Business television in the United Kingdom and Europe grew from 14 networks in 1992 to more than 80 in 1998. Here, BTV is concentrated in the automotive, financial services and IT/telecommunications sectors. The number of permanent receive sites is estimated at 23,000, with many networks broadcasting from their countries of origin throughout Europe. Several are global in coverage.
Approximately two-thirds of European networks are U.K.-based, with about one-third based in France and Germany. Several U.S. multinationals have formed European-based networks to service their overseas operations. Some of these networks operate entirely independent of the home office. Others turn around BTV programming originating from their parent networks in the United States.
There are now about 30 private networks operating in Japan, including several educational and religious channels. As in the United States, the users of BTV in Japan come from a wide range of industries, including financial, automotive, retail and manufacturing. There are also several public or semi-public companies with networks, such as the postal service and a number of power and gas companies. In addition, many preparatory schools are using satellite networks to transmit their educational courses.
The use of satellites for business television and distance learning has been growing in Australia for several years and now includes private industry, government agencies and educational institutions. The major states of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia all have varying stages of satellite educational networks. Two major banks in Australia operate BTV networks, as well as one auto manufacturer and one health network. Ford operates an interactive distance learning network in Australia, which broadcasts about 210 hours of programming per month.-Susan Irwin
