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NEWS Monday September 6th to Friday September 10th 2004
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Scroll down page or click below for news - latest first
| Tuesday | |||||
On its first financial results since the Carlton and Granada merger, ITV Plc reported a sharp increase in half-year profits and said advertising revenue growth is accelerating.
The company, which controls more than half of the UK television advertising market, raised its cost savings target from the merger to £120 million (E180 million) from £100 million. Pre-tax profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items for the six months to June 30 was £132 million.
On a pro forma basis, if the February merger to create ITV had been in place for a year, the profit figure represents a 42 per cent increase. It also excludes assets that the company plans to sell, including the MPC post-production studio.
The company's share of the advertising revenues at the ITV channels - ITV1, ITV2, ITV News and the forthcoming ITV3 - was up four per cent, the best performance since 2000. The firm expects its third-quarter ad revenues to increase by 5.2 per cent. Turnover rose one per cent to £989 million.
ITV's net profit
was £97 million, up from a pro forma £63 million for the same
period last year.
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Showing its conviction that the future of television is HD, DirecTV announced an expansion of programming capacity with the planned launch of four new next-generation satellites. These satellites will provide the US company with a massive expansion in local and national high-definition channels, as well as capacity for new interactive and enhanced services and standard-definition programming.
"We have led the TV industry in choice, quality and service and we are now positioned to lead the industry in bringing new advanced television programming to consumers nationwide," said Chase Carey, President and CEO of the DirecTV. "Only DirecTV, not cable or other competitors, will have the capability to bring hundreds of high-definition channels and other enhancements to consumers across the entire country with the consistency, reliability and quality that they demand and deserve."
The first two of these satellites, Spaceway 1 and Spaceway 2, will launch in 2005 with programming being offered to consumers by the middle of the year. These satellites will have the capacity for more than 500 local HD channels.
The next two satellites, DirecTV 10 and DirecTV 11, will launch in early 2007. These satellites will have the capacity for more than 1,000 additional local HD channels, more than 150 national HD channels, and other new programming offerings. These birds will be among the largest and most powerful Ka-band satellites ever launched.
Boeing has been
commissioned to build the four satellites.
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The French Pathe group has just completed the sale of its Voyage channel to Fox International Channels France. The price of the transaction was not disclosed. The channel, which was set up in 1996, is specialised in documentaries and magazines on travel and exploration.
The company said that 80 per cent of its air time is produced using French companies. The channel is distributed in France via Canal Satellite and cable networks, as well as on cable networks in Belgium and Switzerland and satellite platforms in French overseas territories, reaching a total of 7.4 million people.
Thierry Schluk, who took over the Presidency of Voyage on 3 September from Georges Bonopera, outlined the reasons for the acquisition when the channel presented its autumn schedules last week. He pointed out that the Fox International Channels group is present in all the major territories in Europe, with the exception of Germany and that France presents a significant growth potential. He insisted that Voyage is complementary to the National Geographic Channel (in which Fox is the major stake-holder).
According to a report in the trade publication Satellifax, Voyage's budget for 2003 was E12.5 million, with sales of E13 million. The cost of the programming budget was E6.2 million.
The Pathe group
is selling all four of its channels, to concentrate on its core activity of
movies. The other channels for sale are: TMC which has attracted the interest
of TF1 and the AB group, Comedie! and Cuisine TV.
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French communications solutions specialist Alcatel and video-on-demand server vendor Concurrent Computer Corporation are joining forces to develop next generation low-cost components for video server and content distribution networks to benefit the broadband IP market.
Alcatel and Concurrent have created a partnership that will enable them to deliver a product for real time distributed video streaming, aimed primarily for the broadband IP market. The pair have development teams co-located at a facility in Maidenhead, UK, which will support these activities.
"This partnership was a natural step for us," commented Gary Trimm, President and CEO of Concurrent, who added that Alcatel and Concurrent share a similar view on the architecture and implementation of next generation video servers and content distribution network products."
Alan Mottram, President of Alcatel's fixed solutions activities said that with the Concurrent tie-up, Alcatel had taken another step to optimise further its complete end-to-end IPTV solution for its customers, "We look forward to growing this business in an increasingly competitive broadband IP marketplace," he added.
The Alcatel-Concurrent
integrated solution is premiering at the International Broadcasting Convention
(IBC) in Amsterdam.
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In anticipation of its Charter Review, the BBC is considering the sale of various parts of its business. However, the BBC denied press speculation that it is considering the wholesale sell-off of its commercial arm, BBC WorldWide, to some of the world's biggest media companies, including Bertelsmann, Time Warner and Disney.
The BBC said: "We are talking to anyone who has a view on our commercial operation, but it is wrong to say that these companies have been invited to bid for BBC Worldwide."
A spokesman for
the BBC WorldWide told advanced-television.com that there are several discussions
underway with a number of companies interested in BBC Worldwide, but this
does not necessarily mean it is going to be sold.
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Greenfield and Airbirdge are acquiring both the premium film/sport channels, Canal Plus, and the digital satellite platform, Canal Digitaal. Canal Digitaal is the largest platform of digital television in the Netherlands, with an estimated 500,000 households. The two premium pay TV channels Canal Plus have around 250,000 subscribers
Greenfield and
Airbridge expect a further increase in digital satellite households and plan
to expand the current services and number of TV channels offered by the Canal
Digitaal platform. At the moment Canal Digitaal offers around 150 television
channels and a few hundred radio stations.
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APT Satellite Holdings, a transponder, telecommunications and broadcasting service provider in the Asia-Pacific region, has reduced its losses in the first half. The company posted a net loss of US$6.3 million in comparison to $20.3 million a year earlier. The loss in previous year were attributed to higher depreciation and asset impairment charges.
APT blamed weak demand for transponders and intense market competition for turnover dropped 13.7 per cent year on year to $16.5 million.
