Archived News 2012

ARCHIVED NEWS 2012
CURRENTLY ONLY UP UNTIL MARCH 2012

30/03/12 Channel 4's Astra 1N frequency of 11.126 V, Symbol Rate 22.000, FEC 5/6 which carries Channel 4 HD now has an additional channel, labelled as "21250" this channel is now testing with Channel 4's promised soon to officially launch "More 4+2" channel

30/03/12 A "test card" labelled as "51310" has appeared on Eutelsat 28A (formerly called Eurobird) at 28 degrees east frequency is 11.526 V, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 2/3, what this channel is for is anyone's guess!

30/03/12 "Men and Movies+1" been testing on Eutelsat 28A (formerly called Eurobird) at 28 degrees east frequency is 11.680 V, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 2/3, this channel has been testing for a while, sorry I'm a bit late posting this one!

UPDATE 30/03/12 Al Jazeera Sport News has been testing with programming free to air but currently has a black screen with a audio test tone, here is what I originally posted - Al Jazeera Sport News will be launching soon on Eutelsat Hotbird 13A at 13 degrees east, frequency will be 12.245 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4, Al Jazeera Sport News is currently available free to air at both the 26 degrees east and 7 degrees west satellite positions

UPDATE 30/03/12 I have been observing Persian Toon and it shows some top cartoon films, Tin Tin was on yesterday but unfortunately the films are dubbed into Farsi but there are some "gems" to be had, Persian Toon shows lots of "silent" cartoons (by "silent" I mean cartoons with not much talk and do not require to be dubbed) like Tom and Jerry, Road Runner, Pink Panther e.t.c., in fact Persian Toon's cartoon catalogue seems to include lots of the old stuff that "Boomerang" shows, even Scooby Doo but again unfortunately this too is dubbed into Farsi, here is what I originally posted -Persian Toon is on Eutelsat Hotbird at 13 degrees east 11.317 Vertical, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4, it's a cartoon channel showing top cartoon films and cartoons! unfortunately they are dubbed into Farsi but there may be "gems" to be had

28/03/12 Following an overnight "outage" Channel 4's Astra 1N frequency of 11.126 V is now in DVB-S form not the previous DVB-S2, symbol rate is 22.000 and FEC is 5/6, this transponder carries Channel 4 HD and will also carry more Channel 4 channels soon including the soon to be launched new "4seven" catch up TV channel, future "candidates" for this frequency are the other planned Channel 4 channels which are Film 4HD, More 4 HD, and E4 HD, if you are now experiencing problems receiving Channel 4 HD following this "change" then depending on the make of your make of receiver you will need to perform one of the following, new install, retune, automatic search, e.t.c.

28/03/12 Al Jazeera Sport News will be launching soon on Eutelsat Hotbird 13A at 13 degrees east, frequency will be 12.245 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4, Al Jazeera Sport News is currently available free to air at both the 26 degrees east and 7 degrees west satellite positions

28/03/12 A long time ago I gave you the news that Germany's RTL was launching a new TV channel called RTL Nitro on the 1st April 2012, the good news is that RTL Nitro has now started testing, RTL Nitro is on the Astra satellite at 19 degrees east, frequency 12.188 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4, on this frequency RTL Nitro replaces Vox CH (which has moved to 12.226 H) so if you don't know how to search for new channels on your receiver and would still like to see RTL Nitro then the easy solution would be to look for Vox CH!

28/03/12 A new "info card" for the "Persian5" TV channel has appeared on Eutelsat Hotbird 13A at 13 degrees east, frequency 11.642 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4, keep an eye on this channel, if this channel is anything like the other "Persian" channels then there is a possibility that there could be some English language content broadcast on this channel

28/03/12 Al Jazeera's two new French TV market only pay TV sports channels will be called BeIN SPORT 1 and BeIN SPORT 2, these two new channels will launch the summer of this year and are for the French market only, they are not to be confused with Al Jazeera's existing sports channels, the reason I am keeping you updated with news about Al Jazeera Sport's French venture these is because some time in the future Al Jazeera are expected to "make a move" in the UK and when it happens it will happen exactly as it is happening now in France, Al Jazeera acquire top sports broadcasting rights for a "specific" country followed by Al Jazeera launching dedicated sports channels (pay channels of course) for that "Specific" country

27/03/12 True Movies 1 on Eutelsat Hotbird 13 degrees east is no longer free to air, this channel has now been removed

24/03/12 Channel 4 HD will be off air for approximately 4 hours from 2300 UK time on the 27th March until 0300 UK time on the 28th March, Channel 4 HD is on the Astra 1N satellite at 28 degrees east, 11.126 Vertical, SR 22.000, FEC 2/3, this "outage" is for "essential maintenance" and is likely to result in a change of transponder broadcast parameters, the new information will be posted here following "the change"

24/03/12 You should already know that Eutelsat launched it's "Ka-Sat" satellite at 9 degrees east which has what can be called very tight footprints and you should already know that Ireland's RTE Television has for a long time been testing and recently officially launched on Eutelsat "Ka-Sat" but what else is "Ka-Sat" to be used for, as well as internet services this week we got an official announcement that a new IP based outside broadcast news gathering and feed service via "Ka-Sat" has started

24/03/12 I previously told you that Germany's international/overseas channel "Deutsche Welle TV" was revamping it's schedule, it has happened, DW-TV which has a large amount of English language programming as well as it's German language programming has revamped and you will now find that the hour "strand" of 30 minutes of news at the top of the hour and 30 minutes of a feature at half past the hour has been replaced by shorter news bulletins either 3 or 15 minutes in length followed by one or two documentaries or current affairs shows, I even saw a concert too, the channel is called DW Europe and it is broadcast via the Eutelsat Hotbird satellite at 13 degrees east, 11.604 Horizontal, SRT 27.500, FEC 5/6

24/03/12 Men and Movies now has a Men and Movies+1 channel, it's "labelled" as 51120 and it's on Eutelsat 28A (formerly Eurobird 1) at 28 degrees east, 11681 Vertical, SR 27.500, FEC 2/3

24/03/12 Persian Toon is on Eutelsat Hotbird at 13 degrees east 11.317 Vertical, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4, it's a cartoon channel showing top cartoon films and cartoons! unfortunately they are dubbed into Farsi but there may be "gems" to be had

24/03/12 Ava Music which was a "Persian" channel showing English language films on Eutelsat Hotbird at 13 degrees east has closed, it is no longer transmitted via Hotbird

UPDATE 20/03/12 Good news, very good news in fact, Deluxe Music will continue, it has found a buyer, "High View Gruppe" has bought the free to air Deluxe Music television channel (as well as the pay TV channel Deluxe Lounge and Deluxe Radio), High View Gruppe currently operates some pay TV channels, these are Planet and music channels Jukebox, RCK TV and RLX TV, High View Gruppe also has shares in the regional television stations Hamburg 1 and TV Berlin, Deluxe Music will continue, I'm such a very happy bunny!

