Monster Media 1994 #2/Monster Media No. 2 (Monster Media)(1994).ISO/ham/snews.zip/SNEWS128.TXT

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:---------------------Electronic Headlines----------------------:
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: Issue: 128 :-------:Published Biweekly:------: Date: 07/03/94 :
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BT STARTS INTERACTIVE VIDEO TRIALS
BT has started to conduct a series of technical trials of
interactive television services in the home.  Initially 70 BT
employees will trial the system at home before the system is
expanded to include 2,500 members of the public.

Satnews 127 confirmed that the trial was set to commence, and
Satnews 118 (October 1993) originally confirmed that trials were
slated for early 1994.

Through the system, video and audio programming is transmitted in
the form of computer data over the telephone network. BT's
offering, known as Interactive Multimedia Service, is using
asymmetric digital subscriber loop technology to transmit the
data down existing copper telephone lines and fibre optic
communications trials will also be conducted side-by-side.

Paul Reynolds, director of BT's Information Communication and
Entertainment programme, said: "The trial is a major step forward
in the development of communications.  These services will allow
customers access to entertainment and information in the home as
never before. Because the system is interactive, customers will
be able to call up a movie when they want it."

Many companies have aligned with BT for the trial, including the
BBC, Carlton Communications, Granada Television, London Weekend
Television, Picture Music International and Thames TV for
programming. Contracts are also being negotiated with Hollywood
film distributors to source feature films. ADSL equipment is
being provided by Northern Telecom, optical fibre technology from
Alcatel Network Systems, multimedia servers from Oracle,
multimedia server hardware from nCube and Apple Computer for the
service's set-top box.

The trials will take place in Kesgrave, near Ipswich.

Richard Woollam, director-general of the Cable Television
Association, said that the CTA members were watching developments
with interest.

"No-one as yet fully knows the market and potential for this new
generation of interactive services. Trials of VOD products are
underway across the world and are building a pool of technical
resources and know-how which will enhance our development of
consumer interfaces and applications," said Woollam.

"British cable companies are developing the world's most
sophisticated communications, entertainment and information
network which will deliver the future interactive services set to
bee the traffic of the information superhighway."

Previously BT was said to have been investing in fibre within the
local loop, enabling it offer high-speed video and data services.
Last week the company said that it would need major changes in
broadcasting regulations before it is able to incorporate fibre
optic cables into its local telephone network, offering video
transmissions, according to the company, reacting to news last
week which said that the company was planning to fibre up the
local loop.

The company denied that it is planning to make a major investment
in the short term into fibre in the local loop. Installing fibre
would cost the company up to GBP15 billion. The company spends
around GBP2 billion per year maintaining and upgrading its
existing network.

Satnews 123 repoted that Oftel, the UK telephone and
communications watchdog, said that the watchdog would be watching
any video on demand service offered by BT, to make sure that the
terms on which it is made available are fully consistent with the
UK policy on the competitive provision of telecommunications.

* A video on demand trial is set to take place in Japan with
Nippon Chemi-Con Corp.   The company plans to deliver movies into
the home as part of the trial. Over a billion yen is being
provided as funding for the trial by the Japan Key Technology
centre -- a joint Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications,
Ministry of International Trade and Industry venture).

PROBLEMS ABOUND FOR AUSTRALIAN PAY TELEVISION BATTLE
When the Australian government decided to licence pay television
by satellite and cable in the country, it can be fairly well
assumed that it did not expect it to be plagued by so much
trouble.

Telecom Australia has been asked to explain why it is threatening
legal action against the Australian government's pay-television
plans.   An alliance of Kerry Packer, Rupert  Murdoch's News
Corp. and Telecom Australia (the PMT alliance) has threatened
legal action to stop the planned allocation of microwave
distribution licences, a critical part of the satellite pay-
television licence.  The alliance is also questioning a number of
financial matters related to the licence-holders.

The PMT group and Claybon Pty Ltd are seeking to have the A and B
satellite licences declared invalid on the grounds that the two
licensees engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct.

The communications ministry is now asking Telecom to explain why
one government-backed company is trying to hit another government
agency square-on the cheek with the legal moves.

The Australian Broadcasting Commission is looking to fix revenue
income from the operation of pay-television services delivered by
satellite. Discussions have been made between ABC and licence
holders Continental Century and Australis Ltd. about forming an
agreement through the three broadcasters would receive a share of
total pay-TV revenues.

Previously ABC had suggested that revenues be bundled, although
this proposal was rejected by the Trade Practices Commission last
week.  Under the bundling arrangement, viewers would receive the
channels from the three licence-holders as part of a package. Out
of the ten licensed channels, ABC will operate two channels with
the other licensees operating four channels each.

While all the fighting is happening in the satellite scene, Cable
Television Services is to launch a nationwide cable television
system by July. Infrastructure from Telecom Australia will be
used in the venture. Telecom Australia has created a subsidiary
company -- Visionstream -- to manage the installation works.

The network will be progressively rolled out across the country,
with the first stage costing about A$700 million. By the end of
1994 around 150,000 homes will be able to tune in to the service,
rising to 1.1 million homes by 1997. Service will initially be
launched in Sydney and Melbourne suburbs before moving to
Canberra, Brisbane and other state capitals in 1995.

Telecom Australia's fibre optic network is being used to route
the service. This network can carry 67 uncompressed or 400
compressed video channels, permitting considerable expansion of
service offerings in the future. Other licensed cable operators
may be able to use the network in the future.

