A = Analogue
D = Digital

122 degreesE:
Asiasat 4

D Asiasat 4 was launched successfully aboard an Atlas IIIB rocket from Cape Canaveral on April 12 at 00:47. It carries 28 C-Band and 20 Ku-Band transponders and will be placed at this geostationary slot. Asiasat 4 will replace the ageing Asiasat 1. The new satellite has been designed for at least a 15 year life span and is configured to provide C-Band coverage from New Zealand to the Middle East and Ku-Band coverage for East Asia and Australasia.

93.5 degreesE:
Insat 3A

D Insat 3A was launched from Kourou on 10 April at 22:50 UTC. It carries a payload of 18 C-Band and 6 Ku-Band transponders and will be located at this orbital slot. At present the satellite is positioned at around 91.7 degrees East and is slowly manoeuvring eastwards.

78.5 degreesE:
Thaicom 2&3

D The Voice of Korea can be heard in several languages including English on 3665 MHz horizontal, SR 3365, FEC 2/3 via APID 257. Radio Nederland Wereldomroep Europa has joined the TARBS multiplex at 3640 MHz horizontal, SR 28066, FEC 3/4 via APID 649.

76.5 degreesE:
Apstar 2R

A RTV Malagasy from Madagascar on 3780 MHz vertical has switched from Secam to PAL.

75 degreesE:
LMI 1

A RTV Malagasy has switched from Secam to PAL on 3975 MHz vertical.

68.5 degreesE:
PAS 7 & 10

D The Indian channel Yes TV opened here on 3520 MHz vertical, SR 3298, FEC 2/3, VPID 4448, APID 4195 in clear MPEG-2 last week although it seem to have vanished at present. Yes TV is also available via Thaicom at 78.5 degrees East, 3474 MHz, SR 3298, FEC 3/4. Cem Radyo has left the TARBS package at 4064 MHz vertical, SR 21000, FEC 3/4. Channel Islam International is a newcomer to the Multichoice Africa bouquet on 3863 MHz vertical, SR 20600, FEC 3/4, APID 1625. The station is located in Lenasia, near Johannesburg, in South Africa. On 19 April RTS 1 from Senegal was noted testing on 4098 MHz vertical, SR 3260, FEC 7/8, VPID 2306, APID 2307, ID:’Afrisat Run’ in clear MPEG-2. The programme output was not in parallel with the RTS outlet on Intelsat 801 at 31.5 degrees West. By the following day the feed had disappeared.

62 degreesE:
Intelsat 902

D From Iran, Khorasan TV has launched in clear MPEG-2 on 11074 MHz vertical, SR 3600, FEC 2/3, VPID 1001, APID 2001. Khorasan is the easternmost province in Iran bordering Afghanistan and Turkmenistan which houses the regional capital, Mashad. On the same frequency Radio Mashad is also new via APID 2002. Another Iranian channel, Al-Estiqamah, has joined the IRIB bouquet at 11137 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 on PIDs V107, A207.

55 degreesE:
Insat 2DT

A Doordarshan’s DD Oriya, which is for the eastern India province of Orissa, has moved from 4049 MHz RHCP to 4014 MHz RHCP in clear PAL. TV audio can be heard on the 5.50 MHz audio sub-carrier.

48 degreesE:
Eutelsat II-F2

D Magic TV has left 11598 MHz horizontal, SR 2896, FEC 1/2 and has re-located to NSS 7 at 22 degrees West. Radio Rinascente has rejoined the Italian radio package on 12524 MHz vertical, SR 1628, FEC 2/3, APID 321.

45 degreesE:
Europe*Star 1

D The UK-based convenience store radio station, One Stop Shop Radio, has left 11615 MHz vertical and has re-located to 11642 MHz vertical, SR 2170, FEC 3/4, APID 4195 in clear MPEG-2.

