Page 7 - AIB | The Chanel | Issue 1 2012
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MEDIA MARKETS
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THE CHANNEL
THE CHANNEL
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