TELE SATELLITE NEWS - Number 09/2004 29 February

[Sadoun]

TELE SATELLITE NEWS - Number 09/2004  29 February
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


GLOBECAST AND TANDBERG TEAM UP FOR THE OLYMPICS
Leading satellite services company Globecast has
chosen Tandberg Television as its broadcast equipment
provider of choice for this summers Olympic Games in
Athens. A host of Tandberg Televisions latest
equipment, including multiplexers, MPEG-2 encoders,
modulators and network adapters, will be at the heart
of Globecasts compression and satellite/fibre
distribution services for the duration of the games.
The worlds media will descend on the main Olympic
stadium (the OCC) and other locations across Athens
from late July, with billions of viewers tuning in
throughout August. Located very close to the OCC, the
majority of Tandberg Television equipment will be
housed at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC).
The IBC will be used as a base by rights holders from
around the world, including TV Globo and ATV Hong
Kong, who have already been signed up by GlobeCast.
Feeds taken from around Athens will be distributed to
broadcast platforms all over the world via Tandberg
Television equipment. Tandberg Television technology
will also be used at Globecasts broadcast area -
Athens Broadcast Services - which will assemble an
all-digital MCR, playout, connectivity, C and Ku-band
satellite transmission, as well as production edit
suites, offices and work space with ancillary services
to serve the requirements of non-rights holders and
other broadcasters.

CME REPORTS STRONG GAINS
U.S.-backed television group Central European Media
Enterprises (CME) announced a 28% increase in
consolidated net revenues in 2003 to $118.5 million,
up $26 million on 2002. The rise was fueled by 52%
growth in net revenues of CME's operations in Romania,
where it owns two stations. Net income for the year
was $346 million, including $358.6 million in
compensation from the Czech Republic for the loss of
terrestrial broadcaster Nova TV, compared with a net
loss of $14.2 million in 2002. Net revenues increased
66% in the past two years, while the net loss narrowed
by 33% thanks to CME's policy of expansion by
consolidating ownership in its profitable stations
rather than acquiring new ones. Romania (Pro TV and
Acasa) posted net revenues of $51.2 million; net
revenues in Slovakia (Markiza TV) were up 32%, at
$50.8 million; Slovenia (Pop TV and Kanal A) revenues
grew 10%, to $37.2 million; and in the Ukraine (Studio
1+1), revenues were up 15%, to $36.6 million. In a
conference call with investors, vice chairman Fred
Klinkhammer commented on the remarkable growth in
Romania. It plans to launch its third channel there on
a date to be announced next month. The cable channel,
tentatively identified as Cinema TV, will broadcast
movies and first-run syndicated TV shows. New CEO
Michael Garin told investors his goal is to double
growth during his tenure at CME. He said CME wanted to
move into the Balkan countries, especially Croatia and
Serbia, and is hoping to make a major investment in
Poland, Hungary, Russia or the Czech Republic once its
non-compete clause with Nova TV expires in 18 months.
Klinkhammer said the company was on course to continue
strong growth in 2004, with January revenues up
25%-30%. In addition, operating cash flow, which rose
43%, to $45 million, had its biggest growth in the
fourth quarter of 2003.

DENMARK

TV CHANNEL FOR OLDER VIEWERS
Denmark is to get a new TV channel targeting the over
50's, an offshoot of existing national channel TV2.
The new channel, named TV2 Charlie, will start
broadcasting later this year. Available on a
subscription basis on cable and digital networks, TV2
Charlie will create between 20 and 30 per cent of its
programmes itself, according to TV2 Charlie boss Frode
Munksgaard. Denmark, with 5.4 million inhabitants, has
four national channels, one parliamentary channel,
four commercial channels and about 20 local and
regional channels.

FRANCE

PROFITS UP AT TF1
TF1, saw its 2003 net profit jump 23% on February 24,
buoyed by lower programing costs, higher advertising
revenue and an increase in income from its TPS
satellite television unit. The company said net profit
came to 191.5 million, up from 155.2 million the
previous year, while operating profit was 14% higher
at 333.9 million. Overall revenue increased 4.3% to
2.77 billion, with advertising on TF1's main channel
up 2.4% at 1.54 billion and income from other
businesses, including TPS, up 6.7% at 1.23 billion.
TF1 said net earnings this year could better the 2003
figure, aided by a 4% to 5% jump in overall
advertising revenue and an improvement in TPS'
financial health. TF1, which owns 66% of TPS, said the
satellite television unit should reach breakeven in
2004. TF1 said its 2003 net earnings were lifted by a
3.4% drop in programming costs to 852 million, thanks
in part to a lower price for broadcasting both Formula
One racing and top-flight French football. This year,
TF1 has predicted a 4-5% increase in its programming
costs. Helped by lower costs, the French television
station's operating margin improved by 1 percentage
point to 12.1%. TF1's net profit was also buoyed by
lower debt financing costs, which fell more than 50%
to 14.4 million. TF1 predicted a 3-5% increase in
advertising on its main channel. TF1 said advertising
revenue rose 9% in January on the same month last year
and 5.2% in February year-on-year. While presenting
TF1's results, Patrick Le Lay, president of the group,
said that HDTV would be the driving force for DTT. He
added that the group was in discussion with the CSA
and the government about this and was hopeful of a
favourable outcome. The DTT roll-out plan is for tests
during 2004, commercial launch in the third and fourth
quarters of 2005, with a boost from transmission of
the World Cup in 2006.

GERMANY

PROFITS TRIPLE AT PROSIEBEN
Dropping the expensive free TV rights to Germany's
Bundesliga football games enabled the Haim
Saban-controlled broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 to triple
profits last year despite declining advertising
revenue, according to preliminary figures released by
the company on February 20. ProSiebenSat.1 reported
45 million in profit last year, compared with a
year-earlier 15 million. Sales, however, slipped to
1.8 billion from 1.9 billion. Since Haim Saban's
SabanCapital Group took a majority stake in
ProSiebenSat.1 from bankrupt KirchGroup in the summer
for 525 million, shares in the German TV group have
more than doubled from about 7 to a high of almost
17.

