Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave From: 70247.3516@compuserve.com (George Wood) Subject: corrected SCDX 2163 Organization: Finnish Academic and Research Network Project - FUNET Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 16:37:07 +0200 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: MediaScan :: :: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS :: :: from Radio Sweden :: :: Number 2163--Oct. 6, 1992 :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio Sweden. This week's bulletin was written by George Wood. Packet Radio BID SCDX2163 All times UTC unless otherwise noted. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE TO READERS: I'm scheduled to become a daddy again any day now, which means I'll be taking the 10 day paternity leave permitted under Swedish law later this month. There is a good chance there won't be an Electronic Edition in two weeks. Next week's (pre-recorded) edition of "MediaScan", which will air on October 13th, the day after the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World, will be a feature on Native American broadcasting. In other news, my motorized dish was installed last week, opening up the Clarke Belt. That means more of the news here will be first hand. LOCAL BROADCASTERS: LUXEMBOURG--There's bad news for one of Europe's classic radio broadcasters, Radio Luxembourg. For six decades, Luxembourg has challenged Europe's state broadcasters, and attracted generations of young people. Recently the station's English service left its medium wave transmitter on 1440 kHz for sole reliance on the Astra satellite. There had been plans for rebroadcast on cable here in Sweden, but that came to an end when the Swedish copyright authorities demanded royalities that Luxembourg said far exceeded those paid anywhere else. Now, the Radio Luxembourg English Service is going off the air at the end of December, just after celebrating its 59th birthday. According to John Catlett, General Manager of Radio Luxembourg's English Service, the board of the parent company CLT decided the English Service wasn't earning enough money to justify continuation. The station's other language services will not be affected. Radio Luxembourg went on the air on December 3, 1933. Today's English edition of "MediaScan" includes an interview with John Catlett. LITHUANIA--A Luxembourg-type station is going on the air in Lithuania. The Lithuanian government has approved a joint venture with a British company to be called Radio Baltic International. The station should be in operation by the end of March, 1993. Broadcasts will be in English to Scandinavia and Britain, probably on 684 kHz. (BBC Monitoring) SWEDEN--It's hard to say how much impact the new station will have in Sweden, where the first of the new commercial radio stations are now expected to go on the air on the first of April, 1993. During the first phase, 58 stations will be licenced in 23 cities. There will initially be 10 stations in Stockholm, 5 in Gothenburg, 3 in Malmoe, and 2 in 20 smaller towns. So far, the government continues to want to auction off frequencies to the highest bidder. ("Pressens Tidning") EUROPEAN SATELLITE BROADCASTING: SWEDEN--The Swedish state has sold it's Tele-X satellite. Filmnet, which used to be Swedish, but is now owned by a Swiss-based South African company, has bought 85 percent of the satellite. The other 15 percent goes to the Swedish Space Corporation. So Filmnet now owns its own direct broadcast satellite. NORWAY--Meanwhile, columnist Bertil Sundberg in "Paa TV" magazine has pointed out that now that Norwegian TV2 has launched on the Intelsat at 18 degrees West, and Norway is moving the Macro Polo 1 satellite to 1 degree West, there will soon be Norwegian programs on 5 satellites at 4 different positions. They use a bewildering array of standards: PAL, D2-MAC in both Eurocrypt M and Eurocrypt S, and D-MAC. This, he says, may explain why 80 percent of satellite systems in Norway are motorized. ("Paa TV") ITN--The ITN news is carried on Super Channel every evening at 10:00 PM European time. At that same time, the SSVC channel on Intelsat 601 at 27.5 degrees West, which broadcasts to British forces in Europe, broadcasts an unscrambled newscast. Because Europe is back on Standard Time, and Britain is still on Summer Time until the end of the month, right now they're carrying ITN's "News at Ten". What's interesting is that usually both programs are being presented by the same person, Carol Barnes. And you thought news was live. ASTRA/SPANISH--Most Europeans concentrate on the Astra satellites, and there