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From: Terry Stader - KA8SCP <p00489@psilink.com>
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Subject: SCDX 2186
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Date: Sat, 4 Sep 1993 03:08:24 GMT
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:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: MediaScan ::
:: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS ::
:: from Radio Sweden ::
:: Number 2186--Sept. 6, 1993 ::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio Sweden.
This week's bulletin was written by George Wood.
Packet Radio BID SCDX2186
All times UTC unless otherwise noted.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NORDIC MEDIA NEWS:
SWEDEN--The major media debate in Sweden right now is the dubbing into
Swedish of the American animated cartoon, "The Simpsons" by the private
broadcaster TV3. Traditionally, Scandinavian television broadcasters subtitle
foreign programs. The only exception are cartoons for children. TV3 claims
that carrying "The Simpsons" in English has excluded many young viewers.
This decision has been widely criticised. In a lengthy article recently,
Sweden's most respected newspaper, "Dagen Nyheter" maintained that "The
Simpsons" is a program for adults, as it satirizes many aspects of American
life. The newspaper compares what it calls the "lobotomizing" of the program
to dubbing Sir Laurence Olivier with a "half-decent ventriloquist".
TELEVISION IN SWEDEN--Sweden is the size and shape of California, yet has
only three national television networks, and no other terrestrial television
broadcasters. But there is room for many more stations. In comparison, to
take the example of a small American city, in San Francisco alone there are
11 separate television stations.
The Swedish government has now commissioned a study into expanding the number
of over-the-air channels. According to Lars Maren of the Swedish Ministry of
Culture, modern technology permits a major expansion. Following the study,
the government will decide whether to authorize new national or local
transmitters. (TT)
TV4--Until two years ago, the only television signals on the air in Sweden
were the two national public service channels. They have been joined by the
private commercial broadcaster TV4, which also uses the Tele-X satellite. TV4
plans to expand its schedule to 24 hours a day. Initially, the station
intends to broadcast continuously from morning to evening by next year. The
all-night gap would be filled by 1996. The only problem with night
broadcasting is that for two weeks every Fall and Spring, Tele-X is in the
Earth's shadow, and cannot be used during the middle of the night. This
affects the 2 percent of the station's audience who cannot receive TV4 from
terrestrial transmitters.
To counter this, TV4 is considering using another satellite. ("Dagens
Nyheter")
TELE-X--Things are not going well for Tele-X in other ways. FilmNet has sold
its 85 percent share of the satellite back to the Swedish government, and the
Swedish Space Corporation. The private pay film channel bought its share last
September, as part of the Conservative-led government's privatization
campaign. The intention was that another satellite would be bought and co-
located with Tele-X at 5 degrees East, in order to establish a Nordic
satellite position in orbit. (TT)
But Norwegian Telecom outbid the Swedes and bought the only available direct
broadcast satellite, Marco Polo II, which was then renamed Thor, and moved to
0.8 degrees West, alongside Intelsat 512, which also carries programming to
Norway.
On August 30th the FilmNet Movies channel left Tele-X for Thor. According to
"What Satellite TV" magazine, FilmNet decided to sell its share of Tele-X
when the Swedish Space Corporation refused to move the satellite to the same
position as Thor and Intelsat 512. ("What Satellite TV" and TT)
Unfortunately the Thor porject thus far borders on disaster, as the
Norwegians insist on using the obscure D-MAC and Eurocrypt S systems, making
what is supposed to be a Nordic satellite only available to Norwegians, and
depriving satellite viewers in the rest of Scandinavia of CNN, Eurosport,
FilmNet Movies and soon the Children's Channel.
The only advantage for Nordic viewers is that when FilmNet Movies left Tele-X
the satellite could be restored to full strength for its broadcasts of TV4
and TV5 Nordic. (Bertil Sundberg in "Paa TV")
NORWAY--The Norwegian government is scrapping a demand it made to
broadcasters requiring them to scramble television alcohol advertisements
carried on cable and satellite television. The climb down was made by Norway
as part of its negotiations to join the European Community. Previously CNN
International had run in with Norway's rules after it was asked to erase
commercials for alcohol. ("SatNews")
EUROPEAN MEDIA NEWS:
ASTRA--More broadcasters are appearing on the Astra 1C satellite. On (or just
before) August 27th, in connection with the opening of the big electronics
fair in Berlin, Germany's MDR3, ZDF, SW3 and ARD all launched their services
on Astra.
Mexico's Galavision has started test transmissions on Astra transponder 44.
UK Living launched on transponder 34 on September 1st. Despite reports of
problems or delays, on September 1st Country Music Television also began its
service, on Astra transponder 41, sharing the channel with Discovery.
