Skyguide Issue 038 --------------------------------- SKYGUIDE --------------------------------- | | | Your digest of the latest news in the world of Satellite & Cable TV | | | --------------------- Week Ending Sat July 23rd 1994 ----------------------- * I THINK YOU SHOULD SEE THIS... Sky Sports 2 will launch on Friday August 19th. The channel will be encrypted with Videocrypt, and will be free to existing Sky Sports Subscribers. The channel will broadcast every weekend from Friday evening to early Monday morning. While Sky Sports 2 is not broadcasting, the existing Sky Preview Channel will transmit. New programming, hosted mostly by famous Radio personalities such as Russ Williams, Neil Fox and Mick Brown, will be a hallmark of the channel, giving more in-depth coverage and analysis of sporting events. Schedule outlines for Sky Sports 2 are included later in this edition of Skyguide. * I THINK YOU SHOULD SEE THIS, TOO.. In addition to Sky Sports 2, Sky plan on using the spare time on Astra Transponder 47 for even more sport.. but home viewers will not be permitted to watch! Live and exclusive coverage of the Ibrox International Challenge Trophy will be aired from next month, but only pubs, clubs, and other establishments with a Public Viewing Agreement for Sky will be eligible to receive the broadcasts. The clubs which pay the one-off fee of 75 pounds for the coverage will have their existing videocrypt smartcards upgraded over-the-air via Transponder 47. Sky estimate that there will be a potential audience of five million viewers for the event, and that it will benefit licencees by bringing large numbers of people into their establishments to watch the games. * EVEN MORE NEW CHANNELS The latest edition of Sky Plus magazine states that Sky will introduce "even more new channels" in September - an unexpected announcement that has provoked much speculation. VH-1 is already slated for a September 30th launch, and the possibility of The Sci-Fi Channel and The Travel Channel making a move to Astra as part of Multichannels cannot be discounted. * PIRATES FOILED Following warnings from the Motion Picture Association of America that it would have to take action against Sky if it failed to properly protect the interests of film companies by ensuring that the encryption system in use on the movie channels was secure, Sky has foiled the recent batch of experimental pirate Issue 9 cards. Details are scarce, but it is understood that lynchpin pirate card manufacturers paid 120,000 pounds for the codetables of the series 9 smartcards at a London Hotel. Shortly after the sale of the codes, they were rendered inactive by Sky. It is said that Sky actively participated in the sale of the codes, with the intent of changing them, purely to frustrate the pirates, hopefully to put them out of business. Meanwhile, news is circulating of a new Issue 9 hack known as "Phoenix", a PC- based program which (with some appropriate hardware) can activate all channels on any Issue 9 smartcard. No further details are known. * IRISH CABLE PIRATES SCORE OWN GOAL In a classic anti-piracy sting, Irish cable operator Cork Communications took advantage of World Cup fever to catch the viewers who were watching its cable service through pirate cable decoders. Pirate viewers saw a commercial inviting them to call a freephone 1-800 number to receive a free World Cup T-Shirt, just by leaving their names and addresses on an answerphone. The sting, tried and tested by cable operators across the United States, involved using a scrambling code that legal decoders would not receive - since the pirate decoders would unscramble any signal, the commercial would only be seen by pirate viewers. Cork Communications said that the illegal use of cable decoders was costing them around half a million pounds a year. A police spokesman, doubtless delighted at having hundreds of lawbreakers offering their names and addresses on a plate, said "We've never seen so many own goals scored at the same time." * MISSING IN ACTION Four Astra channels went off the air last Wednesday morning as a contractor accidentally cut through cables linking the BT Tower in London to the Winchester-based NTL Astra uplink station. Bravo, The Children's Channel, CMT and The Cartoon Network were affected by the problem, although pictures were swiftly restored by temporarily rerouting the signals. * DELAY FOR