[Prev][Next][Index]

Reprint of DVB News Itl.





Satellite News from America
-----------------------------------------
                              
                              
                   
                              
This news is co-sponsored by TELE-satellit and Satellite Journal Itl.
The following is a reprint of of the latest issue of DVB News Itl.

                       DVB News International
                              
                              
                         Volume One
                         Issue Seven
                          July 1996
                              



..."Anyone who enjoys the privilege of publishing and
broadcasting in open societies should demonstrate their
unshakeable belief in the universality of free speech should
they ever seek to broadcast in societies that are closed."




The information contained in DVB News International MAY NOT
be republished or redistributed without the prior written
authority of DVB News International (see end of file for
contact information).  DVBNI 's home forum on CompuServe
will be (GO CIS:UKFORUM Sec 7). If you ever need to download
previous issues, all our files will be in that library.  We
also welcome anyone wishing to discuss digital satellite
topics to post messages to that section.


DVBNI is available via E-Mail. There is no charge for this
service. If you would prefer to
receive this file via mail send a message to the DVBNI
Subscription Dept. 71165.2032@compuserve.com and request
DVBNI via E-Mail.

We may send a test message confirming your request.
The Electronic Version is  FREE.



World Wide Web:

DVBNI (HTML) is available at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/satellite_journal/

CompuServe:

     UKFORUM        Section 7 Satellites
     CEVIDEO        Section 5 DBS/DTH




                              
                              
                              

                              
News by Region:               
World News                 Page 3
North America              Page 4
Europe                     Page 7
Miscellaneous              Page 8
Transponder Charts         Page 9

     
     


     
     
International .......


Olympic coverage on PanAmSat

     PanAmSat already has service agreements for more than
9,000 hours of full-time Olympic transmissions, plus more
than 500 hours of occasional broadcasts. "This summer,
PanAmSat is demonstrating its unparalleled ability to
deliver live coverage of sporting events for broadcasters
around the world,"  said Michael Antonovich, PanAmSat's vice
president and general manager, broadcast services.  "While
June was a tremendous month for PanAmSat's broadcast
services department, the 1996 Summer Olympic Games look to
be the biggest single event in our 12-year history."

     PanAmSat has agreements in place to provide more than a
dozen full-time satellite transmission paths of Olympic
coverage, including the multilateral "world feed"  for OTI
members in Spain and Latin America.  PanAmSat will provide
occasional services of Olympic coverage for broadcasters
around the world as well. On July 7, PanAmSat will open its
24-hour Olympics broadcast operations facility in Atlanta
that will provide rooftop camera positions, playback and
editing services and dedicated fibre optic links to
PanAmSat's teleport facility in Ellenwood, Georgia.  The
Ellenwood facility provides direct transmissions access to
the PAS-1 and PAS-3 satellites. In addition, Ellenwood is
linked to PanAmSat's teleport in Sylmar, California, which
accesses the PAS-2 satellite.



PanAmSat's expanded satellite services for Uruguay

     PanAmSat announced it has signed an agreement with
Montevideo Teleport International (MTI) to provide
international satellite transmission services for Zona
Franca De Montevideo, one of Latin America's largest free
trade zones.  With the new agreement, MTI has tripled its
satellite capacity on PanAmSat's PAS-1 Atlantic Ocean Region
satellite for the transmission of telephone traffic, video
conferencing and data communications from MTI's teleport
facility in Montevideo, Uruguay.

     "The MTI teleport is a vital communications link to one
of South America's largest and most productive free trade
zones,"  said Alvaro Gazzolo, PanAmSat's regional vice
president, Latin America.  "This expanded PAS-1 service
enables companies conducting business in the region to
access state-of-the-art telecommunications services and, in
doing so, enhance their business capabilities and
productivity."

