EUROPA TV FALLS VICTIM TO DEBT, INSUFFICIENT ADS

HILVERSUM, Netherlands — A five-nation television venture beamed its last programs across Europe Thursday night and then went off the air, a victim of debt and insufficient advertising, spokesmen said.

Europa TV, a joint enterprise between the public broadcasting authorities of the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and West Germany, has been broadcasting five hours a night.

The station, operating under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), intended to beam the best of European television across the continent as an alternative to commercial satellite broadcasts.

Europa accepted advertising but was never able to attract enough to pay its way.

The managing board held a week of meetings at the Dutch broadcasting center but broke up Thursday, unable to find a solution to financial problems, spokeswoman Trudi Berger said.