NEWS
Monday
16th June 2003 to Monday 23rd June 2003
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Friday
20th June 2003
Alcatel
and SES Global expand satellite links in Europe
UK
Govt may negotiate on 'Murdoch Clause'
Nokia: 3G phones not perfect
Murdoch defends DirecTV deal, again
Rugby
League blanks E74.2m Sky deal
Indian
Government stages walk-out from CAS meeting
Cable
& Wireless chief goes with reduced pay-off
GoBarkingMad
muzzled
Cablevision
sacks 14 for financial cheat
Docherty to head YooMedia
GoPlayTV: Tetris exclusive on UK satellite TV
Karmazin on discussion panel at RTS conference
C4
uses tenten digital's 'always on' interactive service
Alcatel
and SES Global expand satellite links in Europe
Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES Global unveiled an alliance with Alcatel
to extend satellite links across Europe. Under the deal French communications
group Alcatel will contribute cash and technology to become an equity partner
in Satlynx, Europe's largest provider of wireless broadband systems. Alcatel
will take 18 per cent of Satlynx, the joint venture set up last year by SES
and Gilat Satellite Networks, the Israel-based distributor of satellite internet
connections.
SES said the move was a significant growth opportunity, predicting that broadband
could account for 50 per cent of its gross revenue over the next two years.
In the first step, Alcatel is reportedly expected to contribute E36 million
to the partnership.
SES and Gilat have agreed to fund the development of a low cost, Ka-band version
of Gilat's popular Skystar 360E family product line. SES hopes to expand its
presence in broadband distribution with the launch of two new satellites - which
are planned for launch in 2005 and 2006.
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UK
Govt may negotiate on 'Murdoch Clause'
The UK government is in discussions with a group of rebel peers in an effort
to get its Communications Bill through parliament. Ministers are reportedly
preparing to make a significant climb down on their planned relaxation of the
cross-media ownership rules.
The Department of Culture is ready to accept a compromise proposed by the Labour
peer the film-maker David Puttnam, which would force a large media corporation
to submit to a public interest test if it wanted to take over Channel Five.
This would make it harder for conglomerates to gain control of the fifth terrestrial
TV network.
The provision has been dubbed the 'Murdoch clause' to reflect expectation among
some peers that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation would bid for channel Five.
The Lords are due to vote on the communications bill next week and the rebels
are believed to have enough support to reject it.
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Nokia:
3G phones not perfect
While '3' the UK's 3G service tries more and more desperately to ignite sales
of 3G handsets, Nokia has admitted its phones are bound to have teething problems.
Criticised for being too bulky and having a short battery life, Nokia admitted
there were problems but pointed out the same was true of the first analogue
mobiles and the first GSM phones.
Nokia VP Nigel Rundstrom told CNET Asia said it was the same in Japan where
the first 3G phones gave problems. He said there would need to be developments
in 'form and functionality' which could only come with consumer experience.
He said 3G was unlikely to be the quick fix for increased data revenues that
the networks wanted.
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Murdoch
defends DirecTV deal, again
A US Senate panel responsible for antitrust issues, asked Rupert Murdoch to
promise he would not jack up prices on consumers or block rivals from airing
their stations on DirecTV's satellite network.
This is the third time Murdoch has visited Congress in the past two months to
defend his plan to obtain a controlling stake in DirecTV. Murdoch reportedly
resisted concrete promises, but he repeated earlier statements that it's not
in his financial interest to deprive DirecTV customers of the channels they
want to view. He said he would negotiate fair contracts with rival content providers
or cable distributors.
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Rugby
League blanks E74.2m Sky deal
The UK Rugby Football League (RLF) has rejected BSkyB's E74.2 million offer
for a five-year TV deal. The League's board of directors threw out the offer
but called for more discussions with both the satellite broadcaster and the
BBC, who are in talks over a new Challenge Cup deal. The current Sky contract
runs out at the end of this season and, although the new offer represents an
increase of around E9.8 million, the League are to stick out for more.
RFL executive chairman Richard Lewis was reported as saying: "The board felt
unable to accept the BSkyB offer," and he added: "We feel the discussions should
continue with both BSkyB and the BBC to explore ways of reaching an agreement
with both parties."
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Indian
Government stages walk-out from CAS meeting
From Shveta Malik in New Delhi
The meeting between broadcasters and cable operators, facilitated by Indian
Government's Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) to sort out the issue
of pricing of pay channels for the conditional access system (CAS) ended in
a deadlock with Government eventually staging a walk-out.
With CAS implementation date (July 14) approaching, the Government has indicated
that coercive measures might be adopted, including banning of pay channels from
going on air, to regulate the cable industry.
According to the I&B Secretary, Pawan Chopra, the rates suggested by the broadcasters
were "unworkable" as it would take the monthly cable bill to well over US$11
post-CAS, whereas the Government had been pushing for offering the entire package
inclusive of the free-to-air channels, pay channels and Set-Top Box rentals
for US$4.
The I&B Ministry, which had earlier indicated a monthly bill of US$4 after the
implementation of CAS, objected to the proposal from the broadcasters. As per
the pricing worked out by the broadcasters, the consumer would end up paying
a monthly bill of more than US$11. The much-awaited meeting was convened on
the direction of the government, and broadcasters had to provide details of
which channels would be free-to-air and pay, rates of each pay channel and details
about arrival of set-top boxes which would be required to access pay channels.
The package price for broadcasters such as Sony Entertainment Television, Star
India, ESPN Star Sports and Zee Turner came to $3.6 and this plus sales and
entertainment tax, rent of set-top box, cable operators margin and a basic charge
of US$1.5 for free-to-air stations, comes to be more than US$11.
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Cable
& Wireless chief goes with reduced pay-off
Cable & Wireless has agreed a reduced pay-off for its former CEO Graham Wallace.
Wallace, who resigned from the board in April, will get pension and salary payments,
worth almost E1.5 million, less than the E2 miilion+ his two-year rolling contract
meant he was entitled to.
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GoBarkingMad
muzzled
Gaming Insight's core business, GoBarkingMad, the greyhound betting channel,
is being wound up. Shares were suspended earlier this month "pending clarification
of its financial position", but winding up proceedings instituted against the
company by major creditors two months ago have been allowed to proceed.
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Cablevision
sacks 14 for financial cheat
US media group Cablevision revealed flaws in its accounting at its cable television
subsidiary stretching back more than three years. As a consequence the company
fired the president of AMC Networks and 13 other employees.