     PanAmSat has provided MTI with PAS-1 satellite capacity
since 1993.  The expanded PAS-1 service began July 1.  The
MTI facility is located inside the Montevideo free trade
zone, which serves as a base of operations to many regional
and multinational companies.  Through the expanded PAS-1
service, these companies are able to transmit a variety of
international signals over a wide geographic area, including
much of Latin America.  In addition, transmissions from MTI
can be relayed through PanAmSat's teleport facility in
Homestead, Florida, which allows access to PanAmSat's global
satellite system.




APSTAR IA successfully launched from China


     APSTAR IA, a U.S.-built satellite designed to carry
general communications traffic throughout much of Southeast
Asia, was successfully launched from the space centre at
Xichang, Sichuan Province, in south-western China. The HS
376 model satellite was built by Hughes Space and
Communications Company (HSC) of Los Angeles for APT
Satellite Company Ltd. of Hong Kong.

     The rocket lifted off at 6:47 p.m. Beijing time (3:47
a.m. PDT, 10:47 a.m. GMT) and carried the satellite for
about 20 minutes to a parking orbit.  Satellite controllers
have contacted APSTAR IA, and indications are that it is
operating normally.

     Over the next few days, the spacecraft's own propulsion
system will be used to position it 22,300 miles (36,000 km)
above the equator.  There it will undergo several weeks of
on-orbit testing before being put into service.

     APSTAR IA will carry general communications traffic
such as voice, data and television signals across China,
Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and India.
It includes coverage for India that was not available on
APSTAR I. Another Hughes satellite built for ChinaSat, which
is part of China's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications,
is scheduled for launch on a Chinese Long March rocket in
August.





North America .......


Primestar To Support The American Red Cross


     PRIMESTAR is on air with national broadcast television
and syndicated radio advertising supporting the Red Cross;
print advertising is appearing in national magazines such as
People, TV Guide and Sports Illustrated that highlights real
American heroes who have performed extraordinary feats as a
result of Red Cross training; and, PRIMESTAR is supporting
local Red Cross initiatives in dozens of markets across the
country through marketing promotions, radio and print
advertising and public relations support.

     In each of the markets, PRIMESTAR and the Red Cross
will be teaming up to educate Americans about the importance
of Red Cross initiatives. For example, many cities are
staging outdoor health and sports events geared toward
family involvement.  Other events include blood drives,
water safety education, CPR and disaster preparedness
classes.




AlphaStar Announces DTH Service To Start On July 1

     AlphaStar Digital Television announced that it will
commence its consumer digital direct-to-home satellite
television service July 1, 1996.

     "This is a tremendously exciting day for all of us at
AlphaStar," said Murray Klippenstein, President and CEO. "In
the 15 months since we announced our intentions to provide a
digital direct-to-home service, we have accomplished a
number of milestones that have considerably condensed the
time normally required to bring a digital service to
market."

     AlphaStar will enter the burgeoning digital direct-to-
home business with up to 100 channels of audio and video
delivered from AT&T's 402R satellite, including an
introductory package of 90 channels for $29.99 per month.


TCI Plans Spin-Off Of DBS Satellite Business

     TCI announced a tax-free spin-off of the company's
direct broadcast satellite subsidiary, TCI Satellite
Entertainment, Inc., to the holders of the company's TCI
Group common stock.  The spin-off is anticipated to be
completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

     At the time of the Distribution, TCI Satellite
Entertainment's assets and operations will include TCI's
20.86% interest in PRIMESTAR Partners, L.P., and PRIMESTAR
By TCI.  Tempo Satellite, Inc., which holds TCI's high power
satellite interests, will also be owned by TCI Satellite
Entertainment. Netlink USA, a division of TCI's Liberty
Media Group that distributes television programming to C-
Band customers will not be included in the spin-off.


VLSI Technology to Provide Key Component to Hughes Network
Systems DSS


     VLSI Technology, Inc. is collaborating with Hughes
Network Systems on the development and production of a key
component for the Hughes-brand DSS set-top box.

