25/04/03

Anzac day no update

24/04/03

No site update on Friday due to Anzac Day

Anzac day coverage, usually via TRT Turkey from Anzac cove feeds from around Australia probably via b1.

Globecast B3 are adding a Tamil channel in 4 weeks, encrypted I think no other details as yet as to which channel.

Sorry things a little late today went shopping this evening before site was completed.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Jsat

Pas 8 166E 4123 V "Net 25" Sr 4773 fec 3/4 in NTSC 2service loading.

Also Jeffs been busy with his Nokia grabbing some of the missing screenshots.

Hallmark Taiwan, PTS, Cti and Hzawan Satellite TV all Via Panamsat 8

regards jeff bannister.
MANJIMUP WA

(Craigs comment, more screenshots coming as soon as I get them converted)

From Mike (Auckland, NZ)

Ihug off skytower, Auckland NZ
Discovery, Animal planet, Cnbc channels all fta 12338h Sr 27500 locosc 10750

From Zapara

A new signal seen on JCSAT 2a 154deg e

4051 vert Sr 26493 Fec 7/8

this signal is weaker then the 3915 Morman service and the Nokia can not lock on to it, any assistance appreciated.

(Craigs comment, I think this one is data.)

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E It's NOT Abu Dhabi TV Europe on 12327 V. It's still occasional feeds.

Yamal 102 90E 3564 R SR 2000, FEC 3/4, .Radio Retro, Radio Dinamit FM, Radio Novaja Zhizn, Russkoe Radio 2, Radio
Monte Carlo (Russia), Radio Courants and Hit FM have started on APIDs 4097-4180,
Yamal 102 90E 3601 L "Oblastnoe TV" has replaced Evrasija TV, Fta, SR 4285, FEC 3/4,PIDs 308/256.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3424 H New SR for Korean Central TV : 3366.

Intelsat 906 64E 3938 L "Alpha TV Punjabi" has started, fta, SR 3332, FEC 2/3,PIDs 4194/4195, NW zone beam.

NEWS

Sorry no news update for today

23/04/03

Tarbs on NSS 6 at 95E? reports needed see below for freq and setting details. Can anyone in the lower South Island of NZ receive it? I guess not many have access to a suitable Lnbf. I think its 1 or 2 deg below horizon where I live.

Now the question is what are they doing on this satellite? anyone have any ideas? maybe they ran out of room on Pas 8 ku. A toroidial dish with LNBF's on NSS6 , Pas 8 and C1? could be what they are thinking? If anyone has any info please let me know (anonymous or not to be published is fine)

How about the other New Skies bird at 183W Do they also have a signal on it??

From my Emails & ICQ

Nothing to report

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 12327 V "Abu Dhabi TV Europe" is still on , fta, SR 6010, FEC 7/8, PIDs 1160/1120.

PAS 8 166E 3880 V New FEC for the ABS-CBN Bouquet: 5/6.(Reports of improved reception also)

AsiaSat 3 105.5E 4110 H New VPID for TVB 8 : 1100.

NSS 6 95E 11131 H A SatLink test card and a TARBS promo have started, fta, SR 27500, FEC 7/8, PIDs 257/258 and 513/514, Australian beam.

NSS 6 95E 12647 H A SatLink test card has started, Fta, SR 27500, FEC 7/8, PIDs 257/258, NE Asian beam.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3545 V "Sanskar TV" has started testing, Fta, SR 26663, FEC 3/4, PIDs 273/274.
Thaicom 3 78.5E Korean Central TV and Voice of Korea have moved from 3665 H to 3424 H, Fta, SR 3665, FEC 3/4, PIDs 308/256 and 257, global beam.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3685 H Indiavision has started regular transmissions, Fta, SR 6830, FEC 3/4, PIDs 1160/1120.

PAS 10 68.5E 4090 H "China Radio International" is still on , Fta, APID 1222.
PAS 10 68.5E 4099 V "RTS 1 and Radio Senegal International" have left , replaced by Afrisat tests.

NEWS

Telecom confident of settling content deal with Foxtel

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

Telecom is set to follow rivals Telstra and Optus in securing a content-sharing deal with pay TV operator Foxtel in Australia.

Chief executive Theresa Gattung said a deal with Foxtel would be finalised soon - sources say as early as this week.

Telecom's Australian business AAPT cannot compete on bundled deals with Telstra and Optus, and is going after more discerning customers.

But being able to bundle pay TV, telephone and internet services on the one bill is a key requirement for consumers.

"We will hardly make any money on the Foxtel component of it, but being able to offer a whole range of products and services, we think, is important," Gattung told the Australian Financial Review.

Without a cable network of its own, AAPT will deliver pay TV over Telstra's cable network, which reaches 2.5 million Australian homes.

AAPT customers not on that network will use satellite dishes to access Foxtel content.

At home, Telecom eventually wants to deliver Sky to its customers in much the same way as Telstra delivers Foxtel to its subscriber base.

It has been negotiating with Sky to revive its "Sky-Fi" pay TV, phone and internet bundling deals for some time.

A future content-sharing arrangement will be more extensive than anything Telecom has done with Sky in the past.

In both countries, Telecom is ultimately dealing with pay TV king Rupert Murdoch.

His company News Corp owns 25 per cent of Foxtel. Telecom arch-rival Telstra owns 50 per cent and Publishing and Broadcasting owns the balance.

News Corp also has an interest in Sky through its 45 per cent shareholding in INL, which this month off-loaded its publishing business to Fairfax.

INL owns 66 per cent of Sky and is tipped to move to full ownership using the proceeds of the $1.188 billion sale to Fairfax.

Gattung said AAPT wanted to bundle AOL's high-speed internet service with its own telephony products and include mobile services it resells from Vodafone and Hutchison, which launched its 3G service last week.

Only 21 per cent of Australian households subscribe to pay TV services, leaving plenty of room for subscriber growth.

The competition

* Australia has three main landline telephony companies - Telstra, SingTel Optus and AAPT.

