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TBI

TBI CONTENTS18 BANFF TELEVISION FESTIVAL

Rocky ProgressBanff has mountains and Pat Ferns' Market Simulation: Cannes has the Croisette and,well, Pat Ferns' Market Simulation. And so does Natpe. The disease is spreading, notleast because half the projects pitched at the event make it into real live tv shows.

22 FOCUS: INTERACTIVE TV

On The LineThe hottest interactive shows on themarket; plus the producers and broad-casters with the foresight to have a website.

22 It's Your Call25 Webs On The Web

28 COVER STORY

North StarsThe Nordic region has long had strong publicservice broadcasters. Now, after finally suc-cumbing to tv advertising, it has a number ofincreasingly wealthy and productive private tvchannels. TBI profiles the leading private opera-tors and looks at how the pubcasters areresponding to the challenge.

28 Norse Commerce34 It Takes Two41 The Third Man42 ... And The Fourth

43 PRODUCTION

From Goldmine To DeclineAsian tv advertising markets are set for dramatic growth over the next few years, butwestern distributors may be left on the sidelines.

DEPARTMENTS

Monitor6 No Room For Tessier At Canal Plus

7 MTV Paves Way For Digital Nets

7 New Thai Channel Focuses On Fact

8 Telecinco Rejects Offer From TF1

9 Ambitious Rai Back In Profit

9 ARD And ZDF In Sports Pact

10 Gandhi Remark Fails To Amuse

12 Philippines Friendly For Cable Players

13 Murdoch On The Acquisition Trail

13 ITV Calls For First Refusal On Digital

EDITOR'S NOTE

Move Over Big Boy 2

PERSPECTIVE

Reviving The Lost Art Of The Silents 4

COMMENT

Pubcastcrs Ask sobn Question 16

DATA

Tipping The Scales Further 46

ADVERTISING

P&G's Message For The Medium 48

Cover picture:A still from NRK TV's recent production ofIbsen's Peer Gynt.

Television Business International lune 1995

1

EDITOR'S NOTE

TBITELEVISION=BUSINESSINTERNATIONAL

Publisher Paul Nicholson

Editor Rich Zahradnik

Deputy Editor Tim Westcott

Reporter \ larie Beardmore

Hong Kong Bureau Chief Sarah Walker

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Editorial Assistant Jane Birch

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Move Over Big BoyItravelled to Helsinki last month to do a series of interviews for our coverstory on broadcasting in the Nordic countries. The last thing on my mindwas another section planned for this issue, our annual special report on

interactive tv. I'm a bit embarrassed to mention it now, since it was just plainbias on my part. Interactive tv stories feature MCI and Silicon Graphics andRupert Murdoch, not a commercial broadcaster in a small northern Europeancountry. I was wrong.

Finnish commercial broadcaster MTV3 started offering classifieds on itsteletext system a little more than a year ago. The service turned a profit onits first day and now sells 100 ads a day. More than anything else, it is asmart combination of the technologies of the here and now. If you want toadvertise, you call a premium -rate phone number - that's how the ads arepaid for, so no messy invoicing - and are instructed by the system to setyour tv to a certain teletext page. You then use your telephone to key in thead, which you watch spelling itself out on the television. When you're usedto the passive nature of teletext - pages and pages of text you can't do any-thing to - it's eerie at first to see the television reacting to buttons pressed onthe telephone.

Classifieds are only the beginning. A new service MTV3 has just addeddemonstrates interactive teletext. A travel agent's teletextpage provides a phone number that once dialed, instructs you to go to yourown page on the system. Here you can call up all manner of information ondifferent holiday destinations and vacation packages and, then, order yourvacation. Once directed by the phone service to the page you'll be using, allthe information you could want - on any subject, really - can be called upusing the phone. In other words, the phone and a teletext tv, with this tech-nology, can become a system that will deliver huge amounts of informationto the tv screen, as specifically requested by individual callers. "We don'thave the information superhighway, but we have the path and you can goup and down it," said Juha-Pekka Louhelainen, senior vice president at MTV.Louhelainen is being a bit modest. Last month, with some fanfare, Mr. Mur-doch's BSkyB announced a "new" interactive teletext system, Intertext. That'sright, it's pretty much the same service they've been offering way up there inFinland for more than a year now. Had I not stumbled across MTV3's serviceon my trip, I might have gotten pretty excited.

The lesson I learned on my visit to Finland was driven home as I read ourfeature on the slew of interactive gameshows now on the market. The for-mats for two shows being sold by U.S. distributors weren't developed in theU.S.: one came from Turkey, the other from Israel. Perhaps, in this revolu-tion, technology will have its oft -promised levelling effect. Interactive tv willallow the Finlands, the Israels and the Turkeys to develop programs and ser-vices that can compete with those of the traditional tv powers. Of course,that means I'll have to dump some silly assumptions of my own.

The Editor

Television Business International lune 1995

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PERSPECTIVE NEW YORK

I've always loved the comedies of thesilent film era and regretted that thetalkies made them a lost art form. They

nurtured a rare kind of performing artist- Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, atthe top of the line - whose bread van-ished when motion picture technologywas advanced by sound.

So I found it heartening, while chair-ing the press jury of the Golden Rose ofMontreux festival this spring, that threeof the strong contenders in the competi-tion were comedies without dialog. Allemployed the universal sight language ofclowns.

Seeing these entries reminded me thatseveral entries at last year's Prix Jeunessefestival of Children's TV in Munich alsotold their stories without words. Iremembered a charming one fromPoland about a city boy who adopts awayward cow, and another from ZDF,Mainz, about three loveable water ratssailing the gutter in a paper boat. Thisone combined animation and live actionand was a prize-winner.

In all, between the two festivals, therewere nearly a dozen shows that vaultedthe language barrier. Lo, a global trendin the making!

Two of the wordless programs atMontreux, The Street from Bulgaria andChoof! from Spain's TVE, were appeal-ingly whimsical most of the way, butboth eventually lapsed into heavy-hand-ed slapstick. So no award.

I confess to having been pleasantlysurprised by the Bulgarian entry. Neverhaving been to that country, I imaginedit as dour and humorless. The Street wasa pastiche of crazy light-hearted sketch-es, one of them a delicious bit of come-dy involving a pet automobile.

The press jury, which conferred itsGolden Rose on a Netherlands programwith plenty of words called Taxi, gave aspecial citation to the third silent entry,Bud Bindi, which was from the SlovakRepublic of all places.

Featuring two brilliant sketch comedi-ans of the silent film traditions plus someclever material, this is the show thatcould play just about anywhere in theworld - which of course is the point ofproducing wordless programs today.

Thanks to the thriving international

Reviving The Lost

Art Of The Silents

BY LIES BROWN

program market, the lost art of the silentshas been revived, albeit with environ-mental sound and background music.

And it is interesting to note wheremany of these programs come from:eastern European countries emergingfrom the fallen Iron Curtain whose nativelanguages might limit them in world tele-vision commerce - Poland, Slovakia,Bulgaria.

Not in competition at Montreux, butexamined in the newly -initiated GoldenRose program clinic, was an excellentfilm from China, Flavours of a ShanghaiBrick Building, that sustained a 50 -minute dramatic narrative without a lineof dialog.

The producer of the film had previ-ously only made music videos. Andwhen you think about it, what are musicvideos but silent films with an overlay ofrock?

Failures of the past have a way ofre-emerging. Among the new media

introduced in the 80s, interactivetv flopped hardest in the U.S.

It's somehow fitting that a genre fromthe past returns in the midst of a massobsession with the future.

But seemingly everything new hasantecedents. Does anyone rememberScopitone? Great technology, many of usthought back in the late 60s, the bestform of video jukebox yet. Scopitonewas developed in France, if memoryserves and featured in some of the mostychic bars in New York.

Scopitone went down swiftly. Appar-ently, people preferred just listening tomusic rather than having it attended bysome kind of visual interpretation. Thatwas just a decade before MTV.

There's also irony in the growingexcitement today over everyone's abilityto communicate with strangers on thebulletin boards of the Internet and com-puter online services.

If connecting with strangers is such apowerful human drive, why weren't wesimilarly excited about ham radio in the40s and 50s, or CB radio in the 70s, bothof which allowed us actually to talk tothe faceless people met by chance?

