TELE-satellite News - Number 18/2004  2 May 2004

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TELE-satellite News - Number 18/2004  2 May 2004 - A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic

* Issue 04-05/2004 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


CZECH REPUBLIC

TV OCKO MOVES TO ASTRA 1
SES ASTRA and Stanice O, a media company based in Prague, have teamed up or the free-to-air digital distribution of Czech channel TV Shko. TV Shko is Czech Republic's first dedicated music and lifestyle channel with a strong emphasis on Czech and Slovak music. Starting May 1, TV Shko will be broadcasting free-to-air via the ASTRA satellite system at 19.2 degrees East (ASTRA 2C, transponder 57, 10,832 GHz/H, SR 22000, FEC 5/6), currently reaching over 28 million DTH households in 30 European countries.

FRANCE

TF1 REPORTS GOOD QUARTER
Commercial TV network TF1 posted improved first-quarter results on April 29, with the group's consolidated revenue increasing 6% to 717.6 million from a year earlier. A 6.1% increase to 425.1 million in advertising revenue for the TF1 free-to-air premium channel buoyed the results, reflecting growth in the French food, cosmetics, telecommunications industries, and the lifting of an advertising ban on the press sector in January.

GERMANY

REVENUES UP AT TELE MUNCHEN
Tele Munchen Group on April 26 reported record revenues for 2003 of 217 million - an increase of 20.5% over last year - despite continuing losses from its fledgling channel Tele 5 and Austrian web ATVplus.
The privately held group, 55% owned by Herbert Kloiber and 45% by Munich-based licensing company EM.TV, did not release profit figures, however. In an interview with German daily Die Welt, Kloiber said company's film and DVD license business generated the lion's share of sales. Tele Munchen's also collected revenue from its 30% stake in RTL 2, which has been enjoying success with a new year-long version of "Big Brother"
and other reality formats like "Frauentausch," a "Wife Swap" clone. Tele Munchen is planning to launch on the new digital platform being built by German cabler Kabel Deutschland, which is in the process of taking over all of Germany's regional cable companies.

ARD OPTS FOR SCIENTIFIC-ATLANTA TO REPLACE EQUIPMENT ARD-Sternpunkte has selected a complete transport hardware and software solution from Scientific-Atlanta Europe (S-A) to restore its German Direct-to-Home DVB-S play out system located at Hessischer Rundfunk to state-of-the-art status. ARD's new play out centre delivers less complicated operations for greater efficiency at Hessischer Rundfunk, plus enhanced video quality for viewers. The new system, mainly based on S-A's Continuum DVP D9030 encoders and Pegasus multiplexers, provides ARD-Sternpunkte with enhanced bandwidth efficiency and expanded flexibility combined with a customized operating and management concept. In addition to the Continuum and Pegasus products, the system installed at ARD-Sternpunkte is also using S-A digital decoders and receivers, and redundancy switches to help deliver reliable service. The free-to-air ARD public broadcast signal is available across Europe via the ASTRA satellite system.

SABAN INCREASES PROSIEBENSAT.1 STAKE
Haim Saban has increased his company's share in German broadcasting group ProSiebenSat.1 from 72% to 75.1% following a capital increase completed on April 28 that raised 282 million. The capital increase is part of a comprehensive refinancing plan. ProSiebenSat.1 increased its existing shares by more than 24 million to nearly 219 million. Half the shares are listed preferred stock and half are unlisted common stock, which carry voting rights. Fellow shareholding group
Sat.1 Beteiligung, made up of publisher Axel Springer and the bankrupt Kirch Media, hold 24.9% of both common and preferred stock, while Saban holds 75.1% of the voting shares.

SUPER RTL POSTS PROFIT
Super RTL said on April 28 that it had a profit of
10.4 million last year, 125% higher than the year-earlier figure of 4.6 million. Advertising revenue in the first quarter of 2004 was up 30.5%, significantly better than the improved German television advertising market figure of 6.8% reported by Nielsen Media Research. Super RTL managing director Claude Schmit said he expects this year's profit to reach at least 15 million, adding that the extra money will be invested in new youth programming. In August, Super RTL will launch the "world's first football show for young people," called "Toggo United
-- The Football Show" with the cooperation of German football star Marco Bode.

HUNGARY

MTV FACES INSOLVENCY
Hungarian Television (MTV) may go insolvent in May, according to the board of the MTV Public Foundation.
In line with this announcement, the board has not authorized contracts for future shows or indeed any of its current programming, and is looking to present the financial woes of the station to Parliament. The board is trying to persuade Parliament to unfreeze MTV's Ft
1.3 billion share of a previously allocated grant for public broadcasters for 2004. This amount would stave off MTV's financial meltdown merely for one or two months.

IRELAND

RTE SIGNS OUTPUT DEAL WITH UNIVERSAL
RTE Ireland has signed a new acquisitions deal with Universal. The deal runs to 43 films including hits such as About A Boy, The Bourne Identity, 8 Mile and The Pianist. The list also includes recent re-runs such as Notting Hill and The Mummy, also classics The Day Of The Jackal, Smokey & the Bandit, and Scarface.
On the series front, the RTE/Universal deal also renews Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, plus series 2 of Monk, and library series such as The Rockford Files and Murder She Wrote.

