SKY Channels, etc; ..Week # 22.1.1 (2024)

[highlight] Bits of Radio news[/highlight]

1. Capital Disney to close 29th June (Dr Amore)

2. Two new DAB Digital Radio transmitter are set to bring new services to 40,000 people in Melrose, Galashiels and Hawick area of the Scottish Borders. The new transmitters will be located at Selkirk and is hoped to be in service by the start of winter and on the opposite side of the country – in the towns of Whitehaven and Workington in Cumbria.. It is hoped to bring the transmitter on stream in the late autumn. Radio Today

3. Sky and Chrysalis Radio have announced plans to form a joint venture to launch a 24-hour news radio service on the soon to be awarded second commercial national digital multiplex in the UK, as part of the consortium bid for that licence headed by Channel 4. The service, to be known as “Sky News Radio” is intended to be launched next year, if the bid is successful. (From Media Network/Analoguesat)

4. Virgin Radio is the first UK radio station to be made available on games consoles Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3. (broadcastnow.co.uk)

5. Music Choice Limited, Europe’s longest established and leading digital music provider, has acquired Xtra Music Limited, the European distributor of DMX’s digital audio channels on satellite, cable and broadband across Europe. The purchase from Maxide Music, Inc. and LGI Ventures B.V (part of Liberty Global Group), for an undisclosed amount, brings Music Choice’s music channels into four million more homes, boosting the audience to 40 million households and extending coverage in over 8 European countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Ukraine and Turkey among others. (Media Network)

6. DRM radios now on sale in UK. This Twickenham based company are now stocking the Morphy Richards radio. (D.Porter)

7. The European Space Agency (ESA) has unveiled a prototype car radio system using satellite distribution. The ESA said the satellite car radio system would put an end to "crackling radio stations, signal loss in tunnels and difficulties tuning to the correct frequency". Instead of a large dish, the Ku-frequency receiver incorporates a mobile antenna which is flat and can be built into the bodywork. More

8. Ofcom has signaled the eventual demise of FM radio after concluding that other services such as mobile television could make more efficient use of the spectrum. In a discussion document on the future of radio, the media regulator said that it would also look at whether AM spectrum could be released for other uses; if radio stations should adhere to rigid formats and whether changes should be made to ownership rules. The potential phasing out of FM radio has been pushed to the forefront of the agenda following the rapid growth in digital radio. More

1. Sky is understood to have held talks with Channel Five owner RTL about selling its 17.9% stake in ITV, but the referral of the acquisition to the Competition Commission has now raised a number of hurdles to a sale. The most recent talks between Sky and RTL are thought to have taken place several weeks ago, but it is unclear whether they are ongoing. However, City speculation about a possible deal between the two companies - possibly featuring an asset swap involving RTL-owned Channel Five - pushed ITV's share price up 4.5p or nearly 4% by the end of trading today, to 119p. Both Sky and RTL declined to comment. Full Story Which follows on from.................

2. Ofcom has completed its public interest investigation into British Sky Broadcasting Group's (BSkyB) acquisition of a 17.9% shareholding in ITV plc, as requested by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Ofcom's advice is that there are public interest issues, in relation to sufficient plurality of news provision for both cross media and television news in the UK. The Secretary of State will now consider Ofcom's advice which will inform his decision on making a reference to the Competition Commission. The Secretary of State will announce his decision by 26th May 2007. Ofcom’s report will be published no later than this date. . (Ofcom/John Murray)

3. This from (digitalsatman), All Sky+ PVR3 boxes should now have Sky Anytime TV. The update is expected to have finished on Thursday morning, with the remaining Thomson boxes updated. So, most Amstrad, Pace and Thomson boxes have been updated, if yours hasn't, don't worry, it should update by itself soon. But it

affects PVR3 boxes. You can tell if your box is a PVR3 by looking at the version number in 'System Details', if it begins with 4F21, 9F22, 4E21 or 4E30 (HD), you can get it; otherwise it's a no I'm afraid!

