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<blockquote data-quote="Satdude" data-source="post: 44887" data-attributes="member: 175600"><p>Satellite news 10.05.04</p><p></p><p>News</p><p></p><p>UK</p><p></p><p>TV RACES ROW </p><p>Britain's courses looked to be hopelessly divided over </p><p>plans to bring daily televised racing back to the </p><p>screens of satellite and cable viewers. There were </p><p>signs too that the struggle between the Horse Racing </p><p>Channel, a subscription-based plan, and New </p><p>Attheraces, a free-to-air rival, could leave bitter </p><p>scars. Just six of Britain's tracks had still to </p><p>decide which project to support, with the remainder </p><p>all but split down the middle. However, as New ATR's </p><p>25-course portfolio includes the three all-weather </p><p>tracks it can claim to control 50% of the fixture list </p><p>while the 28 tracks who have signed with HRC account </p><p>for some 43%. New ATR intends to launch to S*y viewers </p><p>on June 21 and HRC is expected to announce its launch </p><p>date soon, probably within the next two months. </p><p>However, the split between the two is such that </p><p>neither may have the "critical mass" necessary to </p><p>attract viewers and, in the case of HRC, persuade them </p><p>to pay a fee of £20 per month. </p><p></p><p>FOX KIDS EUROPE BECOMES JETIX </p><p>Fox Kids Europe said on May 4 that its pan-European </p><p>consumer products division will now be called Jetix </p><p>Consumer Products International. Fox Kids said the new </p><p>name follows the recent launch of Jetix-branded </p><p>program blocks in Europe and on ABC Cable Networks </p><p>channels in the United States. All local consumer </p><p>product offices in Europe will bear the new name, </p><p>which is scheduled to be launched June 8 at the New </p><p>York Licensing Show. </p><p></p><p>SES GLOBAL PLANS FOURTH SATELLITE FOR THE U.K. </p><p>Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES Global is </p><p>planning to increase its capacity by adding a fourth </p><p>satellite to those already beaming channels to the UK. </p><p>As a result the number of satellite TV channels </p><p>available in Britain could rise by up to 50 per cent </p><p>to more than 600. SES Global will offer the channel </p><p>capacity to television companies such as the BBC and </p><p>commercial broadcasters including ITV and Channel 4. </p><p>The company said it had been in contact with the BBC </p><p>about its plans for free-to-air satellite services, </p><p>which could pave the way for the end of analogue </p><p>television transmissions over the next five to 10 </p><p>years. Last week, the publicly funded broadcaster </p><p>announced plans to augment its existing Freeview </p><p>digital platform with a satellite offering. </p><p></p><p>BS*yB OPTS FOR PINNACLE SYSTEMS </p><p>Pinnacle Systems on May 6 announced that BS*yB has </p><p>deployed DekoCast character generators at its main UK </p><p>studio facility in Isleworth, London. The solution </p><p>will be used to produce content for the new </p><p>international feed of S*y News, which is currently the </p><p>UK's leading 24-hour news channel. Deployed ahead of </p><p>the service's launch later this year, the solution </p><p>complements 12 FXDeko II systems and a DekoCast </p><p>Authoring Station that are being used across the S*y </p><p>News and S*y Sports channels. The new service will </p><p>broadcast internationally providing a single feed </p><p>global news service utilizing content from S*y News' </p><p>existing operations. In creating this new service </p><p>BS*yB is aiming to build on the continued success in </p><p>the UK and Ireland of S*y News, which earlier this </p><p>year was named the RTS News Channel of the Year for </p><p>the third successive year. </p><p></p><p>S4C SEEKS CHANGE IN BBC RELATIONSHIP </p><p>In its response to the Government's review of the </p><p>BBC's Royal Charter, the S4C authority is calling for </p><p>the Welsh language channel's unique relationship with </p><p>the BBC to be revisited in the light of changes which </p><p>have taken place since it was first established. Since </p><p>S4C's launch in 1982, the BBC has provided ten hours a </p><p>week of Welsh-language television programmes for the </p><p>Channel, paid for from the licence fee. These </p><p>programmes, which include a daily news programme and </p><p>soap opera Pobol y Cwm, one of S4C's most consistently </p><p>popular shows, play a crucial role at the heart of the </p><p>channel's programme schedule. S4C's view is that the </p><p>relationship should now be modernised, given that the </p><p>stipulation that the BBC's contribution to the S4C </p><p>service should be ten hours a week was made as part of </p><p>the 1981/1982 Broadcasting Acts, when there were to be </p><p>only four terrestrial channels operating in the UK.