Satellite news 13.04.04
BBC STEPS UP DIGITAL TV CAMPAIGN
The BBC on April 6 reported improved audience share
and reach for its digital TV channels among the 50% of
British homes that have access to them. Preschool
channel CBeebies had an audience share of 7.3% in
March, an improvement of 0.5 points compared with
March 2003, the BBC said. Meanwhile, the preschool
channel is improving its reach: In February, CBeebies
averaged 1.1 million digital viewers, 19% of all
digital viewers, compared with a year-earlier 918,000
(17.6%). BBC3's share since its launch in February
2003 has increased 27% among all viewers and 38% for
its target audience of 25- to 34-year-olds, compared
with last year, the pubcaster said. The corporation
also revealed that Freeview, the free-to-air digital
service that offers 30 channels for a one-off cost of
as little as £45, was now in 3.4 million households.
The BBC-backed service has leapfrogged cable to become
the second most popular method of receiving digital TV
behind S*y. The BBC said its pre-Christmas marketing
campaign had helped shift half a million Freeview
boxes in December alone.
ATTHERACES BROKE COMPETITION LAW?
The Office of Fair Trading on April 5 said racecourses
had broken competition law by collectively selling TV
rights to the doomed Attheraces channel. The consumer
watchdog said the 49 tracks acted anti-competitively
by negotiating a television deal as a group,
extracting a better price from Attheraces in the
process. The ruling follows the closure of the
Attheraces channel last month, after owners BS*yB,
Channel 4 and Arena Leisure decided they were not
making sufficiently high returns on the £307m, 10-year
agreement. Vincent Smith, the director of competition
enforcement at the OFT, said the ruling sent a warning
signal to other sports bodies considering collectively
struck media deals. The 49 racecourses and the
Racecourse Association, the trade body which brokered
the deal, will escape a fine because Attheraces asked
the OFT to examine the deal shortly after it was
signed three years ago. The ruling will, however,
further complicate attempts to rescue coverage of
horseracing, which now does not have a dedicated
television channel. Track owners have divided into
five groups to negotiate a new deal.
BBC AND CHANNEL 4 COULD FACE ANALOGUE CHARGES
BBC and Channel 4 could face bills running into the
millions to broadcast their TV channels from 2006
under radical plans to accelerate the switch to
digital television. The two broadcasters currently pay
nothing to the Treasury for the right to broadcast
their main channels - BBC1, BBC2 and Channel 4 - on
the traditional analogue system. But the media
regulator, Ofcom, believes introducing charges would
spur the two broadcasters to do more to encourage
viewers to change to digital. This would help the
government achieve its target of switching off the
analogue system altogether by 2010. Ofcom senior
partner Ed Richards said the regulator was "ruling in
as a possibility" the idea of charging the BBC and
Channel 4 for its analogue spectrum to "sharpen
incentives to promote switchover". In the Driving
Digital Switchover report, published this week, Ofcom
also warned broadcasters that it could be forced to
step in if they failed to work together to establish a
viable free to air satellite version of Freeview. It
said only 85% of the country was ever likely to be
covered by the digital terrestrial service and that a
satellite service should be developed to fill in the
gaps. While BS*yB continues to offer a satellite
set-top box without subscription for £169, viewers
can't see ITV, Channel 4 or Channel Five because their
broadcasts are scrambled. Until last Christmas viewers
who didn't want to subscribe to S*y could buy a
"solus" card to view the terrestrial channels, plus
the dozens of channels that broadcast unencrypted on
satellite. But following the BBC's decision to
broadcast its channels without encryption, the
broadcasters stopped funding the "solus" cards. Ofcom
called on them to come up with a solution and said it
would investigate whether it needed to intervene.
BBC LOOSES OUT ON WELSH FOOTBALL TV DEAL
Wales international football matches will be shown on
satellite TV station S*y for the next four years. The
Football Association of Wales has also awarded S*y the
rights to all Welsh domestic club matches. But the
broadcaster says all matches will still be available
to viewers in Wales on terrestrial television. The
first Wales game shown under the new deal will be the
World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland on 8
September in Cardiff. BBC Wales will continue to show
the Wales games until then, and will screen exclusive
coverage of the World Cup qualifier against England at
Old Trafford in October. The BBC has accused the Welsh
Football Association of putting profits before fans
after it sold the rights to home international matches
to BS*yB in a £10 million deal. The deal marks S*y's
return to live international football after it last
summer allowed the BBC to take the live rights to
England's home games in a £300 million joint deal.