42 degreesE:
Turksat 1C & Eurasiasat 1

D The Italian independent channel, RTB International, can be found on 12610 MHz vertical, SR 1695, FEC 7/8, VPID 3105, APID 3106 in free-to-air MPEG-2. In the Dogan Grup multiplex at 11595 MHz vertical, SR 7095, FEC 5/6 the PIDs for Dream have been changed to V39, A40. The other channels here are Galaxy TV – V36, A37 and Bravo TV – V33, A34. All three are free-to-air. Mesaj TV International has been replaced by the domestic version, Mesaj TV Turk, on 11877 MHz vertical, SR 2598, FEC 7/8 via PIDs V308, A256 in clear MPEG- 2. In the EAS bouquet at 11737 MHz horizontal, SR 11715, FEC 5/6 BBC World India has replaced TT on VPID 309, APID 258 in clear MPEG-2. An RR Satellite Comms promo is being played out on the VIC 1 and VIC 2 streams at 12613 MHz vertical, SR 3698, FEC 7/8. The VIC 3 stream on V1089, A1059 has been switched to a Watchow TV test transmission and the VIC TV 4 stream is now playing VIC-TV.NET. Joy TV has joined the StarDigital line-up on 12652 MHz horizontal, SR 22500, FEC 5/6, VPID 1040, APID 1041 in clear MPEG-2. Biri Bizi Gozetliyor, the Turkish version of Big Brother, on 12622 MHz horizontal has changed Symbol Rate to 3054. The other parameters are; FEC 3/4, VPID 33, APID 34 in free-to-air MPEG-2.

40 degreesE:
Express A1R

D HDTV is testing intermittently on 3675 MHz RHCP, SR 33483, FEC 7/8, VPID 2305 [no audio stream]. The two streams entitled ‘Rezerved 1’ and ‘Rezerved 2’ have been switched off on this transponder.

36 degreesE:
Eutelsat W4 & Sesat

D The Azerbaijani channel Lider TV has changed VPID to 513 on 12521 MHz horizontal, SR 4339, FEC 1/2. The APID is 256. Radio Lider can be heard on APID 257. CFRT TV [Canadian Forces Radio and Television] has launched on 11552 MHz horizontal, SR 3900, FEC 1/2, VPID 4096, APID 4097 via the Sesat Indian beam which is centred over the Sub-Continent at 49 dBW. CFRT provides programmes from home for members of the Canadian forces serving in Bosnia and the Middle East.

30.5 degreesE:
Arabsat 2B

D All of the outlets for the Iraq Satellite Channel, on Arabsat 2B, Arabsat at 26 degrees East, Hotbird – 13 degrees East, Nilesat – 7 degrees West, NSS 806 – 40.5 degrees West, Telstar 5 – 97 degrees West and Intelsat 704 – 66 degrees East have been silent since 00:35 UTC on April 7. The streams unceremoniously froze part way through a news bulletin and this image remained for several days until they were switched to colour bars. Arabsat have stated that they will not provide capacity for Iraqi TV again until they have the approval of the Arab League.

28.2 degreesE:
Astra 2A, 2B & 2D & Eurobird 1

D Ideal World is testing on 12129 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 2/3. Relax with a Book Radio has vacated 12344 MHz horizontal. The ‘talking book’ service had been occupying Ch.905 in the Sky Digital EPG. Simply Nostalgia has undergone a re-launch as a ‘classic entertainment channel’. The channel has moved in the Sky EPG from the documentary section over to the general entertainment area and is now occupying the Ch.262 slot. Simply London, a new channel dedicated to what’s on in the capital plus property information and travel details is set to launch next month. The channel will not be postcode specific and will be made available to all Sky Digital basic package subscribers. With the arrival of Sky’s latest trio of music channels, The Amp, Scuzz and Flaunt, the number of channels available in the genre has reached no less than 23. Flaunt can be found at Ch.469, Scuzz at Ch.470 and The Amp – Ch.473. Ideal World have launched a new channel entitled Create and Craft which resides at Ch.695 in the EPG. A new channel dedicated to house purchase in the UK is to join the Sky Digital line-up in September. The Move Channel will feature 15 one hour segments daily from 09:00 to 24:00. London’s very popular 95.8 Capital FM officially launched on Sky Digital on 7 April at Ch.925. Friendly TV is to launch on 12 May. The channel is currently testing on 11642 MHz vertical. It will feature games, puzzles, quizzes and trivia chat and will rely heavily on viewer interaction by SMS texting and premium line phone calls. Some of the Simply channels underwent an EPG shuffle on 14 April. Simply Home has moved to Ch.641, Simply Holidays to Ch.642, Simply Ideas is new on Ch.643, Simply Shopping+ has gone to Ch.645. Simply Nature, Einstein, Music and Jewellery have all closed and been removed from the EPG. The cartoon channel Boomerang is now encoded at Ch.603. Previously the channel was free-to-air and available to viewers without a Sky Digital subscription. Following the recent switch to widescreen 16:9 format for most of the Sky Movie channels, Sky Movies Premier, Sky Movies Max and Sky Cinema will change from 4:3 to 16:9 on 6 June. Bid-Up TV have announced a GBP300,000 rebrand/relaunch in a bid to boost viewing figures. Incidentally, on 20 April the channel was off the air on Ch.647. Ex- pirate radio station Radio Caroline has replaced CSN International at 11585 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 2/3, APID 2330.

