TELE-satellite News - Number 38/2004 - 19 September 2004

[bobkat]

TELE-satellite News - Number 38/2004 - 19 September
2004 -
A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by
TELE-satellite International


E U R O P E


AUSTRIA

ORF SIGNS UP FOR ASTRA TRANSPONDERS
SES ASTRA and ORF on September 13 announced at the
International Broadcasting Convention IBC 2004 in
Amsterdam, the signing of a long-term agreement on the
use of additional ASTRA transponder capacity by
Austria's leading public broadcaster. ORF will start
utilizing the additional transmission capacity on
ASTRA's orbital position of 19.2 degrees East in 2004.
At the same time, the existing contracts between ORF
and SES ASTRA have been extended. The agreement
further consolidates a mutually beneficial partnership
that has been in place for many years. ORF, the
Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, is an independent
public media enterprise, which has the status of a
foundation under public law since 1 January 2002. The
ORF operates its own transmission network and has the
terrestrial technical coverage of about 95% of the
Austrian territory for its TV and Radio programs. In
addition, since 2000 all ORF channels are also
available via the digital satellite bouquet ORF
DIGITAL.
Internet - http://www.orf.at

FRANCE

VIVENDI LOSS WIDENS
French media and telecommunications company Vivendi
Universal said September 14 its net loss totalled
?1.85 billion in the second quarter, while
second-quarter operating profit rose 6.6 per cent to
?888 million. Vivendi cited strong performances from
its Canal Plus pay-TV unit and its SFR-Cegetel
telecoms business. The company raised its forecast for
full-year earnings, saying it expects operating profit
near 2003 levels despite the sale of VUE its U.S.
entertainment assets to General Electric. For the
first half of the year, Vivendi's net loss widened to
?1.86 billion from ?632 million a year earlier.
Vivendi reported last week that second-quarter revenue
fell to ?5.42 billion from ?6.13 billion in the
year-earlier quarter. Revenue for the first half fell
7.9 per cent to ?11.39 billion. There was better news
for the group's pay-TV unit Canal+ which saw its
operating profit grow 56%. Last year the division saw
operating profit drop 15.5% to ?207 million from ?245
million.

EUROSPORT CONSIDERS ARAB SPORTS CHANNEL
Several Middle Eastern governments are considering
setting up an Arab sports TV channel with European
channel Eurosport, the company's head says. Eurosport
Chairman and Chief Executive Angelo Codignoni told
Reuters on September 16 his company was also in final
talks with Chinese station Beijing TV over a similar
project in China. "There are some countries in the
Middle East that are interested in developing a
Eurosport-type channel as a way of opening the mind of
young people instead of them getting involved in
religion," Codignoni said. He added that he saw
several opportunities in the region. "One of the most
exciting discussions we're having is with Jordan. We
are still in the studying phase but it is something I
believe in," he said. Codignoni said the fact that
Eurosport had no U.S. ties gave it an advantage in
China where he expects to have an agreement with
Beijing Television by the end of the year. He said
Chinese interest in sports television was growing fast
as the country geared itself up for the 2008 Olympic
Games in Beijing.

ITALY

SKY ITALIA COULD ASK FOR STB SUBSIDY
Sky Italia is considering whether to ask the Italian
government to subsidise the sale of its set-top boxes,
a source close to the company said. The money-losing
venture is also looking into filing an antitrust
complaint to the European Commission against the
Italian government's subsidies to digital
broadcasters, the source said on September 16. "They
are considering both options," said the source, adding
that a satellite subsidy would bring Italy in line
with Germany and Switzerland, which have offered
similar incentives. Italy has a deadline to switch off
its analogue terrestrial television by the end of 2006
and move to digital terrestrial TV, a timetable many
analysts consider ambitious. To ease the transition,
the Italian government is giving a ?150 subsidy on the
sale of the first 720,000 set-top boxes for digital
TV, which is a technology that can compete with
satellite broadcasting. Around 450,000 have been sold
so far. News Corp. argues this subsidy represents
state aid and is distorting competition in Italy,
where Sky Italia is the only satellite pay-TV
broadcaster.

TELECOM ITALIA SELLS SKY ITALIA STAKE
Telecom Italia is in talks to sell its 19.9% stake in
pay-TV broadcaster Sky Italia to majority owner News
Corp, people close the negotiations said on September
15, in a move which could plunge the two companies
into greater competition in the Italian television
market. The sources said a deal giving News Corp. 100%
ownership of Sky Italia could be reached within two
weeks, although the companies have yet to agree a
price. Even though it currently holds a Sky Italia
stake, Telecom Italia this week started competing on
football coverage by distributing certain games of the
Italian championships via high-speed Internet. And as
Italy's third national broadcaster with its La7
television channel, Telecom Italia is also mulling
buying some digital TV football rights for itself.
http://www.telecomitalia.it
http://www.skytv.it

THE NETHERLANDS

CLEAR TV LAUNCHES VIA ASTRA
Luxembourg based satellite operator SES ASTRA and
Clear Television Network from the Netherlands,
announced a contract for the digital free-to-air
satellite distribution of Clear TV, a new Dutch TV
channel across Europe. The channel, which primarily
serves viewers interested in other cultures, started
broadcasting on September 15 via the ASTRA Satellite
System at 19.2 degrees East (transponder 112, 12610,50
MHz.). All programs will be broadcast in the original
languages and subtitled in Dutch. Clear TV will
feature multiple genres: films, series, game shows and
lots of sport, especially non-mainstream sports, which
are currently offered only limited airtime on Dutch
television. Clear TV can be received by 10,4 million
digital DTH homes throughout Europe, of which circa
500.000 are in the Netherlands.
Internet - http://www.cleartelevision.com