20/03/12 German television channel Tele 5 will have an Austrian version from the 1st of May 2012 called Tele 5 Austria, it will broadcast via the Astra satellite at 19 degrees east, naturally the commercials will be different and possibly one or two shows (most probably in the morning) but in the main we can expect Tele 5 Austria to be a copy of Tele 5 Germany as is currently the case with the "Austrian" versions of the other German channels

19/03/12 CBS Reality on Eutelsat 28A (formerly called Eurobird) at 28 degrees east has changed frequency, CBS Reality is now on 11.344 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 2/3, the channel has been removed from it's previous previous frequency of 12523 V

UPDATE 17/03/12 It's not often I'm right but I'm right again!, again! It was so "the sequel", I took a chance and looked and indeed there was English Premier League football shown this afternoon at 3pm UK time live and free to air (not blacked out) on RTI 1, "while the others are sleeping, Rob's is still leading", Rob's IS the heads up satellite website UPDATE 14/03/12 It's not often I'm right but I'm right again!, It was so, I took a chance and looked and indeed there was UEFA Champions League football shown this evening live and free to air (not blacked out) on RTB and RTI 1, please read the following which was posted this morning Something interesting on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east is frequency 11.612 H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6, two "new" African channels have started testing, RTB from Burkino Faso and RTI 1 from the Ivory Coast, I tell you this because (and here is the catch!) Saturday 3pm English Premier League football and UEFA Champions League football has been seen on RTI 1 on a couple of other satellites, these two channels are only testing at present and what they are doing at 19 degrees east is a mystery, but if they do commence regular programming at 19 degrees east and if they do have Saturday 3pm EPL football and UEFA Champions League football it could be free to air or it could be blacked out, as ABBA once sang, take a chance on me, worth a look maybe?? if it proves to be so, remember where you read it first and don't forget that all important "link" please, most of you do the decent thing, but there are some who do not, you and I both know who you are, "D.M." take note, also it's nice to see "Chinese State" type moderating is still so obviously evident on some forums. Born yesterday I was not!

16/03/12 I have seen some speculation/rumours that TV3 Cat on the Astra 1 satellite at 19 degrees east will be showing free Formula 1, take it from me, TV3 Cat via satellite will not be showing any free Formula 1 live.

16/03/12 Is the end nigh for "Deluxe Music"? It is looking likely, at the request of "Deluxe Music" the channel is currently being removed from German cable television networks, it has already been removed from Kabel Deutschland and it will be removed from Kabel BW and Unity Media in the coming days, this suggests that the administrators of "Deluxe Music" are trying to save what little money they have and it also suggests that a new investor for the channel is looking increasingly unlikely, the administrators had originally set early March as a target to find a new investor but there has been no announcement forthcoming regarding this, it is only a matter of time before the satellite signal is also turned off and that will be very very soon if a new investor is not found very quickly, I say this in hope really as "Deluxe Music" has been a good music channel and I for one will miss it and I will be sad to see it close but it is looking like the end really is nigh for "Deluxe Music".

15/03/12 Due to the large amount of "traffic" (to use a pun!) I have been getting looking for free Formula 1 and for the millions of you who have come to and been helped by me with getting free Formula 1 motor racing and who are now going to be watching RTL's qualifying and the race for free I have posted the following, unfortunately the practices are not free this year (in previous years they were) but I know that you are all "petrolheads" and still want to see the practices too but are you prepared to watch the practices free and live on a small screen, yes of course you are, for details of free and live Formula 1 practices on a small screen see HERE

15/03/12 German television channel Das Vierte will have live Boxing on the evening of the 24th March, see my "LIVE FTA SPORTS" page for the details

15/03/12 The EBU (European Broadcasting Union) has signed a contract with Eutelsat for four transponders on the Eutelsat 7A satellite and for four transponders on the Eutelsat 10A satellite, these transponders will be used to feed news and sports to the 95 member countries of the EBU, upcoming "feeds" will be the U.S. presidential elections, the London Olympics and the Euro 2012 football championships

UPDATE 14/03/12 It's not often I'm right but I'm right again!, It was so, I took a chance and looked and indeed there was UEFA Champions League football shown this evening live and free to air (not blacked out) on RTB and RTI 1, please read the following which was posted this morning Something interesting on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east is frequency 11.612 H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6, two "new" African channels have started testing, RTB from Burkino Faso and RTI 1 from the Ivory Coast, I tell you this because (and here is the catch!) Saturday 3pm English Premier League football and UEFA Champions League football has been seen on RTI 1 on a couple of other satellites, these two channels are only testing at present and what they are doing at 19 degrees east is a mystery, but if they do commence regular programming at 19 degrees east and if they do have Saturday 3pm EPL football and UEFA Champions League football it could be free to air or it could be blacked out, as ABBA once sang, take a chance on me, worth a look maybe?? if it proves to be so, remember where you read it first and don't forget that all important "link" please, most of you do the decent thing, but there are some who do not, you and I both know who you are, "D.M." take note, also it's nice to see "Chinese State" type moderating is still so obviously evident on some forums. Born yesterday I was not!

14/03/12 I do not normally "go" to Press TV but recently I did and found an interesting documentary on the construction of an oil pipeline between Thailand and Burma which has devastated the lives of the people living in the area that this pipeline runs through, Press TV's Hotbird frequency of 12.015 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4, it has a 7 day EPG programme information guide which is easily accessible on your satellite receiver, looking through the guide I see that Press TV has some other interesting documentary strands which might be worth seeing if you are a "culture vulture", Press TV's website is HERE

14/03/12 Pay TV channel Sky Atlantic will start broadcasting in May of this year on the Sky Deutschland Pay TV platform, of interest is that it will broadcast in the German and English languages, it will be a German version of Sky Atlantic (it will not be a direct copy of the UK's version of Sky Atlantic) and it will only be broadcasting in HD

14/03/12 French television channel France 3 will be broadcasting live The 2012 Eurovision Song Contest from Baku in Azerbaijan on May 26th 2012, I think it's time I resurrected my ESC page from last year which had details of where and what countries television channels would be showing ESC live and free to air on satellite, ESC 2012 page coming soon to this site!

14/03/12 Canal+ and Al Jazeera France have signed a deal to share the French broadcasting rights to Germany's "Bundesliga" and Italy's "Serie A" football league s

14/03/12 Beware,beware, analogue satellite receivers are for sale on ebay but they don't mention that after 30/04/12 there are no analogue satellite channels to be received, other "tricks" are also being done, done is the word!

