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Global Brief
The latest news from the international broadcasting industry
SpectrumRadio takes to the SkywithWRN
Spectrum Radio, the AM station dedicated
to serving London’s ethnic communities,
has started broadcasting across the UK
on Sky Digital via WRN, the transmission
service provider that currently uplinks one
in five of the non-BBC, unencrypted radio
stations available on the UK’s premier
direct-to-home satellite service.
Spectrum’s satellite service contains a mix
of existing programmes and programmes
tailor-made for communities not currently
served on Spectrum’s 558AM frequency
such as the Tamil, Cuban, Ethiopian, Sikh
and Italian communities.
Beside Spectrum Radio, WRN currently
uplinks the London station Club Asia and
Ireland’s RTE Radio 1 MW, amongst the
12 radio stations that pass through its
central London Master Control Room on
their way into the living rooms of the
7.2 million households in the UK and
Ireland that have Sky Digital. WRN is a
Member of the AIB.
Ascent Media bags London Playout
Ascent Media Group has acquired the
London Playout Centre (LPC) from
FremantleMedia Limited, a subsidiary
of RTL Group S.A. LPC is a leading
provider of channel origination and
transmission services in Europe,
transmitting over 1,400 hours of
television programming per day, across
50 channels, from a range of dedicated
and multi-channel broadcast suites.
The company provides a fully
integrated broadcast solution with
extensive edit, audio and graphics
facilities to a broad range of clients
including Discovery Networks,
Flextech, Five, Universal, Cinenova and
TV Travel Shop, among many others.
Disney ties up with Now Broadband TV
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong pay-television operator Now
Broadband TV launched Walt Disney’s
‘Disney Channel’ and ‘Playhouse Disney’
Channel on 2 April . ‘Playhouse Disney’
in Hong Kong is the first dedicated pre-
school channel in the region. The
channel, a commercial-free service, is
designed to engage and stimulate pre-
schoolers’ imagination. “The recent
opening up of the pay-TV market in Hong
Kong created a strategic opportunity to
expand our presence in the Greater China
market,” said Doug Miller, senior vice
president and managing director of Walt
Disney Television International’s, Asia
Pacific. ‘Disney Channel’ will be available
in three language tracks – English,
Mandarin or Cantonese – by the end of
the year. Selected shows will also be
subtitled in Chinese.
Pirates of the air - CASBAA applauds Thai progress
In February, during a public briefing in Bangkok, the Royal Thai Police, with the
Public Relations Department and other bodies, outlined ten points to improve the
pay-TV piracy environment within Thailand. Among the ten points were commitments
that must be undertaken by all cable operators to respect the Intellectual Property
Rights of pay television networks, including those of local broadcasters and
international channels such as HBOAsia, STAR TV, ESPN STAR Sports, MTVAsia,
Discovery Asia, CNN International and BBC World.
After the briefing Simon Twiston Davies, CEO of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting
Association of Asia (CASBAA), said: “This is a step in the right direction. We are
encouraged by the announcement stating that cable operators of any kind must supply,
in advance, proof of a right to broadcast pay-TV services. We also applaud the concept
of a focused official monitoring body and the requirement for detailed accountability
on the number of subscribers. But what we now need is a genuine commitment to
enforce this new regime. The new guidelines for pay-TV service providers must be
introduced quickly and they must be adhered to.” CASBAA estimates there were
US$370 million in gross losses to pay-TV piracy within Thailand in 2003. CASBAA
and its member companies also conservatively estimate that there are in excess of one
million unauthorised subscribers to pay-TV services in Thailand.
Meanwhile CASBAA has joined forces with another trade body, the Asia-Pacific
Broadcasting Union (ABU), to combat signal theft in the region. The arrangement
was reached at an ABU copyright seminar in Hong Kong on 4 March. CASBAA’s
CEO Simon Twiston Davies told delegates that signal theft was increasing at a rate of
11 per cent a year in Asia, and was corroding the ability of the industry to grow. He
revealed that the cost of piracy of channels by unlicensed cable operators, under-
declaring of subscriptions by licensed operators, and ad-blocking by cable operators,
amounted to more than $1.2 billion a year in the Asian region. Piracy is a big problem
for CASBAA members in Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand and India.
ABU Secretary-General David Astley pointed out that many free-to-air channels are
also suffering signal theft. “Whilst our two organisations may be dealing with piracy
issues from a different perspective, there are many areas where we overlap and on
which we should combine our efforts,” he noted. “Lobbying of governments to protect
the interests of broadcasters will be more effective if we are speaking with one voice”.
New OSCE representative on media freedom
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has appointedMiklos Haraszti
as OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media for a period of three years.
Haraszti, a Hungarian writer and former dissident, was born in 1945 in Jerusalem. He
studied Hungarian Language and Philosophy at Budapest University. In 1976 he was
one of the founders of the Hungarian Democratic Opposition Movement. In the 1980s
he edited the underground periodical Beszelo. In the early 1990s he became a member
of the Hungarian Parliament. He is the author of several books, including “A Worker
in a Worker’s State” (Paris, 1983) and “The Velvet Prison” (New York, 1987).
The task of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media is to observe relevant
media developments in OSCE participating states and, in close coordination with the
chairman-in-office, to advocate and promote full compliance with OSCE principles
and commitments in respect of freedom of expression and free media. The first OSCE
Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve of Germany, held the position
from January 1998 until December 2003.
Satellite-to-mobile broadcasting for South Korea
SKTelecom successfully launched its digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) satellite
intended for the world’s first satellite-based broadcasting service [direct to mobile
phones and other handheld devices] from the John F Kennedy Space Centre in Florida
in March.This signals the advent of the era of mobile satellite-based broadcasting in
South Korea – the DMB satellite will beam digital broadcasting signals directly to
mobile handsets on the ground.
The satellite DMB offerings, which will usher in the era of pocket multimedia, are
touted as the frontrunner of the convergence trend by mixing broadcasting and
telecommunications. They will enable people to savour seamless broadcasting with
CD-quality sound, irrespective of time and space through wireless receivers like mobile
phones or PDAs.
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