International News 7th April

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TVN Poland to use scheduling suite
Poland's leading commercial free-to-air TV broadcaster TVN, is about to implement MediaGeniX's scheduling software suite WHATS'On.

"TVN's interest in the WHATS'On scheduling software package was triggered by the growing complexity of the station: its strategy of launching extra channels and theme channels requires a scheduling system that is able to manage all information with one scheduling backbone, with a minimal staff increase and an optimal stock management," explained MediaGenix.

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Japanese ad agency in TV deal


Dentsu, Japan's largest advertising agency, is teaming up with leading Chinese media conglomerate Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group to distribute Japanese television content in China, the FT reported.

A planned joint venture to be set up by the two sides will also sell advertising slots and arrange and promote programming for SMEG's Shanghai East Movie Channel. SMEG's Shanghai Film Group will take a 51 per cent stake in the new company with Dentsu subsidiary Beijing Dentsu Advertising taking the remainder. The venture marks the first time Dentsu has set up a content distribution company in Asia, highlighting the group's confidence in the potential of the Chinese market, which is slowly opening up to foreign investment.

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Dyke from DG to TV presenter in the BBC?

Greg Dyke, former Director-General of the BBC, is to be a guest host on comedy-quiz programme 'Have I Got News For You?' He will host the second programme in a new BBC ONE series of the quiz on Friday 23 April at 9.30pm.

A BBC spokeswoman said: "Greg is available at the moment and it's great to see him back at the BBC."


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Seachange introduces APS for VOD

SeaChange, a DTV software company, has introduced new advertising capabilities for the on-demand television market: Ad Placement System. The APS enables broadband operators to gain greater control over their current on-demand television advertising – to automatically change spots and promos to conform to changing dayparts and viewer demographics.

"Advertising has historically funded the production of television content, serving to minimise the cost burden on viewers," said James Kelso, SeaChange's General Manager of broadband systems and vice President of marketing,. "SeaChange is introducing new products that offer our cable customers the opportunity to take advantage of new advertising benefits. Through software automation, advanced digital encoding techniques, and sophisticated splicing technology, we've married the benefits of 'personal television' with the messages being delivered by networks and sponsors."

Spots, promos, and bumpers can be regularly updated to coincide with the timing in which on-demand programming is accessed. As a result, advertising can be updated to fit the date and time of when the on-demand content is viewed, rather than being tied to the time and date it was produced. Likewise, the Ad Placement System enables different commercials to be swapped out to reach different lifestyle demographics and viewer interests, based on cable operators' ability to target with "zip code plus four" precision.


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MTG content agreement with Fox

Modern Times Group announced that Viasat Broadcasting has signed an exclusive agreement with Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution to broadcast a range of blockbuster movies and hit TV series. The three year agreement is for the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish territories and also includes an option to extend the agreement for a fourth year.

The agreement also gives Viasat the rights to library TV titles and US Network TV movies and mini-series. TV viewers in Scandinavia will be able to watch this selection of hit movies and TV series on Scandinavia's entertainment channels TV3, TV3+ and ZTV.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, commented: "Fox has a fantastic track record of creating massively popular movies and TV series. This deal follows hot on the heels of Viasat's acquisition of a strong portfolio of sports rights and further strengthens our programming schedule. Viasat's TV channels are the home of entertainment and give our viewers access to established classic feature films, recent big screen releases and the latest high rating TV series".

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Italy: satellite broadband for rural companies

Telecom Italia, Telespazio and Hughes Network Systems Europe have signed a technological partnership to offer broadband internet connections via satellite to the Italian business market.

Telespazio will manage the satellite service and Telecom Italia will provide broadband internet access to companies across the Italian territory, eliminating the digital divide that disadvantages small towns and villages beyond the reach of terrestrial broadband networks.

The satellite solution enlarges the range of Telecom Italia offerings for enterprises, allowing them to connect to broadband internet and to create virtual private networks over IP. The offer bundle includes satellite parabolic aerial, transceiver devices and LAN modem.