T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 42/2003 2 November

[Sadoun]

T S I C H A N N E L N E W S - Number 42/2003 2 November 2003 -
A weekly roundup of global TV news sponsored by TELE-satellite International
Editor: Branislav Pekic

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

E U R O P E


TVB TAKES OVER OWNERSHIP OF CHINESE CHANNEL
Television Broadcasts said October 27 that it bought out its partner in a
European Chinese-language pay-TV joint venture for HK$5 million because it
sees strong growth in the market looking ahead. TVB, Hong Kong's dominant
free-to-air television broadcaster, already owned 64% of The Chinese
Channel (Holdings) or TCCH. The rest was owned by Pacific Media, with
26.84%, and a unit of Pacific Media, Global First Investments, with the
remaining 9.16%. The purchase was made in two separate transactions, each
with the same terms as the other. TCCH was founded in 1994 by Shaw Media
Corp. to broadcast Chinese-language television programming to Britain and
Europe over pay-TV media. TVB bought 60% in the company a year later and
increased its stake to 64% in 1999. Under the terms of the deal, Pacific
Media and Global First agreed to remain out of the business of
Chinese-language pay-TV in Europe for three years following the sale.

ASTRA AND EURO1080 TO LAUNCH HDTV CHANNEL
SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company, and Alfacam, the Belgium-based TV
facilities provider and European leader in High Definition recording, on
October 23 announced their cooperation in bringing Euro1080, Europe’s first
high-definition television channel, to audiences across Europe via the
continent’s prime orbital position of 19.2 degrees East. Starting in
January 2004, Euro1080 will broadcast exclusively in high definition, and
offer high-quality programs on music, sports, shows, cultural events, and
documentaries. Europe’s first HDTV offering will consist of two channels:
the Main Channel serving European households, and the Event Channel,
providing special event programmes, such as music, sports, shows, cultural
events and documentaries to e-cinemas throughout Europe. Euro1080 Main
Channel will be present itself as a free-to-view TV channel, offering four
hours of original program a day, between 20:00 and midnight, and repeated
the next day between 12:00 and 20:00. To promote Euro1080 in public places,
the signal will also be available in small venues like pubs, sports bars,
conference centres, airports. Euro1080 Event Channel will distribute
programs via satellite to cinemas equipped with electronic projection
systems and 5.1 surround sound systems.

FRANCE

M6 REPORTS THIRD QUARTER RESULTS
The M6 Group has announced a 30.8% increase in total turnover for the third
quarter this year, earning €247.7 million from the quarter which only
brought in €189.4 million in 2002. The strongest revenue streams for M6
have been advertising, which increased by 4.1% to €111.3 million, and brand
diversification, which grew from €82.5 million in 2002 to €136.4 million
for the same period in 2003. The net has also been steadily growing in
popularity with young viewers in the last twelve months. The M6 Group
includes terrestrial channel M6, and satellite platform TPS, a
joint-venture with rival broadcaster TF1.

TV TAX COULD BE INCLUDED IN HABITATION TAX
French Culture Minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon said he was "not hostile" to
the idea of having the French public pay the country's controversial
television tax at the same time as a habitation tax. It is thought that
collecting the TV tax in this way would make it harder to avoid and would
make up a shortfall of €16.7 million before the end of the year. Aillagon
originally pinned his hopes on cracking down on TV tax evaders by accessing
the subscriber lists of pay-TV operators, but a French parliamentary
committee voted against the move, saying it violated data-protection measures.

REVENUES UP AT TF1
French commercial network TF1 posted net income of €565.2 million during
the third quarter, up 4.6% from the same period a year earlier, according
to provisional figures released by the company on October 29. TF1's net
advertising revenue rose 3.6% in the third quarter to €280.7 million,
posting a strong July and August before flagging in September. The group's
TPS digital platform, in which TF1 upped its stake to 66% last year,
contributed €87.6 million to the diversification revenue and registered a
7% increase in revenue. TF1 also broadened its portfolio by acquiring 49%
of Italian sports net Europa TV at a cost of €35 million.

CABLE LAW TO BE CHANGED
France's cable operators said on October 29 that it was "only a matter of
time" before the current law that sets a ceiling on the number of
inhabitants serviced per operator is abolished by the government. An
amendment to the law was passed in the Senate, or upper house, last week
and now awaits the clearance of the lower house of Parliament, France's
association of cable operators, Association Francaise des Operateurs de
Reseaux Multiservices (AFORM) said.

CANAL PLUS TO SELL DEMAIN
The Canal Plus group has announced its intention to sell off 85 per cent of
the thematic channel 'Demain!'. The channel is currently owned 100 per cent
by Canal Plus. Canal Plus has considered closing the channel in the past.
It has also indicated that it is prepared to inject additional capital into
the channel in order to "give it a real chance of succeeding". The channel
will be turned into a "SCIC", a form of partnership between private and
public sectors, which will enable public sector bodies to take part in the
channel.

GERMANY

RTL DENIES SALE OF N-TV STAKE
German broadcasting group RTL Television on October 31 denied media reports
that it plans to sell off its 48.61% stake in German all-news channel N-TV.
"RTL Television is holding on to its stake in N-TV," RTL information
director Hans Mahr said. "The channel is developing well and, in a
difficult economic climate, is fulfilling shareholders' expectations."
RTL's comments came in response to an article in the Financial Times
Deutschland in which Mahr was quoted as saying RTL would consider pulling
out of N-TV if the channel did not make a profit by 2005. RTL said Mahr's
quote was taken out of context. "(RTL's goal) for N-TV to reach break-even
by 2005 is well-known," RTL said in a statement. "Should (N-TV) not turn a
profit by then, other measures must be taken."