A ten channel pay-television service will be offered to
customers, along with local rebroadcast of selected stations.
Customers will pay A$40 per month for the service, including two
pay-per-view premium movie channels. Programming rights have been
negotiated with Turner Broadcasting, ensuring that CNN
International, Cartoon Channel and TNT will be aired.

SALE OF BSKYB AND FLOTATION PLANNED
British Sky Broadcasting could see a change of shareholders
later this year as its fortunes improve.  BSkyB is presently
refinancing its debt payments to shareholders. Presently it has a
GBP1 billion debt burden and it is attempting to refinance this
to simplify debt payments and structuring.

One option for the channel now that it is generating positive
revenues is to change the debt to a conventional loan, with
interest payments made with repayment of the capital.

The eventual aim of BSkyB's directors is to float the company on
the London Stock Exchange in the 1995-96 financial year. Upon
floatation, the company is likely to capitalise between GBP5-6
billion.

It is understood that Granada is looking at selling its stake in
the company. Granada Group could receive up to GBP70 million said
Gerry Robinson, Granada's chief executive.  The company has a
13.5 percent stake in the satellite company, and could stand to
gain at least GBP500 million from the sale of its stake,
excluding debt payments.

Pearson, owners of a 17.5 percent stake in the company, is
interested in taking over Granada's shares to improve its
bargaining position to News Corp., the majority owners.
Chargeurs, a minority shareholder, is understood not to be
interested in extending its share.

Granada could do with the cash. It has just finished battling for
control of London Weekend Television, a UK terrestrial
broadcasting network, paying GBP765 million in cash.

EUROPEAN CABLE TV ALLIANCE FORMED
A major pan-European cable television joint venture has been
formed by Philips Media, a Philips Electronics' subsidiary, and
United International Holdings Inc.  An agreement in principle has
been made to operate pan-European cable television services.

Philips currently has cable TV interests in Germany, the
Netherlands, Belgium, France and Austria, and United has
interests in Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Hungary and Malta.   Cable
services belonging to United in Israel will also be brought into
the venture.

Out of the combined cable services, more than 1.5 million of the
2.5 million homes that are passed for service are connected and
paying monthly subscriptions.  The joint venture will be the
largest privately-owned, multi-channel subscription TV company in
Europe.

Philips' has the larger stake in the company and to even up the
holdings United will give Philips US$50 million in stock and
US$125 million in debentures.

Scott Marden, chief executive officer of Philips Media, said the
joint venture would be "an important step for Philips in its
strategy to become a leading supplier of software and services to
the consumer."

The alliance, subject to regulatory approval, will be concluded
by the autumn.

UK BTV MARKET CONTINUES TO GROW
According to figures released by Maxat, the company conducted 40
business television broadcasts in February, compared to 26
broadcasts in January.

The major event for the company was the launch of a new network
for the Irish Permanent Building Society, covering 102 locations
across Ireland and the UK.  The bank is looking at changing its
status from a mutual assurance society to a bank, and a number of
regular broadcasts are set to be made.

Maxat also added new sites for Texaco in Europe and broadcast a
four-hour interactive meeting from the USA throughout Europe,
commenced European-originated broadcasting for Federal Express
and moved FedEx's operations onto a Telecom 1 satellite.

Regular broadcasts were made for BMC Software, Hewlett Packard
and other clients.   David Austin-White joined the company as
account manager with special responsibility for business
television.

BT declined to say how many broadcasts its business television
subsidiary made in the month, although in January when Maxat
announced 26 broadcasts BT said that it had conducted 50
broadcasts.

US COURT RULES AGAINST PIRATE DECODER COMPANY
Continental Cablevision has received US$2.75 million from a major
supplier of pirate decoder boxes.  Continental is the third-
largest cable television operator.

The case was brought by Continental against Novaplex Inc., Plex
Communications, Prime Time Cable and Cable Ready Co. for making
and selling pirate decoder boxes, permitting cable subscribers to
tune into scrambled channels without paying subscription fees.
In most US states such activity is illegal.

Los Angeles police previously seized 60,000 pirate decoders in
a series of raids last October. The decoders were being
advertised through small ads and shipped through the US postal
system.

In February 1993 Satnews (Satnews 101) reported that many
Connecticut cable television viewers who watched a boxing match
illegally through a pirate decoder were caught in a massive sting
operation.  The sting was held in November 1992 although the
company held back details of the sting so that investigations
could be concluded.

In total 140 people were trapped after they called for a free t-
shirt after an advert was aired during the boxing fight between
Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe. The sting was engineered so
that only people armed with pirate decoders could view the
transmitted advertisement, which said that the offer was limited
to the first one hundred callers.

At the time Geoffery Little, chairman of Continental Cablevision,
said that the sting worked like a dream, adding that the
company's 140,000 paying customers would benefit from the sting
operation.  The telephone numbers of callers were automatically
recorded, and their name and addresses were given so that the 'T-
shirts could be shipped."  Instead of receiving a t-shirt each
caller received a certified letter, obliging then to sign a
receipt at the time of delivery. The letter subsequently informed
them that Cablevision knew about the pirate decoders and demanded
US$2000.

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF US INTERACTIVE TV
A well-publicised trial of futuristic cable television services
has been delayed by Time Warner for six months as the technology
is still not ready.