An internal investigation showed $6.2 million in expenses were accounted for
at Cablevision's American Movie Classics unit in 2002, rather than 2003, when
the money should have been booked, the company said in a statement. It said
more money was improperly accounted for at the division in 2000 and 2001. After
consulting with its auditors, the company concluded the amounts were "insignificant
with respect to its previously issued financial statements".
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Docherty
to head YooMedia
Interactive television company, YooMedia, has appointed former Telewest broadband
chief David Docherty as the CEO of a new service providing interactive content
for the government and public bodies.YooPublica, a new division of the UK-based
television company, will create interactive TV and mobile phone services for
the government, local authorities and the NHS.
Docherty, who left Telewest last year, joined the board of YooMedia, which develops
applications for Sky Digital and other broadcasters, in January and will now
recruit a management team for YooPublica.
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GoPlayTV:
Tetris exclusive on UK satellite TV
GoPlayTV, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Digital, has signed a deal for the exclusive
interactive television rights for Tetris on satellite TV in the UK. The interactive
games channel, has updated Tetris with a new modern look and feel. Competitions
and prizes have been added with national top score boards and new personalisation
features such as 'Save Game' options and 'Local Household Top Scores', that
mean players can challenge families and friends and save games for later completion.
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Karmazin
on discussion panel at RTS conference
Mel Karmazin, Viacom's president and COO, will head the lineup of international
execs attending this year's Royal Television Society biennial television conference
in Cambridge, England. Karmazin will join Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of European TV
giant RTL Group, on a panel to discuss events across the international TV market
in the past year as well as the wider theme of winners and losers in the digital
marketplace.
The conference, which runs Sept. 18-20, will feature an RTS-commissioned forecast
of what the UK television market will look like by 2010 and a panel on Channel
4 uniting all of its past and present chief executives to discuss the broadcaster.
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C4
uses tenten digital's 'always on' interactive service
Interactive television applications developer tenten digital, has built an Interactive
Services Manager (ISM) for Channel 4. The UK company has been commissioned to
design Channel 4's new 24/7 interactive services for the Telewest network.
Working closely with 4 Interactive, the tenten digital team has produced a service
that is unique to the cable platform using Liberate technology.
"The design is more like a magazine in the way that the content is presented.
The usual text menu is now image led, and the user interface overlays the full
screen TV picture as opposed to the usual L shape layout," tenten commented.
Access is via the red button on both Channel 4 and E4. Initial launch of the
service features: quizzes & votes built by Mindhouse, and games built by TWTV
and Freethinking. It has been designed to complement Channel 4 and its programmes.
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Thursday
19th June 2003
EchoStar
opposes News Corp/DirecTV Deal
New panel to advise on UK digital
take up
UK
telcos criticise government over 3.4GHz auction
Indian
MSO ties up with major telco for CAS
Luxembourg
Court to scrutinise Spanish DTH merger
MTG
only owner of SDI Media HK
Mediakabel
deploys chello's Mistral system
Macrovision
restructure
EchoStar
opposes News Corp/DirecTV Deal
EchoStar is pushing the US government to block News Corp's attempt to buy DirecTV.
EchoStar lost out in its attempt to buy DirecTV, the largest satellite provider
in the US, when the FCC and the US Department of Justice blocked the deal. While
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp didn't officially attempt to stop the deal, it did
openly lobby against it.
EchoStar now argues that the deal will force all multi-channel platform providers
to pay "higher fees for all pay TV programmes, including DirecTV, cable and
EchoStar. In turn, DirecTV could absorb the higher fees into News Corp, while
EchoStar and cable would pay a higher fee and be forced to pass that on to consumers."
It's also against an Australian company owning a US company. "News Corp is a
foreign-owned company," EchoStar argues. "All profits from DirecTV would go
to a foreign-owned company. Also, Australia doesn't give the same opportunities
for US companies as FCC may give News Corp," the company said in its filing.
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to top
New
panel to advise on UK digital take up
Recently appointed broadcasting minister Lord McIntosh has admitted the UK government
was unclear about the potential future uses of the analogue television signal.
He also said that viewers' concerns about digital television sometimes had been
overshadowed by technical discussions on how to implement the switch from analogue.
To sort out some these problems, Lord McIntosh has set up a panel of leading
consumer representatives to 'advise' on how the Government's plans for converting
to digital television will affect viewers.
The panel would include representatives from the Voice of the Listener & Viewer,
the Consumer's Association, the National Consumer Council and the Royal National
Institute for the Blind. It would "review the criteria" for the switch and have
some input over its timing, Lord McIntosh said.
"More TV services can be put into less spectrum and this frees up valuable frequencies
for even more TV services and other uses," and added: "The opportunity to work
the spectrum even harder will provide a major boost to the economy and, hopefully,
[create] jobs in the spectrum-using industrie," Lord McIntosh said:
He also welcomed the falling cost of Freeview boxes and suggested cost was "no
longer an issue" in driving digital take-up. The government intends to convert
the country region by region between 2006 and 2010 but would only switch off
the analogue signal when more than 95 per cent of the population in a given
area has access to digital TV.
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UK
telcos criticise government over 3.4GHz auction
UK government is being criticised by telecom operators, which are missing out
in the wireless broadband auction, after Hong Kong company Pacific Century Cyberworks
has out bid all comers in the 3.4GHz auction. PCCW picked up 13 of the 15 regional
licences for fixed-wireless services.
The government, which has so far received a E10.3 million bid for the 3.4GHz
bandwidth, is hoping to boost its Broadband Britain campaign, with local companies
using fixed-wireless technology to bring high-speed internet access to rural
areas in particular, on a regional basis.
But one of the companies outbid by PCCW reportedly said that the operator was
using its greater financial muscle to build a national network. This could be
used as a relay for 3G mobile phone networks, a cheaper option than building
a large system of base stations.
Basil McCrea, CEO of KBL Online, an unsuccessful bidder against PCCW for the
Northern Ireland licence was reported as saying: "Instead of harnessing local
enthusiasm and resources, the government has blocked them and introduced a large
international telecommunications company as a competitor."
Meanwhile Richard Li, younger son of Asia's wealthiest businessman, Li Ka-shing,
will leave his position as CEO of PCCW, replaced by the chairman of the territory's
Mass Transport Railway Corporation, Jack So. However, Li will remain a potent
force within PCCW as chairman and as an executive director.
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to top
Indian
MSO ties up with major telco for CAS
From Shveta Malik in New Delhi
Hathway Cable & Datacom, a multi-system operator inwhich News Corp has a stake,
has tied up with India's leading private teleco major Bharti Teleservices to
distribute its digital television and other broadband services after the conditional
access system is introduced in mid-July.