ITALY

MEDIA BILL FINALLY APPROVED
More than a year after it was first presented in parliament, a bitterly-contested media law received final approval on April 30 in the Italian Senate. The move comes amid claims by the centre-left opposition that the legislation was tailor-made for Premier Silvio Berlusconi's business empire. The law was revamped after a presidential veto in December, and the new version was passed in the Chamber of Deputies last month. Berlusconi's conservative forces in the Senate passed the legislation in a 142-91 vote, with one abstention. The opposition contends that the legislation is designed to protect Berlusconi's interests and increase his grip on the media.
Centre-left politicians also say the new version ignores the issues raised by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who refused to sign the law on grounds that it could lead to single companies dominating Italian media. Communications Minister Maurizio Gasparri, who drafted the bill, said the law will open up the Italian market by introducing digital television.
According to the constitution, the president must sign a law before it goes into force. The president can only reject legislation once, so Ciampi must now accept the law.

POLAND

BBC PRIME SIGNS CABLE DEALS
Aster Group, a cable platform that serves 265,000 customers, primarily in Warsaw, has begun carrying the BBC Prime channel. The entertainment channel has been added to Aster's basic package, boosting BBC Prime's reach in the country to 1.8 million homes. The channel is already carried across Poland by cablers UPC Telewizja Kablowa, MultiMedia and Stream. BBC Prime, which features shows like Top of the Pops, EastEnders and The Weakest Link, reaches more than 14 million subscribers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, via cable and satellite.

ROMANIA

PRO CINEMA ON THE AIR
Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) on April
27 announced the successful launch of PRO Cinema, its third national network in Romania. PRO Cinema premiered with initial distribution in 60 percent of cable systems in Romania, and the network expects to achieve full cable distribution within 3 months. PRO Cinema focuses solely on quality films and series targeted at an upwardly mobile urban adult audience and is supported by both advertising and cable subscriptions. The network complements CME's market-leading Romanian broadcast group that includes PRO TV and TV Acasa, which ranked first and third respectively among urban adults during prime time in 2003. The launch of PRO Cinema follows CME's recent announcement that it has increased its ownership of the Romanian group to 80 per cent. Seventy-five per cent of Romanian cable companies, including the three biggest operators, have already agreed to distribute PRO Cinema throughout the country. Romania's cable television systems currently reach 57 per cent of the country, with an 82 per cent reach of the greater urban areas.
Internet  http://www.cetv-net.com

UNITED KINGDOM

BBC WANTS SATELLITE FTA PLATFORM
The BBC on April 26 called for the introduction of a satellite version of Freeview after warning the government that it will miss its target for switching off the analogue television signal. The corporation said government intervention backed by millions of pounds of public money would be needed to convert the country to digital TV by 2010. Creating a fourth platform alongside Freeview, BSkyB and cable will be vital to meeting that deadline, said the BBC in a report submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The government plans to abandon the analogue signal when digital penetration reaches 95% of households. That milestone will be reached in 2013 if the task is left in the hands of the market, according to BBC estimates. In a report that was critical of official preparations so far for switchover, the corporation called on the government to set a clear timetable for analogue switch-off and to establish an independent organisation dedicated to coordinating the conversion to digital TV. Andy Duncan, the BBC's director of marketing and communications, urged the government to underwrite the cost of converting broadcasters' TV transmitters to a digital network. He admitted such a move could cost hundreds of millions of pounds, but said the BBC and commercial stations would need extra cash to run two different transmission systems. The most radical proposal was for the creation of a free-to-air satellite TV service, dubbed "freesat" in industry circles. The concept has been endorsed by media regulator Ofcom, which issued a report on digital switchover this month. A "freesat" service will be needed in the post-analogue future to reach viewers who cannot receive cable or Freeview or do not want pay-TV through BSkyB. The BBC said the government should work with BSkyB, Channel 4, Five and ITV to produce a free-to-air satellite service.

AUSTRALIAN CHANNEL TO LAUNCH
A new digital television channel featuring Australian soap operas, mini-series, kids' series and TV movies is set to launch in the U.K. later this year. Darren Gray, the head of programming for the new channel, called Aussie Gold, said that the network would "specialize in screening classic and more recent Aussie soaps and dramas.

ITV TAKES OVER CONTROL OF ITV NEWS CHANNEL UK commercial broadcaster ITV has secured full ownership of its 24-hour news service by acquiring NTL Europe's stake in the venture. ITV has bought NTL's 35% stake after the ITV News Channel reported its third consecutive year of audience growth. The digital network draws in a weekly average of 2.4 million viewers.