A spokesman for Time Warner Cable said that a trial of
interactive television will be delayed until October at the
earliest in Orlando.  The planned Full Service Network trial is
delayed due to refinements within the set-top control box and
network computer software. But the company believes that it will
still be providing service to more than 4,000 homes by the year-
end, and 80 percent of its 7.8 million customers by 1998.

Silicon Graphics and Scientific Atlanta, partners in the set-top
box development programme, say that the delays are due to
integrating each component within the compact consumer receiver.

Many observers drew attention to the sudden bumpy ride the so-
called information superhighway has been  getting recently.  Last
week Bell Atlantic and Tele-Communications Inc. called off merger
plans, citing zealous pricing regulations from the FCC, and
earlier this year TCI delayed the purchase of a million set-top
boxes for use on its planned interactive services as the
standards had yet to be defined.

Wall Street analysts now expect Tele-Communications Inc. to look
overseas for investment opportunities. It is likely that the
company will seek to buy other cable television franchises in key
areas. TCI is already the largest cable operator in the US.

A yet-to-be-released report from Killen and Associates is set to
conclude that the future for multimedia is through corporate
cooperation and ventures, rather than lonesome, standalone
participation, Michael Killen, president of the research firm,
said yesterday.

"There are perhaps four to six multimedia teams that make
strategic sense. With 250 key players vying for strategic
position, the challenge is not only to sign up on the right team,
but to sign up quickly, before the positions are filled.
Companies in broadcasting, cable services, entertainment,
telephone services and equipment, computers, software, systems
integration, and related markets need to team up with suppliers
of complementary products and services to play in the multimedia
market.  This is the only way to provide the feature-rich
services customers want," said Killen.

While Time Warner delays its service, AT&T, TCI and US West are
extending an existing trial of Viewer-Controlled Cable TV until
the end of June, adding a range of new features in a bid to gauge
user feedback.

The companies said that a number of operational changes will be
made to the pay-per-view and video-on-demand cable television
service.

One of the new services will be a personal intermission service,
whereby a customer can halt a video programme for 15 minutes at a
time, rejoining the programme on another channel later.  New
programming will also be added to the service to assess whether
customers are influenced by greater programming and technology
changes.  Trials of the network have been ongoing since 1992.

Latest figures released by the trial participants report take-up
around 12 times greater than on conventional cable systems.

VOX TO FACE CHANGE OF STYLE, SHAREHOLDERS
VOX, a struggling German entertainment television channel is
reportedly close to having new shareholders. Time-Warner Inc.
and CanWest are planning to jointly buy a 49 percent stake in the
channel. The remainder of the shares would stay with Bertelsmann,
the German media group.

Time-Warner already has a stake in N-TV, the German news channel,
and MTV-rival Viva.

A spokesman for Bertelsmann said that the company was in
discussions with many companies although it denied to comment on
companies it was or was not talking to. Reuter quotes an
unidentified source as saying that a decision will be made next
week.

Vox has not been as great a success as originally planned, with
audience figures quite low, and investors have been bailing out
because of  the channel's financial difficulties.  Start-up
losses for the channel were US$184 million in 1993, exceeding
planned forecasts by nearly US$30 million.

SPACEPORT PLANNED FOR INDONESIA
The world's first equatorial spaceport funded by a multi-country
body of companies is being planned.  Plans are being made to
construct a satellite launching centre on an eastern Indonesian
island.

The Indonesian government has chosen Arianespace to act as its
technical partner, although time-plans have yet to be formulated.

Joop Ave, the minister of tourism, post and telecommunications,
said that letters of alliance have been signed with Arianespace,
although a detailed project timetable has yet to be prepared.

In 1993 Arianespace launched a Palapa satellite for the
Indonesian government, and it is scheduled to launch a further
craft during 1995.

"Eastern Indonesia is the most strategic area because it is
surrounded by seas and if a launch fails it would not endanger
anyone," said Ave.

CHINA CONFIRMS SATELLITE TV RESTRICTIONS
The Chinese ministry of radio, television and film has released
further details of government-imposed restrictions on the use of
satellite television receiving apparatus.

Under the new regulations, most individuals will be banned from
tuning into foreign television broadcasts and severe restrictions
will be placed on the installation and ownership of receiving
equipment.  A crackdown was initially announced in October 1993
and steps have been taken since then to implement these controls.


The government is increasingly placing controls on the use and
flow of information, especially from outside China.

Police and government officials will monitor the use of receiving
equipment and informers will be 'encouraged' to provide
information on law-breakers.

Only a select band of Chinese individuals will be given
permission to have satellite television equipment, with these
primarily being financial, media and educational organisations
and other people who have a 'work-related need' for satellite
television.  Residential usage of satellite television will be
restricted to those built expressly for the use of foreigners.

Each satellite dish licence will carry clauses about what exactly
is to be viewed and who is allowed to see it, and the ministry
has banned any display of overseas television programmes in
public areas.

Official estimates say that there are around 50,000 dishes
installed within the country, although industry sources suggest
this is incredibly under-valued.

The clampdown was first mooted in Satnews 119 (October 1993). Al
Zhishen, minister of radio, film and television, called for
vigilant control of programming because TV remains the most
effective mouthpiece of the Communist Party and this vital
resource should not be undermined. In an article in the pro-state
People's Daily newspaper, Ai urged broadcasters to keep a tight
grip on the satellite television marketplace which has virtually
slipped out of government control in the past two years.

Ai said that television programming, whether entertainment,
sports or news, should remain the key tool of party propaganda
and told broadcasters that the 'propaganda content' should not
fall in the pursuit of profits, otherwise official regulation
may intervene.

