Freesat Freeview Euro Tv Sky The best kit, The best programmes
Instant guide to free digital TV channels
.. from may 2009’s issue.
South-East Europe Want to see more?
Visit Wotsat.com for daily news, reviews and updates from the world of digital TV, or join our forums.
South-East Europe This month Wotsat looks at free TV from south-east Europe, and how to get it
News straight from the bar-room
Toolkit What you need to view free TV from south-east Europe n Free-to-air DVB digital satellite receiver n 60cm dish with universal LNB for Hot Bird (13°E) channels n 80cm dish with universal LNB for Eutelsat W2 (16°E) channels n See Channel Check (p58) for dish sizes required on other satellites
An unusual interactive show from Serbian TV
channels can be found on satellite, either in their terrestrial form or in a special pan-European edition designed for their diaspora – sometimes both. There are also increasing numbers of private and state-funded channels, the best example being Romania, which has developed quite a media industry since the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Fledgling democracies Greece and the Balkan regions have all the right ingredients for being a rich source of satellite TV; mountainous terrain that’s hard to cover with terrestrial signals and a large expat community. It does mean that you’ll have to point your dish to some more unusual locations – very few channels from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia are on Astra 1 or Hot Bird. Instead, we need to look at the ‘cheaper’ Eutelsat locations such as W2 and the Atlantic Birds, or even farther afield. Greece has its own satellite, Hellas Sat 2, launched for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Growing media industry Unfortunately, some channels are on satellites that can only be picked up in this region, such as Amos and some of the Thor spot-beams, so we haven’t listed those here because the UK dishes required would be enormous. All of the region’s state-funded TV
News and money in one place, Greek style 2 What Satellite & Digital TV
It’s obvious from a look at their schedules that most of these countries are young democracies – news, current affairs, political chat and reportage have a much greater presence than in the West. These nations are passionate about their political voices and less cynical about their power to force change – although the politicians seem as venal and self-serving as ours do. The national identity is also evident in proud cultural traditions like folk music, even if it’s often fused with Western rock and dance in so-called ‘turbo folk’. They even take the Eurovision Song Contest seriously; competitors are major stars and the people don’t just whinge about losing every year. Most of these countries also have burgeoning pay-TV business via satellite; HD has yet to penetrate this region, but it won’t be long as they’re catching up fast n
Next on Euro Spotlight n Free TV from Scandinavia and the Baltics
Ice skating on Albania’s TV Shqiptar
Croatia’s HRT1 is the leading TV channel
Pesë prej më të mirë Five of South-East Europe’s TV’s most popular shows
ByPass
Vizion+ (Albania) Current affairs show fronted by comedian Agim Bajko.
TV Bingo Show
BHT1 (Bosnia & Herzegovina) Bosnia’s top-rated show for six years is an evening magazine and game show hosted by former Eurovision contestant Tinka Milinovic.
Latinica
HRT1 (Croatia) Long-running and often controversial weekly news and politics talk show hosted by anchor Denis Latin, former anchor of evening news show Dnevnik.
Ranjeni orao
RTS (Serbia) Wounded Eagle is Serbian TV’s top drama. It follows the love-life of Anđelka Bojanić, living in the former kingdom of Yugoslavia between the two World Wars.
