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<blockquote data-quote="Satdude" data-source="post: 43976" data-attributes="member: 175600"><p>Satellite news 04.05.04</p><p></p><p>News</p><p></p><p>UK</p><p></p><p>BBC WANTS SATELLITE FTA PLATFORM</p><p>The BBC on April 26 called for the introduction of a</p><p>satellite version of Freeview after warning the</p><p>government that it will miss its target for switching</p><p>off the analogue television signal. The corporation</p><p>said government intervention backed by millions of</p><p>pounds of public money would be needed to convert the</p><p>country to digital TV by 2010. Creating a fourth</p><p>platform alongside Freeview, BS*yB and cable will be</p><p>vital to meeting that deadline, said the BBC in a</p><p>report submitted to the Department for Culture, Media</p><p>and Sport. The government plans to abandon the</p><p>analogue signal when digital penetration reaches 95%</p><p>of households. That milestone will be reached in 2013</p><p>if the task is left in the hands of the market,</p><p>according to BBC estimates. In a report that was</p><p>critical of official preparations so far for</p><p>switchover, the corporation called on the government</p><p>to set a clear timetable for analogue switch-off and</p><p>to establish an independent organisation dedicated to</p><p>coordinating the conversion to digital TV. Andy</p><p>Duncan, the BBC's director of marketing and</p><p>communications, urged the government to underwrite the</p><p>cost of converting broadcasters' TV transmitters to a</p><p>digital network. He admitted such a move could cost</p><p>hundreds of millions of pounds, but said the BBC and</p><p>commercial stations would need extra cash to run two</p><p>different transmission systems. The most radical</p><p>proposal was for the creation of a free-to-air</p><p>satellite TV service, dubbed "freesat" in industry</p><p>circles. The concept has been endorsed by media</p><p>regulator Ofcom, which issued a report on digital</p><p>switchover this month. A "freesat" service will be</p><p>needed in the post-analogue future to reach viewers</p><p>who cannot receive cable or Freeview or do not want</p><p>pay-TV through BS*yB. The BBC said the government</p><p>should work with BS*yB, Channel 4, Five and ITV to</p><p>produce a free-to-air satellite service. </p><p></p><p>AUSTRALIAN CHANNEL TO LAUNCH</p><p>A new digital television channel featuring Australian</p><p>soap operas, mini-series, kids' series and TV movies</p><p>is set to launch in the U.K. later this year. Darren</p><p>Gray, the head of programming for the new channel,</p><p>called Aussie Gold, said that the network would</p><p>"specialize in screening classic and more recent</p><p>Aussie soaps and dramas.</p><p></p><p>ITV TAKES OVER CONTROL OF ITV NEWS CHANNEL</p><p>UK commercial broadcaster ITV has secured full</p><p>ownership of its 24-hour news service by acquiring NTL</p><p>Europe's stake in the venture. ITV has bought NTL's</p><p>35% stake after the ITV News Channel reported its</p><p>third consecutive year of audience growth. The digital</p><p>network draws in a weekly average of 2.4 million</p><p>viewers. </p><p></p><p>BBC TO BOOST ARTS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS OUTPUT</p><p>In the run up to Charter renewal and after Ofcom's</p><p>call for the BBC to be a pillar of public service</p><p>broadcasting, the Corporation has pledged to lift the</p><p>number of arts, current affairs and documentary</p><p>programmes in peaktime across all its networks.</p><p>Details of the new initiative include a further 10</p><p>primetime hours of current affairs on BBC1 this year</p><p>(lifting the total to 90 hours) plus a continued</p><p>emphasis on consumer programming within its factual</p><p>output. A pledge to keep BBC1 repeats below 10% of</p><p>output was also made. Also in the year ahead, BBC2</p><p>will increase its commitment to current affairs by 10</p><p>further hours, and will usher in a new focus on</p><p>documentaries, tackling issues like terrorism,</p><p>disability and parenting. On the BBC's digital-only</p><p>networks, BBC3 is developing a 7 O'clock News weekday</p><p>programme, while BBC4 will launch a new programme for</p><p>analysis of UK and world media. </p><p></p><p>BBC LAUNCHES PET TV SERVICE</p><p>Pet TV is a service digital viewers can access by</p><p>pressing the interactive red