Marubeni Plans Digital Video Net

TOKYO, Oct. 18 -- Marubeni Corp. has announced that it will form a joint venture with Japanese broadcasters, advertising agencies and content production companies in order to send digital video and other images over fiber optic networks to broadcasters worldwide. The joint venture requires forming a new company to obtain, revise, store and dispense digital images. The move is designed to keep pace with the growing demand for digital content as Japanese commercial broadcasters plan to launch digital satellite-TV services later this year and terrestrial digital broadcasting in 2003, said Marubeni.