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GERMAN DISNEY GETS LICENCE
The German Disney Channel planned by Buena Vista Germany GmbH has finally received its cable and satellite licence from Bavarian media authority Bayerische Landeszentrale fur neue Medien (BLM). The approval, […]
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CGC SEEKS FOREIGN PARTNERS
Italian media conglomerate Cecchi Gori Group (CGC) is seeking foreign partners to relaunch its ailing terrestrial TV channels (TMC and TMC2), which lose money and fail to draw more than […]
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LE LAY REVEALS PLANS FOR TV BREIZH FOR BRITTANY
Patrick Le Lay, head of French media group TF1, speaking at the Vieilles Charrues festival, revealed some details about the forthcoming Bretton channel, TV Breizh. Le Lay said that he […]
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PREMIERE AXES FRINGE CHANNELS
In a controversial move, German media company Kirch Group has decided to cancel all contracts with third party channels that have been using its digital DF1 platform with effect from […]
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DAIMLER-CHRYSLER ON HOT BIRD
The worldwide corporate business TV channel planned by German-American automobile company Daimler-Chrysler (Interspace 671) has launched test transmissions for Europe on Eutelsat’s Hot Bird 3 satellite at 13 degrees East. […]
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EON EXPANDS CAPACITY
Europe Online Networks (EON), has contracted additional capacity on the Astra satellite system at 19.2 degrees East and has established a smaller platform at 28.2 degrees East to develop its […]
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BOLLYWOOD COMES TO UK
Bollywood For You (B4U) is a new 24-hour digital premium channel launching on August 26 for Asian viewers on Astra 2A. The channel will charge Pounds 9.99 as a stand-alone […]
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MOST DENIES BEING ‘NEAR BANKRUPT’
Russia’s Media Most broadcasting group has strongly refuted reports that it is in severe financial trouble. Media Most which owns, among other things, the NTV satellite channels and the Segodnya […]
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STUDIO UNIVERSAL GETS OK
Studio Universal, the pay-TV movie channel operated by Universal Studios Networks Germany, will most probably be able to launch, as planned, on 1 September. Following the directors of the 15 […]
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IRIDIUM INVOKES GRACE
Troubled MSS operator Iridium has invoked a 30-day grace period for the payment of $90 million in interest due on July 15 on its $1.45 billion outstanding senior notes. The […]
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NEWS BYTES…
Italian TV holding Mediaset has increased its stake in Spanish private channel Telecinco, from 25 to 40 per cent. The quota, worth L300 billion (Pounds 101 million), was previously held […]
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TRANSPONDER MONITOR
166 degrees E: PAS-8 D. TV Nacional de Chile has leased a C-Band digital stream on PAS-8 to extend its coverage to Asia and the Pacific Rim. The signal is […]
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UPC LOOKS TO THE SKY
United Pan-Europe Communications, best known as one of Europe’s leading cable operators, is also set to become a major satellite pay-TV operator. The company’s president, Mark Schneider, talked to Interspace […]
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PIRATES FOILED
In the first Italian crackdown on digital TV piracy, police from Genoa have broken up an illegal ring that sold as many as 500,000 cloned digital decoders and smart cards […]
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CLT-UFA BLOCKS MURDOCH
Media company CLT-UFA doesn’t want to sell its shares in German general interest channel Vox to Rupert Murdoch. A CLT-UFA spokeswomen said that the company was unfazed by News Corp’s […]
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PACE REPORTS BIG INCREASE IN DIGITAL
Pace Micro Technology reported slightly reduced turnover of Pounds 182.8 million for the year ended 29 May 1999 (compared with Pounds 184 million for 1998). Revenues from sales of digital […]
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CANAL SATELITE STARTS TO PULL AHEAD
Investment analysts at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter believe Spanish pay-TV operator Sogecable is in an "excellent position" to take advantage of "one of Europe’s most attractive pay-TV markets." Sogecable, operator […]
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DF-1 NOTICE
Kirch Group’s digital bouquet DF-1 has given notice of termination of contracts to a number of third party channels, effective from September. Channels affected include BBC Prime. A spokeswoman said: […]
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MUSIC IS ‘ON RIGHT TRACK’
Music Choice Europe’s (MCE) CEO Stuart Graber has quit the company (although he will continue as a consultant) to set up a specialist Internet and new media investment company. MCE’s […]
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‘INDEMNITY CLAUSE’ IN SKY CONTRACT
BSkyB has refused to confirm or deny suggestions that it is requesting a Pounds 15 million indemnity from any third party wishing to provide OpenTV applications to its digital set-top […]
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OPEN…TO TARGET FEMALE AUDIENCE
Interactive service Open…is to target females in a major marketing drive this autumn. It is understood that it has committed to a heavyweight presence in women’s magazines and plans a […]
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TELEDESIC SIGNS LAUNCH CONTRACTS
Teledesic has apparently responded to recent negative coverage in the trade press by releasing outline details of a launch contract concluded last week with Internatinonal Launch Services (ILS), the US-Russian […]
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CNNI SEEKS MORE LOCAL VERSIONS
CNNI is looking to launch an opt-out service for India, in the English language, with India-specific programming. CNNI is also closely examining markets where other local-language versions would make commercial […]
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HOT MOVES TO GLOBAL COVERAGE
Hughes Network Systems’ European VSAT subsidiary, Milton Keynes-based HOT Telecommunications, which also markets the DirecPC service in Europe, unveiled its third satellite earth station last week. HOT managing director Mike […]
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ROCKET ROUNDUP: A LOOK AT UPCOMING LAUNCH VEHICLES
By Amanda L. Kazdoy Several new commercial launchers are creating an atmosphere of stiff competition. To create a truly competitive edge, launch services providers must furnish reliable and cost-effective vehicles. […]
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CACHING AND MULTICASTING: PROPELLING A NEW WAVE OF SATELLITE GROWTH
By Theresa Foley Caching and multicasting weren’t even in the dictionary a few years ago. Today they are next in line to become the big revenue generators for satellite service […]
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VIA SATELLITE’S GLOBAL SATELLITE SURVEY: SATELLITE INDUSTRY TRENDS AND STATISTICS
By Cynthia Boeke and Rob Fernandez Each year, Via Satellite quantifies the satellite industry. We look at how the industry is changing based on information from our own internal database, […]
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DOLLARS AND SENSE: LOCAL BROADCASTING RIGHTS LIFT DBS STOCKS
by Marc Crossman A new era for all multichannel programs, cable and DBS operators alike, came to life when the U.S. Senate passed a satellite bill in late May that […]
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REGULATORY REVIEW: SATELLITE SPECTRUM IN EUROPE
by Gerald E. Oberst Jr. Earlier this year, the satellite industry in Europe submitted extensive comments to the European Commission on spectrum resources. These comments, by the Regulatory Working Group […]
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VSATS IN A KA-BAND WORLD: ARE THEY READY FOR BROADBAND?
by Katie McConnell There was a time when some telecommunications analysts proposed that VSATs were an interim product that would eventually be replaced by terrestrial solutions like coaxial cables and […]