--------------------------------- SKYGUIDE UK --------------------------------- | | | Issue 2 - Index - Issue 2 | | | ----------------------- Week Ending Sat 27th March 1993 ----------------------- Page 1 * JUDICIAL REVIEW FOR RED HOT BAN * RED HOT RUSH * HARDCORE UK * THE HOT TICKET Page 2 * EVEN NON-VIEWERS WANT THE CHOICE * YET ANOTHER STORY ABOUT HUNDREDS OF CHANNELS FROM ASTRA * WRN RETURNING TO ASTRA * DAS DEUTSCHES STEREO KANAL Page 3 * BBC SATELLITE RADIO "A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION" * KEEP AN EYE ON SKY * CABLE LIFESTYLE * UK GOLD FILLS IN THE BLANKS Page 4 * DALEKS? WHO? * SKY ONE AIMS FOR LIFESTYLE VIEWERS * ANORAK TIME ========================== skyguide/skyguide #6, from bignoise, 2811 chars, Mar 26 18:48 93 This is a comment to message 5. There are more comments to 5. -------------------------- Skyguide Issue 002 Page 1 --------------------------------- SKYGUIDE UK --------------------------------- | | | Your digest of the latest news in the world of Satellite & Cable Television | | | ----------------------- Week Ending Sat 27th March 1993 ----------------------- * JUDICIAL REVIEW FOR RED HOT BAN It took just ten minutes for Red Hot Television to win permission for a Judicial review in the High Court, on Wednesday this week. The judge, Justice McPherson, said that there was an arguable case for a judicial review, although adding that "It seems to me a bit bleak that we can't stop pornography coming into this country if we don't want it to". Mark Garner of Continental Television said the ruling was a "Victory for democracy". The UK Government intends to proscribe the channel under Article 22 of the European Community's ironically named "Television Without Frontiers" directive. This allows member states to block broadcasts which might "seriously impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors". However, Article 22 goes on to say that broadcasts may be proscribed EXCEPT when "it is ensured, by selecting the time of the broadcast or by any technical measure that minors would not normally see such broadcasts" - As RHTv broadcasts after midnight and requires a smart-card based decoder (of which more later), it seems to comply with the directive on both counts. Continental Television have employed leading media barrister David Pennick to handle their appeal. * RED HOT RUSH The Government may have done RHTv a favour - following the announcement of the ban last Friday, more than 3,500 people rushed to get subscriptions to Red Hot Television over the following four days. Much overtime was had by all, it is claimed. This brings the number of subscribers in the UK alone to around 27,000. * HARDCORE UK Meanwhile, The Adult Channel are refusing to comment on speculation that they will uplink from abroad in order to show more explicit films to their 135,000 viewers. SES, owners of Astra, have recently stated that they would not allow Astra to be used as a vehicle for the bypassing of UK laws on pornography. The Adult Channel is apparently putting pressure on the Government and Independent Television Commission to allow them to uplink harder-core programming from the UK. * THE HOT TICKET RHTv are soon to be posting out smartcards to their subscribers. The cards are advertised as working in one of Continental Television's "Enigma" decoders, or in viewers existing Videocrypt decoders. Transmission tests of the new system are ongoing. ========================== skyguide/skyguide #7, from bignoise, 2758 chars, Mar 26 18:49 93 This is a comment to message 5. There are more comments to 5. -------------------------- Skyguide Issue 002 Page 2 * EVEN NON-VIEWERS WANT THE CHOICE According to a survey of 1,200 people, most viewers disagree with banning channels that feature explicit films - as that is censorship. The majority of people polled said that even if people do not wish to watch hardcore programming, they should be allowed the freedom of choice to do so, as long as the programming was limited to after midnight and children were not exposed to it. Only one in three actively disapprove of hardcore on television, with just one in seven disapproving of the "soft" pornography that is already available. The poll proves that not all opinion polls are biased to reflect the views of those who commission them. This particular poll was commissioned by the Independent Television Commission, who have been badgering the Government for quite some time to outlaw Red Hot Television. * YET ANOTHER STORY ABOUT HUNDREDS OF CHANNELS FROM ASTRA SES have now confirmed that they will be launching a sixth Astra satellite in 1995. Astra 1F will join Astra 1D and 1E as carriers of compressed digital television transmissions, which could result in the much-quoted figure of 180 channels from one dish. Astras 1D, 1E and 1F will be able to carry conventional analogue television like Astras 1A, 1B and 1C, as well as a much higher number of digitally compressed television services. Naturally viewers will need some leading-edge technology in their own homes to decode the digital transmissions. It is hoped that a common platform can be established among a number of differing possible formats for the broadcasts. Any such equipment is unlikely to be seen before the end of 1994. The decision to launch the sixth satellite was confirmed