BBC TO BOOST ARTS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS OUTPUT In the run up to Charter renewal and after Ofcom's call for the BBC to be a pillar of public service broadcasting, the Corporation has pledged to lift the number of arts, current affairs and documentary programmes in peaktime across all its networks.
Details of the new initiative include a further 10 primetime hours of current affairs on BBC1 this year (lifting the total to 90 hours) plus a continued emphasis on consumer programming within its factual output. A pledge to keep BBC1 repeats below 10% of output was also made. Also in the year ahead, BBC2 will increase its commitment to current affairs by 10 further hours, and will usher in a new focus on documentaries, tackling issues like terrorism, disability and parenting. On the BBC's digital-only networks, BBC3 is developing a 7 O'clock News weekday programme, while BBC4 will launch a new programme for analysis of UK and world media.

BBC LAUNCHES PET TV SERVICE
Pet TV is a service digital viewers can access by pressing the interactive red button on their remotes, for a week-long run from May 1. It is being billed by the BBC as an attempt to find out what sort of TV programmes, sounds and images animals respond to. The interactive TV service will consist of a looped series of images and sounds, including clips of snooker balls rolling across the green baize, frisbees flying through the air, cat toys and cartoon characters such as Top Cat. The service will also offer clips from more traditional TV fare, such as EastEnders, Neighbours, The Muppet Show and Animal Hospital. Pet TV can be tried out on dogs, cats, birds and even fish, according to the BBC. Pet TV is a spin-off from
BBC1 show Test Your Pet, which is to be broadcast on Saturday night at 18:00. The service will be available to viewers with Freeview, Sky Digital or digital cable TV.

NTL SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY CHANNEL
ntl is the latest media company to give its support to The Community Channel - the UK's only not-for profit TV station - by donating a slot from 10:00 to 16:00.
ntl customers who currently receive the "local"
channel 14 in their package will now be able to access The Community Channel. Owned by the Media Trust, a registered charity, the Community Channel enjoys the support of the whole media industry. Through a range of lively, innovative and thought- provoking programming the channel helps the charity and voluntary sectors increase their profile, recruit volunteers and raise funds. It also provides a place where viewers can have their voice heard and find out how to get involved in community and charity activities. Trustees of the charity include Michael Green (chair), Mark Thompson (CEO 4), Jon Snow, Tony Ball and Greg Dyke. Core funding is from the Home Office Active Communities Unit (ACU) and Lottery Community Fund and it has received cross-industry support worth in excess of #1 million.

BSKYB OPTS FOR TANDBERG
Tandberg Television announced that it has secured an order from BSkyB to provide the broadcaster with a range of digital compression solutions. The deal will see BSkyB introduce a new Tandberg Television MPEG-2 head-end installation with 16 compression systems for its Advanced Technology Centre, which is being created to supplement BSkyB's existing broadcast facilities.
The companies share a 10-year plus track record based on co-operation and trust and their engineering teams have worked closely together to pioneer digital pay-TV satellite technologies and services. BSkyB was one of the early adopters of Tandberg's MPEG-2 encoders during the 1990's. As part of the contract Tandberg Television will provide end-to-end systems based on its industry leading MPEG-2 compression engine. The 16 compression systems will each contain Tandberg E5710 encoders, MX5640 multiplexers and TT1220 receivers, as well as control and monitoring.

BBC SNATCHES TV RACING DEAL
The BBC announced on April 30 that it has signed new agreements with the Racecourse Holdings Trust (RHT) and Royal Ascot to broadcast racing from The Grand National, The Derby and Royal Ascot until 2010. The new contracts, for both television and radio, will cover racing from Ascot, Aintree and Epsom.
Negotiations will now commence in respect of the BBC's other racing.

AVANTI LAUNCHES MUSIC VIDEO CHANNEL
Avanti Communications has launched its own music video channel called MVN (Music Video Network). The channel is intended to respond to consumer demand and replace audio entertainment with multi-media imagery and uninterrupted audio as well as in-store entertainment and branding experiences. Several independent bars have already purchased MVN making it a commercial success. MVN grew out of two projects funded by ESA:
IMPSAT (In-Store Multimedia Platform for Shared Access to Telecoms) and ABARIS (Advanced Broadcast Architecture for Retail Internet Services). Demand from clients in the pub market, who were asking for a generic music video channel, prompted Avanti to come up with the idea and adding a range of additional features like advertising, private branding and local messaging which are essential for that market.
Avanti's successful silent channel, 'Magnetic'
currently reaches 320 bars.




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


CANADA

MORE VIEWERS FOR THEMATIC TV CHANNELS
A new study conducted by The Strategic Counsel has found that 53 per cent of those surveyed felt that programming on Canadian specialty channels was better than that on the conventional networks, and that some
45 per cent had increased the time they spent on specialty channels. The study was commissioned by Alliance Atlantis, a company that owns 12 specialty and digital channels and is launching another one called Fine Living in the fall, and surveyed 1,174 Canadians on their perceptions towards specialty and conventional networks in the country. Almost half of the response group-47 per cent said that they preferred specialty channels, versus just 31 per cent that preferred conventional networks. In addition, 40 per cent said they were more likely to go to a specialty channel first when they are looking for something to watch. Men with satellite dishes watch more specialty TV than anyone else in the country, especially TSN and Sportsnet (only Canadian specialty channels were ranked).

