TELE SATELLITE NEWS - Number 01/2004 4 January 2004

[Admin]

TELE SATELLITE NEWS - Number 01/2004 4 January 2004 - A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic

* Issue 02-03/2004 of Tele Satellite International magazine is out now * More details at http://sadoun.com/Sat/Products/Acces...-Satellite.htm

E U R O P E


FRANCE

CANAL PLUS RECAPITALISED
Pay-TV operator Canal Plus says that parent company Vivendi Universal had recapitalized it to the tune of €3 billion and that it will end 2003 with an operating profit for the first time since 1996. Vivendi Universal forgave the $3.7 billion in debt during an extraordinary meeting of the Franco-American's board of directors. Move, along with the sale of $1.6 billion in non-strategic shares, will bring down Canal Plus' debt to $1 billion compared with the $6.3 billion it was carrying at the beginning of 2003. Under the terms of the recapitalization, Canal Plus' current account with its parent will be transformed into capital. Canal Plus said that it would post an operating profit, as well as positive operating cash flow, at the end of 2003. Meanwhile, Canal Plus has signed deals with LDCom and Cegetel to launch a venture to send digital TV over phone lines. Paybox will offer 80 channels from Canal Satellite to French audiences through asymmetric digital subscriber lines. Although the company didn't put a price-tag on the venture, broadcaster TF1, which owns 66% of rival satellite broadcaster TPS, announced a similar deal with France Telecom in September and put the cost at $67 million.

NORWAY

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR NRK
There is increased public support for the licence fee paid to finance public broadcaster NRK. Altogether 48 per cent of Norwegian TV viewers want NRK to remain a licence-financed broadcaster, rather than becoming financed by advertising. This is shown by a survey made by Opinion for the newspaper Aftenposten. This is an increase by 10 points over the last three years. NRK Director General John G. Bernander believes that there is an increasing appreciation for the fact that NRK's diversified programming would not be possible, if NRK was to become financed by advertising.

SPAIN

DIGITAL PLUS SIGNS UP MORE SUBSCRIBERS
Digital pay-TV platform, Digital Plus, reported 1.86 million subscribers at the end of October, higher than analysts' expectations. The Sogecable-owned Digital Plus launched in July, following the merger of Sogecable satcaster Canal Satelite Digital and the Telefonica-controlled rival Via Digital.
Around 200,000 clients subscribed to both Via and CSD. According to the Telecommunications Market Commission, CSD had 1.22 million subscribers at year end 2002, Via 775,000. Digital Plus may see further churn as Via Digital contracts lapse through July. Sogecable CEO Javier Diez de Polanco predicted sub growth from the summer, coinciding with the end of the summer recess and the launch of Spain's popular football league in September.




N O R T H A M E R I C A


CANADA

BELL CANADA BUNDLES MEDIA INTERESTS
Bell Canada will bundle its direct-to-home satellite business and its emerging video-over-Internet initiative into a new group within its consumer markets organization. The new group will include the ExpressVu satellite service and video services over Bell's digital subscriber lines.
Through ExpressVu, Bell has been in stiff competition with Canada's cable TV companies. But the pace of growth in the satellite TV service has slowed in recent quarters and the cable companies are responding by rolling out new digital services, including video-on-demand, to compete with ExpressVu.
Bell recently announced plans to work with Microsoft Corp. to test and deploy TV services based on the new Internet Protocol TV, which will deliver Bell ExpressVu programming over the Internet. In addition to Bell Canada and its subsidiaries, BCE Inc. owns 68.5 per cent of Bell Globemedia, which owns CTV Inc. and the Globe and Mail newspaper.

TV INDUSTRY FACES MAJOR CHALLENGES
The Canadian TV industry faces possible dramatic change this year due to increased media cross-ownership after costly deal-making in recent years and a push by domestic cablecasters and phone giants to loosen foreign ownership limits on domestic content carriers to enable increased flow of U.S. growth capital into the Canadian broadcast sector. An all-party Senate committee on transport and communications in Ottawa has for the past six months been investigating the economic effect of media concentration in Canada and, in particular, whether fewer media outlets means fewer editorial voices. Industry consolidation in recent years has led Canada's media industry to be mostly owned and controlled by five mostly family-owned groups: cablecasters Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Quebecor, all of which own substantial TV holdings; private broadcaster CanWest Global Communications Corp., which is also the country's largest newspaper publisher; and BCE, the phone giant that also owns and operates the national TV network CTV.