DE MOL TO LAUNCH NEW TV CHANNEL IN 2005
Media entrepreneur John de Mol has confirmed plans to
launch a new TV station in August 2005. The station
will focus on football and Dutch-language shows. De
Mol said he will compete for the television rights for
Dutch premier league football matches. Presently, the
public broadcasting network pays ?55 million over
three years for the football rights. Bidding opens on
the contract again next season. The Dutch entrepreneur
- who earned a fortune selling his entertainment
company Endemol to the Spanish telecoms firm
Telefonica - also intends to launch a head-to-head
battle with commercial broadcasters RTL 4 and SBS 6.
De Mol must still apply to a licence from the
Broadcasting Commission and talks will then follow
with cable companies UPC and Casema to obtain a place
in their packages of television channels, according to
the NRC newspaper. De Mol will make use of the
children's broadcaster Nickelodeon, having signed a
contract with its US owner MTV to broadcast from the
channel six nights per week. The new channel will be
financed by De Mol's Hilversum-based investment
company Talpa, which already owns radio stations
Noordzee and Radio 10 Gold.

RUSSIA

STS TO BUILD NEW NATIONAL TV NETWORK
STS-Media, the parent company of national television
broadcaster STS, will spend $100 million building a
new national network, the company said on September
15. A major player on the media market for more than a
decade, STS-Media, formerly known as StoryFirst
Communications, said it had already acquired Moscow's
M1 television and channels in three other cities --
St. Petersburg, Perm and Kazan, which will form the
cornerstone of the new network. STS-Media's largest
shareholders are Sweden's Modern Times Group, which
owns about 39 per cent of the company, Alfa Group,
which owns about 29 per cent and Barings Vostok
Private Equity Fund, which owns some 18 per cent. The
company reported revenues last year of $130 million.
The new network, which has yet to be named, will be
launched in February or March. The company expects STS
and the new network to have a combined audience share
of 16-17 per cent within three years.

SCANDINAVIA

NORDIC HDTV CHANNEL VIA SIRIUS
Nordic Satellite and Euro 1080 have signed an
agreement to broadcast the HDTV channel HD1 via Sirius
to the Nordic and Baltic regions. HD1 is the first
European HD channel offering a mix of music, sports,
lifestyle, wildlife and soon also fiction. Broadcasts
on SIRIUS will begin in October 2004. To receive HD1,
viewers need a separate satellite receiver and
subscription (as well as a satellite dish aimed at
SIRIUS). The receiver costs about SEK 5,000. Viewers
will also pay a one-time fee of about SEK 2,000 for a
subscription through 2010.
Internet - www.nsab-sirius.com

SPAIN

GREEN LIGHT FOR REGIONAL TV CHANNEL
The plan for Aragonese regional TV took a decisive
step on September 10 with the authorization given for
it by the Council of Ministers, which is an essential
legal requirement to begin broadcasting. A day earlier
the government ceded direct management of the third
channel to the autonomous community of Aragon. The new
channel will have to begin broadcasting by December.

UNITED KINGDOM

OFCOM SETS ANALOGUE SWITCH-OFF DATE
The countdown to analogue switch-off could begin as
early as 2007 and terrestrial broadcasters must turn
off analogue signals by the end of 2012, media and
communications regulator Office of Communications
(Ofcom) said on September 14. About half the United
Kingdom's 22 million homes currently have some form of
digital television, but the announcement means that
second and third sets in many of these homes, as well
as the 11 million or so homes that have yet to adopt
any digital technology, will have to complete the
changeover process within seven years. "Progress has
been made in discussion between the government, Ofcom
and the public service broadcasters on the timing for
digital switch-over. ... 2012 may be the most
appropriate date for switch-over completion. This
could mean beginning the switching sequence as early
as 2007," Ofcom said in a statement.

BSKYB HANDS OVER MUSIC CHANNELS TO CHART SHOW
BSkyB said on September 14 that it had handed over the
running of its three branded-music channels to a rival
in a bid to reduce costs. Indie-themed Amp, rock
channel Scuzz and pop network Flaunt will now be
managed by music channel specialist Chart Show
Channels, following a review of the struggling brands
by Sky Networks program head Dawn Airey. CSC, which
operates pop channel Chart Show TV, retro channel the
Vault and Bollywood network B4, will manage editorial
content and the day-to-day running for the Sky
channels, but ownership will remain with the satellite
broadcaster.

BBC CRITICISED OVER TOO MUCH U.S. MOVIES
The BBC has come under attack for spending less than
£10 million on buying British films - out of a total
movie budget of more than £70 million. Film-makers on
September 14 accused the corporation of being biased
in favour of US movies over homegrown releases. In the
last financial year, out of 912 films shown on BBC1
and BBC2 only 180 of them were British, of which
two-thirds were more than 25 years old. Producers are
also calling on the BBC to increase its funding of
British feature films through its BBC Films arm, run
by Alan Yentob. The corporation spent around £10
million on UK film investment in the year to April
2004 - less than 0.4% of its licence fee income. The
BBC spent £9.9 million buying UK films in the 12
months to April 2004, down from £13.8 million in the
previous 12 months, according to research commissioned
from David Graham & Associates. Spending on American
films rose by more than 50% over the same period, from
£39.3 million to £61.5 million. Spending on films from
the rest of the world amounted to £1.8 million.

