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- Digital Canadian
Satellite History -
The Canadian Digital Satellite industry, also known as
Canadian Direct to Home has a
long and interesting history to it. The Hughes Directv/USSB system was
the first successful small dish digital satellite company in the
United States, launching a limited service in 1994.
In the same year, several Canadian satellite companies as well as federal regulators
(CRTC) recognized the need for a Canadian Direct to
Home digital satellite service. It issued a call for
companies interested in initiating a Canadian digital satellite
undertaking to file an application for a CRTC license.
Two companies initially made the first applications, the first
was Expressvu, which was wholly owned by BCE,
Canada's largest Telecommunications holding company. They
initially intended to make use of Canada's only available
commercial satellites to broadcast a mixture of Canadian and
American digital satellite channels to subscribers across Canada.
The second company, was to be known as PowerDirectv, a
partnership between Canada's Power Corp., which had radio and
television holdings and the U.S. Directv satellite
broadcaster.
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An Early Expressvu Canadian digital satellite system with 24" dish and linear LNBF. Early customers were converted to a new LNBF and dishes repointed upon the successful launch of the Nimiq DBS satellite. This also allowed dish sizes to shrink to 18".
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Both companies were successfully licensed in
December of 1994. However shortly after, a large controversy
erupted over the CRTC's steep requirement of 50% Canadian
content. The Canadian content rules states that there must be
equal Canadian channels for every non-Canadian channel carried by
the licensed Canadian satellite company. Additionally,
Canadian satellite broadcasters were forced to
use Canadian satellites for transmission of their signals.
Further adding to the problem was that only CRTC approved
non-Canadian channels could be made available to Canadian
customers. Unfortunately, for PowerDirectv, an overwhelming
percentage of the U.S. channels broadcast from Directv were not
approved for broadcast in Canada. PowerDirectv's arguement to the
CRTC was there at the time, there were not enough Canadian
channels in existance to match the amount of U.S. channels that
they proposed to broadcast. PowerDirectv was able to amend the
Canadian satellite requirement to allow them to broadcast the
U.S. portions of their signal to Canadians via the U.S. Directv
satellite and the Canadian portions via the Canadian Anik E1 or
E2 satellites.
Unfortunately for Canadians patiently waiting for a
alternative to cable vision, these problems caused substantial
delays in bringing a successful digital satellite product to the
Canadian satellite market. It would not be the last however, as
in March of 1996, a near total system failure on Telesat's Anik
E1 satellite caused a near total loss of all satellite capacity.
This meant that Canada no longer has the satellite capacity to
support 2 digital satellite companies. For PowerDirectv, this was
the last straw and shortly after they announced that they were
abandoning plans to launch a satellite service in Canada. This
meant that Expressvu now had the only license, however they had
still not been successful in launching a service, nearly 2 years
after they had been licensed, despite a number of promised and
missed milestones.
Early 1997, nearly 3 years after Expressvu had received their
license from the CRTC, they had still not brought their service
to the market. In the meantime, many Canadians had grown weary of
broken promised and had purchased U.S. "Grey Market" satellite
systems from Directv. Expressvu had little tolerance for these US
systems and declared them illegal and campaigned heavily for
Canadians to wait until they were able to bring their service to
the market. Early 1997 also brought in 2 new CRTC licensees, both
of which were considered risky. Star Choice Television Network, a
small company from New Brunswick and Alphastar Canada, owned by
troubled Canadian satellite equipment manufacturer Tee-Comm
Electronics Inc. A third company, Homestar which was owned by
Canadian Cable vision company Shaw Communications also applied
for a license, however it was rejected.
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Alphastar Canada system with 36" dish. Alphastar was the last Canadian DBS company licensed, yet the first to market only to fail little more than a year later due to financial and organizational problems.
