ITI Holdings latest venture sees the launch today of 24-hour news channel

A new 24-hour news and information channel, TVN 24, serving Poland and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe, will be launched today. Initially TVN 24 will be available only to users of analog satellite receivers through the Eutelsat satellite. The station plans to broadcast mainly news bulletins, commentaries, documentaries, interviews, sports news and weather forecasts. By September, it is planned that TVN 24 will be available on cable television and digital platforms. TVN 24 is owned by ITI Holdings, whose other interests include TVN television, Onet.pl, which is Poland's most popular Internet portal, and the Multikino network of cinema multiplexes. Initially, 80% of the news broadcast on the channel will be domestic. The station also plans to open international bureaus. "We will be trying to expand our office in Moscow and to open a new one in Washington. However, for the present we are co-operating with existing stations," said Maciej Sojka, general manager of the station. A team of 250 people will work for TVN 24. The management did not disclose how much it will cost to operate the new station, nor how much would be spent on promoting it. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 14) P.W.