ITV SIGNS UP FOR ASTRA TRANSPONDERS
SES ASTRA has clinched an important two-transponder
deal with ITV, the UK's biggest commercial television
network. ITV, which already has three ASTRA
transponders, will use the additional capacity to
expand its digital offer including more regional and
interactive services. The agreement demonstrates the
strong UK demand for the 28.2 degrees orbital slot and
confirms SES ASTRA and Britain's position as the key
players in the European satellite market. ITV is the
biggest commercial television network in the UK and
ITV1 is Britain's most popular commercial TV channel
with an average weekly audience of 45 million. ITV1 is
also the UK's regional channel, broadcasting more than
6000 hours of original programming each year and
around half of this output is made outside the M25.
ITV2 is the company's younger entertainment channel
and in 2003 it was the UK's fastest growing digital
channel.
Internet - http://www.itv.com

NTL BROADCAST TRANSMITS THE MOVE CHANNEL
NTL Broadcast has signed a five year deal with The
Move Channel to provide an end-to-end channel
management package that includes space segment on
Eurobird, providing access to Sky Digital. The Move
Channel therefore becomes NTL Broadcast's first
customer for it newly acquired Eurobird 1
direct-to-home capacity. The contract includes offices
and play out from NTL's Broadcast Media Centre, fibre
connectivity to the company's Winchester teleport,
uplinking and space segment. The new channel started
broadcasting on September 13. The Move Channel, a
venture of The Move Channel TV, will be a property
information channel on digital satellite, catering for
people needing information about properties and
related services. NTL Broadcast announced in June that
it had secured a transponder lease on the Eurobird 1
satellite located at the popular 28.5 degrees East
slot, enabling the company to offer competitive
end-to-end services to new channel entrants on the Sky
Digital platform. NTL Broadcast already operates
shared multiplexes on Transponders 13, 18, 22 and 37
on Astra 2A, and Transponder 17 on Astra 2B. In total,
the company provides full-time transmission for around
160 TV channels, increasingly adding play out and
other services from its Broadcast Media Centre at
Feltham in west London.
Internet - http://www.ntlbroadcast.com

SCOTTISH BORDERS PREPARE FOR ANALOGUE SWITCH-OFF
Hundreds of thousands of residents of the Scottish
borders are to lose their normal TV service after
media watchdog Ofcom earmarked the region as the first
in Britain to have its analogue signal switched off
completely. It means that the regular over-the-air
analogue services will be phased out and only those
who are connected to digital services on satellite,
cable or the terrestrial digital service, Freeview
will be able to watch TV. The area - which covers the
western area of the British Isles from the north of
the Lake District in England to southern Scotland and
also includes the Isle of Man - has a population of
just 450,000 and includes just one major city,
Carlisle. Several areas had previously been mooted as
potential test beds for the switchover, including the
Channel Islands and south London. The border region
has almost certainly been chosen as the first to be
pencilled in for switchover because of its small
population and the fact that it is covered by distinct
transmitters that don't "bleed" into other regions. A
pilot project in Wales will see the residents of two
Carmarthenshire villages, Ferryside and Llansteffan,
become the first in Britain to have analogue
terrestrial transmissions switched off and replaced by
digital signals in Spring next year. The trial numbers
only several hundred houses and all those not
converted to digital sets will receive a Freeview
set-top box free of charge.

TALKSPORT TO LAUNCH TV CHANNEL
TalkSPORT is planning to launch a national TV service
on Sky Digital as radio stations continue their
migration onto the small screen. Kiss FM, Radio 1 and
other stations are fixtures on Sky and Freeview, but
only as audio services. TalkSPORT, the national AM
station owned by the Wireless Group, said it was in
talks with BSkyB to launch a TV channel by the end of
next month. Kelvin MacKenzie, chief executive of the
Wireless Group, said TalkSPORT TV will broadcast in a
daily six-hour slot initially, but hopes to launch a
24-hour service in the new year. The channel will cost
no more than £500,000 a year to run, reflecting a
stripped-down service that will broadcast live footage
of TalkSPORT presenters and pundits in the studio.
MacKenzie downplayed the company's TV ambitions,
describing the move as "a marketing tool".

