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Programming
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1999 News
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S3 Satellite Ceases Operation. After midnight on 10-31-99 Home Team Sports and the other channels disappeared from site on the S3 satellite located at 83 degrees. This had been anticipated because of the failing satellite's age. HTS is no longer available on C-Band. Daystar TV has moved to S4-10. Locations for other channels located on that satellite are unknown.
VH1 Will Air International Concert - VH1 will air performances from the international NetAid concerts to be held in New York, London and Geneva on Saturday, Oct. 9. NetAid is an initiative created by the United Nations Development Program and Cisco Systems to help end the growing problem of extreme poverty. The Movie Channel To Premiere Original Movie - The Movie Channel has announced it will premiere the original movie Kiss the Sky on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. The film, starring William Petersen, Gary Cole, Sheryl Lee and Terence Stamp, is the story of two businessmen on a spiritual journey.
Telstar 7 (129 degrees) was successfully launched on September 25 and is expected to be operational in early November; GE-4 (101 degrees to replace S4) in October, 1999; Galaxy 11 (99 degrees initially and then move to 91 degrees in March 2000) in October 1999; Anik F1 (107.3 degrees replacing Anik E2) July, 2000.
Only weeks after suffering a court-ordered disconnection of their
network signals, a large group of "This consumer nightmare just will not end," said Bob Phillips, NRTC president and chief executive officer "The terminations of the three network affiliate signals from Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles are clearly related to the relentless legal attack on satellite dish owners by the National Association of Broadcasters and represent a bitter blow to consumers nationwide." In addition to its DIRECTV business, NRTC also sells C-Band services through its Rural TV unit.
Exxtasy Moved to T4-17 and True Blue Moved To T4-5
The Learning Channel and ABC News announced they will be collaborating on a production featuring 20/20 segments using TLC's documentary footage and storylines from upcoming specials. The first "TLC on 20/20" segment will air on Friday, March 12 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. The show will feature footage from the TLC documentary "Sexual Chemistry," which explores the much-hyped drug Viagra.
The Weather Channel will debut a suite of six programming services that will feature local weather, traffic information, golfing and ski reports, as well as Spanish-language forecasts. Weatherscan Local and Weatherscan Radar will launch March 31, while Weatherscan Plus, Weatherscan Plus Traffic and Weatherscan Espanol will debut in April and May. Weatherscan by the Weather Channel, which launched last year, will also be part of the suite of services.
Si TV has announced that it will launch a Latino-themed English-language network sometime next year. The channel will feature original series such as "Cafe Ole" and "Funny is Funny!"
As an estimated 700,000 satellite customers - and possibly as many as 1 million - lost Fox and CBS signals Sunday, there were more calls for a Congressional fix on the delivery of distant network feeds. At last report, there were no last-minute legal maneuverings over the Miami court's Feb. 28 shut-off date. This week, however, talk could heat up regarding a Congressionally approved moratorium that will allow delivery of distant network feeds. "Now, consumers have only one line of defense between themselves and the broadcast monopoly - and that is Congress," said Bob Phillips, CEO of the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative. "NRTC will mount a consumer campaign in the coming weeks to urge Congress to pass emergency legislation on behalf of these consumers. As network TV signals go dark in rural homes without cause, viewers must make their voices heard in Washington." What You Can Do If Your Network TV Stations Get Turned Off? Dish owners who lose their satellite-delivered network TV stations currently have two options for continued reception of network TV programming: 1: Request waivers from your local TV stations for continued satellite reception of distant network TV signals. To get a waiver, a request must be filed with each local TV station (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) in your area. There are several resources to help dish owners get waivers. Dish owners who have access to the Internet can go to www.tvaccessnow.com and click on "Request a waiver", www.sbca.com and click on "Save Our Signals", www.decisionmark.com and click on "SHVA Solution Central" and www.primetime24.com and click on "Satellite TV subscriber alert". Also, check out www.getawaiver.com and www.iwantmyfreetv.com. Or, write to the following addresses for more information: PrimeTime 24, 153 East 53rd St., 59th Floor, New York, NY 10022. SBCA, 225 Reinekers Ln., Suite 600, Alexandria, VA 22314. NRTC, 2201 Cooperative Way, Suite 400, Herndon, VA 20171. If and when you get that letter fax it in to your programming provider and your programming will be restored. If your are an Orbit Communications C-Band (Large Dish) programming customer fax it to 978-440-9662. 2: Try using a new, sophisticated off-air antenna to receive local TV stations. Off-air antenna technology has advanced considerably over the last 10 years. Check with our Local TV Channel Section, especially on the new off-air antenna maps from the Consumer Electronics Manufacturer's Association (CEMA). Maps for all 212 TV markets across the country are expected to be available next month-sooner in many areas. History of the Issue On March 11, 1997, CBS and Fox brought legal action against PrimeTime 24 in a Federal court in Miami. On June 10, 1998, the court ruled in favor of the broadcasters. The broadcasters claimed that PrimeTime 24 violated Federal law by providing distant network TV stations via satellite to dish owners who live in a local TV station's "grade B" signal contour. Broadcasters maintain that satellite reception of distant network TV stations in areas that supposedly can receive signals from local TV stations erodes a local TV station's viewership and, therefore ratings, which are used to determine advertising fees. The court's ruling requires satellite TV providers to shut off PrimeTime 24's satellite-delivered distant network TV stations, particularly CBS and Fox, that are being transmitted to dish owners who do