SAT-ITALY 10.04.1998

from: owner-sat-italy@tags1.dn.net
Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 22:11:37 +0200
SAT-ITALY - EDITION 15/98 - April 10th 1998 -
Italian Satellite and Media news/Notizie della TV via satellite in Italia 
edited by Branislav Pekic - bpekic@yahoo.com


BERLUSCONI UNDER FIRE IN SPAIN
The Italian media magnate Silvio Berlusconi is currently under
investigation by the Spanish authorities for alleged fraud charges. The
legal proceedings have been going on for the past year when the
Anticorruption Court started investigating the accounts of Telecinco, a
private TV channel in which Silvio Berlusconi's company Fininvest/Mediaset
officially has a 25% stake. 
According to the Barcellona based daily "La Vanguardia", there are
indications that from 1990 to 1995, Silvio Berlusconi controlled (directly
or through other companies) 84% of Telecinco which was in direct violation
to the Spanish law which prohibits one single individual from owning more
than a 25% stake in a TV channel. Additional charges for tax evasion were
pressed against Silvio and Paolo Berlusconi as well as 33 other persons. A
member of the financial task force was also charged because he failed to
report the tax fraud he uncovered at Telecinco. 
A press statement from Silvio Berlusconi's HQ in Milan said that the group
"always acted with the maximum respect for laws and that accusations of tax
fraud have no basis". The statement goes on to state that after two years
of investigations, "the Spanish authorities have only charged Telecinco
with irregularities dealing with the tax question (which do not involve
Fininvest)" and underlines that at no moment Fininvest owned more than 25%
in Telecinco.
____________________________________________________________________________
_____
- I guai giudiziari di Silvio Berlusconi in Spagna continuano. Un anno fa,
un tribunale spagnolo ha aperto  la procedura contro il vertice di
Telecinco, la rete televisiva di cui Mediaset detiene ufficialmente il 25
per cento. Nel frattempo, il Tribunale Anticorruzione ha accusato un
dirigente dell'ufficio tributario spagnolo di avere cercato di occultare
nel 1995 una presunta frode fiscale di Telecinco e di Silvio Berlusconi.
Secondo il quotidiano "La Vanguardia" di Barcellona, l'istruttoria conferma
che dal 1990 al 1995 la Fininvest ha controllato, direttamente o tramite
dei prestanome, circa l'84 per cento di Telecinco, in aperta violazione
della legge spagnola che vieta ad ogni singolo socio di possedere più del
25 per cento del capitale di una rete. Contemporaneamente Garzòn accusa
Silvio e Paolo Berlusconi e altre 33 persone di reati fiscali. 
In una nota diffusa da Milano, la Fininvest afferma di "avere sempre agito
nel massimo rispetto delle leggi e che sia l' imputazione di frode fiscale
che quella di falso in documenti non hanno il minimo fondamento". Dopo due
anni di indagini, prosegue la nota, "le autorità spagnole hanno contestato
a Telecinco solo irregolarità di natura fiscale (che non riguardano la
partecipazione della Fininvest) escludendo comunque condotte penalmente
rilevanti". Fininvest ribadisce inoltre di non avere mai violato il tetto
azionario del 25%.


ITALY BEHIND IN TELECOM SECTOR
In a recent newspaper interview, the newly nominated president of the
Telecommunications Authority, Enzo Cheli has warned that Italy has fallen
behind other EU countries in the telecommunications sector. Cheli, who was
nominated 4 months ago, confirmed that the Authority will become operative
by May.  He added that his job will be a hard one because "cultural and
economical views in Italy are still linked to the existence of monopolies
in strategic sectors". This has provoked many foreign investors who were
interested in the potential of the Italian market to give up because of the
complicated legal framework.
Concerning the question of a single Italian digital platform, Cheli said
that this concept risks of becoming a new monopoly. According to him, a
choice will have to be made between an "open technology" and the option of
several digital platforms.
____________________________________________________________________________
_____
- Il presidente dell'authority delle comunicazioni, Enzo Chieli ha detto
che l'Autorità sarà completamente operativa entro maggio. Chieli ha
spiegato che l'Italia accusa un grave ritardo rispetto agli altri paesi
europei: "gli atteggiamenti culturali ed economici sono ancora legati al
forte radicamento dei monopoli nei settori strategici". Per questa ragione,
molti gruppi esteri interessati alle potenzialità del mercato italiano,
preferiscono rinunciare perchè spaventati dall'eccessiva mobilità delle
nostre normative.
Per lui, una piattaforma digitale unica rischia di trasformarsi in una
strozzatura tecnologica che produce un nuovo monopolio. "Bisognerà
scegliere tra l'opzione delle tecnologie aperte e quella delle varie
piattaforme".