"Owing to the transitional stage of [satellites] Apstar I and Apstar IA, and the fact that the satellite transponder services market in Asia-Pacific region has remained highly competitive, the first half of 2004 was full of challenges," said group president and executive director Chen Zhaobin
The group launched Apstar V, the fourth and most powerful satellite of the Apstar fleet, on June 29 to replace Apstar I. The satellite, with 38 C-band and 16 Ku-band transponders and an operational life of 15.3 years, started commercial operation on August 13. The reports says that all existing customers of Apstar I have been transferred to the new satellite and the group has also started transponder services for new customers such as Hong Kong Cable TV and Singapore Telecommunications.
Apstar VI, a
$240 million satellite with 38 C-band and 12 Ku-band transponders constructed
by Alcatel Space, is scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter this year
to replace Apstar IA.
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Belgian telco Belgacom is considering bidding for next season's Belgian domestic club soccer rights, the country's professional football league reportedly said. Belgacom plans to roll out interactive digital television in 2005, broadcast through fixed telephone lines. Most Belgians already subscribe to a cable service.
If Belgacom submits
a formal bid, it will face established broadcasters including publicly owned
RTBF and VRT, Vivendi Universal's Canal Plus and Flemish commercial channel
VTM. Pay-TV, free-to-air, highlights and Internet rights could all go to different
bidders.
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Motorola has launched an integrated marketing program that leverages its National Football League (NFL) relationship to educate football enthusiasts about the benefits and features of Digital Video Recording (DVR) and High Definition broadcasts (HD). The promotion will kick-off at the start of the 2004 NFL season showcasing the Motorola DCT6412 digital cable set-top with dual-tuner DVR functionality.
The integrated
marketing campaign features Holmes in a national television commercial, Internet
banner ads, a direct mail/email program and newspaper ads. Fans will be directed
to a Web site with more information about Motorola's dual-tuner DVR set-top
technology by accessing Motorola's interactive online DVR demo. Creative elements
will educate consumers on how to get the Motorola DCT6412 from Cox and they
will be personalised with Cox system offers.
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BBC Worldwide sale on the starting blocks?
The BBC has reportedly put its commercial sales and publishing division up for sale and has approached Time Warner, Walt Disney and German media giant Bertelsmann to discuss possible bids. BBC's Worldwide division is expected to fetch as much as E3 billion, the Financial Times reported, citing BBC executives.
BBC Worldwide owns 10 channels including UKTV stations, BBC America, BBC World and 26 magazines. Last year it had revenues of £657 million (E985.5 million) and generated £141 million profit, which was ploughed back into the BBC.
Time Warner and Disney insiders reportedly confirmed that they had been contacted by the BBC, but declined official comment. Bertelsmann executives were also unwilling to comment.
Bertelsmann is having four investment firms evaluate BBC Worldwide - Morgan Stanley, Rothschild, Deutsche Bank and CIBC of Canada - the FT said.
The corporation
is understood to be considering a possible break-up of the company, which
also owns merchandising operations and overseas programme sales, rather than
an outright sale. The deal would be timed to coincide with a government study
of BBC funding, which would be crucial to its Charter Renewal.
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Bertelsmann, the German media group, celebrated the return to the black of music division BMG and a strong performance from broadcaster RTL by more than tripling first-half profits and reiterating its ambition to go on the acquisition trail, the FT reported.
"Bertelsmann is steadily increasing its scope for investments to strengthen our core businesses and expand in new growth markets. We will pursue appropriate opportunities when they become available," said Gunter Thielen, chief executive. Thielen repeated earlier pronouncements that the group has some E2 billion to spend on acquisitions over the next three years.
Meanwhile, the group, which has agreed a 50:50 merger of BMG with Sony's music operations, said net income soared to E550 million in the first six months of the year, compared with E142 million last year. Revenues rose 3.2 per cent to E7.9 billion as recovery in most core European markets and the US made up for a lack of demand in Germany.
"The BMG music division's recorded music triumphs and RTL Group's excellent business performance made an essential contribution to this rise in earnings," Bertelsmann said.
RTL, Bertelsmann
biggest division, reported a rise in operating EBITDA to €373 million
from E250 million, benefiting from the consolidation of French television
channel M6 and strong performances from UK channel Five and Fremantle Media,
the creator of the Pop Idol format, although RTL reported a small decline
in advertising revenue at its core domestic business.
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Paris-based satco Eutelsat announced a 6.3 per cent rise on revenues to E760 million and said that it has concluded its in orbit expansion.
The company's EBITDA was also up 10.8 per cent to E598.9 million and its net income was E269.8 million.
"Eutelsat has outperformed the five per cent growth objective announced at our last general shareholders' meeting. In light of the competitive climate of our sector, which is marked by a continuing downturn in demand and a consequent growing oversupply of in-orbit satellite capacity, these results are a real achievement," commented Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat CEO.
Concerning Eutelsat's future investment programme Berretta added: "The two satellites launched in the course of the financial year, and the transaction concluded with the RSCC (Russian Satellite Communications Company) for capacity on one of this Russian operator's satellites, marks the conclusion of our in-orbit expansion programme planned in 2001."
He confirmed that Hot Bird 7A and Hot Bird 8 - scheduled for launch in 2005 and 2006 respectively - form part of Eutelsat's regular programme for renewing its resource and strengthening its fleet, and suggested that the strategy gave Eutelsat "the necessary in-orbit resources to secure development on our target markets." He described the operator's backlog, equivalent to 4.5 years of revenue, as one of the strongest in the industry. "Although reduced, as current income growth is derived mainly from medium-term leases for a duration of one to three years, it should be consolidated by the launches of Hot Bird 7A and hot bird 8 which will generate the renewal of long-term contracts for television broadcasting."