UNITED STATES

MURDOCH HOPES FOR 15 MILLION DIRECTV SUBSCRIBERS
News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch expects its newly acquired satellite
television provider DirecTV to have 15 million to 20 million subscribers,
he said in an interview in the New York Times. In the interview, Murdoch
did not give a timetable for hitting the target. DirecTV currently has 11
million subscribers. "I am confident we can get to 15 million subscribers,"
Murdoch said in the interview. "What do I dream of? Twenty million." To
strengthen DirecTV, Murdoch said he would improve its customer service call centers and hopes to virtually stop piracy problems by using new television set-top technology from News Corp's NDS unit.

STARZ! HD JOINS VOOM HDTV PACKAGE
Starz Encore Group and VOOM, the high-definition (HD) television service
from Rainbow DBS, Cablevision Systems Corporation's satellite division,
announced that VOOM has become the first satellite operator to launch
STARZ! HD, the Hi-Def version of STARZ!, the premium movie channel. VOOM carries both the East and West Coast feeds of STARZ! HD, in addition to the standard definition versions of STARZ! (East), STARZ! Family (East), Encore (East), Love Stories (East), Mystery (East), and Action (East), as part of its new STARZ PlusPack, available for only $14.90 per month with the VOOM service. STARZ! HD, transmitted in wide-screen 16x9 1080i with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, is the Hi-Def version of the flagship STARZ! service, showcasing a mix of recent Hollywood hits and other popular films. Internet http://www.starzencore.com
http://www.voom.com

TIME WARNER AND CABLEVISION ANNOUNCE TRUCE
Cablevision and Time Warner Cable jointly announced a temporary truce in their carriage conflict. Time Warner has agreed to extend the current
carriage arrangement for Cablevision-owned channels Fox Sports New York, MSG Network and MetroChannels in the New York system. Their contracts were due to expire, but the channels' signals will remain running through the new year while both sides try to work out a long-term arrangement. Time Warner had been threatening to drop the regional sports networks in a dispute over their rates.

UNIVERSAL MUSIC TO LAUNCH UNCENSORED MUSIC CHANNEL
Universal Music Group, the world's largest record label, is teaming up with
satellite broadcaster DirecTV and a prominent pornography video company to launch a music channel featuring uncensored videos. According to a report in the Los Angles Times, Universal, a unit of Vivendi Universal, is in negotiations with DirecTV to offer the new subscription-based channel, known as "1 AM." Universal and Vivid Entertainment Group, which is known for porn videos such as "Bad Wives" and "Women In Uniform," are expected to split ownership of the venture, the newspaper said, citing sources familiar with the matter. With the name 1 AM - for First Amendment - the new network is looking to distinguish itself from MTV by showing videos and live performances that won't shy away from graphic language and content, according to the Los Angeles Times. MTV's already feeling the heat from another up and coming rival - Fuse, a music channel owned by Cablevision's Rainbow Media.




A S I A & P A C I F I C


BANGLADESH

BTV MISSES ASIASAT DEADLINE
Bangladesh Television's (BTV) satellite transmission could not meet the
December 25 deadline, as the information ministry did not yet ink a deal
with AsiaSat. BTV's plan to transmit via satellite prompted mixed
reactions. Local satellite broadcasters fear they might lose Tk 70 crore in
revenue from commercials a year to BTV because of its satellite venture.
BTV earns more than 50 per cent of the revenues from TV commercials, as
viewers prefer it to private channels. In fiscal 2002-3, BTV earned Tk 82
crore from terrestrial transmission, with the revenues from satellite and
terrestrial commercials by all television channels estimated at Tk 150
crore a year. The government decided to give advertisers the privilege to
air commercials on both terrestrial and satellite transmissions at the same
rate to increase revenues in a bid the private satellite broadcasters fear
will harm their commercial market further. There is also an optimistic
view. Media marketing experts think BTV's satellite venture will increase
competition, making satellite providers come up with quality transmission
and programmes. The number of satellite viewers will increase thanks to
competition among channels, they said, adding the now-closed Ekushey
Television surpassed BTV's commercial revenue because of its quality
programmes.

