European Pact on Digital Satellite TV Formed:...

European Pact on Digital Satellite TV Formed: France’s Canal Plus and Havas said they are teaming up with Germany’s Bertelsmann and Britain’s BSkyB. The deal strengthens the hand of Bertelsmann and Canal Plus in their battle for the German TV market and removes the uncertainty of who will link with Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch’s News Corp. is a shareholder in BSkyB and his company backs the new as-yet-unnamed alliance, which will launch the Premiere pay-TV service in Germany this fall. Britain’s Pearson and France’s Chargeurs are BskyB’s other main shareholders.