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TELE-satellit News - 5 December 1995
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TELE-satellit
EUROPE'S SATELLITE MAGAZINE
International Satellite Broadcasting News
Number 80, Week ending 3 December 1995
By Martyn Williams
News Desk : Internet martyn@twics.com or CompuServe CIS:martynw
(c) TELE-satellit Magazine
TURNER PREPARES FOR MURDOCH NEWS CHANNEL
ATLANTA, Georgia (TS) -- A worldwide news channel to rival CNN from
Rupert Murdoch came back into the limelight this week after Murdoch
announced plans to launch a new worldwide network.
At the announcement Murdoch said he thought CNN had become too
liberal, "We think it's time to form a really objective news channel.
I don't know whether it happened with my friend Ted marrying Jane
Fonda or giving up lithium, but one thing or another, CNN has changed
very greatly in the last couple of years."
In his own, unique way, Ted Turner responded by saying "I'm looking
forward to squishing Rupert like a bug," and added, "It's one thing to
say you're going to compete with CNN. The last companies that tried it
were Westinghouse and ABC together, about 15 years ago. We look
forward to fighting with anybody who wants to get into the ring."
Murdoch's interests include Sky TV in Europe, including the 24 hour
Sky News channel, Star TV in Asia, Fox TV in the USA and interests in
Australia.
RTS SAT BACK IN THE USA
By Branislav Pekic, Satelit TV Video
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (STTV) -- RTS SAT, the satellite channel of
Serbian state broadcaster RTS, will soon start broadcasting to the USA
after a two year break, due to UN sanctions.
RTS SAT which has been broadcasting for five years, is also planning
changes in its program schedule. The new schedule will include quality
education programs for schoolchildren and documentaries about towns in
Serbia.
Viewers will also have a chance to see some of the best feature
films from Yugoslavia.
ROMANIAN TV LAUNCHES INTERNATIONAL BROADCAST
BUCHAREST, Romania (TS) -- Romanian Television launched a new
international broadcast last week when it began sending a daily
programme via Eutelsat 2-F3 from 1930 to 2300 UTC daily.
The government launched the channel in response to complaints from
expats living overseas who could not pickup any TV from home, unlike
citizens of many other countries.
The channel launched to immediate competition from a private
station.
ROMANIAN PRIVATE TV STATION LAUNCHES NEW PROGRAMS
By Dan Ionescu, OMRI Inc.
BUCHAREST, Romania (OMRI) -- The Bucharest-based PRO-TV station,
which started operating in May 1993, has announced that it will start
broadcasting new programs beginning 1 December, Western media and
Radio Bucharest reported. The programs, including foreign series and
movies, are expected to reach up to 3 million households via
satellite.
The $20 million project is backed by ex-tennis champion Ion Tiriac
and the businessman Ronald Lauder. According to Radio Bucharest, the
revamped private TV station will promote competition in the sector,
which is still dominated by state-run stations.
The same source added that another TV station, Romanian
TV-International, will start broadcasting programs to viewers
throughout the world the same day.
GERMAN TV ANNOUNCE DIGITAL PLANS
LUXEMBOURG (TS) -- Germany's two public service broadcasters, ARD
and ZDF, will begin digital transmission via the new Astra 1E
satellite from next year.
The broadcasts, which will be in parallel with the analog broadcasts
on Astra 1B and 1C, will begin at an undetermined date in early 1996.
MURDOCH - FLEXTECH TALKS CONTINUE
LONDON, England (TS) -- Talks between Flextech and News Corporation
are continuing over acquisition of a stake by Fox TV of Starstream.
Starstream operate The Children's Channel, TCC, and Fox wants to
take a sizable minority interest in the programmer.
ASIASAT-2 LAUNCHED
XICHANG, China (TS) -- China has launched the Asiasat-2 broadcasting
satellite successfully on a Long March 2E rocket from the Xichang
launch pad in China.
The last attempt to launch a second Asiasat ended in failure almost
a year ago when the rocket exploded 50 seconds after launch while
being watched by a large national TV audience. This time, to avoid
embarrasment, the launch was not broadcast live.