* Telstra offers Foxtel pay TV, telephony and high-speed internet, delivered over its broadband cable network.
* Optus also offers a bundle including Foxtel's pay TV service.
* AAPT would deliver its bundled Foxtel service over infrastructure leased from Telstra.

INL takeover paints a rosy picture for Sky TV

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2423071a1865,00.html

Sky TV management should have broad smiles on their faces after the semi-liquidation of parent company Independent Newspapers Ltd.

While there are some scenarios of cash takeover offers, the most likely outcome for Sky is a merger with a slightly cashed up INL, which will leave the company in a significantly better "space" than at present.

First the takeover scenario. Imagine hypothetically that INL was owned only by a collection of small shareholders. If INL was to buy out the minorities of Sky, its shareholders would have to pay a takeover premium. The new INL could effectively be renamed "Sky 2", for all that it would own would be the pay-TV business of the existing Sky.

Post-takeover, the premium paid for control would collapse in the market and the end result of the takeover would be a transfer of wealth from INL shareholders to minority shareholders in Sky. For INL minority shareholders, some sort of merger arrangement where no takeover premium was paid appears a more desirable outcome.

Moving back to the real world, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation owns 45 per cent of INL. He is known to be rather fond of satellite TV companies, having just paid $US6.6 billion for 34 per cent of DirecTV in the United States. He owns 36 per cent of BSkyB in Britain (worth US$7 billion), 25 per cent of Foxtel in Australia and has numerous pay-TV interests in Asia.

If INL was to make a cash takeover bid for Sky, News Corporation would end up with 45 per cent of the new company whereas, under most merger scenarios, Mr Murdoch would end up with closer to 30 per cent.

Even if Mr Murdoch would prefer 45 per cent to about 30 per cent, the problem would remain that a cash takeover would cause a value loss to the small and medium-sized INL shareholders taken along for the ride. And directors must be cognisant of the interests of all shareholders, not just the guy who voted them on.

Besides, the percentage shareholding in BSkyB, DirecTV and Foxtel would suggest Mr Murdoch is likely to be relatively content as about a 30 per cent holder in Sky TV.

After sales of its publication assets for $1.25 billion and repayment of debt, INL will find itself with approximately $820 million in cash and 66 per cent of Sky TV.

Getting cash back to shareholders in New Zealand in a tax-effective manner is not as simple as writing a bevy of cheques.

Distributions of capital can only be made tax-free up to the level of "available subscribed capital", an accounting measure that arises mainly from the money put into the company historically by shareholders. Imputed dividends also hand money to shareholders tax-efficiently.

INL has about $460 million in available subscribed capital and about $40 million of imputation credits, suggesting that it is able to return approximately $540 million tax-effectively to shareholders.

Such a distribution would leave the company with its stake in Sky TV and about $280 million in cash.

The obvious next move would be to merge INL with Sky TV. This would be good for INL shareholders as it would get rid of the problem of how to distribute that extra cash. Sky TV shareholders should also be very supportive of such a move.

The merger would increase liquidity in these tightly held shares, which is good for all shareholders.

Not only does increased liquidity allow the easier buying and selling of shares, but there is also much empirical evidence to suggest that the more liquid a company's shares, the higher value ascribed to them by the market.

But more importantly, the merger would get rid of a controlling shareholder on Sky's register, it would dilute Mr Murdoch's influence (which should give shareholders more comfort on intercompany transactions) and it would give Sky the option of improving its debt position.

The percentage holding of major shareholders in the merged entity will be dependent upon the amount of cash kept in INL and the value of Sky shares used, but the best guess scenario is that News Corporation would end up with 32 per cent, Telecom 18 per cent and Todd Corporation 10 per cent. That leaves about a 40 per cent free float among small holders, compared with only 22 per cent for Sky.

The first thing to note is that no one party controls the company any more. Previously, there was only a very limited possibility of a takeover offer at premium price because control already rested with INL.

With a more widely dispersed share registry the possibility of shareholders one day waking up to read of a takeover offer over breakfast is once again present. Companies where such a possibility has been removed through one party gaining majority control generally trade at a discount on the sharemarket to what would otherwise be the case.

Also, News Corporation's reduced grip on the company is very interesting. Sky buys a lot of programming off News Corporation companies, the most high-profile transaction being the rugby rights which probably cost about $20 million or more a year, but also movies, cartoons, dramas, etc.

With the demise of Telstra Saturn's pay-TV business (and TVNZ's digital aspirations being stymied) Sky's bargaining position with content providers has been hugely strengthened. For example, no one else can now afford to pay anything like the level paid by Sky for rugby rights in New Zealand.

Theoretically, Sky just needs to bid a bit higher than what TV1 or TV3 could afford (and Sky can work this out using a calculator and its knowledge of ad rates and viewership) to secure the rights. These days, it has no other chequebook-toting pay-TV companies to beat off. Sky management has almost certainly already been as hardline with News Corporation over content rights as it has with other providers, but there has always been a concern that in any particularly difficult negotiations News Corporation could take advantage of its ownership links.

The distancing of Sky from News Corporation means that shareholders can be absolutely assured that Sky will be able to take advantage of its strong bargaining position. The other aspect of the postulated merger is that it would see INL's residual cash injected into Sky to reduce that company's debt to about $50 million.

It may be that Sky doesn't need such a strong balance sheet.

If so, the company will have available subscribed capital to be able to return this extra money to shareholders. But it could be the cash would be useful in accelerating Sky's business plans or allowing it to buy a complimentary business. Or simply, the reduced financial leverage could allow Sky to start paying dividends earlier than previously postulated.

If the market has pushed Sky's price up in the past week in anticipation of a cash takeover bid, investors may be disappointed. But without doubt, the outlook for Sky TV has been subtly improved on many levels after the developments at its major shareholder.

(Craigs comment, it should be noted INL own the Stuff website that this item was published on)

Indiavision News Channel Set To Debut On July 14

From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=32671

Thiruvananthapuram: After a series of hiccups, Kerala’s first round-the-clock news channel Indiavision is set to be officially launched on July 14. The 24-hour test-run started from Monday.