Berretta also pointed out that the company's plan to increase control of satellite operations had been demonstrated by the recent acquisition from France Telecom of its Rambouillet teleport. "Taking full ownership of the Rambouillet site also positions Eutelsat to pursue the deployment of turnkey services through our teleports, in our bid to extend satellite applications to a wider range of broadcasters and broadband service providers," he added.
The CEO concluded:
"After two years during which our debt increased as a result of our in-orbit
expansion programme, the cash flow generated by our operating activities has
enabled us to reduce debt by 17 per cent to E873 million during the period.
This puts us in an extremely favourable position to take advantage of the
recovery in our sector and to strengthen our capacity to seize on internal
or external growth opportunities that could
benefit the development of our company."
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Spanish TV stations are determined to have a say in the development of the DTT market. They have asked the socialist Government to negotiate with them the new DTT map by creating a Local TV Committee composed of the national TV stations and the Administration.
Local TV networks are demanding a better and fairer allocation of digital TV licences and the green light for a simulcast period whereby such stations can simultaneously broadcast in digital and analogue beyond 2008.
Spanish operators
have welcomed the recent Government's decision to postpone the complete migration
to digital until January 2008, as the first initial deadline, scheduled for
January 2006, was regarded as being 'unrealistic'.
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Mark Thompson, the BBC DG, warned that the corporation was facing a radical shake-up - and that it is likely significant job losses could result, according to a report on the Independent.
Thompson, the former CEO of Channel 4, warned the BBC governors that the organisation would have to change more in the coming decade than it had in the last one.
This message was made clear when Thompson arrived for his first day at the helm and told staff of the "need for real, radical change over the next few years."
"To me the urgency and the need for change is every bit as great today here as it was when I arrived at Channel 4, getting on for three years ago," he said.
At Channel 4, Thompson presided over the departure of 30 per cent of the staff, many of them in the loss-making film subsidiary, which he closed. He predicted that if the BBC were to implement the changes he wants, the licence fee could remain in place until 2020.
Asked about the possible privatisation BBC Worldwide Thompson said: "We are looking at BBC Worldwide with open minds but it is not a foregone conclusion that we are talking about large-scale sell-offs."
Thompson, who while at Channel 4 promoted talks on a possible merger with Five, said that he wanted to co-operate as much as possible with other public service broadcasters. "I am very much in favour of looking with Channel 4 to see whether there are areas where we can work with each other. But that is true also of the BBC and ITV and all the public service broadcasters."
The BBC DG confirmed
that significant BBC services and channels would be moved out of London. Speculation
has centred on Radio 5 Live and BBC sports moving to the provinces.
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Hong Kong's pay-TV operator Cable TV has entered into the final phase of working on satellite broadcast to expand coverage to the entire city as programme signals of Cable TV were up-linked to the Apstar V satellite.
Signal up-linking enables Cable TV and APT to conduct full-scale trial broadcast to households in the next few weeks in preparation for the launch of satellite service targeted for later this month, when regulatory approval by the Government is expected, says i-Cable.
"When launched, the satellite service will serve viewers not currently served by our fibre or MMDS (Multi-point Microwave Distribution System) network, such as the outlying islands and remote districts. The service will have 20-plus channels, including our flagship channels of news, movies and sports as well as the popular satellite news, documentaries and entertainment channels," said Cable TV executive director, cable subscription services, Eric Lo. He noted that the service was being launched in response to complaints that the service was not available in certain parts of the territory. "It is a major step towards fulfilling our promise of 100 per cent coverage," Lo added.
Apstar V, which
is a high power satellite built with FS-1300-model of Space Systems/Loral
Inc. with 38 C-band and 16 Ku-band transponders, is located at geostationary
orbital slot at 138 degree East
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Official figures released by the BBC showed record number of viewers accessed the 2004 Athens Olympics through the corporation's interactive TV service and via bbc.co.uk. 8.96 million digital satellite viewers pressed the red button to use the BBC's interactive Olympic services, the highest reaching service to date and more than double the previous peak for Wimbledon 2004, the BBC commented.
Andrew Thompson, BBC Sport's Head of New Media, Sports News and Development, said: "This was the first ever truly interactive Olympics; a model for multi-media working at the BBC in the future.
83 per cent of
those who had pressed the red button used the service for more than three
minutes; 61 per cent were still interacting 15 minutes into the service, and
51 per cent stayed over 25 minutes. The figures show that 58 per cent of the
available digital satellite audience have pressed red to interact.
The BBC's broadband Olympics service – which included both live and highlights
coverage – attracted an estimated 2.8 million requests for at-home broadband
streaming.
bbc.co.uk/olympics attracted 5.7 million unique users during the games with
bbc.co.uk/sport and bbc.co.uk/sportacademy also registering their highest
ever weekly page impressions.
"The interactive services give our audiences exactly what they wanted
across the web and interactive TV: extra choice about what events they watch,
when and how they watched them," Thompson concluded
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Thomson announced it has extended its agreement with DirecTV Latin America for the manufacture of digital STB that will deliver digital satellite television throughout all of DirecTV Latin America's service territories.
The deal follows
the global strategic supplier agreement signed between Thomson and News Corp
in November 2003.
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Vodafone UK announces the expansion of its 3G business service with the launch of a Mac compatible version.
Vodafone's 3G Mobile Connect Card, will enable PC Card adapter-equipped PowerBook owners to connect to the Internet at 384 Kbps when they are away from the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot.
Vodafone's 3G
card is made by Belgian data card specialist Option, which has had Mac OS
X drivers in the pipeline for some time, along with Linux code.
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Alcatel and Russia's Sistema JFSC, an active player in the Russian telecommunications market, have signed an MoU to build a platform for the delivery of advanced multimedia services to Sistema's residential customers.
The multimedia project implemented by Sistema Mass Media, Sistema's media arm, is aimed at providing a wide range of users in Moscow and in the Russian regions with advanced broadband entertainment services, including interactive TV, VoD, multimedia games, high-speed Internet access and e-commerce.