According to an official release, Hathway will be using over 150 kilometres
of Bhartis fibre optic network, spread across Delhi. This would help it to efficiently
distribute its digital cable television services from strategically placed head-ends
in the Capital.
Hathway will be locating optic fibre nodes at various points in the network.
This will substantially improve the quality of television signals and also enable
other value-added services through digital set-top boxes. The company is planning
to set up more than 100 nodes across the city in the next one year.
The company has also entered into an alliance with NDS, a News Corp company,
to ensure a secure deployment of digital and pay TV services. The company will
be rolling out digital conditional access system by importing a subscriber management
system from Mindport of the US and digital set-top boxes from Humax of Korea.
For digital compression and delivery of channels, Hathway has selected Scientific
Atlanta as its partner.
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Luxembourg
Court to scrutinise Spanish DTH merger
From David del Valle in Madrid
The European Court in Luxembourg is looking into the Spanish Government's decision
to approve, with 34 conditions, the digital DTH merger between Canal Satelite
Digital and Via Digital. The court is trying to determine whether the deal breaches
free competition and whether any of the circumstances that drove the EC to refer
the case back to Spain have changed and need to be re-examined by the European
Authorities.
Spanish cable operators, AOC, ONO and AUNA took the case to the Luxembourg Court
arguing that the Government's decision to give the go-ahead to the merger would
create a pay-TV monopoly to the detriment of the cable market. The operators,
in an attempt to block the merger, are trying to convince the Court that the
merger operation has a Europe wide implications and it is against free competition.
Back
to top
MTG
only owner of SDI Media HK
Media conglomerate Modern Times Group (MTG), announced that its SDI Media AB
subsidiary has acquired the remaining 40 per cent of the SDI Media operation
in Hong Kong, the leading subtitling and dubbing company in Asia.
SDI Media is the largest Pan-Asian entertainment localisation company, with
operations in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Tokyo. Its clients
in the region include Discovery Asia, Disney, Hallmark, Sony, Star TV and Time
Warner.
The company has agreements with the majority of major Hollywood studios and
provides the subtitling for 60 per cent of Hollywood's DVD movie releases worldwide.
DVD subtitling now represents 44 per cent of SDI's revenues.
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Mediakabel
deploys chello's Mistral system
Mediakabel, a Dutch digital cable provider, has announced the deployment of
chello broadband's 'Mistral' eTV system, an end-to-end product suite designed
to support the production, distribution and management of all elements of 'enhanced
TV' programming (eTV), Europemedia reported.
Chello Mistral allows broadcasters and programme makers to create eTV content
and automatically trigger predefined interactive elements for live or recorded
broadcasts. Mediakabel and chello broadband have signed a pilot agreement for
the deployment of the Mistral system that allows Mediakabel to offer limited
interactive applications to some of its subscribers in the Rotterdam region.
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Macrovision
restructure
Macrovision, the DRM solutions company, has reorganized into two business units:
the Entertainment Technologies Group (ETG) and the Software Technologies Group
(STG).
The Entertainment Technologies Group merges the Video Technology and Music Technology
Divisions, along with the SafeDisc-portion of the Consumer Software Division.
The Software Technologies Group absorbs the Enterprise Software Division and
the SafeCast business that was also a part of the Consumer Software Division.
Steve Weinstein, who served as Macrovision's Chief Technology Officer, has been
appointed the Executive Vice President and General Manager of ETG. Dan Stickel,
who headed the Enterprise Software Division, is now Executive Vice President
and General Manager of STG.
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to top
Wednesday
18th June 2003
Vivendi: numbers up
ProSieben
gets E300m cash injection
Yahoo!
and BT in broadband venture
ITV
merger, investigation deadline extended
DirecTV
deal: NAB wants curbs
EU Committee wants monitor on media concentration
US
senators wants 35 per cent cap on cross-media ownership
HK
court outlaws pirate cards
NDS
makes iAds easy
Bell
ExpressVu adds 26 new channels
C4/
Teletext signs new 10-year deal
Vivendi:
numbers up
Franco-American conglomerate Vivendi Universal has revealed its first quarter
results. The heavily group recorded a net loss of E319million in the quarter
compared with a deficit of E819 million in the same quarter of 2002. Net debt
stood at E15.3 billion at the end of March, compared to E35 billion in June
2002.
The adjusted net income in the first quarter 2003 is close to break even at
a loss E 56 million, compared to a loss of E 182 million a year earlier. "The
improvement in adjusted net income has been driven by a significant increase
in the operating income of the current businesses which grew to E 844 million,
up 39 per cent against E 607 million on a pro forma basis," the company said.
Cashflow from operations was above expectations at E 928 million.
Cegetel-SFR, Vivendi Universal's French fixed and mobile telecoms business,
produced a 30 per cent rise in operating profits to E465 million on sales up
four per cent to E1.78 billion.
Canal Plus results suggest the pay-tv operator is in line to reverse a record
of six years of losses. Although its sales where down three per cent to E1.17
billion, it recorded operating profits of E158 million, compared with a loss
of E68 million a year ago.
But Universal Music Group (UMG), had slipped into operating loss in the first
quarter. The world's largest record company recorded an operating loss of E28
million. UMG's sales fell 19 per cent in the, despite being boosted by the debut
release from '50 Cent', which shifted 5.5 million units in the quarter and boosted
the company's current album market share to 30.9 per cent.
Also Vivendi Universal's US entertainment businesses (VUE), which CEO Jean-Rene
Fourtou has been seeking to sell since last year, suffered a dip in profitability.
Sales at VUE fell 22 per cent to E1.45 billion. Profits dropped 23 per cent
to E276 million.
Vivendi Universal Games performance suffered a "temporary decline," the company
said and blamed this drop on "revenue softness, itself related to the decline
of the US dollar, and declining markets for both GameCube games and educational
software as well as unfavorable timings of R&D and marketing spend."
In its statement the company also pointed out that since the end of March, Vivendi
Universal has completed transactions worth a total E 1.5 billion, including
the sale of Telepiu (E 871 million), Hungary Telecom (E 325 million), Comareg
(E 135 million) and Sithe Asia (E40 million).
Since March 31, 2003, Vivendi has successfully restructured its debt and lengthened
its average maturity by completing the placement of E 1.2 billion high-yield
notes, implementing a three-year E 2.5 billion bank facility.