CHANNEL 4 BUYS TWO TRANSPONDERS FROM ASTRA
SES ASTRA has further strengthened its position as the
UK's leading direct-to-home (DTH) satellite company
with a major two-transponder contract with Channel 4.
It is SES ASTRA's first direct deal with the British
terrestrial channel, and the transmission capacity
will be used across a variety of Channel 4's digital
channels as well as its extensive range of associated
interactive TV applications. Channel 4 was created by
Act of Parliament in 1982 and broadcasts across the
entire UK with the exception of some parts of Wales,
which are covered by the Welsh language S4C. It is
available on all digital platforms - terrestrial,
satellite and cable - and via conventional analogue
transmission. In addition to Channel 4, the Channel
Four Group runs a number of pay channels including the
E4 entertainment channel, E4+1 and three film
channels.
Internet - http://www.channel4.com

NTL GETS FIRST ASTRA TRANSPONDER
SES ASTRA has announced its first transponder contract
with the Broadcast division of communications giant
ntl. The agreement gives ntl additional capacity in
the rapidly expanding UK market for small channel
launches. The deal allows ntl to offer a seamless
one-stop-shop solution including studio facilities and
play out services from its Broadcast Media Centre at
Feltham, contribution links, and the ASTRA 28.2
degrees East satellite uplink and downlink. It will be
of particular interest to new broadcasters and
satellite channel start-ups. ntl's Broadcast division
uplinks around 150 services from three teleports in
London and Hampshire.
Internet - http://www.ntlbroadcast.com

FREEVIEW VIEWERS UP 2%
Communications watchdog Ofcom has updated its digital
penetration figures for Q2 2004, with the overall
digital uptake rising 2% since the previous quarter to
55% of all UK homes. Digital TV is now in 13.7 million
homes, with 630,000 new households buying into the new
technology in the three months to June 30. Combined
with the 4% of homes still using analogue cable,
multichannel penetration stands at 59%. Platform-by
platform, uptake of free-to-air DTT service Freeview
increased by 12.1%, with the total number of
households receiving the BBC-backed service now
estimated to be around 3.89 million. Furthermore, the
number of free-to-air digital users rose to 4.2
million, an increase of 13.4% from the previous
quarter.




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


CANADA

MSNBC AND BLOOMBERG TO CROSS THE BORDER
Canada's broadcast regulator gave permission on
September 16 for U.S. cable channels MSNBC and
Bloomberg Television to operate in Canada as digital
broadcasters. In allowing MSNBC and Bloomberg to air
north of the border, the CRTC ignored objections from
Canadian broadcasters CTV and the Canadian
Broadcasting Corp., which argued the two services were
competitive. CRTC policy stipulates that any
non-domestic channel that is found to be competitive
with licensed Canadian channels will be barred from
the Canadian airwaves. In MSNBC and Bloomberg's case,
it determined that the two channels were not "totally
or partially competitive" with existing Canadian news
channels.

UNITED STATES

CSTV TO LAUNCH WEST TV
College Sports Television said on September 13 that it
plans to start a regional sports network and that
billionaire financier George Soros plans to invest $25
million in the company. CSTV: College Sports
Television and the Mountain West Conference are
launching Mountain West TV, the first-ever regional
sports network dedicated solely to an intercollegiate
athletic conference, in 2006. In addition to the
unparalleled national television coverage the Mountain
West will receive via College Sports TV, Mountain West
TV will provide exclusive live telecasts of as many as
40 Mountain West Conference football games and up to
120 men's and women's basketball games a year. The
groundbreaking venture will ensure television exposure
for nearly every MWC football and men's basketball
contest, and reconfirm the commitment to coverage of
women's intercollegiate athletics. Separately, CSTV
has acquired Salt Lake City-based SportsWest
Communications, a syndicator of college sports games.
Internet - http://www.collegesports.com

Q TELEVISION MOVES SATELLITE SIGNAL
Q Television Network announced on September 15 that it
will be moving its main satellite connection from New
Orleans, LA to Fort Worth, TX. The satellite change
was necessary due to signal difficulties the network
has been having since it began running its programming
through RCN on September 8. The signal will be moved
to Fort Worth, TX via Firestone Communications.
Firestone will re-digitalize the signal and send it
through to RCN for uploading; once this process is
complete programming will return without further
interruption.

COMCAST CONSIDERS MGM INVESTMENT
Comcast Corporation has revealed that it is
considering becoming a minority investor in the
Sony-led consortium to acquire MGM. The news came as
the cable giant announced a programming deal with Sony
Pictures Entertainment that will include Sony and MGM
content for its VOD platform and the creation of new
channels. Comcast's video-on-demand platform will
feature movies from Sony Pictures' and MGM's vast
libraries. In addition, Comcast and Sony will create a
joint venture, to be managed by Comcast, to launch new
cable channels featuring Sony and MGM content. It is
not clear how much Comcast is willing to invest in the
Sony-led consortium, but wire reports put the figure
at about $300 million.

GOLF CHANNEL NEARS 70 MILLION HOMES
The Golf Channel on September 15 announced the
addition of 4.7 million incremental subscribers
through a restructured agreement with satellite
provider DIRECTV. The Golf Channel will be included in
DIRECTV's Total Choice Plus package, the company's
second-most penetrated tier-offering to which more
than 6.5 million customers subscribe. With its current
cable and satellite home Nielsen subscriber count at
nearly 62 million, the new deal with DIRECTV will
allow The Golf Channel to reach into more than 67
million homes in the United States as it approaches
its 10th anniversary. Golf Channel executives predict
to be at or near the 70 million milestone by the end
of 2004. In addition to these domestic numbers and
long-time distribution in Canada and Japan -- and on
the heels of launching a 24-hour-a-day channel in the
United Kingdom in late 2003 -- The Golf Channel this
year has consummated deals to carry its programming in
Korea, Hong Kong, Philippines and throughout
Scandinavia.
Internet - http://www.thegolfchannel.com

HOME2US OPTS FOR VIACCESS
Home2US enables international broadcasters to
distribute their prime TV channels to ethnic audiences
in the US. Viaccess is a leader in conditional access
for pay-TV and protection of digital content over
broadband networks. Home2US Communications offers a
comprehensive suite of turn-key and a la carte
services to broadcasters, including space segment,
conditional access, comprehensive subscriber
management and fulfillment, hardware provisioning and
state-of-the-art customer support.