CHINA HONG KONG

NEW MOVIE CHANNEL LAUNCHES
China is progressively developing domestic film channels as a response to
the threat of increased foreign competition. Shanghai Media & Entertainment
Group launched the country's third film channel this week over the city's
cable television network. Its Oriental Movie Channel (OMC) offers six shows
a day, including Chinese and foreign titles and television series. "We will
soon boost the number of movies to more than 10 a day," an OMC spokesman
said. The airing of OMC comes 10 years after state-run Chinese Central
Television 6 and follows Western Movie Channel's debut in Shanxi province
last month. Roy Kong, media director at media buyer Starcom Worldwide, said
OMC was "just like a home-grown [Home Box Office]". According to industry
sources, OMC plans to spend about 70 million yuan a year on buying content.
It is aiming to sell 500 million yuan of advertising slots over the next
three years. A source said: "The target is not harsh at all. A free
around-the-clock movie channel in Shanghai, where the TV advertising market
is worth more than two billion yuan a year, should easily attract
advertisers." OMC will compete for viewers with Shanghai Media Group, the
city's near-monopoly television broadcaster. Foreign film channels such as
HBO, Star Movies and Phoenix Movies have been eating into the lucrative
advertising pie in China, despite being limited to satellite-connected
foreign compounds and selected hotels.

FILMMAKER LAUNCHES TV CHANNEL
Changchun Movie Production Group Co (also known as Changying in the
country), the oldest filmmaker on the Chinese mainland since New China was
founded in 1949, launched a cable TV movie channel last week. The company
plans to broadcast up to 1,600 movies and 12,000 minutes of cartoons a
year. There will be a variety of content to meet different demands for
various audiences," the company official added.

NICKELODEON GETS SLOT ON CCTV
At the end of last month, Nickelodeon Asia began broadcasting a daily
programming block to viewers in China on state-run broadcaster CCTV.
Nickelodeon is providing 30 minutes of programming daily to CCTV's recently
launched Children Channel. Shows include The Wild Thornberrys and CatDog.
In addition, Nickelodeon has reached a deal with Hong Kong's Galaxy
Satellite Broadcasting for carriage of a 24-hour channel on Galaxy's pay-TV
service exTV. The platform is set to launch in February. BBC World will
also be included on Hong Kong’s first direct to home digital pay TV
platform, exTV, following an agreement signed with the operator; Galaxy
Satellite Broadcasting Limited.

INDIA

CRICKET INCREASES SALES OF SET-TOP BOXES
Cable TV subscribers in South Delhi have bought about 30,000 set-top boxes
(STBs) since the conditional access system (CAS) was introduced on December
15. This is against an estimated 15,000-20,000 boxes installed about a week
ago. Cable industry sources said the last few days saw higher sales as
consumers rushed to buy STBs in anticipation of cable companies blocking
signals to homes. Government sources said broadcasting companies and cable
operators had approached the government with a proposal to set up a
regulatory body to oversee the sector after the implementation of CAS.
Sources also said a section of broadcasters had also called upon the
government to ensure that cable network companies where neutral while
distributing channels. According to the sources, broadcasters have pointed
out that some cable operators are favouring certain broadcasters by either
blocking their rivals’ channels or not ensuring their smooth distribution.

ESPN STAR SPORTS TO DISTRIBUTE OTHER TV CHANNELS
ESPN Star Sports has decided to offer its distribution service to third
party channels, a move which will put the company in competition with other
platform providers like Sony-Discovery’s One Alliance and STAR India. ESPN
STAR Sports, a joint venture between ESPN and STAR, has initiated talks
with several channels. The company has so far only been distributing its
two sports channels, ESPN and STAR Sports. The company was in talks with
Hindi news channel Aaj Tak which plans to go pay in 2004-05. ESPN STAR
Sports is in contention for getting the distribution rights of Walt Disney
channel in India, rivalling STAR India’s bid to rope in the children’s
channel in its bouquet. Sony is also in the race. The reason for ESPN STAR
Sports to offer distribution service to external channels, is to generate
additional business. The infrastructure is already in place and could be
exploited to distribute other TV channels. ESPN STAR Sports believes that
it can leverage the strength of its two sports channels to rope in new
channels for distribution. Media analysts said that with existing TV
channels already aligned with other distribution companies, ESPN’s
opportunity may come only when new channels decide to enter the country.

