Contents 1 History 2 Technology 3 Standards 4 Categories of usage 4.1 Direct broadcast via satellite 4.2 Television receive-only 5 Satellite television by region and country 5.1 Africa 5.1.1 Nigeria 5.2 The Americas 5.2.1 Canada 5.2.2 Latin America 5.2.3 United States 5.3 Asia 5.3.1 Bangladesh 5.3.2 India 5.3.3 Malaysia 5.3.4 Japan 5.3.5 Pakistan 5.3.6 Philippines 5.3.7 Thailand 5.4 Australiasia 5.4.1 Australia 5.4.2 New Zealand 5.5 Europe 5.5.1 Continental Western Europe 5.5.2 Russian Federation 5.5.3 United Kingdom and Ireland 5.5.4 Nordic countries 5.6 Middle East & North Africa 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Satellite television is television delivered by way of communications satellites, as compared to conventional terrestrial television and cable television. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial Satellite stationed in space for the purposes of Telecommunications. Terrestrial television is a term which refers to modes of television broadcasting which do not involve satellite transmission In many areas of the world, satellite television services supplement older terrestrial signals, providing a wider range of channels and services, including subscription-only services.

History

The first satellite television signal was relayed from Europe to the Telstar satellite over North America in 1962. Telstar was the first active Communications satellite (launched in 1962 and the first Satellite designed to transmit telephone and high-speed data communications The first geosynchronous communication satellite, Syncom 2 was launched in 1963. A geosynchronous orbit is an Orbit around the Earth with an Orbital period matching the Earth's sidereal rotation period A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial Satellite stationed in space for the purposes of Telecommunications. Syncom (for "synchronous communication satellite" started as a 1961 NASA program for active Geosynchronous Communication satellites all of which The world's first commercial communication satellite, called Intelsat I (nicknamed Early Bird), was launched into synchronous orbit on April 6, 1965. Intelsat I (nicknamed Early Bird for the Proverb "The early bird catches the worm" was the first (commercial communications Satellite to be Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. The first national network of satellite television, called Orbita, was created in Soviet Union in 1967, and was based on the principle of using the highly elliptical Molniya satellite for re-broadcasting and delivering of TV signal to ground downlink stations. A television network is a distribution network for Television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many Television stations Orbita is a Soviet-Russian System of broadcasting and delivering TV signals via satellites The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 In Telecommunication, signalling (UK spelling or signaling (US spelling has the following meanings The use of signals for controlling communications Uplink An uplink (UL or U/L is the portion of a communications link used for the transmission of signals from an Earth terminal The first domestic North American satellite to carry television was Canada’s geostationary Anik 1, which was launched in 1972 ^[1]. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The Anik satellites are Geostationary Communications satellites launched by Telesat Canada for Television in Canada. ATS-6, the world's first experimental educational and Direct Broadcast Satellite, was launched in 1974. ATS-6 (Applications Technology Satellite-6 was the world's first educational satellite as well as world's first experimental Direct Broadcast Satellite as part of Direct broadcast satellite (DBS is a term used to refer to Satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home The first Soviet geostationary satellite to carry Direct-To-Home television, called Ekran, was launched in 1976. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS is a term used to refer to Satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home For the Soviet animation studio see page Studio Ekran Ekran ( "Экран", "Screen") was a Soviet-Russian

Technology

Satellites used for television signals are generally in either naturally highly elliptical (with inclination of +/-63. 4 degrees and orbital period of about 12 hours) or geostationary orbit 37,000 km (22,300 miles) above the earth’s equator. The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the

Satellite television, like other communications relayed by satellite, starts with a transmitting antenna located at an uplink facility. Uplink An uplink (UL or U/L is the portion of a communications link used for the transmission of signals from an Earth terminal Uplink satellite dishes are very large, as much as 9 to 12 meters (30 to 40 feet) in diameter. The increased diameter results in more accurate aiming and increased signal strength at the satellite. The uplink dish is pointed toward a specific satellite and the uplinked signals are transmitted within a specific frequency range, so as to be received by one of the transponders tuned to that frequency range aboard that satellite. The transponder 'retransmits' the signals back to Earth but at a different frequency band (a process known as translation, used to avoid interference with the uplink signal), typically in the C-band (4–8 GHz) or K_u-band (12–18 GHz) or both. C band is a name given to certain portions of the Electromagnetic spectrum, as well as a range of Wavelengths of Light, used for communications The Ku band ( pronounced "kay-yoo") is a portion of the Electromagnetic spectrum in the Microwave range of frequencies The leg of the signal path from the satellite to the receiving Earth station is called the downlink.

A typical satellite has up to 32 transponders for Ku-band and up to 24 for a C-band only satellite, or more for hybrid satellites. Typical transponders each have a bandwidth between 27 MHz and 50 MHz. Each geo-stationary C-band satellite needs to be spaced 2 degrees from the next satellite (to avoid interference). For K_u the spacing can be 1 degree. This means that there is an upper limit of 360/2 = 180 geostationary C-band satellites and 360/1 = 360 geostationary K_u-band satellites. C-band transmission is susceptible to terrestrial interference while K_u-band transmission is affected by rain (as water is an excellent absorber of microwaves at this particular frequency). Rain fade refers primarily to the absorption of a Microwave Radio Frequency (RF signal by atmospheric rain snow or ice and losses are especially prevalent

The downlinked satellite signal, quite weak after traveling the great distance (see inverse-square law), is collected by a parabolic receiving dish, which reflects the weak signal to the dish’s focal point. In Physics, an inverse-square law is any Physical law stating that some physical Quantity or strength is inversely proportional A parabolic reflector (or dish or mirror) is a Parabola -shaped reflective device used to collect or distribute Energy such as Mounted on brackets at the dish's focal point is a device called a feedhorn. In Satellite dish and antenna design parlance a feedhorn (or feed horn) is a Horn antenna used to convey Radio waves between the This feedhorn is essentially the flared front-end of a section of waveguide that gathers the signals at or near the focal point and 'conducts' them to a probe or pickup connected to a low-noise block downconverter or LNB. A waveguide is a structure which guides waves such as Electromagnetic waves Light, or Sound waves A low-noise block converter ( LNB, for low-noise block, or sometimes LNC, for low-noise converter) is the (receiving or Downlink The LNB amplifies the relatively weak signals, filters the block of frequencies in which the satellite TV signals are transmitted, and converts the block of frequencies to a lower frequency range in the L-band range. NATO L band The NATO L band is defined as the frequency band between 40 and 60  G[[Hertz Hz]] (5–7 The evolution of LNBs was one of necessity and invention.