The shopping channel QVC is also apparently no longer under threat, and has
signed a lease for transponder 38, where it's due to begin broadcasts on
October 1st.
Meanwhile, the influence of the new satellite is making itself felt.
According to "Skyguide", in its first three days on Astra, The Discovery
Channel blasted into the UK satellite ratings with an impressive 200,000
viewers for its Loch Ness update program.
Transponder 47 on Astra has been undergoing tests recently, thought to be in
preparation for a new service. A number of broadcasters have been rumored for
the channel, including HBO, Cinemax, and the Franco-Geman cultural channel
ARTE.
Now it's reported that Sky is planning to lessen the impact of the increase
in Sky Sports subscriptions by launching a second sports channel, understood
to be free to Sports subscribers, and this would use transponder 47. If it
goes ahead, an announcement is likely to be made very shortly, with the
channel possibly starting later this month.
("Skyguide" and James Robinson)
RTL-5 has begun test broadcasts, using the out-of-band transponder 64, not 63
as previously thought. RTL-5 is currently relaying RTL-4, in the clear. RTL-5
is to launch with its own programming on October 2. (James Robinson) Instead,
Filmnet is using transponder 63, and is now carrying some encryption tests.
TNT and The Cartoon Network will begin their test transmissions on
transponder 37 on September 10th, one week before their launch. ("Skyguide")
The Adult Channel began broadcasts on Bravo's transponder 42 on September
1st. The channel will leave transponder 26 (home of Radio Sweden) on
September 30. (James Robinson)
RADIO--The World Radio Network will begin its tests on Astra transponder 22,
audio 7.74 MHz, beginning September 15th, with a full schedule beginning
October 1st. (James Robinson) This will include the relays of "All Things
Considered" and "Morning Edition" from National Public Radio in the United
States, currently heard on WRN's transponder on Eutelsat II-F1, as well as a
number of hithertoo undisclosed international broadcasters in English.
OLYMPUS--Europe has one less communications satellite. The European Space
Agency announced August 26th that it has terminated the four-year-old mission
of its troubled Olympus satellite, 11 months ahead of schedule. The ESA says
it sent the satellite to a lower, non-operational orbit where it would not
collide or interfere with other satellites. Olympus had started spinning and
did not have enough fuel to return to its proper geostationary orbit. Olympus
had carried broadcasts from Italy and relays of news from the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation, and was also used to test advanced communications
technologies, including high-definition television. Two years ago the
satellite's position had to be corrected after it went into an uncontrolled
drift around the world. (Reuters)
EUTELSAT--The Turkish shopping channel KanalMarket can now be found on
Eutelsat II-F4 on 11.575 GHz. (James Robinson)
Eutelsat has decided to relocate its Eutelsat I-F1 satellite from 21.5
degrees east to a more easterly location to provide telecomms services from
Russia and CIS republics to Europe. Eutelsat I-F1 is in its last stages of
life, but it will provide service until replaced by planned Eutelsat
launches. ("SatNews")
Eutelsat I-F5 is to relay two hours of Albanian television every evening,
beginning in October. The costs are being covered by the government of
Serbian province of Kosovo, which has an ethnic Albanian majority.
Programming will come from Albanian Radio Television and Kosovo's TV
Pristina. (Radio Tirana via BBC Monitoring)
HUNGARY--Antenna Hungaria, the Hungarian telecommunications company, says
that it plans to launch a 16-channel European satellite called "Domestic" in
1996, offering Eastern Europe's first commercial satellite service.
("SatNews")
POLAND--Reports say that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is likely to be a
leading applicant in the race to run Poland's first national commercial
television network. Apparently News Corp. is considering applying
jointly with the Polish Investment Consortium to operate a service.
Under Polish law News Corp would not be able to take more than a 33
percent stake in the broadcasting venture. Poland currently has two
state-run television channels. ("SatNews")
FRANCE--France's leading television station, TF1, announced August 26th it
will launch the country's first all-news channel next year. Etienne
Mougeotte, managing director of the private television station, told Le
Figaro newspaper that the channel will carry French-language news updates
every 15 minutes. It will also have "talk shows like on CNN". The station
will broadcast via cable and satellite, he said. Mougeotte said TF1 would
be the channel's sole operator, although it would consider cooperating with
French pay television network Canal Plus.
Prime Minister Edouard Balladur has announced the government will begin
broadcasting educational programmes over the defunct Cinq network's airwaves
next year. The programmes will run until 7 p.m., when the Franco-German
biligual cultural station Arte, launched last year, starts its evening
broadcasts. (Reuters)
THE CHINESE CHANNEL--The Chinese Channel has been granted an ITC licence to
uplink programming from the UK. The channel is thought to be planning to
launch a European service in time for the Chinese New Year next February.