Customers of the satellite include Associated Press's APTV,
Worldwide Television News (WTN), Hongkong Telecommunications Ltd
Germany's Deutsche Welle, Portugal-based Marconi Global
Communications, Pacific Century Group and Malaysia's TIME
Telecommunications Sdn Bhd and Reuters Financial Television.
PANAMSAT SHIPS PAS-3 TO KOUROU
GREENWICH, Conn., USA (PANAMSAT) -- The PAS-3 satellite, the fourth
spacecraft in PanAmSat's global satellite system, was shipped today to
Arianespace's launch facility in South America, where it will
undergo final preparations for a January 1996 launch.
The new satellite will enable PanAmSat Corporation to expand upon
its broadcast and telecommunications services in the Americas, Europe
and Africa.
"With the shipment of PAS-3, PanAmSat is one step closer to its
long-held goal of providing expanded satellite services for the
Atlantic Ocean Region," said Robert Bednarek, PanAmSat's vice
president of engineering and operations.
"Based on the current launch schedule, PAS-3 will be in service and
capable of transmitting hundreds of television channels and a range
of telecommunications services by mid-February 1996."
Based on the latest manifest by Arianespace, PanAmSat's launch
provider, PAS-3 will lift off on an Ariane 4 rocket in early January
1996.
PAS-3, an HS 601 satellite with 16 C-band and 16 ku-band
transponders, will be used for television program distribution
throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa.
Broadcast customers on PAS-3 include Artear, Canal 9 (Paraguay),
Canal 13 (Paraguay), Caracol, China Central Television, Country Music
Television, Discovery, ESPN, Globo, HBO, Liberty, NBC, Televisa, 20th
Century Fox, Turner Broadcasting, TVN, TV-5, Universidad Catolica and
Viacom International.
CNNfn REVEALS TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS IT WILL USE
ATLANTA, Georgia, USA (TS) -- CNNfn, the new CNN Financial Network,
this week announced details of some of the systems it will use to
"redefine business news".
First was "inter.face," an application designed exclusively for
CNNfn that enables guests to be interviewed live, on camera from their
place of work by CNNfn journalists. The "inter.face" creates for
CNNfn a 'virtual newsroom,' eliminating the constraints of television
studios and microwave trucks traditionally needed to interview guests
on camera for live television.
"With 'inter.face,' the business world is our studio. We will be
able to provide viewers with expert commentary and analysis of the
news as it happens," said CNN Executive Vice President Lou Dobbs.
"The 'inter.face' will redefine how business news is gathered and
change what viewers will come to expect from a business news
provider."
This technology will allow CNNfn to get guests on the air faster
than competitors and give it an advantage the station said. Each site
on the "inter.face" will house a mini-studio with a camera and monitor
set up on a computer terminal where guests can be interviewed without
having to interrupt the business day to go to the network's studio.
The computer signal will be carried to the CNNfn studio, where it is
then switched to a television signal and broadcast.
For the first time, viewers will have the opportunity to call in
throughout the entire business day to speak with these experts about
both the news and issues important to them. The "inter.face" will
eventually link experts from business, technology and commerce hubs
such as New York, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, Houston,
Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas, allowing them to talk with CNNfn
correspondents, viewers and each other during all of CNNfn's programs.
CNNfn is scheduled to launch in the United States on Dec. 29, with
12 hours of original programming each day from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. (ET).
CNNfn is the first network designed to launch with distinct but
complementary content on the Internet, on networked desktop computers,
on-line as well as on cable and satellite. CNN Executive Vice
President Lou Dobbs is the executive in charge of CNNfn, William
Tucker is vice president of CNNfn and Eric Scholl is executive
producer.
CNNfn has also opened a web site at http://www.cnnfn.com/
DMX TO LAUNCH IN SOUTH AFRICA
LOS ANGELES, California, USA (TS) -- DMX Inc. has just launched
Digital Music Express(R) (DMX(R)) in South Africa on December 1st,
1995.