JETBLUE EXPANDS SATELLITE TV OFFER
JetBlue Airways is adding more choice to its in-flight
entertainment onboard - more channels of DIRECTV
programming live at every seat and free of charge for
all customers. With the addition this month of Bravo,
Comedy Central, Fox Movie Channel, Fox News Channel,
FX, Hallmark Channel, MTV, National Geographic
Channel, SciFi, and USA Network, JetBlue will now
offer up to 36 channels of satellite television at
every seat. The expanded line-up is currently
available on 17 of JetBlue's aircraft and the airline
expects to offer it across its entire fleet this
winter. JetBlue is also adding movies and satellite
audio to its entertainment options. Later this year,
JetBlue will introduce Fox InFlight Premium
Entertainment, offering first-run movies for a nominal
price on select flights. In 2005, JetBlue will also
add XM Satellite Radio, free of charge to its line-up,
with up to 100 channels of digital satellite radio.

CCTV TO DISTRIBUTE 17 TV CHANNELS
State-owned China Central Television (CCTV) will make
a giant step into the American market next month, when
a deal will be unveiled for the distribution of 17
mainland channels over the Echostar satellite network,
the South China Morning Post has reported. The
agreement will introduce mainland Chinese-language
programming into more than 8.5 million American homes.
News Corp's DirecTV had also been interested in
carrying the CCTV programming but backed out of the
bidding, sources said. A group of CCTV executives, led
by vice-president Zhang Chang-ming, will visit Los
Angeles for a launch ceremony on September 25, to be
followed by a formal announcement on October 1.
Echostar already carries Hong Kong's ATV Home in
Cantonese, CCTV-4 in Mandarin and the Phoenix North
America Chinese Channel, along with several channels
from Taiwan's ETTV. The new agreement will give
Echostar six CCTV channels, seven provincial channels,
three channels from Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite
Television and one from ATV.

GLOBECAST, PANAMSAT AND SCIATL TO OFFER HDTV
GlobeCast, a global satellite services supplier,
PanAmSat, a global satellite operator, and Scientific
Atlanta, a supplier of content distribution systems,
have joined forces to offer a turnkey high-definition
television (HDTV) satellite distribution platform on
the Galaxy 13 North American spacecraft. By
integrating the end-to-end resources necessary to
enable quality HDTV transmission, the service will
allow programmers to beam HDTV signals via satellite
to cable and broadcast affiliates for live or
pre-scheduled events such as sports, concerts, or PPV,
as well as full-time HDTV channels. GlobeCast will
manage end-to-end HDTV transmissions and connect
customers from its digital media teleport in Los
Angeles, using Scientific-Atlanta's state-of-the-art
PowerVu HD encoding and digital content distribution
system and PanAmSat's Galaxy 13 satellite. The service
is ideal for delivery of live or pre-scheduled HD
events on a part-time or occasional basis. PanAmSat's
Galaxy 13 satellite will support the Globecast HD
platform, offering ubiquitous C-band coverage over the
United States from the 127 degrees West orbital
position.

FCC TO PUSH FOR DIGITAL TV
Federal regulators plan to get much more aggressive in
their push to switch off the nation's analogue TV
signal and move TV viewers to digital in the coming
months, FCC chairman Michael Powell said on September
15. Powell told reporters that the FCC planned to
launch a major public relations effort next month
designed to inform Americans about the switch to
digital TV. Powell also has become a convert to the
idea that broadcasters need a "hard date" for the
switch. "One of the things we're going to do this fall
is launch a consumer awareness and education campaign
in which I'm going to be personally involved," Powell
said during one of his irregularly scheduled news
conferences. "We want to help clean up some of the
confusion that's associated with DTV issues."

GOSPEL MUSIC CHANNEL TO LAUNCH THIS FALL
Charles Humbard will this fall launch the Gospel Music
Channel, the first 24-hour music network for Christian
music. Set to launch in seven markets this October,
the Atlanta-based cable network aims to be as popular
as MTV and a blessing for gospel artists who find
themselves mostly ignored on television despite
selling millions of records. The channel will span all
Christian music styles, from rock to rap to
traditional gospel. Another gospel music channel is in
the works. The MP Network - short for music and praise
- is trying to get cable distribution for a launch by
December, with a focus on Christian rock and pop.
Despite gospel's growing popularity, a little divine
help might be required to get these two channels into
homes. Both are independent, without the distribution
muscle of a multi-network cable giant such as Viacom
Inc. or Turner Broadcasting. Internet -
http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com
http://www.thempnetwork.com




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


MEXICO

TV AZTECA PLANS DIGITAL TV
TV Azteca unveiled plans on September 13 to make the
jump to digital broadcasting, saying it expects to
have high-definition transmissions up and running in
nine cities by 2009. The announcement marks the first
time a Mexican television company has set forth a
specific time frame. In July, Mexico's Communications
and Transport Ministry (STC) projected that the
digital transformation could come as early as 2006.
But Mexico's No. 2 broadcaster said its initial plan
to upgrade in nine cities will take longer. The first
markets to have high-definition access are Mexico
City, Monterrey, Guadalajara and six cities along the
U.S.-Mexico border. TV Azteca and rival Televisa
expect to complete the nationwide digital
transformation by 2021. Both companies have run
high-definition tests. Azteca said it will upgrade 555
over-the-air transmitters of its network's signals
throughout Mexico on a progressive basis, adding that
the strategy will not have any material impact on
annual capital expenditures. Broadcasters here have
agreed to comply with digital television standards
established by the Advanced Television Systems
Committee, the same model used in the United States.