Meantime the company confirmed it is setting a "hard deadline" of June 23 for
bids for its US media and entertainment assets. Six parties have expressed an
interest: Liberty Media; the Bronfman family; General Electric; oil tycoon Marvin
Davis; Viacom; and MGM.
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ProSieben
gets E300m cash injection
From Dieter Brockmeyer in Frankfurt
As expected shareholders in ProSiebenSAT.1, Kirch's former commercial TV, approved
a capital increase of as much as E300 million to help the German television
broadcaster fix its balance sheet - following several failed takeover attempts.
Kirch's creditor banks agreed to the cash injection into the publicly listed
company's original stock and in return - but only for the time being - the banks
will each get up to four per cent of the ProSieben stock.
Put up for sale after its parent company KirchMedia filed for insolvency last
year, ProSieben has been struggling under E980 million of net debt, shrinking
advertising revenue and a declining share of audience.
CEO Urs Rohner said the capital increase would take place this year or in the
first quarter of 2004. KirchMedia plans to fund half the new equity and its
creditor banks have committed to buy the remaining shares should shareholders
not use their full entitlements.
ProSiebenSat.1 is also expected to buy the rights to some 2,000 films from KirchMedia's
library - once the largest film library in Europe holding over 10,000 films
and 40,000 hours of television series. The deal will be worth around E100 million,
a Kirch spokesman commented.
Michael Jaffe, the insolvency administrator of KirchMedia has been appointed
head of the ProSieben supervisory board, his deputy will be Wolfgang Hartman,
member of the board of Commerzbank AG.
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Yahoo!
and BT in broadband venture
US ISP Yahoo! has teamed up with BT Group, the UK's dominant fixed-line carrier,
to launch BT Yahoo! Broadband in the UK this autumn.
BT Yahoo! Broadband will replace BT OpenWorld with its own interface, tools
and services - including a special browser, e-mail, parental controls, firewall
and storage space. Both broadband and narrowband customers signing up to the
new package will be able to customise their personal homepage and browser.
The service will be on the same lines as SBC Yahoo DSL, a joint venture with
the regional phone company that covers 40 per cent of the US.
Pierre Danon, CEO of BT Retail, said: "The alliance is the next step to realising
a Broadband Britain, building on the one million ADSL customer mark and delivering
services and content which will appeal to a mass market. For customers to get
the most out of the internet, several factors are crucial. Access must be safe
and fast, use must be personalised and flexible and content must be exciting,
engaging and imaginative. By joining with Yahoo! we can satisfy all of these
criteria, as well as providing customers with support from two world class organisations."
The two companies will share revenues as well as access to each other's customers.
BT has more than 500,000 broadband users while Yahoo! has 15 million visitors
a month to its UK & Ireland site and the partnership is well placed to take
on Freeserve and AOL.
The move reflects Yahoo's successful tie up with SBC in the US and was welcomed
in the City with BT shares up four per cent.
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ITV
merger, investigation deadline extended
Competition watchdogs have extended the deadline for their investigation into
the merger between Carlton and Granada for two months, says Trade and Industry
Secretary Patricia Hewitt.
The ITV companies have recently proposed two possible solutions that could allow
them to merge without selling their airtime sales houses. Hewitt said the extension
had been granted to give the commission enough time to consider alternative
proposals put forward by Carlton, Granada and other industry bodies in their
meetings with the watchdog. The commission was due to report to Hewitt by June
25 but will now be given until August 26 to compile its report.
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DirecTV
deal: NAB wants curbs
The National Association of Broadcasters told the FCC that News Corp's proposed
takeover of DirecTV and Hughes Electronics transaction might pose a threat to
local broadcasters.. Specifically, the NAB said the media giant's FOX broadcasting
business, combined with the satellite TV assets, creates the "potential and
incentive for News Corp to use the DirecTV platform to discriminate against
local broadcasters," according to Sky Report
The NAB asked the FCC to pose conditions on the transaction. The first would
be to prohibit DirecTV from transmitting a FOX network feed in any market served
by a non FOX-owned local affiliate, and the second would be to require News
Corp. and DirecTV to adhere to the same types of non-discrimination provisions
they proposed for non-FOX cable/satellite programming services.
The NAB also asked that DirecTV provide local TV in all 210 DMAs by January
1st, 2006, if News Corp. wins approval for its transaction.
Meanwhile the Centre for Digital Democracy asked the FCC to reject the deal
"because of the serious risks it poses throughout the entire television marketplace,
including broadcast, cable and satellite services." The organisation said News
Corp.'s acquisition of DirecTV and Hughes would lead to sharply reduced diversity
in programming.
The Association of Public Television Stations said if the commission approves
the News Corp/Hughes transaction, it should require two conditions: The new
entity cannot place some local stations on "wing satellites" that can only be
accessed through a second dish; and in the public interest the FCC should require
carriage of all free over-the-air digital signals of local public stations where
local TV service is provided via satellite.
The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee will hold a hearing this week on News Corp's
/ Hughes deal.
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EU
Committee wants monitor on media concentration
The European Parliament's Culture Committee called on the European Commission
to monitor the levels of media concentration in Europe and to draft an updated
Green Paper on this issue by the beginning of 2004.
The Committee said it believes the increasing concentration in the media industry
throughout Europe presents a major threat to integrity and pluralism, and thus
it seeks to establish EU-wide rules on ownership of television media.
Under the ongoing broad consultation process on the "Television Without Frontiers"
Directive, the MEPs also urged the Commission to support the establishment of
a working group of national regulators and representatives of public and private
broadcasting systems who would be in charge of swapping best practice on all
forms of regulation, including co-regulation and self-regulation in the area
of advertising and consumer protection.
According to the Committee, a complete overhaul of the Directive is needed to
take account of latest technological developments and changes in the structure
of the audiovisual market. The MEPs want the basic principles of the Directive
to be brought together with the e-commerce directive and the directive coordinating
certain copyright rules applicable to broadcasting and retransmission into a
single package.
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US
senators wants 35 per cent cap on cross-media ownership
A bipartisan group of US senators plan to push legislation to reinstate rules
that would bar a company from owning a television station, a newspaper and radio
outlets in a single market, it's been reported.
The Federal Communications Commission voted to allow cross-ownership when there
are nine or more television stations in a market and permit limited cross-ownership
where there are four to eight television stations in a market.
Senator Byron Dorgan is reportedly planing to offer an amendment that would
prevent a television network from owning television stations that collectively
reach 35 per cent of the national audience. The FCC raised that cap to 45 per
cent.