BROADCASTERS PESSIMISTIC OVER AD REVENUE
Both of Germany's leading commercial broadcast groups expect TV advertising
revenues to fall in 2003, the third consecutive year of decline. RTL Group
chief Gerhard Zeiler told press that he expected a single-digit percentage
decline. Urs Rohner of rival ProSiebenSat1 said that the company expected a
fall of 5-10%. Public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have performed well in
audience share terms.

PREMIERE INSTALLS NAGRAVISION CAS
The Kudelski Group announced on October 30 that Nagravision has
successfully completed the installation of its Aladin-based latest
generation Conditional Access system on the Premiere network, Germany’s
largest supplier of pay-TV services with more than 2.7 million active
subscribers. This announcement comes only seven months after the signature
of the contract between Premiere and Nagravision. This achievement will
enable Premiere to increase its number of subscribers, increase its average
return per user (ARPU) and will eradicate the piracy of the Premiere’s
previous Conditional Access system. Premiere’s requirements were exacting:
a rapid and efficient introduction of the new Conditional Access system,
the replacement of the legacy Conditional Access system with the obligation
not to disrupt the services to the 2.7 million subscribers, the exchange in
less than seven weeks of 2.7 million smart cards and the additional need to
manage about 350 different models of Set-Top-Boxes, most of them Dbox-1 and
Dbox-2, but also third-party Set-Top-Boxes and DVB CI modules.

IRELAND

IRELAND TO GET NEW BROADCASTING REGULATOR
The Irish government is to introduce a new Broadcasting Bill which proposes
to replace the current RTÉ Authority and the Broadcasting Commission of
Ireland, which regulates independent broadcasting, with a single body to be
called the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The Bill also creates a fund
giving commercial broadcasters, as well as public broadcaster RTÉ, access
to up to 5% of the television licence fee. The fund is intended to support
the production of specific genres of programming. €8 million per year will
be available to finance new radio and TV programmes on Irish culture and
heritage, and adult literacy. The fund will also support the development of
a national broadcasting archive, including recordings from both RTÉ and
commercial stations.

TV3 WANTS MORE ADVERTISING
Irish commercial broadcaster TV3 is lobbying the national regulator to
increase its advertising minute cap. TV3 is currently limited to 10 minutes
per hour, but wants this to rise to the 12 minutes permitted by European
regulations. The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland will look at the matter
next year. TV3 is allowed to show up to 12 minutes in any one hour of a
long-form program such as a sports event, but the average for the whole
program must be under 10 minutes. Public broadcaster RTE is allowed to show
six minutes per hour.

ITALY

MEDIASET SIGNS UP BBC WORLD FOR DIGITAL MULTIPLEX
Italian broadcaster Mediaset said on October 30 it has sealed a deal with
U.K. pubcaster BBC to carry digital transmission of BBC World - BBC's
all-news channel - on Mediaset's multiplex service. Mediaset will make BBC
World programs available to its viewers free of charge. The multiplex
broadcasts are due to start on December 1 and will cover 50% of the Italian
territory. Mediaset will invest about $235 million on its digital service
in the period 2003-2005.

PORTUGAL

RTP TO GET MORE CASH FROM STATE
The Portuguese public broadcaster RTP is reportedly set to get more cash
from the state to offset the fact the permitted amount of advertising is
being cut. The increase will be commensurate with the amount lost through
the reduction in advertising, according to local reports. In the first half
of 2003 RTP recorded ad sales of €24.7 million.

RUSSIA

GLOBECAST DISTRIBUTES RTR PLANETA
GlobeCast, a satellite operating subsidiary of France Telecom, has signed
an agreement with the Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting
(VGTRK) to deliver VGTRK's RTR-Planeta channel via Eutelsat's Hot Bird
platform to Russian speaking people in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle
East. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Hot Bird satellite is located
13 degrees East Longitude.

SLOVENIA

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RTV SLOVENIA!
RTV Slovenia is celebrating the 75th anniversary of radio and the 45th
anniversary of television. In 2002 RTV SLOVENIA proposed a total of 23,698
hours of radio programmes and 13,573 hours of television programmes to its
audience.

SPAIN

ANTENA 3 DEBUTS ON STOCK EXCHANGE
Shares in Spanish broadcaster Antena 3 rose 13% after their debut on the
Madrid stock exchange. Spanish telco Telefonica sold a 30% block of Antena
3 to satisfy regulatory conditions attached to the approval of the merger
of Telefonica's Via Digital and rival pay-TV operator Sogecable. Telefonica
will sell a further 4% stake by the end of November to complete its
divestment. Antena 3 is the first firm to list in Madrid in nearly a year.
According to press reports, much of the interest in the shares came from
outside Spain

TELECINCO SIGNS MOVIE DEALS
Spanish broadcaster Telecinco is adding a slew of US feature films to its
line-up, after inking a number of deals with stateside movie producers and
distributors. The network has signed agreements with DreamWorks, New Line
Cinema, Hyde Park, Spyglass and Tripictures, securing Spanish TV
transmission for a minimum of five films from each company per year. The
deal with DreamWorks guarantees licences to 70 titles including Shrek, The
Ring, Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can. Telecinco airs contemporary
films in the 22.00 slot on Fridays. Pubcaster Radio Television Espanola has
announced that it is cutting its spending on broadcast rights to U.S.
movies by more than half this year and will invest more in Spanish cinema
production and purchasing broadcast rights to Spanish films. Last year, the
television unit TVE invested €86 million in U.S. acquisitions. The company
said that figure would drop this year to €41 million. Meanwhile, the
investment in Spanish cinema would rise to €36 million from €25 million
last year.

