The Channel | 2003 | September

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Global Brief
The latest news from the international broadcasting industry
TV targets the Middle East
The US House of Representatives has approved the creation of a US-funded Middle
East TV network. House International Relations Committee
Chairman Henry Hyde said that the new network will “greatly
contribute to an enhancement of our efforts to combat the
misinformation and propaganda that contribute to the rising
anti-American sentiment in the region.”
Funding for the network will come out of the US$1.3bn
allocated to international broadcasting. Congressional
officials said it would broadcast 24 hours a day, delivering a
mix of news and entertainment. However, there could be
delays in getting the green light since the proposal forms part
of a US$30bn foreign aid bill which still has to pass the Senate.
That’s by no means a foregone conclusion, as the Senate
disagrees with the Bush administration’s decision to drop a measure supporting the
UN Population Fund, and so may block the passage of the bill.
Meanwhile in an interviewwith London-based newspaperAl-Sharq al-Awsat, Director
of BBC World Service Mark Byford was asked if the service was planning to launch
an Arabic television channel. Byford replied: “We have BBC World, which is an
English-language channel. Therefore, we are present in the three media in the Middle
East. However, we have to admit that the importance of television is on the increase,
as it has become an essential medium for conveying information in all parts of the
Arab world. But we do not have any clear plan for the time being. Naturally, the
situation depends on the means available.”
TDF acquires Finnish transmission firm
French broadcasting transmission company
Télédiffusion de France (TDF) has
completed the acquisition of 41 per cent
of Digita, the Finnish national
broadcasting transmission company taking
TDF’s holding to 90 per cent following its
initial purchase of 49 percent in the
Finnish company in July 2001. The price
of the transaction was €133 million.
The purchase of Digita is TDF’s largest
overseas investment. The company says
it sees the Finnish market as promising,
particularly in view of the emerging DTT
and mobile Internet sectors. Digita is the
main broadcaster of the four leading
Finnish channels (YLE1, YLE2, MTV3 and
Nelonen) and is a significant player in
DTT, launched in Finland in August 2001,
now reaching over 70 per cent of the
population. Digita also accounts for 50
per cent of the radio broadcasting market.
It operates 200 transmission sites, 40 of
which are high powered.
Digita employs 380 people, and achieved
a turnover in 2001 of €81 million and
Ebitda of around €40 million.
New Zealand pay-tv moves into profit
New Zealand’s only pay television
operator Sky TV made the first profit in
its 13 year history, helped partly by a
high New Zealand dollar. The company
made a net profit of €355,000 compared
with a loss of €15.8 million a year ago.
Total revenues of €207 million were up
by 13.6 per cent over the previous year.
Sky TV CEO John Fellet said: “Even
without the full benefit of the recent
appreciation of the New Zealand dollar,
Sky has continued to improve its position
by negotiating better programming
arrangements with movie distributors”.
Subscriber revenue in Sky TV - two-thirds
owned by the Rupert Murdoch controlled
Independent Newspapers - grew by 15.9
per cent, advertising revenue rose by 18.8
per cent to €10.3 million and commercial
revenues grew 13.8 per cent to €12million.
Sky’s subscriber base reached a new high
of 542,891, a gain of 39,642 subscribers
over the previous year.
International channels on the Sky New
Zealand system include BBC World, CNBC,
CNNI, Discovery and Cartoon Network.
More US pay-TV subscribers
EchoStar Communications reported its
Q2 financial results and unveiled that its
DISH Network satellite service added
some 270,000 net new subscribers in the
period. DISH Network had approximately
8.8 million subscribers as of June 30.
DISH Network carries a range of
international channels in English and
other languages.
Henry Hyde
Burmese hungry for news, radio sales soar
Large numbers of Burmese, hungry for news and entertainment, are tuning in to
Rangoon’s City FM and several foreign broadcasts available via shortwave radio,
reports exiles’ newspaper Irrawaddy.
‘Since the 30 May ambush on Aung San Suu Kyi and the subsequent detention of
opposition leaders, many Burmese want to know what’s going on in the country and
the whereabouts of Suu Kyi. Burmese citizens want to know how the international
community is reacting to Burma. Stories by overseas Burmese and regional experts
on the impact of US sanctions, Asean’s concern over Suu Kyi and the ongoing debate
on factionalism within the regime draw many grateful listeners.’
Former opposition party member Myo Myint said, “When I stroll down the street in
Rangoon in the early morning I can hear news because almost every house is listening
to the BBC or RFA.” However, he said, tea shops in Rangoon usually feature TV and
radio cassette players but do not dare play news aloud, fearing a reaction from
authorities. Listening to shortwave radio is not illegal in Burma but citizens know that
the government does not approve of the activity.’
French watchdog growls at Egypt
Egypt public TVchannel ESC has caused a major international uproar for its programme
Horseman without a Horse, a serial inspired by The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
The CSA, the French broadcasting regulator, authorised the Egyptian channel to
broadcast via satellite in France and in other European Union countries. Now the CSA
has upbraided the channel for the programme, saying “Despite its fictional nature, this
serial could constitute an offence of incitement to racial hatred and would be liable to
disturb public order.”
The CSA adds that at the end of July it sent a letter to the Egyptian authorities in
charge of the channel and decided to summon the channel’s representative in France
to a hearing which will take place at the end of the summer break. The issue was raised
in November and December 2002 by several organisations, including the Simon
Wiesenthal Centre, private individuals and a French deputy (member of Parliament).
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