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Sat-ND 96-06-28 - Satellite and Media News This service is provided free of charge for personal use. It may be reproduced for non-commercial reasons only, provided the following notice is included: "(c) Copyright 1996 by Sat-ND, http://www.sat-net.com/pck/" Please send any contributions and comments regarding Sat-ND to Peter C. Klanowski, Fax +49-451-5820055, pck@LyNet.De This issue is sponsored by TELE-satellite, Europe's Satellite Magazine Have a look at their homepage! >> http://www.TELE-satellit.com/ << Confusion following Supreme Court ruling The US today upheld part of a law allowing cable television firms to refuse to show sexually explicit programmes on certain channels. It authorises them to refuse any indecent material on public access channels (PEG), at least one of which is available in every US cable network. But other parts of the 1992 Cable Television Consumer Protection Act, sponsored by conservative North Carolina Republican Jesse Helms, were struck down by the Supreme Court. Cable operators were obliged to set up a separate channel for indecent programming and scramble it unless a subscriber requested it in writing. This provision was declared unconstitutional as well as certain restrictions for public, educational, and governmental channels. "Coupled with the recent federal ruling against Internet censorship, this decision delivers a real one-two punch to the religious right, which has prompted these censorship attempts," said Elliot Mineberg, legal director and general counsel of "People for the American Way." This group had, amongst others, challenged the Cable Television Consumer Protection Act. Another group challenging the law, Media Access Project, seems not that otimistic. It said in a statement that "the Supreme Court has left the public with more, not less, doubt about how the First Amendment applies to cable TV. But at least public access channels have gained the freedom they need to serve as America's electronic town square." Giga Zap German media authorities have okayed two more theme channels. Giga TV is a 24-hour channel for computer freaks, whereas Zap TV is a German version of the USA's Prevue Channel. It is yet unclear whether both channels will start, when and on what satellite they will be launched. There are, of course, some EUTELSAT transponders available for analogue transmissions. However, a EUTELSAT-only strategy makes no sense at all without cable distribution, and even an ASTRA transponder probably won't be sufficient. Unfortunately, German cable networks are already crammed with other TV channels. Even worse, each of the country's sixteen partial states has different rules for allocating cable channels to broadcasters. Intelsat standard out of fashion There are first signs for a saturation in the market for certain satellite uplink stations. Spar Aerospace Ltd. from Mississauga, Ontario announced it will be discontinuing its Major Systems satellite earth station operations, supplying systems integration for Intelsat standard-type earth stations. According to Spar, a manufacturer of aerospace, communications and software products, the market is declining. RupertWatch By Dr. Sarmaz American Sky Broadcasting and SkyMCI have chosen a site in Arizona for an advanced satellite and data uplink facility and broadcast operations centre. Both companies are joint ventures between Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and MCI Communications Corp. Their digital TV package is expected to be launched on two direct broadcast satellites (DBS) within two or three years from now. In January, MCI paid US$682.5 million for the last remaining DBS license it won at a Federal Communications Commission auction. It wasn't a real surprise that the encryption technology used by DirecTV,