Swiss public broadcaster SRG has cancelled its contract with neighbouring Austrian public broadcaster ORF for carriage of its German-language domestic TV channel for DTH viewers within ORF’s digital package on Astra 1G (19.2 degrees East).

SRG’s SF1 was removed from ORF’s bouquet on Transponder 117 (12.693 GHz H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6) on March 1. According to an ORF spokesman, the termination of the contract occurred “in harmony with ORF”. An SRG spokesperson said that the decision was made on grounds of cost. While ORF’s encrypted channels use the Cryptoworks system, SF1 was encrypted in Viaccess, the same technology SRG uses on its own digital package on Hot Bird 3 (13 degrees East). ORF’s selection of Cryptoworks was a temporary measure until the final decision on satellite encryption was made. In September 1999, ORF decided to use Kirch Group’s Betacrypt system, expected to be implemented this summer. However, ORF has left the door open to simulcrypt its channels in a second system besides Betacrypt. The SRG spokesman said that its digital package remains on Hot Bird, offering all radio and television services in German, French and Italian produced by the Swiss public broadcaster. While the radio stations are free-to-air, the Viaccess-encrypted TV signals for copyright can only be watched by using an SRG smartcard, obtained from SRG for a small fee.