MORE SUBSCRIBERS FOR SOGECABLE
Latest third-quarter figures released by Sogecable show that the company,
owner of digital DTH platform Digital Plus and pay-TV terrestrial channel
Canal Plus, is gradually growing in terms of subscribers. In September,
Sogecable reached 2,412,000 million subscribers, 486,170 more than the same
period last year. Out of the total, Digital Plus has 1,815,072 subscribers
while Canal Plus has 596,516, down 94,925 in comparison with last year. In
the third quarter, Digital Plus lost 30,000 subscribers, but in September
the platform managed to capture 50,000 new clients. Up to September the
company made a loss of €143.75 million, up 158 per cent in comparison with
the previous year. However, revenues grew by 12 per cent reaching €809.5
million.

SWEDEN

DIGITAL TV EXPANDS IN SWEDEN
Over 25% of Swedes aged 15-74 had access to digital TV at home in
September, according to research by Mediavision. For the third quarter of
2003 overall, 23% of Swedes said that they had access to digital TV.
Mediavision said that the results show that interest in digital TV follows
seasonal viewing patterns, with more subscribing to digital TV as summer
ended and overall TV viewing increased. The main growth came from digital
terrestrial and satellite. About 25% of those questioned said that their
digital TV was supplied by DTT operator Boxer. As expected, digital take up
skews to younger viewers, with only 14% of 65-74-year-olds taking digital TV.

TURKEY

RTUK SUPERVISES RADIO AND TV BROADCASTS
The Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) has been supervising radio
and television broadcasts to find out whether they are in compliance with
broadcasting principles and international treaties signed by Turkey.
According to a report submitted by RTUK to Parliament's Planning and
Budgetary Commission, the broadcasts of a total of 39 TV stations have been
recorded every day for almost 20 hours and RTUK officials have evaluated
them. The report revealed registration systems were installed at Izmir and
Ankara Directorates in a bid to watch and listen to TV and radio
broadcasts. It was further pointed out that RTUK was aiming to implement a
digital recording and archive system. If the project is put into practice,
then a total of 100 radio and 100 TV broadcasts will be safely recorded.

UNITED KINGDOM

BBC TO LAUNCH UK G2
UKTV, the joint-venture between BBC Worldwide and Telewest-owned Flextech,
has given a launch date for its new youth-skewed comedy and drama rerun
channel, UKG2. November 12 will see the new channel take over from the UK
Gold 2 time-shift service, which has been dropped after a rethink at UKTV.
Airing 20.00-05.00 on Sky Digital, NTL and Telewest, the new channel will
target the almost saturated 16-34 audience with reruns of BBC entertainment
series like Have I Got News For You, The Kumars at No 42 and Shooting
Stars, and drama hits like Cutting It and Spooks.

FOX KIDS GOES 24 HOURS
Beginning November 3, Fox Kids UK is set to begin broadcasting 24 hours a
day; currently, the channel ends transmissions at 22:00 and resumes at
06:00. The late-night slots, in an effort to appeal to the young adult male
demographic, will feature various Marvel animated series, Power Rangers and
classic 80s animation. On the schedule are The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman,
X-Men, Fantastic Four, M.A.S.K, Ulysses 31 and Jayce and the Wheeled
Warriors. Jon de Mol, the driving force behind reality TV specialist
Endemol has acquired a 5.1% stake in Fox Kids Europe. The kids channel
operator is 76% backed by Disney, and the latest deal was carried out using
investment vehicle Talpa Capital.

FREEVIEW CELEBRATES FIRST BIRTHDAY
Freeview, the free-to-air DTTV service, is celebrating its first year in
business. Freeview, BBC and Crown Castle joint venture, was set up as a
replacement to the collapsed ITV Digital. Today more than two million
households have free access to digital channels. The free-to-air service is
currently available to anyone purchasing a set-to-box for about €100.
Freeview could be in nearly 2.5 million homes by the new year, with
retailers reporting set-top box sales have doubled in the past fortnight as
the Christmas shopping rush begins. Freeview boxes have been selling at a
rate of about 25,000 a week throughout the year, with latest estimates
putting the total number of units in the UK market at around 2 million. The
average price of Freeview boxes had fallen from £99 last Christmas to
around £80, with some stores selling them for as little as £50.

EXCHANGE & MART LAUNCHES TV CHANNEL
Exchange & Mart, the classified advertising business owned by United
Advertising Publications, has become the first publisher to broadcast its
own TV channel on Sky Digital. Exchange & Mart TV transmits on channel 696,
and uses technology from the Digital Interactive Television Group (DITG) to
enable users to obtain details of the product or service they require via
the red button on their remote control handsets. Almost seven million UK
homes have access to the presenter-led, free-to-air service, which provides
viewers with access to a searchable database of more than 200,000
advertisements for items including used cars, holidays and property and
businesses for sale.




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


CANADA

SATELLITE VIEWERS TOP 2 MILLION
The number of Canadians watching TV via direct broadcast satellite dishes
or wireless cable last year surpassed the 2 million mark, up from a 2001
tally of 1.6 million Canadians, Statistics Canada reported Friday. The
government statistics agency did warn that the rapid rise of Canadian
digital DBS and wireless cable services, initially launched during the late
1990s to compete with former-monopoly cablecasters, was losing momentum.
Statscan reported that the 25.1% jump in the number of subscribers to the
DBS and wireless cable services in 2002 was "modest" compared with gains of
66.4% in 2001 and 74.4% in 2000. The agency, in its 2002 cable and
satellite TV survey, said cablecasters had managed to ease the continuing
loss of subscribers to DBS and wireless services, in part by bundling cable
TV with digital cable and high-speed Internet access services.