COALITION WANTS MORE SATELLITE TV CHOICE A Coalition of ethnic communities is urging the Ottawa to move forward with the broadcasting of foreign publicly funded programs on the Canadian satellite network. The representatives of several ethnic communities in Canada, brought together under the new Coalition for Freedom of choice in Satellite TV, are calling on the government to stop or abandon the passage of Bill C 2 to curb the pirating of television satellite signals. They also called on the government and the CRTC to compel the Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice networks to offer more programs produced by publicly funded broadcasters around the world on direct television satellite networks in Canada. They argued that this new approach is necessary to stop members of their communities from using U.S. satellite networks. The coalition condemns Bill C 2, which provides for several very strict measures against satellite pirates. The CRTC maintains that it will not authorize non-Canadian services competing fully or in part with Canadian pay or specialty television services in place. Under the CRTC rules, U.S. satellite signals cannot be legally received outside the United States.
The satellite providers discriminate against ethnic communities by refusing to provide foreign services authorized for distribution in Canada, said the coalition's political spokeswoman, Carole-Marie Allard, Liberal MP for Laval-East. She said Canadians, especially members of ethnic communities, are forced to seek illegal access to U.S. satellites in order to receive signals from other countries. For instance, regulations allow 93 foreign-television services to be carried by satellite-signal providers in Canada. The vast majority, 75, are from the United States. Of the
18 others that are allowed, only four are distributed in Canada.

SATELLITE TV PIRACY RING CRACKED
A satellite-television piracy ring was collecting as much as $300,000 a week in Quebec City alone, selling reprogrammed access cards to owners of Bell ExpressVu receivers, the RCMP said on April 23. Consumers could buy the cards for $150 to $200, giving them illegal access to television signals. Anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 of the cards were being sold each week, police said as they announced nine arrests in connection with the ring. The fact that so many people in Quebec City alone have been willing to purchase illegal access cards is an indication that the average consumer does not consider this to be a form of theft, police said.
The RCMP arrested nine people in Quebec City and Montreal in connection with the ring, and seized access cards and equipment used to allow consumers to steal satellite signals. The special RCMP police operation named Project Console was launched in September of 2003 in co-operation with the federal Department of Industry, Bell ExpressVu and the Canadian film industry. The police operation was aimed exclusively against illegal distributors and not consumers. Bell ExpressVu and its competitor, Star Choice, are the only two satellite-signal providers authorized by the federal government to offer the service to Canadians.

UNITED STATES

SCRIPPS ANNOUNCES HIGHER GAINS
For the first quarter of 2004, Scripps Networks secured carriage deals with more than 20 systems in the U.S. for its DIY-Do It Yourself Network and Fine Living channels. For DIY, distribution increased by
2.5 million to more than 27 million subscribers. Fine Living, meanwhile, which recently celebrated its second anniversary, was up almost 1 million, to 21 million homes. John Baird, senior VP of affiliate sales for Scripps Networks, estimates that by year-end, DIY will hit 31 million homes and Fine Living will near 30 million.

COMCAST DROPS DISNEY BID
Comcast Corp. announced on April 28 that it was withdrawing its hostile takeover bid for the Walt Disney Company, saying that it was "time to walk away." Brian L. Roberts, president and CEO of Comcast, said in a statement, " It has become clear that there is no interest on the part of Disney's management and Board in putting Comcast and Disney together." The announcement came as the cable giant released its first quarter results, with cable revenues up almost 10 per cent, to $4.6 billion, 35,000 new basic subscribers and 192,000 new digital subscribers.
Comcast Cable also posted a 14.4 per cent increase in advertising revenue, to $269 million. On the content end, which includes E!, Style, The Golf Channel, Outdoor Life Network and G4, revenues were up 21.7 per cent, to $176 million. For the company as a whole, revenues rose to $4.9 billion. Net income for the quarter was $65 million, compared to a net loss of
$355 million last year.

DIRECTV EXPANDS THOMSON TECHNOLOGIES
On April 28, Thomson announced a contract from DirecTV for its best-in-class transmission products. DirecTV is significantly expanding its use of Grass Valley brand network technologies from Thomson to help its customers watch their local terrestrial broadcast channels via satellite. The new contract expands a similar agreement announced last spring. DirecTV currently offers local channels in 64 markets nationwide and plans to offer local channel service in a minimum of 130 markets by year end. Last April, DIRECTV announced its initial rollout of Grass Valley brand encoders, multiplexers, and signal-management products - including the ViBE MPEG-2 platform - for local-into-local coverage. The ViBE line is a full-featured product family of compact-yet-powerful video encoders, decoders, multiplexers, and related modular products that help broadcasters, direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) and cable providers, and other program contributors manage their distribution channels with a cost-effective system of integrated and highly compatible products.

