Japan Sky Broadcasting, PerfecTV Plan Link

Japan Sky Broadcasting Co., Rupert Murdoch’s fledgling Japanese satellite venture, is set to join forces with rival PerfecTV in the battle to hook up Japan’s 50 million households to multichannel broadcasts. The tie-up between JSkyB and PerfecTV will boost their position against third multichannel competitor DirecTV Japan Inc., said a top JSkyB executive who did not wish to be named. He said, however, that a merger has been ruled out at this stage. The pact will mean viewers can use a single receiver, antenna and integrated circuit card--a card containing subscribers’ contract information--to receive a total of 250 channels from both broadcasters. “By using the same platform, we can save on infrastructure costs, put more money into the content of our service, and lower fees to viewers,” said the JSkyB executive. He did not say when the agreement was reached. JskyB, scheduled to begin a 150-channel service next April, will be the last of the three to start broadcasting in Japan. The venture is owned by four main partners--Murdoch’s News Corp., Sony Corp., Fuji Television Network Inc. and Softbank Corp., a publishing and software producer. A spokesman for Fuji TV, who asked not to be identified, also confirmed the tie-up. PerfecTV, which is backed by four of the biggest Japanese trading houses, was the first to enter the market, beaming 100 channels, late last year. DirecTV, a venture between General Motors Corp.’s Hughes Electronics and Japan’s Matsushita Electric group, plans to start its service by year’s end. Bloomberg L.P., the parent company of Bloomberg News, provides programming to PerfecTV in Japan and DirecTV in the United States.