Japan duo set to sat jointly

NTV, Wowow to go up against powerful Sky PerfecTV

By JON HERSKOVITZ

TOKYO — After watching DirecTV’s well-funded Japan venture get crushed at the hands of Sky PerfecTV, Japanese web Nippon Television (NTV) and the operator of subscription channel Wowow will try their hand in the local satcaster market, a financial daily reported Friday.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, NTV and Wowow operator Japan Satellite Broadcasting have reached a basic agreement for a satcaster venture whose service will launch as early as spring 2001.

The satcasting company will try to take on Sky, which earlier this year secured a deal to take over the operations of DirecTV Japan.