4. In case you missed Paddy C‘s announcement, Sky+ £10 monthly charge will be scrapped from July 1st.

5. Two extra Sky Movies channels launching on Thursday 31st May, they are Sky Movies SD1 and Sky Movies SD2 which will replicate the existing Sky HD channels in standard definition. . If you are subscribed to Pack 1, you will receive Sky Movies SD1; while Pack 2 customers will receive Sky Movies SD2." Full story (skyisthebest/Analoguesat)

6. Sky has announced changes to Sky Movies with effect from 2nd June. Premier (& +1)'s hours will be extended by 6 hours (10am - 2am), Indie & SciFi/Horror are each extended by 2 hours, 10am to 4am (mromega/SKY)

7. I missed this story but, Sky has said there is little prospect of its basic channels returning to the Virgin Media platform after claiming the cable firm rejected a new compromise offer it made earlier this month. In a letter from Sky chief executive James Murdoch to Virgin Media counterpart Steve Burch on 10 May, Murdoch suggested that both companies compromise and find a middle ground. More Here

8. On-screen captions telling viewers in the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven that digital switchover is coming, appears on analogue television. The captions will be broadcast on the four analogue channels (BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1 and Channel 4) that are available in Whitehaven, which will lead the UK's switchover on October 17. "If you are not ready to receive digital TV by October 17 you'll start losing your channels," the captions will state. A helpline number at Digital UK the industry-funded body charged with coordinating switchover—will also be provided (DTG.org.uk)

9. Sky’s plan to withdraw its three free-to-air channels from Freeview and launch a digital terrestrial pay-TV service is about to go under the regulatory microscope. Ofcom has received additional information on the plan, unveiled by Sky in February, and is expected to launch a consultation soon. According to reports, an application by Sky and National Grid Wireless—the transmission group which currently carries Sky's three channels on Freeview—to change broadcast licence terms will hinge on whether Ofcom is prepared to allow the BBC to become the sole rolling news channel provider on Freeview. Full Story

[highlight]BBC, ITV to launch Free-sat in 2008 [/highlight]
10. The BBC and ITV have confirmed plans to form a joint venture company to launch Free-sat, a guaranteed free-to-view satellite TV proposition, by Spring 2008. The BBC Trust and ITV have said that Free-sat would ensure that free public service broadcasting would be available to people outside the post-analogue switch off Freeview footprint. The two broadcasters have been working with manufacturers and retailers ahead of today's announcement and have confirmed that consumers will be able to choose between a range of standards-based devices to access the service for a one-time fee. Standard definition and high definition boxes will be available, as will HD personal video recorders and integrated digital TVs.
Full details on the BBC Trust's Free-sat decision also Channel 4 has expressed interest in joining the Free-sat proposition (D.S./Analoguesat)

11. Film24, the leading entertainment portal for film fans, announces that it will be broadcasting from a new home from mid-July. The company has assumed control of the Bonanza channel (Sky channel 165) via the acquisition of all of the channel’s assets from Optimistic Entertainment. (DS Forum/skyisthebest)

12. Ofcom has published details of the transmission characteristics which the television transmitter network will adopt at switchover for the Border Region. This information is intended to help systems installers make initial preparations for switchover. (Ofcom/John Murray)

13. Premium rate services regulator ICSTIS has introduced new rules designed to boost consumer confidence in TV quiz channels and programmes. ICSTIS said the new measures—which come into force in four weeks' time—"will give viewers a better understanding of their chances of getting through to programmes, as well as giving them clearer information about the cost of each call they make to participate". The three key additional rules being introduced are

14. According to Broadcastnow: Virgin Media and Setanta Sports are in senior level talks about launching a rival channel to Sky Sports News. (euroview) D.S. report (skyisthebest)