26 degreesE:
Arabsat 2A, 2C & 3A

D TV de Mauritanie and Radio Mauritanie have joined the Arabsat bouquet at 11938 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 3960, APIDs 3920/520 in free-to-air MPEG-2. Radio Sawa 1, the US-backed Arabic language for the Middle East and Radio Farda have returned to 11938 MHz, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APIDs 2322/2822.

25.8 degreesE:
Arabsat 2D

D al-Jazeera, which had been occupying 11692 MHz horizontal, has moved to 10958 MHz horizontal, SR 4340, FEC 3/4. Iran’s IRIB [Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting] World Service Radio 4 has been replaced by IRIB World Service Radio 5 on 11662 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 2622. The Syrian radio station, El-Bernameg al-Aam, has launched on 11662 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 2021. The Salmiyah test transmissions on 11010 MHz horizontal, SR 2600, FEC 3/4, VPID 308, APID 256 have become somewhat intermittent and for long periods the stream is displaying a testcard.

19.2 degreesE:
Astra 1B,C & E-H, Astra 2C

D Poland’s Radio Maryja has opened on 12460 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 258 in clear MPEG-2.

16 degreesE:
Eutelsat W2

D Alsat TV from Albania has returned to 10957 MHz horizontal, SR 2819, FEC 2/3, VPID 308, APID 256 in clear MPEG-2 after a short break. The UK-based Arab language channel, al- Mustakillah TV, has left 11689 MHz vertical for 11692 MHz vertical, SR 3100, FEC 3/4, VPID 512, APID 640 where it can be found in clear MPEG-2 in the evenings. The channel is uplinked by NTL.

13 degreesE:
Hotbird 1/2/3/4/6

D A couple of changes in the Arabsat package on 12654 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. Egypt’s ESC Radio 3 has changed APID to 1522 and Oman Radio 2 is new on APID 1722. In the Spanish Telefonica Servicios Audiovisuales [TSA] package on 12092 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 the data streams Tecnologia and TSA have left the frequency. In the RR Satellite Comms package on 12220 MHz horizontal, SR 6160, FEC 3/4 Interradio.com has been replaced by the Swiss shopping radio channel Coop. BBC World Service Europe has joined the Croatian HRT package on 12520 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via APID 58. It is encoded in Viaccess 1. The TPS Evasion promo has left the Television par Satellite bouquet at 10834 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4. On 11034, another TPS multiplex, the cartoon channel Boomerang has launched a promo via VPID 320, APID 330 in clear MPEG-2 and TFJ [Télévision Francaise Juive] can now be found here via V1020, A1030. Down at 10910 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 a new children’s channel, TFou, joined the TPS line-up on 23 April via PIDs V520, A530. The Tamil TV Network has joined the GlobeCast multiplex at 12245 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 124, APID 134 in Viaccess 2 encoded MPEG-2. Radio Balkan has launched within the French ABsat package on 12692 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via APID 106. On 12111 MHz horizontal, SR 6160, FEC 3/4 an RR Satellite Comms promo loop is playing out via PIDs V4194, A4195. On the same frequency the Kairali Channel is new via VPID 4210, APID 4211 and a Fucino Earth Station caption can be seen on PIDs V220, A221. The Maharishi Open University Europe has left the Belgacom package at 12476 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 and has moved to the Mediatel multiplex at 10949 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 6001, APID 6011. Radio Oman FM has joined the Arabsat bouquet at 12654 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 1722. In the same package the APID for El-Qur’an El-Karim has changed to A1522. Emarat FM has returned to 12380 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 3533. A TG Lotto testcard has appeared within the Network Teleport Italia multiplex at 11200 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 5/6, VPID 388, APID 389. Also in this bouquet, a newcomer is Superpippa Channel, a new adult/erotic offering from Italy on VPID 386, APID 387 in clear MPEG-2. A ‘Nice People’ promo is being played out in the TPS package at 10873 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 220, APID 230 in Viaccess- encoded MPEG-2. Nice People is the name of a new, Big Brother-like, TV show airing on the French domestic network, TF1, from April 26. It follows the exploits of 12 young people of different nationalities locked in a sumptuous villa on the Cote d’Azur for 2 months and filmed 24 hours a day. The Portuguese channel SIC International has opened on 11034 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 920, APID 930 following a move from 10873 MHz vertical. TV Pika, which serves terrestrial viewers in and around Ljubljana in Slovenia, is to launch via Hotbird next month. The channel hopes to reach Slovene nationals around Europe with programming from home in the Slovene language. HBO 2 Polska has joined the Cyfra+ line-up for Poland on 11283 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4 via VPID 168, APIDs 112/113 in Cryptoworks/Mediaguard 2 encoded MPEG-2. The first Jewish worldwide TV network, called Life, is set to launch in October. The channel, which will be financed by a group of Jewish businessmen, is thought to be modelling itself on CNN and will broadcast mostly in French and English. No details of any carriage deals have been announced but Life say that the channel will be fed over 4 satellites to cover Europe, the Middle East, the US and Canada.

