TELE-satellite News - Number 31/2004 - 1 August 2004
A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by
TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic
* Issue 08-09/2004 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
HBO CENTRAL EUROPE SIGNS OUTPUT DEAL WITH MGM
HBO Central Europe has renewed its exclusive deal with
MGM for four years beginning in 2006, giving the
pay-TV channel continued access to upcoming movies and
film library. Upcoming films include "Code 46," with
Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton; "Be Cool," featuring
John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Danny DeVito; and
"Beauty Shop," with Queen Latifah and Mena Suvari. HBO
CE operates in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova.
PROFITS UP AT SBS
SBS Broadcasting posted an 88% increase in net profit
on the back of a 21% rise in revenues in its first
half of 2004. The pan-Euro broadcaster reported net
profit of ?14.2 million, up from $9.2 million in the
same period a year earlier. Revenues jumped from
$326.7 million to $395.9 million year on year. Net
revenue for the group's TV operations increased ?11.1
million during the second quarter, with the lion's
share of that increase - ?5 million - coming from a
21% revenue spurt at the Hungarian TV business, and
?2.6m from the Belgian channel VT4. Danish and Dutch
TV channels posted smaller growth, while Kanal 5
Denmark and TV Norge had marginally decreased net
revenues, despite the latter driving programming costs
down 16%. Taking the half-year view, SBS's net TV
revenue increased ?18.4 million, or 7%.
AUSTRIA
ORF OPTS FOR VIZRT
Vizrt, the world's leading real-time 3D graphics
company, announced on July 27 the signing of a
contract with ORF, Austria's public broadcast network.
The contract is valued at approximately $2.8 million
to replace its existing 82 character generators with
approximately 60 Vizrt viz|trio standalone CG systems
and 50 viz|trio nonlinear editing plug-ins. ORF
broadcasts two television channels (ORF 1 and ORF 2)
and has nine regional stations throughout Austria, in
addition to 13 radio stations. The first 20 systems
will be installed by the end of this year. The
remainder will be installed over the next two years.
FRANCE
DTT TO LAUNCH IN MARCH 2005
The French government has confirmed the launch of
digital terrestrial television (DTT) in March 2005.
The government followed the CSA's recommendation to
adopt MPEG2 as the norm for future DTT services. The
CSA, the broadcasting media watchdog, had indicated in
a recent study that "not a single country is using
MPEG4 standards for DTT services today, either for
standard or high-definition modes," adding, "no MPEG4
decoder will be available in the shops before March
2005". The council also said that
HDTV should be
introduced on a trial basis "on cable, satellite and
ADSL services."
GOVERNMENT SAYS YES TO TV/HABITATION TAX
The French government's proposal to link the country's
television tax with a habitation tax has been approved
by the prime minister's office and will come into
effect next year, a spokesman for Prime Minister
Jean-Pierre Raffarin said. The linking of the two
taxes, which has been debated in Parliament and in the
media for nearly a year, is expected to bring an
estimated 500,000 households allegedly dodging TV tax
into the net, earning the government about ?58
million.
MOVES TO BAN HEZBOLLAH TV CHANNEL
French Supreme Council for audiovisual media submitted
an urgent request on July 12 for the Supreme Court to
stop Al Manar TV satellite, which is affiliated to the
Lebanese Hezbollah party. The request is based on the
July 2004 law, governing electronic communications and
audiovisual media. This law allows blockade of
satellites not signing an agreement with
European
countries. Domenica Baudis, President of the Council,
asked the president of Eutelsat to put an end to the
Al Manar programming and pledged to effect termination
of its broadcast and other satellites as well,
immediately upon the authorisation of the requested
ruling.
GERMANY
PROSIEBENSAT.1 BUYS NEW U.S. MOVIES AND SERIES
Leading commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat 1 has
lined up a slew of new TV series and film blockbusters
for the upcoming season, including "Nip/Tuck," "The
OC," "Spider-Man," "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of
the Clones" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." The group
unveiled its fall schedule highlights at its Big
Picture event, a special presentation for advertisers
held in Dusseldorf. Other major titles viewers can
look forward to next season on the ProSieben channel
include "A Beautiful Mind," "Men in Black II,"
"Signs," and "Vanilla Sky". Returning for the last
time are two of ProSieben's biggest hits, "Sex and the
City" and "Friends." Other highlights include BBC
documentaries "Supervolcano" and "Space Odyssey."
ProSiebenSat 1 is Hollywood's biggest client in Europe
and has direct or indirect output deals with Sony,
Warner, Paramount, Disney, Miramax, DreamWorks and
Lucasfilm. In a related development, ProSiebenSat.1
said it expected German TV advertising sales to rise
in 2004, ending a three-year slump as the German
economy gathers pace. ProSieben said it expected
industry-wide net sales to rise 2% this year and 3% in
2005 after the first half exceeded its own
expectations.
IRELAND
DAIL TV CHANNEL MOOTED
Proposals for a dedicated Parliamentary TV channel to
broadcast Dail proceedings are among a Dail reform
package to be discussed by political parties in the
Autumn. The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI)
has already received an expression of interest in a
parliamentary TV channel from Leinster House. The BCI
could approve a service similar to the C-Span live
broadcasts of Congress in the US. The Government says
such a move would enable "more extensive broadcasting
of important parliamentary debate to a wider
international audience."
SETANTA DENIES FALL IN SUBSCRIBER FIGURES
Setanta have played down suggestions that they are
struggling to meet subscription targets for the
Scottish Premier League. The Irish-based company
conceded at the start of the season that they needed
80,000 customers to break even. It has been reported
they are seriously short of that target - with
estimates ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 - but the TV
channel refute those claims. "We have a policy in that
we are not allowed to release subscription figures,"
said a Setanta spokesman. The firm has launched a
heavy advertising campaign to pull in more fans.