LAWMAKERS APPROVE SINGLE-DISH TV SERVICE In a blow to the nation's second biggest satellite TV company, lawmakers on a key panel approved legislation on April 28 that would end EchoStar Communications'
practice of using two dishes to receive local broadcast programming. Under legislation unanimously approved by the House Commerce Committee's telecommunications panel, all local broadcast signals would have to be carried on one dish within a year.
EchoStar uses two of the pizza pan-sized receivers to allow customers to access local broadcast programming and the programming the company carries under contract with other programmers. The bill will require some 300,000 satellite customers who are receiving both distant and local network signals to choose one or the other. The subcommittee also approved an amendment which would prohibit satellite providers from collecting information about an individual subscriber's viewing habits. The information could still be used in the aggregate. The panel is expected to complete work on the bill in the next two weeks and send it to the House floor.

TIME WARNER DOUBLES PROFIT
Time Warner announced on April 28 that its first quarter profit more than doubled, due to strong performances in its film and cable businesses and improved results at America Online. In the first quarter, Time Warner had net income of $961 million, compared with $396 million in the period a year earlier. Revenue rose 9 per cent, to $10.1 billion from $9.24 billion, beating analysts' estimates of
$9.51 billion. Operating income before depreciation and amortization in Time Warner's film division rose to $427 million, compared with $251 million during the same period last year, in part because of increased worldwide license fees for the third cycle of television syndication for the comedy series Seinfeld.
Time Warner's TV networks unit posted a 5 per cent rise in revenues, as subscription revenues rose 10 per cent due to higher subscription rates at HBO and other networks.

MURDOCH RULES OUT SALE TO LIBERTY MEDIA
News Corporation chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch has ruled out asset sales to the company's biggest economic shareholder, Liberty Media, while admitting US TV advertising rates are not likely to rise steeply this year. Liberty Media chairman John Malone recently told the Financial Times the companies were engaged in "fairly active" talks about "certain small assets that we feel fit Liberty better than News Corp". Malone suggested Liberty - which owns 17.4 per cent of News's equity, compared to Mr Murdoch's 14.6 per cent - could swap some of News's assets for some of Liberty's News shares. Analysts speculated that assets such as the international arm of News's National Geographic pay-TV channel could be sold, but Murdoch has now said that would not occur.

NDS EYES DIRECTV FOR DVR TECHNOLOGY
NDS Group is working to introduce its digital video recorder technology to the U.S., either through DirecTV Group Inc. or through cable operators, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Ever since News Corp. took control of DirecTV, the country's largest satellite TV provider, there has been widespread speculation that NDS might replace TiVo Inc. as DirecTV's DVR supplier. TiVo recently revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that its contract with DirecTV is set to expire in February 2007. TiVo is a pioneer in digital video recorder technology, which allows customers to pause and rewind live TV, record programs, and fast forward through commercials. NDS currently provides DVR and interactive technology to BSkyB, News Corp.'s European satellite TV venture. Chase Carey, DirecTV's new chief executive, has repeatedly said he hopes to carry over some of BSkyB's interactive functions to DirecTV. NDS wants to adapt its interactive technology from BSkyB so it can be employed on DirecTV, Abe Peled, NDS Chief Executive, told Dow Jones.

CABLEVISION TO SPIN-OFF SATELLITE DIVISION Cablevision Systems Corp., which plans to file spinoff papers for its nascent satellite TV service "shortly,"
gave details of the new company's structure on April 29. This is the third time Cablevision has tinkered with the spinoff company's structure. The entity to be spun off, which will be called Rainbow Media Enterprises, will include Voom, Cablevision's satellite TV business, plus programming assets AMC, Women's Entertainment, The Independent Film Channel, IFC Entertainment, IFC Productions, Mag Rack, World Picks and sportskool. The company will also include Clearview Cinemas, which was part of the original spinoff plan but was taken out of the second plan.
Despite Wall Street's disapproval, Cablevision has continued to pursue the satellite TV business.
Analysts have argued that the company's late entry puts it at a serious disadvantage. DirecTV and EchoStar Communications Corp. have about 21 million subscribers combined nationwide. By contrast, Cablevision, which launched its service just late last year, signed on 1,627 customers as of March 1.

QVC SIGNS LONG-TERM SATELLITE DISTRIBUTION DEAL SES AMERICOM announced on April 27 that QVC, Inc., the leading electronic retailer, has signed a long-term transponder agreement for C-band service aboard its leading HD-PRIME cable neighborhood. QVC's television shopping network, which currently reaches 85 million U.S. homes, will be delivered aboard SES AMERICOM's high-powered AMC-10 satellite, the first of two spacecraft to be launched this year in support of HD-PRIME. AMC-10, an all C-band next generation satellite launched in February, will initiate service in May with 24 transponders at 135 degrees West.
Programmers can use AMC-10 to distribute content to more than 80 million American homes. AMC-11, scheduled for launch in late May, will be located at 131 degrees West and complete SES AMERICOM's HD-PRIME - America's Cable Neighborhood, once the satellite is placed into service later this year.

