Video Age International articles from October 1999

Video Age International archives from October 1999

Living Legends, Veterans and Icons.
October 1, 1999... Reviewing the active life of pioneers in our biz Celebrating the lives of veteran executives who are active in our part of the television business was an idea that came from Anita Gershman. (Among the many executives she suggested, she did...

A Commentary on Television Markets.(Brief Article)(Column)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... The trade publications love markets. If there were no markets, would there be all the ads from all the production and distribution companies supporting their products at the time of these markets? Certainly not. Many years ago I asked Sol...

My Two Cents.(digital television and Internet television)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Make note: ATSC and DVB standards were born obsolete! Television via Internet is now the key to the future. In 1993, in the midst of the battle to standardize digital HDTV former FCC chairman Richard E. Wiley (then chairman of the Advisory...

Bertelsmann Enters the Internet Arena.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... German giant Bertelsmann entered the Internet market through several international acquisitions and overseas ventures with companies already established on the Web universe. Bertelsmann is already operating online through barnesandnoble.com,...

Internet via Cable Hits Brazil.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... TVA, the pay television arm of Grupo Abril, launched the first commercial Internet cable access provider in July. With @jato, Brazilian Net surfers can now receive data 100 times faster than transmissions via conventional telephone lines. ...

EM.TV's Haifa Gets Cover Story.(Thomas Haifa)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... "Look out Disney -- Germany's Thomas Haifa wants to be big in kids' television. "Really big" is how Business-Week summarized its cover story on EM.TV's boss. According to the European edition of the American business weekly, "Thanks to a...

With RAI News 24, Morrione Wins Again.(Robert Morrione)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Italy recently entered the round-the-clock satellite news service with RAI News 24. Headed by Roberto Morrione (pictured right), RAI News 24 is also simulcast over the Internet (www.rainews24.rai.it). The latest news service from Italy's public...

Austar: Strong Showing on Initial Offering.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Australia's largest regional pay-TV provider, Austar United Communications, made a strong debut on the Australian Stock Exchange this summer. The stock closed at AU$5.57 (US$3.45) up from Austar's initial offering of AU$4.70 (US$2.91). ...

Rogers, Microsoft Team Up for Interactive TV.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Rogers Communications announced plans to launch an interactive television service next year with the aid of Microsoft. Rogers will receive $600 million Canadian (US$420 million) from Microsoft in a stock purchase. The deal will give Microsoft a...

India Chooses DVB-T.(for digital terrestrial broadcasting)(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... The government of India decided to adopt the European DVB-T for the country's digital terrestrial broadcasting standard. The recommendation came from a committee formed in November of 1998 and was based on India's priorities: signal coverage...

Digital Movies Slash Costs.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Digital technology made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival. The technology is expected to replace film reels with satellites that would directly beam films into theaters, making it possible for one film to be simultaneously transmitted to...

BSkyB Digs Into Own Pockets to Push Digital.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... To the chagrin of pre-existing customers, BSkyB plans to give away the set boxes necessary for access to the 140 digital channels they launched last year. Previously, customers paid the equivalent of $330 to unscramble its digital signals. ...

Mexico Zeroes in on Video Pirates.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... As prescribed by the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexican law enforcement has stepped up attempts to curb video piracy. Police have been conducting nighttime raids of suspected video production laboratories, with the cooperation of the...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
October 1, 1999... Contrary to what is stipulated in the article "French TV Expanding Into New Markets," (June) MariePierre Moulinjeune has not worked for TELE IMAGES in a year. Monica Galer, vp International of TELE IMAGES Group, has taken her place. ...

All the World's a Stage.
October 1, 1999... Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? The question, according to Neal Gabler in his book Life, the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality (Starring Everyone) (Alfred A. Knopf, 303 pp.), is moot, because art has become life, and...

Four Markets in Two Weeks (Plus ATVC).(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... Industry executives are busy criss-crossing the globe June was a busy month for television industry execs. Between the 8th and the 29th, there were four international TV markets: PROMAX in San Francisco (8-12); NCTA's Cable '99 in Chicago...