Backed by one of the world's largest producers of chinese programming, it
could broadcast overnight on Astra 1C until a full transponder becomes
available. ("Skyguide")
THE TRAVEL CHANNEL--Landmark Communications Inc, the US media conglomerate
which owns the The Weather Channel and The Travel Channel, has confirmed that
it is to launch The Travel Channel in Europe early 1994. The Landmark
purchase of The Travel Channel US last year has been followed by a new look
and programming review.
Kevin Senie, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Landmark
Communications says: "The UK is a key market for us, and now that The Travel
Channel is working well in the States, we're in a position to move forward
very quickly. We believe that this is a clear and powerful concept that UK
viewers will react to very positively.
"We will launch in the UK early in 1994 and in the meantime are making
substantial progress with our development plans which also include Benelux
and Scandinavia."
Since the launch of The Weather Channel in 1982 it has enjoyed
considerable success. It is now watched in 54 million homes in the US, and
noted a surge in viewer ratings. The programming specification for the Travel
Channel in the UK includes broad lifestyle entertainment across all the
pleasures associated with travel - action, adventure, culinary experiences
and cultural insights. ("SatNews")
DIGITAL BROADCASTING--NTL and Eutelsat have completed joint tests to prove
the viability of wideband satellite transponders for carrying both
conventional analog FM television signals and the new digitally compressed TV
signals of the NTL System 2000.
A single Eutelsat transponder was shown to be able to carry simultaneously
either a single FM channel and four digitally compressed channels or a total
of eight digital channels at broadcast quality.
The compatibility, within one transponder, of a high power analog
transmission and lower power digitally compressed signals means that
operators can more easily migrate from analog to digital, with its attractive
cost reductions. Eutelsat says that its wideband transponders are especially
attractive since the premium for the additional bandwidth is much less than
the extra cost of a whole transponder.
NTL's System 2000 is a complete multi-channel video compression system
operating at broadcast quality using the MPEG standard. At 8 Mbits/second,
four digital TV channels can be accommodated in the space normally occupied
by one analog service. Lower bits rates are possible, giving even more
channels at slightly reduced quality. ("SatNews")
SATELLITE TVRO:
GERMANY--Foreigners in Germany gained a rare advantage over their German
neighbours recently when a court ruled they had a right to install satellite
dishes to receive television broadcasts in their native languages. A state
court in Karlsruhe said freedom of information took precedence over the
rights of a landlord who wanted to block an Italian tenant from setting up a
dish outside his flat. The court said landlords had to allow foreign
tenants to set up a satellite dish if the apartment house does not have cable
television or the local cable company does not provide programming in the
tenant's language. But they can refuse permission to German tenants if the
building has cable television because they would already have access to many
different German-language broadcasters. Cable television in Germany usually
offer broadcasts from several neighbouring countries and Turkey but the mix
depends on what regional cable companies think best meets local needs.
(Reuters)
MALAYSIA--The situation is different in Malaysia. The Cabinet there has
decided to continue to ban the use of satellite dishes to receive television
programs. The Malaysian government wants to keep out what it views as
possible negative cultural effects from foreign broadcasts. Relaxation of the
ban also might allow foreign broadcasters to take away audiences from local
programs, the "Sunday Star" and "New Sunday Times" newspapersquoted
Information Minister Mohamed Rahmat as saying. Only the King and the Prime
Minister are exempt from the ban, he said. Mohamed says three additional
channels from the government-owned Radio Television Malaysia would be
available next year for a monthly fee of about 50 Malaysian ringgit (USD 20).
One channel would transmit CNN programs, one the BBC news service and the
third would transmit sports programs. There are currently three television
channels in Malaysia -- RTM One and RTM Two, owned by the government, and
TV3, owned by the ruling party. All radio stations are government-owned. (AP)
ASIAN/PACIFIC MEDIA NEWS:
INDIA--As reported in edition 2184, on its Independence Day on August 15th
India launched 5 new television channels on satellite. The event also marked
the opening of the new Insat 2-B satellite. The five new channels -
entertainment, music, "enrichment", business news and current affairs, and
sports - are to compete with the Star-TV package from Hong Kong, which
includes the Hindi language Zee TV channel. For the first time, airtime is
being given to private producers.
A survey in January indicated that 3.3 million Indian homes were watching Star
and Zee TV. Another survey revealed that satellite TV has reached 4 percent of
India's half a million villages, where English-language soap operas are the
most popular programming.