Failures of the past have a way of re-emerging. Among the new media intro-duced in the 80s, the interactive forms oftv flopped hardest in the U.S. Todaythey're the big buzz everywhere, andevery media company wants in.

Videotex was a notable failure inAmerica. A decade later, in the form ofcomputer, online services, it's one of thefastest -growing branches of media.

What succeeds and what doesn't areoften matters of timing in a consumereconomy that changes by the decade.Expanding global markets for tv pro-gramming prompt the wordless film tobe reinvented. Meanwhile, spurred byfashion and ease of use, the spirit of hamradio lives on in a digital guise.

As the past collaborates with thefuture, there's a chance of another Chap-lin. And there may yet be hope forPhonevision, holography and 3-Dmovies. EEO

Television Business Interm. tonal lane 1995

4

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-11

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TBI

Pierre Lescure: the man in charge

MONITORNo Room For Tessier

At Helm Of Canal Plus

Lescure under pressure as anotherfounding father quits the group

Asit puts the finishing touches to its plans to

launch the next generation of digital tv chan-nels, the last thing Canal Plus wanted was troubleat the top.

However on May 27 Marc Tessier, one of thefounders of the French pay-tv group and the manresponsible for developing its digital plans,announced his resignation. In the days after-wards, the French press reported that Pierre

Dauzier, president of Havas, themost important shareholder inCanal Plus, was trying to oustPierre Lescure, president of thepay-tv group.

The two stories were notlinked. The departure of Tessierhad been on the cards since thesudden resignation of AndreRousselet in February 1994. Hav-ing been instrumental in themost impressive successes of thegroup - its international develop-ment, its European lead in pay-tvtechnology and digital broadcast-ing, and its pact with Bertels-mann - Tessier expected to beappointed general manager.

But Tessier was not even oneof the three deputy general man-agers Pierre Lescure chose a fewweeks after replacing Rousselet.Tessier was not only sore. Hereally believed the group neededto be organized and that Lescurehad to delegate responsibilitiesto one or several of his man-

agers. Tessier decided to resign, making a pointof stating his deep affection for Lescure and anongoing fidelity to the group.

This departure took place at a time of uncer-tainty for Canal Plus. Lescure has not yet definedprecisely how and with whom he intends to runCanal Plus. The days of ever-increasing profits areover, although subscriptions to Canal Plus chan-nels are still increasing. But to maintain its inter-national competitiveness the group will have tomake large investments in technology and pro-grams.

Last, but not least, the president of Canal Plusmust live with a pact between the two mainshareholders, Havas and Generale des Eaux (plusthe hank, Societe General) that was the reasonfor Andre Rousselet's sudden decision to resign.

Up to now, this pact let things be. Lescureappeared to be a charismatic president, with astrategy no shareholder had any reason tooppose. But Havas being also a major sharehold-er of CLT and having recently strengthened itsties with its controlling shareholder, Albert Frere,pushed for a partnership between Canal Plus andCLT.

Pierre Dauzier expressed publicly the idea thatit would be a pity for the two "cousins" to com-pete head on in the same market instead of build-ing a partnership that would create one of thebiggest forces in Europe. So in the spring the twogroups started to negotiate a deal by which CLTwould he licensed to use the Canal Plus technol-ogy for its own digital satellite bouquet. ButDauzier believed they should go further and havecomplementary program and channel policies, anidea Lescure doesn't believe realistic.

Hence the rumors - not denied at Canal Plus -that Dauzier wanted Lescure out. The threat wastaken seriously enough by Jean-Marie Messier,the boss of Generale des Eaux, who publiclyaffirmed his complete support of Lescure.

An imminent change of president seemsunlikely. An ouster would be difficult to imple-ment without the support of La Generale (whichis also a shareholder of Havas), which does notseem to be in favor of closer ties between CanalPlus and CLT. As long as it remains so, Lescurecould be said to be as powerful as his predeces-sor, Rousselet.

by Serge Siritzky - PARIS

TelevisimBminessIntemationallune1995

6

MONITOR

EUROPE

MN Paves Way

For Viacom NetsEncryption is stage one of plan topioneer digital tv in Europe

rtTV Europe, one of the most successful expo-nents of pan-European tv, is due to encrypt its

signal from July 1 in a move which will preparethe way for the launch of digital versions of themusic network and other Viacom stations later inthe year.

The long -heralded switch to pay-tv markssomething of a watershed in pan-European televi-sion. So far stations like MTV have kept their sig-nal in the clear to encourage the growth of adirect -to -home market.

The music network said it would lose only 10-15% of its audience by encrypting, with majormarkets like the UK and Germany mostly unaf-fected, for different reasons. In the UK, the major-ity of DTH viewers already pay a fee to receivethe Sky Multichannel package of which MTV willnow become part, while in Germany most view-ers receive the channel via cable.

MTV will still be under pressure to reduce itsrates. One ad agency manager estimated thatMTV Europe would take $90-100 million from adsales and licensing agreements this year, but saidthat advertisers would expect to pay less if theirads were reaching fewer people. The new rev-enue stream from subscriptions - notably fromSky Multichannels in the UK - should make upthe shortfall, however.

Digital transmissions of six channels arcexpected to be introduced via a Eutelsat Hot Bird1 transponder around September. Peter Einstein,president, business director of MTV Europe, saidthey would include MTV Europe; the version ofthe network which includes ads aimed at Ger-many; the German versions of VH-1 (launched inanalog form on the satellite on May 4) and Nick-elodeon; and a specialized service operated byfinancial newswire service Bloomberg, the onlynon -Viacom operation. Options for the remainingberth include a shopping channel, films, interac-tive games and pay -per -view, said Einstein.

By compressing the signal of its networks, Via-com is hoping to secure its future as a significantplayer in the European multichannel market, aswell as preparing the way for the launch of futureservices drawing on the massive libraries of itsparent company.

Initially, the digital channels will be aimed atthe German market, which with 14.5 millioncable homes is MTV Europe's largest market.

Cable operators will besupplied with Philips -made digital decoders,reportedly in lieu ofcarriage fees.

"The cable head -ends that represent themajority of Germancable subscribers willhave compressionequipment installed byyear end," said Ein-stein. "After that we'llbe rounding out therest of what's left thereand after that start toroll out to other coun-tries."

As well as offeringcapacity -strappedcable operators anincentive for carryingall of the Viacom ser-vices, compression willeventually enable theU.S. company to offeradvertisers the possi-bility of targeting specific national markets. Inaddition, said Einstein, transmission from the twomajor satellite systems will "give (Viacom ser-vices) the ability to package with anyone we likein any market we like."

The launch of new Astra and Eutelsat systemsmeans there will be well over 100 transpondersavailable for tv distribution by the end of 1997,which with digital compression could open theway for 1,000 new tv channels. Amazingly, theoperators of both satellite systems report thatmost of that capacity is already spoken for.

Einstein commented: "The launching of analogservices is coming very fast to an end, and fromnext year... it's all going to he digital."

Peter Einstein: the man charging

by Tim Westcott - LONDON

THAILAND

Sixth Channel Plans

To Focus On FactNew private network will takeits license obligation seriously

The Thai government has issued a license tooperate a nationwide commercial tv station to

Siam Infotainment Co., hacked by a consortiumof media and financial groups. Siam TV, which is

Television Business International lure 1995

7

MONITOR

JUNEQUESTIONS

Question: Which one ofthe following three ques-tions, due to be put to Ital-ians in the June 11 refer-endum, was proposed by a

political ally of Fininvest?Question one: Should asingle individual or entitybe limited to owning onerather than three nationaltv networks? Two: Shouldcommercial breaks in tvbroadcasts of feature filmsbe reduced? Three: Should

a single advertising saleshouse be limited to tworather than three nationaltv channels? Four: Shouldstate broadcaster Rai beprivatized? No prizes forguessing that the lastquestion was proposed by

Silvio Berlusconi allyMarco Pannella, while thefirst three were proposedby left-wing parties.

set to launch in mid -1997, will be the first net-work to be delivered via UHF.

In order to differentiate itself from the five ter-restrial stations already on the air, Siam TVintends to air a schedule dominated by factualprogramming, with documentaries in primetimeslots where most Thai broadcasters show locally -produced and imported drama. The channelintends to broadcast a 24 -hour schedule made upof news (30%), documentaries (40%) and enter-tainment (30%).

