Cox Communications announces Australian programming joint venture; venture includes Australian Broadcasting Corp., John Fairfax Holdings, Turner International, Viacom in development of all-news and entertainment channels

Business Wire, Feb 23, 1995

Bob Ross, president of Turner International, added: "We're proud to be associated with the ABC, one of the principal news organizations in the Asia Pacific region, in the production of The News Channel. We are confident that The News Channel, programming from an Australian perspective, will be complementary to CNN International, the global 24-hour news network. Together, these two networks will superbly meet the domestic and international news requirements of the Australian viewer."

The services will broadcast from a new studio complex under construction in Sydney. The complex will include news and current affairs studios and feature the most technologically advanced digital equipment for the production and transmission of broadcast services in Australia.

The services will be available on a wholesale basis to the major distribution platforms, providing access for government, commercial and private subscribers via the delivery systems of their choice -- cable, MDS or satellite. AIM channels also will be available to subscribers of other major providers, including Galaxy TV and the News Corporation/Telstra joint venture.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. is Australia's most extensive broadcasting organization with a television service covering every corner of Australia, five national radio networks and international broadcasting radio in eight different languages, and an international television service. The ABC also has 128 centers retailing related book, video, record and merchandising items, and six symphony orchestras.

John Fairfax Holdings is Australia's oldest media company and is well known to all Australians through its quality morning newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review, The Sun Herald, and The Sunday Age; magazines such as The Business Review Weekly, and regional newspapers The Newcastle Morning Herald and Illawarra Mercury.

Turner International is part of Turner Broadcasting System Inc., which operates six cable networks in North America, including CNN and Headline News, which have pioneered subscription news broadcasting. The company is also active in movie production and distribution (Castle Rock and New Line) and in U.S. sports.

Internationally, the group is best known for its service CNN International, which has become synonymous with immediate coverage of breaking world events. CNN has a significant worldwide network of correspondents and a unique integrated resource at its headquarters in Atlanta.

Nickelodeon is one of the largest producers of children's television programming in the world and one of the highest rated basic cable networks in the United States, reaching over 60 million homes. Nickelodeon's programming has earned numerous awards and honors, including Emmys, Peabodys, Cable Ace and Parent's Choice awards.

Nickelodeon is a full-service, worldwide entertainment company for kids with business in programming, productions, feature films marketing, consumer products and publishing. Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Fla., is the world's largest facility devoted exclusively to producing children's programming.