ITALY
HISTORY AND NATGEO PREPARE TIMESHIFT CHANNELS
September 1 has been confirmed as the launch date for
two new Italian time shift channels: The History
Channel+1 and National Geographic Channel+1. History
Channel, the only thematic history network in Italy,
launched August 1, 2003 - the same time as Sky Italia
satellite platform. With the two time shift launches,
Fox International Channel Italia operates five
channels: Fox, FoxLife, History Channel, History
Channel+1, National Geographic and National
Geographic+1, all broadcast on Sky Italia. The History
Channel now has 190 million subscribers in 60
countries and speaks 20 languages. National
Geographic, meanwhile, has 170 million subscribers in
147 countries and speaks 26 languages.
NEW CATALAN TV CHANNEL IN SARDINIA
A new local TV channel called 'Catalan TV' will start
broadcasting next week in Alguer (Sardinia), becoming
the first TV channel broadcasting in Catalan to the
Catalan speakers on the island. 'Catalan TV' is a
private initiative which will start broadcasting six
hours per day, 50% in Catalan
and 50% in Italian. According to the Catalan daily
AVUI, the manager of Catalan TV, Domènico Giorico said
that the objective is "to promote among the population
of Alguer Catalan language and culture". To begin
with, this new TV channel will broadcast serials,
cartoons and documentaries released by the Catalan TV
Televisió de Catalunya (TVC) for free as a
collaboration agreement. Giorico also assured that the
broadcasting hours will be increased up to nine hours
in September 2004 and up to sixteen hours by next
year. In addition, in September a daily news programme
will be offered. According to Giorico, 'Catalan TV'
will broadcast for all the territory of l'Alguer and
the neighbouring towns (12,000 inhabitants
approximately).
MALTA
NEW TV STATIONS NOT VIABLE
A study commissioned by Malta's Broadcasting Authority
has concluded that issuing new licences for nationwide
radio and TV stations would not be viable, the Malta
Independent newspaper reported. Currently there are
four terrestrial television stations that compete for
advertising revenue of $11.4 million. Stations run by
the state and the major political parties attract 53
per cent of radio and 98 per cent of TV audiences, and
control 78 per cent of advertising revenues.
Broadcasting Authority chief executive Kevin Aquilina
said there had been 7 expressions of interest for
nationwide TV stations. The major TV channels are
Television Malta (TVM), the public TV station; Super
One TV, owned by the Malta Labour Party; and Net TV,
owned by the Nationalist Party. Cable TV was
introduced in 1992 and satellite TV is widely watched.
Italian TV channels are also very popular in Malta,
attracting an estimated 30 per cent of viewers.
NORWAY
NO MORE HOTEL TV PORN
Hotel workers in Norway want to ban pay-TV pornography
to stop naked porn-watching guests from calling room
service to lure female staff to their rooms. The
Norwegian Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union says
guests, mostly businessmen, call the front desk for
extras, such as fresh towels, to get female company.
"Most room-service personnel work alone. It can be
very unpleasant to get called to a room to be met by a
naked man," a union official said. Most Norwegian
hotels, like many hotels around the world, have easy
access to pornography channels in hotel rooms for a
fee.
SPAIN
PRIVATE BROADCASTERS REPORT INCREASED PROFITS
Private broadcasters Telecinco and Antena 3 posted
excellent first-half numbers on July 29. First half ad
revenue at Telecinco stood at a record ?402.8 million,
while net profits increased 72% to $134.27 million.
Telecinco in June overtook public TV channel TVE-1 to
become Spain's most-watched TV channel with a 23.1%
market share, its best result since June 2001.
Meanwhile, Antena 3 reported revenue up 20% to $495.9
million and operating cash flow up 168% to $151.4
million, yielding profits of 30.5% compared to 14% for
first half 2003. Net profits for January to June stood
at $74.8 million, while debt has been reduced from
$113.9 million at year's end to $4.8 million.
UNITED KINGDOM
LONDON TV PREPARES FOR FULL LAUNCH
Last month, brand maestro David Campbell and former
Changing Rooms producer Claire Richmond launched
London TV on Sky Digital, making the capital the first
city in the world to get its own TV channel. Broadcast
from 15:00 to 21:00 from studios overlooking the
Thames, the commercially-funded channel will be
transmitted free-to-air on the Sky Digital platform 24
hours a day from September. Interaction, the
interactive television company which also produces
Thomas Cook TV and Thomas Cook Broadband, is running
and producing the £2m venture. The channel aims to
promote the capital, giving visitors and residents a
lively, experiential insider's guide to what's on,
where to eat and where to stay. Deals to feature the
channel on airlines including British Airways and
Virgin Atlantic are being negotiated.
Internet -
http://www.golondon.co.uk
BSKYB AWARDS SERVICE OPTIMISATION CONTRACT TO
CLICKSOFTWARE
ClickSoftware Technologies, the leading provider of
workforce and service optimization solutions,
announced on July 28 that they have entered into a
contract for the use of their industry-leading
ServiceOptimization Suite with BSkyB. BSkyB is the
operator of the UK's leading digital television
service, Sky digital, which is received by 7.3 million
customers across the United Kingdom and the Republic
of Ireland. BSkyB will implement ClickForecast,
ClickPlan, ClickSchedule and ClickAnalyze for an
end-to-end decision support solution for the
activities of its internal field engineers and to its
outsourced business partners. Having met its target of
7 million subscribers 3 months early and with a new
target of 8 million by the end of 2005, BSkyB is
looking to achieve continuing enhancements to the
efficiency of its field workforce while delivering
higher levels of service.