NO DEAL FOR KIRCH MOVIE LIBRARY
A planned management buyout of international sales
company Beta Film and part of the Kirch Media library
has collapsed after U.K. private equity investor
Bridgepoint Capital backed out of the deal.
Negotiations with the insolvency management of the
bankrupt Kirch Media had gone on for months. The 50
million deal, which covered German-language and
international rights to thousands of film titles and
TV series, snagged on the inability of the parties to
agree on terms, including specific risk guarantees
that Kirch Media refused to offer. The collapse of the
planned buyout nevertheless leaves Beta with a murky
future. Company will continue to operate as a Kirch
Media subsidiary but its operation remains dependent
on the library. Other bidders, such as pubcaster ARD
and EOS Distribution, already have distribution
operations in place and are only interested in the
library's domestic and international rights.

ARD AND ZDF IN CABLE DISPUTE
German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have cancelled
digital carriage contracts with the major cable
operator Kabel Deutschland (KDG) reaching over 10
million German homes. This is the climax to the
ongoing feud on how the cable operator packages its
digital bouquets scheduled to have their soft launch
early in April and the full commercial launch in
September. Both public broadcasters and the commercial
networks fear losing their privileged status. ARD and
ZDF especially complain about a basic encryption KDG
intents to introduce also to public channels. They
also object KDG refusal to licence MHP capable
set-top-boxes making it impossible to access the
public interactive features such as the EPG in which
users can bookmark program genres of their interest.

HUNGARY

NEW VIEWERSHIP MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR TV CHANNELS
In a bid to improve sales figures, Hungarian
television theme channels are initiating a new
viewership measurement system, claiming that current
figures provided by viewership assessor AGB Hungary
Kft are distorted. They say a new approach is needed
from media agencies and advertisers in terms of the
quality of their contacts with the audience.
Currently, the viewership sample that AGB uses to
measure television watching comprises 840 households.
The problem with small television channels, such as
theme channels, is that their areas of reception are
limited compared to national channels. According to a
statistics expert, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, the sample should include at least ten
times more households in order to give proper figures
for the viewership of small channels broadcast by
cable television companies. Under the current system,
the viewership figure might be zero if it falls under
the margin of error limit. According to a recent study
by Mediaedge:cias research division, MediaLab, in the
next few years the two national commercial TV
channels, RTL Klub and TV2, are expected to lose
revenues that would partly flow into theme channels.

MTV TO BROADCAST OLYMPIC GAMES
Hungarian MTV paid 3 billion forint, about 10
million, to control the broadcasting rights of the
next Olympic Games to take place this summer in
Greece. This new contract follows the broadcasting
rights already granted to MTV for the European
Football Championship. An estimated 4 million will
also be invested for new technical equipment. Also,
MTV is planning to turn its 2nd national channel into
M2, a new thematic channel. From next September, M2
will offer a line-up of documentaries and programs
about the European Union, to be delivered in most
cases in their original language.

ITALY

SKY ITALIA TO BREAK EVEN IN 2005
News Corp's Sky Italia operations are on track to
breakeven in 2005 - even though last quarter's
subscribers base was slightly below target, a person
familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires.
"We are still on target, actually a little bit ahead,
to break even by sometime in 2005 at 3.5 million
clients," the person said on February 25. News Corp.
reported on February 11 that during the fiscal second
quarter Sky Italia increased its subscriber base to
more than 2.4 million and recorded an operating loss
of $106 million on revenue of $421 million. Sky
Italia's full package of premium TV programming has
become "surprisingly very popular", the person said.
More than 90% of new subscribers during last quarter
opted for a full package, including movies and sports
programming.
Internet - http://www.skytv.it

SPAIN

ANTENA 3 POSTS HIGHER LOSSES
Antena 3 de Television said on February 26 it posted a
2003 net loss of 81.2 million compared with a loss of
30 million in 2002. In its 2004 budget unveiled in
late January, Antena 3 said it was expecting a 2003
net loss of 75 million and projected a 2004 net
profit of 85 million. Earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, rose
to 110.9 million from 43 million a year earlier,
thanks to lower operating expenses. In 2003, net
revenues slipped 0.3% to 668.3 million from 670.7
million the previous year, as the company shut down
unprofitable activities. In December, the company
forecast net sales of 662 million in 2004 and foresaw
a 3% growth in the advertising market this year. As of
December 31, the group's financial debt stood at 94.3
million, down from 118.1 million at the end of 2002.
Antena 3 shareholders include Barcelona-based
publishing company Grupo Planeta; RTL Group, the
Bertelsmann AG-owned broadcaster; and Spain's largest
bank, Banco Santander Central Hispano.

UNITED KINGDOM

DIGITAL TV SUBSCRIPTIONS ON THE INCREASE
More than half of United Kingdom's 12.4 million
households have switched to digital television, new
U.K. regulator Ofcom said on February 20. The
switch-over was boosted in the last three months of
2003 by a 41% increase, to 866,500, in the take-up of
set-top boxes to access the free-to-air system
Freeview. Freeview users, totalling 2.99 million at
the end of December, can receive 30 channels without
subscription costs. Of the total of digital viewers,
7.2 million subscribe to BSkyB. Tessa Jowell, the U.K.
minister in charge of broadcasting, has said the
government is determined to convert the nation
entirely to digital broadcasting by 2010.

BBC4 TO RECEIVE MORE FUNDING
On the eve of BBC4's second birthday and after
significant improvements in its audience figures
during the past year, the digital channel will get a
33% boost in its programming budget, bringing it to
#41 million ($77.5 million) a year. The increased
budget will be used to target several successful
programming areas at the channel, including drama,
factual and comedy. BBC4 controller Roly Keating said
he wants to replicate successes like "The Alan Clark
Diaries," starring John Hurt, that attracted an
average of 442,000 viewers across the six parts, the
highest-ever viewing figures for the channel since it
launched March 2, 2002. In new factual programming,
the BBC said the template for new programs would be
the six-part series "The National Trust," which takes
a look at several different properties held by the
Trust, including a nudist beach in southwest England.
The series averaged 352,000 viewers across the six
parts.

