Featured Stories

RAPTURE JOINS SKY DIGITAL

Youth channel Rapture has joined the Sky Digital line up on Astra, increasing its carriage by a third to approximately 5.7 million homes including analogue satellite and cable. Rapture, owned...

BILLINGER DEPARTS

BSkyB’s director of interactive programming Steve Billinger left on November 19. Billinger denied he had been upset by the appointment of John Swingewood (from BT) as head of BSkyB’s new...

TELENOR GROWS UK PRESENCE

Telenor is upgrading its presence in the UK with a move to new offices that will also include its own uplink facilities. The new offices in Bernard Street, central London,...

NEWS BYTES...

Iran is to set up a space organisation with either Chinese or Indian help, according the deputy post, telegraph and telephone minister, Mehdi Tabeshian, speaking at the second international conference...

TWO NEW TOURISM CHANNELS FOR FRANCE

Two channels for France specialising in tourism, but with very different approaches, are on the launch pad. VTV International, based in Madrid, has launched Tele Vacances in France. The channel...

STUDY: LEOS 'WILL RECOVER'

A new satellite market study (Handbook of Satellite Services in Europe, Microcom Systems Pounds 285) suggests the recent problems affecting Iridium and ICO Global Communications will have a short-term effect...

CZECH GALAXIE LAUNCHES

Regional Czech satellite TV station Galaxie started transmissions on November 18 on satellite and cable according to local reports. It has also been reported that channel could be a target...

CARLTON RIVALS EYE UN&M

The proposed merger between Carlton Communications and United News & Media (UN&M) – besides managing to infuriate both BSkyB and Granada – could bring together two UK broadcasters with a...

MONEY CHANNEL ON THE MONEY

The Adam Faith-backed Money Channel, due on air in February, reported losses for its first half-year Pounds 638,000 for the six months to September 30, in line with company expectations....

TELEPIU HITS GOLDBOX SHORTAGE

Italian pay-TV operator Telepiu is facing major problems in supplying its new subscribers with the Goldbox receivers needed to receive its digital bouquet. In order to resolve the problem, Telepiu...