30/11/02

Not much to report today. Still playing with FTA boxes one appeasr to have a satellite search mode e.g enter 12250 and 12750 as the limits and have it scan the V side with symbol rates 2000-45000 . But I can't get it finding anything a pity could be ideal feed scanner unit even though the rest of the unit doesn't seem to hot. The menus certainly are frustrating to use.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock

Womens Hockey World Cup

B1, 12316 H, sr 6980 feed from Perth

Chris


From Joe

Pas 8 12686H 28124

Currently FTA


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 12301 H ABC Asia Pacific has left .(Try down 17mhz in freq same settings)

Optus B3 156E 12336 V "Med TV" has started , Fta at the moment, PIDs 1861/1824.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3554 V The test card has left , PIDs 516/644.


NEWS


Arianespace Flight 157 Postponed for a few days


From Press release

The launch of flight 157 has been postponed by a few days following an anomaly that occurred during the final phase of the launch preparation sequence.

6,8 seconds before the transmission by the on-board system control to ignite the Vulcain 2 engine, the ground operations control system simultaneously gave the order to open the cryogenic arms and initiate the external igniters (AMF) of the launch table, whose function is to ignite the hydrogen which prechills the engine.

The igniter activation status report failed to reach the ground operation control software following, which the onboard control system did not trigger the ignition sequence as scheduled at -3.0 seconds.

Operations then ceased : The launch vehicle, HOTBIRDTM 7 and STENTOR, and the launch system went into safe mode.

Draining of the cryogenic upper stage via the launch vehicle purge lines is currently in process. The operations will continue until Saturday morning, when the launch vehicle will be transferred back to the Assembly building (BAF).

At that point it will be possible to ascertain why the AMF ignition was not acknowledged by the ground operations control system.

Rectifying the anomaly and reconfiguring the flight are not expected to take more than a few days . A new launch date will be announced early next week.


(Craigs comment, note this is Ariane 5 flight 158 is scheduled to carry Optus C1, hope it doesn't mean another delay)


Korea moving closer to developing its own satellie launch vehicle


From http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2002/11/30/200211300012.asp

Thursday's successful launch of Korea's first liquid-fuel rocket, the KSR (Korea Sounding Rocket)-III, could serve as the technological foundation for a future space program, experts said yesterday.

The Korean government's vision in space exploration is to join the world's top 10 space-exploring nations by 2015. To attain this goal, Korea has been working to develop low-orbit satellites and launch vehicles on its own by 2010.

In satellite development, Korea has made some progress. In 1999, Korea developed on its own the third Uribyol - a small satellite - and the first KOMPSAT multipurpose satellite.

Korea, however, is far away from developing their own launch vehicles that can carry these satellites into outer space. The Korean government's initial aim is to develop a launch vehicle that can be used to lift off 100 kg-class satellites into outer space by 2005.

"To emerge as a powerhouses in the space industry, Korea needs to develop a launch vehicle that can put a satellite into a stationary orbit at an altitude of 35,000 km above the earth," said Cho Gwang-rae, a researcher of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

According to Cho, the successful launch of the KSR-III indicates that Korea is a step closer to attaining its satellite launch vehicle development plan.

The rocket reached an altitude of 42.7 km above the earth, and flew for a total of 233.44 seconds. "The altitude and flight time the rocket attained indicate that we are still in the primary stages of our space program. However, we have the technology to pursue the next stage of development in our space program," Cho said.

Cho said that the launch of the KSR-III will pave the way for Korea to develop the envisioned launch vehicle, the KSRV-III by 2005.

"We are one step closer to our dream of launching a Korean-produced satellite on a Korean-developed launch vehicle from this country," Cho said.

But Cho conceded that Korea still has a long way to go in accomplishing that dream. "In satellite development, our primary task is to secure the technological capabilities required for a stationary orbit satellite. We also need to develop a launch vehicle that will take the satellite to a stationary orbit."

These technological challenges call for parallel advances in related fields, including the engine and metal sectors.

One important feature about the KSR-III is that it was powered by liquid fuel. Rocket propellants are comprised of fuel and an oxidizer. Yesterday's launch used kerosene as a fuel, and liquid oxygen as an oxidizer. KARI's previous KSR-I and KSR-II, which were launched in 1993 and 1997, both used solid-fuel engines.

"We already had experience with solid-fuel rockets, but had little knowledge of liquid-fuel rockets before starting the KSR-III project," said Lee Soo-yong, another KARI researcher. "If we only have experience in solid-fuel rockets, it is hard to say that we have real expertise in rockets."

Lee said advanced countries have already developed liquid fuel for rockets and will soon commercialize hybrid fuel, a mixture of solid and liquid fuels.

KARI started to develop a liquid-fuel rocket in 1997 as the final stage of its three-stage rocket project that began in the early 1990s.

So far, only eight or nine countries in the world, including the United States, Russia, France, Japan and North Korea, have succeeded in launching satellites using their homegrown liquid-fuel rockets.

"Liquid-fuel rockets are the mainstay of space-launch vehicles around the world. To shoot spaceships or satellites into space, we need the technology to develop liquid-fuel rockets," said Lee.

A total of 78 billion won was injected into the KSR-III project over the past five years, with such corporations as Hyundai Mobis and Hanwha Corp. providing financial assistance.




29/11/02

Sorry the sites late but you can expect some late site update during cricket season.

Optus B3, 12407 V "CBAA Radio" is Fta at the moment, Very loud as well!

Optus B1, 12456 V Vpid 512 Apid 650 Sid 102 has a Saturn tv guide FTA? New, odd not sure whats up with this one.


From My Emails & ICQ


Dear Craig,

If you would like more information in regards to KBS please call or
Email. TV Korea
On 02 9299-5902
www.tvk.com.au

Kind regards
Mark Lobwein
DTH Services Manager
86 Dickson Avenue
Artarmon 2064 NSW Australia
Phone: +61 2 8258-7900
Fax +61 2 9958-6299
Mobile + 61 419 989 475
www.globecast.com


From Q S

BISS is Basic Interoperable Scrambling System.
The modualtation scheme can be QPSK,8PSK,16QAM etc
http://www.octalis.com/Products/BISS/biss.htm
Tandberg also support BISS


From Stephen Abbot

Craig, found this on the Scientific Atlanta site

http://www.sciatl.com/customers/contentdistimages/Technical_Papers/BISS.pdf

It would appear that it is not a modulation scheme but infact a CA for contribution circuits using DVB transport streams. Therefore what modulation is used is irrelivent.


Cheers
Stephen Abbot


From Zappara

Med TV, Optus B3


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 3740 H The encrypted channels in the Viacom mux are in Cryptoworks.

Optus B1 160E 12608 V "Shine TV" has started , Videoguard, SID 1039, PIDs 512/650.

Optus B3 156E 12336 V "Med TV" has started testing, Fta PIDs 1861/1824.
Optus B3 156E 12336 V "HRT Sat" is still/back on , Fta, PIDs 1960/1920, 02-05 UTC.

Superbird C 144E 12523 H "EPG Channel Guide" has left , 12583 H and 12643 H.
Superbird C 144E An I-HITS mux has started on 12703 H, PowerVu, SR 21096, FEC 3/4, NID/TID 61441/65035, PIDs 2160/2120-2460/2420, line-up: Channel Neco,Nikkei CNBC, MTV Japan and Shop Channel.

Palapa C2 113E 11132 V "CCTV 1" has started , Viaccess 2, PIDs 72/73, 16-22, time sharing with Scholar Business Network.

Telkom 1 108E 3500 H "MTV on Sky 101.6 FM and RRI Pro 2 FM" have started , Irdeto 2, APID 62 and 102.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3551 H Radio Catania has started ,cFta, SID 9, APID 2529.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 3848 H "TVB Xing He Channel" is now Fta.


NEWS


Low iTV take up in Australia


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

This weekend's (Sunday 1/12/02) broadcast of Australia's first interactive rock music concert will highlight the lack of penetration that the technology has achieved in the market so far.

When the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) airs Long Way to the Top - Live in Concert - only 300,000 TV homes - four per cent of the total - will be able to experience the interactive features.

The interactive content will include backstage interviews, archival footage and the ability to switch camera angles. The ABC concedes that the broadcast will not match the standards set for other iTV programmes internationally, but points out that it is the most advanced programme ever shown in Australia.

The bulk of the viewers able to access the interactive features subscribe to regional and rural pay TV platform Austar. City viewers with digital TV will hear the surround sound carried during the two-hour show.

The ABC says it is encouraged by viewer response to the Walking with Beasts series screened earlier this year. Austar viewers who used the interactive features and responded to a survey said overwhelmingly that the extra content made the series more entertaining - 89 per cent; 98 per cent said they wanted to watch more iTV.

The ABC's Director of New Media and Digital Services said that the interactive content of Long Way to the Top - Live in Concert added just E30,000 more to the show's budget.


TAHU FM TO LAUNCH ON SKY


From Press Release

Maori radio network Tahu FM will be heard across the country when it begins broadcasting nationwide on SKY Digital channel 105 from this Sunday, December 1.

As its main studios are situated in Christchurch, Tahu FM currently reaches a limited audience in Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill and Kaikoura.

SKY TV has more than 500,000 subscribers, 72 percent of which have the digital service. So Tahu FM will immediately be available to over 800,000 New Zealanders with the potential to reach the whole country including over 30,000 Ngai Tahu tribal members throughout New Zealand.

Tahu FM's format caters to a Maori niche market audience during the morning and changes to an English hip-hop youth format in the afternoon making it extremely popular among the 12 - 30 year old age group.

With an amalgamation of bi-lingual programmes focusing on topical Maori issues and shows that are all about the music, Tahu FM bestows a unique blend of both cultural and contemporary content.

Goose and Aubz kick off each weekday morning in the 'Two Eggs For Breakfast' morning show, followed by Maori language programmes plus Ruia Mai News at the top of the hour.

Throughout the afternoon Tahu FM plays a myriad of hip-hop, urban and R&B beats incorporating a chart countdown via Mai FM Auckland.

SKY TV already boasts a diverse array of New Zealand radio stations including National Radio, Niu FM, the Edge, George FM, Concert FM and UP FM, all of which currently broadcast live across New Zealand on SKY Digital.

Also offered on SKY Digital is a 13-channel premium music service called SKY Digital Music, which is genre specific, free of advertisements and interruptions. These channels are NZ Chart, Pop, Smooth, Chill, Jazz, and House, 50s and 60s, Party, Rock, Country, Classical, Kids, Blues and a special temporary Christmas music channel available in December.

Tahu FM launches on SKY Digital channel 105 on Sunday, December 1.

For More Information Contact:

Andrea Rush
Communications Manager
SKY Television
Ph: 579-9999 ext 8761
Email: [email protected]


Ariane-5 rocket launch aborted


From http://www.spacedaily.com/2002/021129005430.j0gdflsr.html

KOUROU, French Guiana (AFP) Nov 29, 2002

A 10-tonne Ariane-5 rocket that was to lift off for its inaugural flight with two satellites Thursday failed to take off from the launch pad in French Guiana after problems with its Vulcain engine.

The countdown had been flawless but the rocket failed to take off at the end of the countdown.

The cryogenic arms providing hydrogen and oxygen to the launcher failed to operate properly, causing the countdown to be stopped, Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said.

Another attempt to launch the rocket will not be made for "several days" a disappointed Le Gall told reporters after the aborted launch.

"Tonight we will empty the launcher, bring it back to the final assembly building. Tests have already begun to assertain the sequence of events in this incident in order to restart launch preparations as soon as possible," he said.

He said that the actual launch had not been aborted, though witnesses seeing some combustion from burners on the ground may have thought so.

The countdown procedure was automatically stopped before triggering the ignition sequence of the main stage's Vulcain engine.

The two satellites and the launch vehicle and all the ground equipment were said to be "in a safe mode".

The rocket was carrying Hotbird TM7 for the European telecoms consortium Eutelsat and Stentor, an experimental communications satellite for the French space research institute CNES.

Ariane 5-ESCA is a modified version of the Ariane 5, taking its payload capacity from 5.9 tonnes to a massive 10 tonnes in order to accommodate larger satellites and combining several of them in a single launch, thus substantially reducing costs.

It includes several new or improved components that have never been tested in a mission before, including beefed-up solid boosters and a modified main-stage engine.

The new launchers place the European Space Agency (ESA) into head-to-head competition with Boeing and Lockheed Martin of the United States.

Boeing launched its new Delta 4 on November 20, while Lockheed Martin's Atlas 5 made its maiden flight on August 21.

The trio form the vanguard of the most powerful generation of rockets to go into space since the mighty Saturn V which hoisted the Apollo astronauts to the Moon.

Their genesis dates from a decade ago, when the market for satellite launches was booming and geostationary telecoms satellites, which account for the biggest market sector, started to become bigger and heavier.

Analysts say the launch market has shrunk in recent years, partially as a result of the bursting of the telecoms bubble.

That has left surplus capacity in satellite transponders as well as vast amounts unused fibre-optic cable, the alternative to satellites for transmitting big data streams.

The launch slump is likely to last until 2006 until the generation of satellites launched in the 1990s begins to age and needs replacement, according to a Paris-based consultancy, Euroconsult.


(Craigs comment, more delays this will probably set back C1's launch another few more months!)


Drifting satellite in stable orbit


From http://cooltech.iafrica.com/science/191425.htm

A huge European satellite that was left adrift in space after a failed launch by a Russian rocket is now in a stable low-earth orbit, its operator, SES Astra, said on Thursday.

Astra 1K is in a circular orbit at an altitude of 290 kilometers (181 miles), "where it can be safely sustained to allow the engineering teams to assess the status of the satellite and appropriate actions in due course", SES Astra said in a press release.

SES Astra is part of Luxembourg-based world satellite operator SES Global, whose 29 satellites transmit more than 1100 television and radio channels, as well as Internet and multimedia, around the world.

1K cost SES Astra some 280 million dollars (euros) but the programme has "full insurance coverage" and the launch failure on Tuesday will not affect existing services as another satellite, Astra 2C, can provide backup, the statement said.

The Astra fleet comprises 13 satellites that are already in orbit but there is 20-percent surplus capacity at the moment, the statement said.

1K was to have been placed in geostationary orbit in a slot 36 000 kilometres (22 370 miles) from the earth.

This orbital ring is coveted by telecoms operators, as a satellite there travels around the planet in 24 hours, which means it stays in the same spot relative to the earth's position all the time.

A satellite in this position can broadcast to or receive signals directly from the "footprint" it covers, without the signals having to be expensively relayed by ground stations or other satellites.

On Tuesday, experts said it was possible to use the satellite's own propulsion system to boost it into orbit but that would require an increased use of fuel and this would reduce the satellite's expected lifespan of 13 years.

Another theoretical option, depending on technical and financial factors, is to have the satellite recovered by the US space shuttle.

The shuttle has done this several times, notably retrieving an Indonesian satellite, Palapa B2, in November 1984, nine months after it was sent spinning into the wrong orbit by a launch failure. Palapa B2 was later relaunched as Palapa B2R.


Dream-Magic iTV service launches in Philippines


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

Filipino digital direct to home satellite platform Dream has helped to launch the country's first two-way digital interactive service - Magic Box.

Dream, owned by Philippines Multimedia Systems, is rolling out the Dream-Magic iTV service which will offer messaging, onscreen email, games, chat and information.

Subscribers will pay a subscription of E14 a month, compared to the average cable TV subscription of E9. Dream-Magic customers will also pay an E90 installation fee.

Dream hopes to extend the platform around Asia, including China, India, Malaysia and Thailand, although it has not yet cut any deals with would-be partners in these markets.




28/11/02

Shine TV is now officially displayed on channel 99 on the Skybox. No extra charge for this one.

Channel 9 is moving its feeds from 8psk and Qam 16 to BISS format. (Anyone have details of this format?)

AMC 13 to go at 172E in late 2003 has interesting Asia Pacific region coverage have a look here footprint maps are in the middle.

http://www.ses-americom.com/satellites/amc-13.html


From my Emails & ICQ


From Shelby Mcdonald (this one picked up off the NZ.gerneral newsgroup) he has allowed me to repost it here

He has Tested Skys new SKYMAIL service this is his report

> A few questions. Do you have to be online to compose an email on it? Do the
> incoming emails get to the box via the satellite (at least that means no
> waiting online downloading emails)?
>

I admit to trying it, (just for the sake of trying it). As soon as you
start skymail it has to go online to download your details & identity but
then you can go offline to compose mails. But then if you want to look in
your address book or change details you have to go online again. Even when
you are online it gives up the connection & disconnects anyway saying the
"server has dropped the connection" or thereabouts. Then when you reconnect
it has to try several times. The charge is 18c per minute or part minute so
if you connect 4 times in a minute because of dropped connections that is
72c. I can't tell if the message comes via sat, certainly doesn't seem like
it.

I tried my usual xtra account, had 25 emails mostly spam. It downloads the
headers only at 3 at a time, so even if you want to scroll thru the list of
emails you have to wait 10 seconds between each 3 and then if you actually
want to read them, well.......Ofcourse, the inevitable happened as would
when sitting in your lounge w/ family: The message subject comes up
"ENLARGE YOUR PENIS NOW", you then have to explain to everyone how spam
works & that it wasn't actually mine.

I think my father who isn't computer literate, doesn't have a cell phone, is
technophobic, summed it all up pretty well. Whilst I was taking 10 minutes
to write a very short email he started laughing his head off. Gosh, even
old technophobes can't be fooled with this one!!!

Again, I only did this for the sake of trying & a quick check of the phone
bill lists the cost of this experiment at $10.62 for 62mins to the phone
number 087697596 in which I managed to send about 3 emails and read one.


(Craigs comment, this has disaster written all over it Sky should stop wasteing money on such gimmicks and actually provide more content that people actually want to watch. Anyone needing email that badly can pick up a cheap old 486 for $50 and sub to a flatrate internet service for $25 NZ a month. Works out far cheaper. Also I have to wonder how much Email space Sky allows for? Spammers could cause expensive Chaos if they targetted the users Skymail.co.nz domain addresses.)


From Dunk

B1 Feed - Fox Sports - Golf

"NUNYAR FB"
B1 12379 H Sr 6620 Fec 3/4

video pid - 0134
audio pid - 0100
pmt pid - 0020


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 4020 V "TVBS Newsnet USA" has left .

PAS 8 166E 12366 H Three more Les amis test cards have started , Fta, SIDs 5-7,PIDs 1281/1282-1793/1794.

Optus B1 160E Animal Planet Australia & New Zealand has moved from 12608 V to 12707 V,Videoguard, SID 1014, PIDs 517/655.

Superbird C 144E There are still occasional feeds on 12677 V and 12683 V, SR 4150, FEC 3/4 and 7/8.

Koreasat 3 116E Updates on SkyLife, enc.:Catch On has replaced HBO Korea on 11823 L, PIDs 576/577, ch 301.
Catch On Plus has replaced HBO Plus on 11938 L, PIDs 1328/1329, ch 302.
Nongsusan Shopping has replaced Nongsusan TV on 12410 H, PIDs 1600/1601,ch 221.

Palapa C2 113E 11132 V Phoenix InfoNews and Scholar Business Network have replaced TVBS and CCTV 1 on , Viaccess 2, PIDs 64/65 and 72/73.It's HotSat TV on PIDs 74/75.

Koreasat 2 113E 12370 H The test card is now encrypted.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3946 H Sr 6110 Fec 3/4 "Golf PGA?"



NEWS


Experts gain some control of satellite lost in orbit


From http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/sci_and_tech/article/0,1406,KNS_328_1574467,00.html

MOSCOW - The owners of the world's largest communications satellite said Wednesday they had gained partial control over the six-ton orbiter after a Russian rocket failed to put it into the proper orbit.

There was still no hope, however, of using the French-made Astra-1K satellite for its main mission of handling signals for radio, television, mobile telephones and the Internet, an official said.

"It is too early to say whether there could be any other use for it," said Mark Roberts, vice president of Societe Europeene des Satellites of Luxembourg, which owns the satellite.

The Astra-1K was launched atop a Proton rocket Tuesday from the Baikonur cosmodrome in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan. The rocket carried it to a preliminary orbit, but the Russian-made DM-3 booster failed to send the satellite to its higher, planned orbit, Russian space officials said.

It was the biggest setback yet to Russia's satellite-launching program, which Moscow has seen as having the potential for funding its depressed space industry.


HK PRESS:Galaxy Full Signal Coverage To Cost Under HK500M


From http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/021128/15/35792.html

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting, the pay-TV arm of Television Broadcasts Ltd. (H.TEB), will be able to provide full coverage of its signal in Hong Kong by satellite at a cost of less than HK$500 million, The Standard reports.

Galaxy General Manager Stanley Tang gave the estimate based on the cost of installing of 5,000 to 6,000 satellite receivers - each costing between HK$30,000 and HK$40,000 - and providing set-top boxes to subscribers, the paper says.

Galaxy won't charge subscribers for the installation and usage of the receivers and set-top boxes, Tang said.

Each box would cost the company between HK$780 and HK$1,560.

Hong Kong's sole pay-TV provider at the moment is i-Cable Communications Ltd. (ICAB), which had to build its own cable network at a cost of nearly HK$7 billion.

It will take the company up to 30 months to install the up to 6,000 receivers needed, Tang said. He didn't give information when operations would start.




27/11/02

Telsat have sent me 3 FTA receivers to have a play with! have only hooked 1 up to play with so far box is a FTA 2810

Med TV was testing on B3 Globecast, (This will be a pay channel). They are using 544x576 resolution for this one. The KBS channel was running Volleyball this afternoon and was looking shockingly bad with far to much mpg compression.

Shine TV and Tahu Fm have started on Sky NZ, Shine is of course encrypted.

B1, 12544 V "Tahu FM" Apid 663 Sid 1105
B1, 12608 V "Shine TV" Vpid 512 Apid 650 Sid 1039

Meanwhile Tarbs has added French radio (probably encrypted but may be worth a scan of Tarbs transponders)



From my Emails & ICQ


From "Wiz"

Found MEDTV (no audio) transmitting on B3 on a channel entitled Future Video Service
Network: MEDIASAT MCPC
Provider: OP
12336MHz (V) SR 30000 2/3
Video PID/Audio PID: 1861/1824

Cheers, Wiz!!


(Craigs comment, To be a pay channel website is www.medtv.com.au)


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 12366 H "A Les Amis test card" has started , Fta, SID 8, PIDs 7201/7202.
PAS 8 166E 12686 H "SBN Shanghai" reported here FTA

PAS 8 166E 3860 H "PTS" has left , PIDs 440/441, replaced by occasional feeds.

Superbird C 144E The occasional feeds have left 12678 V and 12683 V.

Palapa C2 113E 11132 V "TTV" is encrypted again.

Express 6A 80E 4125 R "Novosti Online FM" has left .


NEWS


Austar seeks new customers


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

Australia's number two pay TV provider Austar is planning an aggressive drive to sign-up new customers in 2003, hoping that the improved financials and the approval of the Foxtel and Optus channel sharing plans will stimulate the sector overall.

Chief Executive John Porter said Austar planned, "to get all hands to the pump on growing subscribers in the first quarter," of 2003. Austar, which serves regional and rural Australia and has around 435,000 subscribers, has seen a fall of 6.5 per cent of its customer base in the last quarter as a severe drought has lowered incomes in country areas. Austar, 81 per cent owned by United Global Communications, will benefit from Foxtel and Opaccord gaining government approval because it has a programming joint venture with the former.

Now that these channels will be seen by a further 280,000 Optus customers Porter believes that will add a further E10 million a year in subscriber revenue. Austar was on course to be cash flow positive by the 2004 financial year according to the company's Chief Executive.


SKY LAUNCHES NEW ZEALAND'S FIRST CHRISTIAN CHANNEL


From Press Release

Shine Television, New Zealand's first national Christian TV channel is here and it promises to bring a spiritual shine to the nation.

The channel which goes on air on Sunday December 1 will be available on SKY Digital Channel 99 and also on UHF Channel 56 in Christchurch (previously Freedom TV).

Shine TV will reach all 360,000 subscribers on SKY's digital service, (a potential audience of 800,000 New Zealanders), plus the majority of people in the Christchurch region, broadcasting a mix of international and locally produced programs, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Shine Television's Chief Executive Denis Delaney said, "The aim of the channel will be to shine - not compare, not judge - just shine. Shine sees itself as just one of many light stands in the community with programs transmitting the light of good deed and thought to the nation."

"Shine Television will be more than entertainment," Mr Delaney said. "It will be informative, relevant and educational but, most importantly, it will be a television channel that you can trust. This will be a television channel that viewers can rely on to play only programs reflecting sound Biblical values."

Mr Delaney said that Shine Television's mission is to provide a Christian lifestyle channel that upholds traditional values - and in so doing become a market leader in New Zealand television.

The channel will bring local chat shows, cartoons, documentaries, news, interviews and movies, chosen not for their sensationalism or shock factor, but rather for professionalism, relevance, authenticity, intelligence, and entertainment value

SKY Television Chief Executive, John Fellet said, "We believe that Shine will cover an important segment of the television universe that is currently under served by all existing broadcasters in New Zealand."

Shine Television aims to be a 100% family friendly channel with something for everyone, like great drama, hot shows for teens, thought provoking discussion, powerful documentaries and inspirational teaching.

Shine will have a solid line-up of local and international programs, and it is committed to providing quality programming aligned with sound values.

Shine TV is a joint venture with Rhema Broadcasting Group - which has been bringing Christian radio to New Zealand since 1978 and today reaches 95% of New Zealand's population with its three radio networks: New Zealand's Rhema Network, Southern Star and Life FM.

Both Rhema Broadcasting Group and Shine Television are charitable organisations that receive most of their funding from supporters.

Shine TV will deliver a wide range of positive programmes that respect New Zealand's unique bi-cultural heritage and multi-cultural society.

Viewers can tune in to watch the official launch of Shine TV LIVE on SKY Digital Channel 99 at 2pm, Sunday December 1.

For More Information Contact:
Andrea Rush
Communications Manager
SKY Television
Ph: (09) 579-9999 ext 8761
Email: [email protected]


SKY LAUNCHES NEW INTERACTIVE TV EMAIL SERVICE - SKYmail


From Press Release

SKY Digital subscribers now have the option of sending and receiving text emails on their television screens using a special interactive infrared keyboard.

SKYmail is the latest interactive product to be launched by SKY Television.

SKY's Business Development Manager, Kirsty Barwick said, "SKYmail is a simple way for people who don't know much about computers to send emails to friends and family."

"It's easy to use with clear on screen instructions and convenient as it is accessed through the television", she said.

SKYmail is especially useful for people who feel intimidated by computers and for those who can't afford a computer with the Internet".

SKY now has 513,000 subscribers, 72 percent of which subscribe to the digital service. To access SKYmail subscribers can either use their digital remotes or purchase a specially designed cordless, infrared keyboard, which has all the functions of their digital remote and makes writing emails easier.

