BBC European TV
Since
June 1987 , BBC television has broadcast a service for Europeans,
'BBC-TV Europe', via satellite.
It was originally on Intelsat, 27° West and Olympus 18.8° West. The Intelsat
signal
was PAL scrambled using the same encryption as the UK Film channel, "Premiere".
The Olympus signal was broadcast
in the clear, using D2-MAC.
The programmes consisted of the output of BBC One unless an imported programme
was being broadcast, in which case, BBC Two was shown.
If this too, was showing an import, then a repeat of a BBC programme was shown.
A second
service from the BBC called 'Enterprise Channel' was launched in 1990
but was not a success and was soon replaced by the existing BBC-TV Europe
service.
'BBC-TV Europe' was re-launched as BBC World Service Television in April 1991
it continued on both satellites until the Olympus satellite failed.
In January 1995 the service split and was was
re-launched as BBC World and BBC Prime.
Prime is a D2Mac encrypted, subscription service and consists of
light entertainment and drama etc.
from both the BBC and Thames Television.
World is an international News Channel.
World was transmitted "free to air" using PAL via Eutelsat, 13°
East.
The programme carries advertisements.
BBC World was seen by U.K viewers for the first time on the night
of the death of Diana, Princess Of Wales.
Neither Prime nor World are designed to be viewed in the U.K,
and U.K residents are not able to purchase a subscription to Prime.
Thanks
to Wayne Tilling for his help with this page
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The
original European service used Ceefax style captions as shown above.
It will be noticed that the service carried the London evening regional news. |
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