Under the terms of MoU, Alcatel will deliver a fully integrated Open Media Suite, the middleware solution for delivery of rich media in a triple play service. It will also provide integration, customisation and installation services. Alcatel is also partnering NDS Group, which will contribute its Synamedia Content security system.
The Open Media Suite hardware/software solution will enable Sistema to fully profit from the investment in its broadband access network and to open new opportunities for business in the broadband entertainment market. Alcatel suggests that the flexible, non-proprietary architecture based on open industry standards enables fast implementation of advanced technologies, and increases network efficiency and overall profitability of media services.
According to
Alexander Leiviman, General Director of Sistema Mass Media, "in the highly
competitive Russian telecommunications environment, the introduction of new
services, such as IPTV, is one of the key success factors for the operators."
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British Airways has backed off from plans to roll out in-flight Wi-Fi broadband connectivity on its planes claiming the technology is still too immature and expensive.
Speaking to silicon.com
at BA's annual internal IT fair at the company's Waterside headquarters, CIO
Paul Coby said in-flight connectivity will have a role to play in the future
but in the meantime he is happy to wait and see how the Lufthansa rollout
- which uses the Connexion by Boeing broadband service - fares.
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E! Networks and Finland's Subtv have signed a licensing deal delivering 600 hours of E!'s entertainment and lifestyle titles to the region.
The high volume
deal translates into hundreds of hours from the E! and The Style Network catalogues,
securing Subtv's position as the entertainment leader in Finland, the companies
commented in a joint statement.
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Korean electronics giant Samsung has launched the first mobile phone with a hard drive, providing a platform for a plethora of new functions in next-generation handsets.
The clamshell-style
SPH-V5400 phone features a 1.5-GB hard disk designed for storing an array
of multimedia content, Samsung says. The device has a built-in megapixel camera,
can store MP3 music files and has an FM transmitter enabling users to play
tunes through a radio. It also offers a TV output, two speakers, polyphonic
ringtones and dual LCD displays. Samsung initially will offer the phone in
South Korea later this month, at a hefty price tag of around $800.
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Free: sales up 77 per cent
From Sotires Eleftheriou in Paris
Iliad, the parent company of French ISP Free (leader in ADSL local loop unbundling), posted growth in turnover and profits in its six month results: consolidated sales were up 77.2 per cent to E221.9 million, EBITDA of E45.6 million compared to E22.1million for the same period last year.
The strong growth is largely attributed to the company's performance in ADSL subscriptions, and notably in unbundling the local loop. Its ADSL subscribers have reached 768,000 as of 30 June 2004, an increase of 283,000 in the first half of this year. 355,000 of these are unbundled. This is well ahead of its target when it launched its IPO, of one million subscribers by the end of 2005. It has now revised its target to one million as of June 2005.
The growth is down to the strategy of a low price, high bandwidth and triple play. Iliad provides a bandwidth of 6MB/s (or higher) for E29.9 a month, coupled with access to around 100 TV channels and free phone calls to all French landlines.
The Freebox decoder provides the three services in a single box. It also includes the function of a router, so several computers can be connected. For TV channels, the Freebox is connected directly to the TV via a SCART lead. Finally, a phone socket on the back of the Freebox gives the VOIP phone calls, giving the user a virtual second phone line. From July this year, Free has been offering "total local loop unbundling", whereby the subscriber no longer pays a subscription to France Telecom but has his/her phone number ported to the Freebox number.
Ilad's DG Michael
Boukobza was asked why Free's TV ADSL service had done so much better than
the recently launched services by Canal Satellite and TPS. He replied that
it is not up to him to comment on other company's results, but that they are
not in the same business. Free provides broadband access with TV as an added
bonus and is not in the business of supplying channels. Iliad also provides
telephony services, via the One-Tel operator, and pre-paid phone cards, via
Kertel.
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Walt Disney has postponed an expansion of MovieBeam, its VoD service, while it explores partnerships that could result in a deal to include the service in set-top boxes, computers or other devices.
MovieBeam launched in three cities last September and the company had hoped to add three more by year's end, with a national rollout as early as 2005. The service transmits movies using a technology called ‘datacasting’ that sends a stream of data over the same broadcast signal used to transmit television programs. The movies are stored on a hard drive in a MovieBeam box, which comes pre-packaged with 100 feature-length films.
According to reports, Disney has deals in place with nine studios to offer movies a few weeks after they have been released to video rental stores. A partnership between Disney and another company could allow MovieBeam to expand faster than planned. "We will postpone the expansion into three additional markets until we resolve exactly what our device strategy is," said Salil Mehta, Disney's executive vice president of corporate business development.
Gerry Kaufhold,
an analyst for research firm In-Stat MDR commented that the most likely partner
for Disney would be News Corp's DirecTV satellite service.
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TPS chief Emmanuel Florent, previewing autumn initiatives, said the number two French DTH platform had 1.56 million subscribers as of 30 June this year.
The platform had broken even at the operating level last year, with sales up eight per cent to E282 million and a reduction of the debt during 2003 of E25 million, or E42 million during the 12 months to June 2004. The number of subscribers to TPS-L, the ADSL delivered version of the TPS bouquet which opened earlier this year, is about 10,000 with an aim of reaching 50,000 by year end. If achieved, this should bring the total number of new clients to TPS to 100,00 in the year.
However, Florent admitted that TPS had hoped to have double the number of ADSL clients by now, although it is faring considerably better than the rival Canal Satellite ADSL service. The TPS service will be in four more cities later this year: Toulouse, Grenoble, St Ettienne and Strasbourg, making it potentially available to another 4.5 million homes. ADSL is seen as the way forward for making multi-channel available in cities, where people are reluctant to install satellite dishes.