SKY has its own email ISP enabling subscribers to have an @skymail.co.nz email address. However, those who have existing email accounts with ClearNet, ihug, nzoom, ParadiseNet and Xtra can also access their existing email accounts using the new on screen email service.

SKY Digital subscribers can access up to three email accounts each. There is also a unique SKYmail address book available.

SKYmail users cannot view attachments or files. But these can be accessed through the web interface www.skymail.co.nz on a personal computer.

Subscribers wanting SKYmail addresses will pay $2 a month, plus online charges of 18 cents a minute or part minute. Those who access accounts with other Internet providers will pay online charges only. The online charges are billed through the subscribers phone account and the SKYmail charges are billed to their SKY account.

Other existing SKY Interactive services are the interactive Weather Channel, and the LudiTV games channel.

For More Information Contact:
Andrea Rush
Communications Manager
SKY Television
Ph: 579-9999 ext 8761
Email: [email protected]


New Ariane Launcher Poised for Liftoff


From http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/channel_space.jsp?view=story&id=news/aw1125ari.xml

Half a dozen years after its first flight attempt, the Ariane 5 is ready to take to the air in an enhanced configuration designed to considerably augment performance and decrease costs.

The upgraded version, set for launch during the night of Nov. 28-29, will carry aloft France's Stentor experimental telecom satellite and Eutelsat's Hot Bird 7. The upgrade, designated Ariane 5 EC-A, will be capable of placing a 10-10.5-metric-ton payload into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) in dual-launch configuration, compared with 6.7 tons for current Ariane 5s and 5.9 tons for the first commercial mission three years ago.

The new version will enable operator Arianespace to keep pace with the growing size of telecom satellites until an even more powerful 12-metric-ton upgrade, the EC-B, enters service in 2006. The EC-B will also add an in-orbit restart capability required, say, to launch Europe's new Galileo navigation satellites, which are to be deployed in 2006-07.

The new versions are needed to counter a growing threat from overseas competitors, in particular Boeing's Delta IV, which debuted last week (see p. 22). The Delta IV will have a GTO capability of 13 tons when the heavy-lift version is ready in mid-decade.

About 2.2 metric tons of the nearly 4 extra tons of lift provided by the Ariane 5 EC-A will stem from the use of a cryogenic upper stage in place of the storable propellant design currently used. This stage is built around the HM7 engine developed for the highly reliable Ariane 4, which is to be retired from service at the beginning of next year.

Another 1.3 tons will be provided by an improved Vulcain 2 main stage cryogenic engine, offering 20% more thrust than the version now in use. An additional 400 kg. will come from an upgraded solid booster stage equipped with 10% more propellant

The EC-A also will offer considerable cost savings compared with the basic launcher, said Joel Barre, head of the space division at Snecma, developer of the HM7, Vulcain and part of the solid rocket booster. Cost is considered critical in a tepid market where supply heavily outstrips demand.

A good deal of the savings, Barre said, will be generated at the propulsion system level, thanks to a new two-piece composite nozzle, similar to one used on the Delta IV, and the improved Vulcain 2 main engine. Like other key components on the EC-A, the Vulcain 2 reflects a 35% cost reduction required when the second batch of Ariane 5s was ordered two years ago.

According to Rene Bosson, deputy head of engineering in Snecma's space group, Vulcain 2 savings have been obtained primarily by streamlining the production setup. Engineers have reduced the number of man-hours needed to produce mechanical components by 25%, for example, and halved tubing costs, cutting cycle times by a factor of 2-5.

OTHER MEASURES are planned between now and next year to improve assembly, testing and purchasing processes and to enhance production planning by shifting it directly to the shop floor. These measures are expected to lead to a 25-40% drop in associated management costs, Bosson said.

In a bid to further curb expenditures, Arianespace recently decided to phase out the basic Ariane 5 version in favor of the EC-A, and to negotiate a third batch of launchers with even lower price tags. Program leaders declined to specify the new cost goal, but Barre said it would go "a bit beyond" the 50% initially stipulated for batch three, and it would be introduced earlier than originally planned.

Instead of being applied starting with the 37th launcher, the new 50%-plus cost objective will enter force with vehicle No. 27. This means that the original agreement for the first 10 rockets in batch two will be honored, but that the second 10 will be renegotiated as part of batch three. The batch three contract, covering a total of about 30 launch vehicles, is to be signed toward the end of this year, for delivery starting in 2004.

Ariane executives said the new standardized product line and further cost reductions will allow them to offer the EC-A at a price "in line with present market conditions," which is understood to mean at a significant discount to the $150 million or so it has been asking.

The new round of cost reductions is to be made possible through a package of measures intended to streamline the overall Ariane 5 production and development system, recently approved by the Arianespace board (AW&ST Oct. 21, p. 26).

For example, the all-new Vinci upper-stage cryogenic engine, being developed by Snecma, Astrium, Fiat Avio and Volvo for the Ariane 5 EC-B, typifies the design-to-cost approach mandated for new Arianespace development projects. The hydrogen and oxygen turbopumps intended for the Vinci recently started bench testing here, and the full engine is expected to begin running on the test stand next year.

Officials pointed out that by sharply reducing engine development time and test article quantities, engineers were able to develop Vinci for just 400 million euros--half the amount required for Vulcain (on an equivalent size basis). Looked at another way, the Vinci will cost no more to build than the HM7, while developing three times more thrust.

Additional cost savings are also anticipated for the Vulcain main stage engine, primarily through the introduction of money-saving production technologies, according to Bosson. Some of these innovations will be introduced in later versions of the EC-A, and some in the EC-B.

For instance, by using powder metallurgy for critical components like pump impellers or gas generator housings, engineers could cut finishing costs by up to 50% compared with machining methods.

ANOTHER INNOVATION under study involves use of a new patented ball bearing design that could more than double pump running speed. The technology employs a ceramic ball running in a cage made of carbon fiber filaments associated with filler of an undisclosed composition.

Other changes envisioned include replacing the present 12-injector gas generator injection configuration with a single tricoaxial assembly; using a single-piece cast combustor head, in place of the current two-piece forged design; and employing plasma forming for the combustion chamber, instead of the long and costly electroforming process now used.

These changes could halve the cost of producing pump and gas generator components, Bosson said.


(Craigs comment, Optus C1 should launch via this early next year)


ILS Declares "Mission Anomaly" As Proton Upper Stage Fails


From http://www.spacedaily.com/news/launchers-02q.html

International Launch Services regrets the failure of today's mission to put the ASTRA 1K satellite into proper orbit for SES-ASTRA.

The Proton K rocket, built by Khrunichev, lifted off on time at 4:04 a.m. today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (6:04 p.m. Monday EST, 2304 Monday GMT). All three stages of the Proton vehicle performed normally.

The Block DM upper stage, built by RSC Energia, performed its first burn as planned and reached a circular parking orbit of 175. 5 km (109 miles). Preliminary flight information indicates that the second burn of the Block DM upper stage did not occur as planned, and the ASTRA 1K satellite was separated into the parking orbit.

"We extend our sincerest condolences to SES-ASTRA and SES-GLOBAL for the apparent failure of the Block DM to place the ASTRA 1K satellite into the proper orbit," said ILS President Mark Albrecht.

"We have a long history of success with the SES-GLOBAL family of companies - SES was the first commercial customer on Proton. We have several missions next year with SES companies, and we are committed to providing timely, reliable service."

The Proton K vehicle has flown 24 other missions for ILS since 1996, all with the Block DM upper stage. A mission failure in December 1997 also involved the Block DM. The Proton family - including the upgraded Proton M with the Khrunichev-built Breeze M upper stage - has flown 26 consecutive successful missions since February 2000.

ILS' next scheduled Proton mission employs the Proton M with the Breeze M upper stage. The Breeze M has flown successfully eight times in various configurations.

A Russian State Commission is being formed to determine the reasons for the anomaly. ILS will provide details as soon as definitive information is available for release. A copy of the official statement from Khrunichev will also be made available upon translation. In parallel with the State Commission, ILS will form its own Failure Review Oversight Board to review reasons for the anomaly and define a corrective action plan.

"ILS will continue business as usual with its Lockheed Martin-built Atlas family of launch vehicles," Albrecht said. "We will work diligently with our partners to return the Block DM to flight as soon as possible for its few remaining missions on the ILS manifest."

ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) in the United States, with Russian companies Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC Energia. ILS provides launch services on the Proton and the Atlas vehicles to customers worldwide.


ASTRA 1K Satellite Fails To Reach Correct Orbit


From http://www.spacedaily.com/news/launchers-02q.html

Luxembourg - Nov 26, 2002 - SES ASTRA regrets to announce the failure of the Proton launch vehicle to place ASTRA 1K, the fourteenth satellite in the ASTRA series, into the correct orbit.

ASTRA 1K was built by Alcatel Space of France, with Proton launch services from the Cosmodrome of Baikonur (Khazakstan) provided by ILS (International Launch Services), a US-Russian joint venture. The spacecraft was intended to operate at ASTRA's orbital position of 19.2° East.

SES ASTRA has full insurance coverage for the ASTRA 1K programme and the launch failure will not affect existing services at 19.2° East. Furthermore, ASTRA 2C, already operational at 19.2° East, offers comprehensive back-up for the ASTRA low-bands at this slot and will remain there until further notice.

Interactive Ka-Band services will continue to be provided by the existing Ka-band payload on ASTRA 1H.

With an existing available surplus capacity of roughly 20% of the 13 satellite strong ASTRA fleet in orbit, SES ASTRA, over the coming months, will reassess its future needs and make investment decisions on ASTRA 1K replacement capacity accordingly.

The Proton K vehicle has flown 24 other missions for ILS since 1996, all with the Block DM upper stage. A mission failure in December 1997 also involved the Block DM. The Proton family - including the upgraded Proton M with the Khrunichev-built Breeze M upper stage - has flown 26 consecutive successful missions since February 2000.

ILS' next scheduled Proton mission employs the Proton M with the Breeze M upper stage. The Breeze M has flown successfully eight times in various configurations.

A Russian State Commission is being formed to determine the reasons for the anomaly. ILS will provide details as soon as definitive information is available for release. A copy of the official statement from Khrunichev will also be made available upon translation. In parallel with the State Commission, ILS will form its own Failure Review Oversight Board to review reasons for the anomaly and define a corrective action plan.

"ILS will continue business as usual with its Lockheed Martin-built Atlas family of launch vehicles," Albrecht said. "We will work diligently with our partners to return the Block DM to flight as soon as possible for its few remaining missions on the ILS manifest."

ILS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) in the United States, with Russian companies Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and RSC Energia. ILS provides launch services on the Proton and the Atlas vehicles to customers worldwide.




26/11/02

Live chat in the chatroom 9pm NZ and 8.30pm Syd time onwards.

Not much news today, KBS on B3 Globecast will be a pay channel details in a few days. This channel has been fixed now and loads as a tv channel it will be converted to Pal soon.


From my Emails & ICQ


Nothing to report


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 3860 H "Z TV has replaced Star Chinese" , Viaccess 2, PIDs 920/921.

Express 6A 80E 3791 R "TBN Europe" has started , Fta, SR 3255, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256.


NEWS


HBO ends Zee pact, in alliance with Sony


From http://www.business-standard.com/today/story.asp?story=2803

HBO, the premier Hollywood movie channel, today said it had left the distribution arrangement with the Zee-Turner network, to join hands with Sony Entertainment Television.

Almost in retaliation, Zee Telefilms has snatched its business news channel, CNBC India, out of the One Alliance of Sony and Discovery, among others.

Zee Telefilms intimated to the stock exchanges in a late evening release that its board would meet on November 30 to ratify the proposal.

An HBO spokesperson said at a press conference it had entered into a new sales and distribution pact with Sony for India and Maldives. HBO will, hence, be part of the One Alliance bouquet from January 1, 2003.

Sony India chief executive officer Kunal Dasgupta said the alliance with HBO would propel the One Alliance bouquet to the top distribution slot in India by April.

CNBC India's distribution tie-up with Sony was due to expire in March 2003. The channel was already scouting for a new partner in recent months. CNBC chief executive Haresh Chawla declined to comment on the issue.

Subscription charges for the One Alliance bouquet are also due to increase soon because of the new arrangement.

Earlier, HBO had a distribution alliance with Zee-Turner, its exclusive distributor and advertisement sales representative since its entry into India about two years ago.

According to sources, HBO has parted ways with the Zee Network since Turner International is due to launch its own movie channel soon.

This would probably have caused a conflict of interests if the channel continued to be part of the bouquet.

James P Marturano, managing director, HBO South Asia, said: "HBO has reached around 15 million homes in India and the neighboring countries and the Sony alliance will enable us to build on the success that the channel has enjoyed till date." The offer in India by HBO is its cheapest in the world.

"With HBO, we now have an attractive mix of popular channel services. Moreover, it will be a seamless transition because we have the same encryption technology and the satellite as HBO," Kunal Dasgupta said at a press conference.

Meanwhile, Sony is also in talks with MTV and Nicklodeon for including them in the One Alliance bouquet. Sony has seen a growth of around 60 per cent each year in the last three years.




25/11/02

KBS Korea on B3, Globecast will start officially on Dec 1st. I hope they plan to convert it to Pal as many Humaxes have difficulty with NTSC.

Skymail on SKY NZ has started, see news section for details. The Audio is FTA. The Aardvark site summed things up pretty well in his comments on SKYMAIL http://www.aardvark.co.nz/


From my Emails & ICQ


From Various

Star Gold on Asiasat 3 was FTA for a while, thank you to all that supplyed screenshots its not often this is FTA




From Abby

Dear APSATTV --

My name is Abby and I live in Hong Kong. I came across your web site in my search to try and find a way to pull NASCAR auto racing into my home here in Hong Kong. I do not know much about satellites, but am a semi-retired electrical engineer who will do just about anything to get my NASCAR races here in Hong Kong! At present I do not own a dish, nor have I been able to find a payTV service here in Hong Kong who carries NASCAR. Would you have any advice for me or would you know of others who could help me in my quest?

Thank you very much,
Abb


(Craigs comment, anybody have some ideas on where to find Nascar racing?)


From the Dish


Intelsat 804 176E Intelsat 804 has arrived at 176 East.(Start looking for it?)

PAS 8 166E 12301 H FEC for ABC Asia Pacific is : 5/6.

Optus B3 156E 12336 V "KBS Korea" has started , Fta PIDs 1061/1024.
Optus B3 156E 12336 V "HRT TV 2 and HRT Sat" are on and off at various times of the day

Apstar 1A 134E 4180 V "CCTV 3, CCTV 5, CCTV 6 and CCTV 8" are now encrypted.

JCSAT 3 128E 3960 V "BNE TV Network" is Fta.

Palapa C2 113E 3727 H "TBN" has started, Fta, Sr 3000, Fec 3/4, PIDs 4144/4145.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V SIDs for Kuwait Space Channel and EuroSport News : 31 and 9632.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 3720 H Both Kermit Channels have left .



NEWS


Now it's pay-even-more TV


From http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/23/1037697938025.html

By the time Foxtel's 800,000 and Optus's 270,000 customers receive their monthly magazines some time next week, the true impact of the new program-share arrangement will be felt - on eyeballs as well as hip pockets.

From December 1, 16 channels that were previously available only on the Foxtel service will be available on Optus. In turn, Foxtel will inherit from Optus the music channel MTV and arts channel Ovation, as well as three movie channels.

But while Optus customers peruse this array of new channels, from January 1 they will be hit with a hefty rise in the cost of an entry-level subscription, which increases from $24.95 to $39.95 a month.

Foxtel has frozen the price of its basic subscription, but viewers will pay more for the privilege of watching MTV and Ovation when the Entertainment Plus add-on package increases by $3 a month from December 10.

Foxtel viewers who had hoped to pick the eyes out of the three Optus movie channels, which have exclusive access to the Warner Bros, Disney, Dreamworks and MGM libraries, will only be able to do so by buying into the top-shelf Movie Plus package.

This movie-lovers' cornucopia of seven movie channels may be an embarrassment of riches, but at $24.95 a month, or $300 a year, on top of the basic package, is it more than punters will accept?

Foxtel corporate spokesman Mark Furness does not believe it is overpriced.

"We are increasing the size of the menu. For the first time we are offering our customers 100 per cent of the movie product and we think it will be attractive to our subscribers," he said.

Optus consumer and multimedia division managing director Martin Dalgleish stressed that people on contracts, on higher tiers or on packages that no longer exist will be affected differently and that some subscriptions will decrease.

"Pay TV in this country is attractively priced at the entry level," Mr Dalgleish said. "Relative to average income it is very attractive."

With Optus and Foxtel providing the same channels at similar prices, the real competition, Mr Dalgleish said, would come in the bundling of pay TV with telephone, internet and broadband services.

Discounts would apply with the more services a household took.

But Charles Britton of the Australian Consumers' Association said he was not surprised that Optus had raised its fee, reiterating concerns that the program-share arrangement would primarily benefit pay-TV providers as they rebuilt their balance sheets from the losses of the past eight years.

"We would prefer to see competition on service and price than on content," Mr Britton said, arguing that the growth of the market should, in fact, drive prices down.


Hey, you've got Skymail


From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2120222a28,00.html

Sky Television digital customers can now send and receive e-mail through their television screen.

Business development manager Kirsty Barwick says Skymail is a key launch for Sky and success will influence how much more interactive television product development the company does.

Sky hopes to have five to 10 per cent customer penetration in two years.

The company has 513,000 subscribers, 72 per cent of which use the digital service.

Skymail, first touted for launch in 2000, does not have any attachment or graphic facilities, though Sky has launched a website, www.skymail.co.nz , where subscribers can view e-mail and attachments via standard Internet access.

While the system can be used with existing remote controls, Sky is also selling a $99 wireless infrared keyboard.

The offering is expected to appeal to anyone who feels intimidated by computers and those who can't afford a full computer and Internet set-up.

Ms Barwick says while Sky is offering its own e-mail hosting using in-house servers and enabling customers to have an @skymail.co.nz e-mail address, customers of Xtra, ClearNet, ParadiseNet, Ihug and NZoom will also be able to access their existing e-mail accounts.

Sky had been in discussions with Auckland-based Asia Online - now Iconz - about hosting a Sky-branded ISP service.

Those plans fell over when Asia Online went into voluntary liquidation in November 2001. The company has since been taken over by Dresden Equities.

Telecom, with its shareholding in Sky, was expected to be the partner for the service, but Sky has taken control in-house.

Customers wanting Skymail addresses will pay $2 a month plus online charges of 18 cents a minute.

Those who access accounts with other Internet providers will pay online charges only. The online charges are billed through the subscriber's telco.

"The fact that Telecom and Telstra bill almost every single household in New Zealand is very appealing for us.

"It would have been a major project in itself for us to handle those variable charging rates on our billing system. That's why we've opted for the telephone billing," Ms Barwick says.

She says finalising the commercial agreements with Telecom and TelstraClear, plus keyboard manufacturer Philip RCS and software developments led to delays in the launch of Skymail.

Issues with full development of the two-way infrastructure plus lack of competition were also cited by Ms Barwick as delay factors.

Sky will launch a betting service in conjunction with the TAB within six months. Gaming leader boards and competitions are also possible.

The company already has interactive weather and gaming.

The games offering has 18,000 subscribers, but Ms Barwick estimates the number of users is at least double that as the first game per month is free and Sky has no records of those users.

Ms Barwick says the company has no immediate plans for e-commerce.

"We believe that e-mail, games and betting are the key products for interactive TV.

"That's not to say we wouldn't explore e-commerce but we don't have a lot of confidence that they're the right products, given overseas experience and our population."


Malaysia to launch own micro satellite by 2004


From http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/techscience/story/0,4386,156661,00.html

The satellite can be used for purposes ranging from urban planning to intelligence gathering

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will develop a micro satellite for a variety of applications including military and intelligence gathering in collaboration with South Korea, a report said yesterday.

The RM50-million (S$23-million) Medium Aperture Camera satellite (Macsat) will be able to distinguish between objects 2.5 m apart, enabling it to see houses, cars and people.

Macsat, to be launched in 2004, is being developed by Astronautic Technology Sdn Bhd (ATSB) and SaTReC Initiative Company of South Korea.

'Macsat's main function will be to capture digital images at a 2.5 m resolution,' ATSB managing director Ahmad Sabirin Arshad said.

'The pictures will be very sharp and can be used for many purposes including urban planning, land use and national security.'

Mr Ahmad said Malaysia had to develop its own technology for high-resolution satellite imaging as advanced countries were reluctant to sell it.

'No one is going to sell you this kind of technology because they are using it for their own military,' he said.

Sixteen ATSB engineers are working on the project in South Korea.

Macsat, with a lifespan of at least three years, will also be the first satellite to orbit the Earth along the equator so it will be called a Neqo (Near Equatorial Low Earth Orbit) satellite.

A Neqo satellite would pass over any given spot on the equator more frequently than others, thus providing constant data streams.

Its footprint path, or coverage area, will be nine degrees north and south of the equator, tracking at 7.5 km per second.

Other satellites move in polar orbits (north/ south) as the industrialised countries which developed them had little interest in data from the equatorial area.

Malaysia's first two satellites, Measat and TiungSAT-1, are used for communications and Earth observation.

'It will be the first time a Malaysian satellite is developed in the country, as the country's other satellites were wholly developed overseas,' Mr Ahmad said.-- New Straits Times


T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 47/2002 24 November 2002 -

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

Editor: Branislav Pekic
Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A


AUSTRALIA

FOXTEL TO REACH DEAL WITH HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Foxtel is reportedly set to strike a new deal with Hollywood movie studios
within months. The Australian Financial Review reported on November 18 that
Foxtel, which last week won regulatory approval for its content sharing
deal with Optus, had been talking to Premium Movie Partnership since March.
Foxtel's current 10-year movie deal expires in 2007 and the parties were
said to be discussing a new 10-year deal at $11 per subscriber, compared to
$13.86 per subscriber previously. Foxtel would save $150 million over the
next five years under the proposed deal.

TELSTRA TO DEFEND SEVEN NETWORK CLAIMS

Telstra Corp. said on November 19 it will vigorously defend claims by Seven
Network that sport programming by Telstra's pay-TV joint venture breaches
the Trade Practices Act. Earlier, broadcaster Seven Network said it plans
to take legal action against the Foxtel pay-TV joint venture, alleging
breaches of the Act. Foxtel is 50% owned by Telstra with Kerry Packer's
Publishing & Broadcasting and Rupert Murdoch's News each holding 25%.
Telstra is one of 19 parties that Seven is taking to court over the sport
programming issue. Seven claims the Foxtel partners breached the Act "in
their pursuit of their common objective: to enshrine a monopoly in
subscription television infrastructure and content, and to seriously damage
Seven." "

NTV MIR LAUNCHES ON TARBS

Russia’s NTV-Mir TV company has launched broadcasts in Australia. A
spokesman for the company’s press service told ITAR-TASS that Australia’s
leading television company TARBS (Television and Radio Broadcasting
Services - World TV) would enjoy exclusive broadcasting rights. The
broadcasts will be in Russian and will go on air under the “Watch the Best”
motto. The channel will run news, talk shows, NTV’s entertainment
programmes, the best feature films and serials. NTV-Mir is NTV’s
international channel, which broadcasts in Europe, Israel and North America.
Internet http://www.tarbs.net

CHINA HONG KONG

MORE SUBTITLING FOR ATV AND TVB

The Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority has imposed new license conditions on
commercial TV networks, ATV and TVB, requiring a greater number of
programmes to carry English sub-titles, according to a report in the South
China Morning Post. The sub-titling obligations will apply to news, weather
and current affairs programmes, and all prime-time programmes, on ATV’s
Home channel and TVB’s Jade channel from December 2003. The sub-titling is
intended to help viewers improve their language skills. As most shows
already have Chinese sub-titles, the changes will result in many programmes
having bi-lingual sub-titles. ATV’s World channel and TVB’s Pearl channel
will also be required to sub-title news and information programmes from
December 2004, as well as two hours of educational programming each week.

PHOENIX DELAYS CHINA CHANNEL ANALOGUE SHUTDOWN

Hong Kong based Phoenix Satellite Television has decided to delay the
shutdown of the analogue signal for its China Channel until next year. The
China Channel went over to digital broadcasting in October and was
originally scheduled to close down the analogue signal in November. A
spokesman for the China Channel said that the delay was in order to meet
demand from customers who had not had sufficient time to change their
reception equipment. The signal is now scheduled to be closed down early
next year.

STAR RESULTS UP

Asian regional pay-TV platform Star said that its quarterly operating loss
for the period to the end of September this year was 27 per cent better
than the same time 12 months earlier. The News Corp-owned company did not
reveal any figures, but it said that the gain was due to 15 per cent
revenue growth mainly provided by Star plus in India. The earnings report
also highlighted that joint ventures in India, China and Taiwan,
respectively Hathway Cable, Phoenix Satellite TV and Taiwan Cable Systems,
reached a total of €4 million, up from €1 million for the same period in
2001. Phoenix reported a net loss of €2.6 million for the first quarter of
its financial year in 2002. Star's Asian regional joint venture, ESPN Star
Sports earned €3 million in the quarter to the end of September, compared
to a €5 million loss in the same period in 2001. It reported a 48 per cent
increase in revenue in Hong Kong and India on the back of anti-piracy
measures and subscription increases levied on cable TV operators respectively.

TVB COULD LAUNCH GALAXY BY END OF 2003

Television Broadcasts (TVB) could launch its Galaxy direct to home digital
satellite TV platform by the third quarter of 2003, according to JP Morgan.
TVB is in talks to sell a 51% stake in Galaxy, which the Hong Kong
government requires the company to do before it will be allowed to launch
Galaxy. Galaxy is valued at €140 million. TVB is in talks with an unnamed
investor willing to acquire a 51% stake in Galaxy.

FRENCH POLYNESIA

CONCERN OVER PORNOGRAPHIC CONTENT ON PAY-TV

Concerns have been raised in French Polynesia over the pornographic content
of some programmes on satellite television. A group of women from Tahiti’s
opposition has recently complained about violence and pornographic material
screened on TNS, a multi-channel service funded by the territorial
government. It was launched two years ago to provide a variety of
television programmes to the outer islands and now boasts 10,000 customers.
The editor of the monthly Tahiti Pacifique magazine Alex du Prel says that
a satellite pay-TV service which can be received across the outer islands
is of particular concern. According to Prel, the mayor - who is also the
pastor - on one island shuts down the generator at midnight and switches it
on at six o’clock in the morning to ensure nobody sees the offending
programmes.