</p><p></p><p>Europe</p><p></p><p>MTG ROLLS OUT VIASAT HISTORY </p><p>Modern Times Group has launched a new pay-TV channel, </p><p>Viasat History, in eight Eastern and Central European </p><p>markets, including Russia and Poland. The channel </p><p>launched on May 4 on cable networks in Russia, the </p><p>Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria </p><p>and Poland. It airs for 18 hours a day, with shows on </p><p>science, sports, music, business and military </p><p>conflict, as they relate to events that changed the </p><p>world. Viasat Broadcasting operates 26 channels in the </p><p>region, including TV1000, a movie channel; and the </p><p>documentary network Viasat Explorer. </p><p></p><p>CME POSTS FIRST QUARTER PROFIT </p><p>Central European Media Enterprises has swung into </p><p>profit in its first quarter results, posting a net </p><p>income of $5.2 million versus last year's loss of </p><p>$11.3 million, with net revenues up by 46 per cent to </p><p>$35.8 million. The company's Romanian operations-Pro </p><p>TV, Acasa and Pro TV International-generated the most </p><p>revenues, with $14.1 million; followed by Studio 1+1 </p><p>in the Ukraine, with $12.1 million; Markiza TV in the </p><p>Slovak Republic, with $11.9 million; and Slovenia's </p><p>Pop TV and Kanal A, which brought in $9.67 million. </p><p></p><p>BROADCASTERS CHOOSE ATHENS BROADCAST BASE </p><p>Athens Broadcast Services partners, represented by </p><p>GlobeCast, Gearhouse Broadcast and Stefi Productions, </p><p>announced that leading international broadcasters have </p><p>selected the Athens Broadcast Base 2004 for their </p><p>Olympics coverage. These broadcasters include: Sky </p><p>News, Sky Sports News, ITN (ITV3 News) and Reuters </p><p>from the UK; 9 Network Australia; Italian group </p><p>Mediaset and global news network CNN. The </p><p>state-of-the-art Broadcast Base launched in May last </p><p>year by GlobeCast, the global satellite transmissions </p><p>provider, Gearhouse Broadcast, the equipment rental, </p><p>sales & project solutions company, and Greek </p><p>production company Stefi Productions offers non-rights </p><p>holders a one-stop-shop for all of their production </p><p>and broadcast requirements, including studios, work </p><p>space, broadcast equipment, worldwide satellite </p><p>transmissions, uplinking facilities, play out, </p><p>conversion, encoding and mobile SNG facilities. </p><p></p><p>FIFA TURNS DOWN TV OFFER FOR WORLD CUP </p><p>Football's world governing body Fifa has turned down a </p><p>£1.56 billion offer for the TV and marketing rights to </p><p>the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. The offer is </p><p>significantly more than the estimated £1.23 billion </p><p>the governing body will bring in for the 2002 and 2006 </p><p>World Cups, in Japan and Germany, despite the fact </p><p>that the first two tournaments of the next decade will </p><p>be held in less commercially valuable markets. The </p><p>Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, has already decreed that </p><p>the 2010 tournament will be the first to be held in </p><p>Africa, with Egypt, South Africa, Libya, Morocco and </p><p>Tunisia all in the running to stage the event. The </p><p>2014 World Cup will be held in South America. The </p><p>South America tournament will have less commercial </p><p>value than the Germany World Cup because kick-off </p><p>times will not suit the big European markets, although </p><p>with a five-hour difference it won't play as much </p><p>havoc with the schedules as the Japan World Cup two </p><p>years ago. It is believed the unsuccessful bid came </p><p>from International Sports and Entertainment, a </p><p>Zurich-based sports marketing group in which French </p><p>marketing giant Publicis and Japanese advertising </p><p>group Dentsu are the major shareholders. Jerome </p><p>Valcke, the head of Fifa's marketing and television </p><p>division, told the Financial Times the offer was for a </p><p>broad range of rights and had significantly </p><p>undervalued them. He told the paper the proposal had </p><p>come "too early" and covered "a range of commercial </p><p>rights, which explains why we were not able to say yes </p><p>or even discuss it". Unlike the TV-only deal for the </p><p>2002 and 2006 World Cups, the offer is believed to be </p><p>for a broader range of rights, including the contracts </p><p>to handle advertising, marketing and corporate </p><p>entertainment. </p><p></p><p>BELARUS </p><p></p><p>STATE TV TO START SATELLITE BROADCASTS </p><p>Belarusian state TV on May 7 said it is to start </p><p>satellite broadcasts. In an on-air report, the TV </p><p>channels said digital distribution will improve the </p><p>quality of reception of the Belarusian television's </p><p>programmes. It will enable network TV operators to </p><p>obtain high-quality signal for further redistribution. </p><p>Satellite broadcasting will allow the Belarusian </p><p>television to exchange programmes with Ukrainian and </p><p>Russian TV companies. </p><p></p><p>FRANCE </p><p></p><p>M6 REPORTS HIGHER INCOME </p><p>Commercial TV group M6 reported a net income of ?293 </p><p>million for the first quarter, up 1.9% over last </p><p>year's figure, according to provisional results </p><p>released on May 7. Advertising revenue from its </p><p>free-to-air M6 channel rose 10.1% to ?147.1 million, </p><p>primarily driven by the food, press, health and beauty </p><p>sectors. The channel's market share of viewers aged </p><p>under 50 increased to 19.6% from 18% in the first </p><p>quarter of 2003. Net income from other sources, which </p><p>accounted for nearly half of the group's sales for the </p><p>first quarter, fell to ?145.9 million, a 5.2% drop </p><p>from a year earlier. </p><p></p><p>CANAL PLUS BUYS VOD OPERATOR </p><p>Flm and pay-TV group Canal Plus said on May 3 that it </p><p>has acquired video-on-demand operator MovieSystem in a </p><p>deal which would allow the group "to enter the </p><p>video-on-demand market as a major player and reinforce </p><p>the group's presence in the field of content </p><p>distribution." The deal, which insiders value at ?10 </p><p>million, will permit Canal Plus to provide premium </p><p>film content from more than 70 major film producers </p><p>across broadband networks. Subscribers to Canal Plus' </p><p>television-via-ADSL offer in France, through an </p><p>association with France Telecom, would have access to </p><p>MovieSystem's catalog of more than 1,500 films. </p><p>MovieSystem, which registered a turnover of ?5 million </p><p>last year, also distributes NetCine, a packaged </p><p>video-on-demand service through broadband access </p><p>providers in Europe, which gives subscribers access to </p><p>the latest titles on the rental video market. </p><p></p><p>CABLE SUBSCRIBER FIGURES UP </p><p>The number of cable subscribers in France went up to </p><p>more than 3.7 million, as the first quarter of this </p><p>year showed an increase of more than 50,000, a 5.7% </p><p>increase over the same period last year, according to </p><p>figures released on May 4 by the Association Francaise </p><p>des Operateurs de Reseaux Multiservices (AFORM), an </p><p>organization representing more than 93% of French </p><p>cable suppliers. The figures include television, </p><p>telephone and Internet cable subscribers. AFORM said </p><p>the largest gains registered were for high-speed </p><p>Internet via cable, which grew 33.3% to 416,838 </p><p>subscribers in the 12-month period starting April </p><p>2003. The newly introduced service of television via </p><p>high-speed ADSL lines was available to 50% of </p><p>households subscribing to the Internet via cable, </p><p>AFORM said. Digital cable television subscribers </p><p>increased 13.6% over the past 12 months to 933,820, </p><p>while the total number of digital television </p><p>subscribers inched up 2.8% to more than 3.5 million </p><p>for the same period. </p><p></p><p>DROP IN VIVENDI SALES </p><p>Media and telecoms firm Vivendi Universal on May 5 </p><p>reported sales of ?5.97 billion compared to ?6.23 </p><p>billion in the year-earlier quarter. Vivendi Universal </p><p>Entertainment saw its sales rise 3 per cent to ?1.49 </p><p>billion, thanks to strong video sales and a good </p><p>release schedule. The unit is in the process of being </p><p>sold to U.S. television network NBC, a unit of </p><p>conglomerate General Electric. Revenues at pay-TV arm </p><p>Canal Plus fell 21 per cent to ?923 million, mostly </p><p>because of asset sales, while the games division </p><p>posted turnover of ?77 million, down 27 per cent. </p><p></p><p>GERMANY </p><p></p><p>PROSIEBENSAT1 RETURNS TO PROFIT </p><p>ProSiebenSAT1, Germany's biggest free-to-air </p><p>broadcaster, said it was back in the black in the </p><p>first three months of the current year thanks to </p><p>continued cost-cutting and rising revenues. </p><p>ProSiebenSAT1 said it booked net profit of ?25 million </p><p>in the period from January to March, compared with a </p><p>loss of ?31 million a year earlier. Before taxes, the </p><p>group also swung back into the black, turning in a </p><p>pre-tax profit of ?43 million from a year-earlier loss </p><p>of ?29 million. First-quarter revenues were up six per </p><p>cent at ?436 million. The group's four channels -- </p><p>ProSieben, SAT1, N24 and Kabel 1 -- also booked </p><p>positive results. </p><p></p><p>SABAN SETS EYES ON VIVA </p><p>Haim Saban is in advanced negotiations to acquire the </p><p>German music broadcaster Viva Media, according to the </p><p>International Herald Tribune. According to the report, </p><p>Viva Media has a market value of about $320 million. </p><p>Time Warner holds a 31 per cent stake in the company, </p><p>and Vivendi Universal has 15 per cent. Saban is not </p><p>the only one considered as a potential bidder for the </p><p>network-Viacom is also said to be interested, </p><p>according to the report. Viva's most valuable assets </p><p>are Germany's number two music channel, which is </p><p>estimated at ?267 million, and production company </p><p>Brainpool Television. Last year Viva reported a net </p><p>loss of ?42.3 million, a massive drop from the </p><p>previous year's profit of ?859,000. </p><p></p><p>PROSIEBENSAT1 AGREES LOAN </p><p>ProSiebenSat.1 Media is completing its refinancing </p><p>package with a ?150 million bond it plans to sell in a </p><p>private placement. ProSieben said on May 6 the bond </p><p>would be due 2011 and would be used to help fund a </p><p>buyback of its ?338 million bond due 2006 that it </p><p>expects to complete later in May. The debt sale comes </p><p>on top of a ?282 million share capital increase Saban </p><p>launched to pay down debt at the station that had been </p><p>hit by a three-year drought in German advertising. </p><p>ProSieben also said it agreed on a syndicated loan of </p><p>?475 million to replace an existing loan facility. The </p><p>loan could be reduced by ?150 million if the bond </p><p>placement is succesful, it said. </p><p></p><p>STRONG INCREASE IN SUBSCRIBERS FOR PREMIERE </p><p>Figures released on May 6 by pay-TV group Premiere </p><p>showed strong subscriber growth in the first quarter, </p><p>adding 47,000 new customers. But, hit by goodwill </p><p>write-offs linked to its majority takeover last year </p><p>by investment group Permira, the group booked a </p><p>pre-tax loss of ?47.5 million, compared to a ?37.1 </p><p>million loss over the same period last year. Sales </p><p>also slipped to ?232.3 million from ?236.9 million in </p><p>the first quarter of 2003. </p><p></p><p>ITALY </p><p></p><p>OPPOSITION CRITISES TV LAW </p><p>A slightly modified version of the Italian TV reform </p><p>law, approved in Parliament last week, violates the </p><p>Italian Constitution by reinforcing the duopoly </p><p>exercised by Italian pubcaster RAI and Silvio </p><p>Berlusconi's commercial network Mediaset, the </p><p>country's opposition party said. The country's </p><p>left-of-center parties have said that they will appeal </p><p>to the Supreme Court against the law and added that </p><p>they will appeal to the European Court of Justice if </p><p>Italy's Supreme Court fails to take action. An earlier </p><p>version of it had been rejected in December by Italian </p><p>president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who said it could hurt </p><p>competition and information pluralism in violation of </p><p>the country's constitution. </p><p></p><p>SKY ITALIA TO ABANDON SECA ENCRYPTION </p><p>SKY Italia on April 28 announced that it will cease </p><p>using the SECA encryption system by the end of 2004. </p><p>Existing SKY SECA subscribers will be progressively </p><p>converted to NDS transmission, commencing from May </p><p>2004. In some cases this will be done by SKY providing </p><p>a new NDS smart card which will operate in existing </p><p>SECA decoders, but for many subscribers SKY will be </p><p>delivering an NDS decoder and smart card to the </p><p>subscriber's home at no additional cost. At this time </p><p>SKY subscribers using a SECA enabled decoder need to </p><p>take no action: SKY will contact each subscriber </p><p>directly during the next six months to advise if it </p><p>will supply them with a new decoder or a new </p><p>smart-card. This decision means from 13 June SKY will </p><p>stop selling subscriptions that use the SECA card. To </p><p>provide an opportunity for potential subscribers </p><p>currently owning or wishing to purchase a SECA enabled </p><p>decoder, SKY is making a special offer for "smart card </p><p>only" subscriptions from April 28 until 13 June. The </p><p>SECA encryption system was originally deployed in </p><p>Italy in 1997 by Tele+, which then was a subsidiary of </p><p>Canal Plus, whose subsidiary, Canal Plus Technologies, </p><p>supplied the system. The initial version deployed by </p><p>SECA was known as SECA I and in May 2002 this was </p><p>replaced by SECA II. Presently, SKY has more than 2.5 </p><p>million digital customers. Of these, 1.9 million </p><p>utilise SECA decoders and the remainder use NDS </p><p>decoders. </p><p></p><p>JUVENUTS SIGNS NEW DEAL WITH SKY ITALIA </p><p>Juventus Football Club said on April 30 that it had </p><p>signed a two-year television deal with Italian pay-TV </p><p>operator Sky Italia that will bring the Italian </p><p>football team at least ?184.5 million. Juventus said </p><p>the contracts were worth ?90 million for the 2005-06 </p><p>season and ?94.5 million for the successive year. The </p><p>club said it will receive a ?5 million bonus if it </p><p>places first or second in Italy's premier Serie A </p><p>league. Juventus already has a television contract </p><p>with Sky Italia through 2005. The last year of that </p><p>contract offers the club revenue of around ?90 </p><p>million. </p><p></p><p>AMSTRAD GETS SKY ITALIA CONTRACT </p><p>Consumer electronics firm Amstrad has secured an order </p><p>to supply digital set-top boxes to Sky Italia. No </p><p>value has been placed on the deal, but Amstrad said </p><p>shipments were scheduled to commence in the next </p><p>financial year. Sky Italia, which is 80.1 per cent </p><p>owned by Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corp </p><p>and 19.9 per cent owned by Telecom Italia, operates a </p><p>digital television service with more than 100 TV and </p><p>audio channels. </p><p></p><p>THE NETHERLANDS </p><p></p><p>PUBLIC BROADCASTERS TO END ANALOGUE TV IN 2006 </p><p>According to Radio Netherlands, the Dutch public </p><p>broadcasters have told the government that they want </p><p>to close down analogue terrestrial transmissions of </p><p>the three national TV networks in 2006, two years </p><p>earlier than expected. The closure of the analogue </p><p>transmitters will save ?14 million per year. It's </p><p>estimated that only between 65,000 and 100,000 people </p><p>depend on these transmitters to receive Nederland 1, 2 </p><p>and 3 on a daily basis, while the rest get their </p><p>signals via cable or satellite. </p><p></p><p>SPAIN </p><p></p><p>ANTENA 3 ONCE AGAIN PROFITABLE </p><p>Antena 3, the country's second-largest commercial TV </p><p>station, has managed to turnaround its unhealthy </p><p>financial situation. In the first quarter of the year, </p><p>the network returned to profitability making a profit </p><p>of ?15.5 million, against losses of ?9 million in the </p><p>same period last year. Total revenues reached ?144 </p><p>million, against ?118.5 