ROGERS ADDS 6 TV CHANNELS
Rogers Cable is planning to add 12 digital channels to its carriage
offerings in Canada, half of which will broadcast in high-definition.
Available now in HDTV are Discovery, the Seattle affiliates of ABC, CBS,
NBC and FOX, and PBS Spokane. Also available now is the Hustler Channel.
Beginning November 25 Rogers will offer MuchMore Retro, Silver Screen
Classics, Stampede Television, 10 Maxxximum and Fairchild West. Rogers
Digital Cable will now offer its customers 17 HDTV channels as part of its
digital service, which carries more than 360 channels to 500,000
subscribers. Rogers Cable has a total of 2.2 million subs.

LICENSING AMMENDMENTS FOR MTV2
Canada's TV regulator on October 29 approved licensing amendments for this
country's MTV2 digital channel, the Canadian version of MTV's music video
flow channel, including a change to the joint ownership agreement between
Craig Media Inc. and U.S. minority partner Viacom Inc. As part of the
amendment changes accepted by the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission, Calgary, Alberta-based Craig has agreed that
at least 70% of all music video selections broadcast on MTV2, including
Canadian selections, be drawn from specific industry music sales charts,
including Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

REVENUES UP AT BELL
Strong TV advertising revenue helped Canadian phone giant BCE Inc. post
higher third quarter revenue from its Bell Globemedia unit, which includes
the CTV network and the Globe and Mail national newspaper. BCE said on
October 29 that revenue for the three months to September 30 for
Toronto-based Bell Globemedia rose 8.4% to CAN$296 million, compared to
CAN$273 million for the same period a year ago. The phone giant said Bell
Globemedia's TV advertising revenue jumped 22% as the TV advertising market
rebounded and CTV posted impressive ratings.

NEW ANTI-PIRACY BILL
In the latest step to curb satellite piracy, the Ministers of Industry and
Canadian Heritage have jointly tabled a bill in the Canadian House of
Commons to amend the Radiocommunication Act. Amendments seek to improve
Canadian importation control over illegal radiocommunication equipment,
increase penalties to act as a more effective deterrent, and strengthen the
broadcasting industry's right to civil action by providing the option of
seeking statutory damages. "With this bill, the Government of Canada is
taking action needed to protect investments made by the broadcasting
industry, as well as the integrity of the broadcasting system as a whole,"
says Allan Rock. Minister of industry. "We are sending the signal to
dealers of illegal direct-to- home satellite equipment and services that
their days of harming Canadian broadcasting are coming to an end." Heritage
Minister Sheila Copps says that, if not for direct-to-home satellite
piracy, there would be hundreds of millions of additional dollars poured
into the Canadian broadcasting system to make Canadian programs, to expand
distribution capacity and access to foreign-language services, and to offer
new digital, high-definition and interactive services to Canadians.
Financial penalties and/or jail time are greatly increased under the
proposed amendments. For one example, individuals convicted of the
retransmission of an encrypted subscription programming signal that has
been decoded without authorisation will be subject to a fine of €32,482
and/or a maximum two year jail sentence, up from a €12,990 fine and/or a
one year jail sentence. And licensed satellite programming providers will
have the right to seek statutory damages of up to €64,944 against an
individual or corporation committing signal theft for commercial gain.

UNITED STATES

NEW GAMBLING CHANNEL TO DEBUT IN 2004
A digital cable and satellite channel, the Casino and Gaming Television
network, is set to be launched in 2004 to cater to casino and
gaming-interested viewers. Since more than 50 million Americans made more
than 300 million visits to casinos last year, David Hawk, co-founder and
co-chairman of the network, expects the channel will appeal to a vast
audience. The channel will include shows such as "Winning Hand," with poker
experts offering tips, and "Dusk 'Til Dawn," a tour of night spots in
popular gaming destinations throughout the world. The network's goal is to
reach one million homes initially and be in at least 20 million homes in
four years. The network, which plans to raise $75 million in operating
capital by first quarter 2004, is negotiating carriage deals.

NFL NETWORK LAUNCHES ON ELECTION DAY
The National Football League's foray into television begins on Election Day
-- Tuesday, November 4, 2003. The launch of NFL Network will follow Week 9
of the NFL season when the playoff races are beginning to heat up. As the
first 24-hour, year-round television destination for NFL fans, NFL Network
will bring together the NFL community in a unique way. With cooperation
from the league, players, coaches, the 32 clubs and NFL alumni, NFL Network
will be a gathering place for all things related to the NFL and America's
most popular sport. With original shows, preseason games and the resources
of NFL Films, NFL Network will be a cable and satellite channel serving a
broad audience. At launch, NFL Network will be cleared in more than
11,560,000 U.S. homes as part of an agreement with DirecTV’s basic service. Internet - http://www.nfl.com

HYPE TV PREPARES FOR LAUNCH
A new premium cable channel looking to launch will charge subscribers for
hip-hop music videos and programming without censoring nudity or profanity.
Hype TV, an acronym for Hot Young People's Entertainment, is in
introductory discussions with major cable operators to charge a fee of
$3-$5 per month. The commercial-free channel would target viewers 18-34 who
would see raunchier versions of the heavily edited fare commonly seen on
MTV or Black Entertainment Television.