In laying a heavy emphasis on documentaries,the channel is complying with the commitment inits 30 -year license to show educational and social-ly enlightening programming.

"Thai people still like to see drama, talk showsand variety shows," said Natavoot Chitasombat,executive vice president of shareholder Siam TVand Communication. "We have to make newsand documentary programming that is more inter-esting and useful. Our new programming will beproduced using our own facilities and SNGtrucks, in addition to feeds from other worldwidenews organizations."

Currently Siam is building 36 transmission sta-tions and four studios with the help of the BBC'stechnical department. The new station will be runby a consortium of 12 shareholders includingSiam TV and Communication Co Ltd, a media andcommunications house owned by the Siam Com-mercial Bank and the Crown Property Bureau'sUnited Cinema Co; production houses Kantanaand Born Operation; and newspaper groups SangEnterprise Corporation and TH Vatanakij HoldingPublic Company.

With an initial capital investment of about $162million and plans to go public within four years,Siam is aiming for 97% coverage of Thailand's 13million tv homes within two years of start-up. TheUHF transmission means, however, that viewerswill have to install new aerials to receive the ser-vice.

Although it is questionable whether Thailand,with five existing terrestrial stations - Channels 3,5, 7, 9 and 11, two cable operators and anotherpossible 20 on the way, in addition to anotherpotential UHF licensee - needs another station,Siam is confident it will break even after one yearof operation. Gross television advertising expen-diture in Thailand in the year to April 1995 was$280 million.

It is expected that, due to the bizarre nature ofThai primetime advertising pricing, the broadcast-er won't have too much trouble filling up its tenminutes of advertising an hour. Currently the costof a one -minute spot during the primetime newsand dramas on leading terrestrial broadcasterChannel 7, is between $7,000 and $10,000 withthe other stations only 10-15% lower.

This, said a source at Thai ratings agencyDemaar, is priced low in order to keep demandhigh. As a result, ad agencies are desperate foradditional choices.

by Sarah Walker - BANGKOK

SPAIN

Telecinco Rejects

Offer From TF1Costs are falling, but so areoffers for control of the channel

Spain's Telecinco is still on sale, but not at theprices that are being offered for it. Last month,

the Fininvest and Kirch groups rejected an offerof $360 million from French private network TF1for their controlling interest in the channel. Anoffer of $420 million from Mexico's Televisa wasturned down last year.

"It's unthinkable that we could consider anoffer lower than that of the Mexicans after thesuccess of the cost-cutting measures," saidTelecinco director-general, Maurizio Carlotti.

TF1's offer included the resale of a substantialslice of the shares to the Spanish regional news-paper group, Correo.

Carlotti puts the value of Telecinco at $480million, and has claimed to have cut costs by $24million in the first two months of the year. Aspokesman for Telecinco said it was now runningat breakeven, and forecast a small profit for theyear. But its audience rating has stuck at 18%.

If the referendum in Italy on June 11 does notforce a change of tactics, Berlusconi's plan forTelecinco is to conclude a recapitalization plan,doubling the present capital to $160 million. Butthis will not provide new liquidity, because it willeffectively be a way of paying off its debts withsuppliers and shareholders receiving shares fordebt. Debts for purchase of rights currently standat $218 million. Under the plan, these will bepaid off throughout the year, as and when thefilms and programs in stock are broadcast.

The long-term aim of Kirch and Berlusconi isreported to be to find a Spanish investor willingto take a 25% stake, once the finances have beenrestructured. Felipe Gonzalez, the Spanish primeminister, publicly voiced his concern that therewere no Spanish bidders for the station last yearwhen it was first put on. the market.

Among the identified shareholders (Kirch andFininvest with 25% each, a Luxembourg bankwith 19%, Jacques Hachuel with 10% and la Oncewith 6.25%) have recently appeared two busi-nessmen involved in construction, reported to beclose to Once and by implication, Fininvest. Theyare Angel Medrano and Alvarez Buiza, who holdthe remaining 14.75%.

Contact has been established with Time Warn-er, Sony and Televisa, over the sale of smallerstakes.

Carlotti stated that the referendum in Italy on

Television Business International June 1995

8

MONITOR

Moratti: Boost for Rai

June 11 which may force Berlusconi to restructurehis television holdings will have no effect onTelecinco. But Spanish observers expect potentialbuyers to wait and see if Rupert Murdoch's offerto buy the majority of Fininvest's tv interests istaken up, as it may determine whom they arenegotiating with.

by Justin Webster - BARCELONA

ITALY

Rai Back In Profit

And AmbitiousObservers sceptical about balancesheets and aid -free future

Atriumphant Letizia Moratti, president of Italy'sRai, announced in London at the beginning of

May that the public broadcaster "saved itself' andwill no longer need any emergency aid from thestate.

After several years of financial losses, she saidRai posted a net profit of IL19 billion ($11.6 mil-lion) in 1994 and managed to reduce its overalldebt by 25% to $670 million.

Moratti, a personal friend of tv tycoon SilvioBerlusconi, who appointed her at the top of thenetwork when he was Italy's premier, also saidthat Rai is expected to make further improve-ments in the next few years, with profits of $17million in 1995 and $79 million in 1996. In 1993 itregistered a loss of $292 million.

Rai's president, dubbed "Lady Marshall" by heropponents in referenceto her managementstyle, claimed sheachieved these "partic-ularly satisfying" resultswith a 7% increase inturnover to $2.3 billion,while she cut costs by16% and jobs by 7% to11,809.

Moreover, sheannounced that Rai hasearmarked $730 millionfor production, co -pro-duction and purchasingtv product.

Rai will pay particu-lar attention to domes-tic and European pro-duction, aiming to cre-ate "a better balance

between in-house and external production whichwill reduce the share of programming covered byacquisitions from 69% to 60% and increase in-house production from 31% to 40%."

Many Italian observers, however, criticizedMoratti's decision to announce Rai's results inLondon and her "blustering optimism." While sheclaimed that London was the right place to stressRai's "leading role in the global media environ-ment," Italy's press accused her of choosing toaddress a foreign audience unfamiliar with Rai'sproblems and financial accounts.

In fact, Rai's recovery was mainly due to newaccounting methods, including a revaluation of itsreal estate assets, many analysts said. This cos-metic exercise worked for 1994 but will not guar-antee further improvements in the followingyear's balance sheets, they said.

A truce in Rai's traditional hostilities withBerlusconi's Fininvest networks also helped to cutexpenses and helped both parties benefit in theacquisition of international programming.

Strong criticism came also from Gianni Locatel-li, former Rai general director, who was abruptlyreplaced by Berlusconi last year. Locatelli saidthat while Moratti took all the credit for Rai's suc-cess, this was mainly achieved by the "oldboard," ousted last August. More importantly, hewarned Moratti that being too optimistic andexcluding any future need of state financial aidwas dangerous and probably unrealistic.

by Cecilia Zecchinelli - MILAN

GERMANY

ARD And ZDF

In Sports PactIn league with RTL, pubcasters aimto wrest league soccer from ISPR

s the costs for sports rights escalate, Germannbroadcasters are forming strategic alliancesaimed at increasing financial clout. The rights tothe nation's most popular sport in the first andsecond division soccer leagues have become soexpensive they are virtually beyond the reach ofany one network.

In a plan to pool financial resources, ARDchairman Albert Scharf and ZDF chief DieterStolte put their heads together and came up withan agency for sports rights and marketing. Rivalsin entertainment programming, the public net-works will join forces in the scramble for sportsrights. And RTL, the private channel which hasmade the biggest inroads into their ratings, willnow team up with them.

CROSS -OVERPOTENTIAL

New UK cross -ownership

regulations will permitnational newspaper own-ers to own tv companies,while tv companies will be

allowed to own nationalnewspapers, for the firsttime. Cross -media groups

will, however, be limitedto a 10% share of theoverall media market in asystem still to be definedbased either on revenueor audience share and cir-culation. News Interna-tional, Rupert Murdoch'sUK arm, which controls36% of national newspa-per sales, attacked therules as "the proposals ofthe old vested and oftenunsuccessful interests -Associated Newspapers,Pearson and Carlton Com-

munications." The propos-

als, announced by Nation-al Heritage SecretraryStephen Dorrell lastmonth, will take effect inJanuary 1997, subject toapproval by Parliament.