The delay has been worth it, Dr M K Muneer, who wears the twin roles of Indiavision chairman and Kerala works minister told a press conference, here,“This afforded the project cost to ease from Rs 86 crore to Rs 40 crore,” he said. While early birds like the CPI (M)-backed Kairali TV had invested heavily on costly analogue equipment delaying its breakeven point, financial delays in beginning saved Indiavision from turning into a technology dinosaur. Instead, the Indiavision company had invested in cost-efficient digital technology.

(Craigs comment, running now on Thaicom 3)

To Lease Out Beaming Facility

From http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=32671

Gulf-based MET (Middle East Television) is close to clinching a deal with Indiavision for using its earth station. Indiavision’s teleport in Kochi can uplink two channels currently and will soon able to accommodate another pair.

Parleys are on with several channels as the rentals for Indiavision earth station are attractive enough to lure channels on cost-cutting drive. “The last mile connectivity in Kochi has also emerged a selling point,” said Indiavision chairman Dr Muneer told eFe.

The channel has not yet closed its talks with Sony TV on partnering, the earth station lease-out is likely to make Indiavision achieve its breakeven faster. Its direct competitors in content, channels like Kairali are also likely to draw cost synergy from utilising the Indiavision hub, he said.

“Through private participation, more capital will be brought to Indiavision soon through equity and debt in 1:1 ratio,” said Dr Muneer.

The channel’s USP (unique selling proposition) will be 24-hour news content, according to Indiavision directors. M V Nikesh Kumar, formerly with Asianet, has been appointed executive editor (news) at Indiavision.

22/04/03

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

I updated many pages over the weekend, if you find any pages with bad links or things missing please supply the info so I can correct them. I am not perfect I know some pages will have mistakes or things that can be fixed such as missing screenshots.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Sancharnet

FTV on asiasat 2 is FTA now.

Details freq-3796,sr-2625,vid-123,aud-133,pcr-123.

From the Dish

PAS 2 169E 12327 V "Abu Dhabi TV Europe" has left , replaced by occasional Fuji TV feeds.

Optus B3 156E 12336 V "Duna TV" is now encrypted.

Apstar 1A 134E 3900 V "CCTV 1" has left (PAL).
Apstar 1A 134E 4180 VAll CCTV channels are encrypted again.

Telkom 1 108E All channels in TelkomVision are encrypted again.

AsiaSat 2 100.5E 3796 V "Fashion TV" is Fta

Insat 3A 93.5E Insat 3A has arrived at 93.5 East.

Reception reports are very welcome.

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3626 V "Mh1" has started testing fta, PIDs 3105/3106.
Thaicom 3 78.5E 3626 V "Sadhana TV" has started regular transmissions , Fta ,PIDs 1057/1058.

NEWS

(NZ) TV4 to be relaunched as youth music channel

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

TV4 is to be relaunched as a solely music channel aimed at the country's youth market, owner CanWest New Zealand announced today.

CanWest, which also owns TV3 and popular radio stations The Edge and Channel Z, said the programming would be music shows for 15 to 19-year-olds and the station would remain free to air.

TV3/TV4 managing director Rick Friesen said the company had decided the youth music channel was "a niche opportunity in the market".

"New Zealand music will play a key role on the channel and discussions with New Zealand On Air about their support for it have been very positive," he said in a statement.

TVNZ recently dropped its late night music show M2, which helped CanWest push forward with its plans, he said.

The programming would broadcast from studios in Auckland from 4pm to midnight Monday to Thursday and 4pm to 1am on Friday and Saturday.

The rest of the time would be made up of infomercials and other commercials.

There was a possibility the hours of broadcast would increase if there was sufficient demand.

The relaunch is planned for October this year.

(Craigs comment, if they plan on support from NZ On air they better damn well run it FTA on the satellite. Not likely though with Sky having 2 music channels already. Perhaps they could hop onto Impactv's platform and broadcast FTA to NZ and Australia??)

SkyBet stirs TV punt pot

From http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6317805%255E462,00.html

AS pundits prepare to debate whether Australia should introduce interactive TV gambling services, a local multimedia group has helped launch a similar service in New Zealand.

Australian company Holotype has spent the past two years developing an interactive betting application for New Zealand's largest pay-TV group, Sky Television.

The SkyBet service, provided on the Sky Sports One channel, was launched two weeks ago and enables subscribers to access their TAB New Zealand accounts and place bets on horse races and other sports.

In Australia, a similar service is not allowed under the federal Government's current interactive gambling legislation outlawing all interactive gambling through the internet or the TV. But submissions are due today for a statutory review of that legislation.

Holotype director Daniel Barton hopes the legislation will be changed so there is an impetus for interactive TV in Australia.

(Craigs comment, I thought NZ has laws against this as well? the service is also available on the Trackside race channel)

INSAT-3A transponders overbooked: Kasturirangan

From http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/02201409.htm

Bangalore, April. 20. (PTI): Private television broadcasters, V- SAT operators, the Department of Telecom and Prasar Bharati have booked all transponders in INSAT-3A, India's latest multi-purpose satellite, which is expected to be fully operational by May 12.

"As far as the satellite (INSAT-3A) is concerned..the booking is full and is overbooked," Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Kasturirangan said.

INSAT-3A carries 12 C-band, six Extended C-band, six Ku band transponders, besides a Search and Navigation rescue transponder.

"Nine of the 12 C-band transponders have a larger coverage from West Asia to South East Asia and are intended for television coverage and will help TV broadcasters target people of Indian origin in these regions," ISRO Satellite Centre Director P S Goel said.

This initiative has attracted TV broadcasters who had earlier leased transponder space from satellites of foreign operators.

(Craigs comment, fingers crossed for some coverage into Australia)

INSAT-3A cameras working well

From http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/04/20/stories/2003042000261100.htm

New Delhi April 19. The ISRO today said the two cameras on board the INSAT-3A, which was launched on April 10, are working fine and sending good pictures.

The meteorological instruments on board the INSAT-3A have been tested in the last two days and the pictures received indicated good performance of both the cameras, an ISRO release said here. The cameras include a three-channel Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR), with two km spatial resolution in visible spectral band and a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) camera which operates in the Visible Near Infrared and Shortwave Infrared bands providing a spatial resolution of one km.