Internet -
http://www.sky.com/corporate
PORN TV CHANNEL FINED
Media regulators on July 27 fined a pornographic
satellite television channel £50,000 for broadcasting
graphic sex too early in the evening. Digital
Television Production Co. Ltd. aired the sexually
explicit images of simulated intercourse and orgasm
between 20:30 and 22:00on April 8 on its XplicitXXX
service on a free-to-air basis to promote the normally
encrypted channel. UK regulator Ofcom said it did not
receive any viewer calls about the April 8 material,
but had heard previous complaints about the channel
for similar transgressions. One of Digital
Television's rivals alerted Ofcom to the six-minute
promotional loop that violated separate
rules
governing taste and decency, family viewing time and
sex and nudity. It is the first fine against a
broadcaster imposed by Ofcom, which was formed last
December to consolidate previous regulatory agencies.
It could have imposed a penalty as high as £250,000.
N O R T H A M E R I C A
CANADA
CRTC FACES BACKLASH OVER RAI DECISION
The CRTC's recent decision to refuse the licensing of
Italian television channel RAI International is
escalating into a political controversy that could
lead to a reform of the regulatory commission. There
is a frustration in the government with the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and
its recent decisions, including those on RAI,
Al-Jazeera and Quebec's CHOI-FM. The RAI bid to the
CRTC was a huge election issue among
Italian-Canadians, with senior Liberal MPs promising
that the channel would find its way on to the Canadian
airwaves. The CRTC has been under fire for several
weeks because of a number of controversial decisions,
including its decision not to renew Quebec radio
station CHOI-FM's licence because of offensive
comments, its approval of a bid by Al-Jazeera, an
Arabic language news network; and its refusal of the
RAI bid. The CRTC denied RAI's bid because of a policy
limiting competition. It said that the Italian
broadcaster would be competing with a Canadian
station, Telelatino, which broadcasts partly in
Italian. However, Al-Jazeera did not compete with or
pose a threat to any other station in Canada, so it
was approved. At the same time the CRTC announced it
is reviewing its policy on its rules concerning
non-Canadian third-language channels.
FINE LIVING TO GO ON AIR IN SEPTEMBER
Alliance Atlantis Communications and US-based Scripps
Networks have announced plans to launch a new
lifestyle network in Canada. Fine Living Canada will
go to air in September, making it the third Scripps
channel to be taken on by Alliance Atlantis in Canada.
Other in the bouquet include Home & Garden Television
and Food Network. The new network takes the number of
speciality brands in Alliance Atlantis' portfolio to
13. Others include Showcase, History Television, BBC
Canada, BBC Kids, Discovery Health, IFC Canada, Life
Network, National Geographic, Showcase Action and
Showcase Diva. Fine Living Canada will offer original
lifestyle programming and will cover areas including:
'adventure, favourite things, transport, personal
space, and every day things'.
PRIDEVISION COMPLETES SALE OF LOCAL OPERATIONS
Headline Media Group on July 29 announced that its
subsidiary, PrideVision Inc., has completed the
previously announced sale of the Canadian operations
of PrideVison TV to a company controlled by Bill Craig
for total consideration of approximately $2.3 million,
comprised of $1.35 million cash and the assumption of
certain liabilities related to PrideVision TV
totalling approximately $960,000. The transaction was
approved by the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission on May 28. As part of
the transaction, PrideVision Inc. will retain the
rights to develop PrideVision TV outside of Canada,
and a 9.9% interest in PrideVision TV's Canadian
operations. In addition, PrideVision will be renamed
PrideVision International Holdings Inc. Headline Media
Group Inc. is a media company focused on the specialty
television sector through its main asset, The Score
Television Network. The Score is a national specialty
television service providing sports, news,
information, highlights and live event programming,
available across Canada in over 5.4 million homes.
UNITED STATES
NICKELODEON OFF THE AIR FOR ONE DAY
Cartoon channel Nickelodeon has said it will go
off-air for an afternoon later this year to urge
children to play outside. The turn-off is planned for
noon on 2 October. The channel will show a graphic
urging children to go outside. They're not doing as
much after-school play as they used to," network
president Cyma Zarghami said. When the channel comes
back on air it will show a music and sports special
encouraging healthy living.
ANIME NETWORK GOES 24 HOURS
Anime Network will become the first cable channel to
move from a strictly video-on-demand (VOD) format to a
24-hour, 7-day-a-week national network beginning July
27, and announced it has secured deals with major
national advertisers in preparation for its launch,
including interactive entertainment powerhouses Atari,
Nintendo and Capcom. The July 27 launch includes a
kick-off event from the Comcast Media Center in
Littleton, where the network's signal will originate.
The Anime Network, a subsidiary of A.D. Vision, Inc.
(parent company to ADV Films and Newtype USA), is the
first cable channel in North America dedicated to
anime with access to thousand of hours of exciting,
eye-catching serialized programming. The Anime Network
launched in North America in late 2002 with extensive
availability initially through digital cable video-on-
demand technology.
Internet -
http://www.theanimenetwork.com
GSN TO MOVE TO DOUBLE FEED
GSN has announced that it will switch to a dual
transmission from a single feed on September 27 at 6
AM ET/3 AM PT. The network, which currently serves the
entire U.S., Caribbean and Canada with a single feed,
will offer more viewing opportunities with the
addition of a dual cable feed that will service the
Pacific and Mountain time zones. Therefore, on
September 27, the Pacific and Mountain time zones
including the states of Hawaii and Alaska will be
serviced on a Pacific time zone feed. The Central and
Eastern time zones as well as the territories of
Canada and the Caribbean will be serviced by an
Eastern time zone feed. As with many other basic cable
networks Dish Network and DirecTV will carry the
Eastern time zone feed. GSN dual feed will be carried
on Satcom C3, Transponder 8. GSN, the Network for
Games, is the only U.S. television network dedicated
to game-related programming and interactive game
playing. The network features game shows, reality
series, documentaries, video game programs and casino
games.