     The Hughes Network Systems' Insight brand DSS home
receive equipment is the most recent entry into the fast
growing direct-to-home (DTH) satellite market. VLSI's key
component in this DSS set-top box performs the demodulation
and forward error correction functions.

     "We're happy to be a part of Hughes' entry to bring
high-quality digital satellite television to the mass
market.  This relationship underscores VLSI's position as a
leading supplier of silicon components, notably in
demodulation and forward error correction, to digital set-
top boxes serving the exploding consumer digital video
marketplace," said Paul Vroomen, vice president and general
manager of VLSI's consumer digital entertainment group.

     "Reflecting on world-wide digital broadcast satellite
growth, we forecast the digital satellite set-top market
will continue to grow to five-million units in 1996 and add
10-million more units in 1997." Vroomen added.





EchoStar Communications adds Liberty Satellite Sports

     EchoStar Communications Corp. announced they have
signed an agreement which will add all of the Liberty
Satellite Sports regional sports service to the DISH Network
programming lineup. The LSS regional sports networks feature
regional games from the NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball.

     The LSS regional sports networks include Empire Sports
Network, Home Team Sports (HTS), Madison Square Garden
Network (MSG), Midwest Sports Channel (MSC), New England
Sports Network (NESN), Pro Am Sports System (PASS), Prime
Sports_Intermountain West, Prime Sports - KBL, Prime Sports
- Midwest, Prime Sports - Northwest, Prime Sports - Rocky
Mountain, Prime Sports - Southwest, Prime Sports - West,
SportsSouth, and Sunshine Network.

     A two tiered launch of the LSS regional networks is
being evaluated with a fall launch of MSG, HTS, Sunshine,
SportSouth, PS-Southwest, PS-West, PS-KBL, and PS-Rocky
Mountain.  The remaining seven networks will be added on
DISH Network upon launch of EchoStar II, slated for this
autumn.  Pricing and packaging of Liberty Satellite Sports
Networks will be announced at a later date.


  The Three Tenors live on U.S. Satellite Broadcasting PPV

     USSB will present Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and
Luciano Pavarotti to DSS owners in their only live
television performance this year as a trio. The Three Tenors
will air live on U.S. Satellite Broadcasting pay per view,
Saturday, July 20.

     Carreras, Domingo and Pavorotti will perform a unique
program of popular songs and grand opera arias, accompanied
by members of the highly-acclaimed Metropolitan Orchestra.
This rare concert will not be recorded for compact disc or
home video release.  James Levine, who has worked
extensively with The Three Tenors over the last 25 years,
will conduct.

     In this appearance, The Three Tenors will perform at
Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The preshow
will begin at 8 p.m. EDT July 20.  The live event is
scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. EDT, weather permitting.  The
show will last 2 " to 3 hours.  U.S. Satellite Broadcasting
is offering the live performance and all encore
presentations of The Three Tenors on channel 910 for $29.95
to DSS owners who order using the DSS remote control and for
$34.95 for customers who order via phone.



Telquest Signs Formal Agreement With Telesat

     TelQuest Ventures has signed a formal agreement with
Telesat Canada to manage the procurement, construction and
launch of two direct broadcast satellites (DBS) to be
launched into the 91 degrees W.L. orbital slot. TelQuest
will own and use transponders on those satellites to provide
subscription television service to U.S. consumers.  The
satellites are scheduled for launch in early 1998.  The
agreement solidifies the relationship between the two
companies, which began negotiations last year.



     The DBS satellites operating at 91 degrees W.L. will
allow TelQuest to retransmit digitised and compressed
national programming to independent U.S. wireless and
wireline cable providers, who can then integrate local
programming, including news, weather, sports, educational
programs and independent stations.  This combination levels
the playing field for local providers to compete with the
entrenched cable and direct-to-home satellite companies.
TelQuest will also provide satellite service directly to
consumers' homes, where conventional service is unavailable.

     TelQuest's provision of subscription television service
is subject to FCC approval of its uplink application to
provide DBS service using the 91 degrees orbital slot.