TELECAPRI DENNOUNCES STREAM AND TEAM-TV
The Italian private TV channel Telecapri has openly criticised Team-TV, the
proposed channel soon to be launched by Stream. The new channel is a joint
venture between the cable operator Stream and a dozen or so local TV
stations. Telecapri has in fact gone on step further by bringing charges at
a Rome court and asking for a minimum of 3 million-DM financial
compensation. The next step according to the Capri based TV channel is to
stop the Team-TV project from seeing the light of day by submitting a
complaint to the office of the State Prosecutor. Telecapri has undertaken
this step because it feels Stream has chosen, as it's potential partners in
Team-TV, TV channels that are not the most influential or professional, but
are in fact connected to certain politicians.
____________________________________________________________________________
_____
Non va proprio giu' a Telecapri il progetto che vede Stream e la neonata
Team-TV di Antonio Marano lavorare insieme alla costruzione di un nuovo
canale televisivo con la collaborazione di alcune emittenti locali.
Telecapri ha citato sia Stream che Team TV davanti al Tribunale di Roma per
il risarcimento dei danni subiti che si riserverebbe di quantificare in non
meno di 3 miliardi di lire. Telecapri accusa Stream di aver scelto, con la
complicita' di Team TV, emittenti che non sarebbero le piu' qualificate, le
piu' importanti e quelle con i maggiori ascolti, ma quelle legate a
personaggi politici che fanno comodo ai vertici di Stream. 


NEW RULES FOR ADVERTISING ON TV
The Italian Government has approved a new "white paper" which introduces
new limits to advertising on TV. The main points of the bill are as
follows. First of all there will be no more ad breaks during football games
but they will be allowed during Formula 1 races, alpine skiing and other
sports which do not have a "half-time". All movies and TV mini-series can
be interrupted only every 45 minutes while TV shopping programs will only
be allowed between two programs. News bulletins, documentaries and
children's programs cannot be interrupted if they last less that 30
minutes. Finally, ad breaks will be prohibited during religious programs.
According to a recent survey, every year 900,000 advertising breaks are
transmitted in Italy.
____________________________________________________________________________
_____
- Il Governo ha approvato il ddl che regola la nuova normativa per la
pubblicità TV. Cosi' cambiano le regole. Niente spot durante le partite di
calcio, rimane esclusa la Formula 1 e lo sci alpino. Film e film TV possono
essere interrotti solo ogni 45 minuti. Notiziari, documentari, programmi
per bambini non possono essere interrotti se di durata inferiore ai 30
minuti. Pubblicità e televendite non possono essere inserite in
trasmissioni religiose. Da una recente ricerca è emerso che ogni anno i
canali TV trasmettono 900,000 interruzioni pubblicitarie.


ITALIANO FOOTBALL FEEDS
The Italian football season is drawing to a close but the name of the
winner of this years "scudetto" is yet to be assigned. If you want to tune
in live to the action we suggest you check out the EUTELSAT II F3 satellite
(16 degrees East), frequency 11,137 GHz/Hor, Symbol rate 6,111 and FEC ž.
but live feeds are also occasionaly available on the INTELSAT K bird (21,5
degrees West). The details in this case are as follows: frequency 11,550
GHz/Hor, Symbol rate 5,632 and FEC ž.