On the tariff front, the entry level package is maintained at E11 a month (plus E8 for rental of the decoder). The premium channel TPS Star is being positioned as part of a new bundle, TPS Star Premium, packaged along with the other movie channels, for E19.50 a month (plus decoder). "This is still less than the rival single channel," said Florent, referring to Canal Plus.
Florent stated that he sees the forthcoming launch of DTT as an opportunity for TPS Star, as it will be available on a more even footing with Canal Plus (distributed on analogue terrestrial as well as cable, satellite and ADSL in selected towns).
Finally, the
UK Premiere League is sold as an additional option for E 6 a month.
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Netflix and TiVo are said to be planning a partnership by which subscribers who belong to both services will be able to download their Netflix DVDs over the Internet directly onto the TiVo boxes in their homes, instead of receiving them in the mail. Netflix lets customers rent DVDs through the US Mail, but is fighting cheaper copycat services from Blockbuster and Wal-Mart.
According to
NewsWeek, a TiVo-Netflix partnership would create headaches for media giants.
Cable customers could prefer the larger Netflix selection and download movies
to their TiVo boxes using cable's own pipes. Unlike the phone companies, which
are regulated as "common carriers" and forbidden from discriminating
against customers or content, cable firms don't have to accommodate their
rival's traffic on their networks. But if cable closes the door to the Netflix
downloads, customers could migrate to the phone industry's broadband offering,
DSL.
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French ISP Wanadoo plans to construct its own broadband cable network in the Netherlands in a direct challenge to Dutch telecoms firm KPN, according to Expatica news.
Wanadoo will start in the Randstad region dominated by the four largest Dutch cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht plus other densely-populated regions.
Presently, Wanadoo uses the existing KPN network, but said on Monday that the costs are too high and it will start constructing its own network next year. It hopes to sign up 55 per cent of Dutch households.
Wanadoo, a subsidiary
of France Telecom, is the second largest ISP in the Netherlands, trailing
only KPN. At the end of June, it had 613,000 subscribers, two thirds of whom
had a broadband connection.
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Nagravision and CITITEC have agreed to establish a joint venture to help expand their operations in providing technical support, professional services, and research and development, which they hope will eventually lead to the integration and localisation of Nagravision products for the Chinese market.
The agreement aims to lead to the deployment of digital cable TV in China, by providing cable operators with more features and interactive applications. Operators with existing Nagravision CAS installations, such as Dalian Cable and Hebei Cable, will enjoy a direct benefit from this agreement. For example, it will help Dalian Cable to install broadcasting and telecom services to an existing base of 920,000 subscribers.
CITIC Group currently
owns 23 cable TV networks, which cover a population of 200m, with around 10
million existing analogue subscribers (ten per cent of total cable subscribers
in China). The CITIC Group also controls three telecommunication satellites
providing satellite communication and transmission of TV broadcast signals
to 3.3bn people in 55 countries across the Asia Pacific region.
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PCCW's planned sale of a significant stake in its Hong Kong telecommunications business to China Netcom has suffered a setback, with disagreements over price forcing the companies to halt talks on the deal, according to a report in the FT.
It is said the Hong Kong group, the state-owned Chinese company and their advisers had not held formal talks over Hong Kong Telecom (HKT), the territory's largest fixed-line operator, for the past two weeks. PCCW said it was "actively pursuing" talks with Netcom but declined to comment further.
A purchase of
a large stake in HKT, which has an estimated enterprise value of HK$50bn (US$6.4
billion), would give Netcom a significant presence outside China and provide
PCCW with funds to launch new ventures.
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A million more homes and businesses should be able to get broadband after BT lifted line limits and extended the reach of its broadband service.
Until now, anyone
further than 6km from their DSL-enabled BT telephone exchange was probably
unable to hook-up to the service. BT has ditched this limit and also increased
the range of its 1Mb service from 4km to around 6km. Following successful
trials in BT is confident that just about anyone connected to a DSL-enabled
exchange can get broadband.
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Satlynx has partnered with France Telecom to provide two-way satellite-based services to France Telecom customers, living in remote areas where they cannot access the internet.
Satlynx offers
corporations with remotely located branches and regional offices the opportunity
to link-up to wide area networks. It also offers backup links for terrestrial
connections.
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SBS Broadcasting
announced the launch of Irisz, its second television channel in the Hungarian
market. Irisz is expected to premiere on September 13, 2004 and will be broadcast
from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the Hungarian feed of Club, a television channel
dedicated to women’s entertainment. Broadcasting in Hungarian language
and focused on the key 18-49 female audience, Irisz will initially reach approximately
680,000 homes through cable carriage on UPC Hungary, the country’s largest
cable operator, and other local networks.
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The Voetbalkanaal, a Netherlands-based digital television channel dedicated to premier football content, will kick off the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League season on September 14. The channel will broadcast all UEFA Champions League matches live in The Netherlands: 125 games in total.
Like last year,
when UEFA Champions League premiered on the Voetbalkanaal, multiple live games
will be played out simultaneously on up to eight channels plus one interactive
mosaic channel, allowing viewers to follow various games of their favourite
teams. The Voetbalkanaal will continue to be played out from the Digital Media
Centre (DMC) in Amsterdam, which is the hub for receiving the live matches
from the European Broadcasting Union.
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Swiss head quartered Advanced Digital Broadcast, a STB vendor has opened a new office in Italy. ADB Italia, based in Milan, will be managed by the company’s newly appointed Country Manager for Italy, Gianluigi Pettazzi.
Since the launch
of DTTV in December 2003 in Italy, ADB has introduced its i-CAN 3000T and
most recently the i-CAN 2000T, a low cost MHP receiver to the retail market.
In less that one year, ADB and its OEM partners have achieved major market
share in Italy, the company said.