* The Malaysian government is cracking down on the reception of
satellite television in hotels, apartment blocks and other public
places. The information minister, Datuk Mohamed Rahmat, said that
in-house broadcasting was being viewed as public-viewing, and as
such without a licence it is illegal. No more broadcasting
licences are to be issued and the government has given a six-
month period of grace for transgressions to cease.  Broadcasting
without a licence is punishable by a maximum fine of RM100,000
and/or three years imprisonment.

ROGERS WILLING TO BUY CANADIAN MH BUSINESS
Maclean Hunter has said that it is still willing to hold
confidential talks with Rogers Communications, to facilitate a
planned takeover, even though a court bid by Rogers to force
access to MH corporate information failed.

Before it is prepared to release confidential information,
Maclean Hunter said that it requires Rogers to sign a
confidentiality agreement with a three-year 'stand-still'
agreement, which would keep a bidder at bay unless approved by
the Maclean Hunter board. This period was later reduced to 90
days but this has also been rejected.

"Maclean Hunter continues to be receptive to the negotiation of
an acceptable confidentiality agreement with Rogers
Communications to allow...access to confidential information on
terms that would provide a level playing field for all interested
parties," said Maclean Hunter in a statement.

In the court hearing the counsel for Rogers said that it may
consider raising its C$17 per share bid, even though Rogers'
CEO Ted Rodgers said on Friday that he personally felt the C$17
per share bid was too generous (SNW280294).  Rogers just needs
more confidential information to help formulate its bid.

Rogers said that the offer looked over-priced, especially in view
of the additional seven percent rate cut ordered by the US
Federal Communications Commission.  Since the decision was
announced last week the value of Maclean Hunter shares has
dropped by around 15 percent (equivalent to US$1.50 per share).

Ted Rodgers, CEO of Rogers Communications, has confirmed that
the company only wants Maclean Hunter's Canadian cable television
interests, and that if they were sold to it then it would drop
its battle for the company.

MVDS CONSIDERED AS ALTERNATIVE IN UK
The UK government's Department of Trade and Industry is examining
ways of extending the availability of multichannel television
broadcasts in areas where wired cable and satellite television
are not available or practical.

The DTI's Radiocommunications Agency has published a report on
Multi-point Video Distribution Systems (MVDS). MVDS is a system
which is able to provide operators with a means of broadcasting
up to 32 television channels in a local area for reception using
small, 15-cm antennas.

According to the report, MVDS can be used in conjunction with
an existing cable television franchise once a Local Delivery
Service Licence has been awarded by the Independent Television
Commission.

A working group comprising of cable industry figures,
politicians, consultants and other interested parties was set
up by the RA to produce a performance specification for MVDS
equipment around 40GHz for the purposes of licensing under the
Wireless Telegraphy Act.

Trade and Technology Minister Patrick McLoughlin said: "I am
very grateful to all those who took part in the work of the
Group. Subject to the ITC's licensing arrangements, MVDS offers
the possibility of additional television services for viewers not
currently served by cable and I am pleased to be able to make
available radio spectrum for the purpose.

"The specification and report will be of help to operators in
planning the delivery of services in franchise areas and to
manufacturers in producing equipment."

BAE BUILDS AND SIGNS SAT CONTRACTS
British Aerospace Space Systems has managed to successfully mate
the communications and service modules of the Orion-1 satellite
together.

Mike Rickett, BAe's Orion programme manager, said that the six-
hour task was nerving at time but staff are delighted with the
results.

The first Orion satellite is to be shipped to the Intespace test
facility at Toulouse, France for a comprehensive series of tests
under simulated launch conditions and the harsh environment of
free space.  The satellite is set for launch on a General
Dynamics Atlas IIA launch vehicle in late 1994.

British Aerospace Space Systems was awarded a US$227 million
contract by Orion Satellite Corporation in December 1991 for the
design, build and in-orbit delivery of a Ku-band communication
satellite. Work began on building the satellite in January 1992.
British Aerospace is a consortium member in Orionsat, along with
Orion Network Systems, General Dynamics, Nissho Iwai, STET,
Kingston Communications and Matra.

Meanwhile the UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it has
awarded British Aerospace Space Systems a contract to supply two
further SKYNET 4 satellites in order to extend the life of the
current British military satellite communications system. British
Aerospace Space Systems will be the prime contractor for the
complete programme with Matra Marconi Space UK as its major
sub-contractor supplying the communications payload. The contract
is worth over GBP300 million.

PAY-OUT FOR NASA FRAUD INVESTIGATION
Martin Marietta Corp. is to pay US$1 million to settle a federal
government probe of suspected fraudulent business practices at
NASA's Johnson Space Centre.

In 1993 Martin Marietta sold over US$600 million-worth of
equipment to NASA.

Federal authorities are set to announce today (22 February)
charges against nine individuals affected by the investigation.
The US$1 million fee will cover the costs of the investigation.

It emerged on 2 December that federal agents posed as businessmen
selling medical equipment while investigating fraud and kickbacks
at Johnson.  Many government agencies and private firms were
targeted through the investigation.  At the time press reports
said that senior Martin Marietta officials had been videotaped in
negotiations with the 'investigators.'

Martin Marietta declined to comment on the report.