button on their remotes,</p><p>for a week-long run from May 1. It is being billed by</p><p>the BBC as an attempt to find out what sort of TV</p><p>programmes, sounds and images animals respond to. The</p><p>interactive TV service will consist of a looped series</p><p>of images and sounds, including clips of snooker balls</p><p>rolling across the green baize, frisbees flying</p><p>through the air, cat toys and cartoon characters such</p><p>as Top Cat. The service will also offer clips from</p><p>more traditional TV fare, such as EastEnders,</p><p>Neighbours, The Muppet Show and Animal Hospital. Pet</p><p>TV can be tried out on dogs, cats, birds and even</p><p>fish, according to the BBC. Pet TV is a spin-off from</p><p>BBC1 show Test Your Pet, which is to be broadcast on</p><p>Saturday night at 18:00. The service will be available</p><p>to viewers with Freeview, S*y Digital or digital cable</p><p>TV. </p><p></p><p>NTL SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY CHANNEL</p><p>ntl is the latest media company to give its support to</p><p>The Community Channel - the UK's only not-for profit</p><p>TV station - by donating a slot from 10:00 to 16:00.</p><p>ntl customers who currently receive the "local"</p><p>channel 14 in their package will now be able to access</p><p>The Community Channel. Owned by the Media Trust, a</p><p>registered charity, the Community Channel enjoys the</p><p>support of the whole media industry. Through a range</p><p>of lively, innovative and thought- provoking</p><p>programming the channel helps the charity and</p><p>voluntary sectors increase their profile, recruit</p><p>volunteers and raise funds. It also provides a place</p><p>where viewers can have their voice heard and find out</p><p>how to get involved in community and charity</p><p>activities. Trustees of the charity include Michael</p><p>Green (chair), Mark Thompson (CEO 4), Jon Snow, Tony</p><p>Ball and Greg Dyke. Core funding is from the Home</p><p>Office Active Communities Unit (ACU) and Lottery</p><p>Community Fund and it has received cross-industry</p><p>support worth in excess of £1 million. </p><p></p><p>BS*yB OPTS FOR TANDBERG</p><p>Tandberg Television announced that it has secured an</p><p>order from BS*yB to provide the broadcaster with a</p><p>range of digital compression solutions. The deal will</p><p>see BS*yB introduce a new Tandberg Television MPEG-2</p><p>head-end installation with 16 compression systems for</p><p>its Advanced Technology Centre, which is being created</p><p>to supplement BS*yB's existing broadcast facilities.</p><p>The companies share a 10-year plus track record based</p><p>on co-operation and trust and their engineering teams</p><p>have worked closely together to pioneer digital pay-TV</p><p>satellite technologies and services. BS*yB was one of</p><p>the early adopters of Tandberg's MPEG-2 encoders</p><p>during the 1990's. As part of the contract Tandberg</p><p>Television will provide end-to-end systems based on</p><p>its industry leading MPEG-2 compression engine. The 16</p><p>compression systems will each contain Tandberg E5710</p><p>encoders, MX5640 multiplexers and TT1220 receivers, as</p><p>well as control and monitoring.</p><p></p><p>BBC SNATCHES TV RACING DEAL</p><p>The BBC announced on April 30 that it has signed new</p><p>agreements with the Racecourse Holdings Trust (RHT)</p><p>and Royal Ascot to broadcast racing from The Grand</p><p>National, The Derby and Royal Ascot until 2010. The</p><p>new contracts, for both television and radio, will</p><p>cover racing from Ascot, Aintree and Epsom.</p><p>Negotiations will now commence in respect of the BBC's</p><p>other racing. </p><p></p><p>AVANTI LAUNCHES MUSIC VIDEO CHANNEL</p><p>Avanti Communications has launched its own music video</p><p>channel called MVN (Music Video Network). The channel</p><p>is intended to respond to consumer demand and replace</p><p>audio entertainment with multi-media imagery and</p><p>uninterrupted audio as well as in-store entertainment</p><p>and branding experiences. Several independent bars</p><p>have already purchased MVN making it a commercial</p><p>success. MVN grew out of two projects funded by ESA:</p><p>IMPSAT (In-Store Multimedia Platform for Shared Access</p><p>to Telecoms) and ABARIS (Advanced Broadcast</p><p>Architecture for Retail Internet Services). Demand</p><p>from clients in the pub market, who were asking for a</p><p>generic music video channel, prompted Avanti to come</p><p>up with the idea and adding a range of additional</p><p>features like advertising, private branding and local</p><p>messaging which are essential for that market.