The Indian government has introduced legislation requiring cable operators to
relay at least one of the new channels. But operators are complaining that
signals from Insat 2-B are weaker than those from Star-TV on Asiasat-1. (PTI
via BBC Monitoring and IPS)
JAPAN--Nihon Keizai Shimbum, Television Tokyo Channel 13 Limited and five
sub-affiliates say that they will start broadcasting programs by
satellite from 1997 using the BS-4 satellite. BS-4 is set to be
launched in 1997. Once operational, the company says that it will plan to
relay live broadcasts of economic news from Monday through Friday, and sports
events and broadcast movies will be aired at the weekend.
The satellite operator TXN will simulcast HDTV broadcasts alongside
conventional broadcasts, and the service will be split between pay-TV
services and advertising supported. A report in the Nikkei Daily Journal
said that the monthly viewers fee would be around YEN500 per month.
("SatNews")
ASIA BUSINESS NEWS--Dow Jones has taken a 29.5 percent stake in Asia's first
satellite business news channel Asia Business News. Transmissions are set to
commence on October 15 initially for 18 hours daily on the Palapa B2P
satellite. ABN is now owned jointly by Dow Jones, Television New Zealand Ltd
and Telecommunications International, and SIM Ventures (two Singapore
government bodies). ("SatNews")
AUSTRALIA--"SatNews" describes the Australian government's plan to sell-off
pay television rights as a "farce". Ever since it first announced that four
channels could be broadcast by satellite aboard an Optus satellite the whole
affair has been dogged by errors, omissions and plain stupidity.
Industry analysts are amazed at the naivety of the Australian
government and internationally it has became a laughing stock.
In the latest twist to the bitter tale, the two upstart winners of
the licences have failed to come up with money pledged for the
licences. Ucom Pty Limited and Hi Vision Limited paid significantly
over the odds against over 50 rivals including seasoned veterans
such as News Corp. (owner of British Sky Broadcasting) to secure the
licences.
The Communications Ministry has now invited the second highest
bidders to take over the licences. ("SatNews")
INDONESIA--Arianespace has signed a contract to launch the Indonesian
communications satellite Palapa C1. The satellite, to by built by Hughes,will
carry 30 C-band transponders and 4 Ku-band transponders. It is tobe launched
in October 1995 to replace Palapa B2P, and will have an expected life of 14
years. (AFP via BBC Monitoring)
GLOBAL NETWORKS:
MURDOCH EXPANDS--News Corp., the massive international conglomerate owned by
Rupert Murdoch, has jointed forces with Australia's largest telephone company
Telestra to form an alliance to exploit the Asian media market. The new
venture will pursue interests and investments in activities such as pay
television, home shopping and interactive
services.
It is not known whether News Corp. will merge its Asian media interests such
as the recently acquired stake in Star-TV into the new venture, or whether it
will continue to operate it at an arm's length.
Telestra and News Corp. have already taken a stake in Australian
terrestrial broadcaster Seven Network Limited, and the Australian
Broadcasting Authority is examining the deal for evidence of unfair
competition. ("SatNews")
When News Corp, bought Star-TV there was wide speculation if Murdoch would
put Sky News on Asiasat, competing with BBC World Service. Last week Murdoch
announced he is turning Sky News into a global satellite television news
network. Broadcasts to southern Africa are to begin on October 1. In a speech
to Sky advertisers in London, Murdoch announced "Plans are well advanced to
take Sky News, or a parallel service, to all continents of the world, where
we will be seeking local partners, both national and regional." (Reuters)
The expanded Sky News would compete both with BBC World Service and CNNI
International. News Corp. also owns the Fox Network in the United States.
Presumeably a worldwide news service would also use the news departments of
the Fox stations.
Ironically, a few weeks ago, when British Sky Broadcasting announced its
Multi-Channel package, it appeared that Sky News would be coded and available
only to viewers in Britain and Ireland.
At his London news conference, Rupert Murdoch also said News Corp.has signed
a deal to develop a common internatinal digital satellite standard, which
would allow TV programs to be beamed around the world on a single system: "We
signed an agreement with some of the best brains in the business to develop,
co-operatively, what will be the common digital satellite system throughout
Europe, Asia, and the Americas." (Reuters)
NORTH AMERICAN MEDIA NEWS:
USA--There have been many changes in American satellite broadcasting during
August. On August 1st the new Galaxy 4 satellite became
operational. It only took a few minutes to move the traffic off of
Galaxy 6 C-band and SBS-6 Ku band onto Galaxy 4 C and Ku band.