TWO CONTENDERS VIE FOR NEW UK CABLE FRANCHISE
According to the Independent Television Commission, two
applications have been received for the local delivery franchise
for West Kent.  The companies wish to provide local cable
television services, and this application is the first new
franchise to be offered for some time.

Earlgold Limited, presently changing its name to Eurobell (West
Kent) Limited, and Encom Cable TV & Telecommunications Limited
have submitted cash bids to the ITC. Eurobell pledged GBP1.6
million compared to Encom's GBP1.4 million.  The cash price
would have to be paid every year in addition to supplementary
taxes on revenue.

The next step is for the ITC to consult the Telecommunications
and Posts Division of the Department of Trade and Industry, the
Office of Telecommunications (Oftel) and the Radiocommunications
Agency to establish that the technical plan proposed by each
applicant is acceptable to them. The ITC must also be satisfied
that the proposed telecommunication system is capable of being
established in accordance with the timetable proposed and that
each applicant would be able to maintain the service throughout
the period of the licence.

If all the technical plans are approved and the ITC is satisfied
with the business plan the franchise will to Eurobell as the
highest bidder.  The ITC plans to announce the winner by late
spring or early summer.

Jon Davey, ITC Director of Cable and Satellite, said "The bids
for this franchise reflect the increasing confidence and
investment in the cable industry which is now evident 10 years
after its beginnings in the UK. We expect to offer licences for
certain other areas over the next few months and are confident of
continuing interest."

NEGATIVE CABLE BILLING CASE TO BE HEARD
The cable television industry practice of negative option billing
will be tested in a US federal court this week after a Wisconsin
state court hears whether the state's Public Utilities Commission
has the power to stop Time Warner Entertainment from carrying out
such a practice.

NOB works by cable companies mixing a number of channels into a
single composite charge that is levied in addition to monthly
service fees unless removed upon request.

PUC officials ordered TWE to stop such billing practices but the
company issued a suit claiming that the state was acting without
authority.

The Wisconsin television franchise covers around 425,000 homes.
Many TWE customers complained after the WGN, WTBS, Discovery
and E-TV channels -- which were originally free of charge --
suddenly had a US$1.04 per month per channel fee levied.

The state won a case it initiated against Tele-Communications
Inc. in 1991 over negative option billing. TCI agreed last year
to stop negative billing throughout its franchises.

A decision is expected by April.

EUROPEAN MEDIA ALLIANCE FORMED
Bertelsmann, Deutsche Bundespost Telekom and the Kirch group
have formed a joint venture company to look at ways of developing
two-way television services and other interactive media.

The new company, set to be called Media Service GmbH, will
distribute and manage next-generation digital programmes and
telecommunications services, although it would not be acting as
an actual broadcaster.  A statement issued by the group said
that the company would: "restrict itself to technical,
administrative and distribution services."

Around DM200 million will initially be invested in the company.

Bertelsman's television channel holding includes shares in VOX,
RTL Television and Premiere.  Kirch holds shares in SAT-1,
Premiere and DSF. Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, the set-to-be-
privatised state telecommunications company, has a 14 million-
plus cable television network userbase.

BELL/TCI MERGER "HISTORY"
Forget you ever heard about the Bell Atlantic/Tele-Communications
Inc. merger -- it is now history. Bell Atlantic Corp.,
Tele-Communications Inc. and Liberty Media Inc. have been unable
to reach a final agreement on their proposed US$33 billion merger
and negotiations have now ended.

The merger was viewed within the industry as a key driver for
multimedia, although presently most analysts do not feel that it
will cause any long-term harm.  Stocks in cable companies and
allied markets expect to take a hit in the short-term.

When it was announced, the US$33 billion deal was the largest
proposed corporate takeover in US history. Now it is only a
pipe dream.

"Regulatory actions announced this week made reaching agreement
on a transaction of this magnitude impossible," said Bell
Atlantic Chairman Raymond Smith, making a reference to Tuesday's
cable rate cut order by the Federal Communications Commission.

Suspicions were first raised when both parties failed to sign
merger documents first by the 31 January deadline and then by
the revised 15 February deadline, but spokesmen for the companies
said that everything was still on target. Sources suggest that
they were waiting for the FCC's decision -- itself delayed many
times -- and once announced the details made the alliance
unworkable.

Reed Hundt, the FCC's chairman, denied the charges, saying that
its decision to cut cable television rates by a further seven
percent was in no way unsettling the cable television industry --
even though the National Cable Television Association said
earlier that it was looking at launching legal action to stop the
order.

John Malone, president of TCI, said that the companies were
looking at ways to work together in the future, although future
grand alliances were ruled out.

IN-FLIGHT TV TO BE A REALITY
The first-ever live television transmission to an airplane has
been made by IDB Communications Group Inc.

Passengers aboard a Swissair flight from Tokyo, Japan to Zurich,
Switzerland were able to watch CNN International live.
Programming was sent as a high-speed digital signal to the MD-11
airplane as it flew over Siberia, Russia.

IDB Communications and Swissair teamed up with ELTA, the
electronics division of Israel Aircraft Industries, to provide
the satellite equipment and antenna that was placed on the
aircraft. An Informkosmos satellite was used to relay the
services.

"Our company has always been known to break new ground," said
Jeffrey Sudikoff, chairman and CEO of IDB.  "When this project
started two years ago it was one of those famous big ideas.
Today the results have lived up to our expectations.  The need
for live programming on-board airliners, particularly long-haul
international flights, is tremendous.  Airlines with our system
can show live news and sports which will give them a clear
customer choice advantage with the travelling public."