     
     


Europe .......


Scientific-Atlanta VSAT for  Czech Republic And Slovak
Telecommunications

     Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., has been selected by VSAT
Communications Services s.r.o. to supply the satellite
telecommunications network for expanding data and telephony
services in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  The
versatility of the company's Skylinx.DDST Digital DAMA
(Demand Assigned Multiple Access) system enables it to
support both voice and data applications required by VSAT
Communications Services.  In addition, the powerful retail
data communications capabilities of the SkyRelay
interactive data VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) network
will be used to support multiple gasoline retail locations
across both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

     VSAT Communications Services, a satellite services
provider based in Brno, Czech Republic, provides VSAT
services to government and business customers in the Czech
Republic and Slovakia.  Using both single and multiple
channel per carrier (SCPC/MCPC) Scientific-Atlanta
Skylinx.DDS network equipment, VSAT Communications Services
will provide both data and telephone communications to
support financial, warehouse, and inventory management, as
well as other administrative business applications to
support banking, retail, and logistics companies.

     The Skylinx.DDS system uses DAMA technology to
establish phone and data connections as they are needed.
Since voice calls can vary in length, DAMA enables VSAT
Communications Services to assign bandwidth to calls as they
are established and then re-allocate the bandwidth as calls
are completed and new calls are set up.  By using bandwidth
more efficiently, the Scientific-Atlanta DAMA system will
greatly enhance the types of services available and lower
satellite transponder space segment requirements and their
associated costs.

     The SkyRelay VSAT system will support numerous gasoline
retail locations for OMV in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The network will include both 1.2-meter and 1.8-meter
antennas at the remote locations for transmitting and
receiving a wide range of data required for credit card
processing, credit validation, e-mail, and inventory
management. The retail locations will be connected to credit
card service providers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as
well as to OMV corporate headquarters in Vienna, Austria.



     The MCPC data communications network is already in
service using a 4.5-meter central earth station and 2.4-
meter antennas at remote sites. The network supplies vital
data communications services to CEPRO a.s., a gasoline
storage and distribution company in the Czech Republic.  The
mesh SCPC/DAMA telephone network includes a 6-meter earth
station with DAMA master controller and an initial
implementation of 2.4-meter remote earth stations throughout
the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  The SkyRelay VSAT network
will also use the 6-meter antenna for its hub requirements.
In addition to supplying the turnkey satellite
telecommunications system, Scientific-Atlanta will provide a
network management system and training.

     Installation of the Skylinx.DDS equipment began in
April 1996 with network operation started in June 1996 using
EUTELSAT II Ku-band satellite.  The SkyRelay VSAT network is
scheduled to go on line in September 1966.

     
     



Miscellaneous .......


News IN Brief


nkAmerican Sky Broadcasting and SkyMCI plan to build an
advanced satellite and data uplink facility and broadcast
operations centre at Gilbert, Ariz. in the Phoenix area.
  
nkFlextech has pulled out of talks with Rupert Murdoch's Fox
Television network over the sale of a minority stake in its
children's channel.

  

DTH Transponder Charts.......
                              

Galaxy Latin America (Galaxy 3R)
                              
Channel                 Service            Language
AS                      General            Spanish
CineLatino              Spanish Films      Spanish
KID                     Children           Spanish
MultiCinema             Intl. Films        Sp. / Port.
ZAZ                     Family             Spanish
Zeta                    Entertainment      Spanish
Venevision              Superstation       Spanish
International
Televen International   Superstation       Spanish
Bravo Brazil            Arts               Portuguese
ESPN Brazil             Sports             Portuguese
MTV Brazil              Music              Portuguese
RBN News                News               Portuguese
                              
                              
                              

DirecTv/USSB (Direct 1-3)
                              
