British Sky Broadcasting

British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (alias BSkyB ) is a British operator of Satellite television which was created in 1990 by fusion of Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting. In 2005, BSkyB markets the most popular range of satellite channels with the the United Kingdom and in Ireland: Sky DIGITAL. BSkyB is also the editor certain chains of its bouquet. BSkyB is controlled to 37,7% (in May 2006) by News Corporation, the group of media of Rupert Murdoch. In 2005, BSkyB counts 11.659.000 customers.

History

Satellite Television is one of the first television channel by satellite, created by Brian Hayes, old of Thames Television. At the origin, the chain does not have authorization to emit on the British territory and proposes primarily programs produced by the Dutch company John de Mol Productions.

In 1982, the company of Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation buys 80% of Satellite Television and Sky Chanel renames it. February 5th 1989, the chain gives rise to a bouquet of four chains diffused on the satellite Astra and baptized Sky Television.

In 1990, Sky Television, heavily involved in debt amalgamates with the competitor bouquet British Satellite Broadcasting whose financial position is worse still and plank the Banqueroute in November. The unit is famous British Sky Broadcasting or BSkyB.

The group is freed of debts by selling its satellite equipment (Marcopolo I in December 1993 with Swedish NSAB and Marcopolo II in July 1992 with Norwegian Telenor. Each of the two companies has already a HS376 orbits at the time) and turns about it to Astra. British Satellite Broadcasting had of better advertizing contracts what allows the group, and with the chains Sky in particular, to optimize its turnover.

Football

The purchase of the rights of diffusion of the key sports events, in particular those of the championships of Football, ensured the success of BSkyB. The company paid £300 million for the rebroadcast rights of the Championnat of England of football in 1992 while raising on BBC and ITV and thus obtains the Monopole of the retransmission of the matches in Direct. Murdoch describes the sport like the “ram” of paid television, guaranteeing a base of assured customers to him.

However, following a long legal combat started by the European commission which regards the exclusiveness in the rights of diffusion as a barrier to competition, the monopoly of BSkyB will end with season 2007/2008. In May 2006, the Irish chain Setanta Sports obtains two of the six packages that the British league of football offers to the diffusers, Sky recovers the remainder for the astronomical sum of £1,3 billion.

Technology

Satellite diffusion

BSkyB does not have a satellite into clean since the sale of the Marco Polo satellites as one saw higher. It uses the services of ITS Astra and Eutelsat (Eurobird 1).

The satellite network Astra starts in 1989 with the launching of Astra 1A. With the launching of several other satellites as from 1991, BSkyB is able to extend its offer of service (and the Astra satellites all being on the same orbit, their signals can be received with same the parabolic Aerial).

Launching, in 1997, of the first satellite of the series Astra 2 with an orbital position of 28 ' 2° is, as well as the launching of Eurobird 1 with 28 ' 5° is, made it possible BSkyB to introduce a new all-numerical service, Sky DIGITAL which can offer a few hundreds of television channels and radio.

Sky Anytime one PC

Video One Demand

The January 2nd 2007 Sky announced the launching of a service of Vidéo to the request (Video one Demand or VOD) by Sky+ which will be accessible to the two million users from Sky+ who have an hard drive with enough space available.

Compete with

Sky HD

Organization

Subsidiary companies

  • British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. is the company which markets the bouquet Sky TV
  • Sky Television Ltd. is company Holding
  • Sports Internet Group Ltd. diffuses sporting contents on Internet
  • British Interactive Ltd Holdings. offers interactive services on television
  • Sky Sports
  • Easynet: person receiving benefits network and lodging

Joint-venture

  • Nickelodeon the U.K. (50%)
  • The History Chanel (the U.K.) (50%)
  • Paramount Comedy (the U.K.) (25%)
  • Sky News Australia (33,3%)
  • MUTV Limited (33,3%)
  • Music Choice Europe plc (38,8%)
  • Attheraces Holdings Limited (50%)

See too

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