South Coast Television
Encyclopedia
South Coast TV was a television deflector and MMDS service operating in County Cork
, Ireland
. Its headquarters were in Carrigaline
.
), but was quickly followed by BBC One and BBC Two
. Eventually, a fourth channel was added, under the name of S4C
. From the early 1990s, the service was able to carry up to six channels with one or two of Sky1, Sky News
or Eurosport
in addition to the four terrestrial channels. The service from the originating transmitter was initially powered by tractor batteries (replaced every few days by volunteers), until a long (approx 2 mile) power cable was laid with voluntary effort to the site some months later. Digital satellite was introduced in 2001 with BBC One Northern Ireland
replacing BBC One Wales, BBC Two Northern Ireland
replacing BBC Two Wales, ITV
replacing HTV and Channel 4
replacing S4C. SCTV's analogue UHF service was always effectively a free-to-air service, and could be received by anyone within coverage using an appropriate domestic UHF aerial installation. The service relied on the goodwill of viewers to pay the annual sum of money sought by the operators. After a share-offer to raise finance, a digital service (SCTV Digital) operating at 12GHz with more than 60 channels was launched by SCTV in 2006 with plans for broadband. The service failed however as a result of free-to-air coverage of UK channels, lower cost options via Sky and UPC
, slow rollout and coverage/reception issues. Complete line-of-sight was required to the transmitter for the new service, the dish aerials required were generally more prone (than other systems) to weather damage during high winds, and the viewers at longer distances from the parent Carrigaline transmitter suffered from rainfade causing reception dropouts during heavy rainfall. Some prospective viewers also declined the new service as it was hoped by many that Ireland's imminent national DTT service would provide UK channels at low cost (it doesn't). SCTV Digital went bankrupt in mid-2010 because of these criticisms. Transmission of premium channels stopped in June
2010, and was replaced by a message that told viewers it was shutting down. The service was fully shut down in Autumn
2010.
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Its headquarters were in Carrigaline
Carrigaline
Carrigaline is a single-street town in County Cork, Ireland. It is about 12 km from Cork City which can be reached by car in 25 minutes...
.
History
South Coast TV was founded in 1985 as the Carrigaline Community Television Project, to provide a multi-channel TV service to the people of Carrigaline initially, and later much of the rest of Co. Cork who, at the time, were unable to receive cable service. The service was operated using an antenna array, erected in the Comeragh mountains, which was then relayed to Carrigaline for further transmission around the county. The service initially provided just one channel (HTVHTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
), but was quickly followed by BBC One and BBC Two
BBC Two Wales
BBC Two Wales is the national variation of BBC Two for BBC Cymru Wales. It is broadcast to Wales from Broaadcasting House in Cardiff. The channel can opt out from the main BBC Two schedule to show Welsh made programming, however this is used less frequently than in the past.Between 5 November 2001...
. Eventually, a fourth channel was added, under the name of S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
. From the early 1990s, the service was able to carry up to six channels with one or two of Sky1, Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
or Eurosport
Eurosport
Eurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
in addition to the four terrestrial channels. The service from the originating transmitter was initially powered by tractor batteries (replaced every few days by volunteers), until a long (approx 2 mile) power cable was laid with voluntary effort to the site some months later. Digital satellite was introduced in 2001 with BBC One Northern Ireland
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
replacing BBC One Wales, BBC Two Northern Ireland
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
replacing BBC Two Wales, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
replacing HTV and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
replacing S4C. SCTV's analogue UHF service was always effectively a free-to-air service, and could be received by anyone within coverage using an appropriate domestic UHF aerial installation. The service relied on the goodwill of viewers to pay the annual sum of money sought by the operators. After a share-offer to raise finance, a digital service (SCTV Digital) operating at 12GHz with more than 60 channels was launched by SCTV in 2006 with plans for broadband. The service failed however as a result of free-to-air coverage of UK channels, lower cost options via Sky and UPC
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
, slow rollout and coverage/reception issues. Complete line-of-sight was required to the transmitter for the new service, the dish aerials required were generally more prone (than other systems) to weather damage during high winds, and the viewers at longer distances from the parent Carrigaline transmitter suffered from rainfade causing reception dropouts during heavy rainfall. Some prospective viewers also declined the new service as it was hoped by many that Ireland's imminent national DTT service would provide UK channels at low cost (it doesn't). SCTV Digital went bankrupt in mid-2010 because of these criticisms. Transmission of premium channels stopped in June
June
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of the four months with a length of 30 days. Ovid provides two etymologies for June's name in his poem concerning the months entitled the Fasti...
2010, and was replaced by a message that told viewers it was shutting down. The service was fully shut down in Autumn
Autumn
Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September or March when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier....
2010.