</p><p>Avanti's successful silent channel, 'Magnetic'</p><p>currently reaches 320 bars. </p><p></p><p>E U R O P E</p><p></p><p>CZECH REPUBLIC</p><p></p><p>TV OCKO MOVES TO ASTRA 1</p><p>SES ASTRA and Stanice O, a media company based in</p><p>Prague, have teamed up or the free-to-air digital</p><p>distribution of Czech channel TV Óèko. TV Óèko is</p><p>Czech Republic's first dedicated music and lifestyle</p><p>channel with a strong emphasis on Czech and Slovak</p><p>music. Starting May 1, TV Óèko will be broadcasting</p><p>free-to-air via the ASTRA satellite system at 19.2</p><p>degrees East (ASTRA 2C, transponder 57, 10,832 GHz/H,</p><p>SR 22000, FEC 5/6), currently reaching over 28 million</p><p>DTH households in 30 European countries. </p><p></p><p>FRANCE</p><p></p><p>TF1 REPORTS GOOD QUARTER</p><p>Commercial TV network TF1 posted improved</p><p>first-quarter results on April 29, with the group's</p><p>consolidated revenue increasing 6% to €717.6 million</p><p>from a year earlier. A 6.1% increase to €425.1 million</p><p>in advertising revenue for the TF1 free-to-air premium</p><p>channel buoyed the results, reflecting growth in the</p><p>French food, cosmetics, telecommunications industries,</p><p>and the lifting of an advertising ban on the press</p><p>sector in January. </p><p></p><p>GERMANY</p><p></p><p>REVENUES UP AT TELE MUNCHEN</p><p>Tele Munchen Group on April 26 reported record</p><p>revenues for 2003 of €217 million - an increase of</p><p>20.5% over last year - despite continuing losses from</p><p>its fledgling channel Tele 5 and Austrian web ATVplus.</p><p>The privately held group, 55% owned by Herbert Kloiber</p><p>and 45% by Munich-based licensing company EM.TV, did</p><p>not release profit figures, however. In an interview</p><p>with German daily Die Welt, Kloiber said company's</p><p>film and DVD license business generated the lion's</p><p>share of sales. Tele Munchen's also collected revenue</p><p>from its 30% stake in RTL 2, which has been enjoying</p><p>success with a new year-long version of "Big Brother"</p><p>and other reality formats like "Frauentausch," a "Wife</p><p>Swap" clone. Tele Munchen is planning to launch on the</p><p>new digital platform being built by German cabler</p><p>Kabel Deutschland, which is in the process of taking</p><p>over all of Germany's regional cable companies. </p><p></p><p>ARD OPTS FOR SCIENTIFIC-ATLANTA TO REPLACE EQUIPMENT</p><p>ARD-Sternpunkte has selected a complete transport</p><p>hardware and software solution from Scientific-Atlanta</p><p>Europe (S-A) to restore its German Direct-to-Home</p><p>DVB-S play out system located at Hessischer Rundfunk</p><p>to state-of-the-art status. ARD's new play out centre</p><p>delivers less complicated operations for greater</p><p>efficiency at Hessischer Rundfunk, plus enhanced video</p><p>quality for viewers. The new system, mainly based on</p><p>S-A's Continuum DVP D9030 encoders and Pegasus</p><p>multiplexers, provides ARD-Sternpunkte with enhanced</p><p>bandwidth efficiency and expanded flexibility combined</p><p>with a customized operating and management concept. In</p><p>addition to the Continuum and Pegasus products, the</p><p>system installed at ARD-Sternpunkte is also using S-A</p><p>digital decoders and receivers, and redundancy</p><p>switches to help deliver reliable service. The</p><p>free-to-air ARD public broadcast signal is available</p><p>across Europe via the ASTRA satellite system.</p><p></p><p>SABAN INCREASES PROSIEBENSAT.1 STAKE</p><p>Haim Saban has increased his company's share in German</p><p>broadcasting group ProSiebenSat.1 from 72% to 75.1%</p><p>following a capital increase completed on April 28</p><p>that raised €282 million. The capital increase is part</p><p>of a comprehensive refinancing plan. ProSiebenSat.1</p><p>increased its existing shares by more than 24 million</p><p>to nearly 219 million. Half the shares are listed</p><p>preferred stock and half are unlisted common stock,</p><p>which carry voting rights. Fellow shareholding group</p><p>Sat.1 Beteiligung, made up of publisher Axel Springer</p><p>and the bankrupt Kirch Media, hold 24.9% of both</p><p>common and preferred stock, while Saban holds 75.1% of</p><p>the voting shares.