ECHOSTAR REACHES DEAL WITH TURNER
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.) and EchoStar Communications Corporation's DISH Network have signed an affiliation agreement that allows for the continued distribution of core TBS, Inc. networks.
They include CNN, CNN Headline News, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Turner South, Boomerang, CNNfn and CNN en Espanol. Neither company would comment on terms of the deal, which has yet to be finalized. The announcement ended months of negotiations between the two companies over programming fees, and came a little more than a month after EchoStar and Viacom Inc. settled a similar conflict.

EDGE TV TO ROLL OUT NEXT YEAR
For millions of game enthusiasts nationwide, a new television network will soon let them "watch the best, play with the best and live like the best." EdgeTV, to be launched first quarter, 2005, will be the first 24-hour network dedicated to gaming, a one-stop TV destination for all game players -- from casino games to fantasy sports, bridge to crosswords. With $10 million capital, the venture is led by legal and telecommunications pioneer Reagan Silber and successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and executives Keith Richman and Charles Katz. EdgeTV is in final discussions with a major Las Vegas-based casino group to establish permanent production and broadcast operations within a major casino. Describing its program mix as 70% original and 30% acquired, it has already entered into exclusive broadcast agreements with the U.S. Chess Federation and American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Moving toward an early 2005 launch, EdgeTV will also provide ambitious Video On Demand
(VOD) and interactive services to augment its 24-hour programming, teaching audiences the basics and nuances of a variety of games.




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


ARGENTINA

DISNEY CHANNEL JOINS CABLEVISION PACKAGE The Disney Channel in May will become part of the basic programming lineup for CableVision, Argentina's leading cable operator. The Walt Disney Co. Latin America said on April 29 the 24-hour channel will first be transmitted in the greater Buenos Aires area and other key capital cities. As of June it will be made available throughout the nation to CableVision's
1.2 million subscribers. Disney Latin America will continue to produce content for the local market, including "Playhouse Disney," "Zapping Zone" and "Art Attack." The company makes original productions for all three shows in Argentina, Mexico and Brazil.

MEXICO

INCREASED EARNINGS FOR TV AZTECA
TV Azteca, Mexico's No. 2 network, said on April 27 that its first-quarter net income more than doubled on strong ad revenue and currency exchange gains. The Mexico City-based broadcaster posted a net profit of
183 million pesos ($16 million), compared with a year-earlier 78 million pesos. Much of that came from a jump in ad sales at home and heightened revenue from Azteca America, Azteca's U.S. Spanish-language broadcasting network. The company reported net sales of 1.53 billion pesos ($138 million), representing an 8% increase and an all-time high for Azteca's first-quarter earnings reports. Azteca America saw revenue climb to 65 million pesos ($6 million), compared with just 3 million pesos a year earlier.

TELEVISA TO CONSOLIDATE INNOVA
A day after reporting a net income increase of 81%, Mexican media giant Grupo Televisa, the world's largest producer of Spanish-language content, said that it plans to consolidate the financial assets of its unit Innova. Televisa executive vice president Alfonso de Angoitia said in a conference call that the company would seek board approval for the consolidation of the financial accounts of Innova, the parent company of satellite broadcaster Sky Mexico.
Televisa said it expects the consolidation to carry a non-cash accounting charge of $123 million as it considers Innova's losses. Televisa owns 60% of Innova, while News Corp. holds a 30% stake, and Liberty Media holds 10%. The satellite company, which operates under the Sky brand, had 886,100 clients as of the end of March, representing a 19% annual increase. Televisa is also seeking to take over the clientele of rival DirecTV Mexico, a move that will boost its number of satellite TV subscribers above the million mark. In spite of an aggressive marketing push, Innova has struggled to reach its 1 million target set in 2002. Mexico's antitrust regulators recently rejected a proposal from News Corp. to take over DirecTV Mexico on grounds that the Australian giant would become a key partner in the only two companies competing for satellite television customers. News Corp. purchased a controlling stake in Hughes Electronics Corp. in December, gaining control of DirecTV Latin America, a regional satellite television broadcaster that recently emerged from bankruptcy protection. DirecTV Mexico is owned by Hughes and local broadcaster Grupo MVS.
Internet - http://www.televisa.com.mx



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


AL-HURRA GAINING AUDIENCE IN ARAB WORLD
After just six weeks on the air, the new U.S.-funded Arabic language TV channel Alhurra (Arabic for "The Free One") has established itself as an important source of news and information for adults over the age of 15 in major cities across the Middle East, according to recent telephone surveys conducted by Ipsos-Stat, the French research company. The surveys were conducted in Lebanon, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in early April and show that an average of 29 per cent of adults had watched Alhurra in the previous week. Past week viewing in Lebanon was 40 per cent; Syria 29 per cent; UAE 19 per cent; Egypt 18 per cent; Kuwait 44 per cent; Jordan 37 per cent and Saudi Arabia 19 per cent. The survey reported that in spite of increasing anti-American attitudes and suspicion of the motives of the United States in the region, 53 per cent of Alhurra viewers consider its news "very or somewhat reliable." Reliability figures were 70 per cent for Saudi Arabia; 54 per cent for Lebanon; 40 per cent for Egypt; 44 per cent for Jordan; 61 per cent for Kuwait;
65 per cent for UAE and 37 per cent for Syria.
Alhurra, launched on February 14, is a 24-hour news and information network broadcast in Arabic. It and can be seen in 22 countries throughout the region via Arabsat and Nilesat, the same satellites used by all major Arabic channels.

