::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: MediaScan :: :: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS :: :: from Radio Sweden :: :: Number 2202--June 21, 1994 :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio Sweden. This week's bulletin was written by George Wood. Packet Radio BID SCDX2202 All times UTC unless otherwise noted. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: As I'm about to take three weeks of vacation, there will be no electronic edition on July 5 (when I'll be celebrating my son Daniel's 5th birthday anyway). There will be a short media feature on Radio Sweden that day. A short summary can be found under TV 4, below. NORDIC MEDIA NEWS: RADIO SWEDEN--There's a Radio Sweden shortwave frequency change, beginning June 24th. Our broadcasts to North America at 02:30 and 03:30 hrs will be moving to 6155 kHz from 6040. CLASSIC FM--When Sweden's Conservative-led government announced its plans to introduce commercial radio into this country, there was widespread criticism that putting 10 new stations in Stockholm was a mistake, as there wasn't enough of an advertising base to support that many stations. Critics also charged that handing out licences to the highest bidders crippled the stations from the start with economic burdens, and did nothing to stop them all from playing rock and pop music. Now one of those stations has gone bankrupt, Storstadsradion, Big City Radio, on 107.5 MHz, which besides the usual diet of pop music focused on sports, as its main owners were Swedish sports federations. But with a listenership of less than 2 percent, there weren't enough advertisers to keep going. The end came Friday evening June 17th. The licence has been bought by Britain's national FM station Classic FM. We interview the chairman of Classic FM, Sir Peter Michael, in today's program. He tells us that their Swedish operation is part of larger European plans. They're already on the air in the Netherlands, and Sir Peter spoke to us from Helsinki, Finland, where Classic FM is setting up a network. Ultimately they will present European-wide live concerts (presumeably via satellite). Sir Peter also tells us that the Finnish Service of BBC World Service will be providing news for Classic FM in Finland. STOCKHOLM FM--Meanwhile two FM frequencies in Stockholm remain empty, 106.3 MHz where the Kinnevik media empire's Classic Radio is scheduled to start by August, and 106.7 MHz where Ireland's Radio Hibernia has stopped sending test tones. No word yet on when they will be starting. TV4's SCRAP CHANNEL--TV 4 is Sweden's first terrestrial commercial TV channel. Because it's been slowly building up its network around the country, it's also been broadcasting on satellite, using Sweden's Tele-X direct broadcast satellite. Broadcasts have also recently begun on Sweden's new Sirius satellite, located at the same position as Tele-X. There have been problems with the Tele-X transponder, and it will be closing next month. But TV 4 has also made the surprise announcement that it plans to start a second, satellite-only channel. We called up the President of TV 4, Bjoern Nordstrand, and asked why they are launching what it being called a "Scrap Channel". That interview can be heard on Radio Sweden on July 5th. The plan is to buy more programs from the United States, and use TV 4's existing news department. The channel would be satellite-only. TV 4 will be opening discussions with the new government following this Fall's elections. According to Bjoern Nordstrand, the "Scrap Channel" can be on the air within three or four months after a government approval. NORWAY--Over in neighboring Norway, a week-long strike at the public broadcaster NRK ended Saturday, just in time for Norway's first match at the soccer World Cup in the US. During the strike, NRK's television channel was off the air, and the only news bulletins were heard on radio. The country's private radio and television stations doubled or tripled their audiences, and there were record sales of satellite reception equipment as the World Cup approached. INTELSAT 702--Those Norwegians who have been buying satellite dishes in record numbers will also have a new satellite to watch shortly. Last Friday an Ariane rocket put Intelsat 702 into orbit. It was the first Ariane launch since January, when a crash destroyed Eutelsat II-F5 and Turksat 1A. Intelsat 702 is to be positioned at 1 degree West, replacing Intelsat 512, which carries a number of programs aimed at Norway. The four largest cable operators in the Nordic area are establishing a joint company to distribute TV