INDIA

GOVERNMENT TO RECONSIDER FOREIGN TV INVESTMENT RULES

The Indian government is to take a fresh look at the broadcasting sector
and the foreign investment policies that govern it, the Economic Times has
reported. The newspaper said the government had “woken up to the threats”
posed by plans by foreign TV organisations to run 24-hour news operations
in the country. It said these included Rupert Murdoch’s Star TV, which
reportedly plans to launch a 24-hour Hindi news channel in March. The
Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Sushma Swaraj, said that with
several proposals for news channels being floated, the government wanted to
look at the trend and take a “conscious decision”. At present, at least 51
percent of the share capital of a cable network company must be held by
Indian citizens. For direct to home broadcasting, 49 per cent foreign
investment is also allowed, with a 20 per cent limit on foreign direct
investment.

INCREASE IN CABLE TV RATES

Ahead of the Indian cricket team’s tour of New Zealand from December 12,
ESPN Software India - which airs ESPN and STAR Sports- on Friday announced
a 30 per cent jump in the rates: from Rs24 to Rs32 per subscriber home per
month. The new rates are effective December 1. Interestingly, the move
comes at a time when the upper house of Parliament is slated to take up for
discussion the amendment to Cable TV Regulation Act, 1995, that would usher
in the conditional access regime in the country, making it mandatory for
subscribers to access pay channels only through a set-top box. Sony
Entertainment Network, which would air the ICC World Cup cricket in 2003
from South Africa, is slated to increase its subscription rates in January
2003. News channels like Aaj Tak are also likely to go pay by early next
year. Cable subscriptions rates have, on an average, gone up from Rs150 per
household to around Rs250 in first half of the year.

JAPAN

EARNINGS DOWN AT JAPANESE TV NETWORKS

Japan's TV broadcasters, including industry leader Fuji Television Network
Inc, saw first-half earnings drop. Fuji TV said on November 21 it’s
consolidated net profit in the half-year to September 30 fell 18.8 per cent
from a year earlier to Y10.24 billion, while revenues dipped 2.3 per cent
to Y215.22 billion. Rival Nippon Television Network Corp said its net
profit fell 45.3 per cent to Y10.87 billion, while revenues shrank 9.3 per
cent to Y170.37 billion. For the full year, Fuji TV is projecting a Y16.0
billion net profit, compared with its previous estimate in September of
Y15.5 billion, while revenues are targeted at Y418.50 billion.

JBC TO CONTINUE ANALOGUE TV SERVICES

Japan Broadcasting Corp. will continue to offer its broadcast-satellite
analogue television service after 2007, when it had originally been
expected to end. NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, plans to launch a new
satellite to replace the current one, which was designed for use only until
2007. NHK estimates around 5 million of the current 15 million viewers will
remain subscribers until 2007, meaning it should continue to provide them
with the service. NHK plans to negotiate with the government and another BS
analogue broadcasting service provider, Wowow, to continue the service,
which started in 1989. The plan is expected to draw fierce opposition from
providers of newer BS digital broadcasting services, which had been
expecting to acquire analogue viewers after 2007.

NEW ZEALAND

MAORI TV STILL NOT ON AIR

Viewers waiting for the Maori Television Service (MTS) to start
broadcasting are going to have to wait a little longer. Cabinet on November
18 discussed the Maori channel and its plans for transmission but did not
come to any final decision. Prime Minister Helen Clark said the platform
decisions would be made “shortly", but also indicated it was unlikely
legislation making the channel a legal entity would be passed this year as
it looked likely to be overtaken by other priorities. The Maori channel had
been expected to start operating in July this year but chairman Derek Fox
said it was still at least three months away. MTS had a programming
schedule, staff, premises it wanted to lease in Auckland, and design work
ready for setting up the offices. Mr Fox told the Maori affairs select
committee recently that there were two outstanding issues to be resolved.
One issue was that Parliament still had to pass legislation, which he said
he hoped would happen by the end of the year, and the other was a decision
by the Government on its transmission platform. "It's no secret that our
preferred option is TV4," Mr Fox said. The Government has previously told
MTS it would prefer that the channel broadcast on an existing UHF
frequency. The committee was also told the Government had allocated $6
million to getting the channel established and it would ultimately get $55m
a year in operating costs.

PAKISTAN

53 FOREIGN TV CHANNELS GET GREEN LIGHT FOR CABLE DISTRIBUTION

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has identified
53 foreign satellite Channels for relay distribution through cable TV
network operations in Pakistan, according to an APP news agency report.
Despite the enormous demand Indian satellite channels have in Pakistan,
channels like Star Plus, Sony Entertainment Television, and Zee TV continue
to be off the list. This is principally due to the hostile political
climate that exists between the two neighbours. Among the foreign channels
cleared are CNN, BBC World, Sky News, Euro News, DW News, Al-Jazeera,
Bloomberg, CNBC, Nickelodeon, Fox Kids, Star Sports, ESPN, CCTV-3
(Chinese), CCTV-4 (Chinese), Bangladesh TV, Turkish TV, HBO,
Jam-e-Jam-1/IRAM-1, Jam-e-Jam 2/IRIM 2, and Disney Channel.

QATAR

ENGLISH TV CHANNEL TO BE TEMPORARILY DISCONTINUED

Qatar Television (QTV) is ‘temporarily’ discontinuing its English service
(channel two) from 1 January 2003 and introducing a sports channel in
Arabic instead, QTV director Mohamed Abdulrahman al-Kuwari on November 17
said. The daily English news bulletin will be shifted to channel one.
However, the timing of the bulletin has not been decided. ”Channel one will
also show foreign movies, at least three days a week,” al-Kuwari explained.
There are strong technical reasons for suspending the English service,
maintained the director. ”The sports content in channel one is taking a lot
of time and we will be able to reduce the load by launching the dedicated
sports channel,” he maintained. Other reasons for sacrificing the English
service for the sports channel include lack of satellite facilities for a
new channel and related technical and infrastructure problems. To begin
with, the new sports channel may telecast for about 10 hours. “Gradually,
we plan to increase the total duration of the programmes,” al-Kuwari
remarked. Although the QTV director described the discontinuation of the
English service as a ‘temporary’ measure, he said he was not sure about its
reinstatement.

SOUTH KOREA

GOVERNMENT TO LAUNCH MOBILE TV SERVICE

The government is set to launch a "moveable TV broadcasting service," in
which one can watch high-definition TV broadcasts through portable
equipment, such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) and mobile handsets.
The Ministry of Information and Communication (MOIC) said on November 18
that it decided to spend W5 billion for the development of a technology
which would enable watching high-definition terrestrial TV broadcasts while
moving, as the demand in the country for such broadcast, including live
coverage of big sports events, has been gaining momentum. The ministry said
that the technology targeted for development for such TV broadcast will be
based on satellite digital audio broadcast (DAB) technique.

THAILAND

GMM MEDIA COULD BID FOR TV CHANNELS

GMM Media (GMMM) plans to bid for radio and TV stations remained in place
but further development will rely on the setting up of the National
Commission on Radio and Television Broadcasting, due next year, Jurairat
Unnahaka GMMM executive member, said on November 22. Jurairat said GMM has
set aside an investment budget for the project but may need to review the
dividend payment, originally fixed at 40 per cent of net profit. GMMM’s
revenue largely comes from radio broadcasting business (60 per cent), while
another 33 per cent is from TV broadcasting, with the remaining three
percent from publishing.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

BBC WORLD TO PROVIDE CONTENT FOR IN NETWORK

BBC World and the Hindujas’ InNetwork Entertainment (INEL) signed an
agreement on November 21 which will pave the way for BBC to provide news
content for the cable network. Initially, BBC programmes will be relayed
over the IN Mumbai network, and will be later over the entire IN CableNet
cable services. The deal, valid for a year from December 2, will put three
BBC shows - India Business Report, Wheels and Talking Movies - on the
Hinduja network. in both English as well as dubbed in Hindi and perhaps
Marathi.




24/11/02

No update Sunday




23/11/02

No update this weekend back Monday.




22/11/02

KBS still running in the B3, Globecast mux , HRT was off for a while seems to be back now though.

Read the news section for info on the launch of W5 to 70.5E I have not looked at the footprints but the news item says it will get into Australia and Asia.



From my Emails & ICQ


From S.J

11.30 AM (NZDT)

Optus B1, 12420 V, SR ????, FEC ??? (gone now - 11.35 AM).... was not using standard SR - 6110 or 6980
Optus B1, 12430 V, SR - 6111, FEC - 3/4 (Astralinks) .... Is using encryption of some sort, not Irdeto)

3.40 PM (NZDT)

B1, 12411 V , SR - 6111, FEC - 3/4 (Basketball Feed)

12420 & 12428 v feeds now gone


From Jeff

Doordarshan has pulled the plug on the analog version of the BHARATI channel on Pas 10.

Jeff in Perth W Aust.


From the Dish


Intelsat 701 180E 10975 H New PID for Star Academy 163/92. Test cards on PIDs 512/650 and 513/660, Fta.

PAS 8 166E 12366 H New SR for the Les amis mux : 28860.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3780 V "Star Gold" Fta?? Sr 28100 Fec 3/4 unconfirmed..



NEWS


Satellite launches new era


From http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5514722%5E15841%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html

IN the aftermath of last week's restructuring of the pay-TV industry, all systems are go for the imminent launch of a $500 million satellite from French Guiana that will further improve the outlook for pay TV in Australia.

The Optus-owned B3 satellite, in orbit since 1994, is nearing the end of its useful life and its bigger and better replacement, C1, will rocket into the sky in the next available launch window between December and March.

Apart from increasing the satellite footprint available to the regional pay-TV group Austar, C1 will also have more capacity for extra channels and services in regional and metropolitan areas and the receiving dishes needed to decode the signal will be smaller.

While the B3 satellite has 15 transponders, seven of which are now used for pay TV, C1 will have 24 transponders and Foxtel has agreed a 15-year, $900 million leasing deal for 12 of them and has an option over two others.

A substantial amount of the remaining capacity has been assigned to the defence department.

Austar will be a big beneficiary as the satellite will expand its potential direct-to-home satellite service area by 200,000 homes.

New areas of Tasmania will open up to Austar, as will more of the Northern Territory, South Australia and northern Queensland.

And Foxtel, which is taking over management of the satellite's pay-TV operating platform from the Optus-Austar joint venture, will be able to offer more channels and services such as near-video-on-demand and interactive TV. Austar also hopes to offer those services for its regional customers.

Austar now provides pay TV in Darwin via cable but it will be able to offer satellite pay TV and also transfer many wireless customers throughout Australia to satellite.

"The service on satellite is more extensive and it will be an easier service to deliver," Austar's legal and regulatory director Deanne Weir says.

"And a lot of homes that don't get ordinary free-to-air TV will be able to get satellite TV, so they can get the ABC, and we hope to retransmit SBS in the near future."

Austar chief executive John Porter says the transfer of satellite management will also bring significant cost savings to Austar.

Foxtel has said it will initially use the increased satellite capacity to provide more than 120 digital pay-TV channels as each transponder can carry 10 channels.

"Once the channels are up there they beam everywhere so whatever they are putting up we could make available to our customer base as well," says Weir.

"Near-video-on-demand is an exciting opportunity and hopefully will be launched by Foxtel, and we will look to join in with them. And it gives us an opportunity to provide more enhanced interactive TV as well."

Weir says Austar will adopt a "wait and see attitude" when it comes to offering more channels.

"It's more economic for us to share channels with Foxtel so we will encourage each other to look at new channels and try and launch them together," she says.


AAPT aims to have pay-TV up and running next year


From nzherald.co.nz

Telecom's Australian operation AAPT is determined not to be left out in the cold by the Foxtel-Optus pay-TV content sharing deal and hopes to have its own pay-TV offering in the market by the middle of next year.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week cleared an A$1.3 billion deal between pay-TV operator Foxtel and second-ranked Australian carrier Optus, allowing the two to share programming and networks.

While the deal was watered down at the behest of regulators to require Foxtel to open its network to rivals, smaller carriers remain nervous at Telstra's 50 per cent stake in Foxtel and fear a cosy duopoly is being formed with Telstra and Optus looking to mop up the pay-TV market between them, bundling phone, internet and pay-TV access.

Telecom's chief operating officer for Australia, David Bedford, said he had misgivings about the deal being rubber-stamped by the ACCC when the body has raised its own concerns about Telstra's role in the pay-TV market.

He had flagged his concerns to the ACCC and written to communications minister Richard Alston.

"The [ACCC] felt it was beyond their power to rule on anything about that. They've flagged it as an issue but let the deal go through without it being dealt with," said Bedford.

"If you want competion in the telecoms industry and other players apart from Telstra and Optus are going to be denied one of the key components, you're not going to get competition," he added.AAPT's consumer business had revenue of $187 million in the three months to September 30, largely derived from local and long distance calling and cellular traffic, and made a surlpus of $6 million. Overall the Australian business is just now breaking even.

While struggling to match Telstra on deals in the consumer Telstra market, Bedford said it was imperative AAPT was able to offer pay-TV and negotiations would take place later this month to try and secure a content deal with Foxtel.

"It's more than volumes, it's the perception. You have to be able to provide that full range of services if a customer wants it. If you don't have that there's a risk of you being seen as not one of the top rank," said Bedford.

Foxtel had shown a willingness to negotiate with AAPT some time ago, said Bedford, but had "been dragging their heels" more recently.

"When you're one of the smaller players, you have to make a bit of fuss from time to time to get listened to," he said.

"I'm not sure what the timing will be but we're keen to be able to package into our offering pay-TV certainly in the first six months of next year."

Telstra plans to begin offering customers Foxtel subscriptions from December 1.


Boeing's powerful Delta IV blasts off


From http://europe.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/11/21/rocket.debut.reut/

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) -- Boeing Co.'s new Delta IV rocket, the first conventional rocket to use a new U.S.-built engine since the space shuttle, was launched successfully Wednesday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The debut had been delayed by months of technical problems, most recently on Tuesday, when the countdown was stopped just minutes before liftoff when a software glitch caused a vent valve to remain open after it was supposed to close.

The Delta IV blasted off at 5:39 p.m. EST, carrying a Eutelsat broadcast satellite on its way to geosynchronous orbit, extending that Paris-based company's reach into Asia and Australia for the first time.

Eutelsat, Europe's largest satellite-services operator, is owned by leading European telecommunications firms including BT Group Plc, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom SA.

The new Delta IV, like the Atlas 5 from Lockheed Martin Corp. that launched successfully in August, is a product of the U.S. Air Force's effort to bring out a new generation of rockets that are more powerful, more reliable and more cost-effective.

It is Boeing's new rocket, the product of a $1.5 billion program, that has won the bulk of contracts from the Air Force -- 22 over the next four years, compared to seven for Lockheed.

But both rockets enter a global market that has shrunk considerably since the mid-1990s, in part due to contraction in the telecom industry. The number of commercial launches scheduled for the next several years is just a fraction of the number projected in the heyday of the telecoms.

The Delta's new Rocketdyne RS-68 engine in the first stage is the first new liquid-hydrogen rocket engine produced in the United States in 25 years, when the main engines that power the U.S. space shuttle first rolled off the assembly line.

This new engine is larger than the shuttle's engine but has just one-fifth as many parts as the shuttle engine.

The Atlas 5 uses a kerosene-burning Russian-built engine.

Also new with this latest version of the Delta, a workhorse for U.S. military and commercial launches for 40 years, is the new 1.5-million-square-foot plant where the rocket is produced in Decatur, Alabama. The entire rocket is built and assembled there.

The new 20-story rocket was launched from a completely rebuilt launch complex 37 at Cape Canaveral, where Project Apollo-era Saturn 1Bs were launched in the 1960s.

Boeing has designed the Delta IV to fly in five different configurations. The smallest two-stage configuration can lift 17,900 pounds into low Earth orbit.

The largest, featuring three first-stage common booster cores mounted side by side, can boost 50,800 pounds into the same orbit.

The configuration chosen for Wednesday's inaugural launch was the second lightest, the basic rocket with two solid-fuel rockets strapped to its side.

NASA recently added a new wrinkle into the next-generation rocket competition between Boeing and Lockheed when the space agency said it may develop a new mini-shuttle to ferry crews back and forth to the International Space Station.

This new mini-shuttle might launch atop one of the new-generation rockets. Expendable rockets have not been used to launch U.S. human space flight missions since the mid-1970s.


New Eutelsat satellite to focus on India


From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/comp/articleshow?artid=29006175

NEW DELHI: Eutelsat, world’s fourth largest satellite service provider, has launched W5 satellite to be positioned to at 70.5 degrees east thus focussing on Asia including India. Launched by a Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is expectd to substantially reinforce its market presence in the whole of Asia in complement to the company’s SESAT satellite.

?W5’s central Asian position makes it suitable for broadcasters, service providers and other users both for regional communications in Asia and connections between Asia and Europe,’’ says Giuliano Berretta, CEO, Eutelsat.

Equipped with 24 Ku-band transponders with 72 Mhz bandwidth, W5 is configured with one fixed widebeam covering Western Europe, central Asia and the Indian sub continent and two steerable spotbeams. The steerable spotbeams can cover north-east and south-east Asia.

W5 will deliver digital communications service, video distribution and contibution links, occassional use video and particularly satellite news gathering as well as Internet backbone connections.


SkyPerfecTV reports profit


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

Japan's largest digital satellite TV platform, SkyPerfecTV, has reported the first operating profit in its history after recording a record loss in its previous results.

The third quarter results showed a E4.24 million profit for SkyPerfecTV. This came three months after the April to July quarter revealed a net loss of E162.9 million. The loss was despite an increase in sales of nearly 23 per cent thanks to live coverage of the football World Cup in Japan and Korea in June.

Given that the company had booked about E154 million in expenses and writedowns as the cost of its exclusive World Cup coverage, a loss was expected. But the colossal volume of red ink increased the quarter loss six-fold compared the results a year earlier, and caused SkyPerfect Communications shares to fall 3.6 per cent on the day of the announcement.

SkyPerfect has around 3.3 million subscribers


Videocon news channel launch in February


From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/comp/articleshow?artid=29006664

Mumbai: Videocon, whose media plans include pumping in Rs 30 crore for the launch of a news and business channel, is aiming for a February launch next year.

Recruitment will begin in December with the appointment of a management team headed by a CEO, Videocon’s managing director V N Dhoot, told ET. The company is talking to two or three short-listed prospective strategic investors for the media venture, and a final handshake is expected next month, Mr Dhoot added.




21/11/02

Some activity, Globecast Optus B3, is running KBS Korea, channel labled "Future 1" This loads as a radio channel on Nokia's and Humaxes for some reason. Not sure if its a test for a possible future service or if its just a short term feed.

Due to a large increase in Spam junk mail, I have replaced my email address above with a graphic version that way spammers can't set their bots over the site and pick off my email address.

I ran the link checker over the site all the links should be workling now let me know if you find one that isn't. Also I started a major cleanup of the LINKS page. Still a lot of links to be added. Let me know if you wish to be listed or if you can supply some good links.

Sorry not much news today



From my Emails & ICQ


From Me

Optus B1, 12410 V Sr 6110 Fec 3/4 "Nba Feed"



From Zaparra

Apstar 2r

3720 H Sr 29265 Fec 5/6

13Ch Package

1. CH 11 625 LINE VID 1160 AUD 1120
2. CH 12 525 LINE VID 1260 AUD 1222
3. CH 21 VID 1360 AUD 1320 FTA
4. CH 22 525 LINE VID 1460 AUD 1422
5. CH 31 625 LINE VID 1560 AUD 1520
6. CH 41 VID 1660 AUD 1620
7. CH 32 INDIA HINDI VID 1560 AUD 1522
8. CH 20 625 LINE VID 1160 AUD 1122
9. A COPY OF CH 11 625 LINE VID 1160 AUD 1120
10. DCP DOWNLOAD VID 1160 AUD
12. CCP DOWNLOAD VID 1160 AUD
13. BHU DOWNLOAD VID 1160 AUD

Ch21 Running loop of movie "Steel Magnolia" fta.

All the other chs come up as Encrypted Power Vu

3920 H Sr 28340 Fec 7/8

All chs are encrypted Power Vu
16 CH Package

1. AXN Taiwan VID 1160 AUD 1120
2. AXN Rest of Asia VID 1260 AUD 1220
3. AXN ROA NTSC VID 1360 AUD 1320
4. AXN India VID 1460 AUD 1422
5. SCV VID 1560 AUD 1520
6. AXN 6 VID 1660 AUD 1620
7. ROA Business VID 1260 AUD 1222
8. Thai Ch VID 1260 AUD 1220
9. ROA NTSC English VID 1360 AUD 1322
10. A copy of SCV VID 1560 AUD 1522
11. A copy of AXN VID 1660 AUD 1622
12. DCP Software
13. CCP Software
14. BSR
15. A copy of ROA VID 1260 AUD 1222
16. A copy of AXN VID 1160 AUD 1120


From Spencer

Korean channlel in NTSC running on Globecast boquet on B3 vertical


KBS, Pic from Zaparra


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 4030 V "TVB 8, TVBJ" and the test card have left , moved to PAS 8.

PAS 8 166E 3920 V The APEC mux has left .

Palapa C2 113E 3926 H "Bali TV" is back on , Fta, Sr 4208, Fec3/4, PIDs 33/36.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3600 H "ETV (Thailand)" is back/still on , Fta, PIDs 514/670, 02-15 UTC.

Intelsat 906 64E 3898 L "Sun TV (India)" is back on , Fta, Sr 3200, Fec 3/4, PIDs 4194/4195, NW zone beam.

LMI 1 75E 3454 H "TV Lanka" has started, Fta, SID 6500, Fec 3/4, PIDs 1160/1122, beam B.


NEWS


Foxtel sidesteps Seven


From http://finance.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5529225%255E462,00.html

FOXTEL is pressing ahead with its pay-TV restructure, as the industry absorbs the ramifications of a major legal action against it by Seven Network.

Tomorrow, Foxtel will lodge its undertakings on analog access with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. It's the first step in the content-sharing deal approved by the regulator last week after nine months of negotiations.

The ACCC will then hold a public inquiry into the undertakings.

Meanwhile, investors were studying Seven's Federal Court action, in which it alleges Foxtel, its shareholders and most others in the pay-TV industry conspired to force its C7 pay-TV sports channel out of business.

Foxtel and the other respondents have denied all claims, and said they'll vigorously defend the action.

Among other things, Seven wants the court to unwind the pay-TV restructure.

But it hasn't sought an injunction to prevent its imminent implementation.

Deutsche Bank media analyst Andrew Anagnostellis said yesterday the scale of the action was "staggering".

"This case, if not resolved commercially, is likely to go to the High Court in the next five years," he said.

"If Seven is successful, there could be a total re-ordering of the Australian media landscape."

JB Were said it may downgrade Seven, simply because of the legal fees it will incur.

"While harder to quantify, the impact of a litigation matter of this magnitude on management time is also likely to be significant for Seven and Foxtel," it said.

Seven has said the legal fees will be expensed each year in its new media division, meaning that TV costs won't be affected.

A spokesman said that the fees were "significant but not material".

Even so, Seven's lower TV ratings compared with last year's have prompted further earnings downgrades.

Salomon Smith Barney this week reduced its forecast earnings for Seven's TV division by 2 per cent to $142.3 million.

The broker said it believed Seven made commitments to advertisers in August that have limited its exposure to the lift in TV advertising.

Analysts Peter Dobrijevic and George Colman said: "While subsequently met, these appear to have had the effect of shifting revenues forward from the December quarter to the September quarter – such that Seven is not enjoying the same uplift as the other networks."

But they said that, if Seven won its legal action (which could take at least two years to resolve), it was more likely to receive monetary damages than to be granted another industry restructure.

"The sheer ambit of the remedies being sought is such that any court decision in Seven's favour apart from the awarding of damages will necessitate the unwinding of numerous existing agreements," they said.

"The enormous complexities and impracticalities involved lead us to believe that if Seven wins, the award of monetary damages is more likely."


BBC sees no threat from other news channels


From http://www.blonnet.com/stories/2002112102000600.htm

BBC World, the international news and information channel, has made considerable gains in its advertisement revenues from the Asian region, away from the traditional European or American markets.

The first nine months of the calendar year have seen impressive growth in the Third World, said Mr Jonathan Howlett, Director (Airtime Sales), BBC World.

While talking about the channel's consolidation in India and other countries other than the traditional ones, Mr Howlett also attributed this shift to the changing global economic scenario which has been witnessing uncertainty in the last few months.

While declining to give figures of the revenues, Mr Howlett said though geopolitical events such as the Iraq-US confrontation and the state of the world economy could have an impact on airtime sales, they would be beneficial to the channel as it would provide greater coverage, thus yielding long-term benefit as increasing viewership could bring commercial dividends later on.

India, which is one the biggest markets for BBC, could occupy a stronger position in the channel's agenda, he said, adding that the growing news channels within India could pose little challenge to its commercial prospects because of the distinct focus BBC gave to its regional news.

In BBC Worldwide, the news programme cannot be sponsored or its airtime sold. For advertisements, the channel largely relied on those relating to travel and tourism, the automotive sector or Government schemes or programmes which called for investment.

Highlighting the stringent editorial policy to maintain its USP of being an objective news channel, Mr Howlett said Overdrive, a popular programme on automobiles, could not be sponsored by the companies which produced the cars. The sponsorship was accepted only from the companies making accessories and ancillaries.

He said it was BBC's self-regulation that had helped maintain its editorial credibility even in the sphere of sponsorships.

Asia Today, India Business Report and Mastermind (a programme which ran for over a year and has been resumed because of its popularity) continue to strengthen the viewership of BBC, he said.




20/11/02

The chatroom was very quiet last night where was everyone?

A few people in the chatroom mentioned some links no longer working I will try and run the links checker over the site later. If you can think of any links that need to be added let me know as I want to give the links page a overhaul.

Not much news today



Rumours


Remember the NTSC NBA feed on B1 last week? its rumoured to be for the Americas Cup Yachties, mmm nice to have that sort of money to bring in your own personal feed of the game!


From my Emails & ICQ


From Troy Beard

Hi my names Troy and I've just been introduced to this site. I must say its great. I reside in Nagano in Japan and have a 3.6 metre dish with an analogue and digital receiver. I'm desperate to watch the Ashes cricket tests between Aust and Eng.

( Second test starts Thursday from Adelaide)

Do you or does anyone know what feeds they are on. If so are these feeds scrambled? I'm fairly new to satellites so I'm still learning but it beats Japanese TV!!
Would love to see the cricket....Can you help....

Thanks in advance..
Troy Beard, Nagano, Japan.


(Craigs comment, Cricket feeds are usually encrypted. If you can see Pas 10 you may be able to sub to the Multichoice Cband service and that should carry the match. Actually I think I posted something a while ago about a special Japanese cricket channel starting up not sure which DTH service was going to provide it.)