Television Business International June 1995

9

MONITOR

SBS NAMESLAUNCH DAY

Scandinavian Broadcasting

System (SBS) has setAugust 28 as the launchdate for its latest tv chan-nel venture, SBS6, in theNetherlands. SBS6 presi-dent Fons van Westerloosaid the station would aimfor a viewing share of 5%with a combination of infor-mation and high -qualityentertainment. Van West-erloo, formerly programdirector of RTL5, said hewould aim at 40-50%Dutch program content.Veronica, the public broad-caster, plans to leave thepublic system on Septem-ber 1 and launch its ownchannel, in partnershipwith RTL4 and Endemol,on September 1. The newSBS channel will bring toseven the number of pri-vately -owned tv channelsin the country, four ofthem launched this year.TV10 and The Music Facto-

ry, both owned by ArcadeMedia Group, launched inMay.

The joint venture, announced May 10 at theARD directors meeting in Baden-Baden, must beapproved by the broadcasting councils of bothnetworks. Scheduled for a fall launch, the Munichbased Sportrechte and Marketing GmbH,described by Scharf as a "full service agency," willbuy and sell sports rights for national and interna-tional events. "Through the sports rights compa-ny, we can tighten previous work procedures andadapt to the changing market situation," Scharfsaid in making the announcement. Under a man-agement to be appointed soon, the company willdo its own marketing.

The agency will compete against Germany'sleading sports rights acquisition companies, Ber-telsmann's subsidiary Ufa film and Television andthe ISPR International Sports Rights Agency,owned jointly by the Axel Springer Verlag andthe Kirch Group.

The trio of the ARD, ZDF and RTL is deter-mined to wrest the soccer rights away from ISPR,which in 1992 paid the DFB (German SoccerAssociation) a whopping $432 million for therights to the leagues through the 1996/97 season.The broadcasting rights then went to Sat 1, whosemain shareholders are Springer and Kirch. Thealliance reportedly is prepared to pay $107 mil-lion annually for the rights up to the year 2000.

Since Sat 1 can hardly recoup its outlay for thesoccer rights out of advertising revenue, its popu-lar sports show ran is regarded more as animage -booster than a profit -generator.

If the DSF's league committee awards them therights in a decision expected this summer, ZDFand ARD will cover highlights of the matches inFriday and Saturday pre-primetime sport showswhen they are allowed to air spots, and RTL onSundays when regulations prohibit public net-work advertising.

Sat l's soccer programs, including ran, are high profile but unprofitable

The cost of soccer rights began to soar in 1988when Ufa outbid the ARD and ZDF, which hadpaid only $10 million to the DFB for their lastseason in 1987/88. Ufa forked out $100 millionfor four years rights beginning with the 1988/89season. It came as no surprise when RTL, inwhich Ufa has a major stake, picked up thebroadcasting rights.

by Jack Kindred - MUNICH

INDIA

Gandhi Remark

Fails To AmuseOff-the-cuff insult on Star TV showputs politicians in angry mood

Remarks by a guest on a Star TV chat show haveplunged the pan -Asian station into the sort of

public relations crisis tv executives probably havenightmares about. Despite issuing an apology tothe nation about a reference to Mahatma Gandhion the English -language Star TV's Nikki Tonightand taking the offending primetime show off theair, Star TV still faces the threat of a lawsuit fromthe Gandhi family.

The dispute has even led to calls from IndianMPs to block offending foreign networks frombroadcasting to India.

Nikki Tonight, presented by Nikki Bedi, wasdesigned to be light, funny and even irreverent.Bedi carried most of this off, and her oftenembarrassingly direct questions in earlierepisodes had not attracted complaints.

That was before Ashok Row Kavi, a gay rightsactivist, came on the show on May 11. Known forhis ability to shock, it was not really a surprisethat he would court controversy. Kavi told ananecdote about how, when he started a career asa journalist, he lost his first job in a newspaperfor writing a letter to the editor of a weekly mag-azine, in which he used derogatory languageagainst Mahatma Gandhi, who led India to inde-pendence and is known as "the father of thenation." In telling the story, Kavi repeated theword he had used to describe Gandhi, which castaspertions on Gandhi's parentage.

Star TV's response to the storm of public criti-cism was to take the show off the air - only fourweeks after it launched - and issue a statementsigned by Gene Swinstead, managing director ofStar TV in India. He said: "We fully appreciatethat Mr Ashok Row Kavi's comments caused deepoffence, and while Mr Kavi's comments andviews are his own and do not in any way reflect

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MONITOR

TAKEN TOCOURT TV

Two members of theIsraeli Knesset, TzakhiHanegi (Likud) and Raanan

Cohen (Labour coalition),have introduced legislationintended to stop Hebrew -language advertising overthe Russian networkOstankino. By law only one

Israeli network, the Sec-ond Channel, is permittedcommercials but the Israel

Cable Television Associa-tion has skirted the regula-

tions by broadcasting theHebrew ads to almost amillion Russian speakershooked to cable. According

to a recent survey, on anygiven night 65.7% of theRussians in Israel tuneinto the channel at somepoint and 60% for morethan two hours. Over 50Israeli companies nowadvertise on Ostankino atrates which are less thana tenth the cost of Israel'scommercial channel. Thisis the main objection ofthe two MKs, who claimthat both the SecondChannel and Russiannewspapers are beingdeprived of revenue. Theywant to impose heavyfines on Israeli companiesadvertising on Ostankinoand are bringing a localfurniture manufacturer tocourt as a test case.

those of Star TV, Nikki Bedi or (the show's pro-ducers) TV 18, we at Star TV have a duty of careto hold the tastes and sensitivities of our viewersparamount."

Regardless of Star TV's action, Mahatma'sgrandson, Tushar Gandhi, said he would sue StarTV and Television 18. "Apologizing means noth-ing these days," he said. "The damage has beendone by their irresponsible action of airing such aprogram."

Kavi himself was unrepentant. "I can't seewhat all the fuss is about," he told the IndiaAbroad news service. He said the producerscould have deleted the reference and had madeseveral other cuts.

"Star TV should be asked to pack up andleave," said Sikandar Bhakt, leader of the BJP inthe upper house (Rajya Sabha).

His party colleague KR Malkani described theremarks against Gandhi as "cultural terrorism"and said the producers of the show were tryingto shock and scandalize viewers to grab attention.

The mood in government circles is now one ofconfrontation. Officials in the information andbroadcasting ministry say that the governmentcould ban errant broadcast networks. Cable oper-ators who relay satellite programs could be askedto abide by diktats under the provisions of theCable Act. Other than that the government couldalso pressure advertisers to avoid sponsoring orbuying commercials in such programs.

Star TV, which can be received by over 10 mil-lion homes in urban India, is uplinked from a for-eign jurisdiction in Hong Kong. Other satellitenetworks targeting India are transmitting fromSingapore and Nepal. Regulators may just have todepend on the sensitivity of foreign broadcasters.

by Asoka Raina - NEW DELHI

PHILIPPINES

Friendly Islands

For Cable PlayersProgrammers and system operato-rs are making themselves at home

ThePhilippines, long an important market for

U.S. distributors, are now attracting the interestof U.S. and Asian cable programmers and interna-tional cable operators.

Cable television in the south-east Asian territo-ry began in the late 60s but its development wasstunted during the 20 -year Marcos dictatorship.Since 1988 the industry has started to grow andnow stands at about 300.000 subscribers. with

MN Ma®C=1/-11

almost 49% of the country's 11 million tv house-holds passed and some 250 cable operators regis-tered. Subscriber projections for the year 2000 areover one million.

Although subscription fees and therefore rev-enues are low (between $4 and $17 dependingon the location and its demographics), most ofthe major U.S.-owned satellite networks,' includ-ing ESPN, TNT/Cartoon Network and The Discov-ery Channel, in addition to the Star TV channels,have carriage.

Although the per capita income of the Philip-pines isn't as high as other Asian countries,English is widely spoken and there are wealthysub -groups of other nationalities.