DISCOVERY KIDS INTRODUCES INTERACTIVE GAMES
Discovery Kids UK announced the launch of Chomp, the
first free to play game for interactive TV that allows
viewers to continue watching the programme whilst
playing the game at the same time. The launch of Chomp
builds on Discovery Kids' recent success with Mystery
Hunters, the channel's most successful rating series
to date. In January, the first full month in which
Chomp was available on the Discovery Kids Channel,
ratings rose by 55 per cent amongst the key Kids 4-9
audience. Ratings were up also, by 32 per cent,
amongst adults. At the touch of the red button,
children can choose between the games which are based
on the most popular and familiar Discovery Kids
characters. The UK is acting as the test bed to
determine the roll out of similar initiatives across
other International regions.

BROADBAND WORLD TV STARTS BROADCASTING
NTL Home, the provider of broadband Internet services,
has launched a new TV channel on digital satellite,
dedicated to the fast moving world of broadband
Internet. Broadband World TV will help existing
broadband surfers make the most of their high-speed
connection and support anyone considering signing up
to a broadband connection by offering information and
special offers. The new free-to-view channel, which
launched on February 26, will provide 24/7
programming.
Internet  http://www.broadbandworld.tv

GLOBECAST TO LAUNCH WRESTLING CHANNEL
Globecast has signed a long term agreement with
Dolphin TV to deliver its new Wrestling Channel
direct-to-home via Sky Digital from March 2004. As the
first channel in the world entirely dedicated to
wrestling, the Wrestling Channel will offer its
audience a vast selection of pro-wrestling action
including weekly shows from Japan, South America, the
UK and the US independent series, as well as classic
and memorable wrestling from the 70's, 80's & 90's.
The channel's daytime programming is expected to
attract a wide range of viewers, while the evening
programming will focus on the 16-24 year old
demographic. The Wrestling Channel is London-based
Dolphin TV's first media ownership venture and
Globecast's role will be to provide an end-to-end,
managed satellite distribution service, which includes
encryption, uplink and space capacity. Globecast will
receive The Wrestling Channel via terrestrial fibre
and deliver the feed to Globecast's UK-based Brookmans
Park teleport for uplink to Eurobird 28.50 East. The
Wrestling Channel will then be broadcast DTH to over 7
million Sky Digital viewers across the UK.

BBC LOSES SCOTTISH FOOTBALL RIGHTS
The BBC has lost the rights to live Scottish Premier
League football, including the clashes between Celtic
and Rangers, to Irish broadcaster Setanta despite a
last ditch bid to retain them. Although Setanta had
been given "preferred bidder" status, the BBC made a
late bid to convince SPL club chairmen that its bid,
although lower than the #45 million Setanta is
believed to have paid for a four-year deal, would give
them a wider audience. But the 12 top flight clubs
have decided instead to take the money on offer from
Setanta, which broadcasts on both SkyDigital and
cable. It also has plans for a Freeview channel,
although these have been on ice since last year as it
attempts to resolve rights problems surrounding the
free to air digital service. Under the deal, Setanta
will broadcast 38 live games per season, the majority
of which will kick off at 15:00 on a Sunday. It will
also be able to show 10 games on Saturdays at 15:00 on
a pay-per- view basis in Eire only, where Celtic in
particular have a large following. The BBC has held
the rights to live Scottish football for the past two
years, including a special deal that allowed it show
the four league matches played each season throughout
the UK.

BBC BACKS DOWN IN PAY-TV ROW
The BBC has backed down in its row with a new pay-TV
service that will allow viewers access to a further 10
channels on Freeview. The corporation has dropped its
objections to the new service, and an investigation by
Ofcom following a complaint from the rival, Top-Up TV,
is expected to be abandoned. The BBC was concerned
that the growth of the service, which has been heavily
promoted as free to view, will be stemmed by the
addition of pay services that it said would "confuse"
the consumer message. It is also concerned that one of
the pay channels will be a pornography service -
Television X, owned by Richard Desmond. Top-Up TV will
offer viewers with an old ITV Digital box 10
free-to-air channels for #7.99 a month plus a #20
installation charge, undercutting the cheapest
packages offered by Sky and its cable rivals, NTL and
Telewest. The company, which launches next month, will
allow Freeview customers to access a further 10
channels including UK Gold, E4 and Turner Classic
Movies for a monthly payment of #7.99. Although
initially only viewers with an ITV Digital box will be
able to receive the service, the company plans to
issue upgraded set-top boxes or add-on devices that
would enable anyone with Freeview to pick up the
channels.

CHANNEL 4 AND FIVE CONSIDER MERGER
Channel 4 and Channel Five are in talks about merging,
a move that would dramatically change the UK
television landscape. The chief executive of Channel
4, Mark Thompson, confirmed that discussions had
begun. He is understood to have met United Business
Media and RTL, the joint owners of Five, to discuss
combining sales operations. But the talks have widened
and a full merger has been on the agenda.

BBC GETS SIX NATIONS TV RIGHTS
Despite losing the Scottish Premier League and the
Boat Race earlier this week, BBC Sports has scored a
deal to air the Six Nations rugby tournament until the
end of the decade. The BBC's new deal with the Six
Nations committee will see all the Six Nation fixtures
air across the BBC's TV, radio and online outlets, and
is a four-year extension of their existing deal. The
Six Nations deal comes soon after the BBC's three-year
agreement with the Rugby Football League, announced
earlier this week, for live and exclusive coverage of
the Powergen Challenge Cup. The deal sees the
competition move to the summer, culminating in an
August final. In addition, the BBC has also signed a
four-year deal (2004-2007) with the RFL that includes
highlights of the new Tri-Nations international series
between Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand and
Super League action.