IDB eventually plans to offer a ten-channel television service
direct to airliners. IDB will launch three satellites over the
next two years, providing worldwide service.

NOKIA TO LAUNCH SURROUND SOUND HOME SYSTEM
Nokia will shortly launch a Dolby Pro-Logic surround sound system
aimed at providing cinema-style audio quality in the home.
Nokia's HCS 1000 unit enables a Nicam stereo television to be
transformed into a complete surround sound television system with
three compact speakers.

The three-channel decoder can also be fed through a hi-fi system
into the TV, providing 3 x 15 watts RMS power. The unit is
controlled by an infra-red remote control.

Nokia says that a magnetically-shielded two-way speaker plays
back the Dolby Surround centre channel, which primarily
broadcasts dialogue, ensuring the viewer hears the voices and
sees the actors speaking from the same direction. This central
speaker contains two high-performance woofers and one tweeter.
The two rear speakers are placed behind the viewer to complete
the audio setup.

David Silver, managing director of Nokia (UK), said: "This is a
new development from Nokia which brings the best in domestic
audio technology to those who don't want to buy a new TV in order
to enjoy the atmosphere and excitement that Dolby Surround Sound
creates. The HCS l000 delivers the chance of 'cinema experience'
to customers at a fraction of the price they would expect to pay
for a home entertainment system of this quality."

The recommended retail price for the HCS1000 is GBP399.99 and
the product will be available through independent and retail
chains.

ARIANE LAUNCH INQUIRY RELEASED
Arianespace has identified the fault that caused flight 63 to
crash minutes after lift-off last month, tossing a European and
a Turkish satellite into the sea.  The company hopes to resume
satellite launching in May.

The report said that the third stage engine shutdown because of
insufficient cooling of the liquid oxygen immersed bearing,
combined with aggravating factors that resulted in the bearing
overheating.

A board of inquiry recommended that action is taken to modify
the bearing's thermal behaviour and its mechanical operations.
Arianespace has accepted these recommendations.

To prevent the event from happening again in the future,
Arianespace will install a purge line in the bearing cavity to
improve the reliability of the Helium cooling flushing and fit
a bearing with a self-lubricating coating.

REVIEW: EUROPEAN CABLE & SATELLITE -- FINANCIAL TIMES MANAGEMENT
REPORT

It cannot be doubted that demand for cable and satellite
television has increased tremendously over the years and the
rate of growth is not slated to slow down for many years.
Revenues could be worth US$20 billion by 1988, and the Financial
Times Management Report 'European Cable and Satellite' charts the
progress of the growing industry.

The impressively-bound 250-page report breaks down the industry
into 13 chapters and a plethora of figures and tables.  A history
of the cable and satellite history, its technology and regulatory
framework, acts as a concise primer to the uninitiated and the
European marketplace is also covered in a similar vein.

One advantage of the report is that a subject can expediently be
examined without wading through pages of preamble.  If you want
to know about competition for cable operators, you have six
pages; if you want to know how this affects PTOs (public
telephone operators) you have one page. The ability to quickly
move between sections is a great boost when putting together a
paper, or cribbing up on a subject just before a meeting.

Other topics covered include the key issues for telecomms
companies, issues for broadcasters, investors and the future of
television with the introduction of new media.

Many comprehensive country surveys are provided for all major
European countries, with forecasts made annually until 1997.
Detailed commentaries are provided on some of the key
broadcasting-related companies, satellite operators and cable
television operators.

Such a small review cannot really do justice to the report, but
at GBP271 per copy it is fairly reasonably priced and provides
quite a lot of information.  Whether the report will last until
1997 in terms of usefulness remains to be seen, especially in the
fast moving marketplace.

There is only one minor criticism. There is not enough space to
make notes at the side of the report, or space to insert addendum
pages where changes have been made to the services or
information.

CONTACT: FINANCIAL TIMES MANAGEMENT REPORTS,
TEL:[phone]
REVIEW BY SATNEWSWIRE STAFF

REVIEW: PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES
TITLE          : PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES
AUTHOR         : GARY D GORDON, WALTER L MORGAN
PUBLISHER : WILEY-INTERSCIENCE
ISBN      : 047155796X

There are a lot of text books available which explain the physics
and science involved in communications satellite technology and
the services they provide, and this 532-page book is no
exception.

Even though the book appears to be full of useful information in
tightly-packed text, it is very well laid out and easy to follow.
Each major subject is first prased with an overview before in-
depth coverage is provided along with interpretative graphs and
equations.  This is a good way to lay out a book as you can grab
a quick primer or settle down for an in-depth read.

The book itself is split into two sections, the first half
reviewing the technology used to receive satellite signals, such
as link budgets, antennas and power, with the second half
focusing on how the satellite works, its reliability and general
operational practices.

Topics include a very comprehensive introduction to the subject,
orbits for communications satellites, link budgets, radio
frequencies, modulation, multiplexing and multiple access,
antennas, power, transmission losses, receivers, systems
performance, telemetry, tracking and command, electric power,
spacecraft operation, propulsion, structure, testing and
reliability.  This is all backed up with a very useful 26-page
index.

This book, unlike many others reviewed, will have its own place
on my bookshelf.  I might not need to refer to it every time, but
it is there -- like a dictionary -- for reference as required.
The (UK) GBP58 price-tag puts it out of reach for the satellite
enthusiast, but if you are serious about satellite it should be
required reading.

