Direct Broadcast Satellite Corpor-ation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Communications, received FCC approval to temporarily operate additional channels at 61.5 degrees.
The order includes channels assigned to Dominion Video Satellite, which partnered with EchoStar for the delivery of its Christian service, and unassigned frequencies.
The order will permit the company to operate from all 32 transponders on its satellite for 180 days or until either Dominion or R/L DBS Satellite Corporation receives a license to begin service at the orbital location.
In the FCC order, the FCC says this action will serve the public interest by increasing viewing options for EchoStar's current and future subscribers."
Programming on these additional channels will be announced soon.
Rep. Billy Tauzin will hold a video-competition hearing April 1 focusing on two copyright bills targeting the home satellite industry.
Tauzin has a bill that would roll back a 27-cent copyright-fee increase. That legislation will be the focus of the hearing, as well as a comprehensive copyright bill sponsored by Rep. Howard Coble.
The Coble bill would allow DBS companies to retransmit local TV signals into their markets of origin,
provided that they comply with must-carry and retransmission-consent rules.
BBC television and the Discovery Channel will unveil more about their partnership today, including the continued roll-out of the British broadcaster's U.S. effort titled BBC America.
The BBC will hold news conferences in London and New York to announce details of its growing partnership with the Discovery Channel. Although both companies wouldn't disclose details, they were expected to announce programming plans for BBC America, a co-production funding deal and the launch of two global channels "People and Arts" and Animal Planet.
BBC Americas is available in Denver on the digital tier offered by Tele-Communications Inc. BBC
officials wouldn't specify if more cable carriage and availability via satellite would be announced today,
saying only they are working on more deals.
EchoStar unveiled new inter-national programming available now or in the near future on its DISH Network DBS service.
New programming is comprised of Japanese, French and Portuguese language services, and will be transmitted from the EchoStar III satellite positioned at 61.5 degrees. The satellite already carries a large slate of international programming.
On May 1, Japan Network Group will commence distribution of its TV JAPAN premium program network on DISH Network. TV JAPAN provides almost 24 hours of programming from NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Japan's largest national broadcast network). Programming includes news, sports, dramas, music, variety, educational shows and family entertainment.
MTV Launches "True Life"
MTV will be launching a new, weekly documentary series geared towards young adults entitled "True
Life." The series will be hosted by MTV News reporter Serena Altschul.
Movie critic Gene Siskel chose Art Almquist from Tucson, Ariz., to "dish out" movie reviews on a national movie review television show that will be shown on U.S. Satellite Broadcasting.
Almquist, the winner of the USSB/Sony "You Be The Movie Critic" contest, gave a review of the film "Twister" for his winning entry.
The nationwide search for the movie critic kicked off in September 1997 by USSB and Sony
Electronics. The search culminated into the finals event held at Planet Hollywood in Beverly Hills, Calif.
A Pennsylvania-based company exploring a DTH service for clients is delivering a scrawl of text via satellite to owners of old AlphaStar equipment to gauge interest in a new TV platform.
While the effort is a concern for new AlphaStar owner Champion Holding, the company, SatCom Systems, said it is doing nothing wrong.
Chisholm said his company wouldn't have pursued delivering the scrawl if it thought the broadcast crossed into legal issues. "I really don't think we are doing anything wrong," he said. "We clearly are not representing AlphaStar. SatCom's name appears on the screen."
Chisholm wouldn't divulge what the proposed service may deliver as far as programming, saying only that it would appeal to niche audiences. He said competing with larger DBS services wasn't part of the business plan.
SatCom-controlled transponder 27 is delivering the scrawl. It is being received by old AlphaStar
receivers via channel 100. The equipment is programmed to tune into that "home channel," a technical
remnant of the old Tee-Comm-backed service.
Disney Channel's new digital channel, Toon Disney, slated for an April 18 debut, will be using a
PowerVu digital video compression system from Scientific-Atlanta. The PowerVu system is capable of
delivering six digital channels, but Toon Disney is the only channel Disney initially plans to carry.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has introduced a bill addressing satellite copyright issues.