million the previous year, </p><p>while EBITDA was ?40.1 million up from ?8.6 million in </p><p>the first quarter in 2003. </p><p></p><p>TURKEY </p><p></p><p>LATENS WINS MILENYUM TV CONTRACT </p><p>Latens has been awarded a contract to provide a </p><p>customised next generation Conditional Access (CA) </p><p>system to MilenyumTV, a wholly owned subsidiary of </p><p>Dogan Yayin Holding (DYH). MilenyumTV is the satellite </p><p>broadcaster that launched in Turkey earlier this year </p><p>under the FreeTV brand. Latens is to provide a custom </p><p>built system to secure the broadcast and business </p><p>systems designed by MilenyumTV. Thanks to its new </p><p>design and next generation technology MilenyumTV will </p><p>also offer a managed portfolio of broadcast, </p><p>production and satellite transmission services to </p><p>other content providers in Turkey. The Latens next </p><p>generation Conditional Access (CA) technology approach </p><p>has many advantages over existing CA systems, </p><p>including; reduction in security costs by up to 50%, </p><p>ensuring that an operator is much less likely to come </p><p>under attack and increasing operators' business </p><p>flexibility. Dogan Yayin Holding (DYH), the parent </p><p>company of MilenyumTV, is Turkey's leading </p><p>media-entertainment conglomerate. DYH has extensive </p><p>broadcasting assets, with two national stations, three </p><p>cable stations and one international TV station and </p><p>the largest production house in Turkey. </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: 44887, member: 175600"] Satellite news 10.05.04 News UK TV RACES ROW Britain's courses looked to be hopelessly divided over plans to bring daily televised racing back to the screens of satellite and cable viewers. There were signs too that the struggle between the Horse Racing Channel, a subscription-based plan, and New Attheraces, a free-to-air rival, could leave bitter scars. Just six of Britain's tracks had still to decide which project to support, with the remainder all but split down the middle. However, as New ATR's 25-course portfolio includes the three all-weather tracks it can claim to control 50% of the fixture list while the 28 tracks who have signed with HRC account for some 43%. New ATR intends to launch to S*y viewers on June 21 and HRC is expected to announce its launch date soon, probably within the next two months. However, the split between the two is such that neither may have the "critical mass" necessary to attract viewers and, in the case of HRC, persuade them to pay a fee of £20 per month. FOX KIDS EUROPE BECOMES JETIX Fox Kids Europe said on May 4 that its pan-European consumer products division will now be called Jetix Consumer Products International. Fox Kids said the new name follows the recent launch of Jetix-branded program blocks in Europe and on ABC Cable Networks channels in the United States. All local consumer product offices in Europe will bear the new name, which is scheduled to be launched June 8 at the New York Licensing Show. SES GLOBAL PLANS FOURTH SATELLITE FOR THE U.K. Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES Global is planning to increase its capacity by adding a fourth satellite to those already beaming channels to the UK. As a result the number of satellite TV channels available in Britain could rise by up to 50 per cent to more than 600. SES Global will offer the channel capacity to television companies such as the BBC and commercial broadcasters including ITV and Channel 4. The company said it had been in contact with the BBC about its plans for free-to-air satellite services, which could pave the way for the end of analogue television transmissions over the next five to 10 years. Last week, the publicly funded broadcaster announced plans to augment its existing Freeview digital platform with a satellite offering. BS*yB OPTS FOR PINNACLE SYSTEMS Pinnacle Systems on May 6 announced that BS*yB has deployed DekoCast character generators at its main UK studio facility in Isleworth, London. The solution will be used to produce content for the new international feed of S*y News, which is currently the UK's leading 24-hour news channel. Deployed ahead of the service's launch later this year, the solution complements 12 FXDeko II systems and a DekoCast Authoring Station that are being used across the S*y News and S*y Sports channels. The new service will broadcast internationally providing a single feed global news service utilizing content from S*y News' existing operations. In creating this new service BS*yB is aiming to build on the continued success in the UK and Ireland of S*y News, which earlier this year was named the RTS News Channel of the Year for the third successive year. S4C SEEKS CHANGE IN BBC RELATIONSHIP In its response to the Government's review of the BBC's Royal Charter, the S4C authority is calling for the Welsh language channel's unique relationship with the BBC to be revisited in the light of changes which have taken place since it was first established. Since S4C's launch in 1982, the BBC has provided ten hours a week of Welsh-language television programmes for the Channel, paid for from the licence fee. These programmes, which include a daily news programme and soap opera Pobol y Cwm, one of S4C's most consistently popular shows, play a crucial role