Archive

by Peter J. Brown A global transformation is under way as rural villages and remote enterprises are tapping into the global telecommunications revolution. This huge rural market, previously unserved or […]

by Stephane Chenard One of the most exciting trends in satellite broadcasting is the use of digital technology to distribute niche programming to television viewers around the world. Thanks to […]

TVE Tematica, the company Spanish public broadcaster Television Espanola (TVE) created two years ago to make channels for Via Digital when TVE had a 15 per cent of the digital […]

Fox Kids Poland will extend its transmission hours from November 20, closing at 2200 hrs. At the same time new station idents come into use. Fox’s Polish service now claims […]

National Geographic Television has added another UK digital channel, Adventure 1, from November 1. A company spokesman said the material is expected to attract younger viewers than its existing National […]

Leo Kirch’s digital pay-TV package Premiere World is to get some unexpected competition: Dusseldorf-based media house Rheinische Post plans to enter the German pay-TV market. Media company Deutsche Fernsehnachrich-ten Agentur […]

Key: D = Digital A = Analog 105.5 degrees E: Asiasat-3S A. Zee TV has launched a new, exclusively Punjabi-language channel called Alpha Punjabi on 3900 MHz vertical in clear […]

The second failure of a Proton launcher in four months, and with it the loss of a satellite Russia badly needed, has left the hard pressed Russian satellite communications industry […]

Norway’s Canal Digital is launching yet another service in its four Nordic territories of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The newcomer, which will launch on November 8, is Cinecinemas, managed […]

TPS has introduced a second decoder option, called Option Confort, to enable different members of the same household to watch different programmes on the TPS bouquet or to record one […]

Hackers have apparently managed to crack the encryption systems of most Europe’s major pay-TV operators, according to a report in weekly German news magazine Focus. The magazine said in a […]

Kids Europe Announces IPO Fox Kids Europe announced its Initial Public Offering the week before last. The offering is expected to close before Christmas. According to preliminary information, Fox Kids’ […]

Two regional TV channels from North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany’s largest state, will launch on satellite next year. Media authority LfR last week granted satellite licences to NRW 1, Privat TV and […]

Hamburg-based record company Edel Music intends to take over 16 per cent in German music channel Viva. According to chairman Michael Haentjes, Edel considers its investment in the Cologne-based channel […]

German general interest channel RTL Television can launch its planned digital thematic channels. The federal anti-concentration commission, the KEK, at its latest meeting gave the green light to the licence […]

Capital Research and Management Funds, part of The Capital Group, will become a shareholder of KirchMedia. In return for a share of 3.5 per cent, the Los Angeles-based company will […]

Pace Micro Technology’s share price rocketed last week thanks to news of its co-operation agreement with nine other technology companies to adopt a common, open standard for high speed broadband […]

Liberty Media Group has signed a letter of intent to invest $425 million in the Lockheed Martin-backed Astrolink broadband satellite project. Astrolink was formed as a joint venture between Lockheed […]

The satellite TV channel of Montenegro’s public broadcaster RTV Crna Gora has switched to a 24-hour format in clear MPEG-2. TV Montenegro will continue to broadcast in analogue five hours […]

The latest figures from Canal Plus reveal a total of 12.789 million pay TV subscribers in Europe as of September 30, an increase of 17 per cent over the previous […]

Italian pay-TV operator Stream has reported a record 120 per cent increase in subscribers to its digital platform for June. At the same time, Stream has announced that Corrado Sciolla […]

German media company Pro Sieben Group managed to increase turnover and profit during the first nine months of this year. Profit before tax climbed by DM10.3 million (Euro5.3 million) to […]

A&E’s History Channel is expected shortly to confirm three new distribution agreements for the Asian and Far East region. Whitney Goit, executive vice president, A&E TV Networks, said the three […]

An alliance made up of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, Telecom Italia and German media magnate Leo Kirch may yet be the white knight that will save fledgling Italian TV network […]

Investment analysts at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter say they expect BSkyB to achieve total digital sales of 2.4 million by the end of December. BSkyB’s net additions in the last […]

Middle East platform Orbit is said to be ending its commitment to Telecom Italia uplink division Telespazio. Altaf Alimohamed, chief executive of Star Select, which shares the Orbit platform, confirmed […]

MTV Italia is one step closer to being forced off the air following the October 6 announcement by the Italian telecommunications authority that home shopping channel H.O.T. Italia fulfills ownership […]

Alcatel Spacecom vice-president Alain Roger has signed shareholder agreements with Luis Escobar, CEO of Andesat, establishing the creation of Bolivar*Sat. This is a new joint venture for providing telecommunications, broadcasting, […]

Key: D=Digital, A=Analog 78.5 degrees E: Thaicom-2&3 D. Two Pakistani channels, PTV World and PTV Sports have launched on 3420 MHz vertical, SR 6666, FEC 3/4 in free-to-air MPEG-2. As […]

While Orbit struggles to drive subscriber numbers, new players such as Etisalat are preparing to enter the Middle Eastern multichannel broadcasting business. Interspace surveys current developments… On top of the […]