AUSTRALIA

FOXTEL ANNOUNCES LATEST SUBSCRIBER FIGURES Pay-TV is quickly proving to be the driver of digital TV in Australia, with Foxtel on April 28 revealing it has signed 209,000 digital pay-TV customers since its $600 million digital launch less than two months ago, according to a report in The Australian. The free-to-air TV industry's digital service has been available for more than three years, but at the end of February had converted only 291,000 TV homes to digital. At the current rate, Foxtel Digital will take just four months to surpass free-to-air TV's digital rollout. Since January 2001, the free-to-air TV industry has averaged a monthly conversion rate of 7650 homes. But Foxtel chief executive Kim Williams said digital pay-TV was now installed in 75,000 homes, up from 40,000 three weeks ago. Mr Williams told the pay-TV industry's conference earlier this month that Foxtel had secured 175,000 digital pay-TV sales, meaning it has added 34,000 sales in three weeks.
Williams would not say what percentage of the 209,000 digital pay-TV customers were existing or new subscribers. But he said Foxtel was signing an average of 1000 new customers each week.

AUSTAR CUSTOMERS CONVERT TO DIGITAL
Regional pay-TV provider Austar United Communications claims that more than a quarter of its subscribers have already converted to its new digital service which was launched alongside Foxtel's digital debut on March 14. At a briefing for Austar's first quarter results on April 29, chief executive John Porter said that "the response to the new product has been overwhelming" with 20 per cent of Austar's customer base converting to the new digital services within three weeks of the launch. He said that 115,000 of Austar's 446,000 customers had now converted to the digital package, representing more than one quarter of its pay TV customers. Austar said it still had more goodies in the pipeline as well, with key channels such as Box Office, Sports Active and News Active yet to be launched. Austar reported that subscriber numbers increased 13,937 to 441,233 for the three months ending March 31, and another 5000 were added this month. It was not enough to prevent the firm from slipping back into the red, reporting a $5.2 million loss for the period, although it increased its revenue by 11 per cent to $88.7 million, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased
67 per cent to $21.1 million.

SBS WANTS AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL TV RIGHTS
SBS wants the rights to Australian soccer but is not interested in sharing them with another commercial channel. SBS head of sport Les Murray confirmed on April 27 that the network had held talks with Australian Soccer Association CEO John O'Neill and ASA commercial media manager John O'Sullivan. Murray is aware the ASA is also talking to commercial channels but has ruled out getting into a bidding war for the rights. Seven had a 10-year deal and was paying soccer
$2 million a year for the rights. The ASA is likely to get coverage on pay-TV as well as a free-to-air channel and Murray said SBS would be comfortable to work in that combination. SBS has already scored a major coup by securing the full rights for the 2006 World Cup, as well as all FIFA events leading up to 2006, ranging from the Confederations Cup, the World Club Championship and the 2005 World Youth Championship in Holland.

AUTHORITY STARTS INVESTIGATION INTO PORN TV CHANNELS The Australian Broadcasting Authority has released terms of reference for an investigation into 'adult services' being broadcast into Australia from overseas via satellite. The ABA has received complaints concerning the apparent availability of 'pornography'
on these adult services. 'The broadcasting of program material that has been refused classification, or has been classified as 'X' by the Office of Film and Literature Classification is prohibited,' said Professor David Flint, ABA Chairman. 'A formal investigation will enable the ABA to consider all relevant material and reach a view on whether there has been a breach of the Broadcasting Services Act.'
The 'adult services' being investigated include:
Free-XTV and Backroom, Sexz.TV and BlueKiss. The ABA will seek further information from service providers before finalising a report. The terms of reference are available on the ABA website. The first targets of the ABA's investigation are the satellite carriers, NewSkies, which is headquartered in the Netherlands and AsiaSat, a Hong Kong-based company. They carry a range of satellite TV services for clients and don't necessarily have anything to do with the content of them. ABA has written asking them to identify the companies behind Free-X TV, BlueKiss and Sexz.TV.

CHINA  HONG KONG

TVB TO INVEST IN DIGITAL BROADCASTING
Hong Kong's Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) plans to spend at least US$38.5 million building facilities for its launch of digital broadcasting in 2007, The Standard newspaper has reported. The government wants Asia Television Limited (ATV) and TVB to launch digital services by the end of 2006, which will run in tandem with the existing analogue broadcasting until analogue is phased out in 2008. However, both operators are pressing for compatible systems in Hong Kong and the mainland to ensure the flow of content.
Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang said the government was flexible on the schedule for digital broadcasting, saying it could be later than 2006, the original schedule. He expected China to choose its system in 2005, so that the service could run smoothly for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.
The Hong Kong government intends to offer five new digital frequencies, with one reserved for ATV and TVB, replacing their four existing analogue channels.
One digital frequency can carry four analogue channels. TVB is also interested in applying for another two new digital frequencies for high-resolution telecasting.