After that move, SBS-6 moved over to 95 degrees west and it became
operational on August 8. It appears that SBS-3 was retired and the
COMSAT VIDEO ENTERPRISES services were moved onto SBS-6 from SBS-3.
CONUS COMMUNICATIONS is also using SBS-6 -- they have transponders
12, 13, and 14 for their various feeds and Newstar SNG uplinks.
Galaxy 6, meanwhile, moved to 103 degrees west longitude and it
started service on August 10 from that orbital slot. So far, the
only video observed was the UNIVISION MIAMI occasional feeds channel
on transponder 13.
Telstar 301 is getting more and more inclined with each passing day.
Syndicators and other users of T1 are finding new homes
so their television station affiliates can have the best picture possible.
If syndicators had remained on T1, then they would get horrible pictures as
the satellite works its way out of the beamwidth. The satellite could also
get entirely out of the beamwidth of the television station dish and not be
visible at all until the satellite drifted back into the beamwidth.
Some of the T1 services moving include:
Warner Brothers to Galaxy 4/21
Buena Vista Television Network to Telstar 302/6
Compact Video Satellite to Telstar 302/7
Paramount Television (home of "Star Trek") to Telstar 302/3
The VTC Satellite Network to Telstar 302/16.
ABC-TV has moved its east coast feeds and various newsfeeds (especially
NewsOne feeds) to Telstar 302. The west coast feed is on Galaxy 3. All feeds
were dual illuminating until August 1st,when LEITCH encryption was
introduced. (Robert Smathers in "SatNews" and "Satellite TV Week")
DBS--DirecTV has signed up two new television channels for its planned US DBS
satellite service. CNN International and Turner Classic Movies will join the
other Turner Broadcasting Channels (CNN, Headline News, TNT, Cartoon Network
and TBS Superstation) who previously signed up for the service. ("SatNews")
CHINA/USA--North American viewers can now watch hours of Chinese television
programs from a new Sino-U.S. joint venture station. The America Asian
Satellite Television Network is a joint venture of China Central Television
Station, 20 local Chinese television stations, several major Chinese firms
and the Chicago Chinese Communications Corp. (3C Group Enterprises),
according to the official "China Daily". Twelve hours of programming each day
will be uplinked from Chicago, including shows on Chinese culture, news,
entertainment, sports, economy, as well as Chinese movies and soap operas.
(AP)
New Century Television Chicago's "Daily News from China" service can
now be seen for one hour immediately proceeding the North American Chinese
Network program on Satcom K2 transponder 14. (Robert Smathers in "SatNews")
FOOD CHANNEL--TVFN, a new cable television food channel set for official
launch on Thanksgiving Day in the US, is airing previews of its programming
on cable networks. Initially a two-hour daily taster will be aired. Once
launched, the service will be a round-the-clock basic cable service,
featuring top food chefs, critics and industry previews. From September 27th
TVFN will add a four-hour 'appetizer' to its viewing menu showing more
programmes planned. Eight hours of daily programming will be cycled in a
24-hour
interval. (Sat News)
POLAND--TV Polonia, which broadcasts to Poles in Europe over Eutelsat, has
signed an agreement to relay its programs to North America. The 10 million
strong Polish community in the US and Canada will be watching Polish
television programs from October 1st. TV Polonia hopes to sign agreements
with 300 local cable networks to relay the programming. The next country
which Polish television is to reach is Brazil. (TV Polonia via BBC
Monitoring)
CABLE TV--The US Federal Communications Commission has brought forward the
date of a scheduled fee reduction in cable television services from
October 1st to September 1st. Estimates say that subscribers could save up
to 10 percent off cable fees as a result of the FCC's new and
controversial ruling. There are over 55 million cable TV subscribers in the
US, and according to Gene Kimmelman of the Consumer Federation of America, a
viewers' lobby group, over USD 100 million will be saved by viewers annually.
A decision was taken by the FCC on April 1st this year to reduce the
fees charged to subscribers taking basic cable services. Premium
channels will be unaffected by the move, and there is a fear that
many cable networks will attempt to rejig and reclassify much of
their programming. ("SatNews")
SATELLITE RADIO--Last night I determined for sure that the BBC WS Radio on C-
SPAN C3-07 5.4MHz is different from the one on Anik E2-20 at 7.58 MHz. At
9:45-10:00PM Eastern every weekday night you can compare C3-07 and E2-20.
You will find "Carribean Report" on C3-07 while on E2-20 you will find the
regularly scheduled World Service program.