DMX Africa, a new South African company owned by Times Media
Limited, one of South Africa's largest media companies, and Bluestar
Entertainment Network has concluded an exclusive agreement with DMX
Inc. to distribute DMX throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
For DMX, South Africa represents a significant step in its ongoing
international expansion.
DMX Africa will offer subscribers 40 channels of music, each in a
specific genre ranging from classical, instrumental, jazz and country
to rock, urban, oldies and a wide variety of international channels.
The line-up will also include DMX's recently introduced "African
Rhythms" channel, which features all South African music. DMX utilizes
sources in South Africa for consultation on programming the channel,
as well as in procuring South African CDs.
"We believe that DMX will be a significant attraction for South
African consumers," said Craig Cesman, chief executive officer of DMX
Africa. "In addition to its wide variety of programming from around
the globe, we are particularly proud of the African Rhythms channel.
The digitally-compressed DMX signal, which originates from the DMX
satellite uplink in Littleton, Colo., will be transmitted to a ground
station in South Africa via satellite, where it will be included with
other MultiChoice DStv programming and uplinked to PanAmSat 4, which
will distribute it to South African homes and businesses equipped with
MultiChoice digital integrated receiver decoders. The MultiChoice
decoder can be connected to both a television and stereo, allowing
subscribers to fully enjoy DMX's CD-quality sound.
MultiChoice has recently announced distribution agreements for South
Africa with several video services, including CNN International, ESPN
Africa, VH-1, TNT Cartoon Network and The Discovery Channel.
BLOOMBERG TV EXTENDS ASIA REACH VIA PAS-2 SATELLITE
HONG KONG (BTV) -- PanAmSat has added Bloomberg Information
Television to the programmer line up on the PAS-2 Pacific Ocean Region
satellite.
Bloomberg will tap into PAS-2's trans-Pacific coverage to achieve
first-time access to Australia's 6+ million television households as
well as other major television markets in Asia.
"With breakneck speed, Bloomberg has become one of the world's
leading sources for in-depth business and financial news," said David
Berman, PanAmSat's vice president of program distribution. "We are
very gratified Bloomberg has chosen PanAmSat and PAS-2 for its entry
into the Australian television market."
Bloomberg's service consists of one digital channel on PAS-2's
C-band Pacific Rim Beam, which provides coverage of Asia and the
western United States. With the addition of Bloomberg, PAS-2 now
transmits more than 40 analog and digital television channels
throughout the Asia-Pacific Region.
Bloomberg Information Television is a 24-hour television news
service offering in-depth reporting and analysis of financial news and
markets worldwide.
PAS-2, which was launched in July 1994, has 16 Ku-band and 60 C-band
transponders. Other broadcast customers include ABS-CBN, Asia Business
News, China Central Television, Disney, Discovery, ESPN, Liberty, NBC,
NHK, Television Corporation of Singapore, Turner Broadcasting, TVBI
and Viacom International.
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CREDITS,
Reports in TELE-satellit news are from our worldwide network of
reporters and sources. In particular we would like to thank :
Curt Swinehart for keeping us up to date with all parts of the
satellite industry.
Don Fitzpatrick of DFA in San Francisco for providing permission to
reproduce articles from Shoptalk, the TV news industry's daily news
and information magazine.
OMRI material was reprinted with permission of the Open Media Research
Institute, a nonprofit organization with research offices in Prague,
Czech Republic. For more information on OMRI publications, please
write to: info@omri.cz
Reproduction in part of Jonathan's Space Report was maded possible by
kind permission of Jonathan McDowell. To read the full edition see
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html or
ftp://sao-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/jcm/space/news/news.*
News from Radio Sweden is made possible by Geroge Wood, presenter of
Sweden Calling DXers/MediaScan, the world's oldest radio program
about international broadcasting. Radio Sweden has presented this
round-up of radio news, features, and interviews on Tuesdays since
1948. It's currently broadcast on the first and third Tuesdays of the
month. http://www.sr.se/rs
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