at the heart of the channel's programme schedule. S4C's view is that the relationship should now be modernised, given that the stipulation that the BBC's contribution to the S4C service should be ten hours a week was made as part of the 1981/1982 Broadcasting Acts, when there were to be only four terrestrial channels operating in the UK. Europe MTG ROLLS OUT VIASAT HISTORY Modern Times Group has launched a new pay-TV channel, Viasat History, in eight Eastern and Central European markets, including Russia and Poland. The channel launched on May 4 on cable networks in Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland. It airs for 18 hours a day, with shows on science, sports, music, business and military conflict, as they relate to events that changed the world. Viasat Broadcasting operates 26 channels in the region, including TV1000, a movie channel; and the documentary network Viasat Explorer. CME POSTS FIRST QUARTER PROFIT Central European Media Enterprises has swung into profit in its first quarter results, posting a net income of $5.2 million versus last year's loss of $11.3 million, with net revenues up by 46 per cent to $35.8 million. The company's Romanian operations-Pro TV, Acasa and Pro TV International-generated the most revenues, with $14.1 million; followed by Studio 1+1 in the Ukraine, with $12.1 million; Markiza TV in the Slovak Republic, with $11.9 million; and Slovenia's Pop TV and Kanal A, which brought in $9.67 million. BROADCASTERS CHOOSE ATHENS BROADCAST BASE Athens Broadcast Services partners, represented by GlobeCast, Gearhouse Broadcast and Stefi Productions, announced that leading international broadcasters have selected the Athens Broadcast Base 2004 for their Olympics coverage. These broadcasters include: Sky News, Sky Sports News, ITN (ITV3 News) and Reuters from the UK; 9 Network Australia; Italian group Mediaset and global news network CNN. The state-of-the-art Broadcast Base launched in May last year by GlobeCast, the global satellite transmissions provider, Gearhouse Broadcast, the equipment rental, sales & project solutions company, and Greek production company Stefi Productions offers non-rights holders a one-stop-shop for all of their production and broadcast requirements, including studios, work space, broadcast equipment, worldwide satellite transmissions, uplinking facilities, play out, conversion, encoding and mobile SNG facilities. FIFA TURNS DOWN TV OFFER FOR WORLD CUP Football's world governing body Fifa has turned down a £1.56 billion offer for the TV and marketing rights to the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. The offer is significantly more than the estimated £1.23 billion the governing body will bring in for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, in Japan and Germany, despite the fact that the first two tournaments of the next decade will be held in less commercially valuable markets. The Fifa president, Sepp Blatter, has already decreed that the 2010 tournament will be the first to be held in Africa, with Egypt, South Africa, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia all in the running to stage the event. The 2014 World Cup will be held in South America. The South America tournament will have less commercial value than the Germany World Cup because kick-off times will not suit the big European markets, although with a five-hour difference it won't play as much havoc with the schedules as the Japan World Cup two years ago. It is believed the unsuccessful bid came from International Sports and Entertainment, a Zurich-based sports marketing group in which French marketing giant Publicis and Japanese advertising group Dentsu are the major shareholders. Jerome Valcke, the head of Fifa's marketing and television division, told the Financial Times the offer was for a broad range of rights and had significantly undervalued them. He told the paper the proposal had come "too early" and covered "a range of commercial rights, which explains why we were not able to say yes or even discuss it". Unlike the TV-only deal for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, the offer is believed to be for a broader range of rights, including the contracts to handle advertising, marketing and corporate entertainment. BELARUS STATE TV TO START SATELLITE BROADCASTS Belarusian state TV on May 7 said it is to start satellite broadcasts. In an on-air report, the TV channels said digital distribution will improve the quality of reception of the Belarusian television's programmes. It will enable network TV operators to obtain high-quality signal for further redistribution. Satellite broadcasting will allow the Belarusian television to exchange programmes with Ukrainian and Russian TV companies. FRANCE M6 REPORTS HIGHER INCOME Commercial TV group M6 reported a net income of ?293 million for the first quarter, up 1.9% over last year's figure, according to provisional results released on May 7. Advertising revenue from its free-to-air M6 channel rose 10.1% to ?147.1 million, primarily driven by the food, press, health and beauty sectors. The channel's market share of viewers aged under 50 increased to 19.6% from 18% in the first quarter of 2003. Net income from other sources, which accounted for nearly half of the group's sales for the first quarter, fell to ?145.9 million, a 5.2% drop from a