</p><p></p><p>SUPER RTL POSTS PROFIT</p><p>Super RTL said on April 28 that it had a profit of</p><p>€10.4 million last year, 125% higher than the</p><p>year-earlier figure of €4.6 million. Advertising</p><p>revenue in the first quarter of 2004 was up 30.5%,</p><p>significantly better than the improved German</p><p>television advertising market figure of 6.8% reported</p><p>by Nielsen Media Research. Super RTL managing director</p><p>Claude Schmit said he expects this year's profit to</p><p>reach at least €15 million, adding that the extra</p><p>money will be invested in new youth programming. In</p><p>August, Super RTL will launch the "world's first</p><p>football show for young people," called "Toggo United</p><p>-- The Football Show" with the cooperation of German</p><p>football star Marco Bode. </p><p></p><p>HUNGARY</p><p></p><p>MTV FACES INSOLVENCY</p><p>Hungarian Television (MTV) may go insolvent in May,</p><p>according to the board of the MTV Public Foundation.</p><p>In line with this announcement, the board has not</p><p>authorized contracts for future shows or indeed any of</p><p>its current programming, and is looking to present the</p><p>financial woes of the station to Parliament. The board</p><p>is trying to persuade Parliament to unfreeze MTV's Ft</p><p>1.3 billion share of a previously allocated grant for</p><p>public broadcasters for 2004. This amount would stave</p><p>off MTV's financial meltdown merely for one or two</p><p>months. </p><p></p><p>IRELAND</p><p></p><p>RTE SIGNS OUTPUT DEAL WITH UNIVERSAL</p><p>RTE Ireland has signed a new acquisitions deal with</p><p>Universal. The deal runs to 43 films including hits</p><p>such as About A Boy, The Bourne Identity, 8 Mile and</p><p>The Pianist. The list also includes recent re-runs</p><p>such as Notting Hill and The Mummy, also classics The</p><p>Day Of The Jackal, Smokey & the Bandit, and Scarface.</p><p>On the series front, the RTE/Universal deal also</p><p>renews Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent,</p><p>plus series 2 of Monk, and library series such as The</p><p>Rockford Files and Murder She Wrote. </p><p></p><p>ITALY</p><p></p><p>MEDIA BILL FINALLY APPROVED</p><p>More than a year after it was first presented in</p><p>parliament, a bitterly-contested media law received</p><p>final approval on April 30 in the Italian Senate. The</p><p>move comes amid claims by the centre-left opposition</p><p>that the legislation was tailor-made for Premier</p><p>Silvio Berlusconi's business empire. The law was</p><p>revamped after a presidential veto in December, and</p><p>the new version was passed in the Chamber of Deputies</p><p>last month. Berlusconi's conservative forces in the</p><p>Senate passed the legislation in a 142-91 vote, with</p><p>one abstention. The opposition contends that the</p><p>legislation is designed to protect Berlusconi's</p><p>interests and increase his grip on the media.</p><p>Centre-left politicians also say the new version</p><p>ignores the issues raised by President Carlo Azeglio</p><p>Ciampi, who refused to sign the law on grounds that it</p><p>could lead to single companies dominating Italian</p><p>media. Communications Minister Maurizio Gasparri, who</p><p>drafted the bill, said the law will open up the</p><p>Italian market by introducing digital television.</p><p>According to the constitution, the president must sign</p><p>a law before it goes into force. The president can</p><p>only reject legislation once, so Ciampi must now</p><p>accept the law. </p><p></p><p>POLAND</p><p></p><p>BBC PRIME SIGNS CABLE DEALS</p><p>Aster Group, a cable platform that serves 265,000</p><p>customers, primarily in Warsaw, has begun carrying the</p><p>BBC Prime channel. The entertainment channel has been</p><p>added to Aster's basic package, boosting BBC Prime's</p><p>reach in the country to 1.8 million homes. The channel</p><p>is already carried across Poland by cablers UPC</p><p>Telewizja Kablowa, MultiMedia and Stream. BBC Prime,</p><p>which features shows like Top of the Pops, EastEnders</p><p>and The Weakest Link, reaches more than 14 million</p><p>subscribers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa,</p><p>via cable and satellite. </p><p></p><p>ROMANIA</p><p></p><p>PRO CINEMA ON THE AIR</p><p>Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) on April</p><p>27 announced the successful launch of PRO