Skyguide Issue 026 -------------------------------- SKYGUIDE UK --------------------------------- | | | Your digest of the latest news in the world of Satellite & Cable TV | | | ---------------------- Week Ending Sun October 10th -------------------------- * DISH SALES UP BARB's latest figures show that 70,000 Astra satellite systems were sold in August this year, up 27,000 from the 43,000 figure that were sold at the same time last year. There are now 2.5 million dish owners in the UK, with around 680,000 viewers on cable, and approximately 300,000 viewers connected to a communal satellite system. * TWO SPORT Sky Sports 2 is planned to launch in February next year. The channel is understood to be intending to broadcast 24 hours a day, at no extra cost to Sky Sports subscribers. The channel is likely to be devoted to providing live coverage of long-running sporting events such as cricket, golfing tournaments, and snooker matches, as well as providing a handy outlet for the much-rumoured possibility of Pay-Per-View sporting events. The Astra transponder ear-marked for the service may be pressed into use in the next month or so to screen promotional material for the Sky Satellite Network, although this has not yet been confirmed. * BSKYBBC A potential agreement between the BBC and Sky to screen original film productions is apparently now unlikely following a breakdown of negotiations. The deal would have allowed Sky to premiere original BBC films from the "Screen One" and "Screen Two" series before they aired terrestrially, in return for Sky contributing to co-production funds. A Sky spokesman said that a deal was very close to being signed, but in the final event the BBC considered Sky's terms unacceptable. * NBC EUROPE American broadcaster NBC has purchased the majority 75% shareholding in Super Channel from the Italian Marcucci family. Marialina Marcucci will remain on the board of directors, but NBC now has overall control of the channel. NBC plans a radical change of schedules, bringing in a number of NBC's news and current affairs shows, including NBC Today, The Tonight Show, NBC Nightly News, and NBC Now. There will be more emphasis on News and business programming, but general entertainment will also remain a part of the new Super Channel schedules, with NBC promising to bring original productions to the channel. * CABLE INDUSTRY CRIES "NO FAIR!" AND WANTS ITS BALL BACK The Independent Television Commission has allowed British Telecom to provide a full video-on-demand service via its existing telephone network. BT's proposals centre initially around a service where viewers could select a video movie and have it downloaded to their home via their existing telephone line. Pricing has not yet been announced for the service. The Cable Television Association has reacted with horror to these proposals, and has written to the Department of Trade and Industry, seeking a block on the ITC decision. BT is currently prohibited from offering full cable-tv services over its network until at least 1998, and the CTA claims that the ITC's decision allows BT to go against the spirit of this legislation. A spokesman commented that "If BT can offer video-on-demand it changes the whole risk profile of the industry". * QVC ON AIR The new home shopping service QVC launched on October 1st. The service is scrambled as part of the Sky Multi-Channels package, and is not currently broadcasting Europe-wide, as had been predicted. Calls to the channel are averaging 5,000 a day, and some items have completely sold out within three minutes. * GETTING TOUGH ON PIRATES Satellite broadcasters in USA and Europe have joined with Hollywood film studios to fight the growing threat of piracy to pay-movie channels. The group, called the Motion Pictures Export Assocation of America, wants the European Commission to adopt new directives to outlaw piracy in Europe. * AND FINALLY... The latest BBC News presenter to defect to Sky News is award-winning journalist Michael McMillan. McMillan, 38, spent four years as the BBC's Middle Eastern correspondent, and was awarded a prize from the Royal Television Society for his coverage of the Palestinian uprising. It is understood he will present lunchtime and afternoon bulletins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skyguide Issue 26 Edited by Ant Purvis Skyguide is (usually) published every week. You can find it on London's CIX system in the Skyguide conference, Fidonet's 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. (Just ask!) 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 : Netmail to ANTONY PURVIS at 2:251/203, or leave a message in the Satellite TV echo. Please note the new netmail address! Internet: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------