Channel  Service         Channel  Service      Channel  Service

100-    Pay Per View    271    Encore       331     Prime Spts
199     Movies                                      West
202     CNN             272    Encore Love  332     Spts Ch
                                                    Pacific
203     Court TV        273    Encore       401     Spice
                               Western
204     Headline News   274    Encore       402     Playboy
                               Mystery
206     ESPN            275    Encore       500-    Format Music
                               Action       529     (DMX)
208     ESPN 2          276    Encore True  960     TV Land
212     TNT             277    Encore WAM   963     All
                                                    NewsChannel
213     Home Shopping   282    CBS East     965     VH-1
        Net
214     HGTV            283    CBS West     967     Lifetime
215     E!              284    NBC East     968     Nickelodeon
216     MuchMusic       285    NBC West     970     Flix
217     BET             286    PBS          973     Cinemax
220     Turner Classic  287    ABC East     974     Cinemax 2
        Movies
222     History         288    ABC West     975     Cinemax West
        Channel
223     Disney          289    FOX Net      977     The Movie
                                                    Channel
224     Disney 2        298    TV Asia      978     Movie Channel
                                                    West
225     Discovery       303    NewSport     980     HBO
226     TLC             304    Golf         981     HBO 2
                               Channel
227     Cartoon         305    Classic      982     HBO 3
        Channel                Sports
                              
229     USA Network     306    Speedvision  983     HBO West
230     TRIO            307    Outdoor      984     HBO 2 West
                               Channel
232     Family Channel  309    Spts Ch New  985     Showtime
                               Eng.
233     WTBS            310    MSG          986     Showtime 2
235     Nashville       311    NESN         987     Showtime West
236     CMTV            312    Spts Ch  NY  989     MTV
240     SCI-FI          313    Empire       990     Comedy
                               Sports               Channel
242     CSPAN-1         314    Spts Ch      995     Sundance
                               Philly               Channel
243     CSPAN-2         315    KBL          999     USSB Preview
245     Bloomberg       316    HTS                  
        Direct
246     CNBC            317    SportsSouth          
247     America's       318    Sunshine             
        Talking                Network
248     Weather         320    PASS                 
        Channel
250     Newsworld Itl.  321    Spts Ch              
                               Ohio
252     CNNI / CNNfn    322    Spts Ch              
                               Cinci
254     Travel Channel  323    Spts Ch              
                               Chicago
258     Bravo           324    Mid West             
                               Spts
266     Independent     325    Prime Spts           
        Film Ch                SW
269     STARZ-E         326    Prime Spts           
                               I-M W
270     STARZ-W         330    Prime Spts           
                               NW
                              
                              
                     Hotbird (Eutelsat)
                              
                          P          
                          o 
                          l 
    Channel      Frequen  a Audio
                 cy       r
                          i
                          t
                          y
                                     
EBM              11.262   H 7.02     PAL
VH 1 Germany     11.242   V          PAL
Rai Uno          11.363   V          PAL
Rai Due          11.446   V          PAL
Canal Horizons   11.408   V          PAL
Eurosport        11.387   H Various  PAL
Dubai TV         11.513   H          PAL
TV5 Europe       11.323   V 6.60     PAL
MCM              11.304   H          PAL
TV Polonia       11.471   H          PAL
Polsat           11.428   H          PAL
Sci Fi           11.283   V          PAL
TVE Int.         11.222   H 6.60     PAL
TM3              11.345   H          PAL
CLT              11.492   V          PAL
ART 5            11.534   V 6.60     PAL
                              