The original C-Band satellite TV systems used a Low Noise Amplifier connected to the feedhorn at the focal point of the dish. The amplified signal was then fed via very expensive 50 Ohm impedance coaxial cable to an indoor receiver or in other designs fed to a downconverter (a mixer and a voltage tuned oscillator with some filter circuitry) for downconversion to an intermediate frequency. Coaxial cable is a cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a tubular insulating layer typically made from a flexible material with a high Dielectric constant, all The channel selection was controlled, typically by a voltage tuned oscillator with the tuning voltage being fed via a separate cable to the headend. But this simple design evolved.

Designs for microstrip based converters for Amateur Radio frequencies were adapted for the 4 GHz C-Band. Microstrip is a type of electrical Transmission line which can be fabricated using Printed circuit board technology and is used to convey Microwave -frequency Central to these designs was concept of block downconversion of a range of frequencies to a lower, and technologically more easily handled block of frequencies (intermediate frequency). In communications and Electronic engineering, an intermediate frequency ( IF) is a Frequency to which a carrier frequency is shifted as an

The advantages of using an LNB are that cheaper cable could be used to connect the indoor receiver with the satellite TV dish and LNB, and that the technology for handling the signal at L-Band and UHF was far cheaper than that for handling the signal at C-Band frequencies. The shift to cheaper technology from the 50 Ohm impedance cable and N-Connectors of the early C-Band systems to the cheaper 75 Ohm technology and F-Connectors allowed the early satellite TV receivers to use, what were in reality, modified UHF TV tuners which selected the satellite television channel for down conversion to another lower intermediate frequency centered on 70 MHz where it was demodulated. The N connector (in full Type N connector) is a threaded RF connector used to join Coaxial cables. The F connector is a type of coaxial RF connector commonly used for "over the air" Terrestrial television In communications and Electronic engineering, an intermediate frequency ( IF) is a Frequency to which a carrier frequency is shifted as an This shift allowed the satellite television DTH industry to change from being a largely hobbyist one where receivers were built in low numbers and complete systems were expensive (costing thousands of Dollars) to a far more commercial one of mass production. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS is a term used to refer to Satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home

Direct broadcast satellite dishes are fitted with an LNBF, which integrates the feedhorn with the LNB.

The satellite receiver demodulates and converts the signals to the desired form (outputs for television, audio, data, etc. ). Sometimes, the receiver includes the capability to unscramble or decrypt; the receiver is then called an Integrated receiver/decoder or IRD. In Telecommunications a scrambler is a device that transposes or inverts signals or otherwise encodes a Message at the transmitter to make the message unintelligible An integrated receiver / Decoder ( IRD) is an electronic device used to pick-up a radio-frequency signal and convert Digital The cable connecting the receiver to the LNBF or LNB must be of the low loss type RG-6, quad shield RG-6 or RG-11, etc. RG-6/U is a common type of Coaxial cable used in a wide variety of residential and commercial applications It cannot be standard RG-59. RG-59/U is a specific type of Coaxial cable, often used for low-power Video and RF signal connections

(A new form of omnidirectional satellite antenna, which does not use a directed parabolic dish and can be used on a mobile platform such as a vehicle, was recently announced by the University of Waterloo. The University of Waterloo (also referred to as UW and Waterloo) is a comprehensive Public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario [1])

Standards

Analog television distributed via satellite is usually sent scrambled or unscrambled in NTSC, PAL, or SECAM television broadcast standards. NTSC ( National Television System Committee) is the Analog television system used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is a colour -encoding system used in Broadcast television systems in large parts of the world SECAM, also written SÉCAM ( Séquentiel couleur à mémoire, French for "Sequential Color with Memory" is an analog color television system The analog signal is frequency modulated and is converted from an FM signal to what is referred to as baseband. In Signal processing, baseband is an adjective that describes signals and systems whose range of Frequencies is measured from zero to a maximum bandwidth This baseband comprises the video signal and the audio subcarrier(s). The audio subcarrier is further demodulated to provide a raw audio signal.

If the signal is a digitized television signal or multiplex of signals, it is typically QPSK. Phase-shift keying (PSK is a Digital Modulation scheme that conveys data by changing or modulating the phase of a reference signal

In general, digital television, including that transmitted via satellites, are generally based on open standards such as MPEG and DVB-S. MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information" For the chemical compound see Divinylbenzene. Digital Video Broadcasting ( DVB) is a suite of internationally accepted

The conditional access encryption/scrambling methods include BISS, Conax, Digicipher, Irdeto, Nagravision, PowerVu, Viaccess, Videocipher, and VideoGuard. Conditional Access (abbreviated CA) is the protection of content by requiring certain criteria to be met before granting access to this content BISS redirects here If you were looking for Because I Said So a movie and TV series abbreviated as BISS see here. Conax is a company that designs Conditional access systems for Digital television. DigiCipher 2, or simply DCII, is a digital signal compression standard used on many Communications satellite Television and audio signals Irdeto provides solutions for digital content protection in Digital TV, IPTV and mobile environments Nagravision is a company of the Kudelski Group that develops Conditional access systems for cable and Satellite television. PowerVu is a Conditional access system for Digital television developed by Scientific Atlanta. Viaccess is a Conditional access system developed by France Télécom. VideoCipher is a brand name of analog scrambling equipment for satellite television invented in 1983 by Linkabit Corporation which was bought out by MA/COM in 1985 VideoGuard (sometimes referred to simply as NDS) produced by NDS, is a digital Encryption system for use with Conditional access television Many conditional access systems have been compromised.

Categories of usage

There are three primary types of satellite television usage: reception direct by the viewer, reception by local television affiliates, or reception by headends for distribution across terrestrial cable systems. Head end may refer to A central control device required by some networks (e

Direct to the viewer reception includes direct broadcast satellite or DBS and television receive-only or TVRO, both used for homes and businesses including hotels, etc. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS is a term used to refer to Satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home Television receive-only, or TVRO is a term used in North America to refer to the reception of Satellite television from FSS -type satellites

Direct broadcast via satellite

Direct broadcast satellite, (DBS) also known as "Direct-To-Home" is a relatively recent development in the world of television distribution. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS is a term used to refer to Satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home “Direct broadcast satellite” can either refer to the communications satellites themselves that deliver DBS service or the actual television service. DBS systems are commonly referred to as "mini-dish" systems. DBS uses the upper portion of the K_u band.