Cinema, its</p><p>third national network in Romania. PRO Cinema</p><p>premiered with initial distribution in 60 percent of</p><p>cable systems in Romania, and the network expects to</p><p>achieve full cable distribution within 3 months. PRO</p><p>Cinema focuses solely on quality films and series</p><p>targeted at an upwardly mobile urban adult audience</p><p>and is supported by both advertising and cable</p><p>subscriptions. The network complements CME's</p><p>market-leading Romanian broadcast group that includes</p><p>PRO TV and TV Acasa, which ranked first and third</p><p>respectively among urban adults during prime time in</p><p>2003. The launch of PRO Cinema follows CME's recent</p><p>announcement that it has increased its ownership of</p><p>the Romanian group to 80 per cent. Seventy-five per</p><p>cent of Romanian cable companies, including the three</p><p>biggest operators, have already agreed to distribute</p><p>PRO Cinema throughout the country. Romania's cable</p><p>television systems currently reach 57 per cent of the</p><p>country, with an 82 per cent reach of the greater</p><p>urban areas. </p><p></p><p>Regards Satdude. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Satdude, post: 43976, member: 175600"] Satellite news 04.05.04 News UK BBC WANTS SATELLITE FTA PLATFORM The BBC on April 26 called for the introduction of a satellite version of Freeview after warning the government that it will miss its target for switching off the analogue television signal. The corporation said government intervention backed by millions of pounds of public money would be needed to convert the country to digital TV by 2010. Creating a fourth platform alongside Freeview, BS*yB and cable will be vital to meeting that deadline, said the BBC in a report submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The government plans to abandon the analogue signal when digital penetration reaches 95% of households. That milestone will be reached in 2013 if the task is left in the hands of the market, according to BBC estimates. In a report that was critical of official preparations so far for switchover, the corporation called on the government to set a clear timetable for analogue switch-off and to establish an independent organisation dedicated to coordinating the conversion to digital TV. Andy Duncan, the BBC's director of marketing and communications, urged the government to underwrite the cost of converting broadcasters' TV transmitters to a digital network. He admitted such a move could cost hundreds of millions of pounds, but said the BBC and commercial stations would need extra cash to run two different transmission systems. The most radical proposal was for the creation of a free-to-air satellite TV service, dubbed "freesat" in industry circles. The concept has been endorsed by media regulator Ofcom, which issued a report on digital switchover this month. A "freesat" service will be needed in the post-analogue future to reach viewers who cannot receive cable or Freeview or do not want pay-TV through BS*yB. The BBC said the government should work with BS*yB, Channel 4, Five and ITV to produce a free-to-air satellite service. AUSTRALIAN CHANNEL TO LAUNCH A new digital television channel featuring Australian soap operas, mini-series, kids' series and TV movies is set to launch in the U.K. later this year. Darren Gray, the head of programming for the new channel, called Aussie Gold, said that the network would "specialize in screening classic and more recent Aussie soaps and dramas. ITV TAKES OVER CONTROL OF ITV NEWS CHANNEL UK commercial broadcaster ITV has secured full ownership of its 24-hour news service by acquiring NTL Europe's stake in the venture. ITV has bought NTL's 35% stake after the ITV News Channel reported its third consecutive year of audience growth. The digital network draws in a weekly average of 2.4 million viewers. BBC TO BOOST ARTS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS OUTPUT In the run up to Charter renewal and after Ofcom's call for the BBC to be a pillar of public service broadcasting, the Corporation has pledged to lift the number of arts, current affairs and documentary programmes in peaktime across all its networks. Details of the new initiative include a further 10 primetime hours of current affairs on BBC1 this year (lifting the total to 90 hours) plus a continued emphasis on consumer programming