Brits seek digital licenses.British Sky Broadcasting British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB — formerly two companies, Sky Television and BSB) is a company that operates Sky Digital, a subscription television service in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. It produces TV content, and owns several TV channels. , Carlton Communications and Granada Group have formed a new company, British Digital Broadcasting Digital broadcasting is the practice of using digital data rather than analogue waveforms to carry broadcasts over television channels or assigned radio frequency bands. It is becoming increasingly popular for television usage (especially satellite television) but is having a , which has applied to the U.K.'s Independent Trade Commission (ITC ITC (Brit) n abbr (= Independent Television Commission) → Fernseh-Aufsichtsgremium ITC n abbr (BRIT) (= Independent Television Commission) → ) for three digital terrestrial TV licenses. In October 1996, the ITC announced that it would be accepting applications for some of six digital "multiplexes," each of which will initially he capable of carrying five channels. Digital terrestrial TV is scheduled to hit the U.K. in the second half of 1998; it will be received via conventional antennas and a special set-top box The cable TV box that sits on "top" of the TV "set," although it is often located several feet away in an equipment rack. The set-top box descrambles the premium channels and provides a tuner for the higher cable numbers that very old TVs did not support. . Three-quarters of U.K. homes don't yet receive cable or satellite TV. Two and a half of the multiplexes will be devoted to existing and new services from BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. 1, BBC2, ITV (1) See interactive TV. (2) (iTV) The code name for Apple's video media hub (see Apple TV). , Channel 4 and Channel 5. British Digital Broadcasting hopes to win three of the remaining three and a half multiplexes. If it is awarded the licences, the new company will offer such new subscription channels as Carlton Films, Granada Sports Club, Public Eye, Carlton Entertainment, Granada TV Shopping, lifestyle channels BBC Style and Granada Good Life and the music channel BBC One TV. Premium subscription channels will include Sky Movies, The Movie Channel and Sky Sports. If it receives the licenses, British Digital Broadcasting will invest some $450 million in the digital TV effort. BSkyB, Carlton and Granada, each of which owns a third of the new company, expect it to turn a profit within five years. |
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