Sky Cable, the country's largest operator, hasjust launched a premium tier of programming inthe capital city, Manila, aimed at the niche butweathly Chinese residents. Programming hascome from Hong Kong's TVBI and the channel isnegotiating with Chinese Television Network(CTN), MTV Mandarin and NHK among others. Atthe moment Sky carries about 33 channels in abasic tier, including three channels of its own:The I Channel, which broadcastsduring the day and adult programs at night, SkyMovies, and a Filipino entertainment channel.The tier also includes most of the terrestrialbroadcasters which use cable as an additionalmeans of distribution to the country's 13,000islands.

HBO Asia recently rejoined the Sky packageafter a short hiatus due to a spat over the qualityof the channel and its price. HBO was reputedlycharging $2 per subscriber but has now modifiedthis to $1.60.

While the Filipino cable market has beenattractive to U.S. programmers, it is also attractingits fair share of U.S. investment interest. At themoment foreign ownership is banned in cabletelevision. However the consensus is that the lawwill be changed to perhaps a 40% ceiling, bring-ing it in line with the telecoms industry.

In the meantime a number of U.S. cable com-panies including Time Warner, TCI, UIH and Fal-con are either looking to or have already formedstrategic partnerships in preparation for a changein the law. Falcon Cable, in a high -profile ven-ture, has already helped Cavite Cable install afiber-optic system. Clive Flessig, Falcon's interna-tional vice president, said the Falcon deal adheresto the ban on foreign ownership and an equitystake hasn't been taken in the system. Despitethis, one U.S. cable operator conceded that thoseoverseas companies which hadn't already set upstrategic alliances with local cable operators were"half -way to missing the hoat " Most are alreadyspoken for.

by Sarah Walker - BACOLOD CRY

Television Business International lune 1995

12

MONITOR

BROADCASTING

Murdoch Looks To Spend MCI's $2bn

News Corporation is on the acquisition trail fol-lowing the investment of $2 billion in the opera-tor by U.S. long-distance telephone company,MCI. The deal will cement a long-term strategicrelationship between News Corp and MCI whichwill include investment in production, and pro-gram distribution ventures around the world.Soon after the announcement of the deal on May10, News Corp revealed it had made an offer forthe three Italian tv networks owned by SilvioBerlusconi's Fininvest group. Although Fininvestis attempting to sell up to 35% of its tv interests, itis thought unlikely it would agree to sell all itscore tv broadcast interests wholesale. A rumoredvisit by Rupert Murdoch to Paris last month sug-gests News Corp may be on the lookout foracquisitions in France.

ITV Calls For Priority On Digital

Britain's ITV companies have called on the UKgovernment to give first refusal on the use of digi-tal terrestrial tv frequencies to established broad-casters, rather than opening them up to newentrants. They said frequencies could be handedover to "other operators" if they had not beenused within a specified number of years. Legisla-tion should be introduced to Parliament in the1995/6 session, starting this Fall, to enable broad-casters and manufacturers to prepare for thelaunch of services in 1997, said the ITV compa-nies.

Cost Of Euro TV Ads On A Downer

The cost of tv advertising in Europe has fallenover the last two years, according to a study byYoung & Rubicam Media in Europe, a London -based unit of the ad agency network. Comparedto 1993, when strong growth in tv advertising wasrecorded in many countries, leading to higherrates, Y&R noted that costs have fallen due tostatic ad budgets and increased competition.Countries with the highest tv cost -per -thousandwere Austria, Belgium and Norway, with Polandand the Czech Republic the cheapest. The studyis titled European Media Cost Comparisons 1995.

Dutch Pubcasters Sign Up With FilmNet

Dutch public broadcasters, due to face competi-tion from seven privately owned tv channels bythe end of the year, are to be allowed to enter the

field of pay-tv. AadNuis, .the new minis-ter of culture, is cur-rently preparing majorchanges in the lawallowing publicbroadcasters to enterinto subscription -

based television. The public service companies,which jointly program three terrestrial channels,have signed letters of intent with pay-tv networkFilmNet to develop a bouquet of channels in theNetherlands covering sports, cultural and chil-dren's programming.

Brill Questions E! Coverage Of OJ Trial

Steven Brill, the founder and CEO of Court TV,has questioned the "appropriateness" of E! Enter-tainment Television's decision to televise the OJSimpson trial. Speaking to a Californian civil liber-ties union last month Brill acknowledged that E!had a right to share the Court TV feed from thecourtroom, but he questioned whether "a channelthat calls itself an entertainment network" shouldcover "a double murder trial gavel to gavel,anchored by a diet) food pitch woman, and com-plete with gossip reports and commentary from ahair stylist and a dog psychologist." In the samespeech, Brill called for broadcast organizations toagree a code of conduct on the coverage of legalcases.

Losing Its Identity

Identity Television, the UK affiliate of U.S. net-work Black Entertainment Television, haschanged its name to BET International (BETI) toreflect its association with its parent group. Thename change also coincides with the secondanniversary of IDTV, which is currently availableto an audience of over 800,000 people via theLondon Interconnect cable systems and is alsodistributed in Poland.

CHANNELS

Music And Weather Channels Licensed inGermany

German media authorities have licensed twomore channels for distribution on the country'scable systems: COM-TV (Centre of Music Televi-sion) and a so -far -unnamed weather and travelchannel. COM-TV, licensed by the media authori-ty of Rheinland-Pfalz, is backed by a group ofBritish -based investors. Programming will bemade up of jazz and country music mixed withinternational and German contemporary hits, tar-geted at the 30-55 year old age bracket.Northrhine Westphalia greenlighted a weatherand travel channel backed by Austrian and Ger-man interests and U.S. company Landmark Com-munications.

Sci-Fi Sets The Date For Euro Launch

The Sci-Fi Channel has set October 5 as thelaunch date for its European version. Transmittingvia the Eutelsat Hot Bird 1 satellite, Sci-Fi will bedebut on cable systems in the UK, Benelux andScandinavia. Sci-Fi, which is backed by USA Net-

BITVLAUNCH SLIPS

Business India Television(BITV), the satellite opera-tion which is aiming tochallenge Zee TV, has runinto a further snag in trying

to get off the ground. Origi-nally slated for a debutlast year, BITV missed itslatest launch window when

the satellite it earmarkedfor temporary transmissiondeveloped problems.Rumors that BITV's part-ners, Jardine Fleming, hadpulled out were quashed,however, when the finance

house said it was still onboard. Nicholas Butt, headof investment banking,was quoted in the Indianpress as saying: "Wewould much rather wait alittle longer so that BITVcan launch a quality prod-uct rather than a half-baked one." BITV, whichhas continued to commis-sion programs from inde-pendent producers, said itwas planning to start testtransmissions last month.

Television Business International lune 1995

13

MONITOR

EUROPESTRIKES BACK

French broadcasters areseeking an entrée to U.S.cable systems. Pay-tvoperator Canal Plus hopes

to launch a channel calledVoila, dedicated to the"European art of life," onTCI cable systems at thebeginning of 1996. As wellas programs on food, fash-

ion, music and travel,Voila will show Europeandrama series and films.The pay-tv group is seeking

partners for the channel,which would subsequentlybe rolled out worldwide.Meanwhile Francophonepublic service channelTV5, in partnership with TV

Quebec -Canada, hassigned a deal with TCI sub-

sidiary ICCP to launch achannel called TV5 USAaimed at the 10 millionFrench -speakers in thecountry. Its backers areaiming to secure cable and

DTH distribution andlaunch around the sametime as Voila. The BBC isstill seeking a debut for itsBBC World news channelwhile Rai and TVE havealso set launching U.S.services as an objective.

works, itself a joint venture between Paramountand MCA, will initially air in the English -languagesubtitles available in Scandinavian languages, withDutch "a strong possibility." Sci-Fi will be a 24 -hour service featuring four programming genres:sci-fi, fantasy, fact and classic horror. The signalwill he encrypted.

MuchMusic Cranks It Up In Mexico

Canadian -owned network Much Music will launchJune 1 on Mexican cable systems owned byCablevision SA. MuchMusic signed a licensingdeal with the Televisa-owned company lastmonth. The channel will initially be available to250,000 homes. Muchmusic, a 24 -hour musicchannel owned by Chum Ltd of Toronto, isalready available to three million homes in theU.S. and two million homes in Argentina.