It looks like C-SPAN takes the feed intended for rebroadcast to the Carribean
while the Canadians use another feed. This feed may not be the unmodified
full schedule either. (Mike Gingell via Internet News)
LATE NIGHT TV--The big American media news this week is the launching of the
"Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS television, in direct competition
with Jay Leno and "The Tonight Show" on NBC. Letterman was doing a later
night show on NBC, but quit when the network gave "The Tonight Show" to Leno
after Johnny Carson retired.
Speaking to National Public Radio after the first broadcast, the media critic
for "Rolling Stone" magazine, Jon Katz, commented that the situation today
is totally different than when the "Tonight Show" first when on the air.
Then, there was no competion. Today, besides "Tonight" and the new CBS
program, Chevy Chase will be doing a similar program for the Fox Network, ABC
has its "Nightline" news program, and there are dozens of cable and satellite
film and specialty channels, as well as the ubiguitous video cassette
recorder. The audience is fragmenting.
FUTURE MEDIA--Michael Crichton, author of the books behind the current hit
films "Jurrasic Park" and "Rising Sun", goes beyond this in an article in the
September issue of "Wired" magazine. Referring to what he calls "The
Mediasaurus", Crichton says "the next great American institution to find
itself obsolete and outdated, while obstinately refusing to change" could be
"The New York Times" and the commercial television networks. Praising CNN and
C-SPAN (which broadcasts live from the American Congress and government
agencies), he compares the traditional broadcast media to the days when all
telephone calls had to be placed through operators.
Crichton criticises the media for oversimplfying the issues, and suggests
that once the proposed American fiber optic highway is in place, subscribers
will be able to access all the information they want, unfiltered by the press
and networks.
One example of how media is changing is a computer program called
"Journalist" that can be used with the CompuServe online information service.
This program allows the user to lay out a personal "newspaper", with space
for news on particular subjects of interest. When running, the program
automatically phones up CompuServe on a regular basis, for example every
morning, downloads the news of interest, and prints out a customized
"newspaper".
WEATHER SATELLITES:
NOAA--Controllers have lost contact with the newest U.S. weather satellite.
The satellite, NOAA-13, was last contacted at 2315 UTC August 21st, according
to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The polar-orbiting
satellite was launched by the Air Force on Aug. 9 and had been operating
successfully until contact was lost, officials said. The satellite was
designed to help monitor the earth's oceans and atmosphere, and joined
satellites NOAA-11 and NOAA-12 in polar orbits. Polar orbiting satellites arc
in a circle around the planet as it turns beneath them, permitting a view of
the entire planet during the course of a day. The two older satellites
continue in operation, NOAA officials said. (AP)
USA/EUROPE--American and European weather forecasters have agreed to protect
each other's weather forecasting operations when either side loses a major
weather satellite. Meanwhile, hopes were fading for contacting a U.S. weather
satellite that went dead last weekend. According to Jim Elliott of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, "We have established a board
to investigate what we consider to be a failure". But he says scientists are
still sending signals in hopes of getting a response from satellite NOAA-13,
which is orbiting the Earth from pole to pole at an altitude of 540 miles.
Elliott says the problem with the USD 62 million weather satellite appears to
be a short in the electrical system, preventing the solar panels on the
satellite from recharging its batteries.
Loss of the weather satellite should not cause any problems in weather
forecasting or tracking hurricanes. Two similar satellites, NOAA-11 and
NOAA-12, remain in operation.
The United States already has borrowed a European satellite, which is
replacing a failed American GOES satellite in monitoring hurricanes, tropical
storms and other weather. Normally the United States operates two GOES
satellites, in fixed positions over the equator, to observe weather systems
every half-hour. Meteosat-3 was borrowed in February when one of the American
satellites failed.
The new agreement calls for the United States and the European weather agency
to each keep two stationary satellites in operation, and for each to
reposition its instruments to help the other in the event of failure. The
agencies have cooperated previously. The United States also borrowed
Meteosat-3 in 1991, and before that allowed the Europeans to use a GOES
satellite when Meteosat-2 failed.
The European agency plans to launch a new Meteosat in November and NOAA has
scheduled launches of new GOES satellites next April and in 1995. The
geo-stationary satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of 22,000 miles.
They rotate around the Earth at the same rate the planet spins, thus
remaining over the same spot all the time. (AP)
MEDIUM AND SHORTWAVE:
AZERBAIJAN--Azerbaijan Radio's Second Program was heard carrying a 15 minute
news program in English at 19:00 hrs UTC on 4958 and 15240 kHz. This English-
language program is in addition to Azerbaijan Radio's English Service to
Europe, known as Radio Dada Gorgud, which is broadcast 17:00-18:00 hrs on
15240 kHz. (BBC Monitoring)
ESTONIA--One of the few international broadcasters with programming in
Swedish has been forced to close down completely. Estonian Radio is
discontinuing all programs in foreign languages from Radio Estonia, beginning
October 1st. Estonian Radio has been been broadcasting in Finnish, Swedish
and English on shortwave and mediumwave for decades.