CHANNEL 4 GETS RACING CONTRACT
Channel 4 has backed down from its threat to abandon
horse racing after 20 years. The broadcaster had
threatened to pull out of racing if it did not retain
the rights to the Cheltenham Festival but following
protracted talks, the Racecourse Holdings Trust
announced that the two parties had agreed an 18-month
deal. Under the deal, Channel 4 will continue to show
racing from Cheltenham, Newmarket, Kempton Park,
Sandown, Haydock Park and six smaller courses owned by
the RHT. Its pledge that it would continue to give
regular airtime to smaller races, an essential
component in bringing in betting and sponsorship
revenues, and its threat to drop racing altogether if
it did not retain the Cheltenham Festival succeeded in
heading off interest from ITV.
ITV3 TO LAUNCH IN SEPTEMBER
ITV is planning a September launch date for its new
drama and golden oldies channel, ITV3, provided
negotiations with BS*yB are successfully concluded.
Executives from the broadcaster are understood to have
been locked in intensive talks with BS*yB in recent
days to pave the way for the launch of ITV3, by
restructuring the two companies' GS*yB pay-TV joint
venture. GS*yB, which operates the Granada Plus
entertainment channel and Men and Motors, has a
first-look deal with ITV for classic Granada dramas
such as Cracker, Cold Feet, Prime Suspect and
Brideshead Revisited. ITV3 could be launched as a
pay-TV channel, replacing Granada Plus on S*y Digital
and digital cable. TV industry pundits believe ITV3
would earn as much as £7-10 million a year in
distribution fees from S*y Digital and the cable
operators if it is launched as a pay-TV channel.
However, BS*yB is thought to be asking for an equity
stake in ITV3 if it becomes a pay-TV service as a
result of the GS*yB talks. Alternatively, ITV3 could
be launched as a free-to-air channel like ITV1 and 2,
relying solely on advertising income. The new channel
is expected to rely heavily on the back catalogues of
Granada and Carlton, which formerly merged in February
to form ITV plc. Granada's library ranges from drama
classics such as Brideshead Revisited to modern
ratings hits such as Cold Feet, Cracker and Prime
Suspect, as well as the soaps Coronation Street and
Emmerdale. Shows in the Carlton back catalogue include
Inspector Morse, Kavanagh QC, Peak Practice and
Soldier Soldier. Carlton also owned a film library
with over 1,500 titles, featuring British movies
including Black Narcissus, The Ipcress File, Room At
The Top and the Carry On series.
BT TO PROVIDE EURO 2004 COVERAGE FOR ITV SPORT
BT Broadcast Services, the broadcast and media
solutions arm of BT, has agreed a deal with ITV Sport
to transmit the broadcaster's Euro 2004 coverage from
Portugal this summer. The deal follows a decision by
ITV Sport last year to engage BTBS to provide
transmission services for its Rugby World Cup coverage
from Australia. BTBS will provide a hybrid solution,
comprising fibre and satellite links, with 24-hour
control and monitoring provided via its International
Media Centre, based at BT Tower in London.
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS ALSO IN FAVOUR
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on media
regulators to consider the provision of free digital
satellite TV access. Speaking on April 9, assembly
member Eleanor Burnham said the move could compensate
for poor TV reception across much of Wales. The
government remains committed to switching of the
terrestrial broadcasting network, but the BBC's
digital terrestrial service, Freeview, can only be
received by around half of the Welsh population. A
recently published Ofcom report on the "digital
switchover" commits the regulator to "consider whether
regulatory intervention is needed to secure a viable
free-to-view satellite proposition". And the Lib Dems
said this could address many of the reception problems
experienced in Wales.