Modified DBS systems can also run on C-band satellites and have been used by some networks in the past to get around legislation by some countries against reception of K_u-band transmissions.

Most of the DBS systems use the DVB-S standard for transmission. DVB-S is the original Digital Video Broadcasting forward error coding and modulation standard for Satellite television and dates from 1995 With Pay-TV services, the datastream is encrypted and requires proprietary reception equipment. While the underlying reception technology is similar, the Pay-TV technology is proprietary, often consisting of a Conditional Access Module and smart card. A conditional access module (CAM is an electronic device usually incorporating a slot for a Smart card, which A smart card, chip card, or Integrated circuit card ( ICC) is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated

This measure assures satellite television providers that only authorised, paying subscribers have access to Pay TV content but at the same time can allow free-to-air (FTA) channels to be viewed even by the people with standard equipment (DBS receivers without the Conditional Access Modules) available in the market. Free-to-air (FTA Television (TV and Radio broadcasts are sent unencrypted and may be received via any suitable receiver Free-to-view

Television receive-only

The term Television receive-only, or TVRO, arose during the early days of satellite television reception to differentiate it from commercial satellite television uplink and downlink operations (transmit and receive). Television receive-only, or TVRO is a term used in North America to refer to the reception of Satellite television from FSS -type satellites This was before there was a DTH satellite television broadcast industry. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS is a term used to refer to Satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home Satellite television channels at that time were intended to be used by cable television networks rather than received by home viewers. Satellite TV receiver systems were largely constructed by hobbyists and engineers. These TVRO system operated mainly on the C band frequencies and the dishes required were large; typically over ten feet in diameter. C band is a name given to certain portions of the Electromagnetic spectrum, as well as a range of Wavelengths of Light, used for communications Consequently TVRO is often referred to as "big dish" or "Big Ugly Dish" (BUD) satellite television.

TVRO systems are designed to receive analog and digital satellite feeds of both television or audio from both C-band and K_u-band transponders on FSS-type satellites. A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial Satellite stationed in space for the purposes of Telecommunications. In Telecommunication, the term transponder (short-for Trans mitter-res ponder and sometimes abbreviated to XPDR XPNDR TPDR or TP has the following meanings Fixed Service Satellite (or FSS) is the official classification (used chiefly in North America for Geostationary Communications satellites used for broadcast The higher frequency K_u-band systems tend to be Direct To Home systems and can use a smaller dish antenna because of the higher power transmissions and greater antenna gain. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS is a term used to refer to Satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home

TVRO systems tend to use larger rather than smaller satellite dish antennas, since it is more likely that the owner of a TVRO system would have a C-band-only setup rather than a K_u band-only setup. Additional receiver boxes allow for different types of digital satellite signal reception, such as DVB/MPEG-2 and 4DTV. 4DTV is the name of the digital TVRO Communications satellite receiver technology manufactured by Motorola for use with large-diameter parabolic dish antennas

The narrow beam width of a normal parabolic satellite antenna means it can only receive signals from a single satellite at a time. Simulsat or the Vertex-RSI TORUS, is a quasi-parabolic satellite earthstation antenna that is capable of receiving satellite transmissions from 35 or more C- and K_u-band satellites simultaneously. Simulsat is a quasi- parabolic Satellite earthstation antenna that is capable of receiving satellite transmissions from 35 or more C and

Satellite television by region and country

Africa

South African-based Multichoice's DStv is the main digital satellite television provider in sub-Saharan Africa, broadcasting principally in English, but also in Portuguese, German and Afrikaans. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa MultiChoice is a South African company which operates the DStv Satellite television service the main satellite TV service in Sub-Saharan Digital Satellite Television (also known as DStv) is MultiChoice 's multi-channel digital satellite TV service in Africa, launched in 1995 English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Afrikaans is an Indo-European language, derived from 17th century Dutch and classified as Low Franconian Germanic, mainly spoken in Canal Horizons, owned by France's Canal+, is the main provider in French-speaking Africa. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Canal+ ("Canal Plus" "C+" meaning "Channel Plus/More" in French is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984 French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Another entrant into the satellite television circuit in Africa is MyTvAfrica, a subsidiary of Dubai based Strong Technologies. Satellite television has been far more successful in Africa than cable, primarily because the infrastructure for cable television does not exist and would be expensive to install since majority of Africans cannot afford paid cable television. Furthermore, maintaining a cable network is expensive due to the need to cover larger and more sparsely populated areas though there are some terrestrial pay-TV and MMDS services. MMDS is also an acronym for Mortality Medical Data System. Multichannel multipoint distribution service, also known as MMDS

The launch of Free2view has made satellite TV available to the masses in Africa. Free2view currently broadcasts MSNBC as its exclusive news channel and is about to roll out additional channels.

GTV, a British-based company, has become the second in sub-saharan Africa providing digital satellite television with the focus first on Kenya Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Congo ETC.

Nigeria

Traditionally DStv had held a monopoly over Nigeria's Satellite television sector but a new company, HiTV is starting to compete in this sector. Digital Satellite Television (also known as DStv) is MultiChoice 's multi-channel digital satellite TV service in Africa, launched in 1995 Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal Constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal High Television (also known as HiTV) is Entertainment Highway's multi-channel digital satellite TV service in Nigeria launched in 2007

The Americas

Canada

See also: Multichannel television in Canada

In Canada, the two legal DBS services available are Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice. Many Canadians now receive their Television service through some sort of multichannel television platform such as Cable television or Satellite television Star Choice is a Direct broadcast satellite Television distributor in Canada which is majority-owned by Cable TV operator Shaw Communications The CRTC has refused to license American satellite services, but nonetheless hundreds of thousands (up to a million by some estimates) of Canadians access or have accessed American services [2] — usually these services have to be billed to an American address and are paid for in U.S. dollars. CRTC may also stand for Cathode Ray Tube Controller. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ( CRTC, in French Conseil The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Whether such activity is grey market or black market is the source of often heated debate between those who would like greater choice and those who argue that the protection of Canadian firms and Canadian culture is more important. A grey market or gray market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which while legal are unofficial unauthorized or unintended by the original manufacturer Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic

In October 2004, Quebec judge Danièle Côté ruled Canada's Radiocommunication Act to be in direct violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, insofar as it bans reception of unlicensed foreign television services. Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk The Radiocommunication Act is an Act of Parliament respecting Radiocommunication in Canada. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known as The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply the Charter) is a Bill of rights entrenched in the The judgment gave the federal government a one-year deadline to remedy this breach of the Constitution. However, this contradicts prior Supreme Court of Canada decisions and, at last word in late 2004, was expected to be appealed. The Supreme Court of Canada ( French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian

In addition, Canadian satellite providers continue to be plagued by the unquestionably black market devices which "pirate" or "steal" their signals as well as by a number of otherwise completely lawful devices which can be reprogrammed to receive pirate TV. Pirate decryption most often refers to the reception of compromised Pay TV or pay radio signals without authorization from the original broadcaster

One cable TV CEO (Karl Péladeau of Québecor, which owns Vidéotron) is on public record as demanding conditions be placed on the CRTC license issued to Bell ExpressVu, due to BEV’s reputation for vastly inferior security compared to its cable rivals and Shaw Cable–owned Star Choice. Quebecor Inc ( is a Canadian communications company based in Montreal, Quebec. Vidéotron Limited is an integrated Telecommunications company active in Cable television, Interactive Multimedia development Shaw Communications is a Canadian Telecommunications company that provides telephone internet and television services

Although there are no official statistics, the use of American satellite services in Canada appears to be declining as of 2004.

Some would claim that this is probably due to a combination of increasingly aggressive police enforcement and an unfavourable exchange rate between the Canadian and U. In Finance, the exchange rates (also known as the foreign-exchange rate, forex rate or FX rate) between two currencies specifies how S. currencies. As the U. S. dollar has been declining as of 2005 versus other international currencies, the decline in DirecTV viewership in Canada may well be related not to a cost difference as much as to the series of smart card swaps which have rendered the first three generations of DirecTV access cards (F, H and HU) all obsolete. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Latin America

Latin America’s main satellite system are SKY Latin America, which has approximately 1. SKY Latin America refers to two closely related pay-TV providers one based in Mexico, the other in Brazil. 4 million subscribers in each of Brazil and Mexico and DirecTV Latin America, which provides service to the rest of the Americas, with a total of approximately 1. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. DirecTV (trademarked as "DIREC' TV' " is a Direct broadcast satellite (DBS service based in El Segundo California, USA, that was founded The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America 3 million subscribers. Pay-TV is not popular among Latin American because fees are expensive in PPP terms. The purchasing power parity ( PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium Exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their Purchasing power.

The service offered in Brazil includes Digital TV with full Dolby Digital surround support, mts and multiple subtitle options, a first for the Brazilian market. A recent update to Sky's services in Brazil is Sky+ which allows the customer to record a program while watching another one, this service is however very expensive resulting in very few clients subscribing to this add-on.

United States

Currently, there are two primary satellite television providers of subscription based service available to United States consumers: Dish Network and DirecTV. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Not be confused with Indian Service Dish TV DISH Network is a Direct broadcast satellite (DBS service that provides Satellite television DirecTV (trademarked as "DIREC' TV' " is a Direct broadcast satellite (DBS service based in El Segundo California, USA, that was founded

Over the past three decades, various U. S. satellite services have come and gone or combined to form the current primary services. In 1975 RCA created Satcom 1, the first satellite built especially for use by the then three national television networks (CBS, NBC, and ABC). RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986 "Satcom" is also an acronym of and generic term for Satellite communications. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) is an American Television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. Later that same year, HBO leased a transponder on Satcom 1 and began transmission of television programs via satellite to cable systems. Owners of cable systems paid $10,000 to install 3-meter dishes to receive TV signal in C-band. C band is a name given to certain portions of the Electromagnetic spectrum, as well as a range of Wavelengths of Light, used for communications In 1976 Taylor Howard built an amateur system, which consisted of a converted military surplus radar dish and a satellite receiver designed and built by Howard, for home satellite reception. H Taylor Howard (1932 - 2002 was an American scientist and radio engineer Taylor's system could be used for receiving TV programs both from American and Soviet communication satellites. A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial Satellite stationed in space for the purposes of Telecommunications. In 1977 Pat Robertson launched the first satellite-delivered basic cable service called the CBN Cable Network. Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22 1930 is a controversial Televangelist from the United States. ABC Family is an American Cable television network currently owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a division of The Walt Disney Company In 1979, the Satellite Home Viewers Act allowed homeowners in the US to own and operate their own home satellite system, consisting of C-band equipment from a multitude of manufacturers who were making parts for systems such as Taylor Howard's, and began a large controversy of which channels could be received by whom.

USSB was a direct-to-home service founded in 1981. United States Satellite Broadcasting was a satellite television company that ran from 1981 to 1998. In the early 1990's they partnered with Hughes and continued operation until purchased in 1998 by DirecTV. Hughes Aircraft Company was a major aerospace and defense company founded by Howard Hughes.

In 1991 Primestar launched as the first North American DBS service. PrimeStar was a US direct broadcast satellite broadcasting company formed in 1991 by a consortium of cable television system operators Hughes’s DirecTV, the first national high-powered upper K_u-band DBS system, went online in 1994. The DirecTV system became the new delivery vehicle for USSB. News Corporation currently holds a 38% stake, which it is in the process of selling to Liberty Media. In 1996, EchoStar’s Dish Network went online in the United States and has gone on to similar success as DirecTV’s primary competitor. Information on EchoStar Corp manufacture of Cable Satellite receivers and former parent visit Echostar Corporation DISH Network Corporation ( is the parent The AlphaStar service launched in 1996 and went into bankruptcy in 1997. AlphaStar was a direct-to-home satellite broadcasting service for the United States market developed by Canadian firm Tee-Comm Electronics. Dominion Video Satellite Inc's Sky Angel also went online in the United States in 1996 with its DBS service geared towards "faith and family". Sky Angel US LLC describes itself as a " Christian -owned and operated multi-channel television service specializing in Christian and family-friendly TV and radio programming Primestar sold its assets to Hughes in 1999 and switched from DBS to an IPTV platform. {cn}

In 2004, Cablevision’s Voom service went online, specifically catering to the emerging market of HDTV owners and aficionados, but folded in April 2005. Cablevision Systems Corporation ( is an American Cable television company Voom HD Networks are a group of 15 original High-definition television channels that are owned by Rainbow Media, a subsidiary of Cablevision. High-definition television (HDTV is a Digital television Broadcasting system with higher resolution than traditional television systems (standard-definition The service’s “exclusive” high-definition channels were migrated to the Dish Network system. Not be confused with Indian Service Dish TV DISH Network is a Direct broadcast satellite (DBS service that provides Satellite television Commercial DBS services are the primary competition to cable television service, although the two types of service have significantly different regulatory requirements (for example, cable television has public access requirements, and the two types of distribution have different regulations regarding carriage of local stations). Public-access television in the United States is a form of Citizen media, similar to Canada's community channels Australia's community television