The CCD camera was tested on April 17 and the VHRR on April 18. PTI

New Saudi TV Channel to Be Launched

From http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=25444

RIYADH, 21 April 2003 A new Saudi television channel the fourth in the Kingdom will be launched from Riyadh, it was announced here yesterday.

Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said it will be aimed at correcting misconceptions about Arabs and Islam in addition to covering local, regional and international events.

“Higher authorities has approved a TV news channel, the fourth in the Kingdom,” he said.

Preparations are under way to establish the channel, which will represent an “important addition to the Saudi media system ... and contribute to airing correct information,” the minister said.

“The new channel will also produce and present news programs and news analysis on a whole range of local and international subjects including political, economic, cultural and social matters,” he added.

Saudi Arabia has three TV channels, two in Arabic and another in English.

(Craigs comment, I don't have a channel name yet but this may turn up on Asiasat 2)

20-21/04/03

Easter break

19/04/03

Next site update Tuesday , Sunday and Monday are holidays of course.

Just a reminder about the new satellite message forum, link is on the left hand side. Hopefully it will attract a more mature group of posters than some of the other forums around. Please support it by joining in or creating new topics for discussion. It's for non piracy discussion please try and remember that. People can go elsewhere for that kind of thing.

According to http://www.arianespace.com/site/launchstatus/sub_main_status.html Optus C1 will launch Early June. Date Rumoured to be 9th of June? (my Birthday)

Formula 1 Race and others to be on Dordashan on Insat 2E at 83E??? please check and report.

Duna tv on B3 Globecast Fta test period has ended so they have encrypted.

From my Emails & ICQ

From John Harrison 18/04/03

All Telkom Vision channels on Telkom 1 @ 108.0e FTA

freq 3460/3500/3580H sr 28000 fec 3/4

From the Dish

Insat 3A Insat 3A is now geostationary around 90 East, moving east.

PAS 10 68.5E 4099 V "Telly Track and RTS 1" have started, Videoguard, SR 3255, FEC 7/8, SIDs 1-2, PIDs 512/650 and 2306/2307.

NEWS

Stokes tackled on pay-TV

From http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,6298337%255E462,00.html

TELSTRA, the half-owner of pay-TV group Foxtel, yesterday sought to strike out large parts of the $2 billion-plus legal action brought by Kerry Stokes' Seven Network against Foxtel.

Seven has alleged that Foxtel, Telstra and Foxtel's other owners, News Limited (publisher of NEWS.com.au) and Kerry Packer's Publishing & Broadcasting, sought to establish a pay-TV monopoly and damage Seven by committing multiple breaches of the Trade Practices Act.

Seven alleges those breaches led to the loss of the AFL pay-TV rights by its pay- TV channel C7, which subsequently closed.

The action began in the Federal Court in December, and yesterday Telstra led the charge on behalf of the other respondents to curtail Seven's statement of claim.

Alan Archibald QC, for Telstra, attempted to strike out Seven's arguments relating to Section 45 of the Trade Practices Act, which prohibits companies entering agreements with the purpose or effect of substantially reducing competition in a market.

Seven has argued Foxtel's owners entered a "Master Agreement" to ensure Foxtel secured AFL pay-TV rights.

It said News, as the consortium's manager, agreed to buy the AFL rights before selling the pay-TV rights to Foxtel and the free-to-air TV rights to the Nine and Ten Networks.

But Mr Archibald said Seven's claim failed to provide the "added ingredient" to prove a link between that agreement and a lessening of competition.

He argued that despite the existence of the agreement, there was no obligation on the parties to bid, nor any guarantee of success if they did.

"Independent of the Master Agreement, News Limited had its own capability of bidding for the AFL pay-TV rights," he said. Mr Archibald argued that the agreement only ensured a bid would be made, but it was still possible for C7 to make its own bid.

"All that happened was that C7 in its bid endeavours was unsuccessful and News and Foxtel were," he said.

And there was no link to prove this agreement led to reduced competition. "It's put that the loss of the AFL rights was (a reduction in competition) but one can't see how that loss can be referable to the Master Agreement," he said.

In response, Seven's counsel, Francis Douglas QC, argued the agreement led to reduced competition, as it led to Foxtel getting pay-TV rights.

"The effect of getting the AFL rights was to effectively make (Foxtel) the only player in the market," he said.

Justice Ron Sackville has reserved his decision.

DD to air FIA Formula 1 World Championship

From Indiantelevision.com

Good ole' Doordarshan is going vroomm....vroomm. With launch of weekly programme World of Motor Sports, the pubcaster seems to be gearing up for some action, literally.

The kick-starting the entire series is the 2003 FIA Formula 1 World Championship telecast live from the San Marino Grand Prix on 20 April at 5:30 pm, says an official release.

The action will continue till 12 October 2003, the Japanese Grand Prix- the last round of the 2003 F1 Championship. Besides the live telecast of the Grand Prix, the natinal broadcaster will also be airing Formula 3000 (F3) and the Porsche Super Cup as an interstitial - in between the laps. Also lined up is the British Formula 3 Championship telecast, where an Indian, a teenage sensation and championship leader Karun Chandhok showcased his talent. To make the live feed from ITV more racy-pacy , the ace comentator duo Martin Brundel and James Allen are roped in.

The sport is bought to the Indian masses by joint efforts of FMSCI President Vicky Chandhok and Chairman Vijay Mallya who bagged the deal from Formula One Management (FOM) owner Bernie Ecclestone. Ecclestone is of the opinion that with the teenage sensation Karun Chandhok making a mark in the British F3 championshi, besides Narain Karthikeyan - first Indian to test a Formula 1 two years ago the popular world sport is the next big ticket in the Indian sports arena.

The pubcaster, starting from this weekend, will be pushing this sporting event via promos on their channels. The telecast right of this event on Doordarshan are bagged by M/s Wallace Sports & Research Foundation (WSRF), the media sales company CuttingEdgeMedia's Rohinton Maloo will look after all ad sales. While leading sponsor entities are expected to support the event, there is a move to clinch a deal with three and five -star hotels chains in Mumbai and over 204 clubs, pubs & bars in India to air their F1 telecast .