Dorgan is expected to be joined by Democrat Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Ernest
Hollings as well as Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe of Maine, Kay Bailey Hutchison
of Texas and Trent Lott of Mississippi.
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HK
court outlaws pirate cards
From Owen Hughes in Sydney
A court in Hong Kong has ruled in favour of five international cable and satellite
networks in a civil case against five companies accused of trading in unauthorised
smart cards and other receiving equipment.
The five, STAR, CNN, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, ESPN STAR Sports, Discovery
Networks Asia and National Geographic Channel Network Asia sued the Hong Kong-based
companies for selling consumers set top box technology capable of receiving
signals from pay TV operators in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.
The action was heard in two separate cases. In May, three other Hong Kong companies
admitted they were wrong to retail direct to home receiving equipment capable
of picking up UBC of Thailand, Astro of Malaysia and other Asian pay TV platforms.
Like the first case, the judge ruled that the five had broken the Hong Kong
copyright laws by failing to seek permission from the channels before selling
the equipment. The industry body, the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association
of Asia (CASBAA), that supported the legal action was pleased with the result.
CEO Simon Twiston Davies commented "With this action we have won an historic
decision which unequivocally signals that our industry is tackling piracy which
is costing our businesses hundreds of millions of US dollars each year. This
was our first action in Hong Kong and new actions will soon be underway in other
markets such as the Philippines and Thailand."
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NDS
makes iAds easy
NDS has launched a solution that it says makes producing interactive ads across
all TV platforms easy.
Using its Value@TV Production Suite the company says the technology will work
across all digital platforms irrespective of the underlying middleware. The
solution has been debuted in Israel on MATAV, Tevel, Golden Channels and YES
TV, network that use either OpenTV or NDS Core middleware.
Dr Beth Erez, NDS VP Israel and Latin America region said: " The Value@TV Production
Suite will boost interactive advertising worldwide as it lowers the lead time,
complexity, skill requirements and cost of creating and deploying interactive
advertising on a national scale."
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Bell
ExpressVu adds 26 new channels
From Gail Chiasson in Montreal
In adding 26 new channels to its 300-channel video and audio lineup, Canadian
satellite television distributor Bell ExpressVu has taken the lead in high definition
television programming in Canada and has strengthened its position in international
programming.
The 26 additional channels are part of a year-long programming expansion that
will see 76 new channels added to the Bell ExpressVu lineup by the end of 2003.
Of the 26, 15 are high definition channels: CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC, and PBS from
Boston and Seattle, CHUM Television's CITY-TV from Toronto, one channel featuring
HD movies from Movie Central or The Movie Network and three pay-per-view channels.
Ten international and multicultural channels added include: ATN B4U, which features
Bollywood movies broadcast in Hindi; ATN Alpha Punjabi; ATN Tamil, which features
dramas, sitcoms, and talk shows; TV Polonia, featuring Polish programming; two
Polish radio channels, Polskie 1 and 3; Odyssey 1 and 2, which feature Greek
programming and two multicultural local channels, OMNI2 and CH Montreal.
The 26th channel added is EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network), the largest
religious media network in the world, which provides Catholic news and documentary
programming 24 hours a day.
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C4/
Teletext signs new 10-year deal
Teletext has signed a new deal with UK's Channel 4 to provide both analogue
and digital teletext services for the next ten years. The contract replaces
the broadcaster's existing one with Intelfax, who operate the FourText service
on analogue.
As a result, a new service, 'Teletext on Four' will launch on analogue at the
end of the year, with digital rollout on cable, terrestrial and satellite planned
for early 2004.
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Tuesday
17th June 2003
BBC
and BskyB: Five-year satellite deal
Spain
TV: ad revenue picture mixed
Sogecable:
mega loan to fund DTH merger
Spanish
government to pay Canal Satelite, rules court
Liberty
eyes VUE
Bloomberg's
i-financial news channel on Sky
ProSieben
wants unified stock
US,
UK watchdogs nuzzle
DirecTV:
Canal Plus technology on STB
Vodafone
to offer Disney content
PCCW
set win radio licences auction
ND
SatComs opens Middle East office
Pace
Signs technical assistance agreement in Korea
BBC
and BskyB: Five-year satellite deal
Having settled the EPG battle, BSkyB and the BBC announced a five-year agreement
including the continued allocation to BBC ONE and BBC TWO of channel numbers
101 and 102 on BSkyB's EPG.
The British public broadcaster withdrew its complaint, made in April 2003, to
the Independent Television Commission.
From 10 July, the BBC will broadcast all eight television channels in the clear.
By autumn 2003, all 22 national and regional variations of BBC ONE and BBC TWO
will be available and listed on the EPG.
As part of the agreement, the BBC is buying a regionalisation service from BSkyB
to ensure that viewers within the UK with Sky viewing cards will continue to
automatically receive the right national and regional versions of BBC ONE and
BBC TWO at 101 and 102 respectively.
The agreement will also end the payment by the BBC to BSkyB for the provision
of 'solus' viewing cards to digital satellite viewers who do not have a subscription
to a pay-TV service.
"In future, viewers will continue to be able to view all unencrypted channels
and will receive versions of BBC ONE London and BBC TWO England in the 101 and
102 positions," said the BBC in a statement and added: "They will also be able
to manually select the rest of the BBC's national and regional variations listed
on the EPG."
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Spain
TV: ad revenue picture mixed
From David del Valle in Madrid
Spanish state-owned TV group TVE has increased by 9.9 per cent its share in
the advertising pie, reaching E463 million in the first nine months of 2002,
according to consultant firm Infoadex.
TVE was the only channel to register a rise in its advertising revenues. Instead
private channels experienced falls. Antena 3 had a 7 per cent drop, reaching
E381 million; Tele5 reported a 54 per cent decrease, with total revenues of
E380 million; and a drop of 8.7 per cent in Canal Plus's case reaching E 19.8
million.
State-owned regional channels represented by FORTA also registered a reduction
of 14.7 per cent reaching E215 million.
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Sogecable:
mega loan to fund DTH merger
From David del Valle in Madrid
Spanish pay-TV giant Sogecable has raised a E1.4 billion loan to finance D +,
the new digital company created from the merger between Canal Satelite Digital
and Via Digital, and Audiovisual Sport - in which it has 80 per cent stakes
-, created to exploit pay-TV football rights.
