CETV: five Chinese partners.

A majority share of Hong Kong based China Entertainment Television was acquired late last year by a consortium of five China-based companies.

The companies, Beijing Mega Fortune Investment, the China-Asia TV Arts Center, The Chinese TV Artists Association, Chinacomm International and Asia Pacific Xinhua Investment Co., joined together to purchase 80 percent of CETV's shares, and they intend to expand the distribution of CETV across mainland China and throughout Southeast Asia. Other goals include underwriting a range of original productions, program acquisitions and co-productions.

Sun Ji Hui, general manager of Beijing Mega Fortune Investment, has been appointed chairman of the new CETV. CETV founder Robert Chua will remain on board as vice chairman of the rearranged company,

Of Video And DVD 

The home entertainment front is one of the most closely watched areas of the entertainment industry. Following are some results and predictions.

The 1997 Consumer Home Entertainment Study conducted by Video Store Magazine reported that video rentals still dominate the home video market despite forecasts that sell-through spending would surpass rental spending in 1997. The results of the survey suggested an estimated $9 billion in video rentals and $8 billion in video sales for 1997. Sellthrough continues to grow, driven primarily by children's titles: 56 percent of households reported buying a children's video in the last 12 months, while 41 percent reported buying an adult title. However, the prediction was that the gap between rentals and sellthrough will close further as more adult product goes straight to video.

Thirty-five percent of the respondents were aware of DVD technology; 10 percent said they would consider buying a DVD player in the next year if it cost $499 or less, while 24 percent said they would buy one if it cost $299.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) reported that 200,000 DVD players were sold to U.S. dealers in DVD's first six months on the market and that consumers are taking to the new technology more rapidly than they adopted either VCRs or CD players. At the beginning of the holiday season, CEMA President Gary Shapiro estimated that as many as 400,000 DVD players would be sold by year's end and that one million players will be sold in 1998. CEMA figures indicate that VCRs, which were first introduced in 1975, did not reach the 200,000-unit sales mark until 1977 and didn't top the one million-unit mark until 1981. CD players debuted in 1983, and, according to CEMA, topped the 200,000-unit mark in their second year and the one million-unit mark in 1986.

Famous Quotes

"TV is like a muscle, if you don't use it you lose it."

an ABC Network poster

"They probably think that the Chicken is easy picking."

Ted Giannoulas, the man in the Famous San Diego Chicken costume, who assaults a Barney-like character during baseball and baseball games in San Diego, California. Lyons Partnership, which owns the Barney trademark, is issuing the Chicken in an attempt to stop the parody.