From Zapara

I906 64E 4101R "Star news feeds" Sr 5733, Fec 3/4

This replacement satellite much stronger



From John McDermott 19/11/02

Short feed seen

Optus B1 12430 V SR 5000 Fec 3/4 "Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter interview"


From the Dish


No lyngsat update yet



NEWS


Seven accuses Foxtel team of unsporting conduct

From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/11/19/1037697663926.html

Seven Network has taken legal action in the Federal Court against Foxtel and its owners, alleging they colluded to destroy its C7 sports channel and create a monopoly in premium sports broadcasting.

If successful, Seven could be awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from the Foxtel partners, cause the break-up of the Foxtel group, and win back lucrative broadcasting rights to Australian Rules and Rugby League games.

Seven claims to have snared documentary evidence of collusive behaviour by the Foxtel partners, including internal Foxtel documents sourced from more than a year of pre-action discovery and courtroom actions.

In a 58-page release to the Australian Stock Exchange yesterday, Seven said its legal claims were serious and that without rectification the present situation would critically damage itself and sports rights holders.

Seven spokesman Simon Francis said Foxtel owners News Ltd, Telstra and PBL had sought "to enshrine a monopoly in subscription television infrastructure and content, and to seriously damage Seven".

"Seven is pursuing legal action to ensure that it, as a company, and others, can compete in a vibrant landscape on sound business terms and on a level playing field."

The TV station's angst about lack of competition in the nation's pay TV industry was already at boiling point last week when the competition regulator approved the $1.3 billion content deal between Foxtel and Optus.

Seven named 19 parties under its statement of claim, including Nine Network, Network Ten, Austar and Optus Vision, National Rugby League (NRL) and Australian Football League (AFL).

Seven's accusations centre on its failed negotiations nearly two years ago to win the broadcasting rights of the nation's leading sports codes, Australian Rules and Rugby League.

Seven claims both codes opted for an "inferior" package offered by Foxtel and Fox Sports, and that as both deals were done at almost the same time it was clear the media giants had entered into anti-competitive and collusive arrangements to starve C7 of sports content, forcing its eventual collapse.

The NRL eventually accepted a television deal with Fox Sports, made up of News and PBL, while the AFL went with a Foxtel consortium that included Telstra, News and PBL plus Ten Network.

"Once Foxtel and Fox Sports had secured both the AFL and NRL subscription television rights, C7's future as a competitor was doomed," Mr Francis said yesterday.

Seven pulled the plug on C7 in May after five years of operation, during which time it reached 250,000 Optus and 250,000 Austar subscribers.

Other orders sought by Seven include that News and PBL divest themselves of any interest in Foxtel, that News and PBL be banned from using their media resources to support any bid for sports rights, and that the broadband cooperation between Telstra and Foxtel be terminated.

Foxtel yesterday said it totally rejected the allegations.

Shares in Seven fell six cents to $4.60 yesterday, Telstra lost three cents to $4.53, News Corp gained two cents to $11.62 and PBL rose one cent to $8.31.

The reporter holds Telstra shares.


Star results up


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

Asian regional pay TV platform Star said that its quarterly operating loss for the period to the end of September this year was 27 per cent better than the same time 12 months earlier.

The News Corp-owned company did not reveal any figures, but it said that the gain was due to 15 per cent revenue growth mainly provided by Star plus in India. The earnings report also highlighted that joint ventures in India, China and Taiwan, respectively Hathway Cable, Phoenix Satellite TV and Taiwan Cable Systems, reached a total of E4 million, up from E1 million for the same period in 2001.

Phoenix reported a net loss of E2.6 million for the first quarter of its financial year in 2002. Although analysts called the results encouraging the failure to gain carriage for the Infonews service in China and Taiwan remained a concern.

Star's Asian regional joint venture, ESPN Star Sports earned E3 million in the quarter to the end of September, compared to a E5 million loss in the same period in 2001. It reported a 48 per cent increase in revenue in Hong Kong and India on the back of anti-piracy measures and subscription increases levied on cable TV operators respectively.




19/11/02

Live chat tonight 9pm NZ and 8.30pm Syd onwards see you in there.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Bill Richards

Bali TV has returned
Palapa C2 3926 H Sr 4207 Fec 3/4

Regards
Bill


From the Dish


Nothing to report


NEWS


Churches offer alternative for dying regional TV


From www.scoop.co.nz

Press Release: Church Broadcasting Commission

Churches offer alternative for dying regional TV

The Churches’ Broadcasting Commission says there is a future for regional TV, despite stations in Wellington and Christchurch announcing their closure recently.

?We’ve asked the Minister of Broadcasting to ring-fence satellite frequencies for not-for-profit groups, as part of the digital television policies that are being considered,” said Commission chairperson, Trish Moseley.

?This will give an opportunity for transmission of community and special interest TV stations at a fraction of the present costs,” said Mrs Moseley.

She said that digital satellite transmission is undoubtedly where the future of TV lies.

?We believe it is vital that a portion of this transmission space is reserved for regional and community interests. “Only the government can do this, and they must do it now as there may never be another opportunity once all frequencies are allocated. We believe it is their obligation and responsibility and we’ll be lobbying them to this end.

?We hope other interested parties will join us in persuading the government of both the need and the common-sense in keeping some digital channels available for TV that will genuinely reflect the ‘heart and soul’ of New Zealand such as regional stations have tried to do, and not all be gobbled up by national and international media interests,” added Mrs Moseley.


(Craigs comment, these people have the right idea Digital satellite transmission is where the future lies at least in NZ anyway. They just need to find a suitable platform where they and others can broadcast. Where they are not at the mercy of Skys control )


D-Day for Maori Television


From http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PA0211/S00392.htm

Press Release: ACT New Zealand

Ministers in Helen Clark's cabinet must this morning either go ahead with plans to set up Maori Television to fail, or face making a very embarrassing turnaround, ACT Broadcasting Spokesman Deborah Coddington said.

"This is D-Day for Maori Television. The key Ministers are determined to force Maori Television to broadcast on a second-rate UHF frequency from Broadcast Communications (BCL), the struggling company that used to be a cash-cow for ailing Television New Zealand.

"The Ministers were due to announce their decision when Maori Television Service's Derek Fox - a passionate defender of his channel - spoke out. He wants Cabinet to accept a proposal from CanWest for the Maori Television Service to use Channel 4, which would be a decent platform.

"Mr Fox publicly accused Jim Anderton's Ministry for Economic Development and BCL of telling "a few porkies" about UHF. At the Maori Affairs Select Committee, Mr Fox revealed that tuning and aerials would cost around $450 for every household wanting to watch the channel.

"Today we will find out if Mr Fox has outmanoeuvred the Ministers, or if they will arrogantly plough on with their decision to send the new service the way of Aotearoa Television.

"This channel must be given a decent platform if we have any hope of turning the service into a successful private enterprise with no more drain on taxpayer funds," Miss Coddington said.


(Craigs comment, They need to get their act together the Maori TV channel SHOULD be available FTA via satellite. Sky have already said they would carry it (I can't see them getting away with encrypting this one). The price of $450 for tuning and aerials is a huge joke, Mr Fox dosn't have a clue, even installing a FTA satellite receiver and Dish you would still get change left over from $450. Last time I checked a UHF aerial was $50 at the local shop. Many already have UHF antennas installed for Regional TV or the UHF version of Sky)


Radio will rule again


From http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

Driving down Queen St, your new favourite song plays on the radio for the first time. You don't realise it's going to be that until it's halfway finished, but no worries - the artist, track and album are all displayed on your radio screen.

You press the save button to store all that information, restart the song and burn it on your portable CD-Writer in MP3 format for later replay.

It's a scenario that will be increasingly normal in Britain and the United States over the next couple of years - but it's science fiction here and in Australia, where "digital radio" comes only in the form of its dubious cousin: by satellite feed, carrying mostly muzak rather than music.

On the other hand, CD-quality music over the open airwaves is already available to 80 per cent of the population in Britain through more than 200 radio stations.

The BBC is in the middle of joining the party and could be the critical factor that makes the format finally catch on after 10 years of muddling along without big audiences.

Audience share is certain to be helped by the fact that digital radios are also finally making their inexpensive way to market, even in cars. And the technology is about to take off in the US after an October move by the Government to authorise the use of airwaves for digital broadcasts.

True, digital radio in Europe is not the same as digital radio in the US because "digital radio" actually refers only to the delivery mechanism, not the quality of sound that is being broadcast.

In Europe, Governments have invested in a standard - and a national network of antennas - that permits "muliplexing" of radio channels: five or more bundled into the same digital stream, deciphered by the radio. In the US, the standard just authorised by the Government permits any station to broadcast a digital signal alongside its regular radio broadcast.

That means that in Europe, any digital radio signal from any station, no matter how small, is broadcast everywhere with the same crystal-clear, CD-quality signal once it is on the system.

In the US, the digital signals are subject to a range of interfering variables (AM digital signals don't work at night, for example) - and don't reach past the normal broadcast range of the radio station.

Either way, once you get the signal you get perfect sound - and making CDs from the radio becomes only a matter of choosing your hardware.

Here, Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey says the Government "is aware" of the digital radio tsunami and "monitoring developments", but has no plans to do anything about it.

There is some small hope: Sky TV carries a dozen premium subscription radio stations on its satellite service - and broadcasts of George FM, Mai FM, The Edge, UP FM, National Radio and Concert FM come included with the standard subscription.

According to Sky's director of communications, Tony O'Brien, these are not really CD-quality, but "digitally delivered MPEG quality" broadcasts, although he says the ordinary listener probably will not be able to tell the difference between the Sky signal and a CD, given the right sound system.

But quality of sound is only half the promise. The rest - a free-to-air signal that carries text, images and interactive controls - looks like an OE-only experience for Kiwis until the minister turns the dial.


C1 Satellite launch delayed


From http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,5510975%5E15320%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html

THE launch of the C1 satellite that Optus will share with the Department of Defence has been delayed until early next year as testing drags on.

C1 was expected to be online in December. It will be the first satellite to be launched by Optus since 1993, when it sent B3 from a Chinese site.

"There were plans to have it up earlier, but the window of opportunity just hasn't cropped up," an Optus spokeswoman said.
"We would like to get it up ASAP, as it would be beneficial for the business.

"But there are lots of things to do, and they want to be 100 per cent sure before it goes up."

The satellite will be launched from Arianespace's Kourou, French Guiana, launch facility using the Ariane 5 rocket.

Optus has signed clients including broadcast and internet customers.

C1 will add substantially to Optus parent SingTel's portfolio, which has ex-Aussat satellites Optus inherited when it was created.

SingTel is seeking to become a regional player in satellites, having rolled the Optus satellite business into the wider group under Optus' Bob Murray after its 2001 acquisition of the Australian carrier.

It is a busy period for local launches, with the national research satellite, FedSat, due to lift off from Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan on December 14.

FedSat is the first local satellite since the 1967 launch from Woomera of WRESAT (Weapons Research Establishment Satellite).

But first to the launch pad is a competitor to C1, New Skies Network's NSS-6 satellite.

The NSS-6, which was due to leave Kourou this month, but will now go on December 10, will compete with C1 for direct-to-home services.

New Skies is a child of the 1999 marriage of AAPT Sat-tel and privatised parts of Intelsat.

The launches come as international providers such as the recently privatised Intelsat up competition in the local market, claiming strong demand for Ku-band capacity used in direct-to-home services.


Austar on track to break-even


From http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5517013%255E15306,00.html

AUSTAR United Communications remains on track to break even on a free-cash-flow basis in fiscal 2004 as it looks to take advantage of cheaper programming under pay TV restructuring.

The regional pay television operator reported its second consecutive quarter of being earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) positive.

Austar chief executive officer John Porter said the quarterly EBITDA improvements would continue, at least in the short-term.

EBITDA for the nine months to September 30 totalled $6.4 million, up from $5.7 million in the the second quarter, although Austar's cash requirements will build as it increases marketing and sales spend.

"The cash utilisation will increase but EBITDA will be increasing and on top of that, the cashflow profile has improved again on the back of new (pay TV) industry arrangements," he said.

"We're right at the inflection point (for EBITDA improvement) ... I don't see why we'll take a step back in terms of EBITDA improvement for some time to come".

Mr Porter welcomed the decision by the Australia's competition watchdog to allow a content-sharing deal between the two largest pay TV operators Foxtel and Optus.

"We really see the business model having been substantially firmed up from this (deal)," he said.

Under restructuring Austar had the right to bundle television, telephony and internet products with other organisations as appropriate, increasing choice and flexibility for rural customers.

Foxtel has promised a digital platform upgrade and Mr Porter said from 2004, Austar would start to benefit as consumers became more interested in its digital offerings.

Mr Porter said Austar would also benefit when it migrated to Optus' new C1 satellite next year, from Optus B3 Hotbird satellite, to share Foxtel's transponders.

"This will see Austar's coverage extended to more than 200,000 new homes, many in the most remote areas ... in addition to expected increased subscription revenue, the new satellite arrangements will reduced Austar's infrastructure costs," he said.

Mr Porter said Austar would need to add customers to make sure its fiscal targets were reached.

Subscribers to Austar's television business decreased to 406,561 during the quarter, from 417,196 at the end of the second quarter, impacted by the rural drought.

The company has sought waivers on subscriber covenants surrounding a $400 million debt facility, renegotiated with a 14-members international banking consortium in March.

He said the company was continuing to explore the optimum mix of sales channels and would increase direct sales staff after one year of cutbacks.

Austar's full-time equivalent staff had fallen to 767 by September 30, down 40 per cent from 1303 staff in November 2001.

Austar is 81 per cent owned by UnitedGlobalCom Inc.


Seven takes Foxtel to court


From http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,5517434%255E421,00.html

THE Seven Network is taking legal action against the Foxtel consortium alleging serious breaches of the Trade Practices Act.

Foxtel is 50 per cent owned by Telstra, with the remainder shared between News Corp and Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd.

Last week Australia's competition body approved a pay TV content-sharing deal between Foxtel and Optus.

Seven said today it had commenced court proceedings against News Ltd, Telstra, and PBL alleging serious misconduct and multiple breaches of the Trade Practices Act regarding pay TV industry restructuring.

It said the breaches related to the parties pursuit of a common alleged objective: to enshrine a monopoly in subscription television infrastructure and content, and to seriously damage Seven.

It said other respondents to Seven's case included Foxtel, Fox Sports, National Rugby League, Australian Football League, Ten Network Ltd, Optus Vision and Austar United Communictions Ltd.

Optus is owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.

"Through a process of court sanctioned discovery over the past nine months, Seven believes that it has secured evidence which confirms Seven's concerns at the time of the negotiations for National Rugby League and Australian Football League television rights - and it is this evidence which underpins the claims now made," Seven said.


Lockheed Martin Ships NSS-6


From http://www.spacedaily.com/news/satellite-biz-02zzb.html

The NSS-6 communications satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems (LMCSS) for New Skies Satellites N.V. was shipped recently from the production facilities in Sunnyvale, Calif. to Kourou, French Guiana, where it will be readied for an early December launch.

A Ku-band satellite with Ka-band uplink capabilities, NSS-6 will provide fully interactive access to high-speed Internet and other multimedia communications. Additionally, it will provide direct-to-home broadcasting services as well as the full complement of traditional enterprise telecommunications services across a large coverage area stretching from the eastern Mediterranean and Southern Africa to Australia, Japan and Korea.

NSS-6 is uniquely configured to satisfy the changing demands of New Skies customers, including Internet Service Providers (ISPs), broadcasters, direct-to-home services providers and private corporations.

The special features of the satellite will enable New Skies' customers to operate fully interactive, high-speed networks that incorporate small terminals capable of carrying Internet and other bandwidth-intensive services throughout the coverage area of NSS-6.

NSS-6 is also equipped with extra on-board redundancy for critical units, minimizing risk of single-point failure throughout the projected 14-year operational life of the satellite.

Unique features of the satellite include more than 60 high-power 36 MHz -equivalent Ku-band transponders that can be flexibly allocated, in-orbit, to any of six broad beams covering India, China, the Middle East (with Southern African spot coverage), Australia, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.

Additionally, up to 15 highly linearized transponders can be assigned to each of the six beams to respond to changing market demand. Each Ku-band beam is formed by an independent high-gain antenna system, offering 51-53 dBW in key markets.

The NSS-6 satellite also has 12 super-high-gain Ka-band uplink spot beams, facilitating data rates of at least 1 Mbps from antennas as small as 75 - 90 cm located at customer sites.

These high-speed, high-performance Ka-band uplinks are cross-strapped to the broad Ku-band downlink beams, efficiently handling the asymmetric levels of traffic that characterize Internet networks. This design has the added advantage of maximizing efficient use of spectrum and satellite capacity.


Korea to Launch First Military Satellite in 2006


From http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200211/200211180002.html

Korea will launch its first-ever military satellite, Koreasat 5 in March 2006 Korea Telecom said Sunday, adding the date of the launch has been postponed by one year due to delays in preparation work. The local telecommunication giant is currently in the process of selecting manufacturers for the satellite. With joint investments by KT and the Ministry of Defense, Koreasat 5 marks the fourth satellite to be launched by the country, but this time for both military and commercial purposes.

Also known as Mugungwha, the satellite will be placed at an altitude of 38,000 kilometers from the equator and will allow the military to conduct operations without any hindrances from wiretapping or radiowave warfare.


Intelsat Enables Vodacom to Grow in Africa


Sandton, South Africa, 18 November 2002 -- Intelsat South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
today announced that it has signed a five-year contract with Vodacom
International, a subsidiary of the Vodacom Group, to provide satellite
capacity to enable Vodacom's expansion of mobile telecommunications services
to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Intelsat is providing capacity on its 904 satellite at 60ºE to carry the
telecommunications traffic generated to and from more than 20 base stations
and switching centers around and inside the African countries, as well as
into the public switched network.

"Major Southern African mobile communications operators are increasingly
relying on satellites because they offer cost-effective and rapid deployment
into remote areas where conventional infrastructure is limited or
non-existent," commented Johan Prinsloo, Regional Director, Intelsat South
Africa. "We consider this expansive satellite network a landmark
achievement for supporting the extension of mobile telecommunications in the
region."

Andrew Mthembu, Deputy CEO of the Vodacom Group commented, "The Democratic
Republic of Congo is a huge country with vast distances between the cities,
so building our network there was complex. Using Intelsat satellites, we
were able to easily connect Kinshasa to the other main areas such as
Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi."

"Coming to Intelsat for this type of solution has allowed us to open up a
significant communications opportunity in the most cost-effective way
possible," added Frikkie Vermeulen, Technical Support Director of Vodacom
International. "I am sure that with reliable satellite solutions,
communications for people in Africa will continue to improve."

The Vodacom Group is one of South Africa's largest privately owned
companies, whose major shareholders are Telkom SA, Venfin and Vodafone, the
UK-based organization that is the largest worldwide provider of mobile
communications.




18/11/02

Unofficial Optus C1 Coverage maps, note these have been slightly Optimized to save space, These are from Satfacts November 2002 Issue and are subject to change once the Satellite is launched. Figures listed are from Satfacts also

Transponders 1-10 on C1 (Vertical) ; New Caledonia in range of -18 to -20dB or 29 (5M+) - 31 dBw (4.6m)

Transponder 1-10 on C1 (Vertical) 42 dBw (1.6M) Norfolk; 37 dBw Port Moresby, New Caledonia (2.4m). Hawaii 42 dBw (1.6m) on spotbeam

Transponders 11-20 on C1 (Horizontal). 37 dBw + Port Moresby (2.4m); 42 dBw Norfolk (1.6m); 34 dBw New Caledonia (3.6m)

Transponders 21-24 on C1 (Horizontal) plus optional 11-20 (Horizontal). 42/44 dBw Hawaii (1.3-1.6m); 40cm Hong Kong; 1.6m Okinawa; 3.6m Central Japan


From my Emails & ICQ


From "ANON:"

Optus C1 could not be carryed on the Ariene 4 flight as planned, will still be launched March - April aboard Ariene 5 flight 158.


From the Dish


Optus B1 160E 12410 V "Occasional feeds" , SR 6110, Fec3/4.

Koreasat 2 113E 12530 H "DIY - Do It Yourself Channel" is now encrypted.
Koreasat 2 113E 12706 "HFS-TV" has left .

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3600 H "ETV" has left again, replaced by a test card.


NEWS


Optus "PPP" brings internet to rural Aussie kids


From http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=4419&cid=3&cname=Technology

Optus Networks and the Australian Federal Government have finalised details of a $A23 million public-private partnership agreement that will see satellite-based internet delivered to rural sites as part of an effort to bring educational services to the outback.

Under terms of the agreement, the Federal Government will spend A$8 million to deliver learning services to rural towns and isolated homesteads in the Clarence, Murray-Darling and Dubbo regions of NSW, and across the Northern Territory. The Government’s funding will be matched by Optus Networks with in-kind and financial contributions to the tune of A$15 million, according to Slattery's Internet Watch.

Two-way satellite equipment will be installed as part of the project at more than 540 sites across NSW and the NT to allow students to interact remotely with teachers live over the internet. The project will eventually establish a satellite hub in Sydney and teaching studios in regional centres, Slattery's reports.


Arianespace 10-ton Payload on Ariane 5 Launch Targeted for November 28


From satnews.com

Kourour, French Guiana/November 15, 2002/Satnews/ — Both satellites for Ariane 5's first mission in the 10-ton payload lift version are undergoing final preparations as the November 28 launch date approaches.

The decision to proceed with launch came following the successful Launcher System Rehearsal in Kourou on November 5.

The second Launcher System Rehearsal went off without a hitch, including the simultaneous filling with liquid hydrogen and oxygen of the cryogenic main stage (EPC) and cryogenic upper stage (ESC-A), as well as the synchronized launch sequence, up to T - 6 seconds.

The Hot BirdTM 7 spacecraft for Europe's Eutelsat and the French CNES Stentor telecommunications technology demonstrator are being processed in the modern new S5 facility at the Spaceport.

Hot Bird 7 has been fitted to its adapter that will serve as the installation interface with Ariane 5 (photo, left). The satellite will ride in the upper payload position, and is to be released first. Built by Astrium, this spacecraft will be the 19th satellite launched by Arianespace for Eutelsat.

The Hot Bird 7 uses the Eurostar 2000+ satellite bus and will have a mass at liftoff of 3,350 kg. Its 40 Ku-band transponders are to provide coverage over Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

France's Stentor is shown during fueling in the Spaceport's S5 facility (photo at lower right). Stentor will be carried in the lower payload position on Ariane 5, and is to be separated from the launcher at approximately 35 minutes into the flight.

The Stentor project is a joint effort of the French DGA defense procurement agency, Alcatel Space, EADS and Astrium. France gave its go-ahead for the program in October 1994, with the goal of providing French and European industry with a platform to demonstrate technologies for future geostationary telecommunications satellites.

Nearly 85 percent of the hardware on Stentor is new, including the hybrid power system using gallium arsenide solar cells along with lithium batteries that are able to store twice as much power per kilogram.

The liftoff of Flight 157 is set for November 28 during a launch window that opens at 7:25 p.m. (local time in French Guiana) and runs until 8:05 p.m.


T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 46/2002 17 November 2002 -

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

Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A


ABU MEMBERS COULD TEAM UP FOR WORLD CUP TV RIGHTS

In addition to jointly negotiating the upcoming rights for the next Asian
Games, David Astley, secretary of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, said
he hopes members will team for acquisition of rights for the next football
World Cup. Sports rights were not the ABU's only concern. "There is growing
concern among the member broadcasters that the frequency spectrum for
broadcasting services is being diverted for incompatible telecommunications
services in each country," Astley said. The ABU wants spectrum to be
conserved for digitization, receiving overseas broadcasts and spreading
services to remote areas.

AUSTRALIA

FOXTEL-OPTUS DEAL RECEIVES REGULATORY APPROVAL

Australia's money-losing pay-TV industry received a life-saving boost on
November 13 with the go-ahead from the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission for a proposed content-sharing deal between Foxtel and Optus
Television. The consumer watchdog, which blocked the deal in June over
competition concerns, gave its approval after market leader Foxtel, Optus,
regional player Austar and telco Telstra, which owns 50% of Foxtel,
provided guarantees enforceable in court addressing those concerns. The
other shareholders in Foxtel are Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and Kerry
Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting, which each hold 25%. The struggling
Optus Television is owned by Singapore-based telco Singtel, which had
threatened to quit the local pay-TV industry if the deal, first proposed in
March, fell through. Foxtel's owners persuaded the antitrust agency to
reverse its decision, putting up a list of undertakings covering access for
content providers, broader choice for consumers, and access to Telstra's
cable network and Foxtel's set-top boxes. Foxtel and Optus have also
committed to spend more than A$600 million digitizing the sector. Foxtel
dominates Australia's pay-TV landscape with around 800,000 subscribers,
ahead of regional operator Austar United Communications's 430,000
subscribers. SingTel Optus is in third spot with 270,000 customers.

TEN SIGNS OUTPUT DEAL WITH UNIVERSAL

Ten Network Holdings has extended its agreement with Universal for
exclusive network TV rights. Under the deal, Network Ten will licence
rights to and series of Universal's major television series and feature
films. The agreement includes feature films including the upcoming 8 Mile
starring Eminem, American Pie 2, About a Boy, The Fast and the Furious,
Bridget Jones' Diary, The Scorpion King and The Bourne Identity.

CHINA HONG KONG

ASIA TV BOSS TO INCREASE STAKE

Asia Television's (ATV) Chief Executive Chan Wing-kee said on November 11
he had reached agreement with tycoon Lim Por-yen's property development
firm Lai Sun Development to buy the stake for $46 million. The purchase
will increase Chan's stake in ATV, one of Hong Kong's two major
broadcasters, to 49 per cent. However, Chan said the purchase would need
the approval of the authorities and debtors, according to local media reports.

ATV AND TVB LICENSES RENEWED

The Hong Kong government approved on November 12 the renewal of the local
free television program services licenses of the Asia Television Limited
(ATV) and the Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) for 12 years. The two
licensees are allowed to broadcast more mandarin programs on the Cantonese
channels and to broadcast more non-English and non-Cantonese programs on
the English channels during prime-time. Secondly, the licensees will be
allowed to broadcast more advertisements produced in Cantonese on the
English channels. Thirdly, flexibility is provided on program requirements
and standards for digital services to facilitate the roll-out of innovative
services in response to the market during the migration from analogue to
digital broadcasting. The ATV and the TVB have committed to investing a
total of 2.4 billion HK dollars (308 million US dollars) and 7 billion HK
dollars (897 million US dollars) respectively from 2004 to 2009 for program
production and capital investment. The ATV is operating the
English-language World channel and the Cantonese-language Home Channel
while the TVB, is the operator of the English- language Pearl channel and
the Cantonese-language Jade channel.

INDIA

NDTV SEEKS INVESTORS OR PARTNERS FOR SATELLITE TV CHANNELS

New Delhi Television's (NDTV) five-year contract with Star India expires in
March 2003 and the company will be left with no broadcaster for its news
programmes. Mr Pranav Roy, who founded NDTV, is scouting for investors or
partners to finance his two satellite TV channels. For the new NDTV
channels, the revenue stream is totally dependent on news, a factor that
will not be very attractive to investors.