SALE OF TV18 ARM STALLED
The government has rejected Television Eighteen (TV18) India Ltd’s proposal
to offer a 15 per cent stake in its proposed uplinking subsidiary,
iNews.com, to CNBC group firm Business News (Asia) Pvt Ltd (BNA) on the
ground that TV18 has failed to comply with the guidelines for news channel
uplinking within the prescribed deadline. The government rejected the
proposal at the behest of the information and broadcasting ministry, which
pointed out that iNews.com, also the proposed production and uplinking
company for CNBC in India, had not applied for uplinking rights so far. The
ministry said the proposal would be considered only after TV18 complied
with the foreign direct investment norms, and iNews18 applied for uplinking
rights. The information and broadcasting ministry said TV18, the parent
company of iNews.com, had a foreign portfolio investment of 10.48 per cent,
which is not permitted under the guidelines. Only 26 per cent foreign
direct investment is permitted in firms uplinking news from India. Also, at
least 51 per cent of the total paid-up capital of the company should be
held by a single Indian shareholder. This condition had also not been
complied with so far by TV18, the government said. However, the operations
of CNBC-TV18, the 24-hour business channel owned and operated by TV18, will
continue as before,” TV18 Managing Director Raghav Bahl said.

MEDIA PLANNERS BET ON PAY-TV CHANNELS
Rollout of the Conditional Access System (CAS) in the Capital is not
expected to have much of an impact on media planning, claimed industry
experts. Media planners ruled out any significant shift of advertisements
from pay to free-to-air (FTA) channels, post-CAS in south and some parts of
central Delhi. Reason: It is less than 2 per cent of the all-India cable
home count. Also, even as there has been a buzz about some popular pay
channels turning FTA in the CAS-enabled market, broadcasters have rejected
the idea outright. However, when CAS was introduced in Chennai in
September, Star Vijay, earlier a pay channel there, turned FTA.
Nevertheless, no significant ad shift from pay to FTA channels may happen
because total viewing time on TV is likely to be cut drastically, once pay
channels cannot be accessed.

PAY-TV PRICES GO TO UP
Pay channel prices are set to go up with the major broadcasters planning a
revision in the rate structure, a move which could fuel further volatility
in the highly charged cable TV industry. STAR India has asked cable TV
operators to increase their declaration of subscriber base by 58 per cent
to enjoy a price cut of Rs 3 a month per subscriber with effect from
January 1. Currently, STAR charges Rs 30 for its bouquet of channels. If
cable operators do not pay for more subscribers, they will be charged at
the rate of Rs 45 a month per consumer. Sony-Discovery’s One Alliance has
indicated to cable operators that the price of their bouquet of channels
would go up from a monthly fee of Rs 55 to Rs 65 per subscriber. Zee-Turner
bouquet is planning to hike its price by Rs 20 from Rs 55 to Rs 75. STAR
claims that it has brought the prices down, but admits that it wants to be
paid for more subscribers. Cable TV operators say that this is a camouflage
as the outgo towards pay channels would go up. “STAR wants us to increase
the declaration of our subscribers. ESPN STAR Sports has taken a similar
route. The end result is that we will have to pay the broadcasters more,”
said an official in a Mumbai-based MSO. ESPN STAR Sports recently announced
that cable operators will have to pay Rs 39.50 if they do not increase the
declaration of their subscribers, up from Rs 32 a month per consumer.

PRASAR BHARATI TO GET TOUGH ON CABLE OPERATORS
India’s Prasar Bharati, the national broadcasting corporation, has decided
to get tough on cable operators who do not carry three of its
channels: DD I, DD News and a regional channel, DD Saptagiri in Andhra
Pradesh. According to the Times of India, Prasar Bharati officers would be
empowered to seize the operators’ equipment and initiate prosecution
against them.

CABLE TV ACCESS SYSTEM MAY BE DELAYED
The Indian government, fearing voter wrath in national elections due in
2004, is likely to put on hold the rollout of a controversial new cable
television access system, according to local press reports. The Pioneer and
other newspapers quoted Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar
Prasad as saying he was "anguished" about the way the system was being
implemented. Consumer groups have been up in arms over the new system which
would oblige viewers to buy set-top boxes to watch pay channels. Up to now
cable subscribers have been able to watch all cable channels through a
cable laid at their homes. Broadcasters have been clamouring for the
so-called Conditional Access System (CAS) to plug subscription leaks in
India that has among the world's largest number of cable subscribers.
Nearly half of the country's estimated 80 million TV sets have cable
connections. Consumer groups say monthly cable bills would double under
CAS. They are also angered by the US$ 40 price tag for the TV set-top boxes
needed to use the system, while cable operators say CAS would kill their
industry.