For the seven and a half-year loan, Sogecable has signed with twelve banks:
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA), BNP Paribas, Banesto, Caja de
Estalvs i Pensions de Barcelona (la Caixa), Caja de Madrid, Credit Agricole
Indosuez, HSBC, JPMorgan plc, Natexis, Santander Central Hispano (SCH) and Societe
Generale.
The company is preparing for the launch of the new digital platform scheduled
for August, with an offer of around 150 channels to be distributed through both
Hispasat and Astra.
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Spanish
government to pay Canal Satelite, rules court
Spain's Supreme Court has ordered the Spanish government to pay satellite platform
Canal Satelite Digital E26.4 million in compensation for forcing it to switch
decoding technology in 1998, according to reports.
The court ruled that a government decision requiring Canal Satelite Digital
to use the same decoder as its rival Via Digital - at the time owned in part
by the state broadcaster RTE -upset the start-up's revenues by delaying its
launch and causing consumer confusion. Canal Satelite Digital is controlled
by film and television powerhouse Sogecable, which is in turn controlled by
Spanish media giant Prisa and Vivendi Universal unit Canal Plus. It plans to
complete a merger with Telefonica's debt-laden Via Digital next week.
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Liberty
eyes VUE
US media conglomerate Liberty Media, is expected to finalise an offer for Vivendi
Universal's entertainment assets within days, in a deal worth $12 billion to
$14 billion.
According to the FT Vivendi's COO, Jean-Bernard Levy and John Malone, Liberty
Media's Chairman, held talks last week about the terms and structure of the
deal. Liberty is expected to settle a bid for Vivendi's cable television assets,
movie studios and theme parks in the coming days. Levy has set a June 23 deadline
for preliminary offers for Vivendi Universal Entertainment, the joint venture
created by last year's $10.3 billion acquisition of USA Networks, the cable
group led by Barry Diller, the US media entrepreneur.
Also last week a group of private equity players had joined a consortium formed
by Edgar Bronfman Jr. to bid for Vivendi's entertainment assets. Other suitors
include NBC, the television arm of General Electric, oilman Marvin Davis, Viacom
Inc and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
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Bloomberg's
i-financial news channel on Sky
Bloomberg Television has launched an interactive financial news channel on Sky
Digital. A key feature of the service is the TV share portfolio manager where
viewers can create a personal portfolio of shares that can then be displayed
as a personal ticker whenever they are watching Bloomberg Television.
Jo Sherlock, Head of Interactive TV Bloomberg said: "The launch of interactive
content on Bloomberg Television gives investors another way of staying in touch
with movements and stories on the world's markets. The interactive TV applications
will significantly enhance the viewers experience with financial information
on-demand and further differentiate Bloomberg Television from its competitors.
"
Throughout all interactive content, the main video screen remains as a constant
live broadcast, bringing viewers the latest news and live price information.
NDS, is using its Value@TV multi-platform solution for developing the interactive
applications for Bloomberg.
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ProSieben
wants unified stock
ProSiebenSat1 Media AG, wants to proceed with its plan to introduce a single
share structure. A decision is expected this week after the company's annual
shareholder meeting in Munich approves the move.
Creating a single share structure would give minority holders voting rights
in the company and make it easier to attract buyers for the planned sale of
new shares, analysts have said.
ProSiebenSat1, is seeking shareholder approval to sell E300 million worth of
new shares to boost its capital after US investor Haim Saban abandoned a plan
June 4th to buy control of ProSiebenSat1 for $2.35 billion.
KirchMedia's banks, which include HVB Group, DZ Bank AG, Commerzbank AG and
state-owned Bayerische Landesbank Girozentrale, won't look for another buyer
for the stake for the next two years, Commerzbank said earlier this month. Mediaset
SpA, the media company of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said it's
in talks about taking a stake in the company.
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US,
UK watchdogs nuzzle
In an attempt to co-ordinate regulatory policy between the UK and US, the chairman
of the UK's new media and communications watchdog is set to meet his counterpart
at the US Federal Communications Commission for the first time this week.
Lord Currie of Marylebone, chairman of Ofcom, is scheduled to meet Michael Powell,
the Republican chairman of the FCC, when he visits Washington DC this week.
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DirecTV:
Canal Plus technology on STB
Canal Plus Technologies will provide Mediahighway middleware for new DiecTV
digital set-top boxes.
The Java-based Mediahighway interactive solution developed for the US-based
satellite operator will be ported on set-top boxes provided by multiple consumer
electronics manufacturers. DirecTV customers with access to the middleware will
get a simplified on-screen user interface as well as a new suite of interactive
shopping, news, weather, games and sports programming services, the companies
said.
CP Technologies owner Thomson says Mediahighway now powers 15 million set-top
boxes for cable, satellite and digital terrestrial networks.
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Vodafone
to offer Disney content
Walt Disney, the US entertainment group, and Vodafone have teamed up to offer
Disney-branded cartoons, games and music for third generation mobile phones.
3G phone users will be able to send and receive Disney multimedia clips on their
phones.
The Vodafone link-up marks a new phase in Disney's attempts to lift internet
sales. It is the largest mobile operator to agree terms with the US group, which
has wireless distribution deals in 18 countries.Disney executives hope to emulate
the success of mobile content sales in Japan, where the group has won 3.4 million
subscribers since launching wireless internet services two years ago.
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PCCW
set win radio licences auction
Hong Kong phone company PCCW is expected to sweep up in an auction of radio
spectrum that can be used to deliver broadband internet services to British
homes and businesses over the air, according to The Times.
PCCW is leading the auction process in 13 of the 15 regional licences that have
been put up for sale, with bids that total E7.4 million. The company, whose
bid vehicle is called Poundradio, faces two small competitors which are chasing
one licence each: Red Spectrum, a start-up operator, for the licence in the
capital and Public Hub. Under the auction rules PCCW can only take a maximum
of 13 regions but has yet to resolve which it wants.
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ND
SatComs opens Middle East office
German company ND SatCom AG, a global supplier of satellite based broadband
VSAT solutions, announced the opening of its Middle Eastern Branch in Abu Dhabi.
Ulrich Kiebler, will head the new ND SatCom subsidiary in Abu Dhabi, that includes
sales and engineering support.
ND SatCom said it decided to increase its presence in the Middle East due to
the area's huge potential for satellite communications solutions especially
in the field of broadcast and in vertical markets such as the oil and gas industry
and also governmental networks.