JAPAN

SKY PERFECTV REACHES 3,3 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS

Sky PerfecTV added 259,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2002, taking
the total to 3.3 million The DTH operator attributed the 19.9% growth to
the football World Cup and an aggressive marketing campaign. Revenues
increased 19.7% in the period to Yen28.9 billion ($241 million) but the
operating loss soared from Yen4.1 billion in the first half of 2001 to
Yen18.1 billion in the first half of 2002 on the back of the expense of
acquiring World Cup rights. The recently launched CS (communications
satellite) Sky PerfecTV 2 service has attracted 23,952 subscribers since
launch.

NHK PLANS HDTV BROADCASTS FROM SPACE

Japanese public network NHK has teamed up with NASA and Discovery
Communications to broadcast the first HDTV images live from space, when the
Atlantis Space Shuttle is launched for the International Space Station in
March 2003. NHK will air live broadcasts using HDTV cameras and image
compression facilities developed for space. NHK plans to develop HDTV
programmes in which Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will introduce the
inside of the Space Station and other aspects of space to the viewers. The
date and details of the broadcast have not been determined yet. NHK is also
planning to install a HDTV camera at the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo
(Hope) in 2007 to enable live broadcasts from space at anytime.

NEW ZEALAND

GOOD NEWS FOR SKY TV SHAREHOLDERS

Sky Television shareholders had all the reasons to be satisfied after their
November 14 annual meeting. The company remained on track to achieve its
previously stated target of moving into profitability in the second half of
the 2003-04 financial year. Chief executive John Fellet told the meeting
that Sky now had 513,000 subscribers amounting to 37 per cent of all New
Zealand homes. More than 72 per cent of subscribers now opt for the
company's more expensive digital service. Sky's most successful territory
is the Chatham Islands, where 70 per cent of homes subscribe. To encourage
new subscribers, Sky would launch its long-awaited email service within two
weeks, which will allow subscribers to send and receive email using their
television screen and a wireless keyboard, which will cost about $100. Next
month the company plans to launch another interactive service, "SkyBet",
which will allow subscribers with a TAB phone betting account to place bets
via their televisions.

THE PHILIPPINES

DESTINY CABLE LOSES IN COURT TO STAR TV

A Manila-based cable TV operation has failed in a legal challenge to News
Corp's Star to force the platform to continue to provide five channels to
its service to Filipino subscribers. Destiny Cable was told by a court in
the Philippines that it would not agree to its request for a temporary
restraining order that would force Star not to pull the channels after the
end of a carriage agreement with the Hong Kong-based company. The court
ruled that the removal of the channels would not cause 'irreparable damage'
as had been claimed by Destiny's lawyers. However, the operator is
continuing with an €250,000 lawsuit against Star. Destiny has lost out to
rival Beyond Cable that has agreed a distribution deal with Star which will
see it carry the five channels at the centre of the dispute - National
Geographic, Star Movies International, Star Sports, Star World and ESPN.
Beyond is the largest cable TV system in the Philippines with around
700,000 subscribers. Ironically Star pulled all of its channels from Beyond
in October 2001 over what it claimed was an unpaid bill of €3.5 million for
supplying channels, although the dispute was settled in March of this year.

THAILAND

UBC REPORTS POSITIVE FINANCIAL RESULTS

Pay-TV operator UBC looks to be on course to achieve its projections of a
profit in 2003, since a Bt37 million ($854,000) net loss in the past three
months was smaller than expected. The figure was Bt94 million in the same
period last year. Subscribers were up 17,397 to 423,986 as the company
scaled back new customer forecasts from a minimum 56,000 to a minimum 40,000.




17/11/02

No site update Sunday




16/11/02

Pretty quiet today the odd B1 feed reported, never seen a NTSC feed there before.The pic was very flickery untill I used these settings and it came up perfectly.

Pan & Scan On
Mode Dec PAL
Mode Enc NTSC
Force Pal ON/OFF (Didn't matter)

It looked perfect once I used these settings, and went to the channels menu and set it to replace channel this ensured the NTSC setting was saved with this Feed.

Did anyone see a Bathurst feed anywhere?



From my Emails & ICQ


From Chris Pickstock

B1, 12410 V, Sr 6110 Fec 3/4

A Globecast testcard was up labelled MPEG Test, now showing American Basketball

Sky Racing, currently running on 12397 H,sr 7200

Chris


(Craigs comment, Basketball feed was in NTSC!)


From Various

B1, 12420 V Sr 6667 Fec 3/4 "Feed"
B1, 12430 V Sr 6667 Fec 3/4 "NBN Telethon Feed"

Last night

B1, 12420 V Sr 6110 Fec 3/4 "Boxing"


From Bill Richards

Thaicom3

"ETV (Thailand) Has ceased suspect may be occ eductional feeds

Regards
Bill


From the Dish


Thaicom 3 78.5E 3600 H "The VTV 4 tests" have left , PIDs 515/680, replaced by a test card.


NEWS


Austar manages to staunch the bleeding


From http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/11/15/1037080914858.html

Regional pay television group Austar has narrowed its operating loss by more than half to $115.5 million in the nine months to September from the same period last year.

The satellite broadcaster, releasing its results well after the market closed yesterday, also revealed that pay TV subscriber numbers had fallen by 6.5 per cent to 406,561.

Customer churn increased by 10.3 per cent to a rate of 2.79 per cent despite a concerted effort to reduce it.

The operating loss for the third quarter was virtually halved to $21.13 million compared with $49.78 in the second quarter.

Austar chief executive John Porter said the company had begun to reap the benefits of a restructure and he predicted a strong performance next year.

"Our continued tightening of cost and operational controls, coupled with the benefits expected from industry rationalisation, puts us in a strong position for the remaining quarter of the year and into 2003," he said.

"We are confident that we will continue to see positive effects from the restructure of our company flowing through to our bottom line."

Austar's consolidation efforts are evident in a 75 per cent reduction in capital expenditure to $33.42 for the nine months to September from $134.2 million in the previous corresponding period.

Mr Porter blamed the damage done by the drought, which cut discretionary spending, for the slowdown in subscriber growth.

The approval of Foxtel's proposed content alliance with Optus had provided Austar with a more secure future and potential additional revenue flowing from its 50 per cent-controlled XYZ Entertainment businesses. Mr Porter said the benefits would come from on-selling programming to Optus and other third parties.

The new satellite arrangement with Foxtel is expected to increase Austar's coverage and slash infrastructure costs.

Austar shares fell one cent to 17 cents yesterday.


Inventor of home satellite dish lived at the edge of the future


From http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4526779.htm

Henry Taylor Howard was a man for the 21st century. He was among the first to hear transmissions from Sputnik, created the first home satellite dish and led several experiments to explore the moon and planets.

In addition to his engineering wizardry, he flew planes, sailed ships, launched companies and recently built a helicopter from a kit.

As his friend and colleague Leonard Tyler said, ``He was more of an action hero.''

Mr. Howard, 70, died Wednesday when the four-seater plane he was flying crashed north of Calaveras County Airport. The plane hit rock outcroppings near an open field, said Capt. Michael Walker with the sheriff's office, which is helping to investigate the crash. Also killed was Mr. Howard's stepson, 37-year-old Bryan Files. A third passenger, Dean Hollingsworth, was hospitalized with leg fractures and back injuries.

Mr. Howard flew often, for years commuting between his home in San Andreas to Stanford University, where he was an electrical engineering professor. Mr. Howard became a professor emeritus in 1982, but returned to the university every year to conduct experiments.

His projects included radar studies of the moon, studying solar wind and helping create the Center for Radar Astronomy at the university.

What he is most credited for was creating the first home satellite dish. In the spring of 1976, Mr. Howard built a dish and started receiving a new cable channel called HBO.

``He wrote HBO and said, `I'm now receiving your signal. Who do I pay for it?' '' recalled his friend Chuck Hewitt. ``They probably thought he was a nutty professor.''

Mr. Howard went on to create an industry when he wrote ``The Howard Terminal Manual,'' telling other homeowners how to build backyard dishes. Today, nearly 20 million homes have satellite dishes, said Hewitt, the recently retired president of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association.

Mr. Howard also patented the feed horns, which capture satellite signals and convert them to pictures. He created a company, Chaparral Communications, to produce the horns.

Mr. Howard didn't put on airs, but usually left an impression, friends say.

``When you met Tay, you came away knowing something happened,'' said Tyler, an electrical engineering professor at Stanford who had known Mr. Howard for four decades. ``He had strong personality. He had a great sense of humor, a sense of let's-do-something.''

His family, distraught by his death, asked that he be remembered as ``a very generous and loving husband, a dedicated and caring father,'' said his son-in-law Larry Pothast. ``He will be missed by his entire family and all of his close friends.''

HENRY TAYLOR HOWARD
Born: April 5, 1932, in Peoria, Ill.
Died: Nov. 13, 2002, in San Andreas.

Survived by: Wife, Ann Howard; children, Craig Howard, Christa Files, Gail Benton, Leslie Howard; a granddaughter and grandson.




15/11/02

Friday but quite a few news items for some reason.

Satfacts section updated

Test Rugby this weekend is live on TV5 Asie (French, Palapa C2, Asiasat 2) "NZ vs France"

Bathurst 24 hour race also so be on the lookout for feeds on B1 and sure to be some international feeds as well.


From my Email & ICQ


Nothing to report


From the Dish


Palapa C2 113E 4080 H "It's still Ar-Rahman TV" here , Fta, PIDs 515/653.

Yamal 102 90E 3709 L "Perviy kanal Vsemirnaja set" on ,Fta, Sr 3570, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3600 H "ETV (Thailand)" has started, Fta PIDs 514/670.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3600 H "VTV 4" is testing on , PIDs 515/680.

PAS 10 68.5E 3716 V "Christmas Music has replaced Urban Beat" , Irdeto 2, APID 3337.
PAS 10 68.5E 4034 H "MTV Mandarin and a test card" have started , Cryptoworks, PIDs 337/338 and 353/354.

Intelsat 906 64E 3898 L "Sun TV (India)" has left .
Intelsat 906 64E 4101 R "Star News" has started testing , Fta, Sr 5733, Fec3/4, PIDs 512/650, global beam.(You should get this Ok George)


NEWS


Sky TV shareholders leave board unquestioned


From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2111371a13,00.html

Sky Television shareholders were happy to sit back and enjoy the show at yesterday's annual meeting.

A series of short clips featuring highlights for the pay TV company over the past year and previews of coming programmes was well received by the audience of about 80 at the Auckland meeting.

But when the chairman, Peter Macourt, opened the meeting to questions from the floor, nobody had any.

Shareholders were obviously happy with Mr Macourt's assurance that the company remained on track to achieve its previously stated target of moving into profitability in the second half of the 2003-04 financial year.

Sky has racked up years of multi-million dollar losses associated with the costs of increasing its subscriber base, with the promise of healthy returns once growth slows.

Chief executive John Fellet told the meeting that Sky now had 513,000 subscribers, amounting to 37 per cent of all New Zealand homes.

More than 72 per cent of subscribers now opt for the company's more expensive digital service.

Sky's most successful territory is the Chatham Islands, where 70 per cent of homes subscribe, but Mr Fellet said that "might have something to do with (the lack of) alternative entertainment options".

To encourage new subscribers, Sky would launch its long-awaited e-mail service within two weeks, he said.

The system will allow Sky's digital subscribers to send and receive e-mail using their television screen and a wireless keyboard, which will cost about $100.

Next month the company plans to launch another interactive service, SkyBet, which will allow subscribers with a TAB phone betting account to place bets via their televisions.


Sky plans to box clever


From http://afr.com/companies/2002/11/15/FFXXEGFJH8D.html

Sky Network Television, New Zealand's biggest pay-television company, said the price it pays for its customers' decoder boxes may fall by about a quarter, freeing cash to invest elsewhere in the business.

Sky's sports, movie and news channels are watched in more than one-in-three New Zealand homes. The company could lower the price of the service and lift customer numbers, said chief executive John Fellet. Alternatively, it could absorb the cheaper prices and improve its profit margins.

"We're paying $NZ170 [$151 Aus] now," he said in an interview. "The indications we've had is that they may go as low as $NZ130."

Sky, 66 per cent-owned by Independent Newspapers, Rupert Murdoch's New Zealand unit, has not reported a profit since 1998 as a low NZ dollar boosts the price of equipment and programs which it pays for in US dollars. The company expects to be profitable before depreciation and amortisation in the second half of 2004.

Mr Fellet said a fall in decoder prices will be a big plus for the company, though he would not alter the timing of his profit forecast as a result. The company is still spending money adding new channels and interactive services to retain customers, he said. It renegotiates its contracts for the decoders each November.

Earlier, Mr Fellet told shareholders at the annual meeting that after weak subscription sales in July, the rate of new customers recovered to match that of the previous year. The rate of customer losses, or churn, also fell in October to 1.5 per cent from about 2.3 per cent of customers a year earlier.

Sky currently has 513,000 customers, up from 503,249 at June 30, and 430,436 in June 2001.

"Sport still drives pay-TV" and the reduced cancellation rate in October may have reflected later fixtures in the country's biggest sports codes, rugby union and rugby league, Mr Fellet said.

Sky had a loss for the year ended June of $NZ30.2million, up from $NZ42.3million a year earlier, as it lifted subscriptions and cut costs.

Sky buys most of its programming and hardware in US dollars and traditionally covers all those purchases by buying foreign exchange one year in advance to help it manage those costs.

Mr Fellet said the company has recently allowed that level of cover to reduce, given the rapid rise in the NZ dollar. He said the company will set a firm policy for its foreign exchange cover within a month.


Father of satellite TV dies in plane crash


From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/comp/articleshow?artid=28282615

Henry Taylor Howard, a pioneer in the satellite television industry, died when the single-engine plane he was piloting crashed shortly after takeoff. He was 70.

Also killed on Wednesday was Howard's 37-year-old stepson, Brian Files. A third man, Dean Hollingsworth, 37, who was sitting in back seat, was flown to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. His condition was not immediately available.

Howard created the first known home satellite television system in 1976, according to the Alexandria, Virginia-based Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association.

Using an antenna and receiver he built at his San Andreas home, he pulled in C-band signals intended for pay-TV cable customer.

"We're shocked and saddened at the loss of Taylor Howard," said SBCA President Andy Wright. "He was the father of satellite television, a founding member of this organisation, and a visionary and a friend."

Howard, the SBCA's founding chairman, was also a professor emeritus of his alma mater, Stanford University, where he taught electrical engineering.

Authorities said he was at the controls when his Beechcraft went down last night.

It had just taken off from the Calaveras County Airport when it plunged at a steep angle into a rocky field of a nearby ranch, according to Calaveras County sheriff's Sgt Kevin Anderson.

The cause of the crash was not known.


‘New(s) channels on the block welcome’


From http://www.asianage.com/main.asp?layout=2&cat1=7&cat2=47&newsid=28446

Early 2003 will see nearly 12 news channels entering the market with a total estimated investment of Rs 500 crores. They will chase the Rs 200 crores advertising market. Even as channels maintain that the Indian market can accommodate more news channels, media analysts feel it will be a crowd out there and only three to four are likely to survive.

“There is always space for quality products. Channels, which will deliver quality to viewers, will survive. Others will perish. If news channels offer quality programming to its viewers, the viewers and advertisers would certainly accept it,” Mr G. Krishnan, chief executive officer of Aaj Tak told The Asian Age.

Aaj Tak is launching two news channels (English and one regional), Prannoy Roy-promoted New Delhi Television is launching two channels (Hindi and English), Sahara will be launching seven channels (one national and six regional) and Star News will be relaunched.

According to Mr Lakshmi Goel, head of Zee News, news is not a luxury but a need for consumers. “The interest in news has increased greatly in the last one year and hence, the flurry. However, we feel it is not so much to do with the quantity of channels. It is more to do with the quality of news delivered. Viewer want quality first and whoever gives it first is accepted. The question is how to sustain the performance,” Mr Goel said.

According to TAM Media Research, news consumption has more than doubled in the last two years. From an average of 51 minutes in December 2000, audiences across TAM’s 15 cities now spend 136 minutes a month watching news. Ratings and channel shares for news channels also show a positive trend.

This, according to TAM Media Research, is linked to two things — more events to watch and an increasing trend among viewers to float. However, media analysts feels that financial viability in the news channel business is a big question mark. “Only three to four mainline news channels will survive eventually. The advertising market for news channels is growing at 20 to 25 per cent annually but then it’s from a low base. Most advertisers like to go for entertainment channels and it will be a difficult bet for regional news channels to survive,” Mr Subhabrata Majumder, analyst, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd, said.Giving the example of newspapers, Mr Goel said: “There are more than 500 newspapers in India. There is no reason why the same cannot be true for news channels. There are so many models that haven’t been tried. Just wait and watch.”


Measat to pull plug on illegal users


From http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2002/11/15/nation/pksatronew&sec=nation

KOTA KINABALU: Measat Broadcast Network Systems Sdn Bhd, the Astro satellite cable television operator, is on the heels of those tapping illegally into its service by using “pirated” decoder cards.

?We are after them,” said Measat executive director Chia Boon Lim in explaining why the company regularly placed statements in its broadcasts advising viewers not to use such illegal cards.

He, however, declined to give the extent of the problem but added that “any problem of piracy is a serious problem as it is basically taking something which is not yours.”

Chia also declined to state the losses sustained by Measat Broadcast in this manner.

Astro subscribers need a satellite dish to receive broadcast signals which are then channelled into a decoder that can only be operated when a “smart” card is inserted.

Chia said among the Measat Broadcast’s measures at discourage the use of the illegal decoder cards was to regularly interrupt broadcast signals to decoders using them.

Imagine someone watching his favourite football team in action and then the broadcast is stopped just like that,” he said, adding that such interruptions would not affect legitimate Astro subscribers.

In announcing a special promotion held in conjunction with Astro’s sixth anniversary on Wednesday evening, Chia said the station currently had some 800,000 subscribers.


PEMRA identifies 53 new channels


From http://frontierpost.com.pk/home.asp?id=22&date1=11/15/2002

FAISALABAD (APP): Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has identified fifty three Foreign Satellite Channels for relay distribution through cable TV network operations in Pakistan.These channels have been identified in consultation with public and various associations of CTV operators in Pakistan.

The PEMRA has decided to publish the names of these channels and seek public opinion and guidance up to November 20 for their relay in Pakistan.

The list of the selected foreign satellite channels is as under.

Quranic Channel from video, Iqra Channel, CNN, Saudi Channel 1and 2, BBC World, Sky News, Euro News, DW News, Al-Jazeera, Bloomberg, World Net, National Geographic Channel, Discovery, Animal Planet, Adventure One, Tech TV, Kuwait Space Channel, History, Travel, CNBC, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Fox Kids, Splash, KTV, Kermit, Super Sports-1, Super Sports-2, Super Sports-3, Super Sports-4, Super Sports-5, Star Sports, ESPN, Dubai Sports, Fox Sports, Sky Sports, Ten Sports, CCTV-3 (Chinese), CCTV-4 (Chinese), Bangladesh TV, Turkish TV, HBO, Star Movies, Star World Hallmark, BBC Prime, LBC, Jam-e-Jam-1/IRAM- 1, Jam-e-Jam 2/IRIM 2, Dream TV, MATV, MBC and Disney Channel.

However, this list does not include the names of Pakistani channels.

According to PEMRA, the CTV operators will be required to apply mosaicing to eliminate undesirable segments/ parts of the program or the parts of the program that are not in conformity with PEMRA program and advertisement codes from eligible channels.

However, the publication of these channels does not absolve CTV operators or channels right holders in any way from their responsibility to follow of the provisions of PEMRA ordinance and rule made here under nor does it confer the rights of a license or approval of any TV channel for sale of its decoder/ descrambler in Pakistan and copy right obligations will be met by cable TV operators /channel holders.

Meanwhile the PEMRA has clarified that it will be a punishable crime to cut the cable, interrupt the transmission or to damage the Head End of any cable operator licensed by PEMRA.


JSAT sees 10% profit rise on new satellite revenues


From http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=4&id=238598

TOKYO JSAT Corp, a major communications satellite operator, said Thursday its group net profit for the fiscal first half to Sept 30 grew 10% to 2.95 billion yen due to such factors as the start of a new broadcasting service based on the JCSAT-110 satellite and an interest payment cut on its loans.

Group pretax profit for the April-September period expanded 15.9% to 5.57 billion yen on operating revenues of 22.07 billion yen, up 13.7%. (Kyodo News)


Solid demand seen for satellite boxes for FTA


From http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/OEG20021114S0013

MUNICH While most chip vendors strain to find a bright spot in a chronically depressed market, STMicroelectronics has reported an uptick in demand for free-to-air satellite decoder boxes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Although it's unclear if this phenomenon has legs enough to revive consumer chip vendors' confidence in the economy, Philippe Geyres, corporate vice president at STMicroelectronics, singled out free-to-air digital satellite boxes which require no operators and no subscription as a hot spot where "good momentum is emerging in the fourth quarter." He made his comments during an interview here at the Electronica 2002 trade show.

The unexpectedly high demand for the boxes, which capture free satellite programming, counters a typical spate of bad news for the industry. The U.S. digital cable market has continued to slow down, a proposed merger between DirecTV and Echostar appears most certainly dead, terrestrial TV operators are dragging their feet as usual in switching to digital, and high-end interactive TVs are not delivering their promises.

Barry Koch, vice president and managing director for Microtune, agreed that Europe's terrestrial digital vide broadcast has "stuttered. But free-to-air services are booming."

Christos Lagomichos, vice president and general manager of ST' Set-top Box division, reported that ST has seen a 50 percent increase in orders for free-to-air satellite boxes "just in the last two weeks." With such a sudden spike on the growth of the market, ST expects the industry's overall IC shipment for free-to-air satellite and terrestrial decoder market to reach eight million chips in 2002 alone. ST predicts to dominate three quarters of that market.

Lagomichos did caution, however, that the demand tends to be seasonal because such free-to-air boxes are sold on the retail market. It remains uncertain if the free-to-air box market can sustain its growth to rival big set-top box contracts from service providers or offset some of the lost deals.

Indeed, recent opposition to the proposed EchoStar/DirecTV merger, mounted by the FCC and the U.S. Justice Department along with 20 states, is almost certain to block the deal, dealing a big blow to some of the leading consumer IC vendors. ST, along with Broadcom, LSI Logic and others, was fiercely maneuvering for a $3 billion lottery ticket — the stipend EchoStar reportedly set aside to supplant incompatible satellite infrastructures currently owned by the two separate satellite operators.

Merger fallout

ST, a dominant player in the digital satellite boxes by owning a 100 percent market share of chips that go inside DirecTV boxes and 85 percent of silicon for EchoStar set-tops, would have very much liked the merger to take place, since the company was expecting a big replacement market for set-tops in 2003. ST was prepared to pitch such bandwidth efficient modulation technologies as 8PSKand Turbo-coding as a key to the transition to the converged infrastructure of EchoStar/DirecTV.

ST's Geyres is not completely writing off the merger scenario just yet, but he no longer sees much growth potential in the subscription-based digital satellite box market, either.

In contrast, the free-to-air satellite box market non-existent in the United States but growing big in the rest of the world — is turning into a cutthroat, price competitive market.

"We hope to reuse our satellite set-top expertise for free-to-air boxes," said Geyres. ST is prepared to meet the demand for such boxes with a range of features, including a personal video recorder (PVR) integrated with HDD. To that end, ST is long at last entering the DVD recorder silicon market, by sampling the company's first MPEG-2 encoder chip for consumer devices in the first quarter of 2003.

The free-to-air box market boom by no means diminishes the importance of service operator-specified set-top box business for semiconductor companies. By Cablevision recently switching its suppliers from Sony Corp. to Scientific-Atlanta, ST has profited from it by getting their chips designed into Scientific-Atlanta boxes. While slashing spending for interactive TV, Cablevision has asked for "a high definition feature with PVR functionalities," according to ST's Lagomichos. That's what Sony couldn't deliver but Scientific-Atlanta's boxes based on ST's chip offer, he explained.


Astronomers, get ready for Leonid shower


From http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_102659,0000.htm

The Leonid shooting stars return next week for what is likely to be their last great fireworks display for three decades, and maybe even as long as a century.

The Leonids show up every November when the Earth moves through a narrow trail of rubble left by Comet Tempel-Tuttle in its lonely swing around the Sun, an event that occurs once every 33 years.

As the dust and tiny pieces of rock enter the Earth's atmosphere, the speed of that collision -- 71 kilometers (44 miles) per second -- causes them to vaporize and die in a fiery, golden streak.

Bigger rocks sizzle up in a fireball, even sometimes leaving a smoke trail.

Because they appear in the sickle-shaped constellation of Leo, the Lion, the meteors are known as the Leonids.

In recent years, the Leonids have been magnificent because of the rocky treasure deposited by Tempel-Tuttle during its last flyby, in 1998.

This year's meteors have been eagerly awaited because the Earth will plough through two thick trails left in 1767 and in 1866.

Cosmic arithmetic means this will be the last time for many years that our planet will traverse such a rich meteor source, and astronomers are hoping for a celestial storm.

It will be "the last great storm for 30 years, and the biggest in the 21st century," says the US magazine Astronomy, while its rival Sky et Telescope suggests it could be the last strong Leonid shower for 100 years.

"The outlook is exceptionally good this year," the French Astronomy Association enthuses.

"The peak could be as much as 5,000 meteors per hour."

The Leonids start to arrive Saturday or Sunday, but these are nightly warmups in which astronomers are likely to catch only a few meteors per hour.

The peak will occur early Tuesday Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in two waves that should each last a couple of hours, when the Earth first wacks into the 1767 rubble and, later, in the 1866 debris.

Sadly, meteor fans in Asia and the southern hemisphere will be out of luck because of the time and the Earth's tilt.

The first wave, according to Sky et Telescope, will be around 0400 GMT, favouring skywatchers in European, North and West Africa and northeastern North America, although the view may be somewhat spoilt by bright moonlight.

That will be followed by the second wave at 1040 GMT, which is just right for North America, especially those in the central and western parts of that continent.

The luckiest watcher will probably be Robert Lunsford, an expert from the American Meteor Society, who will be observing the peak not once, but twice.

He will be flying aboard a NASA jet, crossing the Atlantic eastwards, and looking at the shower through light-intensifying goggles.

"Flying above the clouds will save the worry of weather, plus the high altitude will reduce the glare from the scattered moonlight," he told space.com.

Comets, famously called "dirty snowballs" by the US astronomer Fred Whipple, are believed to mainly composed of frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide, mixed with rocks, pebbles and dust.

