Foxs Sports Midwest (FSM) has moved again from C1/17 to C1/13; Gospel Music Network is now located at G6/18; Video Catalog Channels moved from E2/18 to G6/7; Fox Sports West 2 is located on C1/21; Network services of T401 have moved to the following locations: (Previous Trans.) (3) Paramount G4/22, (6) Buena Vista G4/2, (11) ABC G3/15, (15) True Blue Anik E2/5, (19) UPN E&W G4/10, (20) ABC NewsOne T303/19, the following are located on T402R: (8) PBS National, Ku-band; (9&10) Fox 1 & 23; (12) ABC NewsOne 14; (13) Fox East 17, (14) Fox News10, (21) ABC East 22, (22) ABC West 21, (23) ABC 8, (24) Exxxtasy 19, which bumped Venus to Anik E2/22. Special Feeds have relocated to G4/2,5,7,9-14, 18, and W1/1&22; Reportedly, other feeds can be found on G6/14&18 and G7/8&18;
U.S. Satellite Broadcasting has formed a partnership with Cedric Kushner Sports Network to produce and air exclusive Heavyweight Explosion boxing events carried by the DSS service.
Heavyweight Explosion, produced by Cedric Kushner Sports Network, will broadcast on the first Thursday of every month. Heavyweight Explosion debuted at midnight ET, Feb. 6, on channel 900.
USSB carries bouts on pay per view, HBO Sports and
Showtime Championship Boxing. All residential DSS owners are eligible to receive pay per view offered by USSB.
Two separate satellite construction contracts, from companies in China and Japan, were awared recently to Space Systems/Loral and Hughes Space and Communications International.
Space Systems/Loral was awarded the construction contract for Chinasat 8, from China's Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corporation, also known as Chinasat. Chinasat 8 is a high-powered communications satellite that will provide video, data and digital voice service throughout China.
The satellite will operate on both C- and Ku-band frequencies. The contract should be finalized during the next several weeks, and Loral plans to deliver the satellite into orbit by late 1998, with service expecting to begin in 1999.
Hughes received its contract from Japan Satellite Systems for a sixth satellite for its JCSAT fleet. The bird will be delivered in May 1998. JCSAT 6 will have 32 active Ku-band transponders. This is not the first communications satellite Hughes has built for Japan, Hughes provided Japan with its first commercial communications satellites, JCSAT 1 and JCSAT 2, both of which were launched in 1989.
DirecTv announced recently that they will give away DSS equipment to new commercial subscribers that buy one year of the boxing package for $499, between Feb. 3 and April 4. The package also offers Classic Sports Network at no additional charge to taverns, restaurants and nightclubs if they subscribe to the service's Ringside package.
Current DirecTv commercial subscribers in the U.S. also will receive a free two-month preview of the Ringside package.
DirecTv's Ringside, which made its debut Feb. 12 featuring undisputed World Heavyweight Champion James "Buster" Douglas in a bout at Madison Square Garden, will air the second Wednesday of every month through January 1998.
NBC recently announced that it will shut down Canal de Noticias by mid-year. Canal de Noticias is a 24-hour Spanish-language cable news network that reaches about 5 million households via cable and satellite, about 1.2 million of which are in the United States. The network is seen in 22 countries. NBC stated that the shut down is due to growing competition and plans to expand MSNBC and CNBC into Latin America.
Other networks continue their effort to launch similar Spanish-language news channels. CBS recently acquired TeleNoticias, which reaches more than 10 million homes, and renamed it CBS TeleNoticias. CNN plans to launch CNN en Espanol in March.
Security Associates International has announced that it will market EchoStar satellite equipment through its dealer network. Security's strategy is that by marketing EchoStar's satellite equipment, alarm dealers may have an opportunity to sell upgraded security systems.
PanAmSat has announced that it will transmit a second Fox television channel to cable operators and television viewers in Latin America. Fox Kids Network Worldwide has joined Canal Fox on PanAmSat's PAS-3 Atlantic Ocean Region satellite. This new service for Latin America will consist of popular Fox programming offered in Spanish, English and Portuguese.
Tele-Communications Inc. announced recently that it will expand ALL TV, to Fremont, Calif. and Arlington Heights, Ill. According to TCI, ALL TV is the digital television service that is becoming the MSO's answer to competition from small-dish satellite TV.
ALL TV offers up to 170 video and audio-music channels. Many of the channels are pay-per-view and require per-event fees. Service will range from $34.99 a month to $69.99 a month, and includes a $14.95 installation fee and $3 monthly rental for a digital set-top box.
A distribution deal has been established for Citizens Telecom to offer AlphaStar's digital direct-to-home satellite television service to subscribers in 13 U.S. states under an agreement by both companies.
In addition to its own customers, the communications provider also will offer AlphaStar's service through subsidiaries and affiliates of its parent company, Citizens Utilities. What this means is Citizens' customers can pay for AlphaStar service with one bill covering all of their telecommunications needs, according to a spokesperson for Citizens Telecom.