While it may be too early to tell what the legislation specifically spells out for copyright rules, reports indicate it's very similar to a bill that Rep. Howard Coble introduced on the House side last month.
Coble's bill, HR-2281, has drawn criticism from satellite interests, which say the legislation doesn't
address copyright fees for superstation and network signals. They also say it adds extra burdens, such as
must-carry of all local stations uplinked via satellite.
The channel switch between U.S. Satellite Broadcasting and DirecTV took place in mid-March, allowing DirecTV to increase its basic channel lineup while USSB becomes the premium channel leader for the satellite platform.
MTV, M2, two feeds of Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite's TV Land, VH1, Comedy Central and Lifetime Television are now offered by DirecTV. The channels are included in all Total Choice programming packages, which start at $29.99 per month.
With the new additions, DirecTV offers more than 55 cable networks and 31 commercial-free audio chans in its basic package.
USSB is adding new premium movie services from Showtime Networks and FX Networks to replace the
basic channels moving to DirecTV. Included in the new fare are Showtime Extreme and fXM: Movies from
Fox. USSB's new movie channels will be added at no additional cost.
DirecTV is offering the remaining weeks of NBA League Pass and NHL Center Ice free to new customers who purchase a DSS system and subscribe to any of the service's programming packages by April 19.
In addition to those program packages, new subscribers will get select first and second round NHL Stanley Cup playoff games. The two sports offers deliver up to 30 hockey games and 40 basketball games every week.
DirecTV is helping dealers across the country attract new customers by adding incentives to any DSS
purchase. In many regions, a customer can buy a DSS system for $199, receive a free antenna for access to
local stations and receive installation for $99.
EchoStar withdrew a complaint it filed with the FCC in October 1997 against Cablevision Systems over access to a number of basic networks controlled by the New York-based operator.
EchoStar signed an agreement with Cablevision subsidiary Rainbow Programming Holdings to resolve the issue, but did not disclose terms of the agreement.
EchoStar contended that Cablevision failed to offer its regional sports programming to EchoStar on
nondiscriminatory terms as required by the Cable Act of 1992. Affeted channels include Rainbow's
American Movie Classics, Romance Classics, Bravo, MuchMusic and regional SportsChannel affiliates.
EchoStar Communications and its DISH Network service is offering customers a new package - America's Top 60 CD - which combines new channels and programming available in the Top 50 CD offering. A free preview of America's Top 60 CD will begin April 1, and last the entire month.
New services include American Movie Classics, Romance Classics, Bravo, Independent Film Channel, CBS Eye on People, Classic Sports, Toon Disney and MSNBC. America's Top 60 will retail at $28.99 a month.
DISH Network has also added STARZ!2 and Showtime Extreme to its movie packages.
Current annual America's Top 50 CD customers will not be affected by the price difference of America's
Top 60 CD until their subscriptions are up for renewal, the company said.
According to an article in The Washington Post, bus driver Ed Ward got more than he bargained for during a recent visit to his local cable company.
Ward visited the offices of Cox Cable in Roanoke to obtain a cable radio converter, was mistaken for an armored car courier, and was handed two bags containing more than $35,000 in cash. Ward returned the money and was rewarded with an offer of six months of free cable service.
Ward then advised the cable company that he already owns a satellite dish.
EchoStar Communications and its DISH Network DBS service is offering the "Unbeatable Deal" to first-time customers, providing a $60 credit for purchases of "America's Top 60" package and a $40 credit for purchases of the "America's Top 40" offering.
Eligible customers must submit their latest 1998 cable bill and a completed promotion certificate with their first DISH Network statement.
"We're excited about our new Unbeatable Deal promotion for spring 1998, which reaffirms our reputation as the best value for high quality digital TV," said John Reardon, president of the DISH Network. "So when you're spring cleaning this year, clean out cable and get an Unbeatable Deal with DISH Network."