(Craigs comment, have a look while its on? this may be a good replacement if Starsports on Asiasat3 is no longer running the english commentry hope they are not talking about it being on DDsports channel ,Pas10)

Sahara TV changes name

From http://www.hinduonnet.com/bline/stories/2003041900860600.htm

Now, it's known as Sahara Manoranjan

SAHARA TV is donning a new name. In a bid to differentiate itself from its 30 odd news channels, the Hindi general entertainment channel from the Sahara Media & Entertainment Network will now be called Sahara Manoranjan.

"We have changed the name of the entertainment channel to create a separate identity. We have also introduced a base line, `India is Watching'," said a company spokesperson.

Along with this, a new line-up of television shows including ones by superstar Amitabh Bachchan, Karisma Kapoor and Sridevi have been planned. "After game shows, Amitabh Bachchan has agreed to be part of a daily soap. We are in the process of finalising details about the show," he added.

Serials starring the Bollywood actresses Karisma Kapoor and Sridevi are expected to go on air in the next couple of months. In order to further beef up programming, the channel is also planning to air musicals and other live events. A Lata Mangeshkar-A R Rehman concert and a mega Bollywood show held in South Africa are in the pipeline. The channel also recently launched a serial - Mission Fateh - based on the Kargil martyrs.

"We want to position Sahara Manoranjan as an upmarket channel on the same lines as Star, Sony or Zee. Hence, the change in packaging and programming," the spokesperson said.

Sahara has also streamlined its airtime marketing operations. Earlier Buena Vista Television (BVTV) was selling spots for the channel. But now the entire marketing operations for the print as well as the television media have been brought under one roof. "We could be working out cross-deals for both our television channels as well as our publications," he added.

The in-house marketing effort seems to be paying off. The channel claims that most of the big spenders such as Hindustan Lever, Colgate-Palmolive and others are present on its channels.

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 16/2003 20 April 2003 -

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

Editor: Branislav Pekic

Edited Apsattv.com Edition

A S I A

BVN-TV TO EXPAND TO ASIA AND AUSTRALIA

From April 30, As of April 30th 2003 BVN-TV, the international TV service of the Dutch and Flemish public broadcasters, will broadcast to Asia, Australia and New Zealand. BVN-TV will be received free-to-air in many parts of Asia and Africa via the Thaicom 3-satellite, and in Australia and New Zealand via the Optus B3-satellite. BVN-TV is a cooperative venture of the Dutch Public Broadcasting System, Belgium's VRT and Radio Netherlands. BVN-TV allows Dutch speakers abroad to receive programmes from the Dutch and Flemish public broadcasters.

Internet - http://www.bvn.nl

CHINA - HONG KONG

MTV SEES NO PROFITS IN SHORT TERM

Media giant Viacom Inc, whose Chinese MTV music channel was allowed into south China earlier this month, acknowledged that reaping profits in the world's most populous nation is still years away. ``It would be too premature to talk about profitability for cable satellite channels operating in China,'' Charles Chau, MTV's managing director for North Asia, told Reuters in an interview. Chau's cautious stance reflects Viacom's low-key approach to the China market, whose 1.3 billion potential viewers have attracted most of the world's top media companies despite strict limitations imposed by wary Beijing officials. With the MTV China launch, Viacom joined AOL Time Warner and News Corp Ltd among media giants with cable channels in the southern province of Guangdong. Viacom quietly launched a made-for-China MTV channel to foreigner compounds and hotels in late 2001, and made an equally muted announcement for the public launch in Guangdong where it is available to an estimated one million households.

FIJI

FIJI COMMISSION REJECTS EXCLUSIVE LICENCE

The Commerce Commission rejected Fiji TV's application after holding consultation with the public and stakeholders. The report quoted Fiji’s Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase as saying special reasons need to be conferred for an exclusive licence to be granted. He supported the idea of competition in the television industry and said that the government will review the commission's decision again.

INDIA

NEWS MANIA HITS INDIA

Television in India is about to get a lot more topical, with five new 24-hour rolling news channels set to debut this month. Two news channels, in English and in Hindi, are being launched by New Delhi Television, previously news supplier to Star TV. The new channels are called NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India, respectively. A new Star News channel will also appear along with the debut of Aai Talk's English news channel. Sahara TV will also beam news, and also plans to start 36 more regional channels. More news channels are set to appear after this month from Videocon and Zee News, which has a business news channel in the pipeline.

DOORDARSHAN PLANS MOBILE DIGITAL PROJECT

DD’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) took off on a commercial basis a few months ago in the metros, after a series of hiccups. But, the public broadcaster has now decided to put the DTT project on hold for making it more attractive. According to DD director-general S Y Quraishi, talks are on with some Japanese and Taiwanese car TV manufacturers for introducing DTT in moving vehicles. Mr Quraishi refused to divulge details of the deals being struck for car TV. DD’s DTT is a Rs 24-crore project, which was conceived after inputs from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). When DTT’s pilot project was launched, officials saw a chicken and egg scenario in it. They pointed out that the price of the DTT set-top box (at Rs 6,000) could be reduced only when the volumes went up. And a higher volume was possible only if prices were cut. To get some business model clarity in DTT, DD plans to get into TV cars, for that extra edge. It makes sense with so many broadcasting technologies competing with each other now. Besides its negotiations with the Japanese and the Taiwanese companies for car radio, DD is also considering an option where a set-top box for the conditional access system (CAS) can be made DTT-enabled by inserting a gadget which costs around $10 in the global market.

DOORDARSHAN READY FOR DTH PROJECT

India's state-owned television network, Doordarshan (DDI), plans to seek a licence to launch a Direct-to-Home service, the Times of India reported. DDI was likely to place its US$105 million proposal before the government by the end of this month, the newspaper said, and would try to bring other channels on to its DTH platform. The newspaper quoted K S Sarma, Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) as saying that the infrastructure and engineering experts available in DDI could offer a better DTH service than any other station. Rupert Murdoch's Star TV and Agrani, controlled by Subhash Chandra, have already applied for DTH licences. Launched in 1959, Doordarshan has been a member of the ABU since 1976.