CHISHOLM Ex-Sky Newsreader Scott Chisholm will have to wait until September for his High Court case against Sky to be heard. The hearing was delayed last week when it was revealed that two key witnesses would not be available. Chisholm is claiming 300,000 for unfair dismissal after an alleged bout of fisticuffs with fellow newsreader Chris Mann, who was also dismissed. Chisholm claims that the dismissal ended his career as a broadcaster. * MORE NEWS NEWS Following the departure of Ian Frykberg after a reported difference of ideals between himself and recently installed Sky News MD Kelvin MacKenzie, MacKenzie has slashed Sky News's budget by 2 million pounds in a move that many Sky insiders have seen as a bad sign for the future of the service. As a result, from September 1st, freelance presenters such as Lisa Aziz will make less regular appearances on the channel. The budget cut is also a sign that the proposed International service of Sky News may now not proceed. Following the announcement, one Sky insider told Skyguide that there was a possibility that the cut may have been over-ruled by previous Sky Managing Director Sam Chisholm, apparently unhappy at MacKenzie's handling of Sky's flagship news service. * SUBS UP? Rumours of a possible rise in the cost of Sky Subscriptions are unlikely to disappear following a statement by Sky MD David Chance. He said that Sky were "still looking at the Multi Channels fee" and that there had been no firm agreement on cost. Some industry sources have speculated that the cost for Multichannels could rise by as much as five pounds a month, although this seems highly unlikely. Apart from the introduction of Multichannels, the last increase in subscriptions was in October 1991, when the subscriptions for the movie channels rose from 9.99 and 14.99 to 11.99 and 16.99 respectively. Any subscription increases are likely to be modest, and it seems very unlikely that the current all-channels fee of 19.99 a month will raise. If any increases do occur, Skyguide predicts the following price structure: Multichannels 7.99 One Premium Channel + Multichannels 12.99 Two Premium Channels + Multichannels 17.99 Three Premium Channels + Multichannels 19.99 * BAKER ON VH-1 Danny Baker will be seen presenting repackaged editions of The Old Grey Whistle Test on the satellite channel VH-1 following its launch. The BBC is currently compiling ten half-hour shows, which will initially be screened on BBC2 before being made available to VH-1. * SKY OPRAH Sky One could soon be playing host to top US talk show "The Oprah Winfrey Show", following negotiations with distributor King World. The show is currently screened by Channel 4 in the UK, but King World has recently demanded more money for the show, and that Channel 4 give the show a full five days a week slot, rather than the current cherry-picking of shows which C4 believes will be relevant to UK audiences. Channel 4 said they did not want to lose the show, but that they did not have an unlimited budget. * INTERACTIVE The US-based Interactive Network is making inroads into the UK, initially with a test service for terrestrial viewers in the Central Television region. Up to 30 hours of programming a week will benefit from the new system, overlaying supplementary colour graphics and text geared towards allowing viewers to interact with the programme. An additional set-top box will be required, which is likely to be rented to subscribers at around 6 pounds per month. * TERRESTRIAL TV GOES DIGITAL Plans for the launch of a fifth analogue TV channels are back on today following a Government decision that the channel should go ahead. The channel will reach only around 60% of the population, a figure which will not increase until digital transmission becomes available. The Independent Television Commission is now to decide whether to advertise the licence again following its abortive attempts last year. Since Channel 5 is still planned to broadcast in the channel 35-37 area currently occupied by thousands of satellite receivers and video recorders, extensive retuning will be required - the cost of which will be paid for by the successful applicant. The Department of National Heritage also gave the go-ahead for the use of digital technology to treble the number of channels available terrestrially. Twelve digital channels will be made available - the existing four (or five) terrestrial