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SAT-ITALY 27.02.1998
SAT-ITALY - EDITION 9/98 - February 27th 1998 -
Italian Satellite and Media news edited by Branislav Pekic (bpekic@yahoo.com)
MURDOCH-MEDIASET TALKS
After an unsuccessful bid 3 years ago, the Australian-born media magnate
Rupert Murdoch is once again showing interest in Mediaset, the leading
private TV network in Italy. The majority shareholder of Mediaset is
Murdoch's Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi, a successful media mogul
and former Prime Minister.
Preliminary talks have been going on between representatives of Murdoch's
company News Corporation and Mediaset managers but there is no certainty
that the talks will produce any result. A study of the financial health of
Mediaset has been commissioned to a New York based financial institution,
Herbert Allen & Co, which has been involved in several big media mergers
such as the sale of CBS and MCA. According to market estimates, Silvio
Berlusconi's 50,58% stake in Mediaset is currently worth around 11,000
million DM.
The president of Mediaset, Fedele Confalonieri as well as Berlusconi
himself denied news reports that there are negotiations going on concerning
a stake or the complete takeover of Mediaset by Rupert Murdoch. They added
that the talks were part of normal business contacts Mediaset has with
other foreign media groups and that any type of cooperation with Murdoch as
one of the leaders in this field is "potentially interesting". The 3
Mediaset TV channels (Italia 1, Canale 5 and Rete 4) operate in an already
mature market where the possibilities of further growth are limited. In
order to further expand operations and profits, Mediaset has two possible
solutions: expansion into other foreign markets (especially the Spanish
language market) and investing into alternative telecommunication services.
This first possibility is feasible only with the help of a solid foreign
partner and that is where Murdoch comes in handy while the second
alternative is one with an uncertain future.
- A quasi tre anni dal rifiuto" di Silvio Berlusconi di cedere le sue TV al
magnate dei media della News Corporation, gli uomini di Rupert Murdoch sono
tornati a Milano per riprendere i negoziati. Per il momento si tratta solo
di colloqui preliminari e non c'è nessuna certezza che un'offerta formale
verrà avanzata. La quota azionaria detenuta da Silvio Berlusconi attraverso
Fininvest ammonta oggi al 50,58% di Mediaset (la valutazione si aggirerebbe
intorno agli 11mila miliardi di lire).
Le reti Mediaset operano nell'ambito di un business maturo dove le
possibilità di crescita appaiono oggi molto limitate. Per fare un salto di
qualità sul fronte delle potenzialità di espansione, ci sarebbero per
Mediaset solo due strade: l'espansione sui mercati internazionali,
specialmente quelli in lingua spagnola e la penetrazione di un business
alternativo, come quello delle telecomunicazioni. La prima ipotesi è
perseguibile con successo solo in presenza di un solido partner
internazionale, appunto, Rupert Murdoch). Dopo una serie di rilanci e
dichiarazioni provenienti dai vertici del gruppo, e' venuta la smentita di
Silvio Berlusconi. Il cavaliere ha confermato il suo interesse per alleanze
internazionali e che il gruppo di Murdoch e' in prima linea per questi
eventuali sviluppi internazionali. Ma ha negato seccamente che sono in
corso trattative per vendere pacchetti significativi di quote.
CECCHI GORI GETS CASH BOOST
The Merrill Lynch commercial bank has granted a 500 million-DM loan to the
Italian media mogul Vittorio Cecchi Gori. As collateral for the bank loan,
the Florence based entrepreneur bank loan has offered the future rights for
more than 1,000 movies from his huge film archive. Cecchi Gori commented
that the loan is a sign of "trust, a recognition from outside of Italy of
the vitality of the group". He added that such big financial institutions
have never previously approved such big loans to Italian media groups and
not even to Mediaset.
Cecchi Gori is the owner of two Italian TV stations, TMC and TMC 2, which
have been trying, unsuccessfully so far, to rival the two largest TV
networks, RAI and Mediaset. In the past few months, the TMC channels have
received several new frequencies and expectations are that by April they
will cover 70-80% of the Italian territory with their signal. However, the
president of the Cecchi Gori media group, Biagio Agnes has openly
questioned why the TV frequencies vacated by Telepiù on January 1st have
not yet been assigned to other channels, including TMC.
