Film back in Argentine zone

Cablevision reinstates after contract agreement

By CHARLES NEWBERY

BUENOS AIRES -- The Film Zone returned to Argentina's Cablevision and Multicanal at midnight on May 8, more than five weeks after the cablers yanked the film channel in a dispute over the carriage contract and fee.

Cablevision, owned by Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst and Liberty Media, and Multicanal, a subsidiary of local media conglom Grupo Clarin, reinstated the Film Zone after its distributor, Atlanta-based LAPTV, agreed to change its contract to pesos from U.S. dollars.

The currency has lost two-thirds of its value against the dollar since the Argentine government devalued it in January, shriveling the cablers' revenues.

LAPTV, whose backers include MGM, Paramount, Universal and 20th Century Fox, also distributes Cinecanal, Cinecanal 2 and Movie City in Latin America.