Newsgroups: alt.satellite.tv.europe From: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk (Antony Purvis) Subject: Skyguide 22 Cc: nigel@sun-a.computation.umist.ac.uk, hutcheon_a_p@bt-web.bt.co.uk, i.wraith@sheffield.ac.uk, 70247.3516@compuserve.com, don@dj0hc.in-ulm.de, ted@tedb.demon.co.uk, jamie@hicom.org, lelli@ganimede.csr.unibo.it, alt.satellite.tv.europe@demon.co.uk Reply-To: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1993 17:22:05 +0000 bbcid MORGAA01 @ BBC-BH Skyguide Issue 022 -------------------------------- SKYGUIDE UK --------------------------------- | | | Your digest of the latest news in the world of Satellite & Cable TV | | | ------------------------- Week Ending Sun August 22nd ------------------------ * WELCOME NEW READERS! Skyguide is now available on the internet in the alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup - welcome to our new readers! * UK LIVING READY TO LAUNCH UK Living has secured Astra 1C transponder 34, ready for its September 1st launch. There had previously been some doubt that the broadcaster could secure a transponder in time, if at all, but it has now been announced that Thames Television, partner in the channel, will take up its option on an Astra transponder, and will transfer it to the channel. Regular "Advertisement Features" will be a part of the schedule, although unlike UK Living's predecessor channel "Lifestyle", the features will be made by the channel and presented by Polly Perkins, star of axed BBC soap Eldorado. While the BBC recently announced that it would not be extending its ventures into satellite television beyond UK Gold, an agreement has been reached with the BBC for the sale of a number of programmes, both old and new. Omnibuses of "Good Morning With Anne and Nick" will be aired in the weekends following their screening as part of BBC1's daytime schedules. Also lined up are repeat screenings of morning talk show "Kilroy", in some cases just one week after their original BBC screening. The channel will make up to two and a half hours a day of its own programming from the old Thames Television studios in Middlesex. * STAY TOONED! TNT and The Cartoon Network will begin their test transmissions on September 10th, one week before their launch. * MAKING ANOTHER COMEBACK Red Hot Television have issued a new press statement, claiming that they will begin "test transmissions" on their old transponder on August 24th, and resume full broadcasting on August 29th. This follows last week's statement that they would return on August 14th, although sightings of Dutch PTT colour bars have been reported on their transponder in the midnight hours. The channel will continue broadcasting in SAVE for the moment, with the mysterious Enigma (Videocrypt) encryption set to arrive at a future date. * MORE ADULT CHANNELS Meanwhile, yet more new adult channels are announcing that they will start up shortly. Some may proceed no further than "MTX", which offered a premium rate telephone line selling "examples" of what their channel would show. Some may proceed as far as the late "After 12", masterminded by David Henry and his company, Phonovision. This channel got as far as test broadcasts, taking people's money, and sending out Videocrypt cards, but never actually made it as far as broadcasting any real programming. The channel eventually disappeared amid claims from programming producers that they had not been paid. Strangely enough, After 12 has recently re-surfaced in advertisments in some UK satellite magazines. "After 12 Europe", using the original logo of the old "After 12" that disappeared, will "part exchange your old SAVE decoder for a new phonocrypt decoder". Quite what the mysterious "phonocrypt" encoding will consist of, other than sounding very much like the original "phonovision" company behind After 12 originally, is unknown. The channel claims it will broadcast from the Eutelsat bird at 13 degrees East. Whether the original "After 12" and the new "After 12 Europe" are in any way connected is open to question, but the new arrivals may well find themselves on the receiving end of claims from disgruntled subscribers to the original. Also claiming to be starting soon is "TV69", a channel said to be backed by the former managing director of Red Hot Television, and backed by German erotica producer VTO. TV69 claim that they will broadcast from the same Eutelsat transponder as Red Hot Television, which may be a little difficult if RHTV themselves do finally make it back. Subscriptions will be handled by Euroswap's Gibraltar branch, subscriptions said to be 160 pounds a year, although a deposit of 25 pounds is necessary to secure a smart card. The channel's advertising claims "Absolutely NO connection with RHD!", and that they will be scrambling with Videocrypt. Videocrypt cards will, it is reported, be obtained through VTO's connections with "The Adult Channel". In general, it all sounds very unlikely - for what it's worth, Skyguide's advice is to believe it when you see it. * THROW AWAY YOUR RTL-4 DECODERS! Well, perhaps not, but for the moment, viewers without RTL-4 decoders will be able to enjoy all RTL-4's programming on the RTL-5 transponder on Astra 1C. * MONEY IN THE BANK Expect to see a whole lot of advertising for the new channels in the Sky Multichannels package. Not only is UK Living spending a large amount of money on advertising itself to people, but kids channel Nickelodeon is throwing a million pounds into advertising its launch in the UK. The Family Channel will be topping that, with one and a half million pounds for its launch, and Sky has an upcoming 15 million pounds advertising campaign in the run-up to Christmas. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skyguide Issue 22 Edited by Ant Purvis Skyguide is published every week. You can find it on London's CIX conferencing system, in the Skyguide conference, the Fidonet Satelite TV echo, the Packet Radio Network, and on internet in the alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup. Skyguide is not a commercial publication, nor is it a cut-down version of a printed journal. Nonetheless, it is copyright, and is not to be redistributed in any form without consent. Errors and Omissions expected. Back issues can be mailed to internet mailboxes on request. Comments, suggestions, stories and monetary donations are always appreciated! You can contact Skyguide in the following ways: CIX : mail to bignoise, or use the Skyguide/comments conference. Fidonet : No netmail for the moment please, just leave a message in the Satellite TV echo. Internet: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------