08/03/12 Channel 4 announces that it will launch a new channel, called 4seven the channel will be a seven day "catch up" channel which will show the best of Channel 4's existing family of channels which was broadcast over the previous 7 days, Channel 4's existing channels Channel 4, More 4 and E4 already show repeats of lots of programmes so is 4seven a "catch up" of the "catch up's" which are currently broadcast on those three channels? Possibly yes and possibly no, it could work and it could be good, it is a good idea, a TV "catch up" channel without having to go online, very interesting, see HERE

08/03/12 Russia's entry for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest are the "Buranovo Grannies", yeees, six grandmothers! I wonder if they are "Calendar Girls" type grannies? and the answer is, no they are not, their average age of 75, see HERE

08/03/12 If your interested in all things Africa then you may be interested to know that a new television channel "AFTV Beautiful Africa" begins broadcasting all over Europe free to air and in the English language on the Astra satellite at 23.5 degrees east 12.168 Vertical, SR 27.500 FEC 3/4, test transmissions commence on 10/03/12 with regular programming commencing on 01/03/12, for more see HERE

07/03/12 Community Channel is now on a new frequency on Astra 2 at 28 degrees east, 12.207 Vertical, SR 27.500, FEC 2/3

07/03/12 In Germany there is currently no interest in free to air broadcasting rights for the coming 2012/2013 UEFA Europa League football competition, no doubt this will change nearer the competition start but probably the rights will be purchased at a reduced rate meaning less money for the football clubs

07/03/12 German channel VOX CH (Switzerland's version) has changed frequency to make room for RTL's new free to air channel RTL Nitro which starts broadcasting on 01/04/12, VOX CH's new frequency on the Astra 1 satellite at 19 degrees east is 12.226 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4, The new RTL Nitro channel will broadcast in SD digital on the Astra 1 satellite at 19 degrees east, Frequency 12.188 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4, for more information on RTL Nitro see the news further down this page which was dated 24/02/12

07/03/12 Now we all know about the political nature of The Eurovision Song Contest but the news that Armenia has pulled out of The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 which is held in Azerbaijan is purely for political reasons, Azerbaijan and Armenia are currently engaged in renewed tensions in a long running border dispute which also included a bitterly fought and very brutal war between the two countries in the 1990's, there are two reasons why I tell you all this, firstly the ESC is broadcast widely via satellite and many of us do view the ESC and secondly anyone with an interest in the build up and preparations for ESC 2012 and also anyone with an interest in this ongoing feud/situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan can check out ATV International's English news broadcasts which are shown at various times throughout the 24 hour day but please be aware that some of the war/death scenes featured in ATV's International's news coverage of this dispute are distressing

07/03/12 Not so "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" was the news of the death of the composer (together with his brother) of that Disney song and many others, Robert B Sherman also wrote "It's a Small World" and he most certainly made the world a smaller place with "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", one of the most well known and well loved songs ever, R.I.P. Robert

07/03/12 Polish channel TVR on Hotbird is now on frequency 11.200 Vertical, SR 27.500, FEC 5/6

06/03/12 Sky Deutschland leases another transponder on Astra 19 degrees east, this transponder will be for Sky Deutschland HD channels and will become active on 01/06/12 which is one month after the 30/04/12 complete analogue switch off of Astra 19 degrees east

05/03/12 ITV, STV, and UTV kiss and make up? A new "Channel 3 networking" deal between ITV and STV and between ITV and UTV could see STV HD (which is currently "unofficially" broadcasting via satellite), STV+1 (also currently "unofficially" broadcasting via satellite), UTV HD (which is currently not broadcast via satellite), and UTV+1 (which was also "unofficially" broadcasting via satellite but has since been removed) "officially" launching, I would expect these channels to be launching presumably sometime this year, don't forget that ITV still have a nice "new" 10.994 H frequency to fill!

05/03/12 Eurosport has renewed it's contract for broadcast rights for the motorcycling Moto GP World Championships in 2012, 2013, and 2014

05/03/12 The European Union's television channels EbS and EbS+ are now available in DVB-S2 on the Eutelsat 9A satellite at 9 degrees east, frequency 11.900, SR 27.500, FEC 2/3

01/03/12 All of Eutelsat's owned/operated satellites have been renamed, see HERE, nothing else has changed

01/03/12 I must mention that yesterday BBC World Service celebrated 80 years of broadcasting, an invaluable service I have listened (and continue to listen) to BBC World Service radio in various parts of the world for many years, like I said an invaluable service and long may it remain so

01/03/12 "Film" channel AVA Music is now on a new frequency on Hotbird 13 degrees east, 11.316 Vertical, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4

01/03/12 "Film" channel Persian Star 2 is now on a new frequency on Hotbird 13 degrees east, 11.054 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 5/6

29/02/12 Satellite operator SES-Astra and transmission company Globecast sign a long term contract for the leasing of multiple transponders (number not known at present) on the soon to be launched 2E, 2F, and 2G satellites located at 28 degrees east, with this "extra" leased capacity Globecast will be able to provide more television and radio channels for/to the UK and Ireland platforms "Freesat" and "Sky", the UK and Ireland is an expanding market for both free and pay TV, there are many interested parties who have been waiting a very long time for extra capacity to arrive at 28 degrees east so that they can launch new services, Astra 1N's arrival has undoubtedly helped but the late 2012/early 2013 launches of SES-Astra's new 2E, 2F, and 2G satellites will help so much more. Globecast currently leases a large amount of capacity on various satellites around the world but more specifically Globecast already lease capacity on Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28 degrees east, I will suggest that sometime in the future it's quite possible that Globecast's Eutelsat Eurobird 1 satellite capacity could also go to the SES-Astra satellites? P.S. It is most probable that some of the proposed Globecast content will make an appearance on Astra 1N in the interim period

29/02/12 A new German channel called "Volks TV" which is run by Helmut Thoma wh0 is a former boss of RTL will commence regular broadcasting in April this year, "Volks TV" will be a national 'core' television channel that private local television channels will broadcas (it's hoped they will broadcast it for 16-18 hours daily), local channels currently signed up for "Volks TV" are Hamburg 1, TV Berlin, NRW TV, Rhein Main TV, and BW Family TV. "Volks TV has started broadcasting an info card via the Astra 1 satellite at 19 degrees east, frequency 11.244 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 22.000, FEC 5/6

29/02/12 French channel TF1 who currently have France's broadcasting rights for motor racing's Formula 1 have said they will make a bid for the 2013 season broadcasting rights too, I wonder if TF1 will still be free to air from that 9 degrees east satellite in 2013!!, I know a lot of people who would like it to be so!!