ISRAEL

MTV POPULAR WITH ISRAELI YOUTH
Israeli youths prefer MTV to all other television music channels, according
to a new Teleseker survey in November, commissioned by IMH. The survey
sampled youths ages 12-17. IMH sells advertising time on MTV. Unprompted,
68% of the respondents said they watched MTV for at least one hour a day.
When prompted, 80% of the respondents reported watching MTV, compared with
36% who said they watched Channel 24, the Israeli Music Channel. The
figures are similar to those obtained in previous MTV surveys, and have not
changed significantly since Channel 24 came on the air. IMH CEO Dan Ron
said the number of customers advertising on MTV was 23% higher in 2003 than
in 2002, and advertising by existing customers rose by 105%.

JAPAN

NTV NUMBER ONE IN JAPAN YET AGAIN
Nippon Television Network topped the ratings in four time categories in
2003 for the tenth year in succession. NTV continued its dominance over the
remaining four commercial TV broadcasters, garnering the leading share in
the golden and primetime viewing hours of 19:00 to 23:00, all day ratings
taken from 06:00 to midnight and the non-prime period, which accounts for
all hours outside of primetime. NTV spokesman Yoshihiro Yamane said. "In
2004, we intend to take a serious approach to program production and
provide high quality shows."

JORDAN

JORDANIAN BROTHERS TO LAUNCH TV CHANNEL
The Ikhwan al-Muslimin (Muslim Brothers) group in Jordan said it is
considering the foundation of a TV station, or an independent radio, after
the call made by the Jordanian commission for audio-visual media for the
private sector and the parties to form broadcasting stations. The official
spokesman for the group, Yahya Shaqra, said that the group has the ambition
and the desire to found such stations, due to the importance of the media
as "a means of contacts to disseminate the Islamic call."

NEW ZEALAND

ARTS CHANNEL ON SKY
The Arts Channel is the first dedicated channel to bring the world's best
arts and cultural television to New Zealand screens. Viewers will be
treated to a comprehensive mix of programming, which will be entertaining,
contemporary and stimulating for all those passionate about the arts. The
content will be wide ranging; from the traditional to the very latest in
artistic developments, from music, visual arts, dance, opera, theatre,
documentaries, design and literature, to profiles on writers and composers.
The Arts Channel will be accessible as a subscription channel on SKY's
Digital Network on channel 59. However, for its first month on air it will
be available to all SKY Digital subscribers, giving them the opportunity to
experience world-class cultural and arts focused television. New Zealand
based company - Niche Media International (NMI) will manage the day-to-day
running of the channel. SKY will screen the Arts Channel on Digital channel
59 from March 1, 2004 and it will cost $2.95 a week from April 1.

QATAR

AL-JAZEERA PLANS ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV CHANNEL
Al-Jazeera's next big plan is to move into English-language television. It
should begin broadcasting before the end of 2004, says editor-in-chief
Ibrahim Helal, after a building to house both the Arabic and English
stations in Doha, Qatar, is completed. Al-Jazeera enjoys the BBC's
reputation for credibility and, at the same time, moves towards CNN's
faster pace of reporting. The English version will replicate that mixture
of styles. But the question is whether Al-Jazeera in English can replicate
its own success as an Arabic station. Certainly there is little doubt that
an English channel would help boost Al-Jazeera's international profile -
not to mention its advertising revenues. At the moment, these revenues and
the money which it makes from selling its programmes to other stations
account for a quarter of its annual budget of US$40 million, with the rest
coming from the Qatari government's funds. However, according to an article
in a respected Kuwaiti newspaper, the United States Congress has secretly
proposed to President George W. Bush that he should put pressure on the
Qatari government to close Al-Jazeera.