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


CANADA

CRTC SAYS NO TO CHUM EXPANSION PLANS
Canada's broadcast regulator on February26 denied a
bid by Chum to operate new TV stations in Alberta.
Citing competition concerns, the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
ruled against Chum acquiring broadcast licenses for
new stations in Calgary and Edmonton, part of a bid by
the Toronto-based broadcaster to become Canada's third
national private TV network. "The commission is
concerned by the potential negative impact that
approval could have at this time on the two Alberta
television markets concerned and finds that these
concerns outweigh the potential benefits," the
regulator said. Chum proposed operating CHUM-TV in
Calgary to serve Calgary and the south end of the
Calgary-Edmonton corridor and CHUM-TV in Edmonton to
serve that city, with a rebroadcast transmitter in Red
Deer.

UNITED STATES

REALITY CENTRAL SECURES CARRIAGE DEALS
With launch now pushed back until later this year, new
reality-themed cable channel Reality Central has
secured its first carriage deal in the US. Insight
Communications will be carrying the 24/7 reality
station as a digital service. While Insight reaches
1.4 million subscribers, it is as yet unclear how many
households will be able to tune into Reality Central.
The channel will air a mix of original programming and
new US reality shows, along with reruns of local real
TV hits. Reality Central was due to go to air in
December last year but the launch has since been
postponed for unspecified reasons.

VOY NETWORK TO PREMIER IN JULY
With Latin-skewed ESPN Deportes launching last month
and Hispanic channel Si TV due to hit the air this
month, another US media group is launching its own bid
to corner the acculturated Latino market. Voy, a media
outfit targeting English-speaking Latinos in the US,
is working on the Voy Network for a July premiere. The
channel will offer original programming such as talk
shows, reality, travel and documentaries for the 18-49
Hispanic market. Voy is also hoping to make inroads
into this market with its new film division, Voy
Pictures. The outfit aims to produce 12 to 15 films
over the next three years with Latino stars such as
Freddie Prinze, Jr and Michelle Rodriguez. Voy joins
Si TV, which has secured carriage deals with Comcast,
Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications, and LATV,
which recently increased its transmission window to 24
hours. NBC Cable Networks owned mun2, meaning two
worlds, also competes for the bilingual Hispanic
market and reaches almost 6m stateside households.
Meanwhile, January saw the debut of ESPN Deportes, a
24/7 channel also targeting Hispanics with a diet of
NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, UEFA Champions League
Soccer, Mexican League Baseball and Wimbledon.
Edgeworx (NY) supplied the brand design and network
identity for ESPN Deportes.

WEALTH TV TO LAUNCH ON GALAXY 13
PanAmSat Corporation on February 23 announced that
Herring Broadcasting, Inc. has selected Galaxy 13 to
provide satellite delivery of its Wealth TV channel to
cable and DBS providers throughout North America.
Galaxy 13 is the home of the industry's first and
leading high-definition television (HDTV)
neighbourhood featuring such powerhouse broadcasters
as Cinemax HD, HBO HDTV, HDNet, Starz! HD and TNT HD.
Located at 127 degrees West in the U.S. cable arc,
Galaxy 13 is part of PanAmSat's "Power of Five"
antenna program, which provides qualified cable
operators with simultaneous access to five Galaxy
neighbourhood satellites. Herring Broadcasting, Inc.
is launching the "Wealth TV" network on June 1, 2004.
Wealth TV is a lifestyles and entertainment network
designed to have broad appeal, providing a behind the
scenes look into how the wealthy achieved and enjoy
their success. Wealth TV is launching numerous new
programs in true high definition (HD) format.
Internet  http://www.wealthtv.net

SI TV ROLLS OUT ACROSS THE U.S.
On February 25, a new English-Language Latino network,
Si TV, launched via DISH Network. Armed with carriage
deals at Comcast, Time Warner, Grande and Cox, Si TV
has signed on and will continue to sign on numerous
pay-TV providers in new markets across the country.
These markets are key to Si TV's target demographic
and include L.A., San Antonio, Austin and Waco, among
others. Si TV is an English-language, Latino network
featuring hip and irreverent culturally relevant
programming targeting the growing young Latino and
multi-cultural TV audience. Founded and chaired by
writer/producer Jeff Valdez and entrepreneur Bruce
Barshop, Si TV was established in 1997 as a production
company to develop, produce and distribute original
English-language, Latino-themed entertainment.
Internet  http://www.sitv.com

HISTORY CHANNEL IN SPANISH
The History Channel is set to launch a
Spanish-language network in the U.S., The History
Channel en Espaqol, in May. Among the shows set to air
on the new network is Roots Of America (Ramces de
Amirica), which was packaged by The History Channel
Latin America. The series focuses on subjects related
to Latin America, with episodes entitled Puzzling
Pyramids of Mexico, and Blood and Treasure In Peru,
among others. Marking the third History Channel cable
offering in the US, The History Channel en Espaqol is
just one of recent channels aimed at the Hispanic
community in the US.

TUTV OPTS FOR AMC-1 SATELLITE
SES AMERICOM announced on February 24 that U.S. cable
and satellite subscribers who habla espanol can now
enjoy movies, music, and lifestyle and entertainment
news from TuTv, a joint venture of Univision and
Televisa. TuTv's five television networks, De
Pelicula, De Pelicula Clasico, Telehit, Ritmoson
Latino, and Bandamax, will be distributed over SES
AMERICOM's AMC-1 satellite at 103 degrees west. SES
AMERICOM's Cable2 neighbourhood, based on the C-band
payloads of AMC-1 and AMC-4, now reaches more than 61
million cable households with two dozen national and
regional programming services. TuTv was created in
2002 through a joint venture between Univision
Communications Inc. and Televisa.

MUCHMUSIC USA COULD BE RELAUNCHED
Canadian broadcaster Chum on February 24 said it was
holding talks with Turner Media Group on possibly
relaunching music video channel MuchMusic USA south of
the border. Toronto-based Chum spokeswoman Mary Powers
denied media reports that an agreement on a potential
joint venture between Chum and Turner Media Group was
imminent. Powers said Chum was talking to possible
partners on a U.S. relaunch of MuchMusic USA, which
first launched in 1994 as part of a partnership
between Rainbow Media Holdings Inc. and the Canadian
broadcaster. MuchMusic USA reached about 24 million
households at its peak, before Rainbow Media in late
2000 ended its licensing arrangement with Chum.
Rainbow eventually launched Fuse TV, its own music
video channel, in May 2003.