channels, and another seven new services which will be franchised and licenced by the ITC. * IN BRIEF Gerry Anderson's puppet series Thunderbirds will appear on UK Gold from August 1st. Strangely, the series will air every weekday at 11:10pm. Also coming to UK Gold in August is The Chinese Detective, starring David Yip. Eurosport are to launch a spanish soundtrack during peak time events following its move to Astra 1C, which has brought it improved coverage in the region. The ITC has announced two new cable franchises in South East Anglia and Derbyshire. The franchises will cover around 250,000 and 160,000 homes respectively. London Radio Station Jazz FM, recently renamed "JFM", has been warned by the Radio Authority that it is not playing enough Jazz. Sky is reported to be launching a travel agency for its subscribers. Apparently Karen Gee of Airtours has been recruited as manager for the service, which is set to be available 24 hours a day, possibly through Sky's existing Livingston subscriber centre. The Family Channel has bought the rights to all 20 of Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford Murder Mysteries, previously made by TVS for the ITV Network. TFC has also commissioned a second series of Trivial Pursuit and a new gameshow hosted by Andrew O'Connor named Second Guessing. Programme Director J. Nigel Pickard said that he was also seeking to commission a live children's show along the lines of a typical Saturday Morning Children's Show. The BBC has said it is exploring the possibility of acquiring programming from ITV and Channel 4 to set up a series of domestic and international satellite television channels. Terrestrial ITV viewers were treated to two minutes of a dodgy movie from RTL Plus instead of a weekend talk show recently owing to a "switching error". * SKY SPORTS 2 : SCHEDULES Times are UK Time. Friday August 19 - Launch Day 18.00 THIS IS SKY SPORTS TOO 18.30 TENNIS SPECIAL - NICK BOLLETTIERIE Documentary 19.30 US PGA GOLF - LIVE 22.00 EUROPEAN PGA GOLF 01.00 CLOSE Saturday August 20 07.00 SOCCER AM Russ Williams hosts football chat and phone-ins 11.00 TENNIS SPECIAL - NICK BOLLETIERI Dcoumentary 12.00 EUROPEAN PGA GOLF 16.30 MOTORSPORT SPECIAL 18.30 GOLF NIGHT Murphy's English Open from Warwickshire 21.00 US PGA GOLF 23.00 MOTORSPORT SPECIAL 01.00 CLOSE Sunday August 21 07.00 THE SPORTS EXTRA Mick Brown hosts competitions, highlights and action from the world of sports. 11.00 MOTORSPORT 12.00 EUROPEAN PGA GOLF - LIVE 16.30 WORLD SUPERBIKES CHAMPIONSHIP 18.30 GOLF NIGHT 20.00 US PGA GOLF 23.00 NASCAR 400 01.00 CLOSE Then the following week... Friday August 26 18.00 GILLETTE WORLD SPORT SPECIAL Cheap/free bought-in programming. :-) 18.30 RINGSIDE SPECIAL A preview to Saturday's Eubank fight 20.00 US PGA GOLF - LIVE 23.00 GET YOUR HANDICAP DOWN Golfing instruction programme 23.30 RINGSIDE SPECIAL 01.00 CLOSE Saturday August 27 07.00 SOCCER AM 11.00 US PGA GOLF 14.00 US OPEN TENNIS 17.00 MOTORSPORT SPECIAL 19.00 POWERBOAT WORLD 20.00 US PGA GOLF 23.00 US OPEN TENNIS 02.00 CLOSE Sunday August 28 07.00 THE SPORTS EXTRA 11.00 US PGA GOLF 14.00 NASCAR 500 17.00 WORLD SUPERBIKES CHAMPIONSHIP 19.00 LADIES GOLF (To Be Confirmed) 20.00 US PGA GOLF - LIVE 23.00 WORLD SUPERBIKES CHAMPIONSHIP 01.00 CLOSE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skyguide Issue 38 Edited by Ant Purvis You can find Skyguide on London's CIX system in the Skyguide conference, Fidonet's Satellite TV echo, the Packet Radio Network, on internet in the alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup, and in the French language on Minitel in the 3615 SATPHONE area. Skyguide is not a commercial publication, nor is it a cut-down version of a printed journal. It must NOT be distributed for profit and is copyright. Nevertheless, free distribution (via BBSs, FTP sites, etc.) is encouraged, provided that permission is asked first. Errors and Omissions expected. If we get something wrong, let us know and we'll put it right! Back issues can be mailed to internet mailboxes (including Compuserve and America Online) on request. Comments, suggestions, and stories are always appreciated! You can contact Skyguide in the following ways: CIX : mail to bignoise, or use the Skyguide/comments conference. Fidonet : Leave a message in the Satellite TV echo Internet: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------