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KDG counters cartel concerns
From Dieter Brockmeyer in Frankfurt
Germany's largest cable operator KDG intends to invest E1.8 billion within the next 10 years upgrading its cable systems. It aims to allow 80 per cent of the homes it passes directly, or indirectly - some 21 million – high-speed Internet access via cable. KDG plans to offer Internet services to more than 50 per cent within three years.
The targets form the main element of an overall package which KDG CEO Roland Steindorf hopes will dispel the concerns of the German cartel office, which recently said it was likely to veto KDG's takeover of three smaller regional sister companies, a move that would increase connected homes from more than 10 million to over 17 million.
Steindorf has
also expressed a willingness to move closer to the demands of some German
broadcasters. Steindorf says the company will freeze its plans for the basic
encryption of free-to-air TV channels carried until at least 2007. German
public and commercial TV networks are wary of losing control of their channels
if cable clients are only able to view them via KDG subscription. Equally,
KDG has said that it does not intend to generate its own content rights before
2009. The German antitrust watchdogs had given KDG the chance to address its
concerns regarding the deal before its final decision, expected October 7.
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Video Networks, which relaunched its video-on-demand television service HomeChoice in May, is in talks with the Government about offering subsidised digital television services to help the planned 2012 analogue switch-off.
Over the summer, Video Networks CEO, Roger Lynch, has had several meetings with Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Media, and BBC officials about how to reach those households which may be unable - or unwilling - to go digital. HomeChoice allows viewers to watch television via broadband. As well as providing internet access, it offers digital channels and VoD.
With government help, Video Networks could launch a slimmed-down, cheaper package of around 20 digital channels which could be broadcast via telephone wires as opposed to broadband, Lynch reportedly said. HomeChoice could be useful in blocks of flats where ordinary terrestrial aerials cannot be converted to Freeview and satellite dishes cannot be fitted, he added.
A spokesman for
Jowell confirmed talks had taken place, adding: "We welcome anything
that increases choice. HomeChoice could prove attractive for someone who wants
the service but does not have digital [or] cable, or if satellite installation
is difficult."
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Spain's first
and second global telco operators, Telefonica and Auna, are making a full
frontal assault on the broadband market. Soon after Telefonica had announced
a E 3 billion investment in ADSL through 2008, its competitor Auna reacted
with a similar investment in broadband (E 3 billion) in the same period and
E 1 billion more to upgrade its current network.
With this injection, Auna hopes to strengthen its position in the broadband
market and increase its market share. Currently, Telefonica dominates the
broadband market with more than 1.2 million clients.
Auna forecasts that the Spanish telco market will experience a growth of six
per cent this year reaching E22.5 billion. Out of the total, around seven
per cent will be for mobile data, 37 per cent to mobile telephony, eight per
cent to Pay TV, another eight per cent to Internet access, five per cent to
corporate data and added-value services and the remainder 45 per cent to fixed
telephony.
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Barb, the UK's ratings measurement body, announced a major study into viewers' lifestyles, hobbies and interests.
At the moment Barb classifies viewers according to their sex, their age and their socio-economic groups, but now advertisers say they need to know more about the viewers they need to reach. Only last week Business channel CNBC Europe said it was resigning from ratings body Barb because the measurement group does not take into account ratings outside the home.
According to
the Guardian newspaper, Agencies claim that these days there is little point
targeting people using the demographic criteria that were popular in the 1980s,
ranking the population in groupings such as ABC1 and C2, and prefer instead
to focus on common interests, passions and beliefs. Using the new criteria,
ratings data will be analysed against information about leisure time, travel,
car ownership, home and shopping and other media consumption.
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India's private broadcaster Zee Telefilms has bagged the four-year telecast rights for cricket to be played in India for US$308 million. Zee, which emerged as the highest bidder, edged out nearest rival joint venture ESPN Star Sports.
Following the acquisition of rights, Zee also confirmed its plans of launching a new sports channel on October 2. The company is expected to invest over $21 million in the new channel.
While Zee had offered $260 million, ESPN had offered $230 initially. But ESPN-Star Sports came up with a revised $308 million offer. “But since Zee was originally the highest bidder with $260 million, they were given an opportunity to match the figure, which they did,” said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Jagmohan Dalmiya.
BCCI has offered 144 days of international cricket, which is likely to go up to 160 days, against the earlier indicated offer of 108 days of international cricket for four years. Zee chairman Subhash Chandra said, “We have accepted the fresh offer in order to ensure the rights and all other aspects of the contract would be discussed and finalised before mid-September.” Zee will have to pay an initial amount of $20 million within three days to secure rights.
“I am disappointed to learn that Zee had been even offered the cricket rights,” ESPN STAR Sports managing director Rik Dovey said in statement. “The BCCI had changed the entire process of bidding in violation of rules set by themselves.”
After Zee and
ESPN-Star Sports, Prasar Bharati Corporation with $150 million, Sony with
$130 million and Ten Sports with $115 million were the other bidders.
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The Advert Channel, a 24 hours UK channel exclusively dedicated to commercials has launched yesterday (6/9/04). The channel has been set up in recognition of the increasing number of people that said to prefer ads to the actual programmes.
The Channel, launched by UK entrepreneur Vince Stanzione and former actress and lingerie model Chelsey Baker, will feature a combination of classic commercials from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and the best of today's ads - plus live studio discussions and debates on the world of advertising, and behind the scenes documentaries on the filming of top commercials.
Viewers will
be able to vote for the best and choose which ads are shown using the sort
of juke box technology more often used on music channels. The Advert Channel
is a Free Channel on digital satellite platform number 694
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China has intensified its battle against Internet and mobile phone pornography by threatening distributors with life in prison, Xinhua news agency says.
"Depending on the seriousness of the cases, the sentences range from living under compulsory surveillance, detainment, taking into custody by the police, to various terms of imprisonment and life imprisonment," Xinhua confirmed. Beijing has stepped up its battle against smut in recent weeks, saying it is worried that the easy access to such material on the Internet and elsewhere will have a bad effect on youth and society.