within its factual output. A pledge to keep BBC1 repeats below 10% of output was also made. Also in the year ahead, BBC2 will increase its commitment to current affairs by 10 further hours, and will usher in a new focus on documentaries, tackling issues like terrorism, disability and parenting. On the BBC's digital-only networks, BBC3 is developing a 7 O'clock News weekday programme, while BBC4 will launch a new programme for analysis of UK and world media. BBC LAUNCHES PET TV SERVICE Pet TV is a service digital viewers can access by pressing the interactive red button on their remotes, for a week-long run from May 1. It is being billed by the BBC as an attempt to find out what sort of TV programmes, sounds and images animals respond to. The interactive TV service will consist of a looped series of images and sounds, including clips of snooker balls rolling across the green baize, frisbees flying through the air, cat toys and cartoon characters such as Top Cat. The service will also offer clips from more traditional TV fare, such as EastEnders, Neighbours, The Muppet Show and Animal Hospital. Pet TV can be tried out on dogs, cats, birds and even fish, according to the BBC. Pet TV is a spin-off from BBC1 show Test Your Pet, which is to be broadcast on Saturday night at 18:00. The service will be available to viewers with Freeview, S*y Digital or digital cable TV. NTL SUPPORTS THE COMMUNITY CHANNEL ntl is the latest media company to give its support to The Community Channel - the UK's only not-for profit TV station - by donating a slot from 10:00 to 16:00. ntl customers who currently receive the "local" channel 14 in their package will now be able to access The Community Channel. Owned by the Media Trust, a registered charity, the Community Channel enjoys the support of the whole media industry. Through a range of lively, innovative and thought- provoking programming the channel helps the charity and voluntary sectors increase their profile, recruit volunteers and raise funds. It also provides a place where viewers can have their voice heard and find out how to get involved in community and charity activities. Trustees of the charity include Michael Green (chair), Mark Thompson (CEO 4), Jon Snow, Tony Ball and Greg Dyke. Core funding is from the Home Office Active Communities Unit (ACU) and Lottery Community Fund and it has received cross-industry support worth in excess of £1 million. BS*yB OPTS FOR TANDBERG Tandberg Television announced that it has secured an order from BS*yB to provide the broadcaster with a range of digital compression solutions. The deal will see BS*yB introduce a new Tandberg Television MPEG-2 head-end installation with 16 compression systems for its Advanced Technology Centre, which is being created to supplement BS*yB's existing broadcast facilities. The companies share a 10-year plus track record based on co-operation and trust and their engineering teams have worked closely together to pioneer digital pay-TV satellite technologies and services. BS*yB was one of the early adopters of Tandberg's MPEG-2 encoders during the 1990's. As part of the contract Tandberg Television will provide end-to-end systems based on its industry leading MPEG-2 compression engine. The 16 compression systems will each contain Tandberg E5710 encoders, MX5640 multiplexers and TT1220 receivers, as well as control and monitoring. BBC SNATCHES TV RACING DEAL The BBC announced on April 30 that it has signed new agreements with the Racecourse Holdings Trust (RHT) and Royal Ascot to broadcast racing from The Grand National, The Derby and Royal Ascot until 2010. The new contracts, for both television and radio, will cover racing from Ascot, Aintree and Epsom. Negotiations will now commence in respect of the BBC's other racing. AVANTI LAUNCHES MUSIC VIDEO CHANNEL Avanti Communications has launched its own music video channel called MVN (Music Video Network). The channel is intended to respond to consumer demand and replace audio entertainment with multi-media imagery and uninterrupted audio as well as in-store entertainment and branding experiences. Several independent bars have already purchased MVN making it a commercial success. MVN grew out of two projects funded by ESA: IMPSAT (In-Store Multimedia Platform for Shared Access to Telecoms) and ABARIS (Advanced Broadcast Architecture for Retail Internet Services). Demand from clients in the