Japan Broadcaster Plans Worldwide News Venture

The chairman of Japan’s state-run broadcasting company said Tuesday that his proposed round-the-clock international news service would require $1 billion in investment from partners in Japan, the United States and Europe, and that he expects the service to be on the air by year-end.

Speaking at the National Assn. of Broadcasters convention here, NHK Chairman Keiji Shima declined to identify prospective partners but said that negotiations were continuing with major American and European broadcasters and that contracts would be finalized by summer.

The new service, dubbed Global News Network, would provide a worldwide news service similar to Cable News Network’s international program but would strive for a less U.S.-centered view of world events, Shima said.

While the network would have a central news desk, probably in New York, some portions of the broadcasts would be reserved for regional news produced separately by each of the partners, Shima said. CNN, by contrast, broadcasts a single program from its Atlanta operations center.

Shima, speaking through an interpreter, said Global News Network would be set up as a joint-venture company with partners in Japan, the United States and Europe holding equal shares.

In addition to broadcasters, which would support the service in part with existing news-gathering resources, Shima said some non-television companies were interested in helping to finance the venture. He said that start-up costs would be about $1 billion and that employing the partners’ news resources would help make it a profitable venture in the long term.

NHK already has an agreement with ABC News to exchange programming, but Shima would not say if the network is a possible partner. He said he expected to speak with European TV executives, including officials from the French network TF-1, the German channel ZDF and Britain’s Independent Television Network, at a trade show in Cannes, France, next week.

While the news service would be delivered by direct broadcast satellite in Japan, Shima was vague about what medium might be used for U.S. distribution. The programming would be in English, but translation might be provided in some markets, he added.