August 10
Vidikron of America, Inc. has now announced that it has obtained a credit line to replace its obligation to PNC Bank. As previously announced, Vidikron reported that PNC Bank had exercised its right of setoff against the funds in accounts maintained at the Bank. Vidikron says that with its new funding in place, the Company is now in a position to satisfy its obligations and continue its operations.

A "land rush" of "big-ticket deals" is about to sweep through the TV broadcasting industry in the wake of a Federal Communications Commission decision on August 5 to lift the limit on station ownership by any one broadcaster. Commissioners voted 4-1 for the change. Feeling the heat from satellite services and cable systems, broadcasters have been applying heavy pressure on the FCC to change the rules, established in the 1930s, that limit station ownership to one per company in any single geographic area. The rules were originally intended to ensure diversity of programming and editorial content.

Early last week, Valley Media's Schwann Publications announced that they are introducing a new publication, Schwann DVD Advance. The company says the first issue of the bimonthly publication, dated September/October 1999, will list more than 3500 DVDs, sport an initial circulation of 10,000, and be available in retail stories and by subscription.

Five hundred channels of television will soon be available to EchoStar's DISH Network subscribers. On July 19, EchoStar chairman Charlie Ergen demonstrated DISH 500, a pizza-sized dish antenna capable of receiving signals from satellites in two locations. The demo took place at the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association's national exposition in Las Vegas.