Argentina TV Offers Opportunities Rich With Challenges.
October 1, 1999... The reason Buenos Aires lacks any street signs, at least in the opinion of one local taxi driver, can be attributed to the fact that most Argentineans are of Italian origin: "If the signs were in place, no one would respect them anyway," the...

Addressing Issues in Argentina Is TAP's Business.
October 1, 1999... Latin America's position as a rapidly growing multichannel television market has placed the territory on the fast-track in the global television business. Argentina, along with Brazil and Mexico, represents the leading market in this booming...

The Southern Cone Viewed From the U.S.
October 1, 1999... "The Argentinean market is in continual evolution," said Enrique Martinez, senior vp of Discovery Latin America. He also commented that there has been a lot of ownership changes from the cable and distribution standpoint over the past couple...

A Report on Argentina's Cable-TV Industry.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... From July 26--29, the Argentine Association for Cable TV (ATVC) held-its 10th cable Jornadas (meetings). This year's event involved the participation of representatives from major equipment, programming and services companies. Once again, the...

Four Companies in South America.(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 1999... Azul TV was founded as Telearte June 9, 1960, and broadcast on Channel 9 to Buenos Aires. Alejandro Romay served as station director from 1961 until 1974, when the government assumed control of the station. During his tenure, Romay made Channel...

Second Generation's View of the Pioneers.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... I am honored Dom Serafini invited me to write the introduction for Video Age's special issue featuring pioneers in our business. Having attended my first market 17 years ago, I vividly recall many of the milestones being recognized in these...

Pioneers' Common Trait: Willingness to Help.(Brief Article)
October 1, 1999... I have worked with almost every one of the fine gentlemen being featured by Video Age and honored by NATPE. I might also add some others, such as Armando Nunez, Sr., Sammy Gang and William Saunders. As a youngster entering this business in...

WIN'S LARRY GERSHMAN: PIONEERING AD-HOC NETWORKS.(Interview)
October 1, 1999... Video Age: Did you start in the entertainment industry with Channel 13? Larry Gershman: I started my first job in the fall of '57 with National Television Associates. Channel 13 hadn't even been on the air. We went on the air with Channel...

GLEN KINGING'S LIFE: TO FLY SYDNEY-NEW YORK ROUND TRIP, ROUND THE CLOCK.(Interview)
October 1, 1999... Video Age: How did you start out in the entertainment industry? Glen Kinging: I had a love of movies as a child, and I guess that's what really started me off. I wanted to originally be a film projectionist at the local theater so I could...

LACKSCHEWITZ: BUILDING UP PUBLIC TV IN GERMANY.(Interview)
October 1, 1999... Video Age: How did you start in the business? Klaus Lackschewitz: I started with the public radio station ARD in Hamburg in 1963. In 1969 I was offered a job with the then-centralized film department for television in Frankfurt, a...

HERB LAZARUS: CHANGING THE FUTURE OF TV TRADE SHOWS.(Interview)
October 1, 1999... Video Age: What first got you into the television business? Herb Lazarus: An accident, like most things. I didn't go to school to become a television executive; I got into the business in 1954. I have a brother who is a nationally...

PEDRO LEDA: ADAPTING TO LATIN AMERICA'S FLUCTUATIONS.(Interview)
October 1, 1999... Video Age: When did you start in the entertainment business? Pedro Leda: In 1957, at the age of 19, I had two jobs. First I started with an advertising company, Lowe Argentina, as a copywriter. My immediate supervisor at Lowe was Carlos...

PAUL TALBOT: PIONEERING OLYMPICS ON TV, BARTER AND FORMATS.(Interview)
October 1, 1999... Video Age: What was your first position in the industry? Paul Talbot: I worked for CBS in 1939, in Grand Central Station in New York. Back then, the entire CBS organization consisted of 15 people. I worked on [radio dramas] and on the soap...

ALLAN WATERS: EXPANDING CANADA'S TV FRONTIER.(Interview)
October 1, 1999... Video Age: How did you get your start in the entertainment business? Allan Waters: I was in the patent medicine business (this was after the war) for a few years. Then, one of the gentlemen I was working for simply asked, "Would you like...