year earlier. CANAL PLUS BUYS VOD OPERATOR Flm and pay-TV group Canal Plus said on May 3 that it has acquired video-on-demand operator MovieSystem in a deal which would allow the group "to enter the video-on-demand market as a major player and reinforce the group's presence in the field of content distribution." The deal, which insiders value at ?10 million, will permit Canal Plus to provide premium film content from more than 70 major film producers across broadband networks. Subscribers to Canal Plus' television-via-ADSL offer in France, through an association with France Telecom, would have access to MovieSystem's catalog of more than 1,500 films. MovieSystem, which registered a turnover of ?5 million last year, also distributes NetCine, a packaged video-on-demand service through broadband access providers in Europe, which gives subscribers access to the latest titles on the rental video market. CABLE SUBSCRIBER FIGURES UP The number of cable subscribers in France went up to more than 3.7 million, as the first quarter of this year showed an increase of more than 50,000, a 5.7% increase over the same period last year, according to figures released on May 4 by the Association Francaise des Operateurs de Reseaux Multiservices (AFORM), an organization representing more than 93% of French cable suppliers. The figures include television, telephone and Internet cable subscribers. AFORM said the largest gains registered were for high-speed Internet via cable, which grew 33.3% to 416,838 subscribers in the 12-month period starting April 2003. The newly introduced service of television via high-speed ADSL lines was available to 50% of households subscribing to the Internet via cable, AFORM said. Digital cable television subscribers increased 13.6% over the past 12 months to 933,820, while the total number of digital television subscribers inched up 2.8% to more than 3.5 million for the same period. DROP IN VIVENDI SALES Media and telecoms firm Vivendi Universal on May 5 reported sales of ?5.97 billion compared to ?6.23 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Vivendi Universal Entertainment saw its sales rise 3 per cent to ?1.49 billion, thanks to strong video sales and a good release schedule. The unit is in the process of being sold to U.S. television network NBC, a unit of conglomerate General Electric. Revenues at pay-TV arm Canal Plus fell 21 per cent to ?923 million, mostly because of asset sales, while the games division posted turnover of ?77 million, down 27 per cent. GERMANY PROSIEBENSAT1 RETURNS TO PROFIT ProSiebenSAT1, Germany's biggest free-to-air broadcaster, said it was back in the black in the first three months of the current year thanks to continued cost-cutting and rising revenues. ProSiebenSAT1 said it booked net profit of ?25 million in the period from January to March, compared with a loss of ?31 million a year earlier. Before taxes, the group also swung back into the black, turning in a pre-tax profit of ?43 million from a year-earlier loss of ?29 million. First-quarter revenues were up six per cent at ?436 million. The group's four channels -- ProSieben, SAT1, N24 and Kabel 1 -- also booked positive results. SABAN SETS EYES ON VIVA Haim Saban is in advanced negotiations to acquire the German music broadcaster Viva Media, according to the International Herald Tribune. According to the report, Viva Media has a market value of about $320 million. Time Warner holds a 31 per cent stake in the company, and Vivendi Universal has 15 per cent. Saban is not the only one considered as a potential bidder for the network-Viacom is also said to be interested, according to the report. Viva's most valuable assets are Germany's number two music channel, which is estimated at ?267 million, and production company Brainpool Television. Last year Viva reported a net loss of ?42.3 million, a massive drop from the previous year's profit of ?859,000. PROSIEBENSAT1 AGREES LOAN ProSiebenSat.1 Media is completing its refinancing package with a ?150 million bond it plans to sell in a private placement. ProSieben said on May 6 the bond would be due 2011 and would be used to help fund a buyback of its ?338 million bond due 2006 that it expects to complete later in May. The debt sale comes on top of a ?282 million share capital increase Saban launched to pay down debt at the station that had been hit by a three-year drought in German advertising. ProSieben also said it agreed on a syndicated loan of ?475 million to replace an existing loan facility. The loan could be reduced by ?150 million if the bond placement is succesful, it said. STRONG INCREASE IN SUBSCRIBERS FOR PREMIERE Figures released on May 6 by pay-TV group Premiere showed strong subscriber growth in the first quarter, adding 47,000 new customers. But, hit by goodwill write-offs linked to its majority takeover last year by investment group Permira, the group booked a pre-tax loss of ?47.5 million, compared to a ?37.1 million loss over the same period last year. Sales also slipped to ?232.3 million from ?236.9 million in the first quarter of 2003. ITALY OPPOSITION CRITISES TV LAW A slightly modified version of the Italian TV reform law, approved in Parliament last week, violates the Italian Constitution by reinforcing the duopoly exercised by Italian pubcaster RAI and Silvio Berlusconi's commercial network