Sony Corp’s US film subsidiary Sony Picture Entertainment Inc is to start ground-based and digital satellite television broadcasting in Japan, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Sony will take a stake in the SkyPerfecTV digital satellite broadcaster, which will be created through the merger between PerfecTV Corp and Japan Sky Broadcasting Co, scheduled for completion on May 1. The companies will then form a joint venture, of which Sony will own a third. The joint venture will be known as SPTVJ and is to be capitalized at around $3.7m and will market the rights to movies and television dramas to broadcasters. Sony has set itself the goal of becoming top provider of programming for the domestic television market in Japan and will also operate its own satellite channels.