Under the latest
crackdown, which started in July, authorities have shut down hundreds of Web
sites and arrested more than 300 people. The new penalties were laid out on
Sunday in guidelines issued by China's Supreme People's Court and the office
of the country's top prosecutor, Xinhua said.
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Deutsche Telekom's T-Online internet unit, named CFO Rainer Beaujean as its new CEO. Beaujean succeeds Thomas Holtrop, who resigned last week. Jens Becker, head of finance at billing and collection unit at T-Online's parent Deutsche Telekom AG's, will become T-Online's CFO.
According to
reports, Holtrop, who has been in the post for over three years, was unhappy
about the appointment of an outsider – Walter Raizner, CEO of IBM Deutschland
– as head of a newly created broadband/fixed network unit, a job Holtrop
was tipped to have coveted for himself.
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Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner said that the company President Robert Iger is his "preferred choice" to succeed him in running the entertainment conglomerate, according to an interview in Sunday's Los Angeles Times.
After disagreements
with some shareholders earlier this year, Eisner's leadership came under attack
and he lost his title as Disney Chariman. Eisner's contract expires in 2006.
The company's contract with Iger is up in September 2005.
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BT Broadcast Services (BTBS), and SES Astra announce a long-term cooperation contract to promote ASTRA at 19.2° East to independent satellite broadcasters. BTBS will provide the ground segment of the package – including multiplexing and uplink from Paris or London – and SES Astra the space segment, through capacity on the ASTRA 1G spacecraft.
The Astra Satellite System at 19.2° East provides access to the largest digital satellite audience in Europe, with 10.4 million homes receiving direct-to-home transmissions, and a further 57.9 million through cable.
The announcement
follows a similar deal between Astra and Globecast for the provision of multicultural
TV channels in Spain and France.
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Luxembourg's SES Astra is to use the forthcoming Worldsat-2 (WS-2) satellite to expand its reach into Africa. Worldsat, a wholly owned subsidiary of SES Americom, an SES Global Company has confirmed that the spacecraft, the first Spacebus 4000 craft manufactured by Alcatel Space, is ready for final testing and then for shipment to Baikonur, Kazakhstan for its planned launch later in 2004.
WS-2 will operate from 37.5 degrees West. Its 72 transponders are organised into three regional beams: North America, South America and Europe/Africa. SES Astra has contracted for 24 transponders from the WS-2 Europe/Africa hemi beam and will market that capacity as Astra 4A. Efforts will be focused on delivering satellite services to the entire African continent. This new capacity complements the Ku-band services Astra offers in Africa via ASTRA 2B at 28.2 degrees East.
Andreas Georghiou,
president of Worldsat, praised Alcatel's flexibility in ensuring that the
satellite's design reflected "the changing dynamics of a very challenging
marketplace." Ferdinand Kayser, president and CEO of SES Astra, said
that securing the transponders realised the synergies foreseen by SES Global
when forming its worldwide enterprise.
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Canal Digital, the Nordic Region's largest TV distributor is providing equipment, free of charge, to its customers in Sweden, enabling them to access Sweden's DTT channels. A new, twin receiver decoder - the ComboBox - gives Swedish viewers access to all TV channels distributed via satellite from Canal Digital, as well as all the channels carried on the countries DTT network.
The ComboBox allows access to encrypted broadcasts, with pay-TV operator MTG encrypting all their channels with effect from September 1. Canal Digital's customers will still be able to access MTG's free-to-air channels via a cardholder (CA module), and a programme card from Swedish terrestrial network distributor Boxer. The cardholder will be freely available to ComboBox customers from Canal Digital.
"We are
pleased to be able to offer our customers the best TV content. We want to
give our customers freedom of choice and simple TV services. In partnership
with the serious TV channels and distributors we have now developed a Nordic
standard for transmission and reception of TV content (Nordig). Canal Digital's
ComboBox was of course developed with an open standard, which ensures access
to all the channels in the digital terrestrial network," said CEO of
Canal Digital, Christian Albech.
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Satellite operator
Eutelsat has agreed to purchase France Telecom's (FT) teleport at Rambouillet
in France. The facility accommodates one of Europe's most established ground
stations for satellite communications, and is where Eutelsat has developed
infrastructure and facilities for satellite control, tests and monitoring,
as well as for turnkey broadband and mobile services. It also provides uplink
and equipment housing services for third-party broadband service providers
offering broadband access and content distribution services..
"The acquisition of the Rambouillet teleport marks a milestone in Eutelsat's
expansion," commented Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat CEO. "It meets
a strategic objective to substantially increase control of our satellite operations
and equips us with a uniquely-located site for expanding value-added services.
Our objective is to build Rambouillet into a major European hub for satellite
services in complement to the hub operated in Turin by our broadband affiliate
Skylogic Italia. The configuration of two hubs affords mutual sparing and
is a guarantee for continuity and quality of service."
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Tandberg Television Thailand's Shin Satellite to provide its evolution 5000 compression system to carry Shin Satellite's video distribution across the Asia Pacific region. The new system will be used for both the DTH and Global Digital TV distribution activities of Shinsat. The DTH Ku-band service allows Thailand's major pay television operator, The United Broadcasting Corporation Group (UBC), to provide up to 50 digital channels to its customers
Using Shinsat's
Thaicom 3 Global Beam for Global Digital TV distribution, broadcasters and
channel owners need only uplink once to ensure that over three billion people
on four continents can potentially view their channel. David Godfrey, Sales
and Marketing Director, Tandberg Television APAC, said that the MPEG-2 compression
engine would allow Shin Satellite to maximise their number of broadcast channels
without compromising the quality of the video and audio content."