The Unbeatable Deal promotion becomes effective March 16, for new monthly accounts and May 1 for
new annual accounts. The deal expires May 31. Credit offered through the promotion is only applicable to
a customer's programming balance, including Pay-Per-View.
It's spring, which means DirecTV is rolling out its seasonal sports packages for baseball and soccer.
Residential DirecTV customers who order Major League Baseball's Extra Innings package by April 15 will receive a discounted subscription rate of $119, $20 off the regular price. Twenty-four teams will appear in out-of-market matches aired through Extra Innings during the season. The package may deliver up to 35 games from around the country every week.
Customers who order Major League Soccer's MLS/ESPN Shootout offering will get more than 100
out-of-market games during the regular season and up to 11 playoff games for $69. The game package
comes at a time when U.S. soccer fanatics gear up for the World Cup in France and the MLS grows in
popularity among the game's fans.
Bruce Leichtman, director of Media and Entertainment Strategies at The Yankee Group, will be the
keynote luncheon speaker at "New Satellite Products: Distribution Channels For The Next Millennium,"
scheduled for Thursday, April 16, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Leichtman will discuss, from a consumer's perspective, the consumption of new products, why consumers
buy what they do, what they are looking for in a product and what trade-offs consumers are willing to make
for the products they want.
Panels at the day-long event include "Distribution Channels," which will focus on several new satellite
services making their way to consumers, including Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, hand-held
mobile satellite phones, digital audio radio services, and high-speed broadband networks.
"Branding New Products" will present strategies for branding new satellite offerings in an increasingly
crowded consumer electronics marketplace.
Legislation that would delay a controversial 27-cent copyright fee paid by home satellite subscribers for superstation and distant network signals was passed by the Senate Commerce Committee on a voice vote.
The bill, introduced by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), would delay the copyright fee increase until January 1, 1999. That would give Congress time to examine the fee increase approved by the Librarian Of Congress last December and consider changes to copyright laws.
The bill also requires the FCC to determine what impact the copyright fee has on the satellite industry's
ability to compete with cable. The agency would then report its findings to Congress.
Vice President Al Gore proposed that NASA launch a satellite that would deliver a live image of Earth to Internet users around the clock.
"This new satellite, called Triana, will allow people around the globe to gaze at our planet as it travels in its orbit around the Sun for the first time in history," Gore said in a speech at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gore said live images of the Earth would show changing cloud patterns, developing hurricanes and even large fires in oil fields or forests.
"With the next millennium just around the corner, developing this high definition TV quality image of
the full Earth ... will awaken a new gene-ration to the environ-ment and educate millions of children
around the globe," he said.
The FCC adopted technical standards for the "v-chip," the blocking technology for television sets filtering content parents may deem inappropriate for their children. In addition to the TV set equipment rules, the commission ordered blocking technology for new computers that have TV tuners.
The v-chip will block inapprop-riate material from entertainment-related shows. The chip would not block news and information content carried. The 1996 Telecommun-ications Act requires that televisions sold in the United States with screens 13 inches and larger must eventually have the blocking technology built in.
The v-chip will work with detailed TV ratings that ABC, CBS, Fox and major cable networks use and
it will work with less-specific ratings that NBC airs. The FCC also approved the detailed ratings system
now in use, but took no steps to prevent NBC from keeping the ratings the industry previously used. The
1996 law requires the FCC to review the ratings.
The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to relax limits on ownership of several media outlets in a single market, a review that is mandated in the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
Among the provisions up for review is a 25-year-old rule forbidding a company from owning a TV station and a newspaper in the same market. The FCC has waived that requirement and other ownership rules in specific cases, despite concerns that newspaper-TV cross-ownership could cause excessive media ownership concentration.
The FCC also is looking at existing rules that prevent a company from owning both a TV station and a
cable system in the same market, and limiting a company from owning TV stations that together reach
more than 35 percent of all U.S. TV households.
Discovery has announced the planned debut of its new network, Discovery Health Channel. This new
network will feature news and information on the latest health trends, including real-life medical dramas
and tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Discovery Health Channel is currently seeking customers.
