Breaking News:
Shalom Channel launches in Europe

Shalom Channel, la Télévision Juive Européenne -- Shalom Channel, the European Jewish television channel

HEADLINES / ENGLISH

1. Shalom Channel launches in Europe
2. Programme Schedule: July 1998
3. Internet Sites

SOMMAIRE / FRANCAIS

1. Lancement de Shalom Channel dans toute l'Europe
2. Grille des Programmes : juillet 1998
3. Les liens Internet

SHALOM CHANNEL LAUNCHES IN EUROPE

Paris (France), June 12th 1998 - Shalom Channel, the generalist & independent information, cultural and entertainment european Jewish television channel, officially launched on 25th May 1998 is now broadcasting a 90 minute programme from 10.30pm to 00.00am CET at 12.380GHz V on Hot Bird 3 (13° east) - clear MPEG-2, symbol rate 27.500 and FEC of ¾).

Programming consists of news, cultural and entertainment. After a few months, the channel will be scrambled and immediately available upon subscription by satellite on several digital packages and on main European cable networks. In France, Shalom Channel is broadcasting, in clear, on the French digital package T.P.S (canal 111) in more than 400.000 French homes. In the rest of Europe, Shalom Channel is broadcasting, in clear, on the digital packages : D+ / Telepiù (Italy) and Nethold (Greece). Shalom Channel will be available on the Sky Digital package from April 1999.

Started on May 25th 1998, Shalom Channel broadcast every night, from 10.30pm to Midnight CET, in digital and all across Europe at 12.380GHz V on the Eutelsat satellite Hot Bird 3 (13° east - clear MPEG-2, symbol rate 27.500 and FEC of ¾.), a special unscrambled news, cultural & entertainment programs (including "Shalom Channel News" - covering european jewish community & Israeli news -, "Hartzufim" - Israeli "Spitting Image" -, documentaries, magazines, talk-shows, short subjects, drama, music videos, concerts) all on jewish themes. Shalom Channel will also offer the most important events of Israeli television. Shalom Channel's daily lineup features programming for the entire family.

Simultaneously broadcasted in digital from Paris to Moscow and from London to Tel Aviv, Its programs of French, European and Israeli origins, are broadcasted in several languages: French, English, German, Russian & Hebrew.

After few months, programs' duration will increase (i.e. ~ from 7.00pm to 01.00am CET), the channel will be scrambled and immediately available upon subscription by satellite on several digital packages and on the main European cable networks.

In France, Shalom Channel is broadcasting, in clear, on the digital package called T.P.S (canal 111) for more than 400.000 French homes and on ABSat (60.000 subscribers). The channel is in negotiations with main European digital packages and cable networks to commercialise its programs (T.P.S. - Television Par Satellite -, CanalSatellite and Lyonnaise Cable in Paris). In the rest of Europe, Shalom Channel is broadcasting, in clear, on the digital packages : D+ / Telepiù (in Italy), Nethold (in Greece). In UK, Shalom Channel will be available on BSkyB digital package in May 1999.

Encouraged by eminent figures of the intellectual, institutional, artistic and religious society, Shalom Channel will be the media serving Judaism and the Jewish communities, and also the largest audience possible.

Shalom Channel has a multitude of supports, especially from politicians, religious and european jewish communal representatives : Elie WIESEL (Nobel laureate), Shimon PERES (Nobel laureate), Benyamin NATANYAHOU (Prime Minister of Israel), Nathan SHARANSKY, Limor LIVNAT, Zevulun HAMMER, Bobby BROWN, David BAR ILAN, David LEVY, Ehoud BARAK, Yehuda LANCRY (ex Israeli Ambassador in France & member of Knesseth), Amnon RUBINSTEIN, Avi PAZNER (Israeli Ambassador in France), Yitzchak MAYER (Israeli Ambassador in Swiss), Jean KAHN (President of the Central Consistory - French Union of Jewish Communities), David SAADA (Directeur Général du Fonds Social Juif Unifié), Avraham BURG (Executive President of the Jewish Agency For Israel), Rolf BLOCH (President of the Holocaust Memorial Fund & President of the Swiss Federation of Jewish communities), Serge CWAJGENBAUM (Director of the European Jewish Congress), Julien RYBSKI (Board of Co-ordinating Committee for jewish Belgian organisations), Raphy MARCIANO (Director of the Communal Centre of Paris), Haïm MUSICANT (Director of C.R.I.F - Conseil Representative des Institutions Juives de France) Chief Rabbi Joseph SITRUK (Chief Rabbi of France), Pr. Rabbi Gilles BERNHEIM (Consistory of Paris), Pr. Rabbi R.-S. SIRAT, Dr Chief Rabbi Alexandre SAFRAN (Chief Rabbi of Geneva, ex Chief Rabbi of Rumania), Avraham LEVY (Grand Rabbinat, UK), NOA, Yoram GAON (Israeli singers), Elisabeth BADINTER, Paul-Loup SULITZER, Sarah FRIEDMAN, Shmul TRIGANO (French philosophers and writers), Ruth ELKRIEF, Paul AMAR, Paul NAHON, Bernard BENYAMIN, Yvan LEVAI, Guy JOB, Josy EISENBERG, Shlomo MALKA, Sam Z, Florence BELKACEM (French TV stars, producers and journalists), André KLOPMANN, Daniel DAGAN (European journalists), Alexandre ARCADY, Claude LELOUCH (French film producers and scenario writers) Jean-Luc MOREAU, Daniel MESGUICH (French film actors) Enrico MACIAS, Rika ZARAI, Gilbert MONTAGNE (Famous french singers), Raphaël MEZRAHI, POPECK (French humorists).