MPAA AGAINST COMPULSORY SATELLITE TV LICENCES
Movie industry officials urged lawmakers to end the
compulsory licenses that satellite television
companies enjoy, arguing that it undermines the free
market for copyrighted works. In testimony before the
House Judiciary Committee, Fritz Attaway, the MPAA's
executive vice president and Washington general
counsel, told lawmakers that "compulsory licenses are
a serious derogation of the rights of copyright
owners, substitute the heavy hand of government for
the efficient operation of the marketplace and
arbitrarily transfer wealth from copyright owners to
privileged users." Support for getting rid of the
compulsory license was not limited to the MPAA, as the
Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, the NFL, the
NBA, the NHL, the NCAA and Broadcast Music Inc. also
endorsed his testimony. When Congress wrote the
Satellite Home Viewer Act in 1998 and later the
Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act, it created a
five-year compulsory license that allowed satellite
program distributors to retransmit broadcast
television programming without the permission of the
copyright owners of that programming. The law
prevented copyright owners from having the ability to
negotiate with the satellite companies for marketplace
compensation. The act was extended for five-year
periods in 1994 and 1999.

WGBH AND THIRTEEN/WNET TO LAUNCH DIGITAL TV CHANNELS
WGBH Boston and Thirteen/WNET New York have joined
forces for World and Create, two new digital cable
channels that will launch in Boston and New York.
World will be a more conventional documentary channel,
serving up programming about culture, science, nature,
public affairs, history, and business series. Titles
to air on World include Nova, American Masters and Ken
Burns American Stories, among others. Create meanwhile
is more of a lifestyle channel, with series and
specials on cooking, renovating, collecting, painting,
crafts, travelling, gardening, and more. In Boston,
March 1 has been set as the launch date, while in New
York, the channels will begin operations on April 1.
The broadcasters are also planning on working with PBS
to rollout additional digital services.

HIP-HOP NETWORK TO LAUNCH IN 2004
The SSM Media & Entertainment Group has unveiled plans
to launch a cable network exclusively dedicated to
hip-hop music, culture and lifestyle, sometime early
this year. The Real Hip Hop Network (RHN) is an
outgrowth of the Washington D.C.-based television show
Hip-Hop Zone. Carriage deals have not yet been
announced.

FOX NETWORK AFFILIATES TO USE TANDBERG TECHNOLOGY
FOX Network has contracted Tandberg Television for the
provision of 200 high definition monitoring decoders.
The deliveries will be timed to meet with the
broadcaster's recent announcement that it will begin
transmitting 720p digital programming to affiliates
beginning in September 2004. FOX affiliates around the
nation will use the Tandberg Television TT1280 high
definition decoders to monitor network feeds
originating from the broadcaster's Los Angeles
headquarters.

PBS LAUNCHES HD CHANNEL
On March 1, PBS will launch PBS HD, a channel
completely dedicated to programming in high-definition
and widescreen formats. PBS HD will be available from
all local PBS stations that have made the transition
to digital there are around 236 in the country,
reaching 85 percent of households as well as on
digital cable platforms. PBS HD's programming
highlights for March include Nova's "Hunt for the
Supertwister" and "Life and Death in the War Zone,"
Innovation's "Hi-Tech War", and the kids' series
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks.

NEW LUXURY SHOPPING TV CHANNEL
A new cable channel in development aims to provide a
high-end alternative to Home Shopping Network and QVC.
Luxury Television Network is seeking upmarket
purveyors of such items as jewellery and wine that
don't typically market on the small screen. But
instead of directly pitching to consumers, a la QVC,
LTVN will embed its partners' products in a mix of
original unscripted programming ranging from lifestyle
shows to docudramas.

REVENUES UP, LOSSES DOWN AT CROWN MEDIA
Crown Media, the parent company of the Hallmark
Channel, scaled back its losses for both the fourth
quarter and full year, with revenues up 64 per cent
and 29 per cent respectively. For the fourth quarter,
the company reduced its net loss from $169.5 million
to $36.3 million, while the full year loss was down
from $313 million to $205.1 million. The company
experienced a 64 per cent increase in fourth quarter
revenues, to $69.2 million, with ad revenues up 78 per
cent to $31.2 million. For the year, revenues were up
29 per cent to $207.5 million, spurred by 42 per cent
ad revenue growth to $98.1 million. At the Hallmark
Channel, worldwide subscriptions at the end of the
year were up 15 per cent to 113.3 million.

ECHOSTARS REQUEST TO CARRY VIACOM CHANNELS DENIED
A federal court on February 27 blocked a move that
would let EchoStar Communications Corp. keep carrying
Viacom Inc. programming until they settle a contract
dispute. Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. District
Court in San Francisco previously issued a temporary
restraining order that allowed EchoStar to carry
Viacom programming until March 3. This order allowed
EchoStar to carry the Super Bowl. EchoStar wanted to
extend that right through the duration of its dispute
with Viacom. The judge, however, decided to extend
that deadline until 10 days from now. Carriage beyond
early March will be left up to an agreement between
the two companies. EchoStar's original programming
contact with Viacom ended at the end of December and
the two companies have, for months, been unable to
agree on a new contract. Viacom owns 15 CBS stations
in addition to numerous cable channels including MTV,
BET and VH1. At heart of the dispute is Viacom's
insistence that EchoStar continue to carry additional
channels such as Nicktoons. EchoStar has argued that
it is illegal for Viacom to insist on carriage of the
additional channels just to win rights to carry the
company's CBS stations. EchoStar is also balking at
some of Viacom's requested rate hikes. EchoStar said
in a statement that it is "pleased" with the day's
ruling.