BUSINESS

CLT Profits Up 10% In 1994

Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Television (CLT)reported a 10% increase in earnings to LFr3.3 bil-lion ($111 million) in 1994. Consolidatedturnover, which included the multi -media group'sstake in France's M6 for the first time, was up9.4% at $2.8 billion. Television revenues repre-sented $2.3 billion (81%) of overall revenues, withGermany accounting for 57%, France 25% and theBenelux and other countries 18%.

TV Shoppers On International Spree

Two U.S.-backed home shopping companiesreported strong sales growth in the first part ofthe year. The UK version of home shopping net-work QVC said it made net sales of £7.05 million($11.3 million) in the first quarter of the year, upfrom $2.8 million in the same period of 1994.Quantum International, the operating arm ofNational Media Corporation, announced revenuesfor the year ending March 31 of $80 million, a riseof 75% on the year before. QVC, a joint venturebetween the U.S. company of the same name andBSkyB, was criticized last year by ex -chief execBarry Diller. According to the company, it hasnow "received a strong vote of confidence" fromits U.S. parent.

PEOPLE

Jones Cable Promotes Programming Pair

Jones Entertainment Group (JEG), the program-ming arm of U.S. cable operator Jones Interna-tional has expanded the responsibilities of its twoexecutive vps in a move which signals a moreaggressive approach to development and acquisi-tion. Phil Fehrle will now be responsible forworldwide production and acquisition while Ted

Henderson will supervise finance and businessaffairs. Since its launch in 1989, JEG has producedfour tv movies, two theatrical films and a four-hour documentary for U.S. networks includingHBO and Showtime.

Harman Quits TVNZ For Flextech Job

Brent Harman, group chief executive of TVNZ,has been appointed managing director of theLondon -based tvgroup Flextech. Har-man will oversee allof the fast-growingcompany's activitiesand investments incable and satellite andbroadcast tv, whichinclude interests in 13satellite channels anda 20% stake in ITVcompany HTV. Flex -tech is 51% owned byTele CommunicationsInc and quoted onthe London stockmarket. Last month,US West and Hall-mark Entertainmenteach acquired 10% of Harman: Oversaw TVNZ expansionthe company's stockin a deal valued at £92 million ($147 million), andFlextech and BSkyB unveiled a partnership withPlayboy Enterprises Inc. to launch a EuropeanPlayboy Channel. Harman has been group chiefexecutive of TVNZ since 1991, presiding over aperiod of increased profits and expansion. Har-man will leave at the end of July.

CTIT Strengthens Channel Management

Columbia Tristar International Television (CTIT)has appointed a second senior executive to over-see the development of broadcasting venturesworldwide. George W Leitner, named as seniorvp, international networks, will handle opera-tions, planning and management for CTIT nets inLatin America and Australia as well as its stake inHBO Asia.

CABLE

Cable Breaks Out In Northern Ireland

Cable Tel (UK) has been awarded the license tobuild and operate a broadband cable tv networkin Northern Ireland. Cable Tel bid $23 million forthe license, the highest of four offers for the428,000 -home franchise. Cable Tel said it wouldbe in a position to bring cable tv and telephonyservices to all of the homes in the area by 2003.Northern Ireland was one of the first hatch ofbroadband franchises to be issued in the UK in1983, but was never built.

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COMMENT 0 MUNICH

How much public broadcasting does acountry like Germany need? If any-thing, you would think, less than a

decade ago, when private broadcasterswere almost unknown and the publicbroadcasters had the field to themselves.Not surprisingly, public broadcasterstend to answer that simple question notso much from a commonsense point ofview but from that of their own commonwealth. If anything, they argue, the sky isthe limit to the public's need of publicbroadcasting.

In Germany, there are two nationalpublic tv channels, Das Erste (ARD) andDas Zweite (ZDF). In addition, there areeight channels, originally conceived asregional institutions, which have longsince aired throughout Europe on theAstra satellite to become, effectively,general entertainment channels.

The public service sector is completedby 51 radio stations. More are beingplanned. All in all, the public sectoremploys 29,000 employees on an incomeof $6.5 billion a year.

The public service chiefs are now say-ing: all of this is not enough.

Specifically, ARD says it needs anadditional $6.5 billion for the periodfrom 1997 through 2000 for it alone; ZDFneeds an additional $2.6 billion; publictv must expand into pay tv and othernew services, lest it fade into insignifi-cance in the digital age.

This posture is accompanied by a setof curious contradictions: Obviously, anorganization in need of so much moneymust be poor, to say the least. And that'sexactly what they have been claiming allthe time.

It is true that commercial competitionhas diminished the advertising income ofARD and ZDF, from 20% and 40% oftheir respective budgets to 3% and 18%.But this has not hindered either fromdramatically expanding their activities inboth television and radio.

Public broadcasting is legally obligedto serve the fee -paying public with whatis called Grundversorgung. This can betranslated as "basic service" but hasnever really been clearly defined. Theidea stems from the scarcity of transmis-sion frequencies in public monopolytimes. Now that there is satellite and

Asking Pubcasters

The $6bn Question

BY WILFRIED AHRENS

cable television and an overflow of digi-tal capacity to come, the heads of ARDand ZDF have happily translated theterm as meaning boundless expansion.

There is another element of contradic-tion in ARD and ZDF's arguments. Sincetheir cash-devoring bureaucracies havebeen under attack, both systems havevowed to save roughly $6 billionthrough the year 2000.

Curiously, nobody has asked theobvious question: Why do they need anadditional $9.1 billion when they appar-ently have enough reserves to save two-thirds of that amount in the first place?

The whole situation defies logic to theextent the problem is a factor of politics.It is a cherished fiction of a speciallyludicrous kind that public broadcasting isautonomous, free from political influ-ence, still modeled after the BBC ideal ofHugh Carleton Greene, the architect of

Public broadcasting in Germanyhas long been in the firm grip of

the political parties. The result isa mixture of hypocrisy and hype

post-war broadcasting in Germany 50years ago.

In reality, public broadcasting haslong been in the firm grip of the politicalparties. Management and journalistic staffhave been installed by and held respon-sible to either the conservative CDU/CSUor the socialist SPD. Since most of the 16states are governed by SPD-led adminis-trations and more than 90% of the jour-nalists are professedly left -leaning any-way, the SPD has supported the expan-sionist course of both ARD and ZDF.

On the other hand, the only two con-servative state prime ministers, EdmundStoiber (CSU) of Bavaria, and Kurt Ble-denkopf (CDU) of Saxony, have criti-cized SPD-supporting ARD stations likeWestdeutscher Rundfunk and asked forradical reforms, but have seen no reasonto scrutinize their ARD affiliates, Bay-erischer Rundfunk and MitteldeutscherRundfunk, where they play the dominantpolitical role.

The result is a mixture of hypocrisyand hype about public broadcasting safe-guarding culture against the commercialbarbarians.

The sheer enormity of their demandshas provoked public criticism even inthe ranks of the SPD. SPD media expertDr Peter Glotz, one of the few knowl-edgeable politicians in this field, said inan interview: "Public broadcasting willhave no future, unless those responsibledrop their arrogance, economize theirbureaucracies and switch to lean man-agement."

How much public broadcasting doesthe country need? Nobody has thoughtof asking the general public that ques-tion, although it's these very people whohave to pay for it.

There is one poll that is carried outon a daily basis which supplies at leastpart of the answer: the measurement oftv viewing.

Since 1984, the combined marketshares of ARD and ZDF have shrunkfrom 100% to 30%. DEB

Television Busines, International June 1995

16

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MARKETS

Warm-up man: Execs about to start throwing money at pitcher Hart Pomerantz last year

Each year producers get to pitch real projects to delegatesat the Banff film and television festival. Half of those pro-jects make it onto the screen. Now Banff's market simula-tion, devised by tv producer Pat Ferns, has spread to othermarkets. Karen Murray looks at its brief but busy history

Take a bunch of international tv exec-utives, producers, distributors, gov-ernment agency reps and industry

neophytes and transplant them to thepicturesque rocky mountains. Then pic-ture a laid-back environment wheredeals are more likely to happen on thegolf course or nature trail than a board-room, and you'll have a fairly accuratedescription of the Banff Television Festi-val.