The key words of the editorial concept and the cultural policy of the channel will be transmitting a particular culture and memory, to inform on the life of European Jewish communities and Israeli society, opening to the universal, dialog with large philosophical and religious trends. Create connections and foster a better understanding between the Jews in the Diaspora and Jews in the State of Israel.

Shalom Channel is committed to maintaining no political, religious, ethnic or institutional bias.
Shalom Channel is a social and cultural communal link dedicated to the 350.000 households of the whole European Jewish communities (i.e. ~ 1.500.000 people : 600.000 in France, 300.000 in UK, 60.000 in Germany, 40.000 in Belgium, 35.000 in Italy, 30.000 in Netherlands, 18.000 in Sweden, 18.000 in Switzerland).

Shalom Channel is particularly focus on the French and English television viewers, but also on the 400.000 Israeli households (1.600.000 French and English speakers), native of Europe, living in the Mediterranean and in North America (Jewish population is 4.600.000 people in Israel).

Shalom Channel is planning to expand the service to Eastern Europe (150.000 people), in the Commonwealth of Independant States (800.000 people including 550.000 in Russia), to the Middle East and the United States in the future.
Population Source : Institute of the World Jewish Congress.

An information and expression tool, Shalom Channel will strengthen and support the presence of Jewish culture in all its forms, developing original programming, buying, distributing and exchanging its programs in Israel and all over the world. Shalom Channel's operating budget will be, per year: $ 8.400.000,00; FF 50.000.000,00; £ 5.130.000,00; Mark 14.910.000,00; BF 307.375.000,00; SF 12.400.000,00; EUROS 7.645.260,00; Shekel 30.670.000,00.

Its financial resources will be provided by the subscriptions (minimum target of 50.000 subscribers per cable and satellite late 1998), advertising, sponsoring and the selling of its programs.

Shalom Channel projects its monthly subscription fee will be between: $ 8,50 & $ 17,00 (US Dollars); FF 50;00 & FF 100,00 (French Franc); £ 10,00 & £ 5,00 (British Pound); Mark 15,00 & Mark 30,00 (German Mark); BF 310,00 & BF 615,00 (Belgian Franc); SF12,50 & SF 25,00 (Swiss Franc); EUROS 7,65 & EUROS 15,50; Shekel 30,00 & Shekel 60,00 (Israeli Shekel).

Shalom Channel is a privately financed company. Singer & Barnea International Marketing (S.B.I.M), ("Singer Barnea"), leading privately owned Israeli full service investment house supervise finance resources.

MR Albert MYARA (CEO), creator of important inter-community and socioculturals operations within European Judaism, head the management of Shalom Channel International in Paris.

Shalom Channel has three main offices, located in Paris, London, Jerusalem and journalists in each major European capital.
Israeli famous Producer MR Micha Limor is the Editor of Shalom Channel for the Jerusalem Bureau. Israeli news team includes French journalists. The Israeli newsroom is located in JCS (Jerusalem Capital Studios) in Jerusalem.

Shalom Channel is presently organizing a commercial structure adapted to the reality and the specificity of its market, making close connections with its distribution networks and maintaining a favourable and constant partnership with most of the Jewish community structures.

Communication & PR Manager : Arnaud KLEIN - Tel. +33/1/47.20.31.41 - E-mail : kleintv@club-internet.fr
Web Site (logo available): http://perso.club-internet.fr/shalomtv
Head of Jewish Institutional relationships : Simon MIDAL - E-mail : smidal@club-internet.fr