pub market, who were asking for a generic music video channel, prompted Avanti to come up with the idea and adding a range of additional features like advertising, private branding and local messaging which are essential for that market. Avanti's successful silent channel, 'Magnetic' currently reaches 320 bars. E U R O P E CZECH REPUBLIC TV OCKO MOVES TO ASTRA 1 SES ASTRA and Stanice O, a media company based in Prague, have teamed up or the free-to-air digital distribution of Czech channel TV Óèko. TV Óèko is Czech Republic's first dedicated music and lifestyle channel with a strong emphasis on Czech and Slovak music. Starting May 1, TV Óèko will be broadcasting free-to-air via the ASTRA satellite system at 19.2 degrees East (ASTRA 2C, transponder 57, 10,832 GHz/H, SR 22000, FEC 5/6), currently reaching over 28 million DTH households in 30 European countries. FRANCE TF1 REPORTS GOOD QUARTER Commercial TV network TF1 posted improved first-quarter results on April 29, with the group's consolidated revenue increasing 6% to €717.6 million from a year earlier. A 6.1% increase to €425.1 million in advertising revenue for the TF1 free-to-air premium channel buoyed the results, reflecting growth in the French food, cosmetics, telecommunications industries, and the lifting of an advertising ban on the press sector in January. GERMANY REVENUES UP AT TELE MUNCHEN Tele Munchen Group on April 26 reported record revenues for 2003 of €217 million - an increase of 20.5% over last year - despite continuing losses from its fledgling channel Tele 5 and Austrian web ATVplus. The privately held group, 55% owned by Herbert Kloiber and 45% by Munich-based licensing company EM.TV, did not release profit figures, however. In an interview with German daily Die Welt, Kloiber said company's film and DVD license business generated the lion's share of sales. Tele Munchen's also collected revenue from its 30% stake in RTL 2, which has been enjoying success with a new year-long version of "Big Brother" and other reality formats like "Frauentausch," a "Wife Swap" clone. Tele Munchen is planning to launch on the new digital platform being built by German cabler Kabel Deutschland, which is in the process of taking over all of Germany's regional cable companies. ARD OPTS FOR SCIENTIFIC-ATLANTA TO REPLACE EQUIPMENT ARD-Sternpunkte has selected a complete transport hardware and software solution from Scientific-Atlanta Europe (S-A) to restore its German Direct-to-Home DVB-S play out system located at Hessischer Rundfunk to state-of-the-art status. ARD's new play out centre delivers less complicated operations for greater efficiency at Hessischer Rundfunk, plus enhanced video quality for viewers. The new system, mainly based on S-A's Continuum DVP D9030 encoders and Pegasus multiplexers, provides ARD-Sternpunkte with enhanced bandwidth efficiency and expanded flexibility combined with a customized operating and management concept. In addition to the Continuum and Pegasus products, the system installed at ARD-Sternpunkte is also using S-A digital decoders and receivers, and redundancy switches to help deliver reliable service. The free-to-air ARD public broadcast signal is available across Europe via the ASTRA satellite system. SABAN INCREASES PROSIEBENSAT.1 STAKE Haim Saban has increased his company's share in German broadcasting group ProSiebenSat.1 from 72% to 75.1% following a capital increase completed on April 28 that raised €282 million. The capital increase is part of a comprehensive refinancing plan. ProSiebenSat.1 increased its existing shares by more than 24 million to nearly 219 million. Half the shares are listed preferred stock and half are unlisted common stock, which carry voting rights. Fellow shareholding group Sat.1 Beteiligung, made up of publisher Axel Springer and the bankrupt Kirch Media, hold 24.9% of both common and preferred stock, while Saban holds 75.1% of the voting shares. SUPER RTL POSTS PROFIT Super RTL said on April 28 that it had a profit of €10.4 million last year, 125% higher than the year-earlier figure of €4.6 million. Advertising revenue in the first quarter of 2004 was up 30.5%, significantly better than the improved German television advertising market figure of 6.8% reported by Nielsen Media Research. Super RTL managing director Claude Schmit said he expects this year's profit to reach at least €15 million, adding that the extra money