The event has evolved as a favouriteon the global tv fest circuit because ofthe intimacy that stems from the isolationof the small community. And the annual

market simulation - a public forum formaking deals on potential projects - hasbecome the fest's signature event thatother international festivals, have sincebeen eager to replicate.

Toronto -based producer Pat Ferns hasbeen spearheading the event since heconceived it 11 festivals ago after readingabout a similar seminar that looked athow production deals were put together,but did not use actual projects. "I had anaïve thought: 'why not try it with realpeople and real projects?" he recalled.

The first year the market simulationwas titled "Wendy Wacko Goes To Mar-

ket: Can She Make It Internationally?"Wacko (an Alberta producer) decided topitch a different project to the one thathad originally been selected, whichmeant that Ferns had to make things upas he went along. "I had to throw myplans out the window and begin impro-vising, and I've been improvising eversince."

Wacko was trying to get a series offthe ground based on her feature film,Striker's Mountain. Ferns said that whilethe series never made it to the produc-tion stage, Wacko's exposure at the mar-ket seminar led to the production ofanother project.

Ferns estimated that almost half of theprojects that are pitched go on tobecome actual productions. That encom-passes projects that came together atBanff, ones that got funding as a resultof the exposure during the pitching ses-sion or led to development of other pro-ductions.

Television Business International lune 1995

18

PATRICIA WETTIG

KEN OLIN

TIA CA RE

ksucer

STERY MOVIE

1 .1_1 11 1 .1.1.-7

MARKETS

He cited last year's pitch by HartPomerantz as an example of the expo-sure leading to other projects. Ferns saidhe was able to coax Pomerantz - whosecareer credits include writing on tv seriesLaugh In and a partnership with Satur-day Night Live creator Lorne Michaels -out of retrirement.

Pomerantz pitched Standup Lawyer, aseries abouit a comic who goes to lawschool and is able to sue many of thesame techniques in the courtroom thathe used onstage as a comedian. The pre-sentation became a stand-up routine,and a number of the audience partici-pants wanted to "throw money at it."That project hasn't got off the ground,but the pitch led to Pomerantz beingenlisted to do Hartline, a talk show pilotfor the CBC.

"It's been quite heartening the num-bers (of pitches) that do find a key pieceof development money at Banff. If I'dbeen able to run my own companieswith that kind of ratio, I'd have earned afortune."

For the last few years, the market sim-ulation has been attracting about 800delegates, compared to about 100 whoturned up for the first session in 1985.Ferns now enlists about 100 informalparticipants to provide feedback thatranges from analyzing the reasons why aproject won't fly, to enthusiastically bid-ding to develop the project.

The combination of participants withtheir various competitive interests gener-ally leads to some amusing exchanges.Co -hosts Patrick Dromgoole and NormanHorowitz have regularly served as comicrelief during the market simulation. Fernssaid that the pair rarely agree on any-thing and likened them to Siskel andEbert.

But festival president Jerry Ezekielcredits Ferns with the success of the mar-ket seminar. "It's the animateur thatmakes it interesting, plus the carefulselection of projects to be pitched."

Ferns asks for projects from provincialagencies and federal funder TelefilmCanada. Four are selected from a total ofabout 100 submissions. He said he triesto put together a good cross-section ofproductions from various regions.

But the format for the deal -makingsession has remained relatively consis-tent since its inception. Each person whomakes a pitch either gives a presenta-tion, shows a clip or is interviewed byFerns about their project.

He then asks for reaction from hisaudience participants. The project isevaluated for its co -production potential- a discussion that often reveals much

about the difficulties inherent in co -pro-duction. Broadcasters discuss actual dol-lar figures for license fees. Everythingthat takes place during the forum isdeclared to be "without prejudice."

One of the most notable pitches wasa documentary project by Toronto pro-ducers Peter Williamson and Ira Levy,The Riot at Christie Pitts, which sparked arash of on -the -spot bids when it was pre-sented during the 1992 fest. The docu-mentary examined anti-semitic violencethat unfurled in Toronto in 1933, result-ing in Canada's largest ever race -riot.

Following the brief presentation of ashort video, Michael Spivak - then headof programming at CanWest Global Tele-vision - grabbed the mike from Fernsand offered to produce and broadcastthe program.

Spivak then settled in onstage, whileother broadcasters made bids for theproject. The pitching session soonresembled an auction house where a"hot" item draws interest from severalpotential buyers. Ferns and panelistPatrick Dromgoole both lobbied for theexecutive producer role, while NormanHorowitz tried to negotiate a distributiondeal for the producers.

That spur-of-the-moment proposalfrom Spivak proved to be the launching -pad for the two-hour feature docu. It iscurrently being shot in Toronto and slat-ed for broadcast on Global during the1995/96 television season.

The most memorable pitch for Ezekielwas a project by Montreal producerFrancois Floquet. Les explorateurs de lamort/Return From Death was a docu-mentary that looked at near -death expe-riences.

Ezekiel said he was very skepticalabout the concept, even after Floquetmade a convincing pitch. Dromgoolethan leapt up and started bidding forEuropean rights, Global wanted English -Canada rights and so it went. The projecthas since been produced and has airedin several markets, including France 2and Quebec's Quatre Saisons. It alsoreturned to Banff in competition for thefest's Rockie Awards.

The market simulation serves as aneducational event. "The audience getsinvolved, and you find yourself eitherfilled with optimism or else learning awhole lot about why a project is notgoing forward, " Ezekiel said.

Development is not an exact science.Ferns said he's often surprised that thehottest pitches aren't always the onesthat fuel excitement among audienceparticipants.

Ferns was asked to duplicate theevent at Natpe in 1993, at Mip TV in1994 and MipCom in 1995, as well as atScotland's co -production conference,Sharing Stories. In addition, Ferns will becenter stage as the market simulator atthe EuroAim Co -production Rendezvousin Berlin this Fall. "The disease is spread-ing," he quipped.

But he has discovered that it's difficultto try and duplicate the Banff atmo-sphere at some of the larger markets."Part of the magic of Banff as a festival isthe sort of intimacy of the event, and thisformat works best when you can movearound with the audience," said Ferns.

The downside? "Each year it gets big-ger and the pressure is on me to make itbetter, so we have to find different waysto pull the rabbit out of the hat." El

Ferns (left) selects four projects from a total of around 100 for each year's simulation

Television Business International lune 1995

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274,i

SPECIAL REPORT: INTERACTIVE TV

The Goal Show: callers shoot at a real target in this Turkish hit

Interactive tv gameshows are already a thing of the present, based on nothing moreadvanced than a telephone line. Marie Beardmore examines some of the hottest interactiveshows on the international market

Despite the increasing sophistication of computer software,most interactive games currently on air around the worldessentially rely on tried -and -tested - as well as cheap and

widely -available - technology. The development of interactiveservices, with viewers able to send instant signals back to thestudio via handset and set -top box, promises to take the newformat into a new dimension.

As well as computer games companies like Sega, tv produc-ers are already preparing the way for full-scale interactive gamenetworks. Infogrames Entertainment is part way there with asystem called ATVS (Automated TV Station).

Hugo

Interactive TelevisionEntertainmentCopenhagen, Denmark

A troll called Hugo was oneof the pioneers of interactivetv shows. Developed by acomputer hardware company,Interactive Television Enter-

tainment (ITE), Hugo firstlaunched on Danish commer-cial station TV2 five yearsago.

The interactive roll -out hasbrought Hugo to tv screens in16 countries from Turkey toTaiwan at the last count, withChilean National Televisionthe latest to sign up. It haspulled in audiences in what -

It can be programmed to play out any number of games,does away with the need for a presenter and, through anAudiotext voice service, even selects the players automatically.

That, and many other intriguing but untried technologies, isall in the future, however. In the here -and -now, broadcastersare already scheduling shows which are billed as "interactive."Some, like Hugo, are based on computer animation, some arelive action, some a mixture of both. And many of the showscome from markets like Turkey, Israel and Denmark; marketsnot normally in the fore when it comes to developing interna-tional hits.

ever timeslot it is aired in:some countries pitch Hugo ata children's audience, othersat families. "Hugo is a niceway of getting interactivitystarted for a tv station. Theyhave the first couple of blocksof their interactive system,"said ITE's international salesmanager Henrik Bang.

