The Empire Strikes Back

The Starwars theme filled the vaulted halls of the Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay as the audience were seated. The video screens flickered and the launch of the Telstra and News Limited joint cable television venture, Foxtel, began in earnest. The heady dose of Hollywood and a science fiction future of television flashing past on the screens almost made your head spin.

This month's declaration of the Foxtel alliance signals another wave of television is on the way. Now, after years of discussions and pronouncements, the heavyweights of media and communications have finally settled their differences and girded themselves with movies, celebrities and international connections to do battle in that final theatre of televisual war, our homes. From the end of the year this latest service will bring Rupert Murdoch's Fox programs and expertise and Frank Blount's Telstra cable network together under CEO Mark Booth's command. It marks battle-scarred Murdoch's triumphant return to the frontline of the Australian broadcasting industry.

Few would dare stand in the way of the universal might of the News Limited empire and the vast Telstra resources. One of the first to sign up rather than fight was an entire rebel Galaxy. Now, Australis Media's Galaxy channels will also be on offer with Foxtel as it begins and, likewise, Foxtel channels can also be carried on the Galaxy microwave and satellite system.

Why so much interest in our country with its relatively limited potential audience? The over ten billion dollars various parties are planning to spend on the campaign shows there must be some strategic advantage in Australia. Sprinkled in between the many recent launch announcements often come mentions of our nearness to Asia. This would also imply a huge number of potential subscribers from Sydney to Shanghai and beyond. Over one billion, in fact.

So it's not surprising that rival Kerry Packer, last seen holding out with fellow rebels at the hidden Optus Vision base, recently related his interest in using Australia as a launching pad to our near Northern neighbours. He wants a "secure home market to supply the finance to go into Asian operations", a vast theatre of operations where Murdoch's Star TV is already making inroads to match his successes with BSkyB in Europe and Fox in the US.

The competing visions of rival media groups have one other aim in common: to own global channels combining their newspaper, television and movie empires with "telephone" and computer companies into one unassailable juggernaut - a veritable Death Star, if ever there was one. With so much potential hardware in play, matched with "smart" technology that can precisely pinpoint and target unsuspecting subscribers here and overseas, the likelihood of "collateral damage" seems very real. What, for example, will be the impact on our local film and television industry and the programs we watch, and finally, on us?

Down on the ground we can but wait, watch and, well, keep watching. Until then, may the Fox, er... force, be with you.