As they come closer to the Sun, the ice melts, leaving the debris in their wake.

Even though Temple-Tuttle's particles are only tiny, they can still damage orbiting satellites.

The European Space Agency (ESA) -- which lost a satellite, Olympus, in 1993 after it was hit by a Perseid meteor particle -- has warned operators to ensure that their satellites are moved so that they present the narrowest possible profile, and to close down any sensitive gear.




14/11/02

I have avoided posting tons of Pay tv articles today if you wish to read about it the Aus Pay TV website has put up a special page for all the news items at http://www.auspaytv.com/news/nov02/foxtel-optus.htm

Some video streams added to the Palapa C2 page. (Indosair, TVRI and RTB Brunei)


From my Emails & ICQ


From Peter (Auckland , NZ)

I have a 3.7m solid Tx spec.Ku, dish, Available for sale, at around $2,900.00

[email protected]


From Mitch

worldnet is still on asiasat 2, not gone as reported


From the Dish


Yamal 102 90E 3533 L "A Rostov TV 2 test card" has started, Fta, Sr 4275, Fec 3/4,PIDs 308/256.

PAS 10 68.5E 4100 H "Occasional Telly Track" feeds on , Sr 3251, Fec 7/8.

Satellite Launches: NSS 6 is scheduled to launch with Ariane early in December. (95E) High power KU


NEWS


Aussie govt gives nod to Optus-Foxtel deal


From http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/money/story/0,4386,154790,00.html

SINGTEL Optus has been given the green light by the Australian government to seal its content-sharing pay television deal with rival Foxtel - a move which will boost Optus' annualised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) by A$30 million (S$29.94 million).

The deal is also crucial because Foxtel will assume Optus' financial obligations under its existing subscription TV content contracts.

The proposed alliance was first announced in March in a bid by the two leading Australian pay TV operators to cut costs.

Hailing the news, Optus chief executive Chris Anderson said the approval of the deal by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was a 'breakthrough' for Australia's second-biggest telco.

'This will fundamentally improve the economics of Optus' local loop telephony, broadband Internet and subscription television business,' he said in a statement.

Optus' unprofitable pay TV business comes under its consumer and multimedia division, which is the only sector within the company that is Ebitda-negative.

For the half-year to Sept 30, the division incurred an Ebitda loss of A$37 million.

As part of the deal, Optus will lease to Foxtel a 'substantial' volume of capacity on its Optus C1 satellite, which will be launched early next year.

The A$600 million satellite agreement will rake in annual sales of A$40 million for Optus over the next 15 years, the company said.

The satellite was scheduled to be launched by year-end but has been delayed as it has to be tested.

The ACCC's approval did little to fire up investors, who sold down SingTel shares which closed three cents, or 2.2 per cent, lower at $1.33.

'The ACCC decision is a positive for SingTel. However, we do not believe it is significant relative to its overall business,' said OCBC Investment Research in a note.


Optus iTV to linger in limbo


From http://www.itnews.com.au/storycontent.cfm?ID=12&Art_ID=11260

A green light from the ACCC for the Optus-Foxtel content deal will make no difference to Optus' ongoing interactive TV trial, which will remain in limbo - indefinitely - while Optus studies its trial customers.

Optus consumer and multimedia managing director Martin Dalgleish said the trial, which has been frozen at 3000 subscribers since February, will continue in its current form.

Optus and its content providers, he said, continue to “learn” from the trial.

"You have to give the customer time to get used to the product," Dalgleish said.

However, earlier, Optus chief operating officer Paul O'Sullivan had spruiked the benefits of the C1 satellite, both for Optus' finances and for consumers, saying 60 to 70 percent of the satellite's capacity had already been sold. "Importantly for consumers, this satellite will provide the capability for a digital interactive TV service right across Australia," he said.

While the new bird would appear to make iTV a flyer, Dalgleish said Optus must be sure that consumers will be happy with the service and continue to use it long after the initial novelty has worn off.

"We have to be absolutely confident that the consumer usage pattern will be there to support this model," Dalgleish said.

However, he would not be drawn on when Optus might be able to draw some conclusions from the trial and turn it into a full commercial service.

He also would not comment on whether the launch of the new C1 satellite would facilitate the delivery of a full commercial service.

"We will continue to consider opportunities to extend our delivery, whether it be by HFC or by other means," Dalgleish said.

He said Optus' entire HFC network is digitised, meaning it can deliver interactive services. The main cost of delivering such services, he said, is in the set-top box.

However, earlier, Optus chief operating officer Paul O'Sullivan had spruiked the benefits of the C1 satellite, both for Optus' finances and for consumers, saying 60 to 70 percent of the satellite's capacity had already been sold. "Importantly for consumers, this satellite will provide the capability for a digital interactive TV service right across Australia," he said.

The 3000 Sydney subscribers, meanwhile, continue to pay their either $39.95 or $59.95 per month for a mix of TV, internet and email services. Asked if the status of the trial is affecting the participation of content providers, Dalgleish said only one content provider has dropped out in the past six months.

Content providers are also "getting the same learnings," he said.


Vinod Dua to head all Sahara news operations


From indiantelevision.com

NEW DELHI: In a swift and major reshuffle of work responsibilities, the Subrata Roy-promoted diversified Sahara India group has brought in ace TV personality Vinod Dua as a consultant and co-ordinator of all proposed news operations, including the various state-specific news channels.

The independent heads of the proposed news channels like Prabhat Dabral, Arup Ghosh and Rajiv Bajaj will now report to Dua who, according to company sources, will also be co-ordinating the financial and other aspects of the up and coming news channels. Dua, in turn, will report to the promoter family and Sumit Roy, in particular, who is the head of Sahara group’s entire media and entertainment activities.

Confirming the move, when contacted, Dua told indiantelevision.com, "Yes, I have been entrusted with co-ordinating the work and putting in place the infrastructure for the seven (proposed) news channels at least."

However, Dua also added that "it was an honorary post" which is the reason as to why he would not like to specify any designation.

Though Dua insisted that his was an honorary responsibility, TV industry sources indicated that he will receive a hefty remuneration packet which equals the pay packet of any other CEO of media companies like Zee Telefilms.

The changes that were effected on Monday were the result of a meeting on Saturday in Lucknow of the bigwigs from Sahara group.

Though the exact reason for the move to bring in Dua over Ghosh, Dabral and Bajaj, effectively curtailing the powers of the three up to a certain extent, is not immediately known, but Sahara insiders indicate that there was resentment amongst the employees of Sahara over the functioning style of the various channel heads.

A source went to the extent of saying that "differences also existed between various channel heads" who had powers to recruit too.

While Dabral, a former Doordarshan reporter, is the head of news channels meant for Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, Ghosh, a former NDTV star anchor, is the head of the proposed national channel. Bajaj, a former print medium journalist, is the head for the Mumbai news channel.

Dua --- one of the first products of Indian television news along with Prannoy Roy during the good old days of Doordarshan --- in recent times has been doing news and current affairs (N&CA) shows for Sahara channel which, at present, is a mish-mash of entertainment and N&CA programming.

The three channels which are expected to first get off the block from the Sahara stable early next year (Republic Day, 26 January?) include the Sahara Samay UP, Sahara Samay Mumbai and Sahara Samay national.




13/11/02

There is plenty of news today relating to the ACCC Foxtel - Optus decision. I won't attempt to post all of it as the http://www.auspaytv.com/news/ site covers it pretty well. No response from Tarbs as yet they are sure to issue a Press Release.

I have the full item about Optus C1, thanks to several people providing links and details.


From my Emails & ICQ


From John Green

RE: New Rural Channel on SKY NZ

Craig,

Although the channel is not part of the Sky basic package and will be free to any Sky subscriber the viewer will need to a Sky decoder to access the signal. It will be available from March 2003

I hope this covers the points you raise but if you have any further queries please feel free to contact me.


From Jeff

Re TV Malagasy report
At 6:55 pm on Tuesday 12th of November TV Malagasy is alive and well on LMI 1. Now showing cartoons ..
Its not a continous service,The person who thought it left must have switched on when TVM closes down

From Jeff in Perth


From the Dish


Palapa C2 113E 11132 V "TTV" is now Fta.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "Yemen TV and MBC Europe" have left again.
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3880 H "WorldNet" has left , PIDs 7460/7420. (Not sure if this is correct)

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3640 H "MBC Europe" has started , MDS, PIDs 519/647. (Looks like this one was for Tarbs after all)

LMI 1 75E 3418 H "TV Lanka" has left .
LMI 1 75E 3990 V "TV Malagasy" is back / still on , SECAM, 5.80 MHz.

Intelsat 602 has left 64 East, moving west.


NEWS


Optus C1 passes last major milestone before launch


PALO ALTO, CALIF. - November 11, 2002 - Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (NYSE: LOR), today announced that the Optus C1 communications satellite has completed passive intermodulation (PIM) testing - the last major milestone prior to launch. SS/L has performed system level integration and testing of Optus C1 under contract from Mitsubishi Electric of Japan for SingTel Optus of Australia.

PIM testing evaluates a satellite's ability to avoid interference between operating frequency bands, ensuring that the communications payload will operate as designed. The test is important for Optus C1 because its communications payload operates in four different frequency bands - commercial services at Ku-band for Optus, and military communications at UHF, X- and Ka-bands for the Australian Department of Defence. The test was conducted at the David Florida Laboratory in Ottawa, Canada.

Optus C1 will be one of the most advanced communications satellites ever built, carrying a total of 16 antennas that will provide 18 beams across Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as global beams covering from India to Hawaii. Optus C1 is scheduled for launch aboard an Ariane rocket in early 2003.

Space Systems/Loral is a premier designer, manufacturer, and integrator of powerful satellites and satellite systems. SS/L also provides a range of related services, including mission control operations and procurement of launch services. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the company has an international base of commercial and governmental customers whose applications include broadband digital communications, direct-to-home broadcast, defense communications, environmental monitoring, and air traffic control. SS/L is ISO 9001 certified. For more information, visit www.ssloral.com.

Loral Space & Communications is a high technology company that 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, and Internet services. For more information, visit Loral's web site at www.loral.com.

OptusC1 in PIM test chamber


ACCC Accepts Foxtel-Optus Pay TV Deal


From http://203.6.251.7/accc.internet/digest/view_media.cfm?RecordID=859

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today announced the court-enforceable undertakings proposed by Foxtel, Optus, Telstra and Austar address the ACCC's concern about the potential anti-competitive effects of the planned pay-TV arrangements between Foxtel and Optus.

The ACCC does not therefore intend to oppose the arrangements, which allow Optus and Foxtel to share pay TV programming.

The undertakings provide access to programs for pay TV operators, broader choice for consumers and access to Telstra's cable network and Foxtel's set-top boxes.

The decision follows extensive consultations between the ACCC and the industry since June, when the ACCC concluded the proposed arrangements were likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a number of pay TV markets.

"The majority of submissions considered rationalisation was necessary in the industry, which was suffering from high content costs and difficulty accessing quality content", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today.

"Pay TV operators will now have access to a more comprehensive range of programming, enabling them to offer pay TV consumers a broader range of programs, including popular movies and sports", he said.

"Most of the concerns raised about the arrangements related to the ability of Foxtel to prevent meaningful competition in the pay TV industry by blocking competitors from using either its programming or its cable network".

In order to address the concerns about access to programming, Foxtel and Austar have agreed to allow rival operators, such as TransACT and Neighbourhood Cable, to purchase their pay TV content at fair and commercial terms.

"This also will facilitate new investment in broadband networks", Professor Fels said.

The concerns about access to infrastructure, such as Telstra's cable network and Foxtel's set-top boxes, have been addressed by Foxtel and Telstra's undertakings to allow rival pay TV operators to use their analogue and proposed digital networks to provide competing pay TV services to consumers.

"The terms and conditions Telstra and Foxtel impose for access to these networks are still to be subject to further consideration by the ACCC to determine whether they comply with the telecommunications access requirements of the Trade Practices Act 1974".

Foxtel and Telstra have committed to 'digitise' the pay TV network, although this commitment is conditional on the passing of the Federal Telecommunications Competition Bill and further decision-making processes provided for in this proposed legislation. The proposed legislation allows potential investors to seek an exemption from the access regime which would otherwise apply if the services were regulated in the future.

The digitisation of the network would be a positive outcome for consumers as it would result in more channels for content suppliers to distribute their product, new services such as interactive television and ultimately more choice for consumers.

Professor Fels emphasised the undertakings are not intended to alter the pre-existing competitive landscape in the pay TV industry.

"The ACCC's role is to decide whether the undertakings address the potential anti-competitive conduct or effects arising directly from the content-sharing arrangements", he said.

"In this case there was evidence that the competitive position of Optus in the market was being adversely affected by its inability to access and supply key content to its customers.

"The content-sharing arrangements should enable Optus to improve its programming and ensure consumers are offered a better quality pay TV service".

Professor Fels said the undertakings also protect the availability of independent programming to consumers.

The ACCC continues to be concerned about the level of vertical integration in the pay TV industry, particularly given the position of Telstra as a major shareholder in Foxtel. This leaves the ACCC with concerns about the appropriate regulatory regime in both pay TV and telephony markets.

These will be considered in a report to Senator Richard Alston, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, who has requested advice on how emerging market structures are likely to affect competition across pay TV and telecommunications.

"This report will also include some of the concerns raised during the consultation process which the ACCC did not consider relevant to the transaction being considered", Professor Fels said.

The ACCC will continue to monitor the pay TV and related industries closely and will take immediate action if any of the parties fail to comply with the spirit of the undertakings.

Further information

Professor Allan Fels, Chairman, (02) 6243 1129 or pager (02) 6285 6170
Mr Ross Jones, Commissioner (02) 6243 1178
Ms Lin Enright, Director, Public Relations, (02) 6243 1108 or (0414) 613 520
MR 279/02
13 November 2002


AUSTAR welcomes ACCC’s Foxtel-Optus decision


From Austar press release http://www.austarunited.com.au/press.asp?action=show&record=1

13 Nov 2002

Austar United Communications (“AUSTAR”), the leading regional subscription television provider, welcomes the ACCC’s decision today in relation to the Foxtel-Optus content sharing arrangement.

John Porter, AUSTAR’s CEO said, “The new subscription television industry arrangements will provide long term benefits to AUSTAR and will secure the future of digital television for consumers in regional and rural Australia.”

Key benefits for AUSTAR:

? AUSTAR is guaranteed access to new services that Foxtel may acquire in the future, including new interactive and near video on demand services. This new content will supplement AUSTAR’s existing broad channel line up, which includes all premium subscription television programming.

? AUSTAR’s joint venture programming business, XYZ Entertainment, will generate additional revenue by on-selling programming to Optus and other third parties.

? AUSTAR will migrate from the B3 satellite to the new C1 satellite to be launched next year, sharing Foxtel’s transponders. This will see AUSTAR’s coverage extended to more than 200,000 new homes, many in the most remote areas where decent ordinary television reception is unavailable. In addition to expected increased subscription revenue, the new satellite arrangements will reduce AUSTAR’s infrastructure costs. As part of the migration, AUSTAR plans to upgrade set-top-boxes for all those customers of the satellite service who are not currently iTV-enabled.

? New regional infrastructure providers will be able to access AUSTAR’s extensive channel programming for provision on their cable networks.

? AUSTAR has the right to bundle with other organisations as appropriate, increasing choice and flexibility for rural consumers. This means, for example, consumers may be able to purchase a bundle of television, telephony and internet services from one provider.

? A more stable industry should result in a lower cost structure and more customers so lower prices for consumers.


Consumers win in pay TV deal


From http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5479775%255E1702,00.html

PAY TV consumers will reap the benefits of a full gammut of programs under a content sharing deal between the country's two loss-making operators, Optus and Foxtel, okayed today by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The consumer and competition watchdog announced court enforceable undertakings proposed by Foxtel, Optus, Telstra Corp and Austar addressing the competition body's concerns about potential anti-competitiveness.

ACCC chairman Allan Fels said the arrangement will guarantee viability of the pay TV industry.

Foxtel - owned by Telstra Corp (50 per cent), News Corp (25 per cent) and Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd (25 per cent) - last month gave the ACCC 12 key undertakings in a bid to allay competition concerns and win approval for the deal.

The ACCC blocked the initial Foxtel-Optus proposal in June, citing potential breaches of the Trade Practices Act, in areas including the acquisition of content and the likely domination of the Foxtel distribution network.

The proposed alliance has faced stiff opposition from rival media companies, with newspaper group John Fairfax Holdings Ltd calling for it to be rejected "outright".

Today, Mr Fels said pay TV operators will now have access to a more comprehensive range of programming, enabling them to offer pay TV consumers a "broad range of programs including popular movies and sport".

The undertakings provide access to programs for pay TV operators, broad choice for consumers and access to Telstra's cable network and Foxtel's set-top boxes, he said.

Details of the arrangement were still emerging.

Foxtel has said that it will spend $600 million digitising its network pending the watchdog's approval. It previously unveiled plans to complete digitisation by October next year, expanding its channel capacity from 50 to 480.

Foxtel has also offered two community channels free carriage on its digital service. One, a general community channel, with input from the Federal Government; the other, an education channel.

Under the revised deal put to the ACCC, pay-TV viewers would be offered up to 480 channels, with 35 per cent set aside for new pay-TV companies, as part of the $1.3 billion restructure.

Foxtel also agreed to cap the price of its basic package at $49.95 a month for three years.

It is understood that future digital set-top boxes would incoporate personal video recorders, such that users would not require video recorders.

ACCC chairman Professor Allan Fels said the watchdog still had concerns about Telstra's role in pay television.

As 50 per cent owner of Foxtel, Telstra could use its voting power to deny access to Foxtel programming to competitors rolling out cable in competition to Telstra, he told journalists.

Professor Fels said he would take up his concerns in a report to Communications Minister Richard Alston.

"We'll indicate there's a structural issue with Telstra's role in Foxtel," he said.

An Optus spokesman said the company was very pleased with the decision but would not comment further until it had time to read the full ACCC decision.

Optus, Australia's second largest telecommunications provider, is owned by Singapore Telecommunications.

News Corp also welcomed the regulatory approval. A spokeswoman said the deal provided a solid basis on which to develop pay TV in Australia.

"It is clearly a step towards putting pay TV on a sustainable base in this country."

News Corp's first quarter results, unveiled last week, reveal Foxtel increased its revenues in the three months to September 30, 2002 to $138 million compared to $124 million in the previous corresponding period.

The operation booked a net loss of $17 million, compared to a loss of $18 million previously.

Subscriber numbers, however, jumped to 805,000, from 760,000 previously.

At 1138 AEST SingTel shares were three cents higher at $1.41.

Telstra shares added five cents to $4.59 on volume of 27 million.



Pay TV deal concerns Seven


From http://www.theage.com.au/breaking/2002/11/13/FFX3M6S3G8D.html

Seven Network Ltd said it still had concerns about the controversial Foxtel-Optus pay TV deal.

Seven said there was little likelihood of a future level playing field in the industry.

The ACCC said it would allow a proposed pay TV program sharing arrangement between Optus and Foxtel to proceed.

"Undertakings provided by the shareholders in Foxtel do not overcome our concerns about long-term structural implications of a monopoly in carriage and content, and the gateway to the home which this transaction will deliver to Foxtel, when it takes over Optus's pay television business," Seven said in a statement.

"It is clear the ACCC shares Seven's concerns about the structural issues presented by Telstra's shareholding in Foxtel - highlighting this shareholding as an issue to be subjected to further examination.

"Having attempted for four years to obtain access to the Foxtel cable under the current regime, secured through several court actions, confirmation of a legislative mandate for access, and confronting an increasing monopoly in channel content and infrastructure, we believe that it is highly likely that there will be no changing of the ways for the Foxtel partnership.

"While the decision on Foxtel appears to be driven by Optus's threats to withdraw from telephony, it has ensured that there is little likelihood today, or in the future, of an equitable, level playing field in content provision and channel supply in subscription television and the delivery of current and future digital services through cable and satellite infrastructure."




12/11/02

Livechat 9pm NZ and 8.30 Syd time onwards, tonight in the chatroom

New Channels, Yemen TV and MBC Europe have started on Asiasat 2, hopefully they will remain FTA (note when checked at 6pm NZ they were not there perhaps testing only?). Speaking of new channels according to the new issue of the Indian satellite and cable tv magazine Sahara TV on Asiasat 3 will go Digital on the 15th it will remain FTA and also broadcast a new news channel. In mid December they will run 6 more FTA regional Indian news channels so there will be 8 FTA services there in total.


From my Emails & ICQ


From Ren

SKY NZ Code, to prevent box resetting to Mosaic channel overnight

In standyby mode enter 10102020 on your remote


(Craigs comment, I have not tested this yet but quite often notice overnight the Sky box has reset back to the 0 Mosaic channel this code supposedly resets it to the channel of your choice by default. Anyone know any more of these codes?)


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 4087 V "NITV and TV Chile" on SIDs 7-8 have left , replaced by test cards.

PAS 8 166E 4050 V All channels in the TVB mux are now encrypted.

Palapa C2 113E 4080 H "Semenanjung TV has replaced Ar-Rahman TV" Fta, PIDs 515/653.

Koreasat 2 113E 12370 H "FTV is now encrypted".
Koreasat 2 113E Cinexus has moved from 12370 H to 12598 H, Fta, Sr 10000, Fec 3/4,SID 20502, PIDs 3200/3201.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "Yemen TV and MBC Europe" have started , Fta, PIDs 2432/2433 and 2435/2436. (At 6pm NZ they were no longer there must of been a short test)

LMI 1 75E 3990 V "TV Malagasy" has left (SECAM).(unconfirmed)


NEWS


Optus C1 passes last major milestone before launch


From http://sat-index.com/

11 Nov 2002 - Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) announced that the Optus C1 communications satellite has completed passive intermodulation (PIM) testing — the last major milestone prior to launch


(Craigs comment, thats the best I can do with this news item, as I don't have access to this pay news source)


CHANGES TO IMPARJA’S SATELLITE FREQUENCY


From http://www.imparja.com.au/lost_service.htm

Viewers with their own satellite dish who have lost Imparja’s service.

On Friday, as part of a process designed to facilitate the introduction of the new C series satellite, Optus changed the Imparja’s Satellite Transponder frequency. Correctly configured Optus approved decoders were able to accommodate this change with no loss of service. We have however identified a number of problems with incorrectly setup or non-approved decoders.

The satellite system is designed so that decoders should always "look" first at the Optus "home" transponder on a frequency of 12407. Some decoders had however been set up to tune first to the actual Imparja frequency of 12595, and when this was changed they were unable to find the updated information.

To prevent this problem ALL domestic decoders MUST be tuned initially to the "Home" transponder of 12407. (Note that this transponder operates at FEC Rate 2/3 rather than the normal Aurora FEC of 3/4)

To change the "home" setting, use the remote control and perform the following actions:-

Advanced Options
Change Dish Installation
PIN Code 9949
Signal Setup
Setup 1 (Home)
Change frequency to 12407
Change FEC to 2/3
OK
Exit
Tune and Rescan.

After a few minutes service should be restored.

Viewers who are unable to do this themselves are advised to consult the receiver handbook, or the supplier of the equipment.

The above only applies to OPTUS approved decoders. (UEC and ADB) for which the menu tree described above applies.

Other decoders (e.g. Humax) have a different, and un-tested menu structure and viewers will need to consult with their dealers to re-set the decoders.


(Craigs comment, of course this is for the Official B3, Aurora Broadcasts)




11/11/02

Not much to say up here today, hope you find something of interest on the site today


From my Emails & ICQ


From Bassett

International 24hr Television Continues To Expand

The international television of the inaugural Bathurst 24hr race next weekend continues to expand.

Event promoters PROCAR announced today that Japan, Korea, the Middle East including Israel, plus Hungary, Venezuela, Latin America / South America and Scandinavia will broadcast this great event.

These countries will join the UK, Europe, Russia, North America, Canada, Indonesia, South East Asia and China bringing the total viewing households to over one hundred and fifty million with the Czech and Slovak Republic likely to join this very impressive list before the flag falls to start the event at 4.00pm Saturday.

Channel 7 will feed the live broadcasts to Australia between 3.30 - 5.00pm Saturday with regular news updates with the final stages of the race and victory presentations being televised live from 2.30pm until 5.00pm on Sunday


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 3860 H "PTS has replaced SET News" , Fta, PIDs 440/441.
PAS 8 166E 12301 H "ABC Asia Pacific" is back on , Fta, Sr 5858, PIDs 522/650.

JCSAT 3 128E 3960 V "ETTV Life, Unique Satellite TV, JET TV and SET International" are now Fta.

Koreasat 3 116E SkyLife is encrypted in Videoguard.

Telkom 1 108E Major line-up changes in TelkomVision.

Yamal 102 90E 3521 L "Yuzhniy Region" is on , Fta, Sr 4285, Fec 3/4, PIDs 308/256.

Insat 2E 83E 3430 V "Sky Bangla" has started Fta, Sr 6000, Fec 3/4, PIDs 257/258.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3600 H The test card has left , PIDs 514/670.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3569 H "The occasional MRTV feeds" have left .

PAS 7 68.5E 3496 V "Adventist TV Network" has started Fta, Sr 4444, Fec 2/3,PIDs 1160/1120, 15:30-24:00.



NEWS


Austar may have to sell assets


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

REGIONAL pay-TV group Austar may be forced to sell assets to reach its cash flow break-even target of 2004 if the Foxtel-Optus deal does not proceed, a broker has warned.

CS First Boston said it recently met Austar's management, who underlined the importance of the pay-TV restructure to Austar.

"Without the deal, Austar will struggle to achieve its ambition of cash-flow break-even by the 2004 calendar first quarter," it said.

The company "seems certain to need to sell assets", the broker said.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will this week release its final decision on the content-sharing deal, which was announced in March.

SFB believes the deal will be approved. Austar would benefit from cost savings on the new Optus-Foxtel satellite platform and through a revitalisation of the pay-TV sector, it said.

"Austar estimates the net present value benefits of the deal at $135 million or 20c a share, with a further sum of $65 million from Austar buying set-top boxes at a lower price as part of the global Sky-Foxtel buying order," CSFB said.

The deal would also set the scene for Foxtel's digitisation, which would give Austar access to extra offerings.


Japan to launch Aussie satellite


From http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,5448350%255E421,00.html

JAPAN will launch Australia's first satellite in more than 30 years on December 14, its developers said today.

Universities and industries from throughout Australia worked together to develop the satellite, named FedSat, through the Co-operative Research Centre for Satellite Systems.

The organisation's executive director Brian Embleton said the $20 million satellite, will be launched on the Japanese "H-2A" rocket at Tanegashima Space Centre on December 14 at 10.31am (Japanese Standard Time).

"We are very excited. Our satellite has been shipped to Japan and the engineering team is with the satellite as we speak for pre-flight testing," Dr Embleton said.