SINGAPORE

STARHUB TO POSTPONE DIGITAL TV LAUNCH
StarHub, Singapore's second-largest telecom operator, on December 30 said
it will postpone the launch of digital television to next year. StarHub,
which is the island-state's only cable television operator, had originally
planned to launch digital TV by the end of 2003. "Feedback gathered from
trials over the past couple of weeks indicate that it would be more
beneficial to take a bit more time to increase and enhance the content and
application offerings," said Sandie Lee, StarHub's Senior Vice President
for Cable TV Services. StarHub said it hasn't set a specific date for the
launch. StarHub is spending US$16 million to introduce digital TV, a new
service that would potentially boost the amount of programming available to
Singapore's 4 million people, as well as introduce interactive services,
such as home shopping and financial services. StarHub has 371,000 customers
subscribing to its cable television network as of September 30, 2003. It
also offers mobile and fixed line services. Currently, StarHub's cable TV
customers have access to about 50 TV channels, including free-to-air
channels. StarHub is trying to grow revenue from its various business
divisions ahead of a planned initial public offering. StarHub shareholders
are Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. with a 9.1% stake, Japan's NTT
Communications Corp. with 14.5%, British Telecommunications with 11.9%.
Unlisted and government-linked companies Singapore Technologies Telemedia
and Media Corporation of Singapore own 50.5% and 14.1%, respectively.

SOUTH KOREA

BAN ON JAPANESE TV BROADCASTING LIFTED
On January 1, South Korea lifted its ban on the showing of Japanese cable
television programs and satellite broadcasting as part of a gradual opening
of the domestic market to Japanese cultural products. "Japanese cable
television and satellite broadcasting programs will be allowed in within
the fullest possible scope," a statement released by the Culture and
Tourism Ministry said. With regard to Japan's television and radio
programs, South Korea will be selective in allowing cultural and
educational programs in light of the "impact on public sentiment and
youth." Japanese television dramas can only be aired if produced jointly
with South Korea. Japanese singers' performances in South Korea and
Japanese singers appearing on South Korean television and radio will be
allowed. South Korea still maintains a ban on Japanese entertainment
programs such as variety shows, talk shows and comedy in light of possible
"serious cultural effects." Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 to 1945.

EXPANSION OF DIGITAL BROADCASTING POSTPONED
The scheduled expansion of digital television broadcasting to provincial
cities has been put on hold indefinitely amid continuing dispute over
whether to use the U.S. or European transmission standard. Following a
Cabinet meeting on December 30, the Ministry of Information and
Communication (MIC) announced it will postpone the start of digital
broadcasting in Pusan, Taegu, Kwangju, Taejon and Ulsan. On December 26,
the presidents of local terrestrial broadcasters - KBS, SBS, MBC and
EBS called for the MIC to delay the expansion of digital TV services based
on the U.S. system as they favor the European standard. Under the MIC’s
initiative, broadcasters were supposed to extend the digital services to
the five provincial cities starting today. The government has been dead set
on maintaining the U.S. standard, citing the system’s superiority in
transmission and compression technologies, as well as the cost of a
potential switch. However, Ryu Pil-gae, director general of the radio and
broadcasting bureau of the MIC, expressed hope that the broadcasters launch
digital services as soon as possible since they have already built
facilities. Ryu added the ministry will search for the best way to improve
the quality of mobility-specific broadcasting, one of the shortcomings of
the U.S. system, and allow the broadcasters to carry out field tests to
compare the two alternative transmission standards. South Korea opted in
favor of the U.S. system in 1997 and pushed for the commercial launch of
digital broadcasting four year later in Seoul. The digital services were
expanded to the surrounding Kyonggi Province in 2002. According to MIC
officials, the U.S. standard guarantees superior quality on the strength of
transmission and compression technologies under static environments. In an
attempt to improve digital transmission in mobile situations, the MIC
pledged to look into alternative ways to improve mobility-specific
applications. Analysts said ground digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) or
satellite DMB technologies could be candidates. According to experts, the
U.S. standard will impose three to four times higher production costs on
broadcasters compared to other methods and the possible introduction of DMB
will force them to compete with mobile carriers.