PRASAR BHARATI TO REVAMP STATE BROADCASTING

Prasar Bharati, the Broadcasting Corporation of India, has decided to revamp Indian state broadcasting with an investment of US$2.3 billion over a five-year period, the Hindustan Times has reported. The newspaper quoted Prasar Bharati's Chief Executive Officer KS Sarma as saying that the entire operations of All-India Radio (AIR) and state television, Doordarshan, would be modernised and digitalised as part of the five-year plan. The Prasar Bharati board had also recommended that the government start charging licence fees to make AIR and Doordarshan more viable financially, the newspaper said. It said the two incurred an expenditure of just over US$400 million each year, while their revenues stood at US$190.2 million, including a US$42.3 million grant from the government. The rest was raised through loans. The board laid out ideas to improve Doordarshan and bring it on a par with international channels. Its running costs would be cut by introducing automation at many stations.

FTV INCREASES LOCAL PRESENCE

Fashion TV has increased the amount of local programming its broadcasts in India as it seeks to increase customization in the markets it operates in. Indian programming has been increased to four hours a day from the previous two hours, although FTV is keen for the format and framework of the channel to remain international. FTV will also be extending its merchandising brands into India.

JAPAN

SKYPERFECTV SEEKS TO STEM LOSSES

SKY Perfect Communications said on April 17 that it will consider shifting to the Tokyo Stock Exchange's First Section after it takes measures to clear up its accumulated losses. The satellite broadcaster was encouraged by the relaxation last October of the criteria for listing on the TSE first section as well as a brighter earnings outlook, a company spokesman said. Sky Perfect also denied that it expected to post a group pretax profit of around Y2 billion for this fiscal year, as reported by the newspaper. However, the company said it hopes to turn a profit as the number of its individual subscribers are expected to top the 3 million break-even mark. At the end of March, it had 2.99 million subscribers. SkyPerfecTV last week added to its sports offering after signing an exclusive carriage deal for English football club Manchester United's television channel. Under the deal, MUTV will air in Japan on SkyPerfecTV and its sub-licensee, Sports iESPN. Sky Perfect Communications' major shareholders include such companies as Itochu and Sony group. Rival Wowow expects to have turned a profit in the year ended March 31 after suffering losses for the previous two years.

GOVERNMENT GRANTS PROVISION DIGITAL TV LICENSE

The government on April 18 issued a provisional license to 17 television stations planning to begin terrestrial digital broadcasting in December. Toranosuke Katayama, minister of public management, home affairs, posts and telecommunications, handed certificates of the licenses to representatives of 16 private companies and to Katsuji Ebisawa, president of the public Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK).

NEW ZEALAND

UPTAKE OF SKY E-MAIL SERVICE DISSAPOINTING

Leading pay-TV operator Sky Network Television said on April 15 the consumer response to an e-mail system linked to the company's satellite TV network has been disappointing. The e-mail service, known as Skymail and launched in November, allows digital satellite television subscribers to access e-mail through their television sets using a wireless keyboard. The e-mail service costs NZ$2 a month plus charges of 18 NZ cents for each minute or part minute of use. Those who use non Skymail e-mail addresses only pay the online charges. In a related development, Sky Network Television officially launched an interactive betting service SkyBet. Using the service, subscribers to Sky Television can place bets on horse racing and sports including rugby union, football and rugby league through their television by using the remote control. SkyBet has been operational for the past two weeks as a trial and had taken NZ$40,000 of sales through people finding the service on Sky or hearing about it through word of mouth, the companies said in a statement. SkyBet is accessed through the interactive function on the Sky remote control or through Sky channels 210 and 214. Sky subscribers need a TAB account to use the service. SkyBet works by information being transferred from the television set-top box to the TAB's central computer system.

THE PHILIPPINES

ABS-CBN EARNINGS DOWN

Leading broadcaster ABS-CBN has announced that 2002 net profit slumped by 88% to P166 million due to higher financing costs and lower ad revenues. ABS-CBN's revenues increased by 5.8% to reach P10.9 billion. However, the company revealed airtime revenues fell by 4% to P9.5 million, which it attributed to lack of the political advertising that had amounted to P589 million in 2001.

TAHITI

PRIVATE TV NETWORK CLOSES DOWN

Téléfenua, Tahiti's second private TV network, has ended eight years of broadcasting and gone into liquidation, Pacific Media Watch has reported. The network had been in receivership since October 28. Its management said there were no buyers so there was no other solution than putting it into liquidation. Téléfenua, which started broadcasting to homes on the island of Tahiti and its sister island of Moorea on March 6, 1995, had debts totalling US$21.3 million. The network had only 4,500 subscribers for its 18 channels. Tahiti still has two French state TV channels, the Canal + private network and Tahiti Nui Satellite (TNS), French Polynesia's only 100 per cent digital satellite TV service, which offers 23 TV and five radio channels.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

E-VISION ADDS TV LANKA

TV Lanka, the first ever Sri Lankan global digital satellite television channel, has joined the network of E-Vision, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s only digital cable television provider. TV Lanka will be available as part of the Basic Packages that comprises over 80 channels available in 16 different channels. E-Vision digital cable TV platform in the UAE, comprises over 150 channels, which include movies, sports, news and eView pay per view service. It is currently available in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

18/04/03

Next site update Saturday

17/04/03

Not sure if I will do a site update tommorow or not , just have to wait and see.

From my Emails & ICQ

From Jsat

Express 6A 80E 4125 R Test cards have started, Fta, PIDs 161/84 and 165/100. (Can anyone in Aus get signals from this bird?)

recieving the analog pic at 3675R..Telekanal Rossiya at P3

regards jeff..
lower south west WA

(Craigs comment, good to see some people still looking for the not so easy to recieve stuff)

From the Dish

Apstar 1A 134E 4180 V All channels in the CCTV mux are Fta.

ST 1 88E 3582 H "Phoenix Chinese has replaced TVB 8" on , Fta, PIDs 32/33.