MURDOCH WANTS TO CREATE SPORTS NETWORK
Fox Entertainment Group Inc. is reported to be mulling
the launch a national sports television station to
rival Walt Disney Corp.'s ESPN. Fox, a subsidiary of
News Corp. is in preliminary talks with the National
Football League and some cable operators regarding the
possible venture, News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert
Murdoch told trade publication TelevisionWeek. Murdoch
said Fox, which has a strong presence in sports
through regional networks, would create the national
network with partners. He said Fox would consider the
capacity of pay-TV subscribers to pay for ESPN and a
rival. Citing unnamed sources, TV Week said Comcast
Corp. is interested in participating in the creation
of the new network.




L A T I N A M E R I C A


DIRECTV LATIN AMERICA EMERGES FROM CHAPTER 11
DIRECTV Latin America on February 24 announced that
the Company's Plan of Reorganization has become
effective and that the Company has emerged from
Chapter 11. As previously reported, the Company filed
for Chapter 11 in March 2003 in order to aggressively
address its financial and operational challenges. The
filing applied only to the U.S. entity and did not
include any of the operating companies in Latin
America and the Caribbean. "DIRECTV Latin America is
now on a solid footing for the future," said Larry N.
Chapman, President and Chief Operating Officer,
DIRECTV Latin America. "The Company has successfully
reorganized under Chapter 11, and I'm very pleased
that we have emerged in a timely manner. I want to
thank our subscribers, employees, advisors and the
creditor group for their support in completing this
process."

SKY-DIRECTV MERGER DENIED
Venezuelan tycoon Gustavo Cisneros and Australia-based
News Corp. said on February 27 they aren't
negotiating, nor have they agreed to combine the Latin
American satellite television holdings of DirecTV and
Sky. Spain's leading daily El Pais on February 26
quoted Cisneros as saying that he and News Corp.'s
Rupert Murdoch reached agreement to combine their
regional operations. But in a news release, Cisneros
said: "Looking forward, I'm sure that all options will
be considered to improve long-term business models,
but at present there are no discussions nor any
agreement reached to merge or combine the platforms of
Sky and DirecTV." News Corp.'s purchase of a
controlling stake in Hughes Electronics Corp. in
December gave it control of DirecTV Latin America.
Cisneros Group's unit Darlene Investments holds 14% of
the Latin American satellite television company. El
Pais quoted Cisneros as saying that the "new pay-TV
platform will have 3.2 million subscribers across
Latin America." The company, which has 1.5 million
subscribers in the region, just emerged from
bankruptcy protection. In a separate press release,
News Corp. also said no negotiations have taken place
with Cisneros or between the shareholders of Sky
Brasil and the owners of Galaxy Brasil, which operates
DirecTV's platform. In Brazil, News Corp. has 784,000
satellite television clients in partnership with media
investment company Liberty Media Corp. and Brazil's
Globo Comunicacoes e Participacoes, or Globopar. In
Mexico, Sky has more than 856,000 clients through
Innova, a partnership in which Televisa has a 60%
stake; while 30% is held by News Corp. and 10% by
Liberty Media.
Internet - http://www.televisa.com.mx




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


SHOWTIME TO LAUNCH NEW MOVIE CHANNEL
A new movie channel will launch on Showtime on March
3. Called Movietime, it takes the number of film
channels available on the network to 17. Featuring
all-time favourite films including blockbuster titles
like When Harry Met Sally, Goodfellas, Silence of the
Lambs, Pulp Fiction, The English Patient and My Best
Friend's Wedding, all films broadcast on the new
channel are exclusive to Showtime, the region's
leading satellite pay-TV network. The 24-hour channel
will be added at no extra cost for Movies Plus and
Total Plus Showtime subscribers and, like all movie
channels on the network, films on Movietime will be
uncut and unedited with no commercial interruption and
complete with Arabic subtitling. All films are
exclusive to Showtime with the majority between two
and 10 years old.

AUSTRALIA

FOXTEL SIGNS MAJOR PPV MOVIE DEALS
Pay-TV platform Foxtel has signed pay-per-view movie
deals with Disney, 20th Century Fox and Oz's Village
Roadshow for its digital service that launches March
14. Foxtel CEO Kim Williams said terms have been
agreed upon with three other majors. He hopes to
announce those deals within a week or so. Company,
co-owned by News Corp., Kerry Packer's Publishing &
Broadcasting Ltd. and telco Telstra, revealed the
launch date of Foxtel Digital after unveiling its
pricing and channel packaging two weeks ago. The
country's dominant pay-TV provider with about 1
million subscribers, Foxtel is banking on the much
greater array of channels and interactive services to
drive penetration, which has been stuck at 23%. It's
investing A$550 million ($440 million) in the upgrade
after shaving more than $40 million off the original
cost. The local currency has appreciated by more than
30% over the past year, which means Foxtel is paying
the Hollywood studios far less for its movie channels.
Williams predicted that the switch to digital will
enable Foxtel to turn its first profit in the second
half of 2006 after racking up accumulated losses of
$768 million. He expects 500,000 homes will be
connected to Foxtel Digital by the end of this year,
noting 115,000 people have already registered their
interest. In just four days last week, 12,500 existing
subscribers signed up for digital packages, compared
with an average week when around 3,000 bought the
analogue service. Williams forecasted that pay-TV
penetration will jump to 35%-40% by 2008. Foxtel
Digital will offer more than 130 channels, including
27 airing movies on near video-on-demand for $4.76.
New line-up will include 14 general entertainment,
five kids, seven news, 11 documentary and six music
channels.

FALL IN PROFITS FOR SEVEN NETWORK
Seven Network, Australia's second ranked free-to-air
television broadcaster, on February 25 reported a 17%
decline in net profit to A$54.3 million for the fiscal
first half ended December 31, 2003, compared with
A$65.2 million a year ago. Profit excluding net
unusual items rose 26% to A$66.5 million and Seven
reported sales of A$665.9 million. Broadcast earnings
before interest and tax, or EBIT, rose 15% to A$112
million.

