DBS in America 1: Rupert's Joint Vulture
William Phillips
The project to launch the world's most powerful commercial television satellite is called Sky Cable; and because Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is among its supporters, Britons naturally assume that this is the American edition of Murdoch's Sky Television. In reality the name was a diplomatic coup for Murdoch: his financial commitment is modest and his involvement on the programming side may be peripheral also.
But Sky Cable is a remarkable scheme. It is much more ambitious than Sky TV. It requires as much cash as British Satellite...