ANDERSON.ES@XEROX.ARPA (05/07/84)
I have talked my cable co. (Century Cable in Redondo Beach, Ca.) into broadcasting the shuttle video/audio signal available on COMSAT ch. 3 on their public access cable channel 3. They will begin with the next launch, which is currently scheduled for 6-20-84. This signal is available to anyone, and I don't believe cable companies need FCC or NASA approval to rebroadcast (according to Century Cable). Also, according to Century Cable, it is very easy for them to do and not at all expensive. Only 3 cable companies so far in the U.S. have rebroadcast the shuttle signals in the past (Group W Cable in Santa Monica, Ca., and a cable company each in Ohio and Wisconsin). I think it would be a great benifit to all space enthusiasts to call or write their cable companies and request that they do the same and to send letters of appreciation to those companies that do. Hopefully, if we show enough interest, there will eventually be 24 hour coverage of all space activities (maybe a dedicated space network) in the future. By the way, Century Cable was not even aware that the signal was available, so if you contact your cable co., you may enlighten them. Thankfully, the engineer I was talking with was also a space enthusiast and got most of his information the same way I do (monitoring JPL's NASA rebroadcast on 2 meter here in L.A.). Craig Anderson <Anderson.es@Xerox.ARPA> Xerox Corp. 213-536-7299
@S1-A.ARPA:host.MIT-MC.ARPA (05/13/85)
From: Ross Finlayson <rsf@Pescadero> I get particularly dissapointed when I get up several hours early to watch the shuttle liftoff only to find nothing on but inane early morning talk shows. Even CNN has of late been letting us down. NBC seems to be far and away the best of the three broadcast networks in this respect. In the Pacific time zone at least, it showed (albeit brief) live coverage of the last two shuttle launches. Each time, CBS and ABC stayed with their chat shows. So, kudos to NBC for giving us even this paltry amount of coverage. As much as I hate to admit it, though, I think we have to resign ourselves to the fact that as shuttle flights become more and more routine, public interest, and thus TV coverage, is going to wane even further. Ross.