VH-1 EXPANDS DOWN UNDER
MTV Networks will be rolling out its 17th channel in
the Asia-Pacific region with the launch of VH1
Australia in the second quarter of this year on the
digital platforms operated by FOXTEL and Austar. Frank
Brown, president of MTV Networks Asia, noted, "With an
estimated one in four households in Australia already
embracing subscription-TV and access to digital
technology set to make it even more attractive to
consumers, the timing is ideal for MTV Networks to
extend its presence in the marketplace with a fully
owned and operated service."

BANGLADESH

BTV WORLD JOINS ASIASAT 3S
Asia's leading satellite operator AsiaSat and the
Peoples Republic of Bangladeshs national broadcaster
Bangladesh Television (BTV) announced on February 23
the signing of a lease agreement for the use of C-band
capacity on AsiaSat 3S to broadcast BTV World, a
television channel for overseas service across the
Asia Pacific region. This Bangla-language satellite
channel will commence broadcasting on AsiaSat 3S from
early March, providing daily broadcasts of news and
current affairs, drama, entertainment, cultural and
educational programs from Bangladesh that serve
overseas audiences in the region. BTV World is
available on AsiaSat 3S in C-band with the following
reception parameters: Transponder: 3V, Frequency: 3725
MHz, Polarisation: Vertical, Modulation: QPSK, Symbol
Rate: 4.45 Msym/sec, FEC: 3/4

CHINA  HONG KONG

STRIP NEWS CHANNEL TO LAUNCH
Pay TV in Hong Kong is about to launch a newscast that
promises to uncover everything -- as the anchorwoman
strips while summarizing current events. Ice Fire
Channel general manager Jesse Au King-way admitted the
station borrowed the idea from nude broadcasting
pioneers in Russia and Canada. He said the content
will be mostly light because viewers are expected to
watch harder than they listen.

SMG TO EXPAND MEDIA SERVICES
Shanghai Media Group (SMG) hopes to become a
nationwide content provider and expand non-advertising
operations to fend off competition from domestic and
foreign rivals, according to a report in the South
China Morning Post. The mainland's second-largest
media group said it would aggressively develop pay-TV
services, programme distribution and broadband
internet operations. These businesses were expected to
account for half of group turnover in the long run, up
from 10 per cent at present, SMG president Li Ruigang
said. The government has been pushing domestic firms
to bulk up by forming provincial media groupings.
These include Beijing Media Group, Shanghai Media
Group, Hunan Media Group and Southern Broadcasting
Media Group, which was recently set up in Guangdong.
SMG has three television companies, two radio
stations, a newspaper, an internet portal, six sports
teams and 12 prominent buildings in Shanghai. To
reduce dependence on advertising sales, SMG in late
2002 began offering pay-TV services and has signed up
20,000 to 30,000 subscribers to its 50-channel
line-up. The media group also develops content which
is distributed to 200 TV stations across the country,
a business that is growing 100 to 200 per cent a year,
according to Mr Li.

ISRAEL

MATAV AND TEVEL DISCUSS CABLE TV MERGER
Israel's Matav-Cable Systems Media said on February 22
it is holding preliminary negotiations with Tevel
Israel International Communications that could lead to
a merger of the country's three cable TV companies.
The talks involve Matav acquiring Tevel's cable
assets, including its holdings in Golden Channels and
subsidiaries that have cable broadcasting and access
to fast Internet licenses. Matav, Tevel and Golden
Channels are Israel's three providers of cable
television services. Should a deal be reached, Matav
would hold about 60 per cent of the cable TV and cable
Internet market and about 35 per cent of Golden
Channels.

RUSSIAN TV CHANNEL TO BUY STAKE IN ISRAEL PLUS
The Russian television channel ORT, in which the
Russian government is a minority shareholder, is
negotiating over the purchase of 10 per cent of
Israel's Russian-language station Israel Plus. Israel
Plus is controlled by diamond baron Lev Leviev, who
owns 42 per cent of the station through his Africa
Israel company. ORT, which is jointly owned by the
Russian government and private businessmen, already
broadcasts in Israel via both cable and satellite.
However, the two stations would still be able to share
content if an agreement were signed. Any agreement
would have to be approved by the Cable and Satellite
Broadcasting Council and the communications minister.
CSBC Chairman Yoram Mokedy said that, due to
regulatory restrictions on the ownership of Israeli
channels by foreign governments, ORT could not
purchase more than 10 per cent of Israel Plus. Leviev
apparently wants a partner to help shoulder the
company's heavy losses. From the time it began
broadcasting in November 2002, through the end of
third-quarter 2003, the channel lost NIS 70.5 million,
and in the fourth quarter, it apparently lost some NIS
30 million more.

IBA SCRAPS PLAN TO RAISE LICENCE FEES
Television licence fees in Israel will drop by 10 per
cent this year after the Israel Broadcasting Authority
(IBA) decided to abandon attempts to raise fees.
According to Radio Netherlands, the IBA now says it
will abide by the law, lowering television licence
fees by 10 per cent and the fee on car radios by 5 per
cent. The decision will mean a shortfall of NIS 200
million in the IBA's income this year, which mean that
cuts in its activities will have to be made. Due to
the dispute with the government over the correct
amount of the licence fees, collection has been
suspended since the start of the current fiscal year.

NEW ZEALAND

ARTS CHANNEL STARTS BROADCASTING
The Arts Channel is a digital service rented from Sky
but not administered or programmed by Sky. Launching
on March 1, it is dedicated to the arts in the
broadest sense: from opera to jazz, ballet to
contemporary dance, blues to literature -- and some
programmes which simply defy genre-definition. Most of
the programmes will come from Britain (Granada, Reiner
Moritz, Poor House, the BBC), Berlin (Euro Arts), Arte
in Paris, RAI in Rome, and from the PBS channel and CS
Associates in the United States. With a subscription
rate of $12 a month, the Arts Channel is probably not
going to make much from viewer-numbers, but the same
transponder will carry another business which will
help subsidise the Arts Channel.