To generate the arcade -

style game, which is playedby up to two viewers at homevia their telephone keypad,ITE installs a complete broad-cast computer system whichis simple to operate and canbe up and running in oneweek, according to Bang. Aswell as the cost of the system,ITE gets a license fee for eachshow made.

Television Business International lune 1995

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SPECIAL REPORT: INTERACTIVE TV

Hugo: An animated pioneer, featured here on Kabel show

The choice of presentationas well as timeslot is down tothe station. "It has to have thethumbprint of each country'screative producers instead ofbeing dictated by us, whichgives it a much betterimpact," said Bang.

Stations have adopted dif-ferent approaches. On U.S.Hispanic network Telemundo,Hugo (renamed Tino) has adaily six -minute show, whileGermany's Kabel 1 is plan-ning to extend its Hugo showto an hour. Many stationsadopt the approach of theITV network, which airedHugo as part of the children'sblock What's Up Doc. In Fin-land, Hugo has two shows, akid's version and an adultversion.

ITE has put a fresh face onHugo with their AnimationMask System (AMS). Using aprinciple similar to virtualactor technology but whichonly covers the head, not thebody, AMS allows an animat-ed commentator to mirror thefacial movements and lipsynch of a real person. View-ers and contestants can even

hold conversations with theon -screen character.

ITE's latest offering, a two -player game called Crazy Car-toon Soccer, debuted on TV2earlier this year.

The game is likely to scorebetter with adults than Hugoas the characters have a defi-nite grown-up appeal.

The main drawback ofboth games is the limitednumber of players. It musthold the interest of the pas-sive audience of viewers whoare not playing. And if thegame is too easy, or too diffi-cult, viewers switch off.

Although Hugo, despite itsrelative age, is new technolo-gy, ITE's priority, until inter-active broadcasting and thecapacities of digital cable net-works have developed muchfurther, is selling tv shows tomass -market tv stations,stressed Bang.

"Our aim today is to let asmany people as possible par-ticipate in an interactiveshow. Our major concern isto make good television. Play-ing a game will always bebetter on a PC at home."

The Goal ShowSPI InicniationalNew York, U.S.

Not all interactive showsinvolve computer -generatedimaging. The Goal Show, firstdeveloped on Turkish com-mercial station Kanal 6 anddistributed internationally bySPI, marries the excitement ofa game of soccer with interac-tive technology.

The studio set, a mini -sta-dium equipped with a full-size goal and an audience fullof cheering fans all give an airof reality and the glamorouscheerleaders are pure show-biz. Contestants use their tele-phone key pad to move theGoal Machine, a remote -con-trolled cannon, to shoot at thegoal keeper, often a wellknown celebrity player.

The show, which appealsto all ages, has reached cultstatus in Turkey since itlaunched in late 1993."Wehave a success on our hands,not because it is interactive;not because it is football, butbecause it embodies a dream.

"Anyone can score thatwinning goal in the bigmatch, and this is what hascaptured the imagination,"said Jeff Levine, SPI's vicepresident of sales.

The format is also relative-ly easy to pitch internationallybecause broadcasters can usea goalkeeper well-known intheir own country.

Keen to push on with arm-chair sports, SPI is currentlytesting the possibilities ofinteractive games each basedon one sport, such as icehockey, baseball, Americanfootball, golf and tennis, or asingle game featuring severalsports.

Interactive for SPI does notend with sports. Three otherprojects are currently indevelopment. One would bea murder/mystery showwhere callers from homedirect studio contestantsaround a stage set, the objectbeing to find clues. PhotoSight would be a visual quizshow in which viewers call in

to guess the titles of pictures,and the provisionally -titledOff and Running is a raceusing colored balls instead ofhorses.

Planet GalixiaLunhereParis, France

For reasons of simplicity andcontent, most interactivegames involve a limited num-ber of players - one or twobeing the norm.

Increasingly though manu-facturers are using collectiveaction as a way of turningviewers from passive toactive.

Lumiere's Planet Galixia,which debuted on France 2last September, can be playedby some 256 players, splitinto four teams of 64, in itsfirst round. Set in the year2500, the objective of thegame is to clean up the Plan-et Galixia, something of aplanetary dustbin, by zappingspace flotsam from a space-ship.

The ship is piloted collec-tively, meaning that its move-ments are the mathematicalresult of the instructions givenby the members of the teamcontrolling it. When thespaceship's sight is alignedwith a target it sends a burstof automatic gunfire, so build-ing up the team's score.

Martine Desroches,Lumiere's head of animationsales, said that the game hasbeen very successful, attract-ing some 20,000 potentialcallers per month.

The French pubcaster isairing the game as a 10 -minute show in a prime kid'sslot at 8.45 am on Saturdaymornings.

Desroches already has ahandful of deals tied up inthe wake of this year's Mip."In the U.S. we have sold theshow to U.S. distributorPorchlight Entertainment andare negotiating with the BBCin the UK as well as broad-casters in Australia, NewZealand, South Africa, Italyand Germany," she said.

Television Business International lune 1995

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SPECIAL REPORT: INTERACTIVE TV

Chaos ControlInfogrames EntertainmentParis, France

Another animation game,Chaos Control, is even moreambitious. Originally manu-factured by French outfit Info-grames Entertainment for aCD-i platform, it can involveup to a staggering 10,000people.

The objective of this gameis to wipe out an extra -terres-trial armada and save thethreatened solar system, butthis time the collective actionbrings up various obstacleson the screen. The moreviewers that call in, the moresevere the obstacles that haveto be negotiated by the twoteams playing in the studio.

Jean Pierre Douzan, man-aging director of the Info-grames interactive division,said that there has been a lotof interest in the game but itsapplication is limited becauseof the high cost. "Chaos Con-trol uses real-time animationwith (the computer graphicssystem made by) SiliconGraphics, hence the price -tagof $30,000 for 26 minutes," hesaid. Infogrames sells it in apackage of a minimum 50transmissions.

For that reason, Douzan ispitching the show at big -name broadcasters, but eventhis is problematic as many

see the genre as an unknownquantity. "TF1 was very inter-ested in Chaos Control butdon't see where they canplace it, because it is new tothem," he said.

The MarsterFuture RealityLondon, UK

At Mip, London -based inde-pendent Future Realitylaunched The Marster, a halfhour game show which willdebut as a finished product atMipcom. Set on the planetMars, the game is sponsoredby the confectionery compa-ny of the same name. Its UKarm put up $64,000, to payfor half of the productioncosts, according to MartinCox, managing director,adding that the game's namewas not created with Mars inmind. "The details of the dealare currently being thrashedout between ourselves, MarsUK, and an ITV company,"said Cox, although it is mostlikely to involve a combina-tion of sponsor's credits andpossibly barter.

Mars were attracted to theproduct by the quality of thegraphics package combinedwith the content of the game.The Marster uses a sophisti-cated Silicon Graphics pack-age which generates high -end3D images and enables the

Marster character to morph(change shape) in order toovercome set obstacles.

Cox said that Future Reali-ty was following up a numb-ver of leads generated at Mipand that the show had attract-ed interest from Europe, theMiddle East and Asia.

YoYoRigel IndependentDistribution & EntertainmentSanta Monica, CA

YoYo is the creation of Israeliindependent producersDream Entertainment. Thegameshow is being distribut-ed by Rigel.

A mix of live action andcomputer generated imagery,YoYo is played by viewers athome, but the obstacles theyhave to overcome are partlygenerated as computer graph-ics in the studio. In one phaseof the game, a member of thestudiopolystyrene rocks on to a set,which in turn are transmittedon to the computer screen.

YoYo has made its debut inIsrael, on the 200,000 -homeTevel cable system. Sweden'sTrash TV, which specialises inreal-time animation, hasbought the rights in Scandi-navia and plans a show inOctober.

The game, which is sold asa half-hour format, costs the

The Marster: Action confection

broadcaster $72,000 for thecomputer equipment, full stu-dio set up and maintenance,and then is sold per episodeat $1,384 if 52 episodes areordered, or $553 if 130episodes are ordered.

"We think about the show;we are not a technology com-pany, what we do is aboutcontent," said Ehud Bleiberg,chairman and CEO of DreamEntertainment Inc. Fill

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