E U R O P E
EC INITIATES CONSULTATIONS ON DIGITAL TV STANDARDS
The European Commission on April 5 opened a public
consultation on the interoperability of interactive
digital television and whether or not to set standards
across Europe. The commission -- the European Union's
executive authority -- said it wants all the players
in digital television to take part in the debate, from
television manufacturers and cable operators to
program makers and telecommunication companies. A
public hearing on this will take place April 20 in
Brussels, the commission said. The commission outlined
the scope of the consultation in a 38-page working
paper, which warned that industry has developed
increasingly complex notions of interoperability to
cover the multiplatform environment.
EBU SIGNS SATELLITE CAPACITY FROM EUTELSAT FOR THE
OLYMPICS
Eutelsat and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU),
the world's largest professional association of
national broadcasters, announced the signature of a
contract for four wideband transponders that will be
used by the EBU for television coverage of the
upcoming Athens Olympic Games. The contract is for the
equivalent of 306 MHz of Ku-band capacity on three
Eutelsat satellites: ATLANTIC BIRD 3, e-BIRD and W3A,
the latest addition to the company's fleet which is
planned to enter into commercial service in May. For
the duration of the Olympic Games this agreement will
double the EBU's capacity leased on a full-time basis
to the EBU by Eutelsat. This additional capacity will
allow the EBU to provide private direct point-to-point
circuits between Athens and the headquarters of
television channels that will have their own TV crews
and content aggregation facilities in Athens. In
addition to these private circuits, the EBU will
simultaneously deliver 800 hours of live coverage of
the sports events with ambient sound to its 71
members. In view of the exceptional worldwide coverage
of the Olympic Games the EBU is setting up an
infrastructure fully dedicated to the event, with the
deployment at the Olympic site of a new teleport to
deliver a total of 36 non-stop programme feeds, 32 of
which will be carried by Eutelsat. Services from the
EBU teleport in Athens will start on 2 August with
technical tests. On 11 and 12 August there will be
coverage of the football matches scheduled as an
avant-première to the Games schedule. These will be
followed on 13 August by the Opening Ceremony and the
start of the Olympic events, which will continue until
29 August. The EBU's services in Athens will also be
deployed to cover the Paralympic Games from 17 to 28
September.
FRANCE
HISTOIRE FUTURE UNDER QUESTION
The future of troubled thematic channel Histoire could
finally be resolved this week as shareholders consider
offers from local and international players.
Histoire's employees issued a statement confirming
that the boards of public shareholders Arte and France
Televisions will be holding talks to mull over offers
from AB Groupe and National Geographic. With losses of
up to ?700,000 last year, Histoire ran into further
trouble in January when the network failed to make it
into France Televisions' final rundown of public
stations destined for digital terrestrial
transmission. Minister for culture and communication
Jean-Jacques Aillagon chose thematic service Festival
over Histoire to join France2, France3, France5, Arte
and the Parliamentary Channel for DTT carriage. A
public holding company currently owns 52.5% of
Histoire, while France Televisions and Arte France own
22.5% apiece. The remaining 7.5% is held by the
National Audiovisual Institute.
FRANCE 3 YET AGAIN FAVOURITE TV CHANNEL
France 3 has been voted France's favourite channel
(76% of satisfied viewers) for the fifth consecutive
year, according to Ipsos Strategie 2004*, ahead of
Arte (65%), France 2 (62%), France 5 (60%), M6 (56%)
and TF1 (49%). TF1's programmes led in several
categories: news, magazines, entertainment, reality
TV, games and serials. Arte is valued for its cultural
programmes and documentaries, France 2 for debates,
French fiction and sport whereas France 3 is preferred
for its youth programmes.
ALL-NEWS CHANNEL DELAYED
A report in Le Monde says that French President
Jacques Chirac's plan to launch a 24-hour
international news channel this year has been put on
hold amid fears that its state funding may flout
European Union competition rules. European Commission
Competition Commissioner Mario Monti has asked the
French government to provide further information about
the proposed financing of the channel, according to Le
Monde. The French government plans to allocate a
one-off sum of ?70 million in state aid to the
station, which is to be managed jointly by state-run
France Télévisions and the private channel TF1. But
Brussels may not allow state funding unless it is
convinced that the channel is a public service. The
delay means the channel is unlikely to begin
broadcasting until June 2005 at the earliest.
