BET founder may help attract Expos to Virginia, form cable TV network
Robert Johnson, the billionaire founder of Black Entertainment Television, told Norfolk, VA, mayor Payl Fraim in early April that he wishes to help the community attract a Major League Baseball team, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
Eutelsat's e-BIRD
While he hasn’t yet determined the extent of his involvement, Johnson said he might participate in team ownership and help establish a cable TV network for team coverage. Norfolk is attempting to attract the Montreal Expos to the area.
EBU signs deal with Eutelsat doubling capacity for Athens Olympic Games
The European Broadcasting Union has signed a contract with Eutelsat for four wideband transponders to be used for the EBU’s television coverage of the Summer Olympic Games in Athens.
Under the contract, Eutelsat will provide 306MHz of Ku-band capacity on three satellites: ATLANTIC BIRD 3, e-BIRD and W3A. The EBU will use the capacity to deliver 800 hours of live sports coverage to its 71 members and for private direct point-to-point circuits between Athens and the headquarters of the various TV channels that are sending crews to Athens.
For more information, please visit: www.eutelsat.com.
NBC inks deal with TV Guide Channel and TV Guide Interactive to provide on-air viewer's guide for 2004 Olympics
The TV Guide Television Group and NBC Olympics have signed an integrated programming and marketing agreement to support NBC's exclusive coverage of the Athens Olympic Games.
The alliance is intended to make it easier for viewers to find what’s on NBC's 24-hour Olympic programming from Athens Aug. 13-29. TV Guide will use several tools to keep viewers abreast of what Olympic programming is available on its various channels. Among them are: TV Guide Channel Specials, TV Guide Channel's What's On... The Olympics; TV Guide Channel's Olympic Games Program Listings; and a TV Guide Interactive Olympics Icon.
For more information, please visit: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20040401005483&newsLang=en.
CBS Sports turns to Telecast Fiber Systems for MCI Heritage coverage
CBS Sports is using several Telecast Fiber System's fiber optic systems to support its extensive coverage of PGA Tour golf events, which began this week with the MCI Heritage from Hilton Head Island, SC.
CBS Sports' coverage of the events will include Telecast's Adder, Cobra, DiamondBack, SHED, and Viper fiber optic transceivers to support 41 HD and 10 SD cameras positioned throughout the course. CBS staff will link into an existing single-mode fiber infrastructure to transmit video and audio signals from the cameras to a central hub and then via its own fiber to teleproduction vehicles broadcasting to CBS' downlink sites.
More information can be found at www.telecast-fiber.com.
FOX Sports names Macheska lead producer of MLB coverage
Veteran FOX Sports producer Pete Macheska has been named lead producer of MLB on FOX by Ed Goren, president and executive producer of the company.
Macheska, who 20 years ago began his career as a production assistant for Monday Night Baseball, also will produce the network’s coverage of the 2004 MLB All-Star Game in Houston, and FOX’s MLB post season that culminates with the 2004 World Series.