Internet -
http://www.corp.gsn.com
VH1
CLASSIC INCREASES ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING BY 50%
Now in 33 million households, VH1 Classic has expanded
its original programming by 50 per cent each day. The
aggressive push includes the launch of three new
additional programming blocks as part of its schedule.
The new 12-hour daily programming wheel features such
new shows as "The Alternative," which showcases
unconventional bands from the 60s, 70s and 80s,
"Classic/Current" which pairs timeless artists'
vintage videos with one of their new songs, and "VH1
Classic in Concert," showcasing full performances by
the greatest names in music. Launched in May 2000, VH1
Classic is a 24-hour network that presents music
videos, concerts and music specials featuring classic
rock, soul and pop artists from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Internet -
http://www.vh1classic.com
U.S. OPEN IN HD ON BRAVO
A total of 65 hours of USA Network's coverage of the
U.S. Open tennis tournament will be broadcast in high
definition on Bravo HD+. Bravo HD+ is NBC Universal's
first high-definition network, and this year's 65
hours is an increase from the 36 hours of
high-definition coverage of the tennis tournament
broadcast last year. There will be a simulcast of USA
Network's primetime schedule for the first week of the
tournament, which begins August 30, and then there
will be full coverage every day up to the September 12
women's doubles final match. USA Network and Bravo HD+
are owned by NBC Universal, the product of a merger
earlier this year between NBC and Vivendi Universal's
TV properties.
FOX SPORTS EXTENDS BIG 12 CONFERENCE DEAL
Fox Sports Networks announced a four-year extension to
its deal with the Big 12 Conference, guaranteeing that
football and women's basketball will remain on the
network through 2012. According to sources, the
average rights fee during the course of the 12-year
deal is $17.5 million-$18 million per-year, up from
$17 million previously. Fox Sports Networks' telecasts
include 16 football games, as well as a number of
other events including the women's basketball
tournament and title game. It doesn't include men's
basketball. Fox Sports Net also will have the rights
to broadcast some of the Big 12 football games along
with an exclusive day after Thanksgiving window for a
telecast. The Big 12 also will be a part of Fox
College Sports, which Fox Sports Networks will launch
in September. Fox Sports Networks already has a deal
with Turner Sports to carry 11 Big 12 games per season
through 2006. That deal hasn't been affected by the
contract extension.
WHEELSTV PREPARES FOR 2005 LAUNCH
Massachusetts-based WheelsTV, a soon-to-be-launched
cable network devoted to cars, trucks and motorbikes,
has embarked on a development, acquisitions and
production drive. The channel, which is planning to
begin its rollout in 2005, is
aiming to fill 80 per
cent of its schedule with original programming,
including magazine and lifestyle shows, documentaries,
vehicle profiles, coverage of automotive shows, as
well as movies, series and reality productions. The
channel is also planning to showcase shows from its
own library, which includes Wild About Wheels, a
series that aired on Discovery Channel from 1990 to
1992.
NBC UNIVERSAL AND DIRECTV SIGN LONG-TERM DEAL
NBC Universal Cable and DIRECTV, on July 28 announced
a long-term multi-platform carriage agreement for the
NBC Universal Cable properties, including USA and SCI
FI, digital retransmission consent for the NBC O&O
stations, rights to distribute NBC's HD Olympic
programming for the upcoming Athens games, Bravo HD+,
as well as rights to carry first-run Universal movie
titles and NBC Universal specials and events on a
pay-per-view basis. In addition, contracts for Bravo,
Telemundo and mun2 were renewed and extended. DIRECTV
and NBCU already have long-term deals in place for
carriage of CNBC, MSNBC, CNBC World and the Olympics.
NBC Universal Cable oversees the cable distribution,
marketing and local ad sales of twelve properties
(Bravo, Bravo HD+, CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, mun2, SCI
FI, ShopNBC, Telemundo, Trio, USA and the Olympics on
cable). NBC Universal Cable also directs and manages
the company's cable and new media investments
including A&E, The History Channel, History Channel
International, The Biography Channel, National
Geographic International, the Sundance Channel and
Tivo.
PROFITS DOWN, REVENUES UP FOR TIME WARNER
Net income at Time Warner for the second quarter of
this year was down 27 per cent to $777 million,
despite a 10 per cent increase in revenues, to $10.9
billion, led by gains in the entertainment, networks
and cable segments. At the cable division, revenues
were up to $2.1 billion, with subscription revenues up
10 per cent and ad revenues up 7 per cent. Revenues at
the networks segment were up 10 per cent, to $2.4
billion, with gains in subscriptions, advertising and
content.
CRAWFORD OPTS FOR AMC-10 SATELLITE
SES Americom on July 29 announced a strategic,
multi-year agreement with Atlanta-based Crawford
Communications designed to deliver a one-stop solution
for innovative program production and broad
distribution within its advanced HD-PRIME cable
neighbourhood. By launching its digital distribution
platform aboard SES Americom's state-of-the-art AMC-10
satellite, Crawford Communications, one of the largest
independent post production and broadcast facilities
in the country, can now provide unparalleled reach to
virtually every U.S. cable household - and to even the
smallest of networks. As a result, Crawford is
enabling start-up and independent channels to
seamlessly tap the most advanced program delivery
platform together with a broad range of cutting-edge a
la carte or turn-key capabilities, including master
control, play-out, ad and live feed insertion,
domestic and international teleport services, C- and
Ku-band transportable earth stations, studio and
remote video production, video editing, audio mixing,
design, animation, and other post production services.
Crawford originates 32 full-time television channels
and produces some of the most watched programming
distributed in the U.S. and around the world for many
prominent programmers.