SKY MEXICO OPTS FOR CSG SOLUTIONS
Global customer care and billing solutions provider
CSG Systems on September 14 announced that SKY Mexico,
Mexico's largest digital Direct-to-Home (DTH)
television provider, now uses CSG Systems' flagship
billing solution, CSG Kenan/BP, to provide billing
services to its more than 900,000 subscribers. SKY
Mexico supports its entire customer base, representing
a large proportion of Mexico's pay television market,
with the CSG Kenan solution and leverages the system's
ability to quickly launch new product promotions and
support innovative pricing schemes. For example, SKY
Mexico can now offer real-time account balances to its
customers.



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


ADD LAUNCHES ADVERTISING OPTINS ON REALITY TV CHANNEL
Arab Digital Distribution (ADD), the largest pay TV
platform management company in the Middle East, North
Africa and Europe, offers over 3 pay TV bouquets in
the region with over 60 channels on the platform
catering to Arabic, Western and Asian viewers. ADD
currently offers Al-Awael - Premium Arabic family
entertainment, Pehla - Premium Asian Entertainment and
Firstnet- Premium International Entertainment. ADD has
now launched a multitude of advertising and
sponsorship options on the Reality TV channel offering
brands, brand managers, Media buying agencies,
marketers, a fantastic opportunity on focused
advertisement options targeting this ever expanding
segment of viewers who are into edge of the seat
reality programming in the Middle East.
Internet - http://www.adduniverse.com

BANGLADESH

NEW POLICY FOR MONITORING PRIVATE TV CHANNELS
Information Minister M Shamsul Islam said that it was
not the main objective of the government to run
Bangladesh Television (BTV) on commercial basis and a
profiting organisation. "As a national electronic
media, the main objective of BTV is public service
broadcasting or broadcasting for the welfare of the
people," Islam said. Replying to a supplementary, he
said that the government would soon formulate a policy
to monitor activities of the private television
channels to promote national causes. He said the BTV
is involved to promote public welfare by broadcasting
activities of the government, including the issues
relating to education, culture, sports, health and
national heritages.

CHINA - HONG KONG

INTELSAT TO SELL GALAXY STAKE
Intelsat on September 16 announced that is has decided
to end its 51% participation in Galaxy Satellite TV
Holdings Limited of Hong Kong, whose subsidiary Galaxy
Satellite Broadcasting Limited provides local and
international pay-TV programming to the Hong Kong
market. Intelsat's partner in the Galaxy business,
TVB, will acquire Intelsat's share in the joint
venture and has agreed to release Intelsat from any
future cash contributions. A related existing
agreement for Intelsat's in-kind contribution of
satellite capacity on the IS-709 satellite will end on
31 March 2005. TVB will take the remaining 51% stake
in its pay-TV joint venture from Intelsat Ltd. for
free. TVB has applied to the government for a 12-month
waiver to a provision that restricts the company from
owning 50% or more of Galaxy. The waiver will give TVB
time to find a new investor to take up the 51% stake
in Galaxy.

INDIA

GOVERNMENT EXPECTS DTH CONTENT SHARING
The Government has asked Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India (TRAI) to expedite its recommendations on
non-discriminatory clause for direct-to-home (DTH)
broadcasting, according to sources. The TRAI
formulation will be incorporated in the DTH licence,
even for those who are already in the market. The
non-discriminatory clause would make it mandatory for
all broadcasters to share their feed across DTH
platforms. Tata-STAR's 80:20 DTH application was made
early this year, but no decision has been taken on it
yet. Sources in the government said that a decision
was likely only after TRAI issues the
non-discriminatory formulation. The move is to prevent
monopolies in the industry, it is believed. Currently,
there's only one DTH player in the market, Subhash
Chandra-promoted ASC Enterprises' Dish TV, which was
launched late last year. And broadcasters such as STAR
and Sony have not joined the Dish TV platform yet.

CONSUMERS TO PAY TV LICENSE FEE
Indian consumers may soon be asked to pay an annual
fee or a one-time licence fee on the purchase of radio
and television sets, the Hindu newspaper has reported.
India's Information and Broadcasting Minister, S.
Jaipal Reddy, said that this was being contemplated in
order to guarantee financial autonomy for the public
broadcasters All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan
(DD). Alternatively, the minister has suggested a
one-time licence fee on the purchase of TV or radio
sets.

GOVERNMENT WARNS TV CHANNELS TO CURB OBSCENITY
The Indian government has warned TV channels they may
be pulled off air unless they stop beaming programmes,
mainly movies and music videos, featuring "vulgar
content". Censor board chief Anupam Kher slammed the
network representatives for ignoring repeated warnings
to avoid telecasting "programmes unsuitable for
unrestricted public exhibition." The Indian
Broadcasting Federation, representing broadcasters,
said it would take up the issue with members and draw
up guidelines for self regulation. Government
officials are worried that channels are showing adult
films and explicit music videos during prime time
television. While cinema theatres are obliged to
submit films for approval with the censor board,
television stations are not faced with similar
restrictions.

