Access group formed for Japanese digital TV

Access group formed for Japanese digital TV
TOKYO—Preparing for the start of satellite digital-TV broadcasting next year, major Japanese broadcasters have agreed to form a Conditional Access System Association to centralize audience data control.

Nineteen broadcasters, including the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK), private terrestrial and satellite broadcasters, also launched a preparatory committee to form the CAS Association, probably by November.

Broadcasters plan to develop a unified-format IC card and distribute it with each broadcast satellite receiver with a unique number to identify viewers. Details will be hammered out by the preparatory committee, said a spokeswoman for Wowow Japan Satellite Broadcasting Inc. (acting as the secretariat).

With the launch of the second BS-4 satellite, Japan will begin satellite DTV broadcasting in the fall of 2000.