SUBSCRIBERS UP FOR SKY TV
Sky Television reported a first-half net profit of
$12.4 million for the six months to the end of
December, up from a $4 million loss for the same
period a year earlier. During the period Sky added
5150 subscribers, taking its total number of
subscribers to 548,000. The increase was well down on
the 13,482 subscribers the company added during the
same six-month period a year earlier. Sky is
continuing to win subscribers over to its more
expensive and profitable digital service. While the
number of Sky residential UHF subscribers fell 12 per
cent to 104,000 during the half year, the number of
residential digital subscribers increased 5.6 per cent
to 359,000. As a result, average monthly revenue per
subscriber increased by 7.4 per cent. The company is
also having greater success attracting advertisers.
Its advertising revenue rose 34.8 per cent to $11.6
million for the half year. Total revenue increased by
13.9 per cent to $212.1 million.

QATAR

AL-JAZEERA TO LAUNCH ENGLISH CHANNEL IN MAY
Al-Jazeera is to launch a new English language channel
this May as part of an ambitious expansion that
includes sport and children's channels and a new
training centre. The broadcaster is already watched by
35 million viewers a day around the world. But because
of its controversial editorial stance, al-Jazeera has
struggled to attract advertising in the more
conservative Arab countries and has yet to make a
profit after nearly eight years on air. Now it is
hoping to capitalise on its rise to fame during the
last Iraq war with a series of commercial initiatives,
including an English language channel and a training
centre that will offer PR advice to companies in the
Arab world. Later this year the broadcaster plans to
launch a sports channel, followed by an al-Jazeera
channel for children. Al-Jazeera was set up in 1996
and its first five years on air were funded by the
Emir of Qatar. Since 2001, however, it has been
required to pay its own way.

THAILAND

ITV IGNORES GOVERNMENT WARNING
ITV, a Thai television operator, on February 24 will
ignore a government warning on the revision of its
program content, saying an arbitration panel's ruling
means it is eligible to change its program content. A
local newspaper reported the Office of the Permanent
Secretary for the Prime Minister's Office will send a
letter to iTV warning it may be breaching its
concession contract with the government by revising
its TV programs. Early February, a three-member
arbitration panel voted 2 to 1 in favour of iTV,
allowing it to amend the 25-year contract it signed in
1995 with the Prime Minister's Office; slash its
concession fees, and lift restrictions on its
entertainment content. ITV plans to add more
entertainment content to its peak time programs,
effective April 1. The change is necessary for its
business, iTV said.

PIRACY LEVELS REDUCED IN THAILAND
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia
(CASBAA) has given a limited endorsement of a new
commitment made by the Thai authorities to reduce
pay-TV piracy within Thailand. Last week, during a
public briefing in Bangkok, the Royal Thai Police,
with the Public Relations Department and other bodies,
outlined ten points to improve the pay-TV piracy
environment within Thailand. Among the ten points were
commitments that must be undertaken by all cable
operators to respect the Intellectual Property Rights
of pay television networks, including those of local
broadcasters and international channels such as HBO
Asia, STAR TV, ESPN STAR Sports, MTV Asia, Discovery
Asia, CNN International and BBC World. CASBAA noted
that Thailand is currently on the United States
Government's Intellectual Property Rights USTR 301
Watch List (which is now under review) but because of
the pay-TV piracy issue, Thailand could be placed on
the Priority Watch List, a more severe status that
will damage Thailand's reputation and potentially
expose it to retaliatory measures. CASBAA estimates
there were US$370 million in gross losses to pay-TV
piracy within Thailand in 2003. CASBAA and its member
companies also conservatively estimate that there are
in excess of 1 million unauthorised subscribers to
pay-TV services in Thailand. It is estimated that Baht
1.5 billion (US$38.5 million) was lost to the Royal
Thai Government in 2003 from foregone tax revenues
such as pay-TV licensing fees, corporate taxes and
VAT.

UBC LAUNCHES PRE-PAY SERVICE
Major pay-TV operator United Broadcasting Corp (UBC)
is launching a pre-paid programme service next month
in a bid to boost audience numbers. Ongard Prapakamol,
UBC's director of marketing and sales, said that those
who buy an SDTV set-top box and a satellite dish from
Samart Engineering could apply for the pre-paid
service from UBC. In general, people can buy Samart
equipment to enhance the signal reception of their TV
sets, but the box is also designed to receive UBC
satellite programmes. The pre-paid service means
customers can pay for the programmes they want to
watch in a certain month. After that, if they do not
want to view, they do not have to pay. If they want to
watch a programme again in any month, they can ask for
the service from UBC again, and pay for it. The
company will offer pre-paid services in one-month,
six-month, and one-year packages. Normally, UBC
viewers have to pay for their service by the end of
each month. The pre-paid service is UBC's attempt to
expand its audience base by attracting those who want
to watch its programmes but are reluctant to pay for
full service provision every month. UBC is also
offering a promotion to those who sign up for the new
service during March and April. This allows them to
get three months' of Gold Package programming for just
one month's subscription of Bt1,413. Ongard said this
was a new way to expand the company's customer base to
achieve the year's growth target. If pre-paid
customers want to watch UBC channels, they may change
from being pre-paid customers to full members in the
next billing cycle, he added. He said the pre-paid
system did not effect existing UBC customers because
if they want to change their membership to the
pre-paid package, they have to buy the SDTV set-top
box for Bt11,900 (excluding value-added tax) and set
up the system. This would increase their costs
compared as they currently pay only a rental fee to
"maintain" UBC equipment, as well as the monthly fee.
Samart projects to sell 40,000 to 50,000 set-top boxes
this year worth Bt400 million.




A F R I C A


SOUTH AFRICA

SABC TO AIR BOLLYWOOD MOVIES
Bollywood fans will be able to see their favourite
movies on national television from April 3 when the
South African Broadcasting Corp. starts screening
English-subtitled Hindi features. The 13-week series
will start with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Devdas."
Bollywood films have a strong following among the 1
million Indian population, and exhibitors Ster-Kinekor
and Videovision have tapped into this market for three
years by screening English-subtitled Bollywood movies.