Life in Kosovo
RTK1 (Kosovo) Weekly current affairs show produced with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. Asking the big questions on Romanian TV news
Euro spotlight See Channel Check on page 58 for frequencies
Footprint
Free SE Europe TV CHANNEL
Albania
Alsat TV Folk+ TV Shqiptar Satelit Vizion Plus
GENRE General entertainment Folk music General entertainment General entertainment
Note: All channels on Eutelsat W2, 16°E
Bosnia & Herzegovina BHT1✦ BN Sat✭
General entertainment General entertainment
Note: ✭ Eutelsat W2, 16°E ✦Atlantic Bird 1, 12.5°W
Croatia
Croatian Music Channel HRT1 Kapital Network✪ Z1
Folk music General entertainment General entertainment Local – Zagreb
Note: All channels on Hot Bird, 13°E except: ✪ Atlantic Bird 3, 5°W
Greece 4E 902 Tileorasi Amaze❍ Channel 10 ERT World● Extra 3✦ Gnet Kanali Voulis● MAD TV Tele Asty
Christian entertainment News – Tileorasi SMS ads & ringtones General entertainment Expat entertainment General entertainment Pop music Greek parliament Pop music Pop Music
Note: All channels on Hellas Sat, 39°E except: ● also Hot Bird, 13°E ❍ Hot Bird, 13°E ✦ Atlantic Bird 1, 12.5°W
Kosovo RTK1 Sat✭ RTV21 Plus✶
General entertainment General entertainment
Note: ✭ Eutelsat W2, 16°E ✶ Intelsat 10-02, 1°W
Macedonia A2 Era TV Satelit✱ K-15 Music K-15 TV Kanal 5✱ MKTV Sat ● NASA TV✱ Sitel TV ✱✶
General entertainment General entertainment Pop music General entertainment General entertainment General entertainment General entertainment General entertainment
Note: All channels on Eutelsat W2, 16°E except: ● also on Hot Bird, 13°E ✶ Intelsat 10-02, 1°W ✱ Intelsat 901, 18°W
CHANNEL
Montenegro Atlas TV TVCG Sat●
GENRE General entertainment General entertainment
Note: All channels on Eutelsat W2, 16°E except: ● also on Hot Bird, 13°E
Romania
1 Music Channel❖ Alfa Omega TV♥ Alpha TV Bucuresti♥ Antena 2 Antena 3 Antena International Axa TV✱ Canal Teleshop♥ Constanta TV Credo TV♥ DD TV✶ Digit TV Info✶ Etno TV■♥ Euforia Lifestyle TV Euro Channel■ Favorit TV N24 OTV✶ Pratech TV✶ Pro TV International♥ Realitatea TV♥ Taraf TV■♥ The Money Channel♥ TVR3 TVR Cluj TVR Craiova TVR Cultural TVR Iasi TVR Info TVR International● TVR Timisoara TVT89♥ U✶
Pop music Christian entertainment Local – Bucharest Talk & politics News Expat entertainment Local – Transylvania Shopping General entertainment Christian entertainment General entertainment Pay-TV promo Folk music Home & style General entertainment General entertainment News General entertainment Arts & factual General entertainment News Folk music Business News & factual Local – Cluj Local – Craiova Culture Local – Iasi Useful information Expat entertainment Local – Timisoara Local – Timisoara Pop music
Note: All channels on Eutelsat W2, 16°E except: ■ Hellas Sat 2, 39°E ● also on Hot Bird, 13°E ♥ Sirius, 5°E ❖ Thor, 1°W ✶ Intelsat 10-02, 1°W ✱ Intelsat 901, 18°W
Serbia
Astro DM Sat RTS Satelit0❍✪ TV Duga TV Kopernikus TV Melos TV Spectrum
Fortune telling Turbo folk music General entertainment Folk music General entertainment General entertainment General entertainment
Note: All channels on Eutelsat W2, 16°E except: ❍ also on Hot Bird, 13°E ✪ Atlantic Bird 3, 5°W
1°W Piracy once made the original Thor satellites at 1°W a popular spot. Today, tightly focused spot beams make their signals harder to receive, but it’s still important for transatlantic feeds and East European channels. n Operators: Telenor Satellite Broadcasting/Intelsat
Satellites n Thor III
Launched: Delta 7925, Cape Canaveral, June 9, 1998 Launch mass: 1,451kg Manufacturer: Boeing Satellite Systems HS-376HP Transponders: 14 Ku-band EIRP: 50dBW Beams: Nordic & Central and Eastern Europe n Thor 5
Launched: Proton M, Baikonur, February 11, 2008 Launch mass: 1,960kg Manufacturer: Orbital Sciences Star 2 Transponders: 24 Ku-band EIRP: 53dBW Beams: Nordic, Nordic and Central Europe Middle East n Thor 6
Launched: Ariane5, Kourou, mid-2009 Launch mass: 2,999kg Manufacturer: Thales Alenia Space Spacebus 4000B2 Transponders: 36 Ku-band EIRP: min. 53dBW Beams: Nordic, Central & Eastern Europe n Intelsat 10-02
Launched: Proton M, Baikonur, June 16, 2004 Launch mass: 5,575kg Manufacturer: Astrium Eurostar E3000 Transponders: 70 C-band, 36 Ku-band EIRP: 53.2dBW Beams: Spot 1 (C Europe), Spot 3 (S Europe & N Africa)
More coverage maps at www.telenorsbc.com All dressed up for TV Slovenija
ERT Sat is aimed at Greeks expatriates What Satellite & Digital TV 3