Internet -
http://www.crawford.com
REALITY CENTRAL BECOMES REALITY TV
Reality Central, a new cable channel devoted to
reality programming that's set to launch early next
year, has changed its name to Reality 24-7 to reflect
its "commitment to all aspects of reality television".
Q TELEVISION SECURES PERMANENT FINANCING
Q Television Network on July 28 announced that it has
obtained intermediate financing in the form of a loan
of $1,000,000 and equity placement of $1,000,000
through a major private investment fund. Additional
financing necessary to complete Q Television Networks
long term goals over the next year have been
negotiated and the legal documents for these
transactions are being prepared. This television
network was organized to create and develop a network
devoted to providing television programming for the
gay and lesbian community. While the company expects
much of its subscriber base to be comprised of members
of the gay and lesbian population, management also
believes that quality programming about the gay and
lesbian experience, designed to entertain, educate and
inform, will attract many other segments of the
viewing public. The company's programming will be
available on a subscription basis to those desiring
its programming. The network will broadcast 24 hours
per day, 7 days per week. Providing distribution via
satellite ensures availability of the network across
the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto
Rico.
CABLEVISION PREPARES SATELLITE SPIN-OFF PLANS
Cablevision is expected to soon proceed with the
spin-off of its Rainbow Media satellite and cable
programming division. The company on July 30 filed
updated listing documents with the Securities and
Exchange Commission which spell out how the company
intends to fund the new Rainbow Media and Voom DBS
entity. Rainbow said it is lining up a $950 million
credit facility and will issue some $800 million in
debt. Rainbow will limit its capital commitment to the
nascent VOOM service to $600 million (and $150 million
in any one year). Such a restriction should go a long
way toward easing investors' concerns that parent
company Cablevision would divert too much money into a
"bottomless pit" of the start-up high definition DBS
venture. Voom currently has fewer than 10,000
subscribers to its 36-channel high-definition service.
L A T I N A M E R I C A
MEXICO
NET PROFITS DOWN AT TELEVISA
Second quarter profits at TV Azteca have fallen 23 per
cent since this time last year to Ps.443 million ($39
million), on revenues of Ps.2 billion ($173 million),
which were up 5 per cent from last year. Azteca
America contributed to the revenue growth, with
revenues of Ps.95 million ($8 million), compared with
Ps.13 million (US$1 million) last year. Programming
sales revenues were also up, to Ps.47 million ($4
million), but costs and expenses were also up, by 9
per cent, partly driven by an 11 per cent increase in
programming, production and transmission costs to
Ps.780 million (US$68 million).
A S I A & P A C I F I C
ANIMAX EXPANDS IN ASIA
Sony Pictures Entertainment's anime channel Animax has
launched on Hong Kong Cable and has become the leading
international channel on Kabelvision in Indonesia. The
Hong Kong Cable launch follows the January rollout on
Hong Kong Broadband, now Broadband TV and Ex TV. The
dedicated Animax South Asia service, meanwhile, can
now be seen in 8 million homes in India. In total,
Animax is seen in more than 14 million homes across
Asia on five dedicated services: Taiwan, Hong Kong,
South Asia, South East Asia and Japan.
ASIAVISION TO LAUNCH SECOND SATELLITE FEED
The ABU's news exchange, Asiavision, is to launch a
second daily satellite feed of news stories from
around the region. The new 15-minute feed, to begin
within the next few months, will take place from 1215
GMT each day, nearly four hours after the existing
daily half-hour feed. Asiavision brings together 13
national broadcasters. This will be the first time in
its 20-year history that member stations contribute to
two feeds a day. The news exchange also provides news
flashes for important, breaking stories. The decision
to go ahead with a second feed, for one year initially
follows a month-long trial feed last August-September,
which went off successfully. Before the end of the
one-year period, members will review the feed and
decide whether to make it permanent.
AUSTRALIA
SEVEN NETWORK OPTS FOR FRONT PORCH DIGITAL
Front Porch Digital Inc. on July 28 announced that
Seven Network has selected DIVArchive to manage both
short and long form material across multiple data
storage systems, including disk and tape, within its
state-of-the-art Melbourne Broadcast Centre. Seven is
one of Australia's leading media companies and the
country's largest commercial television network
reaching more than nine in ten Australians. Seven has
established itself as a leader and innovator in the
deployment of digital television, and is a regional
pioneer in High Definition and Interactive Television.
To win this deal, Front Porch teamed with Thomson, the
world leader in integrated solutions for the
entertainment and media industries, and with Magna
Systems & Engineering, a group of senior broadcast
engineering professionals.
NEWS AND SPORTS TOP TV COSTS
News, current affairs and sports accounted for more
than half the money spent on Australian television
production in 2002-03, according to figures released
July 28 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The
report also estimated that film and video production
services generated an income of AUS$1.6 billion and
incurred AUS$1.5 billion in expenses. The ABS figures
-- from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003 -- showed those
three categories accounted for 58% of the AUS$1.1
billion spent overall on television production. Drama
productions incurred the highest average cost per hour
at AUS$247,000, followed by situation and sketch
comedy at AUS$223,000 per hour. Sports had the lowest
average cost per hour at AUS$13,000, followed by news
and current affairs at AUS$20,000 per hour.
BANGLADESH
MGH TO DISTRIBUTE STAR TV CHANNELS
MGH Infocomm Limited (MIL), a sister concern of MGH
Group, will distribute and transmit 11 STAR Television
channels in Bangladesh. Asian Broadcasting FZC (ABF),
a subsidiary of STAR Group, terminated STAR Group's
previous contract with the Asian Securities and
Investment Limited (ASIL), owner of the majority share
of local distributor Nationwide Communications
Limited, because of its alleged defaulted subscription
fees. The MIL managing director said all agreements
that ASIL might have with sub-distributors stand
terminated automatically. The channels up for
distribution include STAR Plus, STAR Movies
International, STAR News, STAR Gold, STAR World,
Channel (V) International, National Geographic Channel
and Fox News ("STAR Channels"). The annual turnover
from the television channel business in Bangladesh is
estimated at about Tk 30 crore. STAR Group has been
broadcasting over 40 services in seven languages for
more than 300 million viewers in 53 countries across
Asia.