ESPN SECURES SPANISH LEAGUE RIGHTS
ESPN has secured the rights to La Liga, the Spanish Football League, for
its Latin American and Pacific Rim feeds. The agreement, valid through
2005-2006, ensures ESPN's continued coverage of Spanish Football matches,
which it has been carrying in Latin America since 1998. ESPN will broadcast
the matches live on ESPN, ESPN2 AND ESPN+ in Latin America, as well as on
ESPN Brazil, and on the feeds serving Australia and New Zealand. The deal
also gives ESPN the broadcast rights to the Copa del Rey for the 2004-05
and 2005-06 seasons. Goles de Espana launches in Latin America on November 3.

AIT JOINS ICN LINE-UP
International Channel Networks (ICN) has begun distributing African
Independent Television (AIT) as part of its package of premium digital
cable channels. The 24-hour network from Nigeria is a pan-African general
entertainment channel, featuring news, talk shows, soap operas, music,
sports and other genres. Of the channel's schedule, some 95 per cent is
broadcast in English. AIT is currently available across Africa, as well as
in South America, Mexico and the Caribbean. ICN, majority owned by Liberty
Media, now offers 16 premium services, including CCTV-4, Channel One
Russia, MBC, TV Asia, Zee TV and TV Japan.

TV SETS TO RECEIVE DIGITAL SIGNALS
All but the smallest new televisions will have to be able to receive
digital TV signals by July 2007 under a government rule upheld by a federal
appeals court on October 28. The makers of TVs, VCRs and DVD players tried
to block the Federal Communications Commission rule, saying it would make
sets more expensive and was unnecessary because cable and satellite viewers
don't need the tuners. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit sided with the FCC, which said the
requirement was needed because the industry was not moving quickly enough
to make tuners available. The tuners will be needed to receive over-the-air
broadcasts after the nation switches from analogue to digital signals.
Congress has set a goal of December 2006, or when 80 per cent of the public
can view the signals, for the switch over.

REVIEW OF NEWS CORP-DIRECTV DEAL EXPECTED SOON
The Federal Communications Commission should be able to complete its review
of News Corp.'s purchase of Hughes Electronics Corp.s' DirecTV by the end
of the year, according to Kenneth Ferree, chief of the agency's Media
Bureau. The agency on October 10 stopped its review, pending receipt of
further information from the companies. Speaking at an investors conference
by Charles Schwab Capital Markets on October 29, Ferree said he expects to
restart the agency's informal 180-day countdown for review "within a matter
of days or a week."

NEW SATELLITE TO BOOST DIRECTV PROGRAMMING
DirecTV's 7S satellite, which will expand local programming capability,
will be launched as soon as the end of January, said Eddy Hartenstein,
chairman and chief executive. Speaking at the Satellite Broadcasting
Communications Association's SkyForum meeting on October 30, Hartenstein
said the satellite will be delivered at the end of the year and shipped to
the launch site January 1 or 2. DirecTV, a unit of Hughes Electronics
Corp., recently won a courtroom battle for the 7S satellite, which is being
manufactured by bankrupt Loral Space & Communications. DirecTV had agreed
to buy the satellite from Loral, but Loral filed for bankruptcy. As part of
its bankruptcy proceeding, Loral was able to renegotiates its contract to
sell the satellite. EchoStar Communications Corp., a rival of DirecTV,
tried to wrangle the satellite from DirecTV by offering $200 million for
it. DirecTV sweetened its deal by adding $25 million to its previously
negotiated contract. The 7S satellite will help boost DirecTV's local
programming capability, but the company is still looking for ways to expand
capacity for HDTV and other services. Hartenstein said the company is
continuing to consider options including the reconfiguration of its
Spaceway satellite to beam HDTV signals. DirecTV has been working to reduce
the cost of its set-top boxes and fees opportunities after its acquisition
by News Corp.

ECHOSTAR DISH TO BOOST PROGRAMMING
Echostar is preparing to introduce a new "Superdish" in mid-November that
will enhance the company's ability to offer more high definition and local
programming. Speaking at SkyForum, the Satellite Broadcasting
Communications Association's gathering, Chief Executive Charlie Ergen said
the new dish will boost high-definition capacity to 50 channels and enable
local-to-local programming in 20 to 30 more markets. The dish was
originally scheduled for an earlier autumn launch, but got pushed back.
Echostar currently offers eight high-definition channels and local
programming in 74 markets. The digital TV operator has plans to offer local
programming in 100 markets by year end. The Superdish is slightly larger
than current dishes and elliptical in shape. The dish will capture signals
from three satellites; current dishes capture signals from two. In addition
to high-definition and local programming, EchoStar is looking into more
opportunities in broadband service, particularly in rural areas, CEO Ergen
said.

