NEWS BYTES...

Disney Channel UK has confirmed it will launch ‘Toon Disney’, already a popular channel in the United States, this autumn on SkyDigital and digital cable. It will form part of a suite of four Disney channels.

From May 15 some programmes and films on ONdigital versions of Sky Premier, Sky MovieMax, Sky One and Sky Sports channels will be audio described (a narrator explains the events on screen, simultaneous with the original soundtrack) or signed (part of the screen is occupied by a sign language interpreter), or both. This satisfies some of the ITC requirements for ONdigital programming.

Discovery Channel’s Eco-challenge to Morocco‚ series received an Emmy Award on April 27, in New York, in the Sports Emmys category. The show featured 55 teams of four from 27 countries is a human endurance race, undertaken in 1998, and was televised in 1999.

The Community Channel, promised for satellite and cable this May, has postponed its launch to September.

UK youth channel Rapture is rebranding itself as a “clubbing channel” effective May 1.

In an unexpected move, Pio Cabanillas, has resigned as general director of Spanish public broadcaster Radio Television Espanola (RTVE), was appointed spokesperson of the recently re-elected government of Spanish president Jose Maria Aznar.

Egyptian Radio & Television Union (ERTU) will launch a satellite health channel, ‘Nefertiti’ which will include family planning advice. Some commentators say the choice of name is bizarre, given that Nefertiti, one of Ancient Egypt’s most famous queens, is said to have had six or seven children, greatly exceeding the current recommendations of the Egyptian authorities.

Television software company OpenTV, says its Q1 revenues (to March 31) were $10.9 million, an 87 per cent increase from the $5.9 million reported for the first quarter of 1999, and a 30 per cent increase from the $8.4 million reported for the fourth quarter of 1999.

Central European Media Enterprises (CME) has won another stage in its attempt to regain control over its Prague-based Prima TV network. The International Court of Arbitration, which is dealing with a dispute between Nova Television Director Vladimir Zelezny and CME, has ordered Zelezny to end his activities in Prima. The court ordered Zelezny on April 17 to give up his share in Beseda company which houses Nova and Prima. Zelezny is locally quoted as saying that he would willingly comply with the decision. “I am not going to either acquire or keep ownership shares in Prima or Beseda,” he said.

PolSat has started encrypting transmissions to prevent reception by the Canal+Cyfrowy digital platform. Canal+Cyfrowy had reportedly continued relaying PolSat, despite a succession of resolutions by the Polish national broadcasting authority calling upon it to cease doing so. PolSat says it has not given consent to the relays. PolSat is providing decoders for Poland’s cable systems and for the Wizja TV digital platform.
Italian pay-TV operator Stream is set to launch a new interactive sports application on May 7, to be offered as a premium option to all existing subscribers. Sport ITV, which will be linked to the Sport Stream channel, is set to debut during the Roma-Milan league match, and will offer the same advanced sports services as those pioneered by Sky Digital in the UK. These will allow the viewer to access sporting and other events via the remote control unit.

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