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 Television Networks - Television Networks are a distribution of networks for television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many television stations. Inludes information on some of the main broadcast television networks:
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Sky Television: Sky televison operates the most popular subscription television service in the UK and Eire...
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Sky Television
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB - formerly two companies, Sky
Television and British Satellite Broadcasting, which merged) is a
company that operates the most popular subscription television
service in the UK and Eire. It also produces TV content, and TV
channels.
Sky Movies - Bedazzled
Sky (UK) is a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service
operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It began as Sky
Channel, a FTA service originating in the Netherlands, targeting
English speakers throughout Europe. It did not have a UK
broadcasting licence, as so was legally similar in that territory to
the popular pirate radio stations of twenty years before.
Live Sky Box Office - Boxing
It was purchased by News Corporation, and relaunched (as Sky
Television) in February 1989. It was one of the first DBS services
in the world to become operational. This was a four channel service
on the Astra satellite at 19.2° east. (News Corporation owns about
78% of New Zealand's SKY Network Television Limited.)
The Astra satellite was owned by a Luxembourg-based consortium and
controlled from there, but Sky's broadcasts originated in the UK and
were subject to British regulation, originally by the Cable
Authority and later by the Independent Television Commission.
The failure of a rival company British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) in
November 1990 led to a merger, which was effectivly a takeover as
few staff or channels moved to the new service, although a few
programmes acquired by BSB did find their way to Sky One. The new
company was called British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). The merger may
have saved Sky financially.
Despite its popularity, Sky had very few major advertisers to begin
with, and was also beginning to suffer from embarrassing breakdowns.
Acquiring BSB's healthier advertising contracts and equipment
apparently solved these problems at a stroke.
With the launch of more Astra satellites from 1991 onward BSkyB was
able to begin expanding its services (the Astra satellites were all
orbitally co-located so that they could be received using the same
dish), and the launch of the first Astra 2 series satellite at a new
orbital position, 28.2° east, in 1997 (followed by more Astra
satellites as well as Eutelsat's Eurobird at 28.5° east), enabled
the company to launch a new all-digital service, Sky Digital, with
the potential to carry hundreds of television and radio channels.
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Site written by Gemma Littlemore