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Pace
Signs technical assistance agreement in Korea
UK STB maker Pace Micro Technology has licensed its set-top box brand to a third-party
manufacturer, KOREASTB.co.ltd. The 'Technical Assistance Agreement' allows KOREASTB
to use Pace's established brand on their entry-level digital cable boxes that
will be deployed into South Korea over the next two years. As part of the Agreement,
Pace-branded KOREASTB cable boxes will be assessed, tested and approved by Pace
engineers.
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Monday
16th June 2003
Sky,
BBC settle EPG war
Telewest AGM: Directors under fire
200,000
i-mode subscribers in six months in France
Confusion
as CAS looms in India
ITV
merger remedies a non-starter for advertisers
Lastminute.com
launches on Sky Digital
AEPOC, next steps in fight against
piracy
helloNetwork,
BT Broadcast partnership
Indian company develops STB
Optus's
E282m bird gets off the ground
CNBC:
new channel in Brussels
NTL, enhanced summer offer
Pioneer
licenses TiVo technology
Sky,
BBC settle EPG war
The BBC and Sky
have settled their battle over the E125m charge to keep the BBC at the top
of Sky's EPG. They have agreed a new deal, believed to represent savings of
up to E65m for the public broadcaster, that will ensure BBC1 and BBC2 remain
the first channels Sky viewers see on the EPG. It is believed the BBC has
agreed to pay around E60m for the ability to have regional versions of BBC1
and BBC2 appear in Scotland, Wales and northern Ireland and for viewers to
be able watch out of area variations.
The two sides were expected to settle before a brokered agreement was imposed
by regulator the ITC in the next few weeks. While the BBC has doubtless won
a better price, the deal is nonetheless a climbdown for DG Greg Dyke, who
seemed at first to make it a point of principle the BBC should free itself
form Sky technology. Some observers believe Dyke's declarations got ahead
of policy and commercial reality when he suddenley announced in March the
BBC was switching to another satellite and going in the clear.
Although Sky had claimed the old price was a fair reflection of the work involved
and the investment in the system, it too was anxious to reach a compromise
and avoid other FTA broadcasters following the BBC out of the system. Also
the BBC and Sky are set to again bid jointly for various upcoming sports rights
including the FA Cup.
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Telewest AGM: Directors under fire
Recent unrest in the UK over 'fat cat' directors receiving big pay-outs for
failure was much in evidence last week at the Telewest AGM.
Shareholders have first seen the share value crash and then had up to 97 per
cent of their ownership wrenched away in the company's E5bn debt forgiveness
deal with banks and bondholders. And at the AGM the directors who thought they
had completed negotiations on the restructure couldn't even promise an end to
uncertainty as some US bond investors have raised last minute objections that
could see shareholders diluted even further.
Hardly surprising then they were not thrilled with CEO Charles Burdick's E.1.7
million severance package which he receives if Telewest is taken over by anyone
except AT&T or Liberty. Burdick assured his audience that , contrary to reports,
he was under no pressure to take his severance and go.
But special ire was reserved for the E2 million package paid to the ousted Adam
Singer who Burdick replaced. Many shareholders made the point to Chairman Cob
Stenham - himself soon to step down, although remain on the board - that at
last years AGM he had said Singer was doing a great job, then three months later
the board sacked him. Stenham allowed that 2002 'had been exceptionally difficult'.
Perhaps as part of a rearguard action it was rumoured the company may have faced
constructive dismissal claims it hadn't paid up the contract.
Stenham told the AGM that an eventual merger with NTL was still a likely scenario
but not in the near term.
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200,000
i-mode subscribers in six months in France
From Sotires Eleftherious in Paris
Bouygues Telecom, the number three mobile operator in France, now has 200,000
subscribers to i-mode in France, launched last November.
This represents a penetration of 3.4 per cent of its total subscribers, or 7.6
per cent of subscribers which take a credit of at least two hours a month (only
these subscribers can take the i-mode option). This compares with 350,000 subscribers
who have access to WAP, launched more than two years ago.
The difference is that i-mode needs an optional subscription of E3 a month,
whereas most existing mobile subscribers can take a WAP option without additional
cost, but may not necessarily make use of it. 30 per cent of new Bouygues subscribers
take i-mode. Bouygues hopes that i-mode will increase ARPU from the present
E54 a month. A number of the external services, provided by third parties, require
an additional subscription. One example is the Michelin road guides, which have
attracted some 10,000 subscribers each paying E2 a month. The most used services
are ring-tone downloads, weather, road maps and traffic, and photo services.
Bouygues also announced that it intends to implement roaming functions with
other i-mode operators in Europe early in 2004.
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Confusion
as CAS looms in India
Despite opposition in all quarters the Indian government insists the imposition
of conditional access on the 'renegade' cable industry will go ahead next month.
The move is designed to try and bring some order to the notoriously piracy ridden
business and prevent operators from under declaring subscribers and thereby
save on carriage fees.
But the programmers - including the big three, Sony, Zee and Star - who should
be the big gainers, are nervous viewers will reject higher subscription prices
and advertising revenue will decline in line with audiences. Currently 75 per
cent of their revenue comes from advertising.
Local politicians are also wary of the growing public unpopularity of the scheme.
Many consumers see themselves as having to pay for a system that is principally
there to resolve disputes between the MSOs, broadcasters and the cable operators
who control the 'last mile'.
Under the government sponsored CAS scheme free-to-air channels will be available
at a regulated low fee - although prices are still set to rise from of $3.3
to over $5. There is uncertainty over the availability and pricing of STBs even
after the government's concessions on import duty. But even the biggest MSOs
like Hathaway and Citicable are only targeting 800,000 installations by year
end - a small dent in India's 44m home market.
Not surprisingly may are calling for a delay in implementation and meanwhile
it is an open secret Zee and Star are accelerating plans for DTH to circumvent
the CAS restrictions.
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ITV
merger remedies a non-starter for advertisers
The UK's two main advertising bodies have warned that the new merger proposal
from Carlton and Granada, would not address their concerns.
The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (Isba), which represents companies
that advertise on TV, and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA),
which represents the advertising agencies, said that anything short of a complete
separation of Carlton and Granada's sales operations would not satisfy them
either.
Jim Marshall, chairman of the IPA's policy forum said. "I don't see any mechanism
for getting round divesting the sales houses."
Advertisers and ITV's rivals have said that a merger of Carlton and Granada
would give the enlarged company an unacceptably dominant position in the television
advertising market, with a 50 per cent market share. The advertisers and The
Competition Commission, in an "issues letter", have suggested a structural solution:
for Carlton and Granada to divest both their sales houses, making them independent
and compete with each other.
