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- BUSINESS, Page 45Business NotesTELEVISIONDishing Out The Programs
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- For U.S. television viewers, home satellite dishes have been
- too costly and cumbersome to win much popularity except in
- rural areas that lack cable TV. But last week four
- communications companies disclosed plans for a $1 billion
- satellite service that could transform American viewing habits
- when it becomes available in 1993. The four partners -- NBC,
- Cablevision Systems, Hughes Communications and Rupert Murdoch's
- News Corp. -- said their Sky Cable service will beam 108
- channels to homes equipped with a 12-in. by 18-in. rectangular
- dish that will cost about $300. Users of the new system, which
- could carry high-definition TV signals and digital-quality
- sound, will pay a monthly fee, but the amount has not yet been
- set.
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- Other media giants are exploring similar new satellite-dish
- technologies. Last month a consortium led by General Electric,
- Time Warner and Tele-Communications said it planned to offer
- U.S. viewers a ten-channel satellite service by early fall. The
- companies said the system would deliver basic cable shows to
- noncable households and additional programming to cable
- subscribers.
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