Sydney, July 10: The government-owned Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) announced on Thursday that it had sold its Asian satellite television channel, Australia Television, to budding television mogul Kerry Stokes and his Seven Network.

The English-language satellite service, which broadcasts over much of East Asia to a potential audience of 20 million, would continue to be based around the ABC's news and current affairs programmes, the ABC and Seven said.Stokes, Seven's controlling shareholder and chairman, said the acquisition of Australia Television would help Seven's expansion into Asia from its base in broadcast television in Australia.

"The acquisition of Australia Television will underpin Seven's plans for the development of a significant presence for the company in Asia - with plans for the introduction of additional satellite programming channels for the Asian market," Stokes said in a statement.

Seven could use digital technolgy to broadcast between six and eight channels through the satellite space owned by Australia Television has.Australia Television, formed by the ABC four years ago, currently broadcasts one channel through the Palapa C2 satellite over an area reaching from Beijing in the North to Western Samoa in the east and India in the west.It is distributed to about 500 hotels throughout Asia and to various private and government residences through cable, land-based broadcasters and through direct-to-home satellite reception.

It had a potential audience of about 20 million homes and an audience base of three million, 500,000 of whom were Australian ex-patriates. There is also had a substantial audience of english-speaking Asians and Asian-based western diplomats.

Set up under the former Labour government as a way to project Australia into the increasingly important Asian market, Australia Television has been a constant drain on the ABC's finances as it struggled to secure enough advertising.

ABC chairman Donald McDonald said the channel had been sold to Seven for less than A$10 million (US$7.4 million), but would not elaborate on an exact price.

The ABC would retain a preference shareholding in Australia Television and have two seats on its five seat board. Seven said it would add its own news, light entertainment, drama and sports programming to the channel, including Australian Rules Football. But it would at least initially continue to target ex-patriates.

"We see this one channel remaining as an expatriate English-speaking channel," Seven corporate development manager Graham McVean told Reuters.Seven, however, looked to expand into other niche markets and use the programming it has recently acquired recently, include that from Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM).

Stokes orchestrated Seven's deal last year to buy half of the huge US movie and television studio for US$250 million, establishing him as Australia's third largest media mogul behind Rupert Murdoch and Kerry Packer.

The Australia Television deal establishes Stokes as a potential competitor to Murdoch's Star TV based in Hong-Kong.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.