29/02/12 Subscriptions to the two new French Al Jazeera sports channels will cost less that 13¢â€š¬ a month, Al Jazeera are starting these two sports channels specifically for the French market because they have secured many French football broadcasting rights (which I have previously told you about), these two channels will only be for the French viewing market

29/02/12 If you are a regular viewer of French channel M6 and you are especially fond of the US series that M6 shows then I have some bad news for you, the Chief Executive of M6 has said that he wants the groups channels to concentrate more on French shows rather than US shows

24/02/12 It has been happened, all the BBC frequencies/channels on Astra 2D have moved from Astra 2D to Astra 1N on this morning of the 24th of February 2012, BBC frequencies which have moved to Astra 1N are 10.773 H, 10.788 V, 10.803 H, 10.818 V, and 10.847 V,Astra 2D is now completely empty RIP Astra 2D

24/02/12 RTL Germany starts a new free to air television channel on the 1st of April 2012, RTL Nitro will be targeted at male viewers and it will show top US television series, films and entertainment with many "free TV premieres" as well as some older classic television series such as Knight Rider and Charlie's Angels, RTL Nitro will broadcast in SD digital on the Astra 1 satellite at 19 degrees east, Frequency 12.188 Horizontal, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4, see HERE

24/02/12 Germany's ARD/ZDF secure the German broadcast rights to the Euro 2016 Football Championships held in France in June and July 2016

21/02/12 German Kickboxing legend Christine Theiss who fights the UK's Natalie Bee in the Kickboxing World Middleweight title bout in Munich on the 2nd of March (live on Sat 1) will be a fitness coach on Germany's version of "The Biggest Loser" which begins on the 4th March (also on Sat 1)

21/02/12 The 2012 Academy Awards (Oscars) which will be hosted for the ninth time by the excellent Billy Crystal will be shown live and free to air in the English language on German channel ProSieben on the morning of 27th February at 0030 UK time, a countdown show will be shown prior to the live event beginning at 0005 UK time, ProSieben is available on the Astra 1 satellite at 19 degrees east, 12.544 H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6

21/02/12 Beware, beware, the SES-Astra backed German HD+ platform which is a "pay TV/encrypted" service which is initially sold as free for a 12 month trial period after that you subscribe/pay ¢â€š¬50 per year is looking to sign up more channels, now if you consider that HD+ has already signed up most of the popular German commercial channels such as the RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 group channels and also Nick and Comedy Central then it does not leave many more of the currently free German SD channels to sign up, but SES-Astra/HD+ are very persuasive so we can expect more of the free German SD channels to join this platform and as the number of channels increases then naturally the ¢â€š¬50 per year will also increase, we need to watch HD+ developments very closely, the number of customers purchasing HD+ receivers and the inclusive 12 month free trial is pretty good, and lots have chosen to extend by taking on the ¢â€š¬50 per year option but likewise lots have chosen not to extend and have not extended once the 12 month trial period is over

21/02/12 Do you remember that classic television series "Space 1999"? "ITV Studios America" and "HD Films" announce plans for a remake of the classic sci-fi series, one question though, what will they call the new programme, they cannot call it Space 1999 as that year is now long gone, Space for Rent????, send me your suggestions

21/02/12 Germany's entrant for 2012's Eurovision Song Contest is the Jamie Cullem composed "Standing Still" sung by Roman Lob, this years ESC will be held on the 26th of May in Baku, Azerbaijan, if you are a ESC fan and would like to keep up to date with all the preparations then here is a little tip for you, Azerbaijani television channel "ATV International" on Eutelasat Hotbird 11.200 V, SR 27.500, FEC 5/6 broadcasts a daily news programme in the English language and it quite often includes the latest news on ESC preparations

21/02/12 2012-2015's French UEFA Europa League rights have gone to Al Jazeera and M6, this news is another blow to French pay television operator Canal+, Al Jazeera recently secured French television broadcasting rights to the UEFA Champion League and also France's top football league "Ligue 1",

21/02/12 Afghanistan's government have stipulated that female Afghan television journalists "when on screen" must wear a headscarf and must not have heavy make up, I can think of a few UK/European television journalists who should also be made to wear a headscarf but who should also be made to wear heave make up! eeek!

20/02/12 It has been confirmed that the BBC frequencies/channels on Astra 2D will be moved to Astra 1N on 24/02/12, Astra 2D is empty by the end of this week, BBC frequencies moving to Astra 1N are 10.773 H, 10.788 V, 10.803 H, 10.818 V, and 10.847 V, these are the last frequencies to be moved from Astra 2D to Astra 1N following last week's "two stage" moving of the other frequencies, I "World Exclusively" told you all that all this was going to be happening as long ago as 21/11/11

UPDATE 19/02/12 Nick Jr is now encrypted again
Children's channel Nick Jr is available in the English language free to air on Eutelsat Hotbird at 13 degrees east, frequency is 11.470 Vertical, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 5/6, this channel has audio language options for "Polish" and "Russian", you will need to select "Russian" and then select the "Right" audio channel for Nick Jr in the "English" language

17/02/12 This Sunday 19/02/12 sees French/German culture channel ARTE have a 3D day, see HERE , this means nothing to me as I am one of the 12% of the population who cannot see 3D but I'm sure some of you who "get" 3D will be grateful that I have told you about ARTE's 3D day!

16/02/12 After a long time being free to air with very top free sports Spanish channels Multideporte's 1, 2, and 3 have now been encrypted, very sad news indeed!

UPDATE 16/02/12 More Astra 2D frequencies moved to Astra 1N HERE
The UK and Europe are slowly waking up to the fact that my "World Exclusive" news about Astra 2D's frequencies/channels being moved to Astra 1N has happened, this is what I posted after "The Happening" happened on 14th February - Don't you just love SES-Astra on this Valentines Day, Astra 2D frequencies have been moved to Astra 1N, see HERE , This site told you all that this was going to happen as long ago as 21/11/11, stick with this site for more "World Exclusives" from the satellite world

15/02/12 The BBC's 3D coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games from
London will consist of the opening and closing ceremonies and the evening highlights show, the men's 100 metres final is the only "event" which will be shown in 3D, this news means nothing to me as I am one of the 12% of the population who cannot see 3D, but what I will say is that since the 1950's 3D film or television has been repeatedly launched on the general public and each time it has failed, each time the majority of the viewing public just is not interested in 3D, when this latest/current "blitz" on 3D was announced/implemented I said at the time that it was a total waste of time and money and it is slowly yet again proving to be the case, following the "Avatar effect" interest and demand has since slowly stagnated, even the equipment manufactures and broadcast media distributors are expressing their doubts about 3D's success