are some new Astra channels coming. Astra has finally found customers in Spain, ironically just as Spain's own Hispasat has gone into orbit. Spanish channels are about to appear on Astra transponders 30 and 32. The first will be a movie channel, the second dedicated to science, nature, and culture. Both will be encrypted in Nagravision, but there are to be several uncoded segments daily to promote the service. Two more Spanish channels are to be on Astra 1C, scheduled for launch in April or May, 1993. (Astra) STAR TREK--Since we reported on "Star Trek" being relayed on Sweden's satellite channels TV4 and TV5 Nordic, it's only fair to point out that Sky One, which transmits uncoded on Astra 1A, is carrying the first three seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" every day Monday to Friday, starting yesterday. A cutdown version for kids is aired at 17:00 hrs British time, with the uncut version at 22:30 (note that until the end of the month, Britain and Western Europe have the same time). UK GOLD--The joint BBC-Thames venture UK Gold is set to launch on November 1st. With the Spanish channels on transponders 30 and 32, that leaves only transponder 29 free, so look for UK Gold on 11.641 GHz. The service is going to be "softscrambled" in videocrypt for 6 to 12 months. That means it will be available free to anyone with a videocrypt decoder. (There are those who would like to keep these restricted to Britain, but they may be available elsewhere.) The channel will be supported by advertising, but there is a suggestion to include it as part of a subscription package together with Sky, after the free period ends. Programming will rely on the libraries of the BBC and Thames, which are said to have enough material to fill 18 years of broadcasts. ("The Guardian", "What Satellite TV", "In Orbit", and Richard Buckby) BBC WORLD SERVICE--We've reported before that BBC World Service Television will be switching its service on Intelsat 601 to D2-MAC, and it will be made available to subscribers. A Swedish company called TV Extra has been appointed distributor for the service, which they say will be launching in November as well. They say subscriptions will cost SEK 50 a month, and can be included on TV1000 and FilmNet smartcards. For more information, you can call them. After dialing the international access number from your country, the number is 46-141-355-12. The fax number is +46-141-355-13. (TV Extra) EUTELSAT--Over to Eutelsat, where Eutelsat II-F4 has taken over at 7 degrees East. Signals are much stronger, with Greece's ET1 on 11.174 GHz, PIK from Cyprus at 11.141, Turkey's Kanal 6 at 11.158, and Serbia's RTV Belgrade at 11.595 GHz. Germany's ARD 1 has appeared on Eutelsat II-F1 on 11.595 GHz. The new RTL-2 service in German will be starting on Eutelsat II-F1, rather than Astra, on 11.095 GHz. The launch has been postponed until November 28th, so currently, there's just a test pattern. ("In Orbit" and Bertil Sundberg in "Paa TV") A new Dutch-based adult channel called MTX, is due to start on Eutelsat II-F1 later this year. At the opposite end of the spectrum, there's a new family channel coming to Europe, run by evangelist Pat Robertson, who's behind the Family Channel in the United States. Robertson's IFE company has bought Britain's TVS, opening the door to a European service. ("In Orbit") Meanwhile, with the expansion of France's TV5 service on Eutelsat II-F1, Denmark's Third World-oriented One World Channel has vanished from the airwaves. ("Paa TV") A new Hungarian service is due to begin November 1st on Eutelsat II-F3, run by the Hungarian government for expatriates. On the other hand, Astra is to be the home of the third channel of Polish Television. According to a report from BBC Monitoring, the relay is to be begin in March, but since Astra 1C won't be in orbit until April at the earliest, it'll probably be then. (BBC Monitoring, AFP) NORTH AMERICAN SATELLITE AND CABLE: USA--The American Congress has, for the first time, overturned a veto by President George Bush, putting into law the "Cable Television Consumer Protection Act". Reversing the deregulation introduced by the Reagan administration, the act forces cable operators to maintain technical standards, charge reasonable rates, and include local broadcasters in their output. It also bans pricing descrimination against satellite home viewers and forces programmers to make their offerings available to satellite viewers. The act also lays down some rules for direct satellite broadcasting. ASIAN/PACIFIC SATELLITE BROADCASTING: ARABSAT--The Arab Space Communications Corporation has