This comes as a bit of a blow to Finland's University of Tampere, which has
been working with the Estonian Radio for about three years. Students from the
university's Department of Journalism and Mass Communication have been
working at the Finnish language department of Radio Estonia. They have read
news, made radio programs and taught Western radio journalism to their
Estonian colleagues. Now this exchange comes to its end. (Jorna Manyla,
Finland, James Robinson, and BBC Monitoring)
KUWAIT--Kuwaiti Radio has been testing a new 600 kW transmitter on 540 kHz.
(BBC Monitoring)
LITHUANIA--Baltic Radio International will be on the air "this summer", says
the general manager of the radio station, Mr. Paul Rusling.
This commercial radio station is to broadcast on 684 kHz with a power of 200
kW from a transmitter site in Palanga, Lithuania. The antenna is directed
towards Oslo with side lobes targeted towards Helsinki, Stockholm and
Copenhagen.
BRI has already started building work at its new transmitter site in
Lithuania. In January, the British company signed an agreement with the
Palanga local administration. In accordance with this agreement, BRI has
secured a plot of land for 15 years. Every year they will pay Palanga USD
20000. General director of BRI, Mr. Paul Rusling, gave an interview in which
he said that he was not afraid of rivals, but acknowledged that they exist
and could hinder the intention to target advertisements in Scandinavia. BRI
will build six radio masts, a transmitter building, generator and premises
with a reserve studio, all costing GBP 1,400,000. BRI programs will consist
of pop music, with several minutes of advertisements every hour. Mr. Rusling
has said that the station opening this summer will feature Elton John and
other rock stars. ("Lietuvos Rytas" via FDXA "Euronews")
It seems that this strange radio station really will be on the air despite
many doubts. However, Scandinavian DXers have heard nothing on 684 kHz,
except Radio Baltika, which is a private radio station in St. Petersburg,
Russia.
Personally I am rather suspicious about the future of this radio station.
Remember that Radio Luxembourg already closed their English channel. The
Scandinavian market for a commercial English language radio station is even
smaller than that of Radio Luxembourg in the heart of Europe. Furthermore,
listening to an AM/medium-wave station in Scandinavia is more a curiosity
because everything goes on FM. Finland, Norway and Denmark already have
commercial radio stations (exclusively FM stereo) with their share of
advertising market. Commercial radio will be launched in Sweden within
coming months. And, finally, the state-owned radio companies in Scandinavia
have rather good and popular rock-channels and Norway will have its own from
the beginning of October. Thus, BRI will face a hard market if they really
want to have listeners and advertisements. They will have approximately the
same problems as Radio Luxembourg had with their English channel on 1440 kHz.
But perhaps there are so strong market forces behind BRI that they'll
overcome these troubles.
It is really interesting to hear what happens on 684 kHz in the near future -
if anything happens. (Jorma Mantyla in FDXA "Euronews")
NICARAGUA--According to a commentary on the right wing station Radio
Corporacion, the Nicaraguan government has completely neglected its official
station, Radio Nicaragua. Power to the station's two transmitters on 620 and
640 kHz has been cut off. Three telephone lines have been disconnected for
non-payment. Overtime has not been paid.
Radio Nicaragua has reported that on August 20th an armed group of
approximately 15 individuals stormed Radio Corporaction, and machine-gunned
the offices of directors and managers, as well as the reception, recording,
and master control rooms. (BBC Monitoring)
RUSSIA--The authorities in Tatarstan have decided to begin broadcasts on
shortwave, since only 25 percent of the Tatars live in Tatarstan. (Voice of
Russia via BBC Monitoring)
SRI LANKA/USA--A Voice of America radio station being built in a remote
corner of Sri Lanka has raised fears among fishermen and pitted the local
Roman Catholic church against the world's remaining superpower. The
fishermen, who have staged vociferous protests to halt construction of the
VOA station, fear it may mean American submarines will patrol off the
island's north-western coast one day, denying them their fishing grounds.
They also fear losing their land to the Americans, who they think may use the
VOA station as a cover for a military communications center.
The United States insists the high-powered shortwave transmitters being built
on a 400-acre (161-hectare) coconut estate in Iranawila will improve its
public radio broadcasts to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and nothing
more. The new facility on the coast, 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Colombo,
should be completed by 1995. It is meant to replace existing VOA transmitters
which have been broadcasting for 40 years near the capital, the U.S. embassy
has said.