He said Japan had agreed to launch FedSat without cost in exchange for scientific data.

"We've worked with Japan for many years and have built up a good relationship," he said.

"It's the same time zone virtually and I wanted to demonstrate a commitment to the Asia-Pacific region."

FedSat will conduct experiments in communications, global positioning systems, space science, remote sensing, and engineering research.

"Its design life is for three years - we will be controlling and receiving data from the satellite through a ground station in Adelaide."

He said the launch of the FedSat would be an enormous event for the space industry and space research in Australia.

"We have to demonstrate success in this project if Australia is to have any hope of building a space industry," he said.

"I believe we must create an industry to create new jobs in high-tech, knowledge-intensive industries."


Arianespace To Launch Fourth Indonesian Satellite


From http://www.bernama.com.my/B2002/news_business.shtml?business/bu0811_8

Arianespace (launcher of Measat-1 & 2) today announced the signing of a satellite launch contract for the TELKOM-2 satellite with telecommunications company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia.

The contract, a boost for Indonesian telecommunications capability, was signed today in Jakarta by Encik Kristiono, president director and chief executive officer (CEO) of PT TELKOM Tbk, and Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO of Arianespace.

Telkom-2 is the 250th satellite contract in Arianespace's history, and the 45th to be signed in Asia since 1984, Arianespace said in a statement released here today.

It said TELKOM-2 will be lofted by an Ariane 5 in the second half of 2004 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

It is the second satellite entrusted by TELKOM to Arianespace after TELKOM-1, which was successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana, on Aug 12, 1999, and the fourth in total for Indonesia, following the Palapa C-2 in 1996, Cakrawarta-1 in 1997 and TELKOM-1.

"Arianespace is proud to have been entrusted once again by PT TELKOM Tbk for the launch of TELKOM-2. This contract from one of the very first operators to have launched a telecommunications satellite is an acknowledgement of the leadership position that the European launcher has reached," Le Gall said.

TELKOM-2, to be manufactured by US-based Orbital Sciences Corporation based on its Star-2 platform which can go up to 2,300 kg in weight, will carry 24 C-band transponders and will have a 15-year in-orbit life.

The satellite, which will be placed at 118 degrees East longitude, will enable TELKOM to replace its existing Palapa-B4 satellite.

Its addition will bolster TELKOM's coverage in Southern Asia and the Indian subcontinent, in addition to its current Indonesian capacity. It will be used for voice, video and data communications for the region.

This Jakarta signing marks the 3rd Asian launch contract inked by Arianespace this year after iPSTAR-1 for ShinSat of Thailand and Agrani 2 for India.

It is the 11th contract signed by Arianespace in 2002, the statement added. -- BERNAMA


Thai Shin Sat Taps Taiwan Market; Signs Bridge Financing for iPSTAR


From satnewsasia.com

Lone Thai satellite operator Shin Satellite pcl (ShinSat) said it is talking to potential partners in Taiwan, Indonesia and Australia to expand bookings for US$350 million iPSTAR-1 Broadband Internet Satellite to be launched late 2003.

iPSTAR-1 is expected to be the main source of company's revenues and will become the fourth ShinSat bird in orbit. ShinSat claims to have already booked over a quarter of iPSTAR’s capacity with partners in Malaysia, China and India. Just recently, ShinSat secured US$390.2 million in loans from U.S. and European creditors to finance iPSTAR. The U.S. Export-Import Bank will guarantee a US$184.5 million, eight-year loan while Coface (Compagnie Francaise d'Assurance pour le Commerce Extrieur), the French export-credit guarantee company, will stand behind a US$80.7 million loan, also for eight-years.

Eight commercial syndicated lenders led by Citibank and BNP Paribas S.A. will guarantee the remaining US$125 million four-year loan. The Eximbank loan will pay for the cost of satellite construction by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). SS/L is an affiliate of Loral Space & Communications, the world’s second largest manufacturer of commercial satellites and related technologies. The funds from Coface follow ShinSat's selection of France's Arianespace to launch iPSTAR. In April, ShinSat announced that Coface had agreed to cover up to 85 percent of the US$90 million launch service fee for its iPSTAR-1. Analysts said the interest rates on the loans rates almost similar to those offered by commercial banks to governments.

Executive Chairman Dumrong Kasemset said it took two years to secure the loans, which were strongly opposed in Washington by critics who objected to U.S. taxpayers' money being used as soft loans for iPSTAR. The delay forced ShinSat to take our bridge financing facilities worth some 3 billion Thai baht.

iPSTAR-1 will have a capacity of 40 gigabytes per second to 14 gateways in the Asia-Pacific covering China, Japan, India and Australia. It will provide telecommunications and multimedia services to households, business and public organizations. Individual households will have access to a wide variety of pay TV and VOD services, IP voice telephony and high-speed Internet connections. ShinSat earlier said iPSTAR-1 would focus on business and high-end Internet customers. It said the satellite would benefit clients who want fast Internet access and who live in remote areas. An installation package will cost US$700-900 with a monthly service charge ranging from US$30-60.


Playboy TV International, Hong Kong Cable announce deal


From indiantelevision.com

FLORIDA: Playboy TV International and Hong Kong Cable Limited have signed an agreement launching Playboy TV on the leading Hong Kong cable operator’s digital platform.

Under the agreement PTVI increases its current market presence and existing relationship with Hong Kong Cable. Dating back to 1994, Playboy’s branded programming has been available in the Hong Kong market as a pay-per-view offering. The new 24-hour network features branded programming with Chinese subtitles.

Hong Kong Cable Television is the leading Pay TV service provider in Hong Kong.


(Craigs comment, Wonder if it will have mosaics covering up the interesting bits.)


T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 45/2002 10 November 2002 -

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

Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A


ARAB INVESTORS TO SET UP ENGLISH SATELLITE TV NETWORK

A group of Arab investors are in the process of raising $100 million to set
up an English satellite television network that would broadcast programmes
all over Europe and North America, a leading Saudi investor revealed on
November 2. Potential investors will be soon invited to take part in the
'strategic' plan, aimed at projecting a 'true' image of the Arabs outside
the region, said Sheikh Saleh Kamil, chairman of the Saudi-based Al Baraka
Group.

AFGHANISTAN

AFGHANI TV JOINS ABU

The General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) met on
November 6 in Tokyo with the organization welcoming the return of
Radio-Television of Afghanistan. On the event’s agenda is a discussion on
how to assist Afghanistan’s national broadcaster, which was unable to
operate under the Taliban, and which has been absent from the General
Assembly for the last ten years. At a press conference, Katsuji Ebisawa,
the president of NHK and of the ABU, outlined the assistance NHK has
already provided the Afghani broadcaster, including the loan of cameras,
video editing machines and educational software, as well as the training of
the station’s employees. The Assembly is calling on other member
broadcasters to provide further assistance. Other discussions planned at
the Assembly include the deployment of digital broadcasting across the
region, the issue of skyrocketing sports rights, and the admission of
Cambodia’s national broadcaster into the ABU. The ABU is made up of 100
broadcasters from 49 countries mostly in the Asia Pacific region.

CHINA HONG KONG

STAR TV TO PRODUCE MUSIC PROGRAMMING IN CHINA

Star TV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of News Corporation, announced on
October 31 that it will produce TV music programmes on the Chinese mainland
for its Channel V as part of its strategy to expand in the mainland market.
Before that, its Channel V programmes were mainly produced in Hong Kong and
Taiwan. They will be gradually moved to the mainland. For the objective,
Star TV has relocated its China headquarters of Channel V from Hong Kong to
Shanghai and it launched a “Made in China” promotion project. These
programmes will be televised in China’s three-star hotels and will be
distributed to domestic television stations, said Michelle Tang, marketing
manager of Channel V China. She said Channel V will also link up with
Chinese TV stations to produce programmes. Star TV currently has six
channels, part of the 26 overseas ones such as CNN and the BBC, awaiting
approval by the Chinese authorities to televise their programmes in
three-star or plus hotels. In March of this year, Star TV -whose Chinese
name is Xing Kong Wei Shi - became the first overseas television channel to
be allowed to show its programmes in South China’s Guangdong Province.

PLAYBOY TV LAUNCHES ON HONG KONG CABLE

Playboy TV International (PTVI) and Hong Kong Cable Limited have signed an
agreement launching Playboy TV on the leading Hong Kong cable operator's
digital platform. The announcement was made by Marc Zand, Senior Vice
President, Business Affairs and Development, PTVI and Eric Lo, Executive
Director, Cable Subscription Services for Hong Kong Cable. Under the
agreement with a November 1 launch, PTVI increases its current market
presence and existing relationship with Hong Kong Cable. Dating back to
1994, Playboy's branded programming has been available in the Hong Kong
market as a pay-per-view offering. The new 24-hour network features branded
programming with Chinese subtitles, including the most appealing and
sensual Playboy-produced movies, original series, magazine formatted shows,
dramas and specials. Playboy TV Hong Kong is now offered as a premium
monthly service featuring the best in the erotic genre as part of a new
adult package available on Hong Kong Cable.

INDIA

STAR INDIA APPLIES FOR UPLINK

News Corp.'s Star India network has become the first foreign broadcaster to
apply to the Indian government to uplink from the country as part of
relaunching its Star News channel in the territory in April. The
application comes as experts predict that turnover from India's
entertainment industry stands to quadruple to more than $7 billion by 2007.
Star has had a meteoric rise since entering the Indian market 10 years ago
and has lured a sizable share of viewers away from the two main local cable
and satellite broadcasters, Zee and Aaj Tak, both of which have local
uplinks. Although foreign broadcasters are not given uplinking rights from
India, Star's application may be considered under guidelines specified for
news channels. A final decision will take about a month while the matter is
being examined by a parliamentary committee.

STAR GOLD TO RELAUNCH

Indian Hindi-language classic movie channel Star Gold will reposition from
November 3. The new version will have a greater emphasis on current
Bollywood fare, and will air more movies each month with fewer repeats. It
will also air Hollywood movies dubbed into Hindi, and feature blocks aimed
at women, kids and families at different points in the week.

IRAQ

TWO NEW TV CHANNELS TO BE LAUNCHED

Informed sources have told Al-Rafidayn that the Iraqi Information Ministry
is studying preliminary designs for an Iraqi media complex, similar to
other large media complexes in the world. The sources, who requested not to
be named, said that several engineering centres are studying the designs
before submitting them for approval. The media complex will be built near
the Al-Karkh area in Baghdad. Media sources also revealed that the
Information Ministry is about to launch two new Iraqi television channels.
One will broadcast programmes in black and white only, and the other will
be in English for foreigners living in Iraq.

MALAYSIA

TV NETWORK FOR ISLAMIC NATIONS

Datuk Abdul Hamid Zainal Abidin, minister in the Prime Minister's
Department, has said that Malaysia is ready to take the lead in
coordinating efforts to establish a proposed satellite television channel.
He said Malaysia has the expertise and professional manpower to handle the
service. The Organization of the Islamic Conference [OIC] in setting up the
proposed television channel to present the Muslim points of view to the West.

NEW ZEALAND

TV3 RETURNS TO PROFIT

CanWest's New Zealand operations including TV3 on November 6 reported a
much improved August year result. CanWest New Zealand, which Canadian owner
CanWest is attempting to sell, reported earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortisation of $20.6 million, a 139 per cent increase
from the previous financial year's figure of $8.6 million. TV3 moved from a
$8.5 million ebitda loss last year to an ebitda profit of $3.2 million this
year. Revenue for TV3 climbed from $86 million last year to $94 million in
the financial year ended August 31. The channel's peak time audience share
in its target market of 18-49 year olds has increased 3 percentage points
to a 25 percent average over the fiscal year, up from a 22 percent share in
the previous year.
Internet - http://www.canwestglobal.com/


THAILAND


MCOT TO LAUNCH NEW TV CHANNEL

The Mass Communication Organization of Thailand (MCOT) will launch a new
concept TV on November 6 which will make its channel 9 into
around-the-clock free- TV news station. The move is the brainchild of
MCOT’s Director-General Mingkwan Sangsuwan, who took office three months
ago, according to a report of Thai News Agency. Under the MCOT's "Modernine
Television" project, the channel will change not only its news program, but
also the 20-year-old Channel 9 logo, news presenters, graphic and the
design of its newsrooms. During the first phase, Channel 9 will broadcast
for 24 hours and the portion dedicated to news will be increased by 150 per
cent. Channel 9 will add an hour of additional news reporting to its prime
time news program, which will run from 19.00 to 21.00, as well as
five-minute breaking news broadcasts on an hourly basis.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

E-VIEW LAUNCHES PPV SERVICE

E-Vision, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s digital cable TV provider, has
initiated eView, a new pay per view service, which features blockbuster
movies in digital quality picture and sound. An interactive television
service, eView allows customers to order a movie or an event from a
scheduled list for a small fee. The movies available on eView will be from
the latest Western and Hindi/Asian releases that are yet to appear on
pay-TV services, according to a company press release. Arabic titles will
be added in the near future. Movies available on e-View start at different
times on several dedicated channels. e-View will also bring special musical
concerts and sports events such as cricket, boxing, and wrestling in the
near future. The prices of such events differ. For the first time in the
region, the digital video broadcasting technology (DVB) will provide
viewers the option of having the Arabic subtitling switched on and off on
English and Hindi movies. E-Vision comprises 110 channels, including
movies, sports, news and entertainment, that cater to the UAE population.
E-Vision’s Basic Package of over 75 channels is offered for Dh50 per month.
E-Vision is currently available in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.




10/11/02

Sunday no update




9/11/02

No update today having a lazy day. Back Monday




8/11/02

Optus B3, 12595V appears now to be switched to Dual Aus/NZ beam, ABC National and RFM there just like they were on 12532 V before Optus started to shuffle things around.

For Humax users with aurora problems - there is a tutorial on the www.sciteq.com.au on how to retune the reciever for Aurora

Can someone with Nokia please scan I701 Cband side.



From my Emails & ICQ


From Kevin

Hi Craig,

Today Imparja on B1 was 30 on the signal meter at noon but when I checked
at 3:00pm there was no sign of it. Not a peep. Any of your other readers
getting anything from it at all? I wonder if they've dropped the power
below my threshold or if they've gone off air for a while?

Regards,
Kevin.


(Craigs comment, well officially Imparja doesn't "Broadcast" via B1 its only there for linking therefore they can do whatever they like with the signal such as lowering the power or encrypting it. If you contact them they will tell you the Optus B3 version is the official broadcast and they do not support any viewing of the B1 service so no use complaining to them. We also know now why they change freq ocasionally when the rugby or other sports are on. Remember the rumour from the other day? I wonder how many pubs ring them to say they have lost the signal?)


From the Dish


Optus B1 160E 12707 VAnimal Planet has moved to 12608 V, SID 1014, PIDs 512/650.Sky Sport Extra has left 12608 V.

Optus B3 12594 V Is now on Dual Aus/NZ beam

Koreasat 2 113E 12706 H "FS-TV" has started , Fta, Sr 3000, Fec 3/4, PIDs 4194/4195.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3713 H "MSTV" has left .


NEWS


Shin Sat signs $390 m. loan deal for iPSTAR-1


From indiantelevision.com

MUMBAI: Asia's number two satellite operator Shin Satellite Plc. of Thailand today announced it had signed a $390 million loan deal for its long in gestation iPSTAR-1 project.

The announcement comes over two years (August 2000) after Shin Sat awarded the contract for the design and construction of iPSTAR-1 to Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). iPSTAR-1 is a high-powered geostationary satellite to be used for broadband communications applications.

Shin Sat announced that it has signed with the Export-Import Bank of the United States ("Ex-Im Bank") and Compagnie Francaise d'Assurance pour la Commerce Extrieur de France (COFACE) agreements for loan guarantee facilities of a total of $ 265 million. Shin Sat has also signed a $ 125 million syndicated commercial bank facility arranged jointly by BNP Paribas and Citibank/SalomonSmithBarney. The credit support from the Ex-Im Bank and Coface will be in the form of a guarantee facility provided by Citibank and BNP Paribas.

The credit support from the Ex-Im Bank represents approximately 85 per cent of US content, mostly for the payment of the satellite's construction by SS/Loral. Support from COFACE will cover 85 per cent of the cost of launching the satellite on Arianespace from French Guyana, an official release says.

The Ex-Im support effectively makes iPSTAR the only broadband satellite project in the world to receive full financing, the release asserts. The company expects to receive iPSTAR-1 by the end of 2003 and see it fully operational in early 2004. In the meantime, Shin Satellite has deployed gateways in several important markets in this Asia-Pacific region.

Shin Sat will use iPSTAR-1, a satellite with a hybrid Ka-/Ku-band communications payload, to provide direct-to-desktop, last-mile services, including new multi-media and data services to customers in Asia, India, and Australia.

With total satellite power of approximately 14 kW, iPSTAR-1 will provide 100 beams in the Ku-band and the Ka-band - to deliver broad coverage from its orbital location at 1200 East longitude. iPSTAR-1 is designed to provide 12 years of uninterrupted service life.


iPSTAR closer but still to finalise slot


From http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/08Nov2002_biz51.html

Talks with AsiaSat are continuing

Shin Satellite has yet settle a dispute with AsiaSat over orbital slots for their new satellites despite a financial agreement moving Shin closer to the launch of its own iPSTAR unit.

AsiaSat plans to position its fourth satellite, due for launch by the end of this year, in a slot of 122 degrees East, but iPSTAR has reserved 120 degrees East. As the positions are very close to each other, there is a risk of interference.

Shin Satellite's executive chairman, Dumrong Kasemset, said negotiations were difficult as three administrations were involved _ those of Thailand, China and Hong Kong.

Dr Dumrong's comments came after Shin Satellite yesterday signed a US$390-million loan agreement with the United States Export-Import Bank and the Coface Group of France to finance the iPSTAR broadband satellite.

The company plans to launch the iPSTAR satellite in late 2003. Offering high-speed data transmission for Internet and multimedia applications, it is expected to become the mainstay of the company's revenue.

Dr Dumrong said the signing of the agreement was the most important milestone to date of the project and showed the confidence that the lenders had in the company and the project.

Of the total, $184.5 million will be borrowed from the US Export-Import Bank, with an eight-year repayment term, and $80.7 million from the French export-credit guarantee company Coface, also repayable in eight years.

The US funding will pay for satellite construction by California-based Space Systems/Loral. The funds from the French lender were linked to Shin Satellite's selection of France's Arianespace to launch iPSTAR.

The remaining $125 million will take the form of a commercial syndicated loan, repayable in 412 years.


Srikkanth hopes to make a Splash


From http://www.hinduonnet.com/bline/stories/2002110802190600.htm

FORMER Indian cricket captain, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, is now unleashing different strokes through his entertainment company, Kris Srikkanth Sports Entertainment (P) Ltd.

He will be marketing the 24-hour children's channel, Splash. Srikkanth's company will be spearheading the marketing for this channel. "The very fact that Splash is a channel dedicated only to kids is what interested me in taking up its marketing," said Srikkanth in a news release. With a viewership of over seven million homes across the country Splash's programming calendar claims to be tailored to suit the viewing tastes of kids of all ages. There are specific bands in the channel that are dedicated to pre-schoolers, tweens and teenagers.

The current programming mix on the channel covers a variety of subjects.




7/11/02

Pretty quiet today

Hrt 2 on B3 Globecast mux time shares with HRT Sat


From my Emails & ICQ


From Zapara

HRT 2, (Optus B3) and Almajd 2 (Asiasat 2)

Pas 10 68deg E

Feed 4100 V "Telly Track" Horse Racing, Sr 3251 Fec 7/8, Vpid 308 Apid 256 Sid 1 PMT 32



From Carl Ling

Pas 2, 4087V SR21000, colour bars have replaced NITV 518/646, TV Chile 519/647 and RTS 520/648


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 4087 V "RTS Sat" has left , replaced by a test card.
PAS 2 169E 4058 V "The TVB mux with TVB 8, TVBJ and TVB Xing He Channel" has left ,moved to PAS 8.

Optus B3 156E 12336 V It's HRT TV 2 (05-02 UTC) and HRT Sat (02-05 UTC) that have started Fta, SID 9, PIDs 1960/1920.

Koreasat 2 113E 12290 H A test card has started, Fta, SID 3, PIDs 300/301.
Koreasat 2 113E 12370 H "FTV" is now in Fta.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 4020 V "Almajd Channel 2" has started regular transmissions , Fta,PIDs 1009/1209.

Yamal 102 90E 3709 L "Perviy kanal Israel" has started , Fta, Sr 3570, Fec 3/4,PIDs 308/256.


NEWS


Optus trumpets earnings outlook


From http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,5440579%255E462,00.html

OPTUS operating earnings are expected to soar by more than 30 per cent this year, after a strong turnaround at the Australian-based telco.

Optus, which was acquired by Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) in October 2001, today booked a net loss of $76 million for the first half, compared with a loss of $287 million in the previous corresponding period.

Operational earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to $601 million, from $435 million previously.

"For FY 02/03, Optus aims to achieve strong growth in operational EBITDA, and substantially reduce its losses," parent company Singapore Telecommunications said in a statement.

"Operational EBITDA growth is expected to exceed 30 per cent, excluding the impact of the C1 satellite launch.

"This reflects the cost management initiatives introduced in the latter half of last year." Optus expected revenue of about $270 million from the launch of its C1 satellite, currently planned for the fourth quarter of 2002/03.

The company said it was on track to achieve cash flow breakeven in the next financial year.

"We have followed up the $100 million EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) turnaround of the last quarter with strong results this quarter demonstrating that our growth momentum is clearly continuing," Optus chief executive Chris Anderson said.

"The focus on cost control over the last year has been successful and now we are seeing the rewards on the bottom line.

"We expect to see substantially reduced losses for the year as a whole.

"Optus has delivered double digit growth in all retail divisions. We are continuing to add customers and take market share in a highly competitive market."

SingTel said Optus continued the double digit revenue growth of the first quarter, with all retail divisions reporting double digit revenue growth.

Overall revenue for Optus grew 12 per cent to $2.6 billion.

In the Optus Mobile division, revenue rose 19 per cent and margins increased to 37 per cent.

Mobile subscribers grew by 12 per cent to 4.3 million, SingTel said.

"For FY02/03, Optus' mobile revenue growth is expected to remain strong at double digit levels, although growth in teh second half may moderate from the 19 per cent recorded in the first half," SingTel said.

Optus Business' revenue grew 13 per cent, but Optus Wholesale reported revenue declines.

"This is consistent with the prevailing international market conditions of reseller consolidation, capacity oversupply and downward pressure on prices," the company said of the Optus Wholesale result.

The Consumer & Multimedia (CMM) division, meanwhile, experienced revenue growth of 21 per cent to $A592 million, while slashing cash capital expenditure by 59 per cent.

Optus' operating expenses fell four 4 cent.


Tamil TV networks to turn pay channels


From http://www.hinduonnet.com/stories/2002110704760300.htm

The scroll on Jaya TV that greeted viewers on Deepavali on Monday was confirmation of what cable TV operators (CTOs) said was good news for them but definitely an unsavoury festival gift for consumers. With that scroll, Jaya TV became the last of the four private Tamil broadcasting networks to turn pay, ending the option of free-to-air regional channels the State enjoyed till now.

While Star Vijay went pay about two months ago, KTV, Sun News, Raj TV and Raj Digital Plus will turn pay during December-January, and Jaya TV will start collecting subscription charges from February. That would leave Sun TV as the only private channel still following an advertisement-revenue model.

Collectively, the Tamil pay channels would cost consumers an additional Rs.40 a month. Cable TV operators said post-January, when most broadcasters were expected to raise tariff as part of their annual hikes, subscription rates would rocket to a whopping Rs. 250 to Rs. 350 a month. "Consumers paying Rs.150-Rs.180 now will soon be paying Rs.250 or above, and those paying Rs.200-Rs.250 will reach the Rs.300-plus bracket", said an operator.

Unlike now, consumers would not have much option in opting for only free-to-air Tamil channels either--they would have only Doordarshan's Podhigai to turn to. For about a year now, there was always talk about Tamil broadcasters turning pay despite their enjoying popularity primarily because they were free-to-air channels. In many parts of the State, many subscribers have opted to do away with the Hindi and English pay channels, preferring the fare offered by the Tamil channels and Doordarshan. Soon, they would not have that option.

But from the broadcaster's point of view, turning pay was the only logical move to make. "The subscription market in Tamil Nadu was till now dominated by non-Tamil channels. When non-prime channels are making money in the Tamil Nadu market, we too have to go pay. Just that someone had to start the process", said the chairman of the Sun Network, Kalanidhi Maran.

When Star Vijay turned pay about two months ago, it was subscribing to its parent Star India's policy. "The quality of programming is going up, the cost of everything is rising, and advertising doesn't really cover up for all that", said the vice-president (Corporate Communications) of Star India, Yash Khanna. "Besides, more and more channels are entering the market but the advertising pie is not increasing accordingly". The Star India group presently follows an advertisement-subscription ratio of 80:20.

"We cannot survive without going pay, which is the future. The Centre's proposed conditional access system (which allows subscribers to choose their channels) is also in the offing and that is how the industry will work", said the manager (events and promotions), Raj Television Network, Praveen Alexander. The huge advertising slump was another reason for the channels desperately turning pay in the last year.

The newly converted subscription-based channels had largely stuck to the regional pioneer Vijay TV's tariff of Rs.9.50 per subscriber, but their rates were a bargain when offered in packages (or bouquets). The Raj Television Network would charge Rs.10 per subscriber for its two Tamil channels, and the Sun Network a similar Rs.10 for its KTV and Sun News. Jaya TV was yet to fix its tariff.

Cable TV operators welcomed the move chiefly because it stamped out competition in the form of free-to-air operators. The manager (Programmes) of Jaya TV, Murali Raaman, said it was the operators who prodded them to turn pay.

Operators denied they encouraged the channels to turn pay, but agreed that it would work in their favour. Besides, they got another chance to hike prices and blame broadcasters, who, in turn, would blame operators. In the end, all that verbiage and market statistics boil down to only one fact: A costly hike for subscribers sans alternatives.


(Craigs comment, the future of FTA Indian services isn't looking to good as more encrypt monthly.)




6/11/02

Thank you to those that turned up in the chatroom except for the odd nut or two that were trying to spoil it. I will try and get some screenshots of HRT2 and the new Almajd 2 service tommorow.

Sky NZ still shuffling things around maybe getting ready to add Shine TV and possibly others Dec 1st. Latest change is Animal Planet moving from 12706V to 12608 V Vpid is 512 Apid 650 Sid 1014


Rumours


A unnamed company has gone around Australia installing 1.2M dishs on pubs to get the Cricket and Rugby off Imparja on B1 Imparja found this out and has dropped power levels.