awarded a contract to Hughes Communications for two new Arabsats. The first would be launched in 1995, and besides 18 C-band channels, and 2 S-band channels, they would also carry 12 Ku-band transponders, making reception possible with 60 to 80 cm dishes. (Reuters) AUSTRALIA--The Australian government has cleared the way for the Australian Broadcasting Commission to begin a satellite television service to Asia. Tenatively named Television Australia, the service is expected to launch in late November, using Indonesia's Palapa B-2P satellite. Initially the service will be funded by advertising and will be in the clear. It may turn into a scrambled subscription service in a few years. (BBC Monitoring, IPS) CHINA--China's Central Television Station inaugurated its Channel 4 on October 1st. This station is on the air for 15 hours a day using the NTSC system on Asiasat-1 on 4120 MHz and PAL on Gorizont 19 on 3825 MHz. (BBC Monitoring) SHORTWAVE: ALBANIA--Radio Tirana is now broadcasting in English at 15:30 hrs on 9760 and 7155 kHz; at 22:00 hrs on 9760, 11825, and 1395 kHz; and at 01:30 and 02:30 hrs on 9580 and 11840 kHz. (BBC Monitoring) ANGOLA--As Angola holds its first democratic elections, the country's first private radio station has gone on the air. Based in Luanda, Antena Comercial broadcasts on 95.5 MHz FM. The style of the new station is said to be Brazilian. The only other radio stations in the country are Radio Nacional de Angola, operated by the MPLA government, and the Voice of the Resistance of the Black Cockerel, operated by the UNITA guerillas. (BBC Monitoring) BELGIUM--On Saturday September 26th, the BRT in Belgium transformed into a new station, Radio Vlaandern Internationaal. The change has been made to better reflect the station's objective of not competing with big international broadcasters, but rather to reach Flemings abroad and tell the rest of the world about about the Flemish way of life. The station also intends to serve the expatriate community working for the EC and NATO in Brussels, by setting up a Euro service on FM aimed specifically at the many foreigners living and working in Belgium. On shortwave, transmissions continue in English, French, German, Spanish, and Arabic. The new station, RVI, is also hoping to broadcast by the Astra satellite to Europe, to complement its aging shortwave transmitters. (Janne Olsen) MONTSERRAT--Radio Antilles resumed full time operation on September 21st. The station is also relaying programs from the BBC World Service and the Voice of America. (BBC Monitoring) Radio Antilles new 100 kW transmitter is on 930 kHz. NETHERLANDS/RUSSIA--Following the decision of the Dutch government not to support a joint transmitter relay station with the BBC in Thailand, Radio Netherlands has now decided to book airtime on Russian transmitters to boost its Asian signal. ("Media Network" via BBC Monitoring) RUSSIA/UNITED STATES/VIETNAM--The Moscow-based station broadcasting material hostile to the government of Vietnam, Radio Irina, is now broadcasting at 15:00-16:00 hrs on 15620 and 15580 kHz. The same organization also plans to test broadcast over WWCR in the United States, using the help of Radio Miami International. (BBC Monitoring and WWCR "World of Radio") UNOFFICIAL BROADCASTERS--The Voice of Renamo, operated by the Renamo guerilla movement in Mozambique, is now broadcasting at 05:15 hrs on 6155 kHz and at 16:15 hrs on 5916 kHz. (BBC Monitoring) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweden Calling DXers is the world's oldest radio program for shortwave listeners. Radio Sweden has presented this round-up of radio news, features, and interviews on Tuesdays since 1948. Radio Sweden broadcasts to Europe in English on 21:30-22:30 hrs: on medium and shortwave: 1179, 6065 and 9655 kHz via satellite: Astra 1B (19.2 degrees East) channel 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. We're also relay our half hour program at 13:30 hrs on satellite The rest of the Radio Sweden English schedule is (half hour programs): Europe: 23:30 hrs on 1179 and 6065 kHz Middle East and East Africa: 16:00 hrs 15270 kHz Asia and the Pacific: 13:30 hrs on 15240 and 21625 kHz 21:30-22:30 hrs on 11955 kHz 01:00 hrs on 9695 and 11820 kHz North America: 16:00 hrs on 17870 and 21500 kHz 02:00 hrs on 9695 and 11705 kHz Contributions can be sent to DX Editor George Wood by fax to +468-667-6283, from Internet, MCI Mail or CompuServe (to the CompuServe mailbox 70247,3516), through the FidoNet system to 2:201/697 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 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!