                              
                    Echostar (EchoStar 1)
102 USA Network          230 TBS                       DISH CD 
104 Comedy Central       232 KTLA, Los Angeles   950  Young Country
106 TV Land              234 WPIX, New York      951  Country Gold
108 Lifetime             240 WGN, Chicago        952  Country Currents
110 TV Food Network      241 WNBC-TV, New York   953  Jukebox Gold
                           (NBC)
112 Home and Garden      243 WRAL-TV, Raleigh    954  70's Song Book
   Network                  (CBS)
114 E! Entertainment     245 WJLA-TV, Washington 955  Foreground Music
   Television               (ABC)
118 Arts and             247 FOXNet              956  Adult Contemporary
   Entertainment
120 History Channel      249 PBS                 957  Album Adult
                                                   Alternative
122 Sci-Fi Channel       260 Trinity             958  HitLine
                           Broadcasting Net
132 Turner Classic       261 Eternal Word TV     959  Classic Rock
   Movies                   Network
138 Turner Network       300 HBO East            960  Modern Rock
   Television
140 ESPN                 301 HBO 2 East          961  Hard rock
142 ESPN2                302 HBO 3 East          962  Hip Hop
160 M-TV                 303 HBO West            963  Urban Beat
162 VH-1                 304 HBO 2 West          964  Latin Styles
166 Country Music        310 Showtime 1          965  Fiesta Mexicana
   Television
168 Nashville Network    311 Showtime 2          966  Eurostyle
170 Nickelodeon          312 Showtime 3          967  Mainstream Jazz
172 Disney Channel       320 Cinemax 1           968  Contemporary Jazz
                                                   Flavors
176 Cartoon Network      321 Cinemax 2           969  Expressions
178 Learning Channel     322 Cinemax 3           970  Contemporary
                                                   Instrumentals
180 Family Channel       500 PPV 1               971  Symphonic Classical
182 Discovery Channel    501 PPV 2               972  Light Classical
200 Cable News Network   502 PPV 3               973  Beautiful Music
202 Headline News        503 PPV 4               974  Mature Vocals
204 Court TV             504 PPV 5               975  Contemporary Christian
206 CNN International /  600 RAI (Italy)         976  Children's
   CNNfn
208 CNBC                 602 ART                                            
210 CSpan                700 Preview Channel                                
214 Weather Channel      900 Business TV                                    
220 Travel Channel       901 Business TV                                    
226 QVC Shopping                                                           
   Network




ExpressVu (Anik E1)
12 Transponders on Anik E1 111.1o W



AlphaStar (Telstar 402)
Channel  Service         Channel  Service      Channel  Service

        Alpha Preview          HBO                  Showtime
        Channel
        Arts &                 HBO 2                Showtime 2
        Entertainment
        Cartoon                HBO 3                Showtime West
        Network
        Comedy Central         HBO West             The Movie
                                                    Channel
        Country Music          HBO 2 West           Movie Channel
        TV                                          West
        Disney (E)             Cinemax              
        Disney (W)             Cinemax 2            Sundance
        E!                     Cinemax              Golf
        Entertainment          West
        Family Channel                              Encore
        Lifetime                                    Encore +
        MTV                    C-SPAN               
                               CNBC                 ESPN
        Nickelodeon            CNN                  ESPN2
        Sci-Fi                 CNNfn                Liberty
                                                    Sports
        The Nashville          Court TV             Classic
        Network                                     Sports
        Turner Classic         Discovery            Regional
        Movies                 Ch                   Sport Ch
        TNT                    Headline             
                               News
        TV Land                History              
                               Channel
        USA Network            Learning             
                               Channel
        VH-1                   NewsTalk             




                              
                          DVB News
                        International
                      Volume 1 Issue 7

                              
    DVB News International is a monthly news journal for
satellite enthusiasts and is produced in Burleson, Texas and
                 Brantford, Ontario Canada.
           Comments or news items may be sent to:
         Internet E-mail: 71165.2032@Compuserve.com
                             or
                   Compuserve:  71165,2032
                             or
  Satellite Journal International / DVB News International
         PO  Box 2065 Burleson Texas 76097- 2065 USA
                             or
             Merriam & Torrens Advertising Inc.
        PO Box 23058 Brantford Ontario Canada N3T-6K4
              519-751-1487 9am-5pm eastern time.
                              
  The electronic deadline for inclusion of news items is 20
                 days before the issue date.
                              

                       Copyright 1996




[Other mailing lists]