15. The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are reportedly set to tell media regulator Ofcom that Sky should no longer be a shareholder in the consortium marketing the UK's free-to-view digital terrestrial platform, Freeview. More

16. .SDO reported a new feature which will automatically switch inactive Sky HD and Sky+ boxes into standby mode overnight is to be launched within weeks. The 'Auto Standby' feature will help customers reduce their household energy bills. Full Story

17. HBO, the premium programming subsidiary of Time Warner, has announced the launch of an on-demand pay-TV service delivering episodes from several of its hit series to customers of BT Vision, Tiscali TV and Virgin Media. The launch marks HBO's entry into the UK with a branded media proposition, though its shows, such as the award-winning The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, have been on Channel 4 for years.

18. UK officials have said that the digital TV switchover will not go ahead until 2009 in parts of Cumbria, because a new transmitter needs to be built at Caldbeck. The Border TV region, which covers Cumbria and South West Scotland, was scheduled to become the first in the UK to switch over to digital TV in 2008. The new transmitter should be in operation by June 2009. (Source: Lakeland Radio/Medianetwork) Digital UK has announced switchover timings for transmitters serving more than 4m households in West Country, Wales and Granada television regions under the Government's 2008-2012 switchover timetable; Digital UK, the independent body leading switchover on behalf of UK broadcasters, issued the following timings for West Country, Wales and Granada:
a. West Country transmitters:
Q2, 2009: Beacon Hill, serving south Devon; Stockland Hill, serving south-west Somerset, parts of west Dorset and south-east Devon, including Exeter.
Q3, 2009: Huntshaw Cross, serving north Devon; Redruth, serving west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly,
Caradon Hill, serving much of Cornwall and Devon, including Plymouth.
b. Wales transmitters:
Q3, 2009: Preseli, serving south-west Wales; Carmel, serving south Wales; Llanddona, serving north-west Wales, including Anglesey; Moel-Y-Parc, serving north-east Wales
Q1, 2010: Blaenplwyf, serving west and central Wales; Long Mountain, serving east-central Wales; Wenvoe, serving south-east Wales, including Cardiff.
c. Granada transmitter:
Q4, 2009: The entire Granada region will switch to digital in this quarter, when the Winter Hill transmitter and its dependent relays—serving Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire—are converted.
Check the list in full

[highlight] HD SECTION (HiDef) [/highlight]

The BBC Trust has launched a public value test (PVT) into the proposal for a high definition channel.The test - undertaken to determine the public value of the service and its market impact - includes two periods of public consultation. Full details

Sky has announced a wider choice of movies in high definition as well as a commitment to commission 90% of programmes on Sky One in HD Full Story

[highlight] The Other Stuff [/highlight]

Checkout if your Terrestrial TV or Radio is affected by Transmitter Maintenance etc;[BBC Only]

The Sunday Times claims low-energy light bulbs can block shortwave reception and have been shown to disrupt television remote controls. Scientists have found that the infrared waves given out by some models of the bulbs are almost exactly the same frequency as those from the hand-sets. Sometimes this means the controls fail altogether. On other occasions the channels may be spontaneously switched by the “impostor” rays of the bulbs. For the same reason, says the Sunday Times, they can even stop a radio from receiving shortwave programmes. (Media Network)

South Korean consumer electronics giant LG launched a next-generation DVD player, capable of playing both Sony-backed Blu-ray discs and the rival HD DVD format led by Toshiba. Also, US Hollywood studio Warner Brothers unveiled its solution to the format clash that threatens to stall take-up of high-definition DVDs: a single disc, known as Total HD that can play movies and TV shows in both the Blu-ray and HD DVD standards.

Sony have said it would enable most of its new televisions, including high-definition flat screens, to play video from the Internet. Sony, which unveiled the plan at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, said the drive to marry Internet and other digital video with traditional devices was part of a bid to showcase its four strategic growth areas: video gaming, digital imaging, high-definition and mobile products.(Media Network)