Advice Needed Which satellite did the cable companies use?

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RichardCoulter

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My Satellite Setup
TV with built in Freeview/ Virgin Media TiVo V6 box
My Location
UK
I'm pretty sure that it was back in the analogue days that I read that a certain sstellite was used to distribute the cable channels like Wire TV, L!ve TV etc. Can anyone remember which satellite it was, what happened to it and what encryption was used? Was this ever hacked?
 
When I carried out work for United Artists , the only uplinking (in England) was via Intelsat 601
 
Before Astra, Intelsat 511 (later 601) at 27.5° west was the main spot for cable feeds. ECS 1 (Eutelsat) at 13° east was also used for the likes of Sky Channel and Super Channel.

Most channels were in the clear, in fact Lifestyle and Premiere used to transmit warnings at closedown to state that direct reception was illegal without buying a licence. Sky Channel used a sync suppression scrambling system (reportedly Oak Orion) in their early years but reports seem to suggest that it was gone by 1987.
 
Many thanks, Intelsat 601 rings a bell. Is this satellite still in use or has it now been retired?
 
I haven't looked at all.

For anyone interested, Wiki says it was retired in October 2011, seven years after it's expected lifespan.
 
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