Fox Sports/Liberty is reportedly negotiating to buy a 35 percent stake in niche sports channels Speedvision and Outdoor Life for about $100 million.
The Fox/Liberty group, which controls several regional sports networks, could make the purchase from Outdoor Life/Speedvision owners, which are Cox Communications, Media One and Comcast. Sinclair Begins Multi-Station, Multichannel Digital Service
Sinclair Broadcast Group began broadcasting the nation' first multi-station, multichannel digital television signals in Baltimore.
The company began broadcasting WBFF-TV and WNUV-TV via assigned Digital TV channels 46 and 40 February 27. Each channel assignment, granted by the FCC, is simultaneously carrying programs in the standard definition TV format.
All U.S. TV stations must begin digital broadcasts by 2006.
Discovery Networks will launch a new network - Discovery Wings Channel: The Sky & Space Network - and is hoping to get carriage aboard cable's analog and digital tiers.
Discovery Wings is poised for immediate launch, with a final date contingent on operator carriage plans. The channel will be available on both analog or digital platforms, but the company didn't mention any efforts to get the channel aboard any DTH satellite offerings.
The channel will provide regular programming and special features on space travel and aerospace,
airplanes and flight travel and other aviation accomplishments.
DirecTV will launch a $150 million TV advertising campaign today that will take on the cable industry and its attacks on satellite TV.
One of the four new spots shows a frustrated cable customer wrapped from head to toe in cable wire, with an announcer talking about TV viewers who have switched from cable to the company's 175-channel service.
The cable industry has taken aim at DBS' perceived inability to offer local TV channels and installation.
Lawmakers have their own solution for rising cable rates: Legislation repealing a provision of the 1996 Telecommunications Act that would end the Federal Communications Commission's ability to regulate rates after March 31, 1999.
Without the sunset date for price regulations, cable systems would remain under FCC jurisdiction, and subject to existing law. The date was selected based on predictions the phone industry would have entered the cable business by that time, according to Rep. Edward Markey of Mass., the ranking Democrat on the Telecommunications Subcommittee.
"Clearly, such competition has not materialized in any significant way," said Markey, main sponsor of the bill.
As expected, the bill doesn't sit well with cable interests. Decker Anstrom, president of the National
Cable Television Association, said the proposal "would re-impose the discredited heavy hand of
governmental micromanagement."
PrimeStar Partners may have run into another political glitch in its effort to enter the high-power DBS
business after a top-ranking Clinton administration official said there should be a thorough review of the
company's plans. PrimeStar's proposal to acquire orbital slots at 110 degrees and 119 degrees needs "more
than a first look, at least a second and probably a third look," said Assistant Secretary of Commerce Larry
Irving, considered a influential figure in telecommunications policy. What is troubling decision-makers in
Washington is PrimeStar's ownership, consisting of the nation's cable operators. That concern has surfaced
despite PrimeStar's assertion that it would remain an independent entity. Nevertheless, Irving said any deal
should be scrutinized since the "most likely competitor to cable is the DBS industry." The Federal
Communications Commission and the Justice Department are conducting separate inquiries into
PrimeStar's high-power plans.
Sony will manufacture and sell set-top boxes for Japan Sky Broadcasting and PerfecTV, two DTH satellite providers that plan to merge operations this spring.
Sony will begin marketing the set-top box and antenna set for $520 beginning in April. A Sony spokesman said the product will be the first unit that can receive both services.
Earlier this month, JSkyB and PerfecTV announced they will merge operations, a deal that includes
PerfecTV's 500,000 customers. The move will create the nation's largest digitat satellite broadcasting
platform.
During the Olympic Games in Nagano, PanAmSat utilized cutting-edge digital technology to bring coverage to more than 30 broadcasters and news agencies. For the first time during a worldwide special event, the PAS-5 Atlantic Ocean Region's steerable spot beam was used, as well as a new, portable multiple-channel-per-carrier platform. Due to the positive response to this new digital technology at Nagano, PanAmSat expects to use the same platform to broadcast future sporting events, including the France World Cup in June.