations to grow 30 to 40 per cent in 2002. "Outside of the United
States, we've had tremendous growth in the last three years," William
Roedy, president of MTV Networks International, told Reuters in an
interview. Roedy, who oversees all business outside the United States said
the international operation has had two years of over 100 per cent growth
in EBITDA (earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation) and this
year expects a rise of 30 to 40 per cent. In the United States, MTV
Networks has seen EBITDA growth ranging from 15 to 20 per cent on average.
The international operations of MTV Networks manages more than 30 channels
including round-the-clock music channels MTV and VH1, and kids channel
Nickelodeon. Advertising accounts for about 40 per cent of revenues for MTV
Networks' international operations. Another 40 per cent comes from
subscriptions and the rest from activities such as licensing and
merchandising. MTV Networks says it beams into about 400 million homes
worldwide and that eight out of 10 viewers come from outside the United
States. MTV currently broadcasts in blocks of between one hour to six hours
to some 60 million homes in China, according to Frank Brown, president of
MTV Networks Asia. There has been industry talk that Viacom is trying to
get a 24-hour Mandarin language MTV music channel over cable systems in the
rich southern Chinese province of Guangdong. "I expect to be 24 hours in
China shortly," Roedy said but declined to offer details.

AUSTRALIA

NETWORK TEN REPORTS INCREASED REVENUES

CanWest Global Communications announced on December 4 that its Australian
TV operation, Network TEN, has reported its highest ever quarterly
television revenues and earnings for the three months, ended November 30,
2002. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
grew by 24% to A$74.4 million for the quarter. Group revenues for the first
quarter of fiscal 2003 rose by 16% to A$214.1 million. Television revenue
increased by 20% to A$193.4 million. TEN also increased its national
commercial share by 9.7%, a 25% share improvement over the past two years.
Nick Falloon, the executive chairman of Ten Network Holdings, dismissed
rumors of a management buyout.
Internet - www.canwestglobal.com

AUSTAR TO CARRY SBS ON SATELLITE

Pay-TV provider Austar Communications started re-transmissions of national
multicultural broadcaster SBS through its regional satellite service. Many
of Austar's customers were previously unable to receive SBS due to analogue
television transmission blackspots. The new service, which started on
December 4, would not mean extra costs for Austar's customers, chief
executive officer John Porter said. Longer term, Austar said it would work
with SBS to retransmit SBS's other digital services, including extra
channels, SBS Radio and interactive programming. The addition of SBS takes
the number of channels available on Austar to 42 TV channels and 24 digital
radio channels.

INDIA

SET INDIA WOOS NDTV

Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India is negotiating with Prannoy
Roy-promoted NDTV for a distribution arrangement of its proposed news
channel, even as CNBC has decided to defect to the Zee-Turner bouquet. "We
are in talks with NDTV. We want to tie-up with a news channel as CNBC will
move out of our bouquet after the contract expires on March 31, 2003," said
SET India chief executive officer Kunal Dasgupta. Sony had expressed
publicly that it wanted Aaj Tak on the bouquet. Though Sony is still
interested in getting Aaj Tak, it feels that it will have to get a news
channel in before April 1, 2003.

PAY-TV CHANNELS INCREASE SUBSCRIPTION RATES

Almost all satellite channels have announced a hike in monthly subscription
rates. One-Alliance distribution platform, which broadcasts Sony and HBO,
has hiked its cable subscription rates from Rs40 to Rs55 per subscriber per
month. ESPN-Star Sports has raised the rates from Rs24 to Rs32. Star India
(SI) has decided against hiking the price of its bouquet of channels and
has instead decided to focus on getting higher declaration of subscribers
from cable operators. This forms a part of its strategy to tackle the
problem of under-declaration of subscriber base by cable operators.

INDONESIA

CHANNEL NEWS ASIA SIGNS LOCAL TV DEALS

Channel NewsAsia, the Singapore-based regional broadcaster, has broadened
its reach in Indonesia with the signing of an agreement with Metro TV for
an exchange of news and programmes. The agreement allows Channel NewsAsia
to be seen by audiences in Jakarta and 29 other cities in Indonesia through
Metro TV's free-to-air channel. Until now, it has been available to
Indonesian viewers only through pay-TV. Run by the Media Corporation of
Singapore, Channel NewsAsia is seen in 16 territories across Asia. Its aim
is to provide an Asian perspective to news events in the region.

JAPAN

ANALOGUE SWITCH-OFF DELAYED UNTIL 2011

It has been announced that analogue satellite TV broadcasts will continue
until 2011, four years longer than originally proposed. The decision marks
a victory for the public broadcaster NHK, which had said that many of its
satellite viewers would not be ready to convert from analogue to digital by
2007. About 15 million Japanese households currently receive analogue
television by satellite. NHK predicts that by 2007, there will still be 5
million homes that have not upgraded to digital. As the current analogue
satellite used by NHK will reach the end of its life in 2007, a new
satellite will be launched to take over for the final few years. A formal
report on the future of Japanese satellite broadcasting is expected from
the Ministry of Communications later this month.

SINGAPORE

NEW PAY TV LICENSE TO BE ISSUED

Singaporean authorities will offer a second pay-TV license by mid 2003 to
promote competition in the local pay market. Singapore StarHub Cable Vision
is currently the only pay-TV provider in a country of a little under one
million TV homes. There is almost complete cable penetration and about
340,000 pay-TV subscribers incoming regulator, the Media Development
Authority, which will replace existing regulator the Singapore Broadcasting
Authority from January, will request bids early in 2003.

SOUTH KOREA

SK TELECOM TO LAUNCH MOBILE TV SERVICE

Korea's leading cellco SK Telecom will launch a mobile TV service in 2003.
The plan is to provide up to 15 satellite channels for a monthly fee of
Won5,000 ($4.10) a company representative told the Wall Street Journal. A
specific launch date for the Personal Mobile Satellite Broadcasting service
was not given.

8/12/02

Sunday no update

7/12/02

From the Dish

NSS 5 163.5W is here moving to 183E

Palapa C2 113E 11152 V "MAC TV" has started , Fta, Sr 2900, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256.

Ge1 / App1 108.2E 12470H "feeds" Sr 27500 Fec 3/4

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3660 V "Sahara TV" has started, PAL, 6.30 MHz. (Must of moved preparing for the shift to Digital)