channels on the new Intelsat and Thor. The new company is called Nordic Satellite Distribution, and the plan is to offer a package to satellite viewers similar to that offered over cable. The Norwegian public service broadcaster NRK is to move to the new satellite from its current location on Sweden's Tele-X. It will be joined by Norway's commercial TV2 and the satellite-only TV Norge. Four more broadcasters will be announced when Intelsat 702 goes into operation in early August. On Thor already are CNN, Eurosport Nordic, Discovery, Children's Channel, FilmNet and MTV. The next scheduled Ariane launch is for July 8, with the American Panamsat-2 and Japan's BS-3N. (AP) EUROPEAN MEDIA NEWS: SPORTS--The NBA basketball championships from the United States have been carried on the Intelsat-K satellite, on 11.500 GHz, with English on audio 7.38 MHz. During the day that transponder has been showing a screen from Wimbledon, so it's possible the tennis championships are being carried there as well. Otherwise, satellite transponders are full of feeds from the World Cup soccer matches in the United States. SWITZERLAND--Swiss Radio International has begun its 24 hour English service on the Astra satellite, on Teleclub's transponder 9, audio 7.56 MHz. The half hour on the air is news, while features are carried during the half hours that begin on the half hour. MPTV--The Parliamentary Channel, Wire-TV, and the Learning Channel have moved to 11.095 GHz on Intelsat 602 and are sharing a digital transponder using the MPEG-2 standard. However, the Parliamentary Channel remained until June 15 on 11.475 GHz, but without any sound. (James Robinson) FRANCE--The TF1 news channel, is to be launched on cable on June 24. It will also be the first customer of the France Telecom satellite digital service to cable networks. The service will begin at the end of 1994 on the Telecom 1C satellite, which will be replaced by Telecom 2C in 1995. Two other cable channels, Serie Club and the channel carrying parliamentary debates, have also expressed their interest in this technology. The compression system, Thompson Broadband System, allows encryption in the European Eurocrypt standard (otherwise used for D-MAC and D2-MAC), and allows each satellite transponder to carry four TV channels. Until this system is introduced, the TF1 news channel will be broadcast in analog on Telecom 2B on 12.543 GHz. (AFP via BBC Monitoring) EUTELSAT--A new Asian channel called GSTV has been testing on Eutelsat II-F3 on 11.163 GHz, with programming in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, and other South Asian languages. It is to begin regular broadcasts on July 1, and will switch to videocrypt scrambling at the end of August. The sound is on 6.65 MHz. (James Robinson) BRITAIN--On August 1 Britain's Radio 1 will be leaving medium wave for good. (James Robinson) DIGITAL TV--Meeting in Lillehammer, Norway, European nations on June 16 launched a USD 300 million research project into digital television. Technology ministers and senior officials from 22 countries in the so-called Eureka group approved the Advanced Digital Television Technologies (ADTT) project, which will build on the 6 year High Defination Television project. (Reuters) NORTH AMERICAN MEDIA NEWS: WRN--We've had word that the North American service of the World Rado Network, which carries Radio Sweden, is moving from the SCOLA transponder in August or September. WRN's new home will be among PBS's digital signals on the new Telstar 401 satellite. But home listeners will be pleased to hear that an analog signal will remain, on the very popular Galaxy 5 satellite. CNN--Beginning January 1, 1995, Turner Broadcasting will be carrying CNN International to North America, for those viewers who want more international news than offered on the regular CNN and Headline News. ("In Orbit") USA--WRMI, Radio Miami International, was scheduled to begin regular operations on June 14 at 01:00 hrs, on 9955 kHz. The tentative schedule is 01:00-04:00 hrs Tuesday to Sunday. The English language "Viva Miami!" program will be on at 01:00-01:30 hrs, followed by "Viva Miami!" in Spanish at 01:30- 02:00 hrs and La Voz de la Fundacion at 02:00-04:00 hrs. (Jeff White, WRMI) MIDDLE EASTERN MEDIA NEWS: TURKEY--Turksat 1B is ready for launch in July from French Guiana. According to Turkey's Transport Minister, the launch window is between July 27 and 29. Turksat 1A wa lost in the Ariane crash in January. The new satellite will carry 22 television channels, and will hopefully gather up the Turkish channels, which currently can be found on 4 