15/02/12 If you have "access" to Motors TV then you may be interested to know that Motors TV will be showing 2012's Nascar Nationwide Series either live or delayed, the Nascar Nationwide Series is the "undercard" to the Nascar Sprint Cup Series and it begins on 25th February in Daytona, for anyone who is interested highlights (and occasional live coverage) of the Nascar Sprint Cup Series are shown on Servus TV beginning on 27th February, you can keep checking HERE closer to race times for free to air broadcast times, also if you have "access" to France's AB Moteurs channel they are showing live coverage of the Nascar Sprint Cup Series

15/02/12 The state financing of Bavarian local television has been secured, but the important news is the financing has been increased because the Bavarian state wants Bavarian local television to have the same or similar distribution to the main television channels, this means an increase from four to ten of the number of Bavarian local television channels on the Astra 1 satellite at 19 degrees east, we can expect this increase to come into effect from 2013 and it is possible that we may see local Bavarian radio channels also making an appearance, Bavaria is so very proud of it's "independence" from the rest of Germany, every decision that the Bavarian state makes always has some "nationalistic" (for want of a better word) sentiments, basically they like to get the Bavarian message out there

15/02/12 France 24 television and Radio France International will merge so "it all comes from one house", it is now confirmed that this merger will happen, protests by the employees against this merger were futile

15/02/12 The Chinese government (and this comes from the very top, the Chinese President no less) says that only 25% of programmes on Chinese television can be "foreign" television programmes and that no "foreign" television programmes will be allowed to be broadcast during the "prime time" hours of between 1900 and 2200

15/02/12 Two fans of "The Simpsons" have broken the Guinness World Record for non stop television viewing, they viewed 4 days of back to back episodes to break the previous record by half an hour, I think we all know someone who could easily beat that world record, right? I know someone who views "The Simpsons" all year! 4 days? that would be the starter to his main course!

15/02/12 Following the death of "Whitney Houston" there were a record number of television viewers watching TV channels showing the film "The Bodyguard" in tribute, some channels that showed the film were TMC, Das Erste, and ITV 2, of course ITV show "The Bodyguard" every week so there was no need for a programme schedule change! On another note, Sony have apologised after the price of two "Whitney Houston" albums was increased after she died, Sony's apology included the words "mistakenly mispriced" and that the error was "immediately corrected" once it had been discovered, me thinks once it had been discovered
should be replaced by once it was found out!

14/02/11 Don't you just love SES-Astra on this Valentines Day, Astra 2D frequencies have been moved to Astra 1N, see HERE , This site told you all that this was going to happen as long ago as 21/11/11, stick with this site for more "World Exclusives" from the satellite world

14/02/11 Eurosport secures/extends the rights to the next two "Africa Cup of Nations" football tournament, this tournament is usually held every two years but this year's (2012) will be followed by next year's (2013) because "ACN" will in the future be holding the "ACN" on odd rather than even years to avoid clashes with European and World championships which are usually held on even not odd years, so the next two "ACN" are in 2013 and 2015 and these are the two "ACN" Eurosport have secured/extended

13/02/12 Qatar's Al Jazeera Sports who recently secured a number of France's football broadcasting rights packages will launch two channels to show these sporting events to viewers in France, these two channels will be subscription channels and will be available on satellite, cable and by other means, you may be interested to know (and a very long time ago I told you about their securing of rights) that Al Jazeera secured the majority of the French broadcast rights packages for the "UEFA Champions League" football , also secured were some rights to show the French "Ligue 1" football

13/02/12 French channel "France 4" will be showing 5 English FA Cup matches live this coming weekend (18/19 Feb), you can receive this channel if you have the French "TNTSat" or "Fransat" receivers and viewing card

13/02/12 Saturday's (11 Feb) last minute cancellation of the Six Nation Rugby match between France and Ireland in Paris is estimated to result in a loss of ¢â€š¬130.000

13/02/12 The "LFP" French football league's pay TV channel "CFoot" will close at the end of this football season, the channel must not have been the success the "LFP" were hoping for, the reason I'm giving you this information is because sometimes "CFoot" was free to air

11/02/12 Fox Television in the USA has announced that the mega-hit medical drama "House" (or "Dr House" as some countries would know it) will end after the 8th/next series of the show, of course "House" stars the UK's very own "Hugh Laurie", when I read this news the Hugh Laurie spoken words "I say Jeeves" came to mind!

11/02/12 Clint Eastwood is a shareholder in a new Golf television channel launching in the USA soon, obviously will cost him "A Fistful of Dollars" and I bet that it will cost him "A Few Dollars More" in the long term, I could go on! and so could you I'm sure, send me your "witties"!

11/02/12 France's English language news and information channel "France 24" has launched on the UK's "Freeview" digital terrestrial platform, it is already available free to air on satellite

11/02/12 News Corporation owned Sky Italia now has just over 5 million subscribers to it's pay TV service

09/02/12 Satellite television equipment manufacturer "Triax" unveils a new range of slimline LNB's, these LNB.s are specially designed for multi feed installations (more than one LNB on one dish) and apparently these LNB's are able to receive satellites which are less than 3 degrees apart, these LNB's come in Single, Twin, Quad or Quattro form, we must keep a look out for these LNB's "if they do what they say on the tin!"

09/02/12 Cable television for a long time was the most popular way of receiving and watching television in Germany, this has now changed, satellite television is now more popular in Germany than cable television

09/02/12 According to the administrators who are trying to find a buyer for German music channel Deluxe Music there has been lots of interest shown in taking over the channel, the administrators are pretty confident that a deal will be done and that Deluxe Music will continue, we must wait and see, I will hope and pray that this excellent channel does indeed continue forever

09/02/12 Sky Deutschland has extended it's contract to show motor racing's "Formula 1" championship this year, this comes after Sky Deutschland had earlier said that they might not renew their broadcast rights and as I said at the time that saying this was Sky Deutschland trying to get a good price for the rights, of course the F1 situation in Germany is different to the F1 situation in The UK, mainly because RTL shows F1 free to air meaning Sky don't have F1 exclusively

09/02/12 111.3 million US television viewers watched this year's American football "Super Bowl" final, this is the highest ever amount of viewers for a "Super Bowl"

UPDATE 04/02/12 I previously told you that Press TV the 'Iranian' English language news channel has been stopped from broadcasting and taken off the air in/to the UK by the media regulator OFCOM, this was for continued breaches of the licence and non payment of fines for the said breaches, because of this Press TV is no longer broadcast from the 28 degrees east satellite position, if you would still like to watch Press TV it is still available free to air in the UK and Europe, Press TV is on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east 12.460 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4 and it is also available on two frequencies on Eutelsat Hotbird at 13 degrees east 12.015 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4 and 12.437 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4, and I asked this question, "can anyone tell me if 'George Galloway' is still on Press TV?", regular contributors "TOM" and "PETUR" mailed me and said that yes George Galloway/The Real Deal is still broadcasting on Press TV, Press TV's programme schedule information is HERE and George Galloway/The Real Deal's page is HERE