ESPN STAR SPORTS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR TV CRICKET RIGHTS
ESPN-Star Sports on September 16 told the court that
Zee Telefilms was not eligible for the cricket
telecast rights, which it had bagged for $308 million.
ESPN-Star said Zee did not comply with the clause of
having two years' experience covering "live" cricket
matches. While ESPN had both a production and
distribution network, Zee was only a broadcaster that
received a producer's licence to telecast live feed.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI), which had earlier said both ESPN-Star Sports
and Zee Telefilms were eligible for telecast rights,
stated that both were ineligible.

JAPAN

JAPAN TELECOM AND BBC TO OFFER IMAGES FOR BROADCASTERS
Japan Telecom announced September 13 that the company
has signed an agreement with the BBC to jointly launch
a high-quality video transmission service in Europe.
Set for launch on October 1, the new service will use
Japan Telecom's non-compressed television signal
transmission technology and BBC's 2.4Gbps
communications network to distribute high-quality,
non-compressed TV content online to London, Paris,
Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. The service will be ideally
suited for news, sports and concert video transmission
applications.

SINGAPORE

SPH AND MEDIA CORP TO SWAP SHARES
Singapore Press Holdings and its state-owned rival,
MediaCorp on September 17 confirmed the two companies
will take stakes in each other's business to stem
losses, signalling the end of government attempts to
boost competition in the media sector. The move will
cast a shadow over the future of a free-to-air
television channel and limit options for advertisers.
Under the deal, the two companies will merge their
seven free-to-air channels into a new company that
will be 80% owned by MediaCorp. SPH will own the rest,
paying S$10 million for the stake. The new TV company
will later decide if SPH's unprofitable
English-language Channel i will remain on air; most
analysts expect it to be shut down.

TAIWAN

TV VIEWERS TO GET 30 NEW DIGITAL TV CHANNELS
Taiwan viewers will be able to watch up to 30 digital
television channels by 2006, according to a government
spokesperson. The government has drawn up plans to
offer digital programming such as news, entertainment
and sports to the island's viewing audience. The head
of the Government Information Office (GIO), Lin
Chia-lung, promised that the first digital TV channel
would begin broadcasting by December 26, 2005.
Following this move, Lin continued, bandwidth of
analogue channels currently allocated to five
terrestrial TV stations will be brought back to the
control of government properties, with part of the
recalled wavebands designated to serve more programs
for public interests and child education. Authorities
expected the reformation of the island's radio,
wireless, cable as well as satellite TV systems will
help pave the way for a single, unified broadcasting
group to launch in Taiwan. According to the Radio and
Television Law, the nation's five terrestrial
television stations will have priority in requesting
access to the digital channel bandwidth. These
stations are Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV),
Chinese Television System (CTS), Public Television
Service Foundation (PTS), China Television Company
(CTV) and Formosa Television (FTV). Using digital TV
technology, each of these networks could broadcast up
to three separate stations on the same bandwidth they
are currently using to transmit one. Foreigners will
be forbidden from investing in digital channels in
Taiwan, emphasized the GIO head. This includes Chinese
companies, he pointed out.

CTV OPERATING LICENSE EXTENDED
Taiwan's Government Information Office has decided to
extend the operating licence of the Kuomintang-owned
China Television Company (CTV), on the condition that
CTV refrain from transferring its KMT holdings to
foreign investors, GIO Director-General Lin Chia-lung
said on September 15. The commission also recommended
that the GIO should renew the operating licences of
another two local wireless TV stations, Taiwan
Television Enterprise (TTV) and China Television
System, the Standard newspaper reported. TTV will
receive a new licence with provisionary articles that
would prohibit sale of its holdings to foreign
investors - an action that would violate the current
Broadcasting and Television Law.

THAILAND

UBC MIGHT APPEAL ON CABLE TV RULES
Leading pay-TV operator United Broadcasting Corp (UBC)
said it will consider an appeal of the government's
decision to liberalize the local cable-television
market unless its concerns are addressed by October 1,
Business Day reports. The Department of Public
Relations' decision to open up the cable-TV market
without requiring royalty-based fees from providers
will hurt the company's revenue, UBC Chief Executive
Officer Sompan Charumilinda was quoted as saying. The
department has also allowed private companies that
have no licenses to submit proposals to run free
cable-based television on a temporary basis from
September 1 onwards, Business Day said.