GERMANY
PROSIEBEN PLANS SHARE RAISE
ProSiebenSat.1, the German broadcaster controlled by
Haim Saban's Saban Capital Group, said on April 6 that
it plans to raise ?282 million with a new share issue
aimed at cutting debt and strengthening the company's
fiscal position. The move also will help boost Saban's
stake in the company. The broadcaster plans to issue
24.3 million new shares valued at ?11.60 each. The
price represents a 30% discount to the company's
current stock price of about ?16. The subscription
period for the shares is set to run April 13-26.
ProSiebenSat.1 said it will use the cash from the
issue to cut its debt from about ?676 million to ?400
million and boost cash reserves from ?195 million to
?219 million.
ITALY
S*y ITALIA ON COURSE
S*y Italia on April 8 said it would reach subscriber
targets for the end of the year after reporting a 20%
increase in customers. Tom Mockridge, chief executive
of the pay-TV broadcaster, said S*y Italia would meet
its target of three million subscribers within the
period. The News Corporation subsidiary has added
900,000 customers since its launch in July last year,
giving it a base of 2.5 million subscribers. News
Corporation anticipates losses of $300 million at S*y
Italia in the current financial year but expects the
operation to be profitable by the end of 2005. The
group's second-quarter figures were adversely affected
by a $106 million loss from the Italian pay-TV
venture. More than 3 million Italian homes access
pay-TV services through illegally manufactured decoder
cards, according to the latest estimates. S*y Italia
claims it has thwarted piracy after introducing
technology from encryption firm NDS, a News
Corporation subsidiary. Mockridge added that S*y
Italia would not suffer from the rollout of digital
terrestrial TV to the same degree as free-to-air
broadcasters. The Italian government is pushing
legislation through parliament that will accelerate
the implementation of digital terrestrial services in
Italy. A crucial part of S*y Italia's defence against
newcomers is its football offering, but its commitment
to the sport has sucked it into the financial crises
afflicting Italy's top clubs.
RUSSIA
TV3 GETS FINANCIAL BOOST
Russia's TV3 network received a $7 million boost on
April 7 when the World Bank's private lending arm
announced an investment deal with the fast growing
terrestrial broadcaster. The International Finance
Corp. deal with Independent Network Television Holding
-- the parent company of TV3 Russia -- will bring an
investment of $7 million as part of a wider $12
million debt and equity injection. The funding will
fuel the station's plans to expand distribution and
enhance programming, IFC said. Under the deal,
existing shareholders in TV3 will contribute $5
million, according to the announcement.
SCANDINAVIA
FOX SIGNS OUTPUT DEAL WITH VIASAT
Viasat Broadcasting has bought rights to film and TV
titles from Twentieth Century Fox Television
Distribution's catalogue in a three-year deal
announced on April 7. The agreement will see pay-TV
operation Viasat air a mixture of first run feature
films and TV series, along with Fox library
properties, in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Movie
titles covered by the deal include Master and
Commander: The Far Side of the World, Road to
Perdition and Phone Booth, as well as older features
such as Titanic, Independence Day and Braveheart. On
the TV side, Viasat has acquired rights to hit Buffy -
The Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Ally McBeal and 24.
The agreement also gives Viasat the rights to library
TV titles and US Network TV movies and mini-series.
All the acquired programming will air on Viasat
channels TV3, TV3+ and ZTV. Viasat, which is part of
the Scandinavian media conglomerate Modern Times
Group, also the option to extend the agreement for a
fourth year.
SPAIN
SOGECABLE COMPLETES MIGRATION
Pay-TV group Sogecable has completed the migration of
subscribers from the former Via Digital to the current
single digital satellite platform Digital Plus. To
complete the process, the group has had to renew
around 600,000 smart cards that were being used by Via
Digital's subscribers. Over the last month, Sogecable
has been sending the new cards to Via Digital's
subscribers so that they can use them from now on. The
old cards will cease to work by mid April. A similar
operation was carried out by the former Canal Satelite
Digital in 2002 in an attempt to avoid piracy when
1,200,000 smart cards were replaced.