NEWS IN BRIEF
- The Italian porn channel SCT is now available on three different
frequencies via the 13 degrees East orbital position. In analogue mode it
can be found on 11,146 GHz/Hor (from 01:00-02:30 h) and 12,265 GHz/Ver
(from 00:00-01:30 h). SCT is also available in digital MPEG-2, on the
frequency of 12,111 GHz/Ver.
- Discovery Channel Italia is being carried as part of Discovery's new
multiplex on the EUTELSAT HOT BIRD 1 satellite. The frequency is 11,288
GHz/Hor, Symbol rate 27,500 and FEC ž. Unfortunately the signal is
scrambled in the PowerVu system.
- The Spanish private TV channel Telecinco (in which Mediaset owns a 25%
stake) has reported a profit of 9 billion pesetas (around 105 million DM)
during the past year.
- The Italian industry giant Pirelli has given up on the idea to buy a 39%
stake in the cable manufacturer Sirti which is currently owned by Telecom
Italia
- Digital feeds for RAI and Mediaset have been reported on the INTELSAT 705
satellite (18 degrees West). The technical details are as follows:
frequency 10,978 GHz/Ver, Symbol rate 6,698, FEC ž, VPid 4021 and APid 4022.


PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS ON RAI TV CHANNELS FOR WEEK APRIL 12-18
(All times Central European)
MOVIES AND MINI-SERIES
12.IV
RAI UNO, 20:45h - Il Maresciallo Rocca (Italy), starring: Gigi Proietti,
Stefania Sandrelli
RAI TRE, 20:40h - With honors (USA-1994), starring: Joe Pesci, Brendan Fraser
13.IV
RAI TRE, 20:40h - Per qualche dollaro in piu (Italy/Germany/Spain-1965),
starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee van Cleef
RAI UNO, 20:50h - Palla di neve (Italy-1995), starring: Paolo Villaggio,
Anna Falchi
14.IV
RAI UNO, 20:50h - The cure (USA-1995), starring: Brad Renfro, Annabella
Sciorra
RAI DUE, 20:50h - Under Siege 2 (USA-1995), starring: Steven Seagal, Eric
Bogosian
RAI DUE, 22:55h - La promessa (Germany-1994), starring: Meret Becker,
Susann Uge
15.IV
RAI UNO, 20:50h - Every nine seconds (USA-1997), starring: Amy Pietz, Emily
Hampshire
16.IV
RAI UNO, 20:50h - Maverick (USA-1994), starring: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster
17.IV  
RAI TRE, 20:40h - Lethal weapon 3 (USA-1992), starring: Mel Gibson, Danny
Glover, Joe Pesci
RAI DUE, 00:35h - Shadowchaser 4 (USA-1996), starring: Todd Jensen,
Jennifer McDonald
18.IV
RAI DUE, 20:50h - Tainted love (USA-1995), starring: Granville Ames, Taylor
Ashford
RAI UNO, 00:35h - La vera vita di Antonio H. (Italy-1994), starring:
Alessandro Haber, Giuliana de Sio

Note:	All movies transmitted in the prime time slot are subtitled on RAI's
teletext pages 777 (Italian) and 778 (English)

SPORT
12.IV
RAI DUE, 18:00h - Formula 1: GP Argentina - live coverage
14.IV
RAI TRE, 15:40h - Tennis: Challenger Napoli
RAI TRE, 17:25h - Football: UEFA Cup, Spartak Moscow-Inter Milan (semifinals)
16.IV
RAI TRE, 15:40h - Volleyball: Italian league (semifinals)
17.IV
RAI TRE, 15:40h - Motor racing: GP Malaysia (heats)
RAI TRE, 15:50h - Basketball: Italian league (quarterfinals)
18.IV
RAI TRE, 15:20h - Motor racing: GP Malaysia (heats)
RAI TRE, 15:40h - Volleyball: Italian league (semifinals)
RAI TRE, 17:30h - Tennis: Federation Cup, Italy-Austria
RAI TRE, 00:05h - Tennis: Federation Cup, Italy-Austria

MUSIC
13.IV
RAI DUE, 09:30h - Easter Concert from Ovieto - Teatro Fenice choir from
Venice performs works by  G.Mahlera and R.Schumanna
RAI TRE, 22:55h - Concert for Montserrat (London) - taking part: Paul
McCartney, Elton John, Sting, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins


SAT-ITALY is sponsored by TELE-SATELLITE International
http://www.TELE-satellit.com
More free satellite news services available at:
http://www.sat-net.com
[Other mailing lists]