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Sat-UK #142 01.11.97: SKY TV - SOGECABLE - BBC PRIME...

Sat-UK Report #142:
- Sky TV gets the makeover treatment
- Sogecable now only in digital
- Galavision ditches Astra
- Der Wetterkanal looks towards 1D
- UK TV gets on the air today
- RTL 9 finally leaves for good
- BBC Prime ceases at 27 degrees west
- Hispasat takes another step towards digital
saturday 1st november 1997
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Email: dominic@bigrp.demon.co.uk
Sat-UK Web: http://www.sat-net.com/sat-uk/
UK Satellite Control: http://www.sat-net.com/uk-satellite/
And now the news:


---------- Sky TV gets the makeover treatment

Sky Television has, as expected, got a complete revamp. The logotypes
for all of the Sky channels have been completely changed - they now all
feature the egg-shaped SKY logo and the name of the channel beneath. Sky
1 has reverted back to its old name of Sky One - the numeral has simply
been displayed alphabetically, a move which seemed logical after the
closure of Sky 2. Sky Movies has changed its name to Sky Movies Screen
1, and The Movie Channel has become Sky Movies Screen 2. The theme tunes
have also changed, and Sky News has had a complete new look.


---------- Sogecable now only in digital

All five Sogecable channels have left Astra 1B and 1C, and are now only
available digitally on 1E and 1F as part of the CSD (Canal Satelite
Digital) package. Cinemania on 11,656 V has been replaced by a test card
displaying the Astra logo, with a message in German, stating that ORB
will start there on January 1st. A similar card has replaced Cine
Classics on 11,068 V, but for Hessen Fernsehen. On 11,686 V, Sportmania
has been replaced by colour bars - Der Bildungskanal is due to start
here soon. On 11,009 V, Documania and Minimax have given way to Phoenix,
which is now broadcasting here as normal. It will leave 1D soon (see
below).


---------- Galavision ditches Astra

Galavision has left Astra 1C, 12,126 V. Transponder 44 now belongs
completely to Sky TV - the Barker channel is now broadcasting where
Galavision used to be in the mornings. It is possible that Sky Travel
will extends its hours into this time.


---------- Der Wetterkanal looks towards 1D

The German version of the Weather Channel, der Wetterkanal, which has
been broadcasting is Germany for some time now, is looking towards
taking up Phoenix' transponder on 1D, on the frequency 10,891 H. Der
Wetterkanal had been broadcasting in analogue on Kopernikus 3 a while
back, but then went digital on the same satellite. An analogue service
on Astra 1D would allow more home users to access the 24-hour service.
Phoenix can leave this transponder now that it is broadcasting on Astra
1C.


---------- UK TV gets on the air today

UK TV will start regular transmissions today. UK Gold is due to undergo
a logo change sometime today - it has not yet done so. UK Horizons,
Style and Arena should have started fully on Intelsat 803 in digital.
Later today at 17.50 UTC, the UK TV promotional channel will start on
transponder 56 on Astra 1D. I will confirm this either this evening or
tomorrow. One of the other UK TV channels may start here soon...


---------- RTL 9 finally leaves for good

After the recent false alarm at 8 degrees west, RTL 9 has now left
Telecom 2B for good. The French entertainment channel had been
broadcasting in SECAM/smartcrypt, but the transponder which it used is
now occupied by a France Telecom test card. TMC - Tele Monte Carlo is
due to leave soon, as are many channels on Telecom 2A and the two on
Telecom 2C.


---------- BBC Prime ceases at 27 degrees west

BBC Prime has, as proprosed, left Intelsat 803 at 27,5 degrees west. Not
long ago a message was displayed on BBC Prime's teletext service stating
that the channel would from now on only be available on Intelsat 707 at
one degree west. It is now only available in analogue on Intelsat 707 in
D2MAC, and this channel has been rumoured to take up VTV's transponder
on the same satellite when Vaza TeleVizia supposedly goes digital.


---------- Hispasat takes another step towards digital

Hispasat is moving further towards becoming a digital-only satellite.
The last clear analogue "channel", a test card and four radio stations
on 12,226 L, has now been replaced by some digital signal, presumably
from Via Digital or CSD. There are now only three regular channels in
analogue left on this satellite - Tele 5, Antena 3 and Canal Plus, which
are all encrypted terrestrial feeds not intended for satellite
audiences.


All contents (C) 1997 Dominic Sedghi, except where indicated. All rights
reserved. The above may not be reproduced without written consent.
Information is subject to change and/or may be incorrect.

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