TAIWAN

NTDTV SAYS CHINA FOILING PLANS
New York-based New Tang Dynasty Television, the world's first
international, non-profit Chinese-language TV station, has said that it was
facing pressure from the Chinese government about the possibility of
broadcasting in Taiwan via satellite. "As New Tang Dynasty Television
(NTDTV) dares to reveal dirty truths behind many issues related to China,
our cooperation with international satellite companies has been constantly
disrupted or terminated by the Chinese government. As a result our
satellite system which was to provide live broadcasts to Taiwan has been
locked," said Yingchuang Liu, professor of Economics at National Taiwan
University as well as the Taiwanese representative of NTDTV. According to
Liu, those who want to view NTDTV's programs currently have to use a
decoder. "Right now, we are looking at working with another satellite
company that is not afraid of the Chinese government so that we will
finally be able to broadcast our programs freely to the people in Taiwan,"
Liu said. NTDTV, a non-profit organization, was founded in New York in
February last year to provide international news and a variety of
television programs to various Chinese communities in North America,
Europe, Australia and Asia. Liu said that due to the difficulties presented
by getting access to satellite broadcasts to Taiwan, residents will have to
be content with watching the station's Internet broadcasts. NTDTV has been
providing free satellite service and around-the-clock programs to worldwide
Chinese communities for almost two years and has now set its sights on Taiwan.

THAILAND

ITV AND UBC DENY MERGER
United Broadcasting Corp, the country’s largest cable television operator
and ITV, denied reports of a possible merger between the two of them saying
that they were catering to two different market segments and a merger would
most likely not create synergies for the merged company. “The reports are
just rumours and we have not discussed any kind of merger between us,”
Songsak Premsuk, managing director of ITV told Business Day. His comments
were echoed by UBC as well. Vasili Sgourdos, deputy chief financial officer
of UBC, said that there were no synergies between the two companies and the
reports seen in various brokerage houses were being circulated in order to
push up the price of the shares of the companies. The shares of both UBC
and ITV have risen sharply over the past few weeks on various news
including the benefits both companies are going to receive from the partial
changes to their concessions. The decision is expected sometime in January
2004. Under the concession ITV, which is majority owned by Shin Corp, and
UBC, which is majority owned by TelecomAsia, will see some changes that
would help benefit both companies bottom line. ITV would pay lesser
concession fees while UBC may be allowed to advertise on its channels,
which it is currently banned from doing.




A F R I C A


CAMEROON

AUTHORITIES ORDER CLOSURE OF TV STATIONS
Cameroon's government has shut down twelve independent radio and television
stations in the southwest of the country in a fresh crackdown on the media
during the run-up to presidential elections due in October, according to
international media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF). Most of the
stations received orders last week to close down by midnight 31 December on
the grounds that they had not been issued with a licence, Paris-based RSF
said in a statement. According to the French news agency, AFP, the
communications ministry said the broadcast media sector was "too sensitive
not to be controlled." Many independent newspapers have condemned the
crackdown, arguing it will damage the pluralism of news and information in
this country of 15 million people.

NIGERIA

CHANNELS TV ARRIVES IN ABUJA
Channels Television, Abuja has started test transmissions from its
broadcast studios in Abuja. A statement by the Deputy General Manager/Head
of Station, Steve Judo explained that "the station is expected to start
full transmission by mid-January, 2004," adding that it would also debut on
the Digital/Satellite Television Network (DStv) which would beamed right
across the African continent. The station, which started operation in 1995,
specialises in news broadcasting, and has over the last eight years become
the best broadcasting station in the Lagos area. It is also the proud
recipient of the National Broadcasting Commission's (NBC), year 2001 and
2002 awards.
Internet http://www.channelstv.com

ZIMBABWE

ZBC TO BUY AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS TV RIGHTS
THE Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) will have to fork out
US$624,000 to screen the 2004 African Cup of Nations football tournament on
national television. International marketing firm, LC2/ Hensen Trust
Consortium, which holds the exclusive broadcast right of the prestigious
continental championship, is demanding €550,000 from TV companies wishing
to broadcast matches live. LC2/Hensen Trust Consortium won the television
rights to broadcast the Nations Cup finals in Tunisia and in turn they are
selling the footage from the football festival to television companies and
other interested parties. Zimbabwe's Warriors will be playing in their
maiden Nations Cup finals in Tunisia in January and this has boosted
interest in the showcase in this country. The Warriors are in Group C and
will play three group matches against champions Cameroon, the Pharaohs of
Egypt and the Desert Foxes of Algeria. ZBC have already assured the nation
that they will broadcast the three group games featuring the Warriors live
on national television. Pay-per-view channel SuperSport is screening most
of the matches live.