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TS News - BSkyB Announces New Channels

TELE-satellit News, 5 August 1996

BSkyB Announces New Channels
  LONDON, England, 96/08/05 (TS) -- British Sky Broadcasting has announced
the pending launch of several new channels. In common with recent launches,
the new channels will not all be airing at the same time but rather filling
gaps on exisiting and newly acquired transponders.

  More controversially, the broadcaster has also announced an increase in
subscriptions for the basic Sky Multichannels package to GBP 10.99 a month,
an increase of one pound. The full package, including sports and movies,
rises by two pounds to GBP 26.99.

  The new channels include Sky Two, a new general entertainment service that
will carry new and exisiting Sky One material such as The Late Show, Melrose
Place and Models Inc. It will enable Sky to program popular shows at better
times, said the company. It will also double the amount of prime time
advertising space Sky has to sell on entertainment channels. It will launch
September 2.

  From August 16 Sky Sports 3 will begin transmissions every day from midday
to midnight. Soccer and golf will be mainstays of the service, the latter
presumably thanks to a new alliance with The Golf Channel and Fox TV in the USA.

  Warner Bros. is expanding its TV services to the UK. The new channel,
WBTV, will show Warner Bros. movies, TV shows, and the famous cartoons.
Warner Bros. recently started a new nationwide TV network in the USA.

  Seven new channels will be launched by Granda Sky Broadcasting, a tie up
between Granada TV and BSkyB. The channels include Granada Plus, Men &
Motors, TV High Street, Health and Beauty, Food and Wine, Home and Garden
and Talk TV. Launch is set for October 1.

  The final new service the The Weather Channel which seems to be more of a
space filler than real channel. It will broadcast from 6am to 11am daily
from September 1.


  

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