Ulster TV Cable Plans/Results

Ulster Television is expected to apply for a licence to cable Belfast and its surrounding areas. The Belfast licence is expected to be advertised by the ITC later this year.

Desmond Smyth, chief executive, said that he believed the time was right for cable and that the company was in preliminary talks with Mercury Communications. Mr Smyth said he was convinced that investing in a cable and telephony consortium was a far better investment than taking over another small ITV company.

Smyth was speaking at the announcement of the company’s results. Pre-tax profits were £5.07m for 1993, its first year of the new ITV licences. Last year’s figure was £4.18m but comparisons are difficult because of the changes, including the cash bid for £1.03m per year for the licence and a new basis payment for network programmes. In the first quarter of this year the share of ITV advertising has continued to rise, although it it was too early to say whether this could be sustained throughout the year.

ITV AND BT TO GO DIGITAL

ITV has contracted BT to provide its network circuit arrangements for the next 10 years from April. Previously the networks were provided by NTL using circuits rented from BT.

The new arrangements will allow a gradual ‘migration’ from an analogue to a digital system by 1997. Nigel Walmsley, Chairman of ITV’s Engineering Policy Group said “In the short term the current network operations will be virtually unchanged. Thereafter ITV and BT will jointly plan a phased migration towards a digital system.”

David Pincott BT Visual & Broadcast Services 071 728 3409

CABLE COMPANIES AND BT SCRUTINISED

Don Cruickshank, head of the telecommunications regulatory office Oftel, has announced plans to introduce fresh measures. This is a bid to become more accomodating to companies planning new services, and to take a more active stance in poilicing existing operators. This means that as well as encouraging competition for BT, cable companies will also be scrutinised.