not qualify (live within their local TV station's grade B signal contour). Many dish owners who are in their local TV station's grade B area cannot receive adequate signals from their local TV stations with an off-air antenna. The original court decision handed down by Miami Federal court judge Lenore Nesbitt mandated that the satellite delivery of distant network TV signals to ineligible subscribers had to be terminated on or before October 9, 1998. That ruling was delayed until February 28, 1999 in order to give the satellite industry, broadcasters and the government time to find a more reasonable solution. This first court ruling only impacts dish owners who ordered PrimeTime 24 stations between March 11, 1997, the day the broadcasters filed the lawsuit in Miami, and June 10, 1998, the day the court issued its original decision. On December 30, 1998, Federal court Judge Lenore Nesbitt, who is presiding over the case, issued a permanent injunction against PrimeTime 24. The permanent injunction mandates that all ineligible subscribers who ordered PrimeTime 24 before March 11, 1997, must be turned off on or before April 30, 1999. Instead of using the grade B signal contour as the standard of determining which dish owners do not qualify for satellite-delivered distant network TV stations, the SBCA and the NRTC have recommended using the Terrain Integrated Rough Earth Model (TIREM) which takes into account features of the local terrain. TIREM, which was developed by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA), incorporates data from the U.S. Geological Survey. TIREM can provide a more accurate method of determining reception of local TV stations via an off-air antenna. The FCC has recommended a method of determining which dish owners do not qualify for satellite-delivered network TV stations that takes into account terrain.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Moved from G1-16 to GE3 (W3) channel 14.
HBO will launch its high definition schedule with the primetime premiere of "U.S. Marshals" on March 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Throughout the month, HBO will also air numerous other movies such as "Sphere," and "Amistad," in high definition. "Titanic," along with other major motion pictures, will debut in high definition in April.
Turner Broadcasting System will launch a new, 24-hour broad-based entertainment network targeting the Southeastern region, featuring movies, sitcoms, original programming, sports and regional news. Turner South, set to debut in fall 1999, will be available to cable and DBS affiliates in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and regions of North Carolina.
Satellite companies may be getting the legislation they need to keep airing distant broadcast network signals. In the House, Reps. Billy Tauzin and Thomas Bliley introduced a measure that would impose a 90-day moratorium on a court ruling forcing satellite companies to stop airing CBS and Fox signals. Within that 90 days, the bill directs the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to come up with a new system for determining which households should be allowed to receive distant network signals. The Congressional assistance probably won't stop Sunday's signal shut-down, but could make the loss of distant networks a temporary matter. Additionally, legislation that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday would give satellite companies the copyright licenses they need to broadcast local channels into local markets, removes the 90-day cable waiting period and cuts the fees satellite companies pay for the right to air network TV channels from 27 cents per subscriber per month to 14.85 cents.
Twelve days remain until distant network signals delivered via satellite are cut off to nearly 1 million subscribers. Last minute efforts to postpone the order were taken by Primetime 24, the distant network provider caught in the middle of the legal wrangling. In a filing last week with the U.S. District Court in Miami, the company asked the Feb. 28 shut-off be pushed back to April 30, the date an additional 1.2 million subscribers will lose service. PrimeTime 24 also asked the court to incorporate into its order a Federal Communications Commission order endorsing revised methodologies determining eligibility for distant network signal reception. The company said the Individual Location Longley-Rice model pushed by the FCC is an improvement on today's predictive model.
The Federal Communications Commission put the Grade B burden on the shoulders of lawmakers, saying that a legislative fix is the only way to remedy issues surrounding satellite delivery of distant network signals. In a statement released on its order Tuesday, the commission said, "Only legislative changes to SHVA (the Satellite Home Viewer Act) will allow satellite companies to deliver network signals to all their customers. Only Congress can approve 'local-into-local' legislation or fundamentally change the definition of 'unserved household.' "The commission wants to ensure that consumers who are legitimately 'unserved' by local television stations can receive distant network signals from a satellite service. Likewise, the commission wants to ensure that as many Americans as possible can receive network signals in some way. The commission cannot assist any household that is receiving signals illegally." Companies and organizations impacted by Grade B said they are still studying the commission's findings, and couldn't immediately comment on the action. In its order, the FCC attempted to develop a Grade B standard may take into account local signal obstacles, such as mountains and hills. But commissioners stressed the new order would help only a minority of those facing a Feb. 28 cut-off from a court order, and that Congress must change the law to help most satellite subscribers. "We have gone as far as we can under the law to enable consumers to receive
network programming via satellite," FCC Chairman William Kennard and Commissioner
Susan Ness said in a joint statement. "A more comprehensive solution to this problem
- including, for example, allowing delivery of local broadcast signals into local markets
- would require congressional action." |
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Some or our news stories are provided by:
Skyreport, Orbit Magazine and Satellite TV Weekly.
long-term satellite consumers have had
yet another disruption of service. According to the National Rural
Telecommunications Cooperative, C-Band subscribers saw the termination of
three popular West Coast network signals on Sept. 1.