03/02/12 DJ Bob Sinclar 'author' of the brilliant "Duck Sauce" (Barbra Streisand) takes over as programme director of France's Fun Radio this weekend, he will choose the music and plug his latest album but the big event of his "appearance" at Fun Radio will be on Saturday night at 2300 UK time when Bob Sinclar is 'in the mix' on the station's 'Party Fun' mix strand, Party Fun is broadcast every Friday and Saturday night from 2000 to 0500 UK time, Fun Radio is on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east 11.567 Vertical, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6

03/02/12 VOA TV on Eutelsat Hotbird is showing some interesting documentaries this Saturday evening (04/02/12), see HERE

UPDATE 03/02/12 I previously told you that Austrian local television station 'BKF-Das Burgenlandfernsehen' starts on Astra 1, 19 degrees east on the 1st of February 2012, this channel has now started broadcasting on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east, the frequency is 11.244 H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6, the channel is named 'Schau TV' and 'Schau TV' is where you will find 'BKF-Das Burgenlandfernsehen', this channel also broadcasts a teletext service, this channel is 17 years old and has previously only been available via cable networks and via the internet

03/02/12 German cable network Kabel Deutschland no longer "feeds" from Astra at 23.5 degrees east, Kabel Deutschland now "feeds" it's cable head ends by fibre optic link, this closing of it's satellite feeds will leave a lot of people very disappointed especially the "pirate" community who "hacked" these transmissions to bits!

03/02/12 After Eutelsat's recent announcement that it's satellite fleet carries 4,000 television channels SES-Astra announce their satellite fleet carries 5,200 television channels, nothing like a bit of one up put down!

03/02/12 Dutch national broadcaster NOS has a revamped it's website with a new look/new layout, see HERE

03/02/12 Deejay TV is now also on 11.541 V, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6 on Hotbird 13 degrees east, Deejay TV's long time frequency of 10.949 V, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4 is currently still active but could possibly close

01/02/12 French international channel TV5 Monde Europe now has analogue teletext subtitles in addition to the digital teletext subtitles (DVB) which have been available for a short time, analogue teletext subtitles mean that if your satellite receiver does not have a built in teletext decoder you can now watch TV5 Monde Europe's French programmes with English subtitles simply by pressing text on your television, this was/is not possible if only digital teletext subtitles are broadcast, TV5 Monde Europe's English subtitles can be found on page 892, details of which programmes broadcast English subtitles can be found HERE

01/02/12 Football, 22nd May sees German league football club Bayern Munich play a friendly match against The Netherlands National football team, this is a friendly game which is part of The Netherlands preperations for the Euro 2012 football championships which follow soon after this math

01/02/12 14th February sees German chlidrens channel KiKa celebrate 15 years of broadcasting with a new on air design and logo

01/02/12 Swiss broadcaster SRG will produce the World "Feed" signal for winter sports 2014 Olympic Winter Games held in Sochi, Russia

01/02/12 6th February sees a complete revamp of German international television channel DW-TV (Deutsche Welle), this means a new logo, new programmes and a new website, more programmes from ARD and ZDF as will also be sourced, these sourced shows will be talk and reporting shows only

01/02/12 Eurosport extends it's broadcast rights contract for Tennis' Grand Slam tournaments The French Open until 2014 and The US Open until 2017, together with The Australian Open and all the other WTA and ATP broadcast rights that Eurosport hold this means that Eurtosport will broadcast approximately 1200 hours of live tennis

01/02/12 Motor Racing's Formula 1 2012 and 2013 broadcast rights for Spain are up for auction to the highest bidder

01/02/12 Al Jazeera have been awarded two broadcast rights packages to France's top football league "Ligue 1", this includes pay per view

01/02/12 Former German footballer Lothar Matthaƒ¼s will be the star of his own reality TV programme on German channel Vox, basically cameras follow him around all day! Reality TV, same programme/format, different face!

01/02/12 French international channel TV5 Monde has in the United States launched a childrens channel called Tivi5 Monde, it would be nice if we could get this channel in the UK, with English subtitles of course!

01/02/12 29th February sees SSR (the Swiss public/national broadcaster launch 6 HD channels, these are the German language SF 1 and SF zwei, the French language TSR 1 and TSR 2, and the Italian language RSI LA 1 and RSI LA 2, these channels are currently in SD and SD will continuem these HD chanenls will be encrypted in Viaccess as is currently the case with the SD channels, there is no HD for the 7th SD channel which is SF info

01/02/12 French television channels France Television France 2 and 3), TF1, and M6 are bidding for the 2013-2016 broadcast rights to the French rugby national team's "autumn tour"

01/02/12 Euronews who currently have offices in London, Paris, Brussels, Doha and Cairo have opened a new office in Moscow

26/01/12 Fans of the old television series 'Minder' may be interested in this HERE many thanks go to Jonathan for that one

25/01/11 'Uncle Rupert's' News Corporation wants to purchase Turkey's Sabbah-ATV media group, part of which includes the Turkish television channel ATV, other interested parties include Germany's RTL and ProSiebenSat.1 Groups

UPDATE 25/01/12 I previously told you that analogue terrestrial television in Portugal will be completely switched off by 26th April 2012, i now have a little further background information supplied to me by 'ROISERRA' who is a regular contributor of mine from Portugal, he says that in Portugal you can buy what's called a TDT receiver for ¢â€š¬40, TDT is the Portugese digital terrestrial system, like 'Freeview' is in the UK, unfortunately TDT currently only broadcasts 4 TV channels (5 in the 'Portugese' islands), these are RTP 1, RTP 2, SIC, and TVI (regional RTP's are the 5th channel available in Madeira and the Azores). Most people in Portugal receive their television channels either via the numerous cable providers or via the Hispasat satellite at 30 degrees west, I give you this information because we all holiday somewhere and lots of us holiday in Portugal, more information on Portugal's TDT can be found HERE

24/01/12 Some sad news to report is that 'Deluxe Television GmbH' who operate my favourite music television channel 'Deluxe Music' has filed for insolvency/bankruptcy, it will be very sad news if proceedings result in this channel closing down, the appointed liquidator says he will try to keep Deluxe Music on air for as long as he can while the search goes on for new buyers/new investors. I really do hope that their problems can be sorted out and that 'Deluxe Music' remains with us for many more years to come, I always thought that they had overstretched themselves really when they launched 'offshoot' channels of the Deluxe brand like Deluxe Radio and Deluxe Lounge to name but two, they should have concentrated on the 'core' Deluxe Music channel which is a very popular channel with a large amount of viewers unlike the 'offshoot' channels which only had a very small amount of viewers/listeners. Deluxe Music is still available on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east, Deluxe Music's now 'new' frequency is 12.148 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4, Deluxe Music's now 'old' frequency (which will be turned off in April 2012) is 12.246 V, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4.