URBAN NETWORK GETS NEW SHAREHOLDER
Urban Television Network Corporation announced that Wright Entertainment
has purchased an interest in the Company's stock for $7,000,000 that will
be paid over a two-year period. This ownership position, when added to the
shares owned by Wright Entertainment through a separate transaction, will
give it majority ownership of the Company's common stock, hence becoming
one of the first public minority owned television networks in U.S. history.
Urban Television Network Corporation is a television network composed of
affiliate broadcast television stations across the country that air
programming supplied by the network via satellite transmission. The network
has approximately 72 affiliates with a household coverage of approximately
22 million households.
Internet http://www.uatvn.com

GERMAN TV EXPANDS CARRIAGE
German TV, the cable and satellite channel operated by ARD, ZDF and
Deutsche Welle, has secured a carriage deal with Time Warner Cable. Under
the agreement, German TV will be added to Time Warner Cable's digital
line-up as a premium service, either as a standalone or as part of a
package with Deutsche Welle's DW-TV. The channel airs a range of
programming, including Wetten, dass...?, news shows Tagesschau and Heute
Journal, and children's series such as Die Sendung mit der Maus, in
addition to Bundesliga soccer matches. It is currently carried in the U.S.
on Cablevision Systems and Adelphia Communications.
Internet http://www.german.tv




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


GUYANA

STATE TV AND RADIO COMPANIES TO MERGE
Seeking to streamline its media holdings ahead of further industry
liberalization, Guyana's government said on October 30 it would merge
operations at its radio and television companies. The government will lay
off the more than 200 workers at both companies, but then rehire some after
the merger, planned for early next year as the government begins passing
out licenses to radio competitors, government spokesman Kellawan Lall said.
The television company, called Guyana Broadcasting and Television Co.,
competes with about 19 other private stations. The government has yet to
decide on the new company's name.

MEXICO

GOVERNMENT LIFTS PAY-TV TAX
The Mexican government has lifted a special 10% tax charged on pay-TV and
the radio communications service known as trunking, a move that could boost
revenues for companies such as Nextel Communications Inc. and local
broadcaster Grupo Televisa. The Finance Ministry said in a decree published
in the Official Gazette on October 30 that the Special Tax on Production
and Services - known by its Spanish acronym IEPS - will be reversed with an
identical tax credit starting November 2. Also benefiting from the 10% tax
elimination is Innova, which provides direct-to-home, or DTH, satellite
television services in Mexico under the Sky brand name. Innova controls
about three quarters of Mexico's DTH market with 809,000 subscribers.
Televisa owns 60% of the satellite pay-TV company, while Australian
satellite giant News Corp. and media investment company Liberty Media Corp.
own the remaining 30% and 10%, respectively.




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


PIRACY CAUSES $1.3 BILLION IN LOST REVENUE
Cable and satellite TV piracy in the Asia-Pacific region has caused an
estimated $1.29 billion in lost revenues for operators and channel
providers in 2003, with those losses increasing at a rate of 10 percent per
year. The findings are included in a report by the Cable and Satellite
Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and CLSA Asia Pacific Markets
(CLSA), which examined the effects of unlicensed operators and pirated
signal subscribers in a variety of markets, including Hong Kong, India,
Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. Leading the region’s
pay-TV piracy problems is India, where under-declaration of subscribers has
resulted in 72 per cent of the revenue losses. Twenty-three per cent of the
revenue losses, meanwhile, was a result of unlicensed operators and pirated
analogue set-top boxes in Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines. And Hong
Kong alone contributed $28 million to the lost revenues.

SONY TO LAUNCH ANIME CHANNEL
Sony Pictures Television International is set to take the Japanese anime
channel Animax across Asia in January 2004. Animax Asia is set to launch
across the region with three dedicated, customized feeds for Taiwan, Hong
Kong and Southeast Asia. Carriage deals have already been secured in
several key markets, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Phillipines and
Indonesia. Sony Pictures Entertainment has been operating Animax in Japan
since 1998 in partnership with four major anime studios: Toei Animation,
Sunrise, TMS Entertainment, and Nihon Ad Systems. Animax Japan reaches
about 4 million households on SkyPerfecTV! SkyPerfecTV!2, and Cable Television.

HBO, STAR PLUS, DISCOVER AND ESPN-STAR SPORTS MOST POPULAR
HBO, STAR Plus, Discovery and ESPN-STAR Sports are among the most popular
pay-TV channels in Asia, while Hallmark has the unenviable tag of being the
“least wanted channel”, as per a survey conducted among pay-TV operators,
over a dozen Asian countries. According to Asia Pay TV Operators Survey,
2003, instituted by Singapore-based trade publication, Television Asia, in
association with Fusion Consulting, HBO, STAR Plus, Discovery and ESPN-STAR
Sports were regarded as the best channels in the region in terms of
programme quality. In the news and current affairs genre, two Indian
channels, Aajtak and STAR News figure among the “best channel” list in Asia
that is led by CNN and BBC. Among the other channel genres, STAR Plus leads
the charge in the entertainment space, HBO in movies, ESS (sports), MTV
(music), Cartoon Network (kids) and Discovery (documentary/travel). Of the
57 million pay-TV viewers in the 15-odd Asian markets surveyed, over 40
million come from India. STAR Plus, HBO and Zee TV figure as the most
popular pay channels in India.

ORBIT LAUNCHES NEW SPORTS CHANNEL
As part of its commitment to the highest standard of home entertainment,
the Orbit Satellite and Radio Television Network, the leading pay-TV
platform in the Middle East and North Africa, announced the official launch
of ‘Al Riyadhiya’ a new daily 12-hours sports channel

IQRAA PLANS ENGLISH LANGUAGE ISLAMIC CHANNEL
Iqraa Channel is planning to launch an Islamic channel in English in the
next few months to spread the message of Islam. Nabeel Al-Hammad, director
general of the channel, told Arab News that the new channel would be
directed at Europe and America and some Asian and African countries in the
first phase. “The decision to launch the new channel was adopted in order
to take the message of Islam to all English-speaking people. We found that
such a channel has become necessary to counter the smear campaign against
Islam and Muslims after the September 11 , 2001 events,” he said. Al-Hammad
said the new channel would try to correct misconceptions about Islam.
Addressing a press conference on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of
Iqraa’s launch, the director general said the channel already presented
some programs in English, French and Urdu. “Iqraa has been successful as an
Islamic satellite channel,” Al-Hammad said adding that the number of its
viewers was growing day by day. “The channel was also successful in
attracting advertisements,” he said. “It is the third largest Arab
satellite channel in terms of advertising,” the director general said.