CHINA - HONG KONG
I-CABLE TO EXPAND COVERAGE VIA SATELLITE
i-Cable Communications, Hong Kong's dominant pay-TV
operator, is leasing two transponders from APT
Satellite Holdings to extend its network coverage to
30,000 blind-spot households over the next three
years. The multi-channel television operating arm of
conglomerate Wharf Holdings now beams signals via its
underground cable and microwave transmission networks,
to 2 million households in Hong Kong, or 95 per cent
of the city's population. A free trial run of services
targeting the blind-spot households in Sai Kung, outer
islands and some other remote areas will start early
in August, offering 20 channels. But the service,
which would begin charging subscribers from late
August, would be more expensive than the basic monthly
package of HK$308. Subscribers also would need to pay
between HK$2,000 and HK$6,000 up-front to lease a
satellite dish and decoding equipment.
INTELSAT COULD EXIT TVB
The South China Morning Post reports that Intelsat may
pull out of Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting, in which it
holds a 51 per cent stake it bought in February last
year. Local brokers said investors would welcome a
change at the loss-making venture, either through
TVB's exit or the introduction of another strategic
partner. Slow subscriber uptake of Galaxy's exTV
service had prompted concerns that Intelsat lacked the
experience to run a local pay-TV operation. ExTV has
attracted less than 5,000 customers since its launch
in February, compared with 670,000 at dominant player
Hong Kong Cable Television and 300,000 at NOW
Broadband TV. ExTV has reportedly faced difficulties
acquiring approval from building owners to put dishes
on roofs. Some industry observers expect TVB to strike
a deal with Hutchison Global Communications (HGC) to
deliver its pay-television programming over HGC's
network. Another possibility is a tie-up with
Malaysia-based Astro Broadcasting.
NOW BROADBAND TV ADDS TV
PCCW's now Broadband TV says it has reached an
agreement to receive 24-hour news channels from Asia
Television Limited (ATV), the South China Morning Post
has reported. The agreement provides now Broadband TV
with an important piece in its content puzzle. ATV
will receive a much needed cash injection that will
help finance its debts and expand its workforce.
INDIA
DOORDARSHAN INVITES PRIVATE CHANNELS TO DTH PLATFORM
Doordarshan, which is set to launch its DTH (direct to
home) platform early next month, has invited private
channels to join the platform as a part of the
40-channel free to air offering. The Union Information
Minister, S. Jaipal Reddy, said that the DTH platform
would offer 40 free-to-air channels. These include 14
channels from Doordarshan, three channels from the
Human Resource Development Ministry and 12 more
private channels. "We invite other private channels to
be part of this platform, or they might find it is too
late to be part of this major DTH initiative." Reddy
also said, "The DD DTH has four transponders with each
having the capability to offer 10 channels. These 40
channels would be offered free to the DD viewers for
the first two years of use. However, they need to
install a dish antenna at their home, which costs
about Rs 3,000. Thus far, Kairali (Malayalam), Care TV
(Health), Sun TV, Jain TV, Alpha TV, MH 1 TV, Raj TV
(Tamil and Telugu), Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Surya TV
(Tamil) and Star Utsav, have agreed to be part of the
DD DTH." "This DTH project is being rolled out with an
outlay of Rs 165 crore and about 10,000 DTH kits would
be provided in eight States.
AMRITA TO LAUNCH TV CHANNEL
Mata Amritanadamayi Devi, popularly known as Amma, is
all set to start her own television channel. The
channel to be called Amrita is likely to be
commissioned on September 27 this year on the occasion
of Amma's 51st birthday. A company, Amrita Enterprises
Pvt Ltd has been floated to run the channel. It is
promoted by a group of Amma's devotees, and the total
investment in the channel is likely to be around Rs 50
crore. "It's not going to be a religious channel,"
says S M C Pillai, CEO, Amrita. "It'll be a 24-hour
commercial channel with programmes based on Indian
traditions and values. Besides serials, yoga, travel
shows, Amma's teachings, the channel will also have
around five hours of news programming." Most of the
programming would be done in-house. The language of
the programmes will be Malayalam though officials of
Amrita Enterprises say that there are plans to have
programmes in Hindi and English as well. News will be
outsourced from wire agencies, which will later be
supplemented by inputs from the channel's own bureaus.
The company has leased a transponder on the Intelsat
satellite. For distribution of the channel, Amrita
Enterprises officials say that talks with local cable
operators in south India have been finalised. In north
India, Siti Cable is most likely to distribute the
channel. For distribution in Europe and US, where Amma
has a sizeable following, talks with cable operators
will begin soon. Pillai says that he is confident that
the channel will break even within a year of starting
operations.
ESPN AND DD TO FIGHT FOR BCCI RIGHTS
When BCCI's telecast rights go up for sale in a couple
of months, it is likely to trigger a bidding war among
channels. But Doordarshan and Rupert Murdoch's Star
Sports/ESPN (ESS) have made a headstart and they may
submit a joint bid. At stake are 30-odd days of
international cricket, including 10 one-day
internationals (ODIs), which are likely to fetch the
BCCI around Rs 700 crore for the full term. On May 14,
ESS made a presentation expressing its intention to
collaborate with DD for the rights. It offers DD live
telecast of all ODIs played under the BCCI contract at
a fee of Rs 1 crore per match, and Rs 5 lakh per hour
for daily highlights of Test matches.