The majority of ethnic-language broadcasts in North America are carried on K_u band free-to-air. The largest concentration of ethnic programming is on Galaxy 25 at 97° W. Galaxy 25 ( G-25) launched in 1997 formerly known as Intelsat Americas 5 ( IA-5) until February 15 2007 when it was renamed as result of the merger between Pittsburgh International Telecommunications and GlobeCast World TV offers a mix of free and pay-TV ethnic channels in the internationally-standard DVB-S format, as do others. GlobeCast World TV is a direct-to-home provider of free-to-air and Nagravision-encrypted ethnic television and audio channels via the Galaxy 25 satellite Home2US Communications Inc. also offers several ethnic channels on AMC-4 at 101° W, as well as other free and pay-TV channels. Home2US Communications Inc is an open pay TV DBS platform from SES-Americom. Several U. S. -English language network affiliates (representing CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, FOX, the CW (formerly the WB and UPN), ION Network and MyNetworkTV) are available as free-to-air broadcasts, as are the three U. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the The CW Television Network ( The CW) is a Television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006-2007 television season. United Paramount Network ( UPN) was a Television network that broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States and that was in production for over eleven Ion Television is a broadcast television network first broadcast on August 31 1998 MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyNet or MNT) is a Television network in the United States, owned by the Fox Broadcasting Company S. -Spanish language networks (Univisión, Telefutura and Telemundo). Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States and Puerto Rico. TeleFutura is a US Spanish-language broadcast Television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami Florida. Telemundo is an American television network based in Hialeah Florida a suburb of Miami Florida. The number of free-to-air specialty channels is otherwise rather limited. Specific FTA offerings tend to appear and disappear rather often and typically with little or no notice, although sites such as LyngSat do track the changing availability of both free and pay channels worldwide.

Asia

Bangladesh

There are several satellite providers in Bangladesh. The main ones are listed below:

1. Bangla Vision
2. NTV
3. RTV
4. ATN Bangla
5. Channel I
6. Channel 1
7. Boishaki TV
8. ETV
9. DESH TV
10. Diganta Television
11. Islamic TV
12. STVUS

India

India has the indigenously built INSAT series satellites from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) along with some private operators [3]. ATN Bangla is the first Bengali language Digital cable Television channel. Channel i is a privately owned Television network in Bangladesh and the country's first digital channel In North America, channel 1 is a former broadcast ( Over-the-air) Television channel (44–50 MHz with visual at 45 Islamic TV is the first Islamic television station in Bangladesh. INSAT or the Indian National Satellite System is a series of multipurpose Geo-Stationary satellites INSAT 4A, INSAT-2E, INSAT-3C and INSAT-3E carry multiple channels for Indian television viewers. 1. Netherlands-based SES Global-owned NSS 6, Thaicom-2 and Telstar 10 are the other major private satellites over India. NSS-6 is a Communications satellite owned by SES NEW SKIES. NSS-6 covers the whole of Asia with six high-performance Ku band beams Notable service providers offering a bouquet of multiple channels are state-owned Doordarshan, News Corporation owned STAR TV, Sony owned Sony Entertainment Television, Sun Network and Zee TV. Doordarshan (दूरदर्शन literally Tele-Vision) is the public television broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati, a public News Corporation (often abbreviated to News Corp) (,,) is one of the world's largest media conglomerate companies by Market capitalisation is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest Media conglomerates with Sun TV Network is a Rs 16000-crore (4 Billion $ Indian Cable television network based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Zee TV is an India -based Satellite television channel in the Zee Network umbrella which carries broadcasts in Hindi and other regional

DD Direct Plus, DishTV and Tata Sky are the three major commercial service providers of Satellite Television in India. DD Direct Plus is a free Direct to Home (DTH service that provides Satellite television and audio programming to households and businesses in the Not to be confused with the American service Dish Network. Dish TV is India’s first direct to home entertainment service Tata Sky is a DTH satellite television provider in India,using MPEG-2 digital compression technology transmitting using INSAT 4A at 83 Sun Network has also entered into the Commercial service provider of Satellite TV in India,

Malaysia

Malaysia's sole satellite television operator, Measat Broadcast Network Systems (a subsidiary of Astro All Asia Networks plc) launched Astro in 1996. Astro All Asia Networks plc ( is a Malaysia -based investment holding media conglomerate company which provides management services to its subsidiaries Astro is a Subscription -based Direct broadcast satellite (DBS or Direct-to-home Satellite television and radio service Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) It currently holds exclusive rights from the Malaysian government to offer satellite television broadcasting services in the country through the year 2017.

Japan

The medium-scale Broadcasting Satellite for Experimental Purposes (BSE) was planned by Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MOPT) and developed by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) since 1974. The, or JAXA, is Japan's national Aerospace agency JAXA was formed on October 1 2003 as an Independent Administrative Institution through the After that, the first Japanese experimental broadcasting satellite, called BSE or Yuri, was launched in 1978. NHK started experimental broadcasting of TV program using BS-2a satellite on May, 1984. or Japan Broadcasting Corporation, is Japan 's Public broadcaster.

The satellite BS-2a was launched in preparation for the start of full scale 2-channel broadcasts. Broadcasting Satellite BS-2a was the first national DBS (direct broadcasting satellite), transmitting signals directly into the home of TV viewers. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS is a term used to refer to Satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home Attitude control of the satellite was conducted using the 3 axial method (zero momentum), and design life was 5 years. The TV transponder units are designed to sufficiently amplify transmitted signals to enable reception by small, 40 or 60 cm home-use parabolic antennas. An antenna is a Transducer designed to transmit or Receive electromagnetic waves In other words antennas convert electromagnetic waves into The satellite was equipped with 3 TV transponders (including reserve units). However, one transponder malfunctioned 2 months after launch (March 23, 1984) and a second transponder malfunctioned 3 months after launch (May 3, 1984). So, the scheduled satellite broadcasting had to be hastily adjusted to test broadcasting on a single channel.

Later, NHK started regular service (NTSC) and experimental HDTV broadcasting using BS-2b on June, 1989. NTSC ( National Television System Committee) is the Analog television system used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico High-definition television (HDTV is a Digital television Broadcasting system with higher resolution than traditional television systems (standard-definition Some Japanese producers of home electronic consumer devices began to deliver TVsets, VCRs and even home acoustic systems equipped by built-in satellite tuners or receivers. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS IS A GENERAL ARTICLE ABOUT VCRs/VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDERS Such electronic goods had a specific BS logo.