However Carlton, led by Michael Green, and Granada's Charles Allen, are resisting
this remedy.
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Lastminute.com
launches on Sky Digital
Lastminute.com has signed up with Sky Digital to provide its travel and entertainment
ticket services to shoppers using interactive TV.
Sky viewers will be able to access lastminute.com's array of travel packages,
theatre tickets, restaurant deals and a varied cornucopia of other cut price
offers by pressing 'the red button' on their remote control.
Martha Lane Fox, lastminute.com co-founder and group MD said: "The launch with
Sky Active marks lastminute.com's first entry into digital TV, a medium that
we believe is well suited to selling lastminute.com's lifestyle products to
new and existing customers."
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Berlusconi
in media fraud probe
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is being investigated by Milan Magistrates
for suspected tax fraud and false bookkeeping according to two Italian national
newspapers on Friday. The investigation is said to be connected to a transaction
by Mediaset, the Italian broadcaster controlled by Berlusconi's family, in the
1990s.
Berlusconi's name came to light recently when the magistrates had asked the
Justice Ministry in Rome for help in getting information for their probe from
US investigators, the local press reported.
At the centre of the probe is the purchase by Mediaset of television rights
for US films in 1994 and 1995 through two offshore companies. According to magistrates
Fabio De Pasquale and Alfredo Robledo, these two companies were suspected of
being used to inflate purchase costs declared to tax authorities by about $170
million.
Others already under investigation in the probe, which has been going on for
several years, include the chairman of Mediaset, Fedele Confalonieri, and other
ex-Mediaset managers.
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AEPOC,
next steps in fight against piracy
AEPOC (European Association for the Protection of Encrypted Works and Services)
has held a meeting in Lisbon where the main European players in digital television
and services have defined the next steps in the fight against the pirating of
Pay-TV and encrypted services in Europe.
AEPOC welcomed the Declaration on the Fight against Piracy and Counterfeiting
in the Enlarged EU that was adopted by the European Parliament. The declaration
calls on the Council and the Commission to ensure strong, harmonised civil sanctions
for any intellectual property infringement and tough criminal penalties for
commercial scale counterfeiting, to promote better cross border co-operation
between law enforcement authorities in the Member States in addition to strengthening
the role of Europol in combating counterfeiting and piracy as well as to raise
consumer awareness that piracy and counterfeiting are not victimless crimes.
The EU Commission has also identified in its recently released report on electronic
piracy (COM(2003)198) cross-border co-operation between the police, the judiciary
and professionals as being a key factor to combat electronic piracy effectively.
To foster the development of cross-border networks of enforcement agencies and
professionals AEPOC has proposed AECATII (AEPOC European Conditional Access
Training and Information Initiative), a pan-European, multimedia-based training
and information system under the AGIS programme of the E.U. The decision on
the support of this initiative by the Commission is expected by the end of July
2003.
At the meeting, Jean Grenier, President of AEPOC, announced that AEPOC will
organise the 1st AEPOC European Anti-Piracy Symposium. The event for industry
professionals as well as representatives of law enforcement agencies and the
press in Europe will present experts views on all aspects of electronic piracy.
At the occasion of the Italian presidency of the European Union the symposium
will be held October 2nd in Vicenza, Italy, with in the framework of the 10th
SAT Expo (www.satexpo.it).
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helloNetwork,
BT Broadcast partnership
UK-based BT Broadcast Services and helloNetwork, a developer of Java-based wireless
streaming media technology, have partnered to offer wireless delivery solution
to any content owner with mobile market distribution needs.
helloMobile has been integrated within the content management facility at the
BT Tower in London. With its drag-and-drop functionality, the helloMobile gives
BTBroadcast Services the ability to immediately re purpose video for delivery
to high-volume, mid-priced handsets throughout Europe.
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Indian
company develops STB
From Shveta Malik in New Delhi
Ahmedabad-based Modern Communication and Broadcast Systems Private Limited (MCBS)
has completed development of its set-top boxes for satellite, cable and terrestrial
TV. The project was funded by the Indian Government's Ministry of Communication
and Information Technology (MIT).
The company has developed the technology - DVB/S/C/T STB - within a short span
of 18 months with the finalisation of the chipset solution. This technology
will enhance the 'digital system development' in the country, which is a step
toward the total 'digitalisation' of the transmission media. It intends to introduce
CAS based set-top boxes by June end.
MCBS has marketing tie-ups with US based Scientific Atlanta, Foxcom Limited
of Israel, Sigma Electronics Inc. of the US and Audix Broadcast Limited of the
U. K.
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Optus's
E282m bird gets off the ground
Australian telco Optus has finally launched its E282 million C1 satellite. The
C1 launch, intended for earlier this year, was delayed when the type of rocket
that was to deliver it into orbit exploded soon after take-off last December.
The launch, from Kourou, French Guyana, unlocks E141 million in revenues for
Optus. Most of the capacity has already been sold to Foxtel and the satellite's
co-owner, the defence department.
Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications, will receive an additional E22
million per year from Foxtel, which will use the satellite to help launch its
digital pay TV services next year.
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CNBC:
new channel in Brussels
CNBC, the pan-European business news network, is setting up a new channel in
Brussels. Because this will allow the network to avoid Britain's strict rules
on programme sponsorship.
CNBC Europe, which was embroiled in a row with the independent television commission
over funding of a documentary series on the Euro, said it would be able to show
such programmes on its new channel, although they will still not be screened
in Britain.
This year the ITC ruled against CNBC Europe for showing a programme about the
Euro that was part-funded by the European commission. CNBC said the EC had no
editorial control over the series but the regulator said it breached its rule
preventing a sponsor funding a news or current affairs programme "with a view
to promoting their goods or services".
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NTL,
enhanced summer offer
UK cableco NTL, has added twelve new digital TV channels to its service from
the beginning of June. The channel line up in the Go Digital pack has increased
with the introduction of ten channels including: FTN, UK Bright Ideas & The
God Channel to form part of the News & Education section. UK Gold, UK Gold +1,
UK Gold 2, UK Drama and Bravo has expanded the Entertainment segment of the
Go Digital pack. Additional channels, such as Nick Toons and Nick Replay have
also broadened the children's viewing and choice.
The digital TV service also includes two new add-on premium channels. Zee TV
and NASN, the North American Sports Network, an additional sports channel.
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Pioneer
licenses TiVo technology
Pioneer Electronics the US-based electronics manufacturer becomes the latest
licensee of the TiVo digital video recorder (DVR) service. The companies are
currently developing products that will be available later this year.
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