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Ironically, Alphastar was the last company to be licensed, but
the first to bring a successful product to market in the spring
of 1997. Due to the limited satellite capacity of
Canadian satellites Anik E1 and E2, Alphastar
was able to get an exception which allowed them to use a U.S.
medium powered satellite (Telstar 402R) to broadcast their
service. Unfortunately, this meant that their minimum dish size
would be a clumsy 36". Alphastar has also launched a US based
satellite service to the United States using the same Telstar
402R satellite. This meant that they could save on overhead by
eliminating duplicate carriage on many US channels.
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Star Choice Television Network was the second entrant onto the Canadian DBS market. Star Choice later merged with Shaw Communications, giving it the much needed financial support to compete in a changing Canadian marketplace.
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The summer of
1997 brought a successful Star Choice launch to the Canadian
marketplace. Star choice initially planned to utilize U.S.
Echostar equipment for the satellite service, however earlier in
the year, they merged with Shaw Communications, who was unable to
successfully obtain their own DTH satellite license from the CRTC
and also recognizing that the fledgling Star Choice venture
lacked sufficient capital to properly compete with BCE's
Expressvu Inc. After the merger, Star Choice abandoned the
Echostar equipment platform in favor of the cable vision favored
General Instrument platform, which was being used by the U.S.
Primestar service. Due to lack of satellite capacity, Star Choice
was forced to share the limited satellite capacity with
Expressvu, aboard the Anik E2 satellite.
The fall of 1997, finally brought the successful launch of
Expressvu, who had now taken advantage of the abandoned Star
Choice Echostar equipment deal and had adopted the Echostar
platform for their service. Expressvu was licensed by Echostar
for use of their name and trademarks in Canada and began to
market their satellite service as "Expressvu - Dish Network
Canada". Unfortunately for many Canadians who had jumped on the
opportunity to own an Alphastar Canada System, Alphastar
announced troubles in late 1997, which eventually led to a
shutdown of the Alphastar Canada and Alphastar U.S. services.
Alphastar as it turned out was underfunded and was unable to
successfully sway investors to their company. Fortunately many
Alphastar customers were able to salvage some of their
investments by taking advantage of a free Star Choice or
Expressvu trade-in offer.
Expressvu eventually added "Bell" before their name, to take advantage of Bell Canada's good will and recognition in Canada. Today, Star
Choice and Bell
Expressvu remain Canada's only digital satellite companies in
Canada.
More information on both services is
available below. As well, we also have some dedicated
Canadian Satellite Digital Forums for those wishing to discuss these topics.
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08/04/2008 11:20 AM
In order to give the website a better focus, we are phasing out the less popular areas of the site, including the high definition and digital video recorder areas and forums. This will leave the site focused on digital satellite television and satellite radio.
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PGA Tour Golf
GOLF
3:00 pm ET
Tiger Woods may have been missing from last year's AT&T National, the tournament he hosts at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., but Anthony Kim did a fine Tiger impression in his place. With Woods sidelined by knee surgery, Kim played mistake-free golf in the final round, rallying from three shots down to post a two-stroke victory over Fredrik Jacobson. Kim will return this year to defend his title against a field that will include Woods.
The Office
NBC
8:30 pm ET
Things take a torrid turn at Phyllis' (Phyllis Smith) Moroccan-themed office holiday party when Meredith's (Kate Flannery) hair catches fire during a drunken dance, while Dwight (Rainn Wilson) corners the market on the hottest toy of the holiday season. Steve Carell, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer also star in "Moroccan Christmas."
Supernatural
CW
9:00 pm ET
While investigating two mysterious deaths in a small town a few days before Halloween, Sam and Dean (Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles) discover a witch is sacrificing people to summon a dangerous demon named Samhain. Casteel (guest star Misha Collins) tells the brothers the release of Samhaim is one of the biblical Seals and will help free Lucifer in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester."
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic
TCM
7:00 pm ET
This special was made in 1989, hence the title; It has actually been 70 years since "Oz" came out, and yes, we feel old. Like the movie, though, it's still enjoyable and will enhance your appreciation of the film. Actress Angela Lansbury takes a look back at the production of the 1939 classic, which stunned audiences with its brilliant use of color. The documentary includes rare film clips, casting calls and memories from the movie's stars.