On April, 1991, Japanese company JSB started pay TV service while BS-3 communication satellite was in use. In 1996 total number of households that receive satellite broadcasting exceeded 10 million.

The modern two satellite systems in use in Japan are BSAT and JCSAT; the modern WOWOW Broadcasting Satellite digital service uses BSAT satellites, while other system of digital TV broadcasting SKY PerfecTV! uses JCSAT satellites. WOWOW was the first private satellite broadcasting and pay TV station in Japan. SKY Perfect JSAT Holdings Inc (株式会社スカパーJSATホールディングス is Japan 's main provider of Satellite television access

Pakistan

In the recent years, there has been a lot of investment in television industry in Pakistan. There are more than 90 Satellite channels operating directly inside Pakistan and about 40 operating their broadcasting from Dubai, Thailand, Bankok and UK. Dubai (in دبيّ,) is one of the seven emirates and most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (krūŋtʰêːp máhǎːnákʰɔn) or Krung Thep ( for short is the Capital, largest The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

Philippines

Dream Satellite TV is pay DTH service of Philippine Multimedia Service Inc. (PMSI).

Thailand

See also: TrueVisions and Media in Thailand

TrueVisions is the leading pay TV service of Thailand which operate cable TV in Bangkok and satellite TV across the country. TrueVisions is Thailand 's leading cable Satellite television operator Thailand has a well-developed media sector especially by Southeast Asian standards TrueVisions is Thailand 's leading cable Satellite television operator Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (krūŋtʰêːp máhǎːnákʰɔn) or Krung Thep ( for short is the Capital, largest TrueVisions is owned by True Corporation.

Australiasia

Australia

Satellite television in Australia has proven to be a far more feasible option than cable television, due to the vast distances between population centres, although this explanation seems to contradict the rationale behind the relatively high cable television penetration rate in Canada, a country with an even larger distance between population centres and lower population density than Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The first service to come online in Australia was Galaxy, which was later taken over by Cable Television giant Foxtel, which now operates both cable and satellite services to all state capital cities (except Darwin and Hobart) and the whole of Western Australia. Galaxy (a trading name of Australis Media) is a former provider of Pay television programming in Australia via satellite and Wireless cable Foxtel is an Australian Pay television company formed through a joint venture between Telstra, News Corporation and Consolidated Media Its main metropolitan rival was Optus Vision, while rural areas are served by Austar, both of which just rebroadcast Foxtel as of 2005. Optus Television is the Cable television division of Australian Telecommunications company Optus. AUSTAR is an Australian Telecommunications company Its main business activity is Pay TV, although it is also involved with Internet access and In 2006 SelecTV began operating, aiming at providing comparatively low cost packages and catering to specialised market segments. SelecTV is an Australian Satellite based Subscription television broadcasting service headed by CEO Jim Blomfield (previously CEO of FOXTEL

New Zealand

In New Zealand, SKY Network Television offers multichannel digital satellite TV, in addition to its non-digital terrestrial UHF service. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island SKY Network Television Limited () often trading as SKY is a New Zealand pay Television service The newly released Freeview service is also available on the Optus D1 satellite, as well as a High Definition digital terrestrial service. Freeview is a Non-profit organization providing Free-to-air Digital television and Digital radio to New Zealand. The current FTA service broadcasts all of New Zealand's national free-to-air services with the exception of the Prime channel which is owned by SKY TV.

Europe

Continental Western Europe

In Europe, DBS satellite services are found mainly on Astra satellites and Hotbird (operated by Eutelsat. SES Astra SA, is a corporate Subsidiary of SES, based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg, that owns and operates the Astra Hot Bird is the common name of a family of Satellites operated by Eutelsat, located at 13 °E over the Equator ( orbital position and ) BSkyB (known as Sky) serves the UK. British Sky Broadcasting ( BSkyB — Sky Television and BSB) is a company that operates Sky Digital, a subscription television service in the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Sky Italia, Canal Digitaal and UPC being the main providers in Italy, the Netherlands and Central Europe. SKY Italia is an Italian digital Satellite television platform owned by News Corporation launched the 31 july 2003 Canal Digitaal Satelliet is a provider of digital television via satellite for the Dutch market using the Astra-1 satellites at 19 Liberty Global ( is an international media company and one of the largest broadband providers outside the United States of America Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and

The overall market share of DBS satellite services in 2004 was 21. 4% of all TV homes, however this highly varies from country to country. For example, in Germany, with many free-to-air TV-stations, DBS market share is almost 40%, and in Belgium and the Netherlands, it’s only about 7%, due to the widespread cable networks with exclusive content. Free-to-air (FTA Television (TV and Radio broadcasts are sent unencrypted and may be received via any suitable receiver Free-to-view

Russian Federation

The first Soviet communication satellite, called Molniya, was launched in 1965. By November, 1967 the national system of satellite television, called Orbita was deployed. The system consisted of 3 highly elliptical Molniya satellites, Moscow-based ground uplink facilities and about 20 downlink stations, located in cities and towns of remote regions of Siberia and Far East. In Mathematics, an ellipse (from the Greek ἔλλειψις literally absence) is a Conic section, the locus of points in a Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving Each station had a 12-meter receiving parabolic antenna and transmitters for re-broadcasting TV signal to local householders. The parabolic antenna is a high-gain reflector antenna used for radio television and data communications and also for radiolocation ( RADAR) on the UHF and

However, a large part of Soviet central regions were still not covered by transponders of Molniya satellites. In Telecommunication, the term transponder (short-for Trans mitter-res ponder and sometimes abbreviated to XPDR XPNDR TPDR or TP has the following meanings By 1976 Soviet engineers developed a relatively simple and inexpensive system of satellite television (especially for Central and Northern Siberia). It included geostationary satellites called Ekran equipped with powerful 300 W UHF transponders, a broadcasting uplink station and various simple receiving stations located in various towns and villages of Siberian region. A geosynchronous satellite is a Satellite whose orbital track on the Earth repeats regularly over points on the Earth over time The typical receiving station, also called Ekran, represented itself as a home-use analog satellite receiver equipped with simple Yagi-Uda antenna. Analog transmission is a method of conveying voice data image signal or video information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude phase or some other property in proportion This article is about artificial satellites For natural satellites also known as moons see Natural satellite. A Yagi-Uda Antenna, commonly known simply as a Yagi antenna or Yagi, is a Directional antenna system consisting of an array of a dipole Later, Ekran satellites were replaced by more advanced Ekran-M series satellites.

