New Nets Take Field During National Show
By Linda Moss & R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 6/9/2003 4:00:00 AM
As the cable industry convenes at the National Show in Chicago this week, there will be no shortage of new-network pitches.
Fledgling services aimed at Latino and German audiences, as well as channels targeting young women and boxing aficionados, will make the case for carriage by cable operators.
Young-women targeted iNetwork is planning to debut in the first quarter of 2004.
The independent, general-entertainment service is currently negotiating to acquire several off-network series for its lineup, according to president David Armstrong.
Essentially a female version of Spike TV, iNetwork's target audience is women 18-24, a demographic Armstrong claims is underserved by Lifetime Television, Oxygen and WE: Women's Entertainment, all of which attract older viewers.
Elsewhere, a former In Demand executive is planning to launch a 24-hour digital channel next spring dedicated exclusively to boxing (http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=story&doc_id=120485&display=breakingNews).
German TV, aimed at people of that heritage domestically, has hired JTI Inc. -- a Virginia-based business-development firm representing U.S. firms in Germany -- to handle stateside cable clearances (http://www.multichannel.com/index.asp?layout=story&doc_id=120461&display=breakingNews).
Looking to reach the burgeoning U.S. Latino population, Satelites Mexicanos S.A. de C.V., a leading direct-broadcast satellite owner for Latin American programmers, is offering a nine-channel collection under the Satmex Maximo banner. Six of the nine Maximo channels originate from Mexico.
Meanwhile, LA TV, which currently reaches 4 million Los Angeles-area households, wants to extend its reach nationwide.
According to president David Crowe, the initial goal for the bilingual service -- which airs music videos, celebrity interviews and entertainment news -- is to gain digital-cable carriage in the top 10 markets by positioning itself as an alternative to other music-video or pop-culture networks. Its target: the 18-to-34 set.
Simon Applebaum contributed to this story.
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