ISRAEL
ALL-NEWS CHANNEL LICENSED CANCELLED
The Council for Cable and Satellite Television
Broadcasting has canceled the license for a proposed
news channel that would feature 24-hour, CNN-style
broadcasts. About one month ago, the council ruled
Israel News would lose its broadcast license unless it
made major progress to air by the end of July. Yoram
Globus' GG Studios, which holds a 65 per cent stake in
Israel News, appealed this week for another extension.
However Globus's presentation of progress did not
convince the council, which revoked the license. Igor
Malashenko and Zvi Heifitz's Heifetz group, which has
a 35 per cent stake in the channel, and the Globus
group are embroiled in a dispute and are negotiating a
buyout of one side by the other. Over the past two
years, the two have bought out all the other partners
in the enterprise, but are engaged in mediation
regarding a mechanism for injecting capital and
diluting the holdings of the ousted partners. The
ongoing dispute paralyzed the channel and prevented
its launch. To date, $7 million has been invested in
creating the channel, all of which has essentially
gone down the drain. The news channel was one of five
channels that the government decided to create as part
of its "Open Skies" television policy. Other channels
include one devoted to Israeli music videos (Music 24)
and the Russian-language Israel Plus, both of which
are already broadcasting. An Arabic-language channel
isn't on the air yet, and a tender has not yet been
released for a new heritage channel.
KLIKA CHANNEL STARTS BROADCASTING
The Klika Channel is the first in Israel to attempt to
find subscribers a groom, or a bride. The Klika
Channel, which began full broadcasting on cable and
satellite television last week, deserves special
attention, because it is the first among many new
channel ventures to provide something really
innovative - the first station in Israel to live up to
its definition as a "service channel." Additional
service channels are expected to air in the future,
for example, including one that will prepare students
for the bagrut matriculation exam. The channel, open
only to subscribers who pay a NIS 39 monthly fee, airs
"video Klikas" throughout the day, a taped discussion
with the channel's female interviewer. The candidate
describes himself or herself, and what he or she is
looking for in a partner. The 24-hour broadcast day is
divided into time slots devoted to age and education
groups. For example, one time slot features people age
55 to 64 with more than 12 years of education.
Additional time slots will soon be devoted to
religious and homosexual singles as well. Interested
viewers can leave telephone or SMS messages for
candidates who pique their interest. To date, 1,500
have subscribed to the channel, but the channel is
hoping to add 50,000 subscribers in the first year.
MALAYSIA
PHILIPS TO PRODUCE ASTRO DECODERS
Astro All Asia Networks expects its expenditure on
programming to increase to RM600 million in the next
three years, said chief operating officer David
Butorac. Butorac said the country's sole satellite
television station had installed about 370,000
decoders in 2003. He said Astro had installed 103,000
decoders in the first quarter of this year and
expected to install more than 370,000 decoders
throughout the year. "For the next three to four
years, our target is to install 250,000 to 300,000
decoders annually,'' he said, adding that Astro had
previously spent RM460mil on programming. Butorac was
speaking at a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
signing between Philips Malaysia and Sanmina-SCI
System (M) (SSCI) to appoint SSCI as the manufacturer
of Philips' Astro decoders. Philips chief executive
officer Rajah Kumar said the company had invested
about RM 2million to transfer the technology to SSCI
to produce the decoder at its plant in Bukit Tengah
Industrial Park, Penang. He said SSCI, capable of
producing 500,000 decoders yearly, had recently
undertaken the task to produce an enhanced version of
Philips decoders. Astro will soon introduce a new
anti-cloning access smart card to its 1.383 million
subscribers soon to fight the growing access card
cloning racket. Astro chief operating officer, David
Butorac said subscribers will be informed to change
their access card soon when the new smart card was
ready for distribution. He said this was to ensure
that the cloning access card became obsolete.
Meanwhile, thanks to Astro, Malaysian viewers will
have the option of viewing live action from the Summer
Olympics in Athens via the interactive service
featuring six screens.
MITV SOFT LAUNCH IN OCTOBER
MITV Corporation, the country's second pay-TV, is on
track for a soft launch in October and has signed up
with enough content providers to roll out more than
half of its targeted 50 channels. Its chief operating
officer Jonathan Chan said the monthly subscription
rates and the price for the MiTV set-top box - an
Internet Protocol-enabled unit required for programme
reception, would be announced soon. MiTV signed a
re-transmission deal with Indonesia-based PT Overseas
Korean Television Network (OKTN) in Kuala Lumpur on
July 28. OKTN will provide television content from
three Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) channels - KBS
TV1, KBS TV2 and KBS Korea. Chan said the soft launch
would be limited to the Klang Valley and expects MiTV
set-top boxes to be fully taken up during the soft
launch. The network will go for a full-scale launch in
December. MiTV chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun
has a 40% stake in the company. Its founder and deputy
chairman, Datuk Rosman Ridzwan and his management team
hold another 40% stake. The remaining shares are held
by private investors. Using the Internet Protocol
technology, a subscriber can receive MiTV channels by
just plugging an MiTV set-top box into an indoor UHF
antenna. The technology cost is said to be one-tenth
of what Astro spends for its satellite technology.
MiTV had said it would need only 13% of Astro's
subscriber base of 1.4 million to break even. It had
also said it would set up 20 transmission towers for
national coverage within 18 months after its launch.