will be invested in new youth programming. In August, Super RTL will launch the "world's first football show for young people," called "Toggo United -- The Football Show" with the cooperation of German football star Marco Bode. HUNGARY MTV FACES INSOLVENCY Hungarian Television (MTV) may go insolvent in May, according to the board of the MTV Public Foundation. In line with this announcement, the board has not authorized contracts for future shows or indeed any of its current programming, and is looking to present the financial woes of the station to Parliament. The board is trying to persuade Parliament to unfreeze MTV's Ft 1.3 billion share of a previously allocated grant for public broadcasters for 2004. This amount would stave off MTV's financial meltdown merely for one or two months. IRELAND RTE SIGNS OUTPUT DEAL WITH UNIVERSAL RTE Ireland has signed a new acquisitions deal with Universal. The deal runs to 43 films including hits such as About A Boy, The Bourne Identity, 8 Mile and The Pianist. The list also includes recent re-runs such as Notting Hill and The Mummy, also classics The Day Of The Jackal, Smokey & the Bandit, and Scarface. On the series front, the RTE/Universal deal also renews Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, plus series 2 of Monk, and library series such as The Rockford Files and Murder She Wrote. ITALY MEDIA BILL FINALLY APPROVED More than a year after it was first presented in parliament, a bitterly-contested media law received final approval on April 30 in the Italian Senate. The move comes amid claims by the centre-left opposition that the legislation was tailor-made for Premier Silvio Berlusconi's business empire. The law was revamped after a presidential veto in December, and the new version was passed in the Chamber of Deputies last month. Berlusconi's conservative forces in the Senate passed the legislation in a 142-91 vote, with one abstention. The opposition contends that the legislation is designed to protect Berlusconi's interests and increase his grip on the media. Centre-left politicians also say the new version ignores the issues raised by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who refused to sign the law on grounds that it could lead to single companies dominating Italian media. Communications Minister Maurizio Gasparri, who drafted the bill, said the law will open up the Italian market by introducing digital television. According to the constitution, the president must sign a law before it goes into force. The president can only reject legislation once, so Ciampi must now accept the law. POLAND BBC PRIME SIGNS CABLE DEALS Aster Group, a cable platform that serves 265,000 customers, primarily in Warsaw, has begun carrying the BBC Prime channel. The entertainment channel has been added to Aster's basic package, boosting BBC Prime's reach in the country to 1.8 million homes. The channel is already carried across Poland by cablers UPC Telewizja Kablowa, MultiMedia and Stream. BBC Prime, which features shows like Top of the Pops, EastEnders and The Weakest Link, reaches more than 14 million subscribers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, via cable and satellite. ROMANIA PRO CINEMA ON THE AIR Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) on April 27 announced the successful launch of PRO Cinema, its third national network in Romania. PRO Cinema premiered with initial distribution in 60 percent of cable systems in Romania, and the network expects to achieve full cable distribution within 3 months. PRO Cinema focuses solely on quality films and series targeted at an upwardly mobile urban adult audience and is supported by both advertising and cable subscriptions. The network complements CME's market-leading Romanian broadcast group that includes PRO TV and TV Acasa, which ranked first and third respectively among urban adults during prime time in 2003. The launch of PRO Cinema follows CME's recent announcement that it has increased its ownership of the Romanian group to 80 per cent. Seventy-five per cent of Romanian cable companies, including the three biggest operators, have already agreed to distribute PRO Cinema throughout the country. Romania's cable television systems currently reach 57 per cent of the country, with an 82 per cent reach of the greater urban areas. Regards Satdude. :D [/QUOTE]
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