Insat 2DT 55E "DD Oriya" has moved from 4049 R to 4014 R, PAL.

NEWS

Optus C1 satellite gets a ‘green light’ for launch

From Optus website

Optus today announced that it was on track to launch its A$500 million C1 satellite in June from French Guiana, following the successful launch of Arianespace’s Flight 160.

Managing Director Optus Wholesale, Warren Hardy, said that Optus and Arianespace would work closely together towards the upcoming launch of the C1 satellite.

“We are confident that a comprehensive review has been conducted for the C1 satellite launch vehicle and today we watched the successful launch of Ariane 5.

“Launching satellites is technically challenging, making it a complex business. Optus has taken this into consideration with C1 and we are looking forward to a successful launch of the satellite in June,” Mr Hardy said.

Optus would like to congratulate all parties involved in the Arianespace Flight 160.

C1 will be the largest hybrid communications and military satellite ever launched with Optus and the Australian Department of Defence equally sharing its cost. It will have a 15-year life span.

Background

Optus’ commercial payload is 50 per cent of the C1 satellite’s capacity and the Department of Defence makes up the remaining half of the payload. It provides Optus with greater capacity to deliver broadcast services, high-speed internet and voice and data communications across Australia and into Asia.

The launch of C1 will increase Optus’ satellite fleet to four.

The combined Optus and SingTel’s satellite resources can provide Optus customers and those of the wider SingTel Group, access to more than 25 satellites.

The C1 satellite will be launched into orbit at 156 degrees east longitude by Arianespace on an Ariane 5Generic rocket. The satellite has 24 Ku Band transponders that will provide coverage for Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Taiwan, China (including Hong Kong), Korea, Japan and Hawaii.

The C1 satellite will be controlled from Optus’ Belrose earth station, which will also be used to manage the communications payload. The Department of Defence’s payload will be managed from its HMAS Harman control centre in Canberra.

Massive communications satellite achieves milestone

From LORAL NEWS RELEASE

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications, has completed static loads testing of iPSTAR-1, the world's largest commercial communications satellite with a launch weight of 14,900 pounds (6775 kilograms). iPSTAR-1 is being built by SS/L at its Palo Alto, California facility for Shin Satellite, Plc of Thailand.

Static loads testing validates the spacecraft structure and its ability to carry the loads it will experience during the satellite's manufacturing, launch and operation in geosynchronous orbit.

Shin Satellite will use the spacecraft to provide broadband Internet services throughout a large portion of Asia, Australia and New Zealand. With eighty-four spot beams and a total throughput capability of approximately 40 gigabytes per second, iPSTAR-1 will support individual user data rates of up to eight megabytes per second forward link and four megabytes per second return link to as many as eight million users. Service prices will be comparable to ground-based broadband technologies, ushering in a new era in satellite delivered broadband services. Launch is planned for early 2004 into an orbital slot at 120 degrees East longitude.

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 that include 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.

Shin Satellite, a turnkey satellite operator, provides C-band and Ku-band transponder leasing, teleport and other value-added and engineering services to users in Asia, Africa, Europe and Australasia. Shin Satellite owns and operates Thaicom 1A, 2, and 3. Thaicom 1A is located at 120 degrees East, and Thaicom 2 and 3 are both located at 78.5 degrees East with a total capacity of 49 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders offering over 70 channels. Thaicom is a hotbird for Indochina and India, an emerging platform of choice for transcontinental Sat TV broadcasts from Europe to Australia. The company has spent years researching and developing new technology to make Internet via satellite more efficient, thus reducing costs and improving the service to end-users.

Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. Through its Skynet subsidiary, it owns and operates a global fleet of telecommunications satellites used by television and cable networks to broadcast video entertainment programming, and by communication service providers, resellers, corporate and government customers for broadband data transmission, Internet services and other value-added communications services. Loral also is a world-class leader in the design and manufacture of satellites and satellite systems through its Space Systems/Loral subsidiary.

Space scientists complete deployment operations of INSAT-3A

From http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=9756

New Delhi: India's space scientists have deployed multi-purpose satellite INSAT-3A's solar panels and the two antennas, as well as the solar sail and put the satellite in its final three-axis stabilised mode.

Indian Space Research Organisation said today that the solar array and antennas of INSAT-3A, launched by the European Ariane-5 rocket last week, were deployed by commands from the Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka.

The city-headquartered ISRO said in a statement that the sun-tracking solar array of INSAT-3A has a area of 26.6 sq. M and it is designed to generate 3.1 KW of power in orbit.

The satellite has two deployable antennas and one fixed antenna to carry out various transmit and receive functions.

The three-axis stabilisation of INSAT-3A was carried out. In this configuration, the spacecraft would be locked to earth continuously through the optical sensors, and would maintain the correct attitude to look at the earth in a stable manner.

The momentum on board the satellite was switched on and stabilised to the nominal speed of 4500 revolutions per minute to provide gyroscopic stiffness and facilitate 3-axis stabilisation, the space agency said.

The deployment of the solar sail/boom on the North side of the satellite was carried shortly after 3-axis stabilisation of the spacecraft. With this, all the deployment operations had been completed, ISRO said.

The health of INSAT-3A is normal. It is now located at 87.4 degree East longitude and was moving towards its designated orbital slot of 93.5 degree East longitude, ISRO said.

16/04/03

Impactv website is updated copy of the info is also below in my emails section.

Asiasat 4 preliminary Footprint maps, They are full size

Cband is Here

KU Band is Here

Sky NZ / Saturn seem to be playing around on B1, 12456V has channels renamed Tv1 Wellington etc. 12483V and 12733V won't load here no PAT reported by the nokia. I can't see any changes on Skys transponders other than 12706V haveing a few name changes Service 1, Service 2 etc. Perhaps Sky's about to fully take over 12483V and 12733V from Saturn?

From my Emails & ICQ

From Impactv

ImpacTV News Update April 15th 2003

IMPACTV LTD

ImpacTV Update Since the initial announcement of 22nd of December that ImpacTV Ltd was proposing to launch a multichannel Satellite service on a footprint covering both New Zealand and Australia the response from all quarters has been overwhelming.