Down Periscope
FAM
8:00 pm ET
The man who played one of television's most memorable psychiatrists should have had his own head examined for agreeing to this 1996 "comedy." Kelsey Grammer transfers the "Sgt. Bilko" concept to the U.S. Navy in this 1996 comedy. He plays the new commander of a submarine that's way past its prime, but -- thanks to him and his ragtag crew -- still capable of going nose to nose against a newer atomic model. In other words, found under U, for "underdog story," in the cliche file. Kelsey, you're no Phil Silvers.
Smallville
CW
8:00 pm ET
Oliver (Justin Hartley) collapses and reveals he only has 24 hours to live. Clark and Chloe (Tom Welling, Allison Mack) call Davis (Sam Witwer) for help, but his prognosis is grim. In his delirium, Oliver flashes back to the time he learned to use a bow and arrow and the first time he met Tess (Cassidy Freeman). Chloe then shocks Clark when she decides to use her powers to save Oliver in "Toxic."
The Dirty Dozen
AMC
8:00 pm ET
Lee Marvin is typically rough and gruff in this 1967 war classic as a strict U.S. Army major assigned the task of selecting and training 12 hardened criminals for a suicide mission. They are offered absolution if they successfully fulfill a daring mission into Germany. Directed by Robert Aldrich, the film also stars Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Donald Sutherland and singer Trini Lopez.
The Wizard of Oz
TCM
8:00 pm ET
The memories! The colors! Toto, too! Almost every child knows the story of Dorothy and her faithful dog blown by a twister to the magical land of Oz. Judy Garland stars as a more mature version of Dorothy in this 1939 classic adaptation of L. Frank Baum's book. She and Toto follow the yellow brick road, making friends with an unlikely trio along the way. Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton and Frank Morgan co-star.
Overboard
LIFE
9:00 pm ET
Real-life significant others Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell surely had fun making this 1987 comedy, which isn't all that much fun for the viewer, thanks to a thin plot and the annoyance quotient of Hawn's character. She's an heiress who balks at paying her carpenter (Russell) for work he did on her yacht. When she loses her memory, he gets revenge by convincing her they are married. Oh, yeah, amnesia, always a million laughs.
World's Toughest Fixes
NGC
9:00 pm ET
There's a lot of hard work in the Big Easy as Riley goes to New Orleans to help move a barge that has become stuck on the shore of the Mississippi River, where Hurricane Gustav blew it in summer of 2008. Salvage experts who distinguished themselves in the wake of Hurricane Katrina hope to use inflatable bags and wooden cribbing to raise the barge and float it back to the salvage yard.
30 Rock
NBC
9:31 pm ET
Not realizing it's going to be the ultimate lovers holiday, Liz (Tina Fey) insists she and Drew (John Hamm) have their first official date on what turns out to be Valentine's Day. Meanwhile, Jack (Alec Baldwin) prepares himself for an unconventional holiday at church with new girlfriend Elisa (guest star Salma Hayek). Then Kenneth (Jack McBrayer) tries to win the affections of a new staffer. Jane Krakowski also stars in "St. Valentine's Day."
Soundstage
PBS
10:00 pm ET
From the program's Grainger Studio, Sugarland -- singer Jennifer Nettles and mandolin player Kristian Bush -- perform a versatile set including "Joey," "Steve Earle," "Genevieve" and older classics such as "Baby Girl," moving easily from pop ditties to soulful ballads. They also offer covers of songs by R.E.M., the band that shares Sugarland's Georgia roots.
The Listener
NBC
10:01 pm ET
After Toby (Craig Olejnik) saves a troubled boy from a brutal gang beating, he stumbles upon a hidden group of runaways and must draw on his own devastating personal secret to save these youths. Ennis Esmer, Lisa Marcos, Mylene Dinh-Robic and Anthony Lemke also star in the new episode "Lisa Says."
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