10 degreesE:
Eutelsat W1

A The two Turkish radio stations which had accompanied NTV Turkey on 10986 MHz horizontal have been switched off. They were Radyo Pop – 7.02/7.20 MHz and Radyo Eksen – 7.38/7.56 MHz.

5.2 degreesE:
Sirius 2/3 & Astra 1A

D The Romanian bouquet on 12698 MHz vertical has changed SR to 14682. Within this package Atomic TV Romania is a newcomer via PIDs V1360, A1320 in free-to-air MPEG-2 where it replaces TeleSport TV.

0.8 degrees/1 degreesW:
Thor 2 & 3 & Intelsat 707

D The Adult Channel has joined the Canal Digital line-up for Scandinavia on 11325 MHz horizontal, SR 24500, FEC 7/8, VPID 516, APID 652 in Conax-encoded MPEG-2.

4 degreesW:
Amos 1

D Atomic TV Romania has vacated 11330 MHz horizontal, SR 6520, FEC 3/4 and has moved to Sirius at 5 degrees East.

5 degreesW:
Telecom 2C & Atlantic Bird 3

D The Persian News Network promo channel has returned to 12711 MHz horizontal, SR 30000, FEC 5/6, VPID 258, APID 259 in free-to-air MPEG-2. Sima-Yeh Azadi, the Iranian opposition channel, has launched in clear MPEG-2 on 12711 MHz horizontal, SR 30000, FEC 5/6, VPID 308, APID 256. RTG 1 and RTG 2 from Gabon have returned to 4152 MHz LHCP, SR 12800, FEC 7/8, VPIDs 513/514, APIDs 660/670 in clear MPEG-2 following a brief absence.

7 degreesW:
Nilesat 101 & 102

D Kuwait’s Holy Qur’an Radio has been replaced by the Kuwaiti Main Arabic Service on 11823 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, APID 1120. The ASN testcard has left 11785 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 2292, APID 2293. The Arabian Shopping Network Channel can be found in clear MPEG-2 on 11900 MHz vertical, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 3010, APID 3011.

15 degreesW:
Telstar 12

D The Voice of the Mojahed seems to have left 12588 MHz vertical, SR 4500, FEC 1/2, APID 2322.

22 degreesW:
NSS 7

D The Italian channel Magic TV has launched on 11610 MHz horizontal, SR 1875, FEC 7/8, VPID 3601, APID 3604 in clear MPEG-2.

30 degreesW:
Hispasat 1B/C/D

D Canal 7 TV Madrid has commenced regular programming in the TSA package at 11931 MHz horizontal, SR 27500, FEC 3/4, VPID 4790, APID 4791. Canal Senado is new in this bouquet via VPID 4800, APID 4801 in clear MPEG-2.

37.5 degreesW:
Telstar 11

D The Maharishi Open University Europe channel has vacated 11534 MHz horizontal.

40.5 degreesW:
NSS 806

D A number of TV and radio channels are temporarily in the clear in the Pramer CableVision package on 4178 MHz RHCP, SR 28890, FEC 5/6. They are Hallmark Channel, Cosmopolitan TV, Film & Arts América Latina, Film & Arts Brasil, Rio de la Plata TV, Gourmet TV, Magic Kids, Private Gold, Private Blue, Hallmark Channel Latin America, Canal (a), Cosmopolitan TV Latin America, Europa Europa, Hallmark Channel Brasilia, Hallmark Channel Mexico, Radio del Plata, Radio América, FM Metropolitana and FM Aspen. TV Colombia has joined the Colombian multiplex at 4022 MHz RHCP, SR 3800, FEC 7/8, VPID 513, APID 514 in clear MPEG-2. On the same frequency Bogota-based City TV has changed PIDs to V257, A259.

58 degreesW:
PAS 9

D The Portuguese radio stations RDP Antena 1 and Radio Renascenca are currently free-to-air on 3998 MHz horizontal, SR 27690, FEC 7/8 via APIDs 1721/1722.

61.5 degreesW:
Rainbow 1

Rainbow 1, which will be operated by Cablevision, is slated for an early Summer launch aboard an Atlas 5 booster. It will carry a payload of 36 Ku-Band transponders.