The mainly Catholic fishermen say construction work on the project, which
began early this year, has damaged their homes, disrupted their lifestyle and
threatened their livelihood. The local church has thrown itself behind them
and lobbied the government to scrap the project. (Reuters)
UNOFFICIAL BROADCASTING--The Voice of the People of Kurdistan continues to be
heard on 4130 kHz, from fade-in around 15:00 hrs UTC until sign-off att
16:25. The main program of the Voice of the People of Kurdistan is heard on
around 4095 kHz at around 16:00-18:00 hrs. On April 29th the station
announced it was broadcasting a "Second Program" at 14:00-16:00 hrs on 7265
kHz, although it has not been heard on this frequency. (BBC Monitoring)
PUBLICATIONS:
Two very interesting newsletters about satellite broadcasting are available
over data networks. Both of which are used extensively in compiling
"MediaScan", and we'd like to thank both for making themselves available to
us.
SATNEWS--SatNews is huge, so big that the fortnightly uploads have to be
divided into three files. There's probably more here about the electronics
and satellite industries than any one person wants, but all the important
news is included. Editor Darren Ingram does a great job, but since he's sold
the publication to a commercial company, it caters to business interests, at
business prices. Fortunately they offer a special rate to non-commercial
subscribers: only GBP 50 or USD 100 for one year to an Internet-compatible
mailbox. If you need this kind of information, it's well worth it. You can
contact SatNews at the Internet mailbox satnews@cix.compulink.co.uk for more
information.
SKY GUIDE--Skyguide is a short weekly newsletter covering satellite and cable
broadcasting, concentrating on the UK. Fortunately, it's free. You can find
Skyguide every week on London's CIX conferencing system, in the Skyguide
conference, the Fidonet Satellite TV echo, and the Packet Radio Network.
Skyguide is now available on the internet in the alt.satellite.tv.europe
newsgroup. Comments, suggestions, stories and monetary donations are always
appreciated. You can contact Skyguide in the following ways:
CIX : mail to bignoise, or use the Skyguide/comments conference.
Fidonet : Netmail to ANTONY PURVIS at 2:251/22, or leave a message in
the Satellite TV echo.
Internet: bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk
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Sweden Calling DXers is the world's oldest radio program for shortwave
listeners. Radio Sweden has presented this round-up of radio news, features,
and interviews on Tuesdays since 1948.
Radio Sweden broadcasts in English:
Europe and Africa:
15:00 hrs on 1179 khz (weekdays only)
16:15 hrs on 1179 and 6065 kHz
17:30 hrs on 1179, 6065, and 9645 kHz
20:30 hrs on 1179, 6065 and 9655 kHz
21:30 hrs on 1179 and 6065 khz, and
22:30 hrs on 1179 and 6065 kHz
Middle East and East Africa:
15:00 hrs on 15190 kHz and
17:30 hrs on 15270 kHz
Asia and the Pacific:
12:30 hrs on 15240 and 21500 kHz
22:30 hrs on 11910 kHz and
01:00 hrs on 9695 and 11820 kHz
North America:
15:00 hrs on 15240 and 21500 kHz and
02:00 hrs on 9695 and 11705 kHz
South America:
00:00 hrs on 9695 kHz
The broadcasts at 12:30, 16:15, 17:30, 20:30 (weekends only), 21:30, and
22:30 hrs are also relayed to Europe by satellite:
Astra 1B (19.2 degrees East) transponder 26 (Sky Movies Gold/TV Asia/Adult
Channel) at 11.597 GHz, audio subcarrier at 7.74 MHz,
Tele-X (5 degrees East) (TV4 transponder) at 12.207 GHz, audio subcarrier
7.38 MHz.
Contributions can be sent to DX Editor George Wood by fax to +468-667-6283,
from Internet, MCI Mail or CompuServe (to the CompuServe mailbox 70247,3516),
through the FidoNet system to 2:201/697 or to SM0IIN at the packet radio BBS
SM0ETV.
Reports can also be sent to:
Radio Sweden
S-105 10 Stockholm
Sweden
Contributions should be NEWS about electronic media--from shortwave to
satellites--and not loggings of information already available from sources
such as the "World Radio TV Handbook". Clubs and DX publications may reprint
material as long as MediaScan/Sweden Calling DXers and the original
contributor are acknowledged, with the exception of items from BBC
Monitoring, which are copyright.
We welcome comments and suggestions about the electronic edition, Sweden
Calling DXers, and our programs in general.
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Thanks to this week's contributors Good Listening!