So overwhelming was the response, that the original concept and structures were inadequate to cater for what the industry and public demanded. It soon became apparent that ImpacTV needed to increase two major items; one was more transponder capacity the other was Capital.

Both these issues have now been addressed and we are pleased with the outcome todate. Without going into all the details, which are confidential, we had some very serious decisions to make. At one stage it was hoped that an Australian company with similar aspirations might had joined forces with us unfortunately that came to nothing.

As of today ImpacTV will not launch before the beginning to the middle of June due to transponder availability, although some test transmissions could take place if suitable capacity becomes available. It was decided to forfeit our original two transponders so that we could negotiate three and a half at a much better yearly rate.

While it is true that we have not kept Apsattv readers up to date as much as some would have liked. However there have been many legitimate reasons for this and there is much activity going on within our ranks, and we are as keen to see the services launched as everyone else.

Due to the many disturbing rumours we have heard over the last three months it was prudent to keep a lid on our exact plans including which satellite, and the exact channel line up. Other sensitive issues have also been embargoed.

ImpacTV is alive and well and the service has also undergone a name change that name will be released once all the formalities are completed.

Then the website will be overhauled and made operational with timely updates.

We would see that the service to New Zealand would be slightly different from Australia due to programme rights issues. However both services would share a common platform wherever possible. This would equate to one full transponder being used for New Zealand and another for Australia with the third being used for Free To Air and independent channels.

Due to specific programme rights issues expect specific customized channels for each territory. The free to air channels will consist of channels compiled by ImpacTV and independent channel providers.

The Channel line up has been formulated using the data derived from the responses from those who were interested enough to make their views known. This has been instrumental in the formulation of the new ImpacTV operational plan.

As previously stated ImpacTV intends to feature many channels not readily available to Australasian viewers and subscribers. These will originate from Europe, Asia and the United States of America and will complement the channels currently available to PayTV operators in the region.

The Auckland Uplink will provide the gateway for both Australian and New Zealand independent programmers and channel providers and as previously stated ten channels have been reserved for this purpose.

Clearly there are still many issues to be addressed; these will be addressed as the project progresses

ImpacTV Ltd.

(Craigs comment, this update also available at www.impactv.co.nz )

From Mitch

sky racing on thaicom 3 is fta at 2.58pm 3695H 5000 3/4 same as sky on austar

madagascar tv on LM1

Tvm Madagascar seems to be running in PAL now, instead of secam. i have seen it change during transmission. a pal test card then secam programs. 3980v analogue

From the Dish

Asiasat 3 105.5E 12513 H Sr 4340 fec ? "Shanxii reported here FTA" by Taiwanese site might be worth a look in W.A

Express 6A 80E 4125 R Test cards have started, Fta, PIDs 161/84 and 165/100. (Can anyone in Aus get signals from this bird?)

Thaicom 3 78.5E 3695 H "Sky Racing 1-2" now Fta.

Apstar 2R 76.5E 3780 V "TV Malagasy" has switched from SECAM to PAL.

LMI 1 75E 3980 V "TV Malagasy" has switched from SECAM to PAL.

Insat 2DT 55E DD Jaipur has moved from 4014 R to 3978 R, PAL.

NEWS

INL tipped to channel cash into Sky TV

From http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2406622a13,00.html

A full takeover of Sky Television by Independent Newspapers is the most likely outcome of the $1.2 billion sale of INL's stable of newspapers and magazines earlier this week, most analysts believe.

INL shares jumped 21 per cent yesterday on expectations the company would return to investors most of the $1.19 billion proceeds from the sale of its publishing unit.

But at least one brokerage said INL could yet surprise the market and wind itself down by distributing the cash and its existing 66 per cent stake in Sky to its shareholders.

"There is a tidying up process to be done," Macquarie Equities investment director Arthur Lim said. His firm expects a cash-and-share distribution. "Once they've sold the publishing assets all they have is cash and Sky TV. INL doesn't really have a useful life any more."

INL agreed to the sale on Monday after a surprise bid by Australia's second-biggest media company, John Fairfax Holdings, late last week. Analysts said the deal left INL 45 per cent owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd, with about $830 million cash to spend or return to shareholders. The company was also considering offers for Victorian newspaper The Geelong Advertiser, which could fetch another $62 million, they said.

Most expected the money would be spent buying the 34 per cent of Sky not already owned, a view supported by investors who pushed Sky's share price up 10.8 per cent by Monday before it eased five cents to close at $4 yesterday. That could take the form of either a cash or scrip offer - a swap of INL shares for shares in Sky.

"I am backing an INL scrip bid for the minorities in Sky. There are issues over the distribution of cash: we estimate only $535 million could be distributed tax effectively out of $865 million post the transaction including Geelong," an analyst said. A cash-and-share distribution would dilute the News Ltd stake in Sky to less than 30 per cent, and a scrip bid offered the best control of dilution.

Forsyth Barr analyst Rob Mercer said a cash bid would be the most efficient option. Though a share bid would be preferable for INL shareholders, keeping the funds within the combined group to potentially repay debt, it was likely that Sky shareholders would prefer cash which could ensure the takeover went smoothly.

Most believed INL shareholders got a good price for the assets. A First NZ Capital analyst said on one valuation method Fairfax paid 10 times forecast earnings for 2003, a premium to a pre-bid implied value of 7½ times earnings.

That compared favourably with the value of Australian listed newspaper companies and the amount paid for the New Zealand Herald in an asset reshuffle two years ago. But Sky shares were still trading well below analysts' estimated fair value of about $4.45 to $4.50 a share, while INL shares closed at $4.08 each, at a discount to analysts' views of fair value between $4.20 and $4.50.

Though shares in both New Zealand companies had advanced strongly after the sale - INL shares gained 21 per cent yesterday after a two-day trading suspension was lifted - shares in John Fairfax Holdings fell more than 7 per cent. Analysts said they had come under pressure because Fairfax placed 350 million shares with investors at a 26 per cent discount to Thursday's close, as it arranged funding for the INL purchase.