INDIA

VIACOM CHANNEL EXPAND REACH
MTV Networks Asia has inked a distribution deal with The One Alliance in India, bringing MTV and Nickelodeon to 40 million homes in the country. MTV is the first music network, and Nickelodeon the first children's channel, to launch on the platform, which is a joint venture of Sony Entertainment Television India (SET India) and Discovery Networks India. The channels join a bouquet of 8 networks, including Sony's SET, MAX and AXN; Discovery and Animal Planet; and HBO, NDTV India and NDTV 24X7. Meanwhile, Nickelodeon India said on April 28 that it will launch a daily 12-hour Hindi-dubbed programming feed to run 08:00-20:00. In addition, the channel has been rechristened Nick. The dubbed line-up goes on air beginning Saturday. The One Alliance is a joint distribution platform that includes Sony Entertainment Television, Discovery, MTV, Nickelodeon and others that rival STAR India's multichannel service. MTV India handles marketing for Nickelodeon India, which first introduced a dual audio feed in Hindi for four hours a day last year and increased it to eight hours early this year.

KAZAKHSTAN

KATELCO OPTS FOR MOTOROLA TECHNOLOGY
Motorola, Inc. on April 29 announced that Kazakhstan Telecommunications (Katelco) has selected Motorola to provide digital video encoders and satellite set-top equipment and services to build an additional 16-channel encoder system located in Uralsk City, increasing the total channel count to 48 channels.
Motorola will provide the DigiCipher II head-end unit with additional encoders, modulators and a satellite uplink to replicate the functionality already in place in Almaty. In addition Motorola will also provide its DSR40P digital satellite receiver specifically designed for Katelco's expansion, which is estimated to double during 2004. It is anticipated the upgrade will begin during the 2nd quarter of 2004 and continue throughout the year. Katelco was founded in 1995 to design and construct complex satellite systems for retransmission of television and radio programs and data transmission.
Internet - http://www.katelco.kz/

MALAYSIA

ASTRO TO RAISE PAY-TV RATES
Astro All Asia Networks will raise pay-TV rates next month, a move that may add RM83 million to its annual sales given its subscriber base of 1.39 million people at the end of January. The pay-TV operator said in the May edition of its viewers' guide that it would raise monthly subscription rates by RM5 after May 24 "to improve the variety of programmes and channels.''
Astro expects to "deliver over a hundred channels by next year, courtesy of a new Measat 3 satellite.''
Astro, controlled by tycoon Ananda Krishnan, is trying to attract more viewers in Malaysia and neighbouring Brunei to the channels it shows through its set-top boxes. It offers channels such as ESPN, through which it screens English Premier League football, Time Warner Inc's HBO, and News Corp's Star Movies. The company is also the cable distributor for Bloomberg Television in Malaysia. Astro reported net income of
RM12.3 million for the year ended January 31, as an expanding economy helped it sign up 45% more subscribers from a year ago. Sales were at RM1.42 billion. Ananda Krishnan also controls Measat Global, which operates two Boeing Co-made satellites that lease transmission capacity to Astro and mobile phone company Maxis Communications.

NEW ZEALAND

TVNZ CLOSES SATELLITE SERVICES
TVNZ is bailing out of its previously lucrative satellite transmission business. The April 28 announcement that the state broadcaster was closing Satellite Services comes just months after TVNZ signed the subsidiary up to an international alliance. The deal with Intelsat Global Sales and Marketing was hailed last September as a potentially multimillion-dollar revenue earner. But TVNZ has now said Satellite Services was the victim of a worldwide recession in the satellite carriage business, which had caused "enormous price pressure and major change"
in the industry. Although exact figures have never been separated out in TVNZ's books, Satellite Services generated millions of dollars of revenue during the 1990s organising "occasional use" and one-off international satellite links for other broadcasters involved with major sporting and other international events. Last year's Intelsat deal was aimed at giving broadcasting customers access to a global network of satellite and terrestrial infrastructure complemented by a portfolio of television broadcast services. The alliance was touted at the time as having the potential to quadruple Satellite Service's revenue. A TVNZ spokeswoman said that Intelsat was working with the company to end the alliance amicably and economically.

SAUDI ARABIA

PAY-TV CHANNEL PIRATES FACE STIFF PENALTY Nine persons, most of them expatriates, have been detained by the authorities on charges of piracy of pay-TV channels. They are allegedly guilty of having distributed pay channels in contravention of the Ministry of Information's regulations. The information was made public at a symposium organized by the ministry on copyright laws and related aspects.
Culture and Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy stressed the need to protect original works and penalize copyright violators. He pointed out that many commercial entities such as housing compounds, hotels and clubs were illegally distributing satellite pay-TV channels.