24/01/11 French TNTSAT has now sold 3.3.million dedicated receivers and inclusive viewing cards, broadcast via Astra 1 at 19 degrees east TNTSAT is a 'free' encrypted French television package of basic French TV channels which does not require a subscription but does require the viewing card and encryption for copyright reasons, it works the same was as the 'Freesat from Sky', after initially buying the receiver and viewing card you then pay a small fee for a new viewing card once every four years or when updated more secure encryption technology dictates that new viewing cards are required to continue to receive the 'free' French TV channels

24/01/12 Some good news on the free to air football front is the announcement that ESPN on digital terrestrial television in the UK will be free as part of a 'taster' weekend, this 'taster' weekend's main highlight will be on February the 4th and it is the English Premier League match between Manchester City and Fulham LIVE AND FREE TO AIR!, I hope you live in a 'Fully Freeviewed' area and not in a 'Freeview Lite' area where ESPN is not available

24/01/12 Some more good news on the free to air football front is the announcement that France Television has retained the rights to the French League Cup football for the seasons 2012/2013 to 2015/2016, this means that if French TV channels France 2 and France 3 remain free to air on Atlantic Bird 3 at 5 degrees west then the French Cup football will be free to air for all to see

24/01/12 The French Football League, known better to us as 'Ligue 1' has entered into exclusive negotiations with Qatar's Al Jazeera, France's top football clubs really love the arrival of Al Jazeera Sports because it means more money for them!

24/01/12 If you know something about 'Solar Flares' and I'm not talking about 'Warm Jeans' here (LOL) then you will be aware that Solar Flares come and go in cycles, simply put it's the start of the Solar Flare season and Solar Flares can disrupt Satellite Communications, anyone like myself who has been a 'Shortwave' radio listener will tell you that Solar Flares can cause lots of disruption to communication broadcasts

24/01/12 If you have 'access' to German sports channel Sportdigital then you may be interested to know that Sportdigital is showing South America's equivalent to Europe's Champions League The Copa Libertadores 2012 live, the first match of the tournament is late on Wednesday evening UK time

24/01/12 Euronews and America's ABC News to cooperate/share/exchange coverage of the upcoming political elections both in Europe and the USA

22/01/12 Press TV the 'Iranian' English language news channel has been stopped from broadcasting and taken off the air in/to the UK by the media regulator OFCOM, this was for continued breaches of the licence and non payment of fines for the said breaches, because of this Press TV is no longer broadcast from the 28 degrees east satellite position, if you would still like to watch Press TV it is still available free to air in the UK and Europe, Press TV is on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east 12.460 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4 and it is also available on two frequencies on Eutelsat Hotbird at 13 degrees east 12.015 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4 and 12.437 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4, can anyone tell me if 'George Galloway' is still on Press TV?

22/01/12 Sky Sports Germany on Astra 19 degrees east is now encrypted, it encrypted on 19/01/12, I did tell you previously how long the unencryption would last for!

19/01/12 France Television who have the broadcast rights to the Six Nations Rugby Tournament until 2017 (I did tell you about their new contract extension a long time ago) say 15 live matches of this years Six Nations which starts on February 14th will be broadcast on France 2

19/01/12 The signing of a new contract between US film studio Warner Brothers and ProSiebenSat.1 which begins from 2013 means that RTL who have shown Warner Brothers films for the past 3 years will no longer be showing them (from 2013 of course)

18/01/12 The happening I predicted has happened, albeit a little later than I predicted but it's happened, The UK's Channel 5 has been removed from Astra 2D 10.773 Horizontal (that is the BBC transponder), this region of Channel 5 is now only available on 10.964 Horizontal, it has been correctly labelled as Channel 5 (it was previously labelled as 7701), all channels on 10.964 H are now correctly labelled and free to air

18/01/12 SIS Live, the satellite 'feeds' company has secured capacity on both the Atlantic Bird 1 at 12.5 degrees west and Eutelsat W3C at 3 degrees east satellites, SIS Live will use these satellites to 'feed' a number of special events to TV channels in the UK and Europe, these events will include the 2012 Olympic Games from London, the Euro 2012 football championships, Wimbledon tennis, Formula 1 motor racing and most probably the biggest event of all (after the Olympics), the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations

18/01/12 The commission which determines the financial needs of the German State Broadcasters (ARD/ZDF) which has previously stated that HD and SD 'simulcasting' of the State TV and Radio channels should continue up to 2019 and which date presumably German State TV and Radio will be in HD only but many commentators are saying that technical developments and changes are coming so thick and fast that they think that the 'simulcasting' will be end sooner than 2019, but anyway, can we use this as a possible 'latest' date for SD transmissions to be switched off? we can most certainly try!!!!

18/01/12 The 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan will have 43 participating countries

18/01/12 Analogue terrestrial television in Portugal will be completely switched off by 26th April 2012

16/01/12 The UK's Channel 5 package on Astra 1N at 28 degrees east 10.964 H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6 which was all free to air except the one channel which is labelled '7701' is now completely free to air, '7701' is now also free to air, '7701' is the same region of Channel 5 which is broadcast on 10.773 H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6, so this is happening a little later than I predicted but it's happening, once '7701' is correctly labelled as Channel 5 we can expect the Channel 5 on 10.773 to go soon afterwards (many thanks go to 'TOM' for letting me know that the encryption has gone)

16/01/12 German channel Deluxe Music has appeared on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east 12.148 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4, Deluxe Music is already available on Astra 1 12.246 V, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4, possible frequency change coming? I must say I like this channel, especially on Saturday evenings when they have their 'Disco Deluxe' strand, if you have not already watched this channel, take a look

16/01/12 Al Jazeera Sports +1 to +10 are now transmitted free to air via Eutelsat 3C at 3 degrees east, they are broadcast in DVB-S2 and depending on your location you need a biggish dish to receive these channels (80cm-1m). these channels appearing at 3 degrees east is only a temporary measure for Al Jazeera as they have been suffering from 'jamming' from another Middle Eastern country for a while now but of course naturally they need to 'keep getting their signal out there' hence this 'new satellite and frequency, frequency is 12.650 H, SR 27.500, FEC 3/4 and don't forget the DVB-S2