SHINSAT TO PROVIDE UBC BACK-UP SIGNAL
Shin Satellite has promised to provide a back-up
signal of the pay-TV programmes shown on United
Broadcasting Corp (UBC) - in the event of future
disruptions from its Thaicom-3 satellite. But both
ShinSat and UBC have kept mum on the question of a
refund for its 300,000 satellite TV subscribers unable
to view programmes last Sunday and Monday because of a
temporary glitch with the Thaicom-3 satellite. "UBC
and ShinSat have jointly developed additional measures
to ensure continuous service for UBC's satellite TV
programme viewers," said Yongsit Rojsrivichaikul,
ShinSat's executive vice president. ShinSat will
deploy additional back-up transponder capacity for UBC
in case of future transmission disruptions. The extra
capacity will either come from existing Thaicom
satellites or from its partners, Yongsit said. A
telecom industry source said ShinSat would have to use
transponders of its Asian operator partners if the
glitch occurs again. That's because its Thaicom-1 and
-2 satellites are fully utilised. The situation is
likely to improve if ShinSat can launch the broadband
satellite iPSTAR as scheduled early next year and then
shift UBC to iPSTAR, he said. Services from the
Thaicom-3 satellite were disrupted on the nights of
September 12 and 13. ShinSat said the problem was due
to maintenance that had to be undertaken immediately,
which coincided with an eclipse. This resulted in a
temporary blank-out of all UBC satellite TV
programmes, which sparked an outcry from viewers, who
demanded that UBC should give them a refund. UBC has
400,000 subscribers, 300,000 of which are satellite TV
programme subscribers. The remainder are cable-TV
programme subscribers. Thaicom-3 satellite has 23
international customers and seven local customers.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

AL-MAJD DTH PLATFORM OPTS FOR CRYPTOWORKS
Al-Majd Satellite Broadcasting, a new DTH platform
with coverage across the Middle East, is going to
protect its content with the CryptoWorks conditional
access system from Philips CryptoTec. The satellite
broadcaster, established in February and registered in
Dubai Media City, transmits two TV channels, one in
Arabic and the other in English. Playout is from
Riyadh, Dubai and Cairo via the Arabsat 2B, Arabsat 3A
and Nilesat 101 satellites. In a special
configuration, the set-top box deployed by Al-Majd
will ensure that its direct-to-home subscribers
throughout the Middle East will only be able to
receive the Al-Majd content. The content itself will
be protected using CryptoWorks so that only pay-TV
subscribers using their CryptoWorks smartcards can
access the channels.
Internet - http://www.almajdtv.com

ARAB TOURISM CHANNEL TO START IN OCTOBER
A group of Iranian and Arab investors announced the
launch of the Middle East's first satellite television
channel aimed at promoting tourism in the Arab world.
The Arab Tourism Channel will initially start with a
four-hour trial broadcast in mid-October from Dubai
using the Arabsat 2A satellite, Ali Fahed, director of
the channel's office in Beirut, said. Broadcasts will
be lengthened to eight hours a day in December, he
said. He added that the channel will mainly run
programmes, talk shows, documentaries and reality TV
shows like the ones on the Discovery Channel. The
channel's chairman, director general and main investor
is Mohsen Al Saffar, an Iranian businessman who is
also chief of the Eurasia media production company.
Other smaller investors include businessmen from
Lebanon and Gulf countries, mainly Qatar and the UAE.
The channel, registered in London with a capital of £1
million, is planning to have offices and
correspondents across the Arab world.
Non-Arabic-speakers, mainly in Europe and Asia, will
at a later stage be able to select English or French
audio dubbing through their receivers.




A F R I C A


NIGERIA

FSTV STARTS OPERATIONS IN WEST AFRICA
Nigeria's first indigenous satellite television,
Frontage Satellite Television (FSTV), has commenced
operations in the West African sub-region, breaking
the monopoly formerly enjoyed by the South
Africa-based Multichoice Digital Satellite Television
(DSTV). FSTV which is a "Direct-To-Home (DTH) digital
broadcasting network" was licensed by the National
Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in 2003 but started full
operations in May, this year. Its Abuja branch
manager, Seun Ogunpolu, said the outfit which is
currently transmitting from Britain is the first to
introduce the pre-paid scratch card subscription
system in Africa. The "Pay As You Watch" scratch card
system allows easy access to 20 channels within its
network. Ogunpolu said that the subscription fee
ranges from N1,500 for one week, N5,000 for a month to
N50,000 for a year, depending on the choice of its
subscribers. He said that the outfit had concluded
plans to partner with the Nigerian Television
Authority (NTA) to enable it meet up local content
requirement of the NBC. FSTV serves 20 channels on its
menu and covers all parts of the country as well as
the West African sub-region

SOUTH AFRICA

TV CHANNEL TO PROMOTE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES
The first national health educational television
channel called Mindset Health has launched. It is a
partnership involving the Department of Health,
Sentech and Mindset Network to provide health
education programmes which are broadcast via satellite
directly to waiting rooms and staff rooms of 56
clinics countrywide. Mindset Network is a non-profit
organisation aimed at the personal, social and
economic upliftment of all South Africans through
better education, while Sentech provides
telecommunication services. Mindset Health aims to
provide both the health care worker and the patient
with the latest information on prevention, care and
management of common illnesses and major diseases,
including HIV and AIDS. It has two channels targeted
at healthcare workers and the patients respectively in
five different languages: Sotho, Zulu, Xhosa, English
and Afrikaans. Programming, which is stored as data
for simulated broadcasting, runs from 7:30 to 17:30 on
weekdays and includes drama, documentaries, interviews
and public announcements relating to health issues.
The health channel reaches over 185 000 viewers daily
who visit clinics and other state health sites,
showing programming from suppliers of educational
material as well as from people's real life
experiences. Sentech provides the infrastructure
needed to broadcast the channel and this include
satellite dishes, decoders and data storage. Other
partners financing the project are Liberty Life,
Standard Bank, Telkom, and the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID).