World Briefs
ITALY
Local industryites were looking to "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" to pull the Italian box office out of its slump, but the Fox film's performance failed to approach that of "Titanic" as national totals for the year continue to trail 1998 figures.
Calculations by B.O. monitoring service Cinetel show the number of admissions at 43 million for the first nine months of this year, down 7.5 million, or 15%, from the same period last year. Receipts have dipped 13.1%, totaling $252.2 million compared with $290 million in 1998.
While a handful of powerhouse fall-through-Christmas releases could radically change the situation, 1999 likely will finish a considerable distance behind the previous year's total of 120 million admissions.
LATIN AMERICA
HBO Latin America has promoted Vince Caputo to senior VP of technology and operations for HBO Latam productions services, a new subsidiary.
Capulto will manage a satellite transmission center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that is still under construction at an initial cost of $25 million. Center is skedded to open by March and be fully operational by June.
More than 100 staff members will be located there, working on the operation, post-production and transmission of HBO Brasil, Sony's AXN channel and the Disney Channel.
JAPAN
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has said the number of households viewing digital satellite broadcasting should hit 10 million in 1,000 days, with the count beginning in January.
The target of 10 million viewers within three years will be achieved with joint public- and private-sector efforts to promote the benefits of digital satellite broadcasting to consumers, and by promoting such events as the Sydney Olympics and Okinawa Summit.
Pubcaster NHK's two analog sat channels have 10 million subs. Wowow, a commercial analog satcaster, boasts 2.5 million subs, while together, two fledgling digital satellite platforms have 1.8 million subscribers.
INDIA
India's national broadcaster, Doordarshan, plans to launch an education channel, to be run by the Indira Gandhi National Open U. (IGNOU).
The university is an important center for distance education and boasts a multimillion-dollar Electronic Media Production Center.
The channel, available on Doordarshan and on cable, will begin broadcasting by January.