UPDATE 17/01/12 these 'extra' Rai channels are now encrypted
14/01/12 As well as Italian state broadcaster Rai's existing channels that are always free to air on Hotbird at 13 degrees east now Rai HD, Rai 5, Raiyoyo, and Rai 3 TGR FVG are also free to air, these channels can be found on 11.765 Vertical, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 2/3

12/01/12 Astra 1N at 28 degrees east 11.052 H SR 22.000 FEC 5/6 with the label 7480 and flagged as 'encrypted' but it's free to air is now showing ITV 1 London HD (many thanks go to 'TOM' for that info)

11/01/12 Following the analogue switch off at astra 1 19 degrees east on 30th April 2012, 1st May 2012 sees Super RTL available in HD, unfortunately like its sister channels (RTL e.t.c.) and the other commercial channels (Sat.1, Pro 7 e.t.c.) in Germany Super RTL will not be free to air in HD, Super RTL will be part of the HD+ 'subscription' service, HD+ is owned and run by SES-Astra

UPDATE 10/01/12 Al Jazeera Sports channels are still experiencing 'jamming' problems, current situation stands that all JSC are still being 'jammed' in the evenings, no problems/reception fine at other times, at present this is happening daily
UPDATE 09/01/12 All Al Jazeera Sports channels are now back on air yet again, this episode seems to be following a 'pattern' of sorts, 'jamming' in the evenings, no problems/reception fine at other times, one further thing to note is that BBC World News English TV which was also off air this evening (09/01/12) is also now back on air, was BBC World News also off air due to more 'jamming' too? The BBC has 'previous' with being 'jammed' from Iran
07/01/12 Al Jazeera Sports channels including the free to air Al Jazeera Sport Global have a problem today (7th January), viewing cards won't open, Global channel blacked out e.t.c., apparently their transmissions have been 'jammed', Al Jazeera are currently working at resolving the problem, when that will be is anyone's guess, don't worry, it's not your viewing card that is the problem, or is it? Another thought on this is that Al Jazeera are 'changing' the way that their cards work on the +9 and +10 channels for special events like Euro 2012, could today's problem be linked to this?? Only a thought!!!! Also there have been frequency changes to Al Jazeera channels on Nilesat recently and it could be as a result of jamming, naturally the Nilesat and Badr (not Hotbird) satellites are the number 1 priority for Al Jazeera when resolving this problem, and it should be resolved sometime soon. If we are lucky we might even see a small period of free to air Al Jazeera Sports while this problem is being resolved, stranger things have happened!!

09/01/12 One third of households in the USA have four or more television sets in their house, oh really! I must be 'Living in America' (as James Brown once sang!)!

09/01/12 Two thirds of 'Poles' do not pay their television licence! really!

08/01/12 The UK's ITV 4 have announced that they will have coverage of this year's Africa Cup of Nations (taking place from the 21st of January to the 12th of February), ITV 4 will show highlights but more importantly they will be live coverage of one group game, one quarter final, one semi final and of course the final.

UPDATE 08/01/12 Further information about RIC TV which has an info card on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east 11.243 H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6, and also on 12.692 H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6, The owner of RIC TV is 'Your Family Entertainment AG' who own the German cable TV station 'yourfamilytv' (part of the encrypted KabelKiosk on satellite), YFE already produce and distribute childrens and family entertainment to TV stations worldwide although it's main markets are Germany and Austria, YFE have rights for Moorhuhn, Fix & Foxi, Dragon Hunters, Cosmo & Wanda and more, RIC TV programming will be targeted for children, young adults and families, the info card on Astra 1 is still saying that "RIC the family channel starts in 2012". RIC TV will be a another free to air channel on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east when it launches.
The above further information was supplied to me by 'TOM' who is a regular contributor of useful information, if anyone else with information they think will be of use and would like to share it please feel free to contact me.

UPDATE 08/01/12 True Movies 1 on Hotbird are now again showing regular programmes, films e.t.c. and it's a different True Movies 1 than the True Movies 1 at 28 degrees east
05/01/12 True Movies 1 now free to air on Hotbird 13 degrees east, 11.117 Vertical, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4, this is a different True Movies 1 version to the True Movies 1 on Eurobird 1 at 28 degrees east, True Movies 1 on Hotbird is currently showing a stationary True Movies 1 ident and sporadic programme promos

05/01/12 The Australian Open Tennis 2012 from Melbourne, Australia takes place from 16th to 29th January, it will be shown live on Satellite TV on Eurosport Germany and on the BBC Sport Stream (Red Button), full TV broadcast times will be on my 'LIVE FTA SPORTS' page soon

05/01/12 True Movies 1 now free to air on Hotbird 13 degrees east, 11.117 Vertical, Symbol Rate 27.500, FEC 3/4, this is a different True Movies 1 version to the True Movies 1 on Eurobird 1 at 28 degrees east, True Movies 1 on Hotbird is currently showing a stationary True Movies 1 ident and sporadic programme promos

05/01/12 Chart Show TV+1 replaces NME TV on Eurobird 1 at 28 degrees east 11.307 Vertical, SR 27.500, FEC 2/3

02/01/12
From the 1st of May 2012 the frequencies for the German HD channels following the analogue switch off on Astra 1 at 19 degrees east will be as follows:-

11.347 Vertical (currently analogue 3Sat)

ZDF kultur HD

ZDF neo HD

ZDF info HD

11.362 Horizontal (currently digital Das Erste HD, ZDF HD and arte HD)

ZDF HD

Kika HD

3Sat HD

11.494 Horizontal (currently analogue Das Erste)

Das Erste HD

arte HD

SWR HD (RP/BW)

11.582 Horizontal (currently analogue NDR)

Phoenix HD

NDR HD (HH/MV/NDS/SH)

Bayerisches Fernsehen HD (Nord/Sƒ¼d)

12.422 Horizontal (currently digital WDR)

WDR HD

02/01/12 Austrian local television station 'BKF-Das Burgenlandfernsehen' starts on Astra 1, 19 degrees east on the 1st of February 2012, this channel is 17 years old and has previously only been available via cable networks and via the internet, the frequency will be 11.244 H, SR 22.000, FEC 5/6, this channel is already testing on this frequency, the channel is named 'Schau TV' and 'Schau TV' is where you will find 'BKF-Das Burgenlandfernsehen'

02/01/12 Are you looking for a new 'big' television? LG have a 2 metre TV which has eight million pixels, it's an 84 inch device with a screen size of 213 centimetres, this television set will be on show at the 'Consumer Electronics Show' in Las Vegas from the 10th until the 13th of January 2012, if you can afford to buy this television set then you can also afford to go to Las Vegas to look at the thing first!!!!

02/01/12 LG has a new range of 'polarised' 3D glasses on sale, LG say these new glasses will be more comfortable to wear because they are lighter and have curved glass