AUSTRALIA

FOXTEL TO FUND DIGITAL TV UPGRADE
Jointly owned Australian pay-TV company Foxtel has signed a A$550 million
loan to fund its long awaited upgrade to digital broadcasting, according to
The Australian newspaper. Foxtel told the newspaper it had secured the
funds from a syndicate of banks led by Commonwealth Bank of Australia and
investment bank ABN Amro. Foxtel shareholders Telstra Corp., News Corp. and
Publishing & Broadcasting have minimized their exposure to the loan with
the banks agreeing to a fully non-recourse deal in which the banking
syndicate bears all the liability. The upgrade from analog to digital
pay-TV services, expected in the first half of next year, means Foxtel can
offer interactive services and expand its offering to 120 channels

Australian pay-TV frontrunner Foxtel has failed to negotiate the necessary
financing for its planned digital rollout. The Telstra-, News Corp.- and
PBL-backed company is talking to banks about a A$600 million loan but they
are reported to be concerned about the prospects for a digital service,
raising the prospect that current shareholders may have to foot the bill.

CHINA HONG KONG

ANALOGUE BROADCASTS TO BE PHASED OUT
Satellite broadcasting in China is expected to be available on more than
120 digital channels by the year 2005, China Daily reported on October 27.
The country plans to shut down analogue television broadcast operations in
33 major cities by the end of 2005, but some insiders are not so optimistic
because of the lagging state of digital television’s development. If all
goes as planned, residents in China’s major cities will be able to watch
digital broadcasts of all 2008 Olympics action. Beijing has already opened
three digital cable television channels on a trial basis. At present, China
is adopting one of Europe’s digital television transmission standards as a
transitional standard, said Bai Weimin, an official with the Ministry of
Information Industry. The State Administration of Radio, Film and
Television plans to create 30 digital pay-TV channels this year, the
newspaper said, citing Zhang Haitao, the administration’s deputy director.

DISCOVERY SIGNS CARRIAGE DEAL
Discovery Networks Asia has expanded its penetration in the region, after a
five-channel carriage deal with Hong Kong Cable Television. Adding to
Discovery Channel on the HK platform, which has been onboard since 1998,
DNA has now secured basic tier carriage for Animal Planet and Discovery
Travel & Adventure. They arrive this month. Cable Television’s premium tier
will also include three other DNA channels: Discovery Health, Discovery
Science and Discovery Home & Leisure. The channels will debut later this year.

NWI AND CHINA AEROSPACE TO OFFER DIGITAL TV
New World Infrastructure (NWI) has formed a joint venture with the Hong
Kong-listed company of China state-owned China Aerospace Science and
Technology to provide digital TV and interactive cable services in China.
The venture, owned 51 per cent by the telecom, media and technology arm of
New World Development and 49 per cent by listed China Aerospace
International Holdings, is aiming for two million subscribers within two
years. China Aerospace New World Technology managing director Douglas Chan
said the venture was the world’s first provider of technology that offered
video-on-demand digital recording with television in one set-top box over a
single network. It would enable the company to command 90 per cent more
revenue than an ordinary TV service, he said. Other types of interactive
services such as distance learning and e-commerce would gradually become
available through the set-top box.

HONG KONG SEES GREAT CABSAT POTENTIAL
Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang said
on October 29 that the cable and satellite broadcasting market potential is
massive in the Asia Pacific region, which witnesses both expansion of the
market place and the advancement of top-notch technology. He said the cable
and satellite TV households in Asia Pacific grew by more than six times,
from about 29 million in 1992 to about 188 million in 2002. Tsang said the
estimated total pay-TV revenue in the region was about $13 billion in 2002,
projected to grow to $31 billion in 2010. He added that however, the
penetration rate of cable and satellite TV is still only 32 per cent of the
570 million TV households in the region. The Hong Kong official said that
the Chinese mainland, India and Japan are the fastest growing markets in
the region. On piracy of pay TV, he said Hong Kong will continue to work
with the industry to contain the problem. The Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region government mounted 14 special operations against
illegal sale of unauthorized decoders in the past two years and 44 persons
were arrested with 12 convicted in court.

CCTV SEEKS FOREIGN PARTNERS FOR PAY-TV CHANNELS
China Central Television, the country’s main state-run broadcaster, will
need to buy TV programs from foreign companies in order to fill schedules
on its newly launched pay-TV channels, Vice President Zhang Changming told
an industry forum on October 30. Zhang said CCTV has, in cooperation with
China Film Group and Beijing Media Group, started broadcasting six pay
channels in 33 major cities. The new, commercial-free channels were
launched on September 1 and currently draw all their programming from the
libraries of CCTV and the other partners. CCTV plans to expand its new
pay-TV offerings from the current focus on movies and drama to as many as
30 channels by the end of the year, Zhang said, with new channels focusing
on themes including automobiles, the stock market, cartoons, fashion,
geography, collectibles and home living.

