History
Development
In January 1977, theIBA satellite franchise
On 2 April 1986, the IBA convinced theWinning bid
British Satellite Broadcasting won the 15-year franchise on 11 December 1986 to operate the DBS system, with a licence to operate three channels. BSB forecast 400,000 homes would be equipped during its first year, but some doubts were cast as to whether this was possible. ThePreparations for launch
Around the time of the licence award,Launch of five-channel service
There were five satellite channels for the general public with a sixth part-time service on subscription for business users, as BSB Datavision was a subsidiary of the company which offered encrypted television sets and data reception through domestic receivers.Archived aCompetition and merger
Sky's head start over BSB proved that the PAL system would give adequate picture quality, and that many viewers would be happy to watch Sky's more populist output as opposed to waiting for the promised quality programming pledged by BSB. Sky had launched its multichannel service from studios at an industrial estate in Isleworth, with a ten-year lease onOutcomes
BSB's shareholders and Murdoch's News International made huge profits on their investments, the 50:50 merged venture having an effective quasi-monopoly on British satellite pay-television. From a United Kingdom perspective, British Satellite Broadcasting's existence prevented 100% of these profits being made by News International, reducing Murdoch's ability to influence government policy. At one stage of the saga, News International was facing dismemberment at the hands of its bankers.New York Times, 20 December 1990; ''Murdoch's Time of Reckoning'' Following the takeover of Sky by Comcast in October 2018, Murdoch was no longer involved in British television but retained his newspaper assets through News Corp.Satellites
As the company focused on the Astra system which was not subject to IBA regulation, the Marcopolo satellites were eventually withdrawn and later sold (Marcopolo 1 on 21 December 1993 toRegulatory context
A new television transmission system,Location
Sources
Further reading
* New York Times, 20 December 1990; ''Murdoch's Time of Reckoning'' *References
External links
* * * {{Authority control Sky Group Defunct mass media companies of the United Kingdom Mass media companies established in 1986 Mass media companies disestablished in 1990 British companies established in 1986 British companies disestablished in 1990 1990 mergers and acquisitions Direct broadcast satellite services 1980s in the United Kingdom 1980s in British television 1990s in the United Kingdom 1990s in British television 1990 in the United Kingdom 1990 in British television History of television in the United Kingdom