In a recent newspaper interview, Cecchi Gori underlined the importance of
new digital TV channels, saying that the number of subscribers for the
scrambled thematic channels is set to increase significantly in the near
future. In order to attract subscribers, he added, these channels will have
to offer good programs, and since his company owns the TV rights to many
major movie titles and sports events can offer, it will have an excellent
starting position in the marketplace.
- Vittorio Cecchi Gori ha ottenuto dalla società finanziaria Merrill Lynch,
un prestito da 500 miliardi di lire attraverso un contratto di cessione sui
diritti futuri del catalogo cinematografico del suo gruppo. Nel fratempo,
le reti di Telemontecarlo hanno ottenuto un dieci per cento di frequenze
rispetto a prima ed sono in attesa di averne altre per coprire entro aprile
il 70-80 per cento del territorio italiano. Sulla TV digitale Cecchi Gori
dice: "Le televisioni crittate attireranno interessi molto maggiori delle
attuali, anche in termini di soldi, e per avere molti abbonati dovranno
calamitarli con grandi avvenimenti. Quindi noi di fronte a questa sfida ci
troviamo in una posizione ottima. L'abbondanza di grandi film e anche di
grandi avvenimenti sportivi in mano nostra ci pone nella posizione ideale
per attirare abbonati alle varie televisioni che si svilupperanno nel
sistema digitale".
AUTHORITY FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS
After months of political wrangling, the members of the new Authority for
telecommunications have finally been nominated by the Italian Parliament.
The Authority will be responsible for the whole telecommunications sector
in Italy with ample powers for intervention. It will be made up of two
commissions: for infrastructure and networks, products and services. The
first will have to come up with a national frequency plan and keep a
register of all operators in the media field, while the second will oversee
the observance of Italian laws and EU directives which regulate the sector
as well as the distribution of services and products (including advertising
and audience ratings).
- Finalmente sono stati eletti i membri dell'Authority per le
telecomunicazioni, l'organismo incaricato di controllare tutto quello che
accade nel mondo delle tlc. L'Autorita' verra' divisa in due commissioni:
infrastrutture e reti, prodotti e servizi. La prima dovra' tra l'altro
studiare il piano nazionale delle frequenze e curare il registro degli
operatori nel settore della stampa e dell'emittenza. La seconda commissione
curera' l'osservanza delle leggi nel settore, vigilera' inoltre sulla
distribuzione di servizi e prodotti, compresa la pubblicita' e le
rilevazioni d'ascolto.
CABLE PLANS UP IN SMOKE
The Italian state telecom operator Telecom Italia recently announced that
it would abandon its ambitious plan for cabling up the country called
Socrate. The original plan launched back in 1996 was based on fiber-optic
cable technology, but it has now been decided that a new technology called
ASDL will be used in the future. The ASDL technology enables data
transmission of up to 8 Mb a second, using normal telephone lines which
means that up to 4 digital TV signals can be compressed and sent via the
same telephone cable. Questions are now being asked about Telecom Italia's
huge investments into building cable systems using fiber-optic cables. The
original plans called for an investment of 13,000 million DM, out of which
4,000 have already been spent. The telecom operator has responded to
critics by saying that for the time being work will continue on existing
cable systems while the new technology will be introduced gradually.
- In questi giorni la notizia dell'abbandono del progetto Socrate ha fatto
il giro delle case degli italiani. E' accaduto che i tecnici Telecom si
sono accorti che la tecnologia ADSL ha fatto passi da gigante, fino ad
ottenere velocita' di trasmissione dei dati fino a 8 Mb al secondo, e su un
cavo telefonico tradizionale.
Stando cosi' le cose le fibre ottiche non servono piu', perche' con queste
velocita' di trasferimento si possono far viaggiare fino a 4 segnali
televisivi digitali compressi contemporaneamente sullo stesso cavo. Per non
scontentare nessuno, si proseguira' ancora per alcuni mesi nella posa delle
nuove linee a fibre ottiche gia' appaltate.
TOP MOVIE PREMIERES ON MEDIASET
In the coming weeks, the private Italian TV network Mediaset will air on
it's 3 TV channels a selection of recent movie hits. It's flagship channel
Canale 5 will air such Hollywood movie titles such as "Jane Eyre",
"Waterworld" and "The Scarlet Letter" as well as two major Italian movies -
"I laureati" and "Viaggi di nozze". The youth-orientated channel Italia 1
will show "Heat", "Batman forever" and "Interview with a vampire", while on
Rete 4 viewers will be able to see "Underground", "Butterfly kiss" and
"Othello".
