The Channel | 2004 | September

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Global Brief
The latest news from the international broadcasting industry
4 | the channel
GERMAN TV soon available in Canada
Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche
Welle announced in July that the Canadian
Radio and TV Commission (CRTC) has approved
a licence to transmit GERMAN TV in Canada.
GERMAN TV is currently negotiating with
Canadian cable and satellite providers to bring
the best of public service TV to German-
speaking households in Canada. GERMAN TV
is a joint initiative of ARD, ZDF and DW. At
present, the 24 hour programme is available
in the US, Chile, Mexico and Brazil.
Siemens preferred for BBC Technology
The BBC has announced that, subject to
contract, Siemens Business Services has been
selected as the Single Preferred Bidder for a
new Technology Framework Contract (TFC) for
the Corporation and the new owner of BBC
Technology. The sale is subject to the approval
of the BBC Governors, the UK Secretary of
State for Culture, Media and Sport and
clearance by the European Commission.
Subject to approvals, the contract is for 10
years and is worth up to £2bn and the deal
will complete by Q4 2004 once final contract
negotiations are complete. It is expected that
the BBC Technology name will disappear when
the Siemens acquisition is complete.
ABS-CBN to expand into Australia
Philippine owned media giant ABS-CBN
Broadcasting Corporation is to expand into
Australia in the third quarter, according to
newly appointed president Luis Alejandro. Mr
Alejandro said ABS-CBN was also planning to
penetrate potential markets in Hong Kong,
Indonesia and Singapore. The media firm
already runs a cable business in Australia
distributing Philippine-produced content.
ABS-CBN sees its global unit as one of its
major growth drivers as the domestic market
is already saturated. ABS-CBN Global offers
Philippine programmes to 1.3 million Filipinos
in North America, the Middle East and Europe.
VT Merlin Communications renames
VT Merlin Communications and Vosper Mantech,
two separate companies owned by Vosper
Thorneycroft, are now called VT Communications.
Together, VT Merlin Communications and Vosper
Mantech form the Communications Division of
VT Group plc. Significant integration of the two
businesses had already taken place with a
unified management structure and co-location
of certain key functions. The new name and
brand allows the presentation of a clearer
offering for all its customers.
Swiss Radio International says
goodbye after 70 years
SRI ended its news and current affairs
programmes in April, but broadcasts are
continuing on shortwave and satellite until
the end of October, when SRI will cease all
radio broadcasts to concentrate exclusively
on its Internet platform, SRI
first hit the airwaves in 1935.
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It’s a wild life as APTN Direct wins top industry award
International video agency Associated Press Television News (APTN) has scooped a top
industry award for delivering breaking world news to broadcasters in an innovative way. The
agency’s new product, APTN Direct - launched ahead of Gulf War
II to provide live and rolling news coverage of the conflict - is
now being used by more than a hundred television networks
worldwide. It combines satellite delivery of video from the heart
of the action with an interactive web page, which updates coverage
24/7 and allows APTN’s content managers and broadcasters to
communicate with each other in real-time via a message board.
Judges at the Cable & Satellite International awards deemed APTN Direct the clear winner
of the ‘Best Permanent/Occasional Video Service’ prize.
Meanwhile WWF, the global conservation organisation, has agreed to make APTN Library the
commercial representative for its unique video archive. More than 1,500 hours of footage will
become available through APTN Library, and further material will be added as produced by
WWF. The footage comes fromWWF’s in-house
television unit which provides images to
accompany WWF campaigns and stories. Tanya
Petersen, Head of Television for WWF, said
“WWF is active in more than 100 countries and
WWF camera crews have access to some of the
most remote places and peoples on earth. Through
our new relationship with the APTN Library we
are delighted that this unique footage will become
accessible to amuchwider audience.”The content
is extremelyvaried, ranging fromhard-news issues
such as illegal trade to spectacular images from
around the world.
CPJ concerned over Iraq
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by the Iraqi Interim
Government’s formation of a media regulatory commission that is reportedly empowered to
regulate print and broadcast media in Iraq and to impose sanctions, including closure, against
outlets that cross “red lines” in their coverage. At the end of July, the CPJ sent a letter to
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, in which they called on the Iraqi leader to “clarify the role and
function” of the commission and “ensure that any official regulation of the media conforms
with international standards for a free press”. A spokesman of Prime Minster Allawi said the
commission is created to “organise the work of the media”.
On 8 August CPJ issued a statement condemning the decision by Iraq’s interim government to
banAljazeera fromworking in Iraq for 30 days.According to news reports, the interimgovernment
accused the station of incitement to violence and hatred. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced
the decision at a press conference on 7August, saying the action was taken to “protect the people
of Iraq and the interests of Iraq”. Allawi cited an Iraqi media commission report about Aljazeera’s
broadcasts as the basis for the decision. He said the commission “came up with a concise report
on the issues of incitement and the problems Aljazeera has been causing”.
”This appears to be a case of blaming the messenger for bad news, and it is a serious blow to
press freedom in Iraq,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. “Regrettably, the interim
government has chosen to mimic the behavior of other governments in the region by restricting
the work of Aljazeera. We urge the interim authorities to reverse their decision and to allow
the station’s staff to conduct their professional duties without further interference.”
The AIB has also protested the closure of the Aljazeera Baghdad bureau.
Encoda Systems for Dubai; acquires Arkemedia
Broadcasters Dubai Media and ZerO1zerO of Australia have purchased the Encoda D-Series
Automation solution. Middle-East based broadcaster DMI has selected Encoda Systems to act as
systems integrator and supplier to replace all its existingmanual transmission and scheduling systems
for its four current channels; EDTV, Channel 33, Dubai Sports and Dubai Business Channel.
In July Encoda Systems announced that it had acquired Arkemedia Technologies, Ltd., a UK-
based digital asset management (DAM) solution provider specifically focused on the media
industry. The first product available for general customer release, a dynamic integration between
the Encoda D-Series broadcast automation solution andArkemedia’s advanced DAM database,
content ingest manager and workflow functionality, will be introduced at IBC 2004.
John Sorensen has succeeded Don Doctor as Encoda’s new CEO. Sorensen was previously
President of its Media Management division; Don Doctor will remain with the company but
take on a less operational, more high-level strategic role as chairman of the board.
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