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Italian pay-TV platform Stream has fired director general Giovanni Minoli after only six months. Stream’s recently appointed CEO, Lucia Morselli, said three grave errors had contributed to Minoli’s downfall – a meeting with the president of rival Tele+, personnel changes at Stream as well as contacts with an advertising agency, all conducted without informing the top management. The Minoli has already announced that he plans to take court action against his former employer.

Spain’s Telefonica-led digital satellite platform, Via Digital, has acquired exclusive rights to the 2002 World Cup for Ptas25 billion (E150 million) and may also buy rights to the 2006 competition. The platform is now asking public channel TVE (current holder of rights to the Spanish football team) for Ptas500 million (E3 million) for the transmission.

NTL has confirmed it is providing the uplink for B4U Music – several weeks after the launch of the Asian music channel. B4U is the sister channel to the premium movie offering B4U (Bollywood For You). The new channel is aimed at South Asian viewers in the UK and is broadcast from one of NTL’s independent multiplexes on Astra 2A. In addition to transmission from NTL’s main teleport in Winchester, NTL is responsible for compression services and the insertion of EPG data.

Mariusz Walter, president of Polish commercial network TVN, says that $10 million is sufficient funding to start a news and information channel in the country. TVN has acknowledged that it is in negotiation with foreign partners while unofficial sources within the station claim it is in serious talks with CNN. TVN would then have the sole rights to broadcast CNN footage within Poland. The channel is expected to commence transmissions in October and will be distributed on the Wizja TV platform on Astra and on cable networks.

Wizja TV is to be expanded into Central Europe. From September 1 parent company UPC is to launch versions of the Astra-delivered digital package into the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Existing programmes will be translated into the respective languages and there will also be local got-outs on the sports channels.

Kingston TLI has appointed Nick Thompson as its new managing director. Thompson, who joins from Loral Cyberstar where he was European president, replaces David Stone who becomes non-executive chairman. In his new role, Thompson will develop both Kingston TLI’s international satellite and broadcast network capabilities and its corporate products and services portfolio.

Eurasiasat has announced the signing of a $166 million non-recourse project financing completing the financing of the satellite project. Eurasiasat is a joint venture between Turk Telecom (75 per cent) and Alcatel Space (25 per cent). Alcatel Space’s manufacturing subsidiary Alcatel Space Industries will be the prime contractor for the satellite’s construction, which the company claims will be the most powerful European satellite in orbit when it is launched this autumn.

London-based Inmarsat has changed its name from Inmarsat Holdings Ltd to Inmarsat Ventures Ltd. A company statement declares; “This name change whilst appearing to be minor, is significant in the fact that it reinforces the company’s strategy to pursue broader operations and technology developments in the fixed satellite service arena and through content and solution delivery, while continuing to build its established business of global mobile satellite communications.”

A new digital interactive TV channel consisting principally of infomercials for consumer durables is to launch this September. The creator of Bakuba is Italian politician Gianni Pilo, and is backed by Pino Venture Capital, owned by Elserino Piol and Oliver Novick. Bakuba will be transmitted via satellite to Europe, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent 24 hours a day and will also be available via the Internet. Besides ads for fashion, design and high-tech products, it will also air travel programmes, debates, talk shows and classic movies.

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