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Global Brief
The latest news from the international broadcasting industry
Who’s watching in Europe?
The latest annual survey of the media habits of European senior decision-makers and leading
consumers in the Europe 2000 series has been published. Organised by research agency Ipsos-
RSL, Europe 2003 surveyed 10,405 people in 16 countries in the top 3.8% of each country’s 25-
year old plus age group – this includes top earners and those who are company directors, frequent
business travellers and influential in business. The survey, which covered television and the print
media, established that 25% of all those surveyed read international business publications, with
the UK’s
Financial Times
gaining the highest readership among the continent’s international
dailies. Topping the weekly news magazines was
Time
while
National Geographic
was the
highest scored read in the monthlies.
Europe 2003 established that pan-European TV channels have an “enduring appeal…to the
elusive and upscale Europe 2003 audience”. In terms of weekly and monthly reach, CNN
International topped the charts, with 29.9% and 45.1% respectively. Europe 2003 also looks at
four-weekly reach of major websites. Broadcast-related sites figure at the top end of the weekly
reach, perhaps because there is heavy cross-promotion on air for each organisation’s web
presence. CNN has the highest weekly reach at 12%, against the BBC’s website reach of 10.7%
(the survey does not investigate whether respondents are accessing the principal domestic sites
of these organisations or their international versions). Bloomberg has a 4.9% reach, CNBC/
MSN Money has 2.2%, EuroNews 4.7%, Sky News 2.9%.
Sponsors of the Europe 2003 survey include BBC World, CNN, National Geographic along
with print publications and media agencies.
SBS Broadcasting consolidates Scandinavian radio hold
SBSBroadcasting, theNASDAQ- andEuronext-quoted television and radio operator inwestern and
central Europe, has concluded deals which see its ownership of radio services in Scandinavia grow.
During July, SBS has announced its intention to merge SBS’s Swedish radio operations with
Bonner Radio AB into a new company that SBS has 51% control of. Later in the month, SBS
announced that it had acquired Norway’s Radio 1 and Denmark’s Radio 2 fromNorskAller and
Clear Channel International. Markus Tellenbach, Chief Executive Officer of SBS, said: “The
primary goal of SBS’s radio strategy is to become the leading radio operator in the Scandinavian
region. This transaction represents a significant step towards achieving this goal by completing
SBS’s Scandinavian radio footprint with entry into the Norwegian radio market, as well as by
enhancing our strong position in Denmark. We are convinced that the radio business in the
Scandinavian markets is in relatively early stages of development and has significant growth
potential. In addition, we are well positioned to exploit marketing synergies between our radio
and television operations in the region and to aggressively pursue the opportunities that
consolidation provides to improve operating performance.”
Robert Cohen, President, Clear Channel International Radio, commented, “With a distinguished
group of media properties in Scandinavia, including a strong radio presence in Sweden, Denmark,
Finland and nowNorway, SBS is well positioned to serve listeners, advertisers and the operating
staff. The media industry in general, and particularly the radio industry in the Nordic region,
will continue to see benefits from consolidation. In this particular instance, Clear Channel and
Norsk Aller chose not to be the consolidators. Clear Channel will focus on its existing outdoor
and entertainment businesses in Scandinavia. Clear Channel’s international radio division will
focus on developing its radio properties in Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico, and on
identifying additional opportunities for growth.”
Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications has sold the 2,032,300 common shares it
had held in SBS Broadcasting, in a private transaction to an unnamed US institutional investor.
Brussels move for CNBC Europe?
CNBC Europe, the pan-European business news network andAIB member, is setting up a new
channel in Brussels to allow the network to avoid Britain’s strict rules on programme sponsorship.
The channel, which was embroiled in a row with the independent
television commission over funding of a documentary series on the
Euro, said it would be able to show such programmes on its new
channel, although they will still not be screened in Britain. This year
the ITC ruled against CNBC Europe for showing a programme about
the Euro that was part-funded by the European commission. CNBC
said the EC had no editorial control over the series but the regulator
said it breached its rule preventing a sponsor funding a news or current
affairs programme “with a view to promoting their goods or services”.
Private satellite TV licenses for Kuwait
The Minister of Information in Kuwait, Sheikh
Ahmad Fahd al Ahmad al-Sabah, has
announced that licenses can now be issued
for private satellite television stations in
Kuwait
, provided that they do not conflict
with the country’s general policies or strain
its relations with friendly nations. The
Information Ministry reserves the right to
censor material, programme and news
reports, and suspend the license if the
operator violates any guidelines.
Star in Dubai
Star Television
is opening a facility within
the
Dubai Media City
in August this year.
The new operation will be used by the Hong-
Kong based broadcaster to develop its
business in the Middle East region,
according to
Altaf Alimohamed
of Star
(Middle East).
Prime in Balkan expansion
BBC Worldwide, the commercial consumer
arm of the BBC, announced the broadcast
of its entertainment channel,
BBC Prime
,
in Serbia and Montenegro for the first
time. The announcement follows an
agreement signed between BBC Worldwide
and major Serbian cable platform, Serbia
Broadband (SBB). Through this
agreement, BBC Prime is broadcast to over
60,000 SBB subscribers across Serbia and
Montenegro.
BBC Worldwide Director of Channels,
Wayne
Dunsford
, said “Serbia and Montenegro is a
new market for BBC Prime so this is an
important step in building up our business
in this region. We look forward to working
with SBB to bring BBC Prime to a growing
number of subscribers there.”
Malayam language TV in USA
America’s third largest direct-to-home
television provider GlobeCast announced
that
Asianet USA
has joined the
GlobeCast
WorldTV Direct-to-Home platform on
Telstar 5 for subscription satellite
distribution in America. Broadcasting from
Kerala, India, Asianet USA and sister
channels Asianet and Asianet News
compose the largest Malayalam television
channel system in the world. GlobeCast is
an
AIB member
.
Murdoch brings news to Italy
Rupert Murdoch’s Italian satellite TV service
has announced that it will launch a 24-hour
news channel drawing on the success of Sky
News in the UK and Fox News in the US.
Sky
Italia
, which is 80 per cent-owned by
Murdoch’s News Corporation, said the
channel, to be called SkyTG24, will go on air
later this summer.
The channel will share some resources with
Sky News and Fox News and will run Italian
and international news and a talk show, Sky
Italia said.
