The Channel | 2003 | September

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the channel | 7 l
Global Brief
The latest news from the international broadcasting industry
Vivendi: time running short
Debt-laden French group Vivendi is trying to sell off its US media assets, but there
seems to be an ever-decreasing number of takers. Liberty Media, NBC, Viacom, and
a consortium led by Edgar Bronfman are still in the running. However, time is passing,
and perhaps Vivendi has pitched the price too high. In this case, a strategic partner
may have to be found, which may possibly be US network NBC.
With deadlines being passed, the Bronfman consortium and
Liberty Media were thought to be planning updated offers for
Vivendi Universal Entertainment, the holding company for the
group’s movie, theme park and cable television assets. Vivendi
was also continuing talks with NBC about a possible merger with VUE which would
leave the French group as a minority shareholder.
Vivendi is thought to view a deal with NBC as the company’s best hope of exiting the
US media business without being forced to sell out at a discount. However, NBC’s
proposal does not include any up-front cash payment toVivendi against the Bronfman
proposal which includes $8 billion in cash. .
Vivendi aims to sell $18.3 billion of assets, and to get $8 billion from sales this year,
but may be unable to reach its targets. If cash is not be forthcoming, some sort of
mixed deal may have to be agreed. As this edition of The Channel went to press, the
Vivendi board was meeting in Paris to consider the offers.
Russian TV grows in the USA
The Russian World TV channel has extended its broadcasts on the MHz Networks
free-to-air channel from one to six hours a day. Russian World programmes are aimed
at the Russian community in the United States and includes news, talk and game
shows, educational, sports and children’s programmes, cartoons, feature films and
documentaries sourced from Russian domestic channels and other content providers.
Launched in 2002, MHz is available in Washington DC as well as in Virginia and
Maryland. MHz programming is also carried on
the Dish and DIRECTV satellite systems. MHz
also carries programming from international
broadcasters including BBC World, Deutsche
Welle, RAI, ANI and ERT. The service, run on a
public broadcasting basis, models itself loosely
on the SBS TV channel in Australia, serving
expatriates in the USA.
The Russo-US project aims to inform the US people
about developments in Russia and the CIS andmake
the broadcasts available to TV audiences in
Washington and its suburbs where, according to the
channel’s operators, around 100,000 Russian-speaking people live at present. Some
programmes will have English subtitles making the channel more popular, broadening
the TV audiences by approximately 1.5 million people.
President and chief producer of the Russian World Channel, Vladimir Ananich, has
emphasised that the financial and editorial politics of the new television project were
independent of the state. A representative of Russia’s embassy in the United States
declared that the new project was welcomed by the Russian government.
In a separate development Ascent Media Network Services and satellite operator
Intelsat are to deliver Channel One Russia Worldwide Network (formerly known as
Public Russian Television, or “ORT”) from Moscow into the United States.
The Russian TV channel - 51 per cent owned by the Russian government and watched by
approximately 200million people throughout the former Soviet Union - is being distributed
to home cable viewers across the United States via International Channel Networks.
Ascent is providing international downlink, programme integration, time delay and
server playout for Channel One at its London facility. The signal is transmitted to the
company’s switching centre in New York where it is routed to Intelsat’s
GlobalConnexSM infrastructure for delivery.
The Kremlin goes to America
Pakistan bans Indian TV
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory
Authority (PEMRA) has instructed local
cable operators in Pakistan to observe
a ban on broadcasting channels from
India. PEMRA chairman Mian Javed made
the announcement, saying “We have
[re]enforced the ban as these channels
do not come under the approved eligible
list.”
The banned channels include general
entertainment and movie channels
from News Corp’s Star India, Sony
Pictures‚ Sony Entertainment Television
India and Zee Telefilms, as well as
channels from other broadcasters.
PEMRA has also imposed a ban on
broadcasting Indian DVDs and VCDs
over cable networks.
Indian television remains popular with
Pakistan viewers, and cable operators had
believed that the ban - introduced in
December 2001 - was about to be lifted
as relations between the two countries
improved.
The Cable Operator’s Association of
Pakistan Chairman Khalid Sheikh has been
quoted as saying, “We will suffer a great
financial loss as people will discontinue
watching cable television when they will
not find Indian channels over it.”
AsiaSat profits weaker
Asia Satellite Telecommunications
Holdings Ltd - better known as AsiaSat -
has reported a 14.2 per cent fall in first-
half net profit.
The company, which rents satellite
transponder space to broadcast and
telecommunications clients, posted a net
profit of HK$240.1 million in the first
six months to June 30 against HK$279.8
million in the same period last year.
AsiaSat is 68.9 per cent controlled by a
joint venture company China International
Trust and Investment Corporation and
Luxembourg-based SES-Global.
Soaring use of Internet in China
China had 68 million Internet users at
the end of June, 8.9 million more than
half a year ago, according to statistics
from the China Internet Network
Information Centre (CNNIC).
China’s “netizens” now constitute 5.3 per
cent of its 1.3 billion population, said
the information centre in its latest
assessment of the Internet industry.
Netizens surfing the Internet via
telephone accounted for 45.01 per cent
of total users, while broadband Internet
users reached 9.8 million.
China continues to prevent access to
many western Internet sites, particularly
those operated by media organisations
such as the BBC.
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