The agreement with Citizens is a crucial move for AlphaStar, who launched its service eight months ago and is seeking to expand its subscriber base. After its launch last year, AlphaStar lost a deal with Amway, who was going to sell the Tee-Comm Electronics service to its customers.
DirecTv has announced recently that it will extend its $200 cash back offer on DSS equipment through the end of March.
Customers will be given a $200 rebate when they purchase DSS equipment in addition to a one year subscription to the Total Choice package, the basic programming offering from the Hughes Electronics service. The cash back offer may be redeemed as a $200 programming credit from DirecTv or for a $200 check.
In addition, the new DirecTv customers who take advantage of the offer also will receive a free upgrade to the Total Choice Platinum package for the first month of service and a free month of U.S. Satellite Broadcasting, DirecTV's DSS partner.
According to reports, Alcatel Alsthom said it was in talks with Aerospatiale and Dassault about a joint offer for the French government's 58-percent stake in defense electronics group Thomson-CSF.
In October, Alcatel lost out to the Lagardere Groupe in bidding for state-controlled Thomson, which has a stake in Thomson-CSF and full control of the consumer electronics unit, Thomson Multimedia. French Prime Minister Alain Juppe said a decision about the privatization of Thomson-CSF, and the consumer electronics unit responsible for digital satellite equipment in the United States, may be made before the end of February.
The government suspended the Thomson deal on Dec. 4 after a government commission rejected terms for the sale of the multimedia group to Daewoo Electronics of South Korea.
Dassault and Aerospatiale are presently negotiating a merger of their aircraft activities. Under a scenario floated by the French press, Alcatel would merge its own defense activities into Thomson-CSF.
If the deal goes through, Alcatel would become the main shareholder of the enlarged group and become Europe's biggest defense company and the world's third biggest after Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
Reports out of Tokyo indicate that Sony agreed in principle to acquire an equity stake of 25 to 30 percent in Japan Sky Broadcasting. JSkyB presently is a fifty-fifty joint venture between News Corp. and Softbank Corp. According to reports negotiations are underway, and that an agreement could be signed soon.
JSkyB, will begin experimental 12-channel broadcasts April 1. The service will initiate 150-channel satellite TV broadcasts a year later.
Sony already has a 5 percent equity stake in PerfecTV, Japan's first digital satellite broadcaster that started with 57 channels in October 1996 and plans to eventually offer more than 100 channels.
Telesat Canada announced recently that it will provide Hughes Space and Communications with a flight dynamics system that can be used to control the orbits of Hughes-built satellites.
Telesat's software will be used by HSC engineers to place newly-launched satellites into geostationary orbit prior to handing them over to customers. The software then will be used by HSC customers to accurately stationkeep satellites throughout their lifetime.
Delivery of the first system is scheduled for January 1998, in time for the mid-year launch of HSC spacecraft model HS-702. A second delivery, scheduled for September 1998, will be compatible with previous generation satellite control systems and will allow Hughes customers around the world to upgrade orbit operations software with the new software.
In a move to strengthen its cable programming efforts, CBS parent Westinghouse Electric, has agreed to purchase two country music cable television networks from Gaylord Entertainment for $1.5 billion in stock.
According to reports Westinghouse has a definitive agreement to acquire domestic and international operations of The Nashville Network and the North American operations of Country Music Television network through the deal.
The transaction should close early in the third quarter, before Westinghouse splits its media and industrial operations into separate companies.
Westinghouse is spinning off its industrial businesses in order to focus on broadcasting. The company also is acquiring Infinity Broadcasting to add to its CBS (which it acquired in 1995) and Group W radio networks.
As we reported last month the launch of the first three of 66 low-orbiting satellite telephone network were delayed at least twice due to the Delta II rocket problems. It was expected to resume sometime in mid-Jan. Well, on Jan. 17th another attempt was initiated. Just seconds after lift off, at Cape Canaveral, the first launch vehicle exploded. Plans to launch more have been put on hold indefinitely. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Iridium reports that the launch delays won't affect the group's service activation planned for Fall 1998.
SPOTbytes, a satellite-based internet service from PanAmSat, recently announced it is ready to begin service. SPOTbytes will offer international internet service providers high-speed access and dedicated links to an Internet backbone in the United States and other countries. In addition, PanAmSat has signed an agreement with UUNET Technologies of Fairfax, Va., to provide direct access to the U.S. internet backbone.
Globalstar announced that it will sell $250 million in senior notes due the year 2004 and warrants to purchase common stock of Globalstar Telecommunications Limited in a private offering.
Proceeds from the sale will be used towards development, construction and deployment of its worldwide, low-earth orbit satellite-based digital telecommunications system. The offering will be available only to qualified institutional buyers and accredited institutional investors.
Recent reports indicate that TCI Satellite Entertainment will enter into the junk bond market with a $350 million offering of high-yield bonds. Proceeds will finance continued growth of the company's various interests in medium-power and high-power DBS services.
The deal will consist of $200 million in senior subordinated discount notes due 2006 and $150 million in senior subordinated notes due 2006. TSAT holds a 20.9 percent interest in Primestar, and the company plans to launch a high-power DBS satellite in early March.