Eutelsats. (Reuters) ASIAN MEDIA NEWS: BBC/JAPAN--BBC World Service Television has announced the launch of its new 24 hour service to Japan on July 1st, which will be carried on the JCSat 2 satellite at 154 degrees East, on 12.673 GHz. During prime time, programs will be translated into Japanese. There's an interesting article on the new service, and satellite broadcasting in Japan by Simon Spanswick, in the July issue of "BBC Worldwide" magazine. STAR-TV--Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has admitted that his Star-TV's decison to drop BBC World Service Television from Star's northern beam was influenced by the Chinese authorities. In an interview in "Esquire" magazine, Murdoch says: "(Critics) say it's a cowardly way, but we said that in order to get in there and get accepted, we'll cut the BBC out." Murdoch says that he expects to replace the BBC with his own Sky News service, but that would not be possible for at least a couple of years. CHINA--China's Apstar-1 satellite has arrived at the launch site in Xichang in Western China. It's being tested prior to launch in mid-July. The satellite will be placed at 131 degrees East, and will relay a number of international broadcasters in competition with the Asiasat-1 satellite, home of Rupert Murdoch's Star-TV. (Reuters) SINGAPORE--Singapore has applied to the ITU for six orbital slots. Singapore hopes to launch its first satellite by 1999. (Reuters) HOBBY NEWS: NORDX 94--The Nordic DX Championships, NorDX 94, will be arranged by the Dansk DX Lytter Klub and the Danish Shortwave Clubs International. All DXers anywhere in the world may participate, but only residents of the Nordic countries will be eligible to win the usual prizes and championship titles. There will be a special prize category for non-Nordic DXers, however. The contest will be held between September 9 and 11, but those who wishing to take part must enroll by August 10, 1994. The competition fee is DKK 65 (or 13 IRCs) for Nordic residents, DKK 80 (or 16 IRCs) for European residents, or DKK 100 (or 20 IRCs) for entrants from outside Europe. Send your application and competition fee to: Danish Shortwave Clubs International Tavleager 31 DK-2670 Greve, Denmark (Fax +45-42 90 29 00, to Kaj Bredahl-Joergensen) PUBLICATIONS--Joergen Klingenfuss has published the 14th edition of his "Guide to Fax Radio Stations". This includes information about new hardware and software for reception of satellite WEFAX. The book also contains new or drastically modified schedules for many FAX stations, as well as 353 sample charts and pictures. 313 frequencies are listed, from LF to UHF, while the callsign list covers 112 callsigns. A new index lists 108 stations in 40 countries complete with address and all frequencies. There are also schedules of 62 WEFAX and meteo satellites, and information about radio amateur FAX. The "Guide to Fax Radio Stations" is available for DEM 50 (plus DEM 10 for overseas airmail) from: Klingenfuss Publications, Hagenloher Str. 14, D-72070 Tuebingen, Germany (fax +49-7071-660849) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweden Calling DXers/MediaScan is the world's oldest radio program about international broadcasting. Radio Sweden has presented this round-up of radio news, features, and interviews on Tuesdays since 1948. It's currently broadcast on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Radio Sweden broadcasts in English: Europe and Africa: 16:15 hrs on 1179 and 6065 kHz 17:30 hrs on 1179, 6065, 9655, and 15390 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 Africa: 17:30 hrs on 6065, 9655, and 15390 kHz 20:30 hrs on 6065 and 9655 kHz Asia and the Pacific: 11:30 hrs on 13775, 15120, and 15240 kHz 23:30 hrs on 11910 kHz and 01:30 hrs on 9695 and 11695 kHz North America: 12:30 and 13:30 hrs on 15240 and 17870 kHz 02:30 and 03:30 hrs on 6155 and 9850 kHz South America: 00:30 hrs on 6065 and 9810 kHz The broadcasts at 16:15, 17:30, 21:30, and 22:30 hrs (and weekends at 20:30) 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. Radio Sweden is also relayed to Europe via the World Radio Network on MTV's transponder 22 on Astra, audio 7.38 MHz, daily at 20:00 hrs UTC. Radio Sweden can also be heard on WRN's North American service on ASC-1, on SCOLA's transponder 23, audio 6.20 MHz, daily at 00:00 and 20:00 hrs. Contributions can be sent to DX Editor George Wood by fax to +468-667-6283, from MCI Mail or CompuServe to the CompuServe mailbox 70247,3516, from Internet to 70247.3516@compuserve.com, 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to this week's contributors Good Listening!