Although it has been circulating on pirated VCDs and DVDs for some time, the popular Home Box Office TV series, "Band of Brothers," still proved to be attractive for advertisers after the China Central Television announced that it would broadcast the series this month.

So far, casualwear maker Meters/bonwe Group and instant noodle producer Zhenglong Food Co Ltd have purchased the right to be the series' special advertiser, which means they can advertise the company name before each episode.

According to the series' published advertising rates, the cost to be a special advertiser is 880,000 yuan (US$106,000).

"Besides, many advertisers have called to consult and some have already reached an agreement with us," said a staff member surnamed Yang at the Beijing Weilai Advertising Agency, responsible for distributing ads for CCTV.

The charge for a 15-second advertisement during the telecast is 26,000 yuan during prime time.

The series, produced by Hollywood big shot Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, is scheduled to be broadcast on CCTV Channel 8 from September 24 at 10:30 pm.

The us$120 million HBO mini-series, produced two years ago, tells the story of "Easy Company," a group of US paratroopers fighting in World War II.

The story is based on a bestselling book by Stephen Ambrose. The series has won widespread acclaim and popularity for its true portrayal of combat and the feelings and emotions the characters go through.

However, a factor that the distributor has to consider in a market like China is, obviously, the pirated VCDs.

For popular series such as "Friends," "Sex and City," and "Band of Brothers," the pirated discs can be easily acquired in local market.

A set of 10 discs of "Band of Brothers" is sold for as low as 80 yuan.

"You could buy it in our shop one-and-a-half-year ago," said a storekeeper at a private audiovisual store in Pudong, Shanghai.

Although the government has attempted to curb the growing pirated video mar-ket, such stores can be found in many corners of the city.

But both distributor and advertisers showed few concerns about the problem of pirated discs.

"The pirated videotape is an existing problem. But we do not fear them," Yang said. "CCTV covers the whole country and has a steady audience group. Besides, people can enjoy the series for free on the channel. Why do they bother to spend money to see the series?"

Company officials at both Meters/bonwe and Zhenglong Food expressed similar opinions.

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