by Dr. Pierre Meyrat, SES's director general, in Los Angeles, where he was viewing the Astra 1C satellite which is due to launch in May this year. * WRN RETURNING TO ASTRA The World Radio Network, a radio station made up of programming from radio broadcasters across the world, returns to Astra on the 1st of July this year. The service had transmitted experimentally last year on an audio subcarrier of The Comedy Channel. The new service will be transmitting on a subcarrier on Sky News. A report on Radio Sweden indicated that a number of broadcasters are already signed up for the service, including the USA's National Public Radio, Vatican Radio, Radio Finland, Radio Japan, Radio France International and Radio Canada International. * DAS DEUTSCHES STEREO KANAL German entertainment broadcaster Sat-1 is planning to transmit a stereo soundtrack for its programming on Astra. It already provides a stereo soundtrack on its service on the TV-Sat satellite. ========================== skyguide/skyguide #8, from bignoise, 2692 chars, Mar 26 18:49 93 This is a comment to message 5. There are more comments to 5. -------------------------- Skyguide Issue 002 Page 3 * BBC SATELLITE RADIO "A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION" Chris Garrett, leader of a campaign to save Radio 4's Long Wave broadcasts in the face of the BBC's decision to launch a news service on the frequency, has greeted the news of the BBC's radio broadcasts on Astra as "A step in the right direction". The Astra service, to be launched officially on April 3rd, brings the stations into homes across Europe, where a number of ex-patriate listeners were upset at the prospect of losing Radio 4. Listeners in the UK were also concerned that they may lose the service as their FM reception of the station was marginal. Mr. Garrett made the point that many listeners will not be able to afford the receiving equipment, and that satellite radio cannot be received in cars. * KEEP AN EYE ON SKY Sky's programming will be under scrutiny in a two-week investigation by the Independent Television Commission, starting this Saturday. Programming on Sky, ITV and Channel 4 will be monitored from 6pm to midnight each day for acts of violence. The study is intended to prove false the claims that "there's nothing but violence on TV". On the first day of their survey, the ITC will be able to note a number of explicit acts of violence in Sky's pre-watershed screening of Terminator 2. * CABLE LIFESTYLE Many cable operators across the UK found themselves deluged with complaints following the closure of the Lifestyle channel. They're hoping to fill the gap with a new channel, "The Cable Network", which would primarily cater for the Women's daytime market. TCN, which launches on May 4th, will feature a number of programmes on topics such as cooking, fashion and pet care, as well as quizzes and competitions. It is also currently considering purchasing some of Lifestyle's more popular programmes. It's unlikely that satellite viewers will be able to get in on the action, though, since it is thought that the new channel will be delivered to cable head-ends on videotape. * UK GOLD FILLS IN THE BLANKS New shows in April for UK Gold include the game show Blankety Blank, which will be screened daily in the 5pm slot. New in the evening is Colin's Sandwich, starring Mel Smith - 10:30pm on Friday nights from April 30th. Also a screening of the popular satellite spoof series KYTV from Monday April 19th at 10:30pm. Carrott's Lib takes over once the supplies of Carrott Confidential episodes are exhausted. Another blank being filled in the shape of UK Gold's teletext service, which launches on April 2nd, providing enhanced listings and synopsis information for programmes, amongst other things. ========================== skyguide/skyguide #9, from bignoise, 1536 chars, Mar 26 18:50 93 This is a comment to message 5. -------------------------- Skyguide Issue 002 Page 4 * DALEKS? WHO? Apparently no Dr. Who episodes featuring The Daleks can be screened on UK Gold, since permission to show any Dalek stories on Satellite television has been witheld by the writer. * SKY ONE AIMS FOR LIFESTYLE VIEWERS Sky One could be hoping to attract the audience of the defunct Lifestyle channel in April - game show Concentration is screened daily at 10:30am, and talk show Sally Jessy Raphael gets a daily outing at 2:15pm. * ANORAK TIME It was Pal Plus night on 3sat's transponder this (Friday) morning - around one and a half hours of widescreen tests took place from 1am UK time. As well as a BBC High Definition film of a Scottish castle, a number of helpfully-labelled and headache-inducing test patterns were broadcast... U/B 1MHz 2MHz 4.4MHz Staircases U/B 0.5 - 5.0 MHz Sweep U/B 1MHz 2MHz 4.4MHz Staircases Compressed U/B 0.5 - 5.0 MHz Sweep Compressed Hyperbolic zone plate (75%) Circular zone plate (75%) Hyperbolic zone plate (75%) Multi-burst Pulse & bar Static YUV test pattern Moving Y test pattern (camera mode) Moving UV test pattern (camera mode) 75% colour bars Grids and fans Swinging colour bars (camera mode) Eye Balls ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skyguide is published weekly and is copyright. Not to be redistributed without consent. (c) 1993 bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------