All three Mediaset channels are transmitted in clear MPEG-2 via the
EUTELSAT HOT BIRD 2 satellite. The frequency is 11,919 GHz/Ver, symbol rate
27500 Ks/sec and FEC 2/3.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- The traditional updating course for satellite installers in Italy will
take place from April 1st-3rd. The course, which is organized by
Eurosatellite, will be transmitted live via an EUTELSAT satellite. More
details at Eurosatellite's Web site - http://www.eurosatellite.com
- The Italian government is planning to reintroduce tax incentives for the
acquisition of digital satellite receivers. The VAT on such equipment would
be reduced from the current 20% to around 4%. There is talk that equipment
for SMATV systems is also set to benefit.
- According to official figures from the end of January, the Italian pay-TV
network Telepiù has 1,100,000 subscribers. Thanks to a massive advertising
campaign, Telepiù added 66,000 new subscribers in January and 67,000 in
December. Nearly 75% of new subscribers preferred the digital satellite
service to the analogue terrestrial service of Telepiù.
- The new EUTELSAT HOT BIRD 4 satellite is set to be launched today by an
Ariane rocket. Several transponders on the new satellite have been reserved
for new Italian TV channels.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS ON RAI TV CHANNELS FOR WEEK MARCH 1-7
(All times Central European)
MOVIES
01.03
RAI UNO, 20:45h - The three musketeers (USA-1993), starring: Charlie Sheen,
Kiefer Sutherland
RAI DUE, 20:50h - Missione punitiva (USA-1997), starring: John Ritter,
Robert Culp
RAI DUE, 00:05h - Il grande fiume del Nord (USA-1993), starring: Rip Torn
02.03
RAI UNO, 20:50h - Two much (USA/Spain-1995), starring: Melanie Griffith,
Antonio Banderas, Daryl Hannah
04.03
RAI UNO, 20:50h - Nuda proprieta vendesi (Italy/France-1997), starring:
Lino Banfi, Annie Girardot
RAI DUE, 20:50h - Le corps d'un homme (France-1997), starring: Sophie Broustal
RAI DUE, 22:55h - Kafka (USA-1991), starring: Jeremy Irons, Theresa Russell
06.03
RAI TRE, 20:40h - Red heat (USA-1988), starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger,
James Belushi
RAI UNO, 22:50h - Vanita e affanni (Sweden-1997), starring: Marie
Richardson, Borje Ahlstedt
RAI DUE, 00:35h - La fine e nota (Italy/France-1993), starring: Fabrizio
Bentivoglio, Valerie Kaprisky
07.03
RAI DUE, 20:50h - The night caller (USA-1997), starring: Shanna Reed, Tracy
Nelson
RAI UNO, 00:35h - Ladri di cinema (Italy-1994), starring: J.Chatton
RAI DUE, 00:40h - La spia della Giubbe Rosse (USA-1954), starring: George
Montgomery, Helena Carter
Note: All movies transmitted in the prime time slot are subtitled on RAI's
teletext pages 777 (Italian) and 778 (English)
SPORT
01.03
RAI DUE, 18:15h - Alpine skiing: World Cup, special slalom (women), I run
RAI DUE, 19:30h - Athletics: European indoor championships (Valencia)
RAI DUE, 20:50h - Alpine skiing: World Cup, special slalom (women), II run
02.03
RAI TRE, 16:40h - Athletics: European indoor championships (Valencia)
03.03
RAI UNO, 20:40h - Football: UEFA Cup, Inter-Schalke 04 (quarter-finals)
05.03
RAI TRE, 16:00h - Triathlon: European championship (Malles)
RAI DUE, 20:40h - Football: Cup winners cup, Roda Kerkrade-Vicenza
(quater-finals)
06.03
RAI TRE, 02:50h - Formula 1: GP Australia - heats
07.03
RAI TRE, 17:00h - Waterpolo: Italian league, Anzio-Civitavecchia
RAI TRE, 17:30h - Volleyball: Italian league, Alpitour Traco Cuneo-Casa
Modena Unibon
RAI DUE, 23:25h - Formula 1: GP Australia - heats
RAI TRE, 03:30h - Formula 1: GP Australia - live coverage of the race
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