In 1979 Soviet engineers developed Moskva (or Moscow) system of broadcasting and delivering of TV signal via satellites. New type of geostationary communication satellites, called Gorizont, were launched. Gorizont, (Горизонт Horizon) GRAU index 11F662 is a series of 35 Russian previously Soviet, Geosynchronous communication They were equipped by powerful onboard transponders, so the size of receiving parabolic antennas of downlink stations was reduced to 4 and 2. 5 meters (in comparison of early 12- meter dishes of standard orbital downlink stations).

By 1989 an improved version of Moskva system of satellite television has been called Moskva Global'naya (or Moscow Global). The system included a few geostationary Gorizont and Express type of communication satellites. A geostationary orbit (GEO is a Geosynchronous orbit directly above the Earth 's Equator (0° Latitude) with a period equal to the Earth's TV signal from Moscow Global’s satellites could be received in any country of planet except Canada and North-West of the USA.

Modern Russian satellite broadcasting services based on powerful geostationary buses such as Gals, Express, Yamal and Eutelsat which provide a large quantity of free-to-air television channels to millions of householders. GALS (standing for Gait Arms Legs Spine is a brief musculoskeletal screening test devised to detect neurological musculoskeletal or functional deficits in patients Yamal (Яма́л is a Communication satellite developed by Gazprom for Russian Direct-To-Home television Eutelsat SA is a French -based satellite provider Providing coverage over the entire European continent as well as the Middle East Africa India and significant Pay-TV is growing in popularity amongst Russian TV viewers. The NTV Russia news company, owned by Gazprom, broadcasts the NTV Plus package to 560,000 households, reaching over 1. NTV ( НТВ in Cyrillic) is a Russian television channel. As a subsidiary of Vladimir Gusinsky 's company Media-Most, it OJSC Gazprom, (Газпром long version Открытое Aкционерное Oбщество Газпром sometimes transcribed as Gasprom is the largest Russian company NTV Plus (НТВ Плюс is the brand name for the Russian digital Satellite television service from NTV, transmitted from Eutelsat 's W4 satellite 5 million viewers. [4]

United Kingdom and Ireland

The first commercial DBS service in the United Kingdom, Sky Television, was launched in 1989 and used the newly launched ASTRA satellite, providing 4 analogue TV channels. Sky Digital is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting 's digital Satellite television service transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For other uses see Sky Television (disambiguation. Sky Television plc (1989-1990 was a four-channel satellite television service launched by Rupert SES Astra SA, is a corporate Subsidiary of SES, based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg, that owns and operates the Astra The channels and subsequent VideoCrypt video encryption system used the existing PAL broadcast standard. VideoCrypt is a Cryptographic, Smartcard -based Conditional access Television encryption system that Scrambles analogue Pay-TV PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is a colour -encoding system used in Broadcast television systems in large parts of the world This gave Sky a distinct advantage over the winner of the UK state DBS licence, BSB. British Satellite Broadcasting ( BSB) (1986-1990 was a company set up in 1986 to provide Direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom

In the following year, after many delays, BSB was launched, broadcasting five channels (Now, Galaxy, The Movie Channel, The Power Station and The Sports Channel) in D-MAC format and using the EuroCypher video encryption system which was based heavily on the General Instruments VideoCipher system used in the USA. British Satellite Broadcasting ( BSB) (1986-1990 was a company set up in 1986 to provide Direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom Now was a British television channel transmitted as part of the British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB service during 1990 Galaxy, was a satellite television channel one of the five channels run by British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB focusing on General Entertainment The Movie Channel was a predecessor of some of the Sky Movies channels launched on BSB in 1989, survived merger with Sky in 1990 The Power Station was a British Television channel that was operated by British Satellite Broadcasting (later British Sky Broadcasting after The Sports Channel was a British Television channel, operated by British Satellite Broadcasting, that broadcast live and recorded sporting action Multiplexed Analogue Components (MAC was a Satellite television transmission standard originally proposed for use on a Europe-wide terrestrial HDTV system although it was While the BSB system was technologically more advanced than the PAL system and one of the main selling points of the BSB offering was the Squarial, an expensive flat plate antenna and LNB. Sky's system used conventional and cheap dish and LNB technology.

The competition between the two companies was fierce and bidding wars over the UK rights to movies. Sky kept costs to a bare minimum, operating from an industrial park in Isleworth just outside of London. BSB had expensive offices in London (Marco Polo House). Marco Polo House is a large marble- and glass-clad office building at 346 Queenstown Road facing Battersea Park in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The two services subsequently merged to form British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) though the new BSkyB was really Sky. The technologically more advanced BSB D-MAC/EuroCypher system was gradually replaced with Sky's VideoCrypt video encryption system. VideoCrypt is a Cryptographic, Smartcard -based Conditional access Television encryption system that Scrambles analogue Pay-TV

In 1994 17% of the group was floated on the London Stock Exchange (with ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange), and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation owns a 35% stake. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) The London Stock Exchange or LSE is a Stock exchange located in London, England. An American Depositary Receipt (or ADR represents the ownership in the shares of a foreign company trading on US financial markets The New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) is a Stock exchange based in New York City. is gay Bold text' Keith Rupert Murdoch', AC, KCSG (born Melbourne, March 11 1931 usually known as Rupert Murdoch, is an Australian-American

By 1999, following the launch of several more satellites (at 19. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) 2°E by SES Astra, the number of channels had increased to around 60 and BSkyB launched the first subscription-based digital television platform in the UK, offering a range of 300 channels broadcast from the ASTRA satellites at 28. SES Astra SA, is a corporate Subsidiary of SES, based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg, that owns and operates the Astra 2°E under the brand name Sky Digital. BSkyB’s analogue service has now been discontinued, with all customers having been migrated to Sky Digital.

In May 2008, a free-to-air satellite service from the BBC and ITV was launched under the brand name Freesat, carrying a variety of channels, including some content in HD formats. Freesat is a British Free-to-air digital Satellite television service developed by the BBC

Nordic countries

The first satellite service specifically set to the Nordic region was TV3 which launched in 1987. TV3 is the brand name used by Viasat 's flagship channels in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Slovenia. With the launch of Astra 1A, getting the TV3 channel got easier. Astra 1A was the first satellite launched and operated by Société Européenne des Satellites (SES now SES Astra. The first Nordic-specific satellite, Tele-X, was launched in 1989. Tele-X was the first Communications satellite serving the Nordic countries. The services directed at Scandinavia were then scattered among several satellites. In 1993, the former BSB satellites were bought by a Swedish and a Norwegian company, respectively. These two satellites were renamed Thor 1 and Sirius 1, moved to new positions and started broadcasting services intended for people in the Nordic region. With the launch of additional Thor and Sirius satellites later in the 1990s, Astra and other satellites were abandoned by the Nordic services with almost all Nordic satellite television migrating to the Sirius and Thor satellites.