From my Emails & ICQ


From SSS <[email protected]>

Subject: Aurora service outage - 8/11/02


All,

On 8/11/02 0300-0400AEDT, all services on the Aurora EPG TV
channels 21-31, TV channels 46-50, Radio channels 21-44 and Radio channels
64-68 will be interrupted for frequency rearrangements. Following this
interruption, the services should be restored onto their existing Aurora
EPG channels. If any problems are encountered with domestic decoders,
they should be turned off at the power point for a short while and
switched back on to resume service.

Any professional grade decoders which have been retuned in
the period 17/10/02-7/11/02, will require manual retune to the new
frequencies as follows:

If the professional decoder is tuned to ABC WA, ABC NT,
Imparja, WIN, or Westlink services it should be retuned to 12527MHz
frequency.

If the professional decoder is tuned to ABC NAT or SMA
Rhythm services it should be retuned to 12594.9MHz frequency.

Please call us on 1300 301681 if you would like further information.

Regards,
Satellite Support Services.
"Yes" Optus
Service Out of this World!


From "Fishingggg"

Subject: [Apsattv] AlMajd 2 channel - Asia2

New channel Islamic channel on Asiasat2 on the Dubai mux. Its on 4020v
Sr 27500, video 1009 audio 1209. And its in English.

Fishinggg


From Razvi

Subject: [Apsattv] advise please

planning to get 3m dish hoping to be able to see ALL FTA PROGRAMES fom the satellite below is this possible. is there a motorized system where a dish can move and lock on to various sateliites of your choice or this a manual job every time

PAS 8 at 166.0°E
PAS 2 at 169.0°E
Optus B1 at 160.0°E
Optus B3 at 156.0°E
Asiasat 3S at 105.5°E
Asiasat 2 at 100.5°E

from wellington

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP


(Craigs comment, a 3 meter should be fine to get the Cband FTA signals, Yes you need an Actuator the dealer should be able to explain all this its fairly standard. Be sure you will have a clear view if you dish is almost vertical as Asiasat 2 and 3 are very low look angles in most parts of NZ. For Optus B1/B3 Ku band I would use a separate 76cm size dish)


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 3860 H :Z Channel: has left .(Unconfirmed), PTS is encrypted again.

Optus B1 160E 12608 V "Animal Planet moved here from 12706V" Vpid 512 Apid 650 Sid 1014

Agila 2 146E 4070 H "Solar Sports Network" has now encrypted.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 4020 V "Almajd Channel 2 promo" has started , Fta, PIDs 1009/1209.


NEWS


All very quiet nothing to report!




5/11/02

Livechat tonight 9 P.M NZ and 8.30 Syd time onwards

Optus B3, Globecast mux is testing HRT Croatia, the card thats up says HRT 2. Can someone check Thaicom 3?

Program Guide? http://www.hrt.hr/htv/program/raspored/index_tv2.html

Problems reported with Imparja on Optus B1, Signal well down in strength

Once again very little news about.



From my Emails & ICQ


From Jason

Hi Craig

Does any one know what's happened to Imparja on B1.
Haven't been able to receive it in Perth over the past
two days on the 90cm dish. Signal strength is 0%, has
this disappeared or is the signal at a lower power?
All other channels are fine.

Regards
Jason


From Zapara

MET TV Pas 10 Screenshot

http://www.metvn.com/home.html

Yes its Indian.


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 3860 H "SET Taiwan and SET Metro" have left .PTS is now Fta.

Optus B1 160E 12519 V "Sdm Disco left, replaced by SDM Party" Apid 666 Sid 1077
Optus B1 160E 12581 V "Sdm Chart Attack left, replaced by SDM NZ Chart" Apid 664 Sid 1070

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "Kuwait Space Channel" is still here , Fta, PIDs 2560/2561, but the SID has been removed.


NEWS


South Korean STB export prices being driven down


From http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/Article.asp?datePublish=2002/11/05&pages=04&seq=17

According to the Electronic Industries Association of Korea (EIAK) and industry observers, price competition among South Korean set-top box (STB) manufacturers, especially in sales to Europe and the Middle East, has lowered average export prices of STBs.

In low-end, digital satellite STBs, average export prices have fallen from about US$150-160 per unit in January 2001 to US$65-70 in February 2002 and US$60 in October 2002. High-end STB exports have also come under pricing pressure. Notwithstanding low-price competition from Chinese and Taiwanese players, the fiercest competition has been among local players, reported The Electronic Times.

EM-Technics, which started exporting STBs in 2000, has seen the price of its low-end FTA model fall from US$100 at the end of 2000 to US$70 currently. Its high-end CI model has dropped in price from US$120-130 to US$100.

With prices falling 30-40% from 2000, Handan, whose major product is high-end STBs, adjusted its export target for 2002 to 95 billion won from 120 billion won.


(Craigs comment, I have heard of FTA units for as little as $40 U.S and Irdeto Units for $65!)




4/11/02

Not much news today which is odd because Monday there is normally a lot.

Melbourne Cup Race, live Tuesday on ABC Asia Pacific (Pas 8) and Star Sports (Asiasat 3)

Asiasat 2 page update

Updated and uploaded History pages for May, June, July, August, September and October


From my Emails & ICQ


From Bill Richards

Asiasat 2 Screenshots

Lotus Satellite Tv, SBN Shanghai Broadcast Network, Jame-Jam3, Alalam News


From "Fishinggg"

Hi all,

Lyngsat update says that Kuwait TV has left. It has not.
When you scan 3660v it doesn't load, however, if you enter the old settings,
the channel loads.
Not sure why.

Reggards
Fishinggg


From Dave Knight 2/11/02

B1, 12410V Sr 6980 Fec 3/4 "Boxing Feed"


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 3744 V "Discovery Channel Asia" has started, PowerVu, PIDs 1160/1120 and 1460/1420.
PAS 2 169E 4087 V "KISB 1" has starte, Fta, PIDs 514/642.

PAS 8 166E 4050 V "TVBS Newsnet" has started , Fta, PIDs 1460/1420.( Anyone getting this one supposedly very very weak)

Optus B3 156E All channels on 12595 V have started on 12527 V, Irdeto 1, same SIDs and PIDs as on 12595 V.

Telkom 1 108E All channels in TelkomVision are encrypted again.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3713 H "MSTV Five Star and MSTV" are still on , Fta, Sr 5868, Fec 3/4,PIDs 450/451 and 650/651.
Asiasat 3 105.5E 4140 V "Zee Music" is Fta.

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "EuroSport News" is now encrypted.
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3765 V "TVSN (China)" has started, enc., Sr 4300, Fec 3/4, PIDs 1160/1120.
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3905 H "Reuters World News Service" is encrypted again.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 4122 H Occasional feeds , Sr 3500, Fec 2/3.

PAS 10 68.5E 4131 H "MET - Middle East TV" has started , Fta , Sr 3308, Fec 2/3,PIDs 33/36.


NEWS


T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 44/2002 3 November 2002 -

A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A


AUSTRALIA

RG CAPITAL RADIO INTERESTED IN TV

Media group RG Capital Radio is investigating expanding into television if
Australia eases restrictions on cross-media ownership. The company's
executive chairman, Tim Hughes, says it would be "very interested" in
merging with a television operator, saying it would "make a lot of sense".
Hughes rates the chances of Australia's cross media ownership restrictions
being abolished at 50 per cent, but says he is confident that common sense
will prevail and that the restrictions will eventually be overturned.

PAY-TV CHANNELS RENEGOTIATE MOVIE CONTRACTS

Hollywood has signalled that it is prepared to renegotiate content
acquisition contracts with the country’s pay-TV platforms. Premium Movie
Partnership (PMP) Chief Executive Jack Matthews, who oversees the sale of
Hollywood movies from four studios to Australia's three platforms was
quoted in the local media as saying, "Because we are committed to this
marketplace, we are happy to take a long-term view of the market place. If
that means trading some margin today for longevity in volume, then that is
certainly something we will look at." Australia's pay-TV providers signed
long-term deals with the studios that have proven to be increasingly
onerous as the value of the Australian dollar has fallen against the US
currency. The current deals last until 2007, but PMP's offer to renegotiate
the agreement stems from a proposal by Foxtel and third-ranked Optus to
share channels and for the former to take on the latter's long-term €330
million-worth of content deals to cut programming costs. Talks between PMP
and the operators are on hold while Australian regulators consider the
Foxtel/Optus accord.

SEVEN NETWORK TO SUE FOXTEL

Australian commercial terrestrial Network Seven is preparing a lawsuit
against the News Corp.-backed pay-TV platform Foxtel, according to local
reports. Seven is expected to file for damages related to the demise of its
pay-TV sports venture C7, which closed in May after being removed from the
Optus platform in March. C7's removal, and subsequent replacement with
Foxtel's Fox Sports was effectively triggered by it losing the TV rights to
AFL league.

BAHRAIN

NO-GO FOR AL-JAZEERA

Bahrain will not allow the Qatar-based satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera to
operate on its territory and will boycott any local station that deals with
Al-Jazeera, Bahraini information minister Nabil al-Hamar has said in an
interview for a Jordanian newspaper. In his view, this stance did not
contradict Bahrain's commitment to introducing freedom of the media,
because such freedom did not extend to permitting "chaos".

CHINA HONG KONG

CASBAA TO CLAMP DOWN ON PIRATE DECODERS

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has
confirmed that civil action was launched in Hong Kong on October 28 against
five companies for allegedly importing and trading in unlicensed satellite
TV signal decoding equipment. The plaintiffs named in the actions are Star
TV, CNN, Turner Entertainment Network, ESPN Star Sports, Discovery and NGC
Network. There has been concern among Casbaa members since the beginning of
the year that traders are selling decoders for services that are not
licensed in Hong Kong. For example, pay-TV service providers such as UBC of
Bangkok, Astro of Kuala Lumpur and Dream of Manila are only authorised to
distribute the channels mentioned earlier in Thailand, Malaysia and the
Philippines respectively and are not legally authorized to distribute them
in Hong Kong.

TVB SEEKS CABLE DISTRIBUTION DEAL

Television Broadcasts (TVB) is believed to be in preliminary talks on
broadcasting five of its new pay-TV channels through i-Cable's network and
PCCW's Internet programming platform, according to The Standard. Such a
move would slash the cost of running the yet-to-be-launched Galaxy service.
TVB is still in talks with a big US strategic investor in the same
industry, a Canadian investor and its Malaysian partners, who want only a
minority stake of 15-20 per cent in Galaxy.

INDIA

DOORDARSHAN PRIVATISATION RULED OUT

Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj on October 29
ruled out privatization of state-owned television channel - Doordarshan
saying it still enjoyed a huge viewership. Doordarshan was earning enough
and its revenues had not declined after the arrival of private TV channels,
she told reporters at Shirdi near here. Besides, the state owned channel
was a public broadcaster and not eyeing profits, the Minister said.

NEW ZEALAND

SKY TV SECURES RUGBY TV RIGHTS

Leading pay-TV operator Sky Network Television has secured broadcast rights
to the November 17 rugby union test match between France and New Zealand's
All Blacks. The rights to the French test will round out Sky's coverage of
the All Black's European tour with rights to the tests against Wales and
England already secured. Meanwhile, Independent Newspapers said it wasn’t
contemplating a takeover of 66.25%-owned Sky Network Television, INL's
chief executive said on October 30. Independent Newspapers increased its
stake in Sky to 66.25% from just under 50% in June 2001, allowing the
publisher to boost its reported earnings by utilizing Sky's tax losses.

TV3 GETS RUGBY RIGHTS UNTIL 2005

TV3 was on October 31 confirmed as the free-to-air broadcaster for rugby
until 2005, chief executive Brent Impey said. The new agreement with Sky
Television gives TV3 free-to-air broadcast rights for the Super 12 and
Tri-Nations matches, tests, the NPC, and Maori rugby. "The coverage will be
delayed but there will be an additional NPC match each weekend and a one-
hour highlight package of the Australia- South Africa Tri-Nations games,"
Mr Impey said. There will also be a one- hour Super 12 highlights package
of the weekend's round each Sunday.

QATAR

AL-JAZEERA TO LAUNCH ENGLISH LANGUAGE SERVICE

The Arabic television news station Al-Jazeera, notorious for broadcasting
exclusive tapes of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is planning to target
the English language market for the first time, according to The Times.
Earlier this year, the 24-hour television channel was made available in
Britain on satellite TV in its original Arabic. But, according to the Times
newspaper, the Qatar-based station will, in the first quarter of 2003,
begin dubbing its news, commentaries and current affairs programmes into
English for non-Arabic speakers. The English version of Al-Jazeera will be
available across Europe, the daily said, and will enable viewers to monitor
world events from a Middle Eastern perspective, according to its marketing
director Ali Mohammad Kamal.

SOUTH KOREA


TOONUNIVERSE TOPS TV CHANNEL RATINGS

Tooniverse, a local cartoon cable TV channel, topped the audience ratings

list of SkyLife, a domestic digital satellite firm, officials said on
October 31. According to the survey conducted 23-29 September on 3,544
households subscribing to the SkyLife service, Tooniverse was the most
popular of the 73 channels relayed by Skylife, with an audience rating of
9.44 per cent. Second place was film channel OCN with an audience of 7.65
per cent, followed by AnyOne TV (5.84 per cent), MBC DramaNet (5.36
percent), KBS Drama (5.10 percent) and SBS Drama Plus (4.99 percent).
MBC-ESPN, SBS Satellite Sports, news channel YTN and SBS Satellite Golf
made up the remainder of the top 10 with ratings between 3.6-4.3 percent.

TAIWAN

HAKKA TV CHANNEL TO LAUNCH NEXT YEAR

In an effort to preserve and promote the Hakka language and culture, the
Council for Hakka Affairs has decided to set up a Hakka television channel,
to be launched in March 2003. Leo Liu, deputy head of the Council for Hakka
Affairs, pointed out that the Hakka population -the second largest group in
Taiwan - is around four million islandwide, yet the Hakka language and
culture are vanishing because the educational system emphasizes only
Mandarin. Liu further explained the need for a TV channel specifically for
Hakka, saying that although a few TV stations normally broadcast Hakka
programs everyday, the broadcast time and show content still fall far short
of the demands of the Hakka group. According to the proposal, the Hakka
channel will broadcast for 18 hours a day, with 6 hours of premiere
programming and 12 hours of reruns. In an effort to maximize its reach in
promoting Hakka culture, the channel will produce programs recorded or
dubbed in the Hakka language, as well as programs in Mandarin that
introduce Hakka customs.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

MORE COMMITMENTS REQUESTED FOR LAUNCH OF MUSLIM TV CHANNEL

The Minister of Information Tan Sri Khalil Yaacob has urged more commitment
from the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) for setting up the
proposed television channel to present the Muslim point of view to the
West. Asked if the delay in starting the Islamic channel was due to any
financial constraints, the minister replied: "I do not think the delay is
because of any financial problems. But Muslim countries need to show more
commitment and better coordination." The proposal to set up a satellite
television channel was approved by a meeting of OIC culture ministers in
Qatar last December.

VIETNAM

GOVERNMENT TO EXTEND NATIONWIDE TV COVERAGE

The government will spend VND50 billion ($3.28 million) next year to
provide television to 70% of difficult communes in mountainous, bordering
and island areas, with 30% also receiving satellite television
transceivers. This aims to realize the government's scheme of broadcast
television programs to the areas, first mooted ten years ago. So far 76% of
the areas' population have enjoyed Vietnam Television (VTV)'s programs. The
areas have been provided with 41,000 TVs, and installed 800 broadcasting
stations, equaling 70% of the target by 2005. The scheme has been funded
with VND40 billion (2.61 million) this year.




3/11/02

No update Sunday




2/11/02

Eurosports News International is FTA on Asiasat 2 at the moment.

Hong Kong Cricket 6's are on , I think last years feed was on Asiasat 2?


From my Emails & ICQ


From Bill Richards

Pas2 4030 V Sr 11000, Fec 3/4

Vpid 1160 Apid 1120 SID1 "TVB8"

Vpid 1260 Apid 1220 SID2 "TVB"

Vpid 1360 Apid 1320 SID3 "Vertical Colour Test Card"

No sign of 4050V listed at Lyngsat

Regards
Bill


From Victor Holubecki

KISB is back on PAS2 4090 V 21000 3/4
At least it was this moning, haven't checked this afternoon.


From Mark Sales

NBN Telethon feed on B1

On now (16:10 ADST) NBN Television Northern NSW Australia feed for its
local telethon - B1, 12430, V, 6980, 3/4


From Me

I supplied Lyngsat with this info mostly Sky NZ updates

Optus B1 changes

12456V TVNZ this is NZ beam
12483V ALL are encrypted NDS/Irdeto dual encrypted
12544V "BBC World" started ENC Vpid 515 A653 Sid 1026
12581V "TCM" started ENC Vpid 515 A653 Sid 1044
12581V "CTV4" started ENC Vpid 513 A651 Sid 1066 (think this is a mix but check www.wtv.co.nz for details
12608 V Sundance channel changed name to Rialto channel Vpid 513 Apid 651 Sid 1020
12608 V "Sky Sports Extra" is back Vpid 512 A650 Sid 1039
12608 V "Addtrack 1" is on Apid 660 Sid 1197
12644V "SBO Movies 2 now labled SBO movies 62
12644V "SDM Blues" Apid 665 Sid 1082
12644V "SDM Christmas" Apid 666 Sid 1088
12671V SBO Movies is labled SBO Movies 61
12706 V "BBC World" left
12706 V "TCM" left
12706 V "TVSN" is on Vpid 519 Apid 657 Sid 1045
12706 V "SBO Movies 63" Vpid 2305 Apid 2306 Sid 1046
12706 V "SBO Movies 64" Vpid 2307 Apid 2308 Sid 1047


From the Dish


PAS 2 169E 4030 V A TVB mux has started, Fta, Sr 11000, Fec 3/4, SIDs 1-3,PIDs 1160/1120-1360/1320, line-up: TVB 8, TVBJ and a test card. (Can anyone get the mux also listed on Lyngsat for 4050V?)

PAS 8 166E 12366 H "DW TV" has started, Fta, SID 4, PIDs 1025/1026.

Optus B1 160E 12483 V All channels in the TVNZ mux are now encrypted in Videoguard and Irdeto. (OLD)

Koreasat 2 113E 12330 H A test card has started , enc., SID 20510, PIDs 2100/2101.
Koreasat 2 113E 12530 H "National Geographic Channel Korea and Radio Korea" are now encrypted.

Telkom 1 108E All channels in TelkomVision are Fta.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3713 H "MSTV Five Star and MTSV" have left .

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3846 V New FEC for SBN : 3/4.
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3660 V "Eurosport International news" is FTA, Sr 27500 Fec 3/4

Apstar 2R 76.5E 3848 H "Occasional feeds" on , PIDs 510/511.

LMI 1 75E 3418 H "TV Lanka" has started , Fta, Sr 3500, Fec 2/3, PIDs 1260/1222.

Insat 3C 74E 4150 V "DD Hissar" has started , Fta, Sr 5000, Fec 3/4, PIDs 512/650.


NEWS


No news today




1/11/02

Start of a new month and some good news ABC Aurora regional versions are all back and no longer blocked. Let me know if anyone is still having trouble with them.

Looks like some channels are moving to Asiasat 2 from Sinosat1, perhaps so the Falun Gong hackers can't interrupt them?

Some minor changes on B1, Sky NZ, Sundance has been renamed to "Rialto" and there are now 4 SBO movie PPV channels, I will try and get the details written down and send to Lyngsat later.


From my Emails & ICQ


From "SSS"

Subject: ABC Regional Blocking on Aurora platform - UPDATE

All,

for your information, the ABC has terminated the temporary Regional Blocking
from their services on Aurora. This means that all Aurora subscribers will
again be able to view all 6 ABC channels. These services were restored after
2pm on November 1st.

Please call the ABC on 1300 139994 if you would like further information.

Regards,
Satellite Support Services.
"Yes" Optus
Service Out of this World!


From Andy, Kunming, China

Good news.

TelKom 108.0°E
All channels in the TelkomVision mux are currently FTA.
Should'nt think it will last long!


From John Harrison

Telkom 1 108e

3460 H S/R 28000 FEC 3/4
3500 H S/R 28000 FEC 3/4
3580 H S/R 28000 FEC 3/4

All Channels with the exception of Nickeldeon running FTA as at 9.19am AEST...


(Craigs comment, I have heard of Dealers in Thailand selling 1 year subs to this service)


From Dave Keller

Hi All,

Here's a few happy snaps from my recent (well ok, 12 months ago now..) trip
to the Telstra Earth Station in Bendigo.
They would have been up sooner, but i've been slack...

http://daffy.bay.net.au/~david/pics/BendigoEarthStation/


Ciao,
Dave.


From the Dish


PAS 8 166E 4050 V "TVBJ has started" Fta, PIDs 1260/1220.

Koreasat 2 113E Updates on 12290 H, Fta: Zenis Shopping has replaced CSN on PIDs 800/801.B2C Shopping has replaced Best of Best Shopping on PIDs 1100/1101.The test card has left PIDs 300/301.
Koreasat 2 113E 12330 H New FEC : 5/6.
Koreasat 2 113E 12370 H "FTV" is now encrypted.

Asiasat 3 105.5E 3700 V Two of the test cards have left .

Asiasat 2 100.5E 3845 V "TVSN" has left .(unconfirmed)
Asiasat 2 100.5E 3846 V "SBN - Shanghai Broadcasting Network, Radio Shanghai and Shanghai People Radio" have started , Fta, SR 4800, Fec 7/8, PIDs 1110/1211,1213 and 1214.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3585 V "Balle Balle" is back, Fta, PIDs 516/644.


NEWS


War of words erupts over Foxtel's pay TV deal


From http://au.news.yahoo.com/021031/2/gylv.html

A war of words has erupted over the controversial Foxtel-Optus pay TV deal, after John Fairfax Holdings Ltd called for regulators to reject it "outright".

Fairfax has labelled key undertakings given by Foxtel and Optus as "irretrievably flawed and wholly inadequate", and indicated it would walk away from any ambitions it held as a pay TV content supplier if the deal was approved.

Foxtel countered, claiming the newspaper group had "misrepresented or misunderstood" the undertakings given, and accused Fairfax of trying to "stop Australia's advance into the digital age".

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was at a crucial stage of negotiations, with a decision on the deal expected by mid-November.

Foxtel - owned by Telstra Corp, News Corp and Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd - last month gave the ACCC 12 key undertakings in a bid to allay competition concerns and win approval for the deal.

The ACCC blocked the initial Foxtel-Optus proposal in June, citing potential breaches of the Trade Practices Act, in areas including the acquisition of content and the likely domination of the Foxtel distribution network.

Fairfax chief executive Fred Hilmer called on the ACCC to reject the proposal, saying it would create a "powerful and pervasive monopoly" and competing services would be commercially unviable.

"If this is the best that can be done, then it is time to pull the plug on the deal altogether," Mr Hilmer said in a statement.

Instead, it said the federal government should undertake a full review and introduce new laws to address the structure of Australia's pay TV industry.

But Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams rejected the claims, saying there was no fairer system in terms of access.

"Fairfax's stage-managed release today of its submission to the ACCC does not make a genuine contribution to the fundamental restructuring that is needed to ensure the sustainability of subscription television in Australia," he said.

"In its self-interest, Fairfax would reduce and harm emerging competition and have the ACCC effectively stop the large scale digitisation of the nation."

Mr Williams added "Foxtel has no monopoly", and if Fairfax was genuine in its wish to participate in subscription television in Australia, "the Foxtel undertakings provide fair and equitable opportunities for it to do so".

Fairfax shares fell seven cents, or two per cent, to $2.92 after earlier falling more than 4.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, PBL chief executive Peter Yates declined to comment on whether Foxtel was prepared to make further concessions on the deal in order to get it approved.

"I believe the deal is very sound, ... it is some of the most comprehensive undertakings that have ever been made," Mr Yates told reporters after PBL's annual general meeting.


Foxtel hits back


From http://finance.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5401105%255E462,00.html

PAY-TV group Foxtel has accused newspaper group John Fairfax Holdings of failing to read the fine print after criticising its content-sharing deal with Optus.

"Fairfax has misrepresented or misunderstood the comprehensive undertakings package relating to the Foxtel-Optus content-sharing agreement and the proposed $600 million digital investment," Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams said.

Fairfax complained in its submission to the Australian Competiton and Consumer Commission on the Foxtel-Optus deal that Foxtel's undertakings to alleviate competition concerns were ineffective.

It said the price of access for new pay-TV services was "onerous" and predicated on the recovery of historical costs such as the expensive movie programming.

But Mr Williams said: "Fairfax has failed to properly read the undertaking in relation to what costs are applied to access. Contrary to what Fairfax asserts, there are no prior Foxtel content costs included."

And he said new access seekers would pay the same rate for access as Foxtel.

Fairfax also claimed Foxtel would have a monopoly over movie and sport programs.

But Mr Williams said Optus's movies were available non-exclusively to all pay-TV operators, as were the ESPN, Fox Footy and Sky Racing sports channels.


This satellite needs a lift


From http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/31/1036026984035.html

Sputnik. Comsat. And now BlueSat. Maybe.

While most of us merely gaze at the stars, a team of University of NSW engineering students are determined to put Australia on the world space research map.

They have created BlueSat (the Basic Low-earth-orbit University of NSW Experimental Satellite) - a micro-satellite designed to orbit the Earth every 90 minutes about 800 kilometres above its surface.

Its main role will be as a research satellite conducting experiments on materials and space computing as well as to provide a communications service to the amateur radio community.

But there is a problem. The students have no one to launch it.

"It costs between $10,000 and $20,000 per kilogram to pay someone to launch it for you, and this is a 15-kilogram satellite," says Peter Matthison, PhD student and chief executive of the BlueSat project. "It's a lot of money for anyone, so our biggest need now is for a benefactor to pay for part or all of the launch and someone to provide the launch."

The preferred option is to send it up on a decommissioned Russian ballistic missile (ideally, the Dnepr SS-18) but that would cost the students about $100,000.

Another option is to use the Asia Pacific Space Centre, the Australia-Russia space projectproposed for Christmas Island. But although the centre has offered to send the satellite up for free, the offer only extends to a height of 200km.

"At that height it would only stay up there for a couple of months before crashing back to Earth," Mr Matthison said.

Besides, the launch pad has still to be built and the team of about 30 students are hoping for lift-off sometime in early 2004.

Sponsorship is one hope. "You would think that maybe someone like Richard Branson would be prepared to put in a CD with his face on it, and that's another avenue we are exploring," Mr Matthison said.

Trading technology may be one way to do a deal. The team is also developing its own flight computer and communications systems, and hopes these may interest launch companies.

Each solar cell for the solar panels was created at the university's Key Centre for Photovoltaics, while upstairs the flight computer is being built from scratch.

In spite of the difficulties, the team remains optimistic someone will give them a lift into orbit. And after that? "Then we are going to build a big one," Mr Matthison said.