Skyguide Issue 035 --------------------------------- SKYGUIDE --------------------------------- | | | Your digest of the latest news in the world of Satellite & Cable TV | | | --------------------- Week Ending Fri April 8th 1994 ----------------------- * NEW FOR NICK Nickelodeon is making deals with a number of independent producers for original programming for the station, including a music series and a drama series about ghost stories. Amongst the parties concerned are Ardent Productions, (owned by Prince Edward) and Initial Films and Television, a large independent producer that has contributed much work to Channel 4. Rumours also suggest that some UK involvement with the game show 'Guts' is soon to occur. While there is a slim possibility that Nickelodeon may produce its own UK version of the show, it is more likely to take a number of British children across to the show's American home in Florida. Ren and Stimpy, a 'Nicktoon' not yet seen on Nickelodeon, although broadcast in the UK by BBC2, will also come to the station. The previous agreement had been that the BBC would have rights to the show for two years, but rights to screen the series after the BBC showings end have been secured. * OLD RUMOURS DIE HARD A fresh round of speculation has begun involving Sky's subscriber centre at Livingston, Scotland. There have been a number of rumours that the centre is, or will be, equipped with CLI - 'Caller Line Identification', or Caller ID as it is known. This will enable Sky to pinpoint exactly where in the country a caller is dialling from, which will make card fraud more difficult, and prevent international callers from upgrading legal cards which have found their way abroad. Such rumours have had currency for a long time, although they have been primarily centred on Sky's ability to detect international calls - something which is possible without CLI just by listening to the quality of the line. * MULTICHANNELS 2 It has been reported that Sky may be intending to launch a second Multichannels package on the Astra 1D satellite. It is understood that Sky is currently negotiating with SES to purchase all available transponders on Astra 1D, in some cases in partnership with other broadcasters in Europe. Such a package would be likely to encourage existing viewers to upgrade their equipment to receive Astra 1D. Currently, the large majority of satellite systems in use in the UK are not equipped to receive Astra 1C without extensive modification, if at all. Potential names for the new package could include some channels rumoured for the first package, namely The Sci-Fi Channel and The Family Channel, existing members of Multichannels seeking a full transponder (CMT Europe), as well as other channels yet to be announced. There is also a distinct possibility that Eurosport may join the package. The pricing of the package, if it is launched, is not yet known, although the possibility of it being made available to existing subscribers for a small charge, or even no charge, cannot be ruled out. * ONE BILLION! Sky's three movie channels and Sky Sports will be softscrambled this weekend. The weekend is called "The Billion Dollar Preview Weekend", and will be hosted by Gaby Roslin, co-host of Channel 4's "The Big Breakfast" Films that will be seen include Alien 3, Lethal Weapon 3, Star Trek 6, Wayne's World, The Addams Family, Hook, and Basic Instinct. * FACING THE MUSIC Ice skaters Torvill and Dean have been signed up by Sky in a long-term commitment to feature in advertising and promotions for the satellite broadcaster. The skaters will receive 150,000 pounds each. Torvill and Dean are spearheading the new Sky 30 day home trial campaign, understood to have been christened "Project Y" by Sky insiders. 'Project X' was launched shortly after Sky began broadcasting, and allowed viewers to rent a Sky satellite dish and the movie channel for under five pounds a week. The campaign then was a success for Sky, fuelling the then almost non-existent dish market. The new home trial offer is a no-obligation installation of a Sky dish, decoder, and all Sky premium channels, including Multichannels, for 30 days. At the end of the home trial, viewers then have the option of purchasing the satellite system from their local retailer [Project X infuriated satellite dealers by completely bypassing them], or to have the dish removed at no cost. The campaign is likely to boost dish ownership, and hopefully compensate for the large number of satellite viewers who are completely giving up their dishes. It is estimated that some 200,000 viewers de-installed their dishes last year - thought to be as a result of the Sky Multi-channel package. * NEW ARRIVALS Game show 'Blockbusters' begins screening on Sky One from April 18th. David Letterman's top-rated American chat show also come to Sky One on the same day. The show will air daily at 11pm UK Time, less than 24 hours after the show's transmission in the USA. Viewers who missed the Season 4 screenings of Star Trek: The Next Generation, or who want to see the series without commercial breaks, will be able to see re-runs of the show on BBC2 from Wednesday April 13th. * SCRAMBLE! Sky viewers can expect new viewing cards over the next few months. Sky is slowly introducing Series 9 smartcards in an effort to beat the flood of pirate cards that are now becoming widely available. A number of pirate card manufacturers are attempting to dump their existing stocks onto the market at discount prices, in some cases reported to be as low as 35 pounds. The cards, like their Series 7 counterparts, will contain pay-per-view programming. * SKY DISCOVERS DOCUMENTARIES Sky has commissioned three documentary programmes for Sky One, in a ground- breaking move for the channel. The subjects are somewhat tabloidish, namely a documentary about Jack the Ripper, Stephen Waldorf (a man who was shot by policemen in 1984 when he was mistaken for a terrorist), and a feature on Terry Venables, which will be produced by Chrysalis Television. * EC ATTACKS BRITISH BROADCASTING The European Commission has announced that it is going to take legal action against the British Government. Central to the dispute is that many channels broadcast via satellite from the UK do not meet the required 51% quota of European-sourced programming which is required under EC Broadcasting rules. While this rule had been effectively ignored by many broadcasters across Europe for several years, the point has been brought to the fore again largely due to the French Government, lobbied by French broadcasters such as Canal Plus. As reported in previous editions of Skyguide, the problem revolves around TNT and The Cartoon Network. The French authorities are furious that the channel is allowed to broadcast in the French language without governmental controls. When the authorities approached TNT and asked it to cease broadcasting in French, it refused. The current situation is largely as a result of this dispute, in an attempt to prevent the channel broadcasting in French, by way of it being forced to stop broadcasting entirely. Satellite broadcasters in France, such as the Canal Plus empire, have been keen to keep French programming on French satellites. By way of an example, the French language soundtrack for Eurosport was removed some time ago, and now if you want to watch Eurosport in French, you can only do so on the Telecom satellites inhabited by other French channels. * BROADCASTING ON BORROWED TIME German channel 'Vox' is now likely to close within weeks, if not days, after its major shareholders all pulled out of the channel. 230 of Vox's 290 staff have now left the station, and the remaining staff of 60 intend to keep the channel running for as long as they can. When Vox does cease, the transponder will revert to its original owners, European Television Networks (ETN), owners of the defunct Lifestyle and Screensport channels. It is thought that they will have no trouble selling the transponder space, and a prime favourite is NBC Superchannel, now "desperate" for space on Astra. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Skyguide Issue 35 Edited by Ant Purvis Skyguide is usually published fortnightly, but can be erratic at times, depending on news availability. You can find it on London's CIX system in the Skyguide conference, Fidonet's Satellite TV echo, the Packet Radio Network, on internet in the alt.satellite.tv.europe newsgroup, and now in the French language on Minitel in the 3615 SURPIN area. Skyguide is not a commercial publication, nor is it a cut-down version of a printed journal. It may not be distributed for profit and is copyright. Nevertheless, free distribution (via BBSs, FTP sites, etc.) is encouraged, provided that permission is asked first. Errors and Omissions expected. If we get something wrong, let us know and we'll put it right! Back issues can be mailed to internet mailboxes on request. Comments, suggestions, and stories are always appreciated! You can contact Skyguide in the following ways: CIX : mail to bignoise, or use the Skyguide/comments conference. Fidonet : Leave a message in the Satellite TV echo Internet: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------