Initially the basic channels were free-to-air. This caused several rights problems since viewers throughout Europe were able to see very much acquired English language programming as well as sports for free on the Nordic channels, although the channels only held broadcasting rights for specific countries. One way of avoiding that was to switch from PAL to the D2-MAC standard, hardly used anywhere outside the Nordic region. D2-MAC was created to solve D-MAC 's bandwidth problem on European cable systems An unencrypted channel could still be seen in all the Nordic satellite homes, so eventually all channels went encrypted (several of them only being available in one country).

There are two competing satellite services: Canal Digital (Norwegian Telenor) and Viasat (Kinnevik). Canal Digital is a Scandinavian television distributor and Internet service provider (Norway and Sweden that was founded in March 1997 as a Joint venture between Telenor () is the incumbent Telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Viasat is a DBS distributor and TV broadcaster, owned by the Swedish media conglomerate Modern Times Group. Investment AB Kinnevik was established in 1936 by Wilhelm Klingspor and Robert von Horn as an investment company Canal Digital launched in 1997 and was digital from the start, broadcasting from Thor. Kinnevik had been operating an analogue subscription service since the late 1980s, but waited until the year 2000 before launching a digital service. All analogue services from Thor and Sirius will have ceased in 2006, when the three remaining Danish channels go digital-only. The competition between Viasat and Canal Digital has caused some homes in Scandinavia to have to buy two set-top boxes and have two subscriptions to get the full range of channels. Viasat doesn't provide their own channels (TV3, TV3+, ZTV, TV1000 and the Viasat-branded channels) on the Canal Digital platform. Canal Digital does however have exclusive distribution of channels from SBS Broadcasting, Discovery, TV2 Denmark and Eurosport; for several years the Swedish SVT and TV4 channels were also exclusive to Canal Digital. SBS Broadcasting Group (normally referred to as just SBS, which originally stood for Scandinavian Broadcasting System) was a European broadcasting group operating Discovery Communications LLC (DCL is an American global media and entertainment company that began as a single channel the Discovery Channel, launched in 1985 TV 2 is a Danish government-owned Television station broadcasting from Odense on Funen. Eurosport is the largest European sports Satellite and cable network available in 54 countries and broadcasting in 20 different languages Sveriges Television AB ( SVT,) is a national Television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by an obligatory fee payable by all Television -owners TV4 Group (previously known as Nordisk Television AB and TV4 AB) is a Swedish media company that owns the largest commercial Television channel in Sweden

Middle East & North Africa

The Middle East has a high penetration of homes receiving TV channels via DTH satellite. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. One of the pioneers of free-to-air digital satellite television is considered to be MBC, which began broadcasting in c band through Arabsat and is the first network in the world to offer a free-to-air Western based English language movie channel to the Middle East audience via its spinoff channel MBC 2. MBC is a Free-to-air, pan-Arab news and entertainment Television channel C band is a name given to certain portions of the Electromagnetic spectrum, as well as a range of Wavelengths of Light, used for communications MBC 2 is the first Free-to-air channel to show non-stop Hollywood movies 24/7 Its direct rival is considered to be Dubai, UAE based One TV, earlier called Channel 33, which was the first channel in the Middle East to provide English language general entertainment programming for the expatriate community. Dubai (in دبيّ,) is one of the seven emirates and most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE Dubai One (previously called '''CH33''' and later One TV) is Dubai Media Incorporated 's 24-hour free-to-air English language entertainment

Nourmina Channel is the first satellite channel owned by a Jordanian national of the private sector, which broadcasts on Nile Sat reluctantly 12303H, which covers all the Arab countries, Africa and most parts of Europe The first digital DTH pay-TV network to provide Western Entertainment was Orbit Satellite Television and Radio Network broadcasting via Eurobird 2 (Ku band), later on Showtime Arabia a joint venture between Viacom (21% stake) and KIPCO (79% stake) started broadcasting, via PanAmSat (C band), but later switched over to Nilesat (KU band). Showtime Arabia, as it's called to distinguish itself from its U Viacom ( ( short for " Vi deo & A udio Com munications" is an American Media conglomerate with various worldwide interests Kuwait Projects Company (Holding popularly known as KIPCO, is one of the premier investment holding companies in the Middle East and North Africa The former PanAmSat Corporation founded in 1984 by Reynold (Rene Anselmo, was a satellite service provider headquartered in Wilton Connecticut. Nilesat is an Egyptian company and the name of a series of Egyptian communications Satellites The creation of Egyptian Nilesat was stimulated by Egypt's Arab Radio and Television Network(ART) now known as Arab Digital Distribution although a late comer, gained ground by broadcasting exclusive sports events. Arab Radio and Television Network (Acronym ART) is an Arabic-language Television network characterized by its multitude of channels Arab Digital Distribution (ADD is a provider of pay television interactive and digital services across the Middle East North Africa and Europe Most of the popular channels are transmitting from these satellites and orbital positions: Arabsat at 26°E, AsiaSat at 100. Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co Ltd (commonly AsiaSat) is a commercial operator of communication spacecraft 5°E and 105. 5°E, Eutelsat Hot Bird at 13°E, Nilesat at 7°W, and PanAmSat at 68. Eutelsat SA is a French -based satellite provider Providing coverage over the entire European continent as well as the Middle East Africa India and significant Hot Bird is the common name of a family of Satellites operated by Eutelsat, located at 13 °E over the Equator ( orbital position and 5°E.

In Israel, Satellite TV services were introduced by YES! company, using Israeli based Amos (satellite). AMOS is a name for a series of Israeli Communications satellites.

See also

• Satellite dish
• Microwave antenna
• Commercialization of space
• FTA Receiver
• Molniya orbit

References

External links

• Lyngemark Satellite Charts
• Worldwide satellite locations and feed information, available in a wide variety of languages
• Satellite-TV/TVRO/ C-Band FAQ List
• Linowsat PID-Lists and Videobitrate Charts
• Satellite and Digital Broadcasting
• Steve Birkill's History of C-Band and Early Satellite TV
• Mark Long's Russian Statsionar Satellite Systems

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