Following the positive experience of Radio Italia with Video Italia, Italy’s most listened to radio station, Radio Deejay has announced plans to launch its own satellite TV channel. Deejay TV – which forms part of the Espresso media empire owned by Carlo De Benedetti’s CIR – is expected to launch by the end of the year. Ele TV, Espresso’s subsidiary for development of digital satellite TV channels (launched back in May), has chosen Deutsche Telekom’s DeTeSat as supplier of technology and satellite services.

The agreement provides for transmissions in clear MPEG-2 DVB on a Eutelsat’s Hot Bird transponder. The programming schedule of the music channel will be European orientated, with mainly Italian (at least 25 per cent of the total), British, German and French music.