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Microsoft has
announced the availability in the US and France of Windows Media Player 10,
designed to let consumers easily discover, play and transport digital media
around the home, on the PC or on portable devices. "Windows Media Player
10 gives users the power of more music and choice, and for the first time
makes it possible to 'sync' high quality music, video, and photos to the latest
portable devices," said Will Poole senior VP of Microsoft's Windows Client
Division, who described Windows Media Player 10 as "a key element of
Microsoft's strategy to enable digital media everywhere, with even more to
come later this year - more music and video, and more amazing devices for
use in the home and on-the-go."
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Content security
specialist Irdeto Access is to provide its Irdeto PIsys Conditional Access
(CA) solution to Jiaxing Broadcasting and TV Network (Jiaxing SARFT) for its
digital TV operation. Jiaxing has some 600,000 cable television subscribers.
Jiaxing SARFT, the local administrative authority of TV operations, manages
the city's cable network. As one of the 41 cities
appointed for digital TV trials, Jiaxing SARFT plans to complete its digitalisation
before 2008.
When complete,
Jiaxing SARFT will be able to add over 50 new CATV channels, including about
30 channels from other provinces, approximately 20 pay-TV channels and a number
of interactive TV programs. Irdeto PIsys for Digital TV will also offer Jiaxing
SARFT a wide variety of customer revenue models, from traditional subscriptions
to Impulse Pay Per View, Pay Per Time, and new pre-paid scratch card-based
services.
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Set-top box specialist Kreatel Communications has announced the availability of its IP-STB architecture using Microsoft's Windows Media 9 Series and Windows Media Digital Rights Management. The co-operation will also see a joint promotion of solutions for TV-centric services in broadband IP networks.
According to Kreatel, with the support for Windows Media 9 Series, the required bandwidth to deliver high-quality video services to consumer television sets is drastically reduced compared to MPEG-2. The solution enables telecom operators to use their current broadband networks to reach more users with interactive services such as Video on Demand.
Lars Bengtsson,
CEO of Kreatel noted that the Kreatel IP-STB System had already been deployed
in successful fibre and DSL installations such as FastWeb in Italy and Telefónica
in Spain. "Many other telecom operators are preparing for the strategic
step of deploying video services over IP and look for ways of using their
available bandwidth in the best possible way," he added.
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Clive Hollick, the chief executive of UK media group United Business Media (UBM) has announced he is to retire next May at the age of 60. Lord Hollick sold the bulk of his media interests, which included Express Newspapers and the ITV licensees Anglia, Meridian and HTV, in 2000.
He had earlier agreed to merge with Michael Green's Carlton, which would have created the largest ITV shareholder, but the Department of Trade and Industry ruled that the combined group would have to sell off the lucrative south coast Meridian licence if the merger went ahead, leading to the plans being dropped.
UBM now concentrates
on business publishing but retains a 35 per cent stake in UK terrestrial broadcaster
Five. Hollick is understood to have been one of the driving forces behind
a plan to merge Five with Channel 4. UBM is looking for a way to divest its
35 per cent stake in Five, in which it has been a shareholder since the channel's
launch in 1997.
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Patrick Le Lay, chairman and CEO of the TF1 group, has admitted that the market for complementary channels is difficult. Speaking at the broadcaster's half-year results presentation, he reported that the group's thematic channels brought in a loss of E 6.4 million. He pointed out that while this result was not positive, TF1 on its own would have been more fragile if the group hadn't been present in the theme channel market.
Moreover, he suggested that E6 million was only a very marginal investment compared with E247 million and was an indispensable instrument. Accordingly, the group intends to continue with its policy of developing thematic channels. He added that digital satellite platform TPS was a fundamental part of TF1's development strategy and there was no question of a sale or merger. It would continue developing TPS and attracting new subscribers (e.g. with the UK Premier League). All means of distribution would be used (including ADSL, which it launched earlier this year) and will be the subject of development later this year. The same TPS range should be available via whatever distribution means.
Le Lay said that
DTT constituted an opportunity for the premium channel TPS Star. If DTT replaced
the current analogue network, TPS Star would be on an equal footing with Canal+,
he said. However, he maintained his hostility to DTT, saying that the group
was ready for it but it was a poor scenario for France.
TF1's six month results showed a profit of E161.5 million (up 17.3 per cent).
The cost of programming increased by 2.9 per cent to E439 million. Operating
profit was E292.9 million, an increase of 25.8 per cent.
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A number of private
equity groups are taking a close look at TV company Endemol in the anticipation
that its owner, Spanish telco Telefonica, will announce the disposal of the
‘Big Brother' producer, according to a report in MediaGuardian. 3i, Apax,
Candover and Cinven are believed to be among the venture capital considering
a bid. Telefonica bought the company for £3.5 billion in 2000, amid
hype that the convergence of delivery and content was an essential part of
a telco's business plan. City sources believe that Telefonica will conduct
a formal auction process in an effort to realise as much value as possible,
rather than agreeing to a straight management buyout or IPO.
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Tata-controlled Indian Internet gateway and service provider Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) is to use the proceeds from the sale of its 5.42 per cent stake in global satellite operator Intelsat for expansion and investment activities, while the future of its holding in New Skies Satellite remains uncertain.
"We will use the funds of Intelsat sales for expansion of our operations and investments wherever necessary," Tata group Chairman Ratan Tata reported at the company's AGM. Tata also revealed that VSNL had not taken a decision to sell its 2.6 per cent in New Skies Satellite, even though a proposal has been placed before the board of directors.
The Blackstone
Group is ready to pay $956 million in cash for the complete holding in New
Skies Satellites. This would see VSNL receive some $25 million, proportionate
to its 2.6 per cent equity in the company. "Blackstone wants to hold
100 per cent equity in the company. So VSNL will be offered to give up its
stake in it," Dan Goldberg, New Skies Satellites CEO told the Business
Standard.
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