INDIA

DD NEWS TO BECOME MUST-CARRY CHANNEL
Doordarshan’s 24-hour news channel DD News, to be launched on November 3,
is to become a must-carry channel for cable television operators along with
the National Channel DD One and one regional DD Channel, the Deepika Global
agency has reported. The news agency said DD One, the Metro channel DD Two
which is being scrapped to make way for DD News, and one regional channel
of the relevant state/union territory were the three must-carry channels
under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995. The notification
will come into effect from November 3. In states where there is no regional
language other than Hindi, the cable operators will be required to carry
Doordarshan’s niche channel, DD Bharati. DD News will be available as a
free-to-air channel through India’s INSAT-2E and PaNamSat-10 satellite,
which will make it available in 78 countries across the world.

GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE INVESTMENTS IN DOORDARSHAN
The Indian government will invest Rs20 billion ($442 million) in public
broadcaster Doordarshan over the next five years. The government wants to
improve the broadcaster's technical infrastructure and program content, as
the network loses audience share to commercial channels and pay TV.

ISRAEL

PLAYBOY TV SIGNS UP 70,000 SUBSCRIBERS
After being put back on the air last spring, following a High Court
decision to allow the adult entertainment channel on the air, Tel
Aviv-based licensee of Playboy TV International (PTVI), relaunched on YES
and cable systems Tevel, Matav and Golden channels. Airing nightly from
22:00 to 04:00 to subscribers using a secret code, the channel already has
70,000 subscribers paying NIS 29.90 per month. But there are another
100,000 subscribers opting for the pay-per-night option, viewers who don't
want a whole month of Playboy. According to Yair Hasson, president and CEO
of Play TV, the Playboy channel's subscriber penetration surpassed all
expectations and has nearly reached the original subscriber numbers
attained during its first 18 months of operation, before the court case.
Play TV expects an average of 100,000 subscribers over the course of 2004,
and plans on adding more revenue with its pay-per-night viewers, who spend
NIS 17 for their one-time viewing.

JAPAN

DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TO LAUNCH ON DECEMBER 1
Terrestrial digital broadcasting will begin in some areas of Tokyo, Osaka
and Nagoya on December 1. Initially, 12 million households will be able to
enjoy the service, which will replace the analogue format. The new service
will gradually be expanded, and by the end of 2006, it will be available in
all major cities. According to a survey conducted by major ad agency Dentsu
Inc., about 40% of TV viewers know nothing about digital terrestrial. The
Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry and
the broadcasting industry plan to terminate the 50-year-old analogue
services in July 2011. But to receive the service, users will have to fork
out 200,000 yen for antennas, specialized tuners, or TV sets with built-in
tuners. The ministry estimates this new market and related sectors will
generate 40 trillion yen in the economy and provide an indirect boost of
212 trillion yen.

NEW ZEALAND

TELECOM AND SKY TV OFFER JOINT SERVICE PACKAGE
Telecom and Sky TV have finally made up and are now selling a package of
phone line and digital television services after 18 months of separation.
The two launched pay-TV and telephone services in May 2000 but the deal
ended about two years later. It has taken 18 months to launch a new deal,
which Telecom calls TVLine. Telecom is doing the billing for the home phone
line rental and basic Sky digital television package. However, Sky will
bill separately for its magazine SkyWatch, for premium sports and movie
channels and for pay-per-view channels.

UKTV ARRIVES IN NEW ZEALAND
Australian 'best-of-British' channel UKTV, a joint-venture between Foxtel
(60%), BBC Worldwide (20%) and FremantleMedia (20%), has made its first
steps outside its home territory. From the beginning of November, the
seven-year-old pay channel will launch its New Zealand feed on the News
Corp's Sky Digital satellite platform. The schedule of the NZ sister
offering will be tweaked to suit the local market, revolving round a diet
of Brit series like The Bill, Coronation Street, EastEnders and
Ballykissangel. The move will also see the BBC's Holby City and Five's
Family Affairs making their New Zealand debuts. Classic series like
Porridge, Allo Allo, The Young Ones and Black Adder will also feature in
the mix. The Australian channel airs on both Foxtel and Austar satellite
platforms. UKTV is unrelated to the UK-based joint-venture between BBC
Worldwide and Flextech of the same name.

THAILAND

CREATION OF PUBLIC TV SERVICE URGED
Media reform advocates have proposed the creation of a public broadcasting
service (PBS), modelled on Britain's BBC, to broaden the people's freedom
of expression. The country now has six free-to-air TV channels. Five are
partly or totally owned by the government and the only privately-owned
station, iTV, is now in the hands of Shin Corp, which is controlled by
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family. Revenue could come from the
collection of a licensing fee on TV sets, government subsidy, public
donations, or a combination of these. A full study was now being made of
the proposal by media reform advocates, and it could be up and running in
5-10 years, once the NBC was set up.

UBC EXPECTS 440,000 SUBSCRIBERS BY YEAR-END
United Broadcasting Corp (UBC), the country's largest pay-TV operator, has
projected the number of its subscribers will reach 440,000 by the end of
this year. Ong-ard Prapakamol, the company's marketing and sales director,
declined to reveal last year's figure but said growth was coming from an
aggressive promotional and marketing strategy. However, early this year
chief executive Sompan Charumilinda had projected the number of subscribers
would reach 500,000. Ong-ard said next year UBC would add more attractive
programmes as part of its plan to draw new subscribers, especially in the
provinces. Currently, subscribers in the provinces, a segment with high
potential, make up 28% of the subscriber base. He said next year promised
more growth because of the recovering economy, more consumer spending and a
crackdown on illegal pay-television operations. UBC now has 29 channels,
excluding free-to-air channels and educational programmes, offering sports,
news and documentaries. The company reported first-half profits of 74.6
million baht, compared with losses of 17.7 million in the same period last year

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