Mediaset, the country's opposition party said. The country's left-of-center parties have said that they will appeal to the Supreme Court against the law and added that they will appeal to the European Court of Justice if Italy's Supreme Court fails to take action. An earlier version of it had been rejected in December by Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who said it could hurt competition and information pluralism in violation of the country's constitution. SKY ITALIA TO ABANDON SECA ENCRYPTION SKY Italia on April 28 announced that it will cease using the SECA encryption system by the end of 2004. Existing SKY SECA subscribers will be progressively converted to NDS transmission, commencing from May 2004. In some cases this will be done by SKY providing a new NDS smart card which will operate in existing SECA decoders, but for many subscribers SKY will be delivering an NDS decoder and smart card to the subscriber's home at no additional cost. At this time SKY subscribers using a SECA enabled decoder need to take no action: SKY will contact each subscriber directly during the next six months to advise if it will supply them with a new decoder or a new smart-card. This decision means from 13 June SKY will stop selling subscriptions that use the SECA card. To provide an opportunity for potential subscribers currently owning or wishing to purchase a SECA enabled decoder, SKY is making a special offer for "smart card only" subscriptions from April 28 until 13 June. The SECA encryption system was originally deployed in Italy in 1997 by Tele+, which then was a subsidiary of Canal Plus, whose subsidiary, Canal Plus Technologies, supplied the system. The initial version deployed by SECA was known as SECA I and in May 2002 this was replaced by SECA II. Presently, SKY has more than 2.5 million digital customers. Of these, 1.9 million utilise SECA decoders and the remainder use NDS decoders. JUVENUTS SIGNS NEW DEAL WITH SKY ITALIA Juventus Football Club said on April 30 that it had signed a two-year television deal with Italian pay-TV operator Sky Italia that will bring the Italian football team at least ?184.5 million. Juventus said the contracts were worth ?90 million for the 2005-06 season and ?94.5 million for the successive year. The club said it will receive a ?5 million bonus if it places first or second in Italy's premier Serie A league. Juventus already has a television contract with Sky Italia through 2005. The last year of that contract offers the club revenue of around ?90 million. AMSTRAD GETS SKY ITALIA CONTRACT Consumer electronics firm Amstrad has secured an order to supply digital set-top boxes to Sky Italia. No value has been placed on the deal, but Amstrad said shipments were scheduled to commence in the next financial year. Sky Italia, which is 80.1 per cent owned by Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corp and 19.9 per cent owned by Telecom Italia, operates a digital television service with more than 100 TV and audio channels. THE NETHERLANDS PUBLIC BROADCASTERS TO END ANALOGUE TV IN 2006 According to Radio Netherlands, the Dutch public broadcasters have told the government that they want to close down analogue terrestrial transmissions of the three national TV networks in 2006, two years earlier than expected. The closure of the analogue transmitters will save ?14 million per year. It's estimated that only between 65,000 and 100,000 people depend on these transmitters to receive Nederland 1, 2 and 3 on a daily basis, while the rest get their signals via cable or satellite. SPAIN ANTENA 3 ONCE AGAIN PROFITABLE Antena 3, the country's second-largest commercial TV station, has managed to turnaround its unhealthy financial situation. In the first quarter of the year, the network returned to profitability making a profit of ?15.5 million, against losses of ?9 million in the same period last year. Total revenues reached ?144 million, against ?118.5 million the previous year, while EBITDA was ?40.1 million up from ?8.6 million in the first quarter in 2003. TURKEY LATENS WINS MILENYUM TV CONTRACT Latens has been awarded a contract to provide a customised next generation Conditional Access (CA) system to MilenyumTV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dogan Yayin Holding (DYH). MilenyumTV is the satellite broadcaster that launched in Turkey earlier this year under the FreeTV brand. Latens is to provide a custom built system to secure the broadcast and business systems designed by MilenyumTV. Thanks to its new design and next generation technology MilenyumTV will also offer a managed portfolio of broadcast, production and satellite transmission services to other content providers in Turkey. The Latens next generation Conditional Access (CA) technology approach has many advantages over existing CA systems, including; reduction in security costs by up to 50%, ensuring that an operator is much less likely to come under attack and increasing operators' business flexibility. Dogan Yayin Holding (DYH), the parent company of MilenyumTV, is Turkey's leading media-entertainment conglomerate. DYH has extensive broadcasting assets, with two national stations, three cable stations and one international TV station and the largest production house in Turkey. Regards Satdude. :D [/QUOTE]
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