NEW ZEALAND
CANWEST COMPLETES SALE OF LOCAL OPERATIONS
CanWest Global Communications Corp. announced on July
28 that it has received NZ$300.0 million in cash
proceeds from the sale of its New Zealand media
operations to CanWest MediaWorks Limited, a company in
which CanWest now has a 70% share interest. To fund
the acquisition of CanWest's New Zealand operations,
CanWest MediaWorks issued 68.0 million shares to the
public by way of an IPO, and borrowed NZ$200.0 million
from a New Zealand financial institution. CanWest
MediaWorks issued its shares to the public at a final
price of NZ$1.53 per share. CanWest will use the cash
proceeds from the sale of its New Zealand operations
to strengthen its balance sheet.
PAKISTAN
GOVERNMENT PROVIDES ADDITIONAL GRANT FOR PTV
The National Assembly was informed that the government
has taken various steps to redress financial crises of
PTV. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh
Rashid Ahmed said that a supplementary grant of 200
million rupees [$3.43 million has been sanctioned
during the financial year 2003-04 as a short term
measure to overcome the financial crises. The decision
to collect TV licence fee with the domestic
electricity consumer bills on monthly basis is to
improve upon the revenues from licence fee collection
on long term basis, he added. He said new programming
and marketing strategy is being drawn by the new
management.
THAILAND
MCOT TO LAUNCH ENGLISH-LANGUAGE CHANNEL
The Mass Communication Organisation of Thailand (MCOT)
will broaden its role in the broadcasting industry not
only at home but also abroad, after listing on the
Stock Exchange of Thailand in September, with its
first-ever English-language channel, MCOT Television.
The around-the-clock channel, to cost more than a
billion baht, would be the ``window to the East'' with
worldwide coverage, according to director-general
Mingkwan Sangsuwan. The channel will also serve the
government's policy of tightening trade ties with
other countries by creating better understanding of
Thailand. Even with big players such as NHK, CNN and
BBC dominating the market, Mr Mingkwan said the
channel would secure a place of its own by clearly
positioning itself as the channel of the East.
Programmes on the channel will partly be produced by
Panorama Co, MCOT's 90%-controlled subsidiary, with a
focus on documentaries. New production companies will
be added in the future through acquisitions. The MCOT
currently operates television Channel 9, and also owns
the concessions for Channel 3, and UBC pay-TV, as well
as 62 radio stations. In the nine months to June this
year, its net profit rose 81.8% to 1.01 billion baht
on total sales of 1.97 billion baht.
A F R I C A
NDTV 24X7 ARRIVES IN AFRICA
THE Prannoy-Roy promoted English news channel, NDTV
24x7 will now be available in Africa as well. The news
broadcaster has signed up with MultiChoice Africa
(MCA), a pay-TV platform which has over one million
subscribers in over 50 countries in the African
continent and the adjacent Indian Ocean islands
through it DStv bouquet. NDTV, through this tie-up is
targeting the large Indian diaspora present in the
continent. Besides NDTV, MultiChoice will carry both
North and South Indian content. It has two different
bouquets for North and South Indian channels and NDTV
will be part of both these bouquets.
NIGERIA
MULTICHOICE LAUNCHES INITIATIVE FOR SCHOOLS
Digital Satellite Television (DStv) provider,
MultiChoice Nigeria, celebrated its 10th anniversary
recently, with the launch of a new educational
television bouquet for schools. The project is being
piloted in collaboration with a non-profit
organisation, SchoolNet Nigeria, comprising seven
premium channels (National Geographic, Discovery
Channel, History Channel, SABC Africa, BBC World,
Animal Planet and Activate), hence combining the sound
and imagery of television to support teaching and
learning, digitally. The initiative is part of a broad
community development strategy to leverage MultiChoice
assets and expertise for development and growth of
African communities. Public Relations Officer,
MultiChoice Nigeria, Segun Fayose, said the programme
is currently being piloted in seven Nigerian schools
in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education.
These schools, he said, were provided with satellite
decoders required to access the bouquet and training
for teachers on how to integrate television into their
lesson plans. MultiChoice in corporation with
SchoolNet, has established the programme in a number
of other African countries, including Zambia, Kenya
and Angola.
DTH AND CABLE OPERATORS WIN CONTENT WAR
After years of consistent pressure, cable TV operators
have won their biggest battle when the regulatory
authority, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
finally accepted a demand to put local programmes on
only one channel instead of all the channels across
board. The Commission also removed some channels from
open or terrestrial television for the purpose of
piracy and also to protect the populace from
pornographic and offensive materials. Since the
industry began in 1992, operators have always argued
that the practice to put local programmes on all their
channels is clumsy and obstructive and does not give
room for professional practice.
SOUTH AFRICA
SENTECH LOOKS AT DIGITAL BROADCASTING
State-owned commercial signal distributor Sentech is
taking a good look at digital broadcasting in an
attempt to deal with the high cost of staying on the
ageing analogue television broadcasting network, South
Africa's Business Report has reported. Last month,
Sentech informed the parliamentary communications
committee that total user digitalisation would cost
the country about US$626 million. New digital national
transmitters would cost about US$43 million. Sentech
asked the committee to formulate a national digital
migration digitalisation policy framework. A move to
digital broadcasting would mean the 7,000,000
households with television sets would have to spend
about US$80 on a dedicated decoder and US$16 for an
antenna. Digitisation is expected to provide the
national broadcaster with the capability for multiple
language channel capability. The Independent
Communications Authority of South Africa could also
license more broadcasters.
TUNISIA
ALCATEL PREPARES DIGITAL TV NETWORK FOR ONT
Tunisian broadcasting office (ONT) has signed a ?12
million deal with Alcatel for the provision of a
national digital microwave network. This network will
allow the future development of DTTV channels in the
country. The project covers the supply of a digital
microwave radio network, composed of forty digital
stations with large capacity spread out across the
entire Tunisian territory. This network will ensure
the broadcasting of digital television and radio
programs between the production studios and the
broadcasting centres. Its advanced management system
will allow ONT to remotely and flexibly control the
network's broadcasting centres.
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