REVIEW BY SATNEWSWIRE STAFF

COMINGS AND GOINGS
BUSINESS TELEVISION SERVICES- Tim Walshe, presently project
manager, has been appointed director, satellite services at the
company.

ENCOM CABLE TV & TELECOMMUNICATIONS- Two new non-executive
directors have been appointed to the board. Kenneth Baker, former
home secretary and prominent British politician, and Sir David
English, chairman and group editor-in-chief of Associated
Newspapers, will help formulate strategy for the company.
English is also chairman of Channel One, a yet-to-be-launched
London-only cable television channel.

NYNEX- Ivan Seidenberg has been appointed president and CEO of
Nynex's telecommunications group. Seidenberg was formerly vice-
chairman. The company also named Frederic Salerno to the new
position of vice chairman, finance and business development.

BRIEF TRANSMISSIONS
METEOSAT PROBLEMS
The European Space Agency is presently investigating an anomaly
in the functioning of an radiometer that affects the satellite's
full operational capabilities. Meteosat-6, launched on 20
November 1993, takes images of the earth in three spectral
channels -- one visible and two infra-red. An inquiry board has
been set up by ESA to work out how to fix the problems, and it
will report back at the end of the month.

ABC TO BUY UNIQUE
ABC Television has taken a minority stake in Unique Broadcasting,
a UK-based independent producer of radio programmes.  Unique's
other shareholders include Capital Radio, a London-based
commercial radio broadcasting company.

PAKISTAN CONTRACT
The Pakistani government is inviting worldwide tenders from
companies able to design, procure, develop, launch, manage and
operate a regional satellite communications system. Tenders have
to be made by 10 April.

BUSINESS INSURANCE
A new professional indemnity insurance policy providing coverage
for TV companies, radio broadcasters and related organisations
has been launched by St Paul International Insurance. The policy
- branded "Scriptor" - has been launched at a time when other PI
insurers are withdrawing from this sector.

PALPLUS TRIAL
ZDF is to commence trials of PalPlus widescreen broadcasts a year
earlier than planned. Trial broadcasts will start in April,
reports International Broadcasting.  ZDF, ARC and BR3 will
broadcast 400 hours of PalPlus programming each and Premiere will
broadcast 1,000 hours. The first consumer receiving devices will
be on sale by the third quarter of 1994.

TAIWANESE COPYRIGHT
The Taiwanese government has promised to help protect foreign
copyright and patents after it held extensive and wide-ranging
talks with the US government.  Protection for foreign media
programming is to be made, with stiff penalties for those who
breach regulations. The government has said that local cable
television stations will be heavily punished if it violates US
programming without the agreement of the copyright holder.  There
are around 580 cable television stations in the country. It is
not known how many stations have agreements with US distributors.

EURONEWS CLOSURE?
Euronews, the troubled pan-European news channel, is in danger of
being closed down because of spiralling costs and dwindling
viewer levels.  The channel faces impending competition from a
news service planned by TF1. TF1 is to launch its news channel on
24 June. Jean-Pierre Elkabbach, chairman of France Television,
has held initial talks with ARD in Germany.  France Television
said that ARD should invest in the channel and provide German-
language news material.  Discussions have also been held with RAI
in Italy to operate on a similar basis.

SMS INTERNET
Satellite Media Services (SMS), the London-based distributor of
radio commercials and programming by satellite, is set to become
connected to the global Internet computer network.  The company
will eventually use the link to provide electronic mail delivery
of notifications where possible, as well as communicating with
clients and other broadcasting organisations.

SPAR TELECOM
Spar Aerospace has received a contract from Alcatel Espace to
supply an additional flight set of communications antennae for
the fourth Telecom 2 communications satellite system.  Delivery
of the antennas is slated for mid-1995.

SAT1 ADS
SAT1 has won the first round of legal battles with the
Rhineland-Palatinate regional private broadcasting authority over
advertising time. A court ruled that a levy of DM15.75 million
for advertising revenue acquired outside of guidelines by SAT1
should be suspended, as should a DM100,000 fine levied against
the channel.  Another court had previously ruled that the channel
had breached regional guidelines by interrupting 61 films with
adverts more frequently than permitted. SAT1 justified its moves
by saying it used different figures compared to regulators.

SHOPPING BATTLE
Viacom Inc. has completed the tender offer portion for its US$10
billion buyout of Paramount Communications Inc., the company has
announced. Meanwhile another home-shopping takeover battle is
warming up. Informercial maker National Media Corp. is fighting
off a bid from ValueVision International.  A US$140 million
pricetag is placed on National Media.

NBC UK?
According to press reports, NBC is looking at becoming a UK
terrestrial broadcaster through the Channel 5 franchise, set to
be re-advertised in the coming months. A report in the Financial
Times says that the GE-backed company is looking for British
partners to join a consortium. Under present regulations NBC
could not solely own the franchise.  NBC already owns the pan-
European Super Channel cable and satellite television service.

MAXAT TELEPORT
Maxat has signed a contract with IDB Systems, the engineering arm
of IDB Communications Group Inc., to provide a 7.2 metre earth
station which will be used for data services.  The earth station
will be located at Brookman's Park, near London, and will be
operational by the summer.

JAPAN DELAYS
Japan Satellite Broadcasting says that its BS-3N satellite will
not be launched before June. BS-3N, when launched, will act as a
backup satellite to the operational BS-3A/BS-3B satellites. On-
board satellite problems with BS-3A's transponders may see
another backup satellite launched to improve capacity resilience.

BT SPORTS WIN
ITV Sport has awarded a one-year outside broadcast contract,
worth around GBP100,000 to BT's Visual and Broadcast Services
division. BT is providing the independent terrestrial
broadcasting network with a turnkey package, with full event
planning and resource management services.  BT will use its
EventLink network, a 100-plus site of directly-connected to fibre
entertainment venue network for hauling much of the programming
back to ITV.

WHARF BATTLE
The corporate battle between STAR TV and Wharf Cable looks like
it is ending.   STAR TV says that it is not going to enforce a
memorandum of understanding which covered the supply of
programmes to the Hong Kong cable television network.

Ever since the contract has been signed, relations between the
two companies have been very fragile.  STAR has been producing
the contracted programmes although Wharf has failed to air any of
them.   A legal challenge was started by Wharf in January to get
out of the contract.

MTV FIRE
Press reports say that Kristine Backer, the MTV VJ, has
accidentally burned down her live-in-lover's GBP250,000 London
flat.  Backer was alone in cricket ace Imran Khan's flat when she
tried to light a gas fire, which erupted in flames.  "I was
waving my lighter around when everything went woosh. I tried to
tip a glass of water on the flames but they were too big," said
Backer in an interview with The Sun.

DIRECTV LAUNCH
DirecTV has signed an agreement with General Dynamics Commercial
Launch Services Inc. to launch the DBS-2 satellite in Kily.  DBS-
3, a back-up satellite, will be launched in early 1995 by
Arianespace.

PIRATE VIDEOCRYPT
Pirate Videocrypt cards supposedly enabled to decode all
Videocrypt channels broadcast on the Astra satellite and the
European porn channel Red Hot Television (on Eutelsat) are on
sale by mail-order from Manchester.  Cards are apparently being
sold for GBP85 (plus GBP1.50 for post and packaging).  At the
time of going to press Satnewswire has been unable to verify
whether the cards are working or not.

SIGNATORY AFFAIRS
Oftel -- the UK Office of Telecommunications -- has published the
results of a consultative review looking at the future operation
of BT's Signatory Affairs Office (SAO). According to the
telephone regulator, the proposals laid out in the consultative
paper have not been, on the whole, unsupported and steps will be
taken to implement outlined changes by the end of summer 1994.

PHILIPPINE NETWORK
Philippine Global Communications Corp. is presently building a
US$10 million satellite network utilising 11 earth stations for
voice and data services.  The network will be offered to business
customers by the end of 1995 for service, at rates much cheaper
than those levied by the Philippines Communications Satellite
Corp.

FCC HDTV
The FCC's Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service  has
recommended construction of the final element of prototype
hardware for the Grand Alliance high definition television
system, comprising of AT&T, the David Sarnoff Research Center,
GI, MIT, Philips Electronics, Thomson and Zenith Electronics.

INTELSAT OLYMPICS
Intelsat says that for the Winter Olympics it used a network of
20 satellites to relay coverage around the world.  Seven
satellites were transmitting televised coverage for most of the
world's major broadcasters.

TV-FOOL
The nation thought it was romantic of a man to propose to his
girlfriend live on a British TV talk show, but little did they
know that his wife was tuned in.  The man was taking part in a
discussion about dating agencies and stunned the audience by
presenting his girlfriend with a ring and a poem. The couple met
five weeks ago through a lonely hearts section.  Wife number one
only tuned in by accident, and prospective wife number two says
that she will never speak to him again because he lied about his
past.

BBC FIRE
Police are investigating a series of small fires at the BBC's
London Television Centre. Two fires were detected Wednesday
evening in the basement, and police suspect that arson was the
motive.  Television programmes were disrupted, although fires
were contained and damage was minimal.

SIS SALE
Sears plc has sold its 12.7 percent stake in Satellite
Information Services for GBP9.8 million. The shares were sold to
existing shareholders MAI plc and Racal Electronics.  SIS
provides television racing services to licensed bookmakers.

BIG BREAKFAST
Recent press reports say that television presenter Chris Evans
have been simulating oral sex on male colleagues while employed
at British Satellite Broadcasting. Apparently a video tape has
been doing the rounds of broadcasters since it was made.

CHINESE LAUNCH
EchoStar Corp. has signed a contract with China Great Wall
Industry Corp. to launch two satellites, which will provide US-
wide television, radio and data services. Terms of the contract
is not available.  EchoStar 1 will launch in summer 1995 and
EchoStar 2 in mid-1996.  An export licence has yet to be granted
for the Martin Marietta sourced satellites.

TCI TAKEAWAY
Tele-Communications Inc., Home Shopping Network and Sumitomo
Corp. of Japan have signed a letter of intent to form a Japanese
home shopping channel in Japan. Changes in local television
regulations are cited as the main driver for the letter of
intent.

GFK FIGURES
GfK Marketing Services has released details of its December 1993
survey into the UK satellite television market. The figures show
that there were 2.47 million satellite dishes in the UK, up
90,000 on the previous month.

BSKYB CRICKET
British Sky Broadcasting has paid a cricket fan GBP100 per day
plus free food and drink just to watch cricket.  Sky Sports, the
BSkyB subscription sports channel, has paid a cricket fan to
watch the screen and enter the latest score to a 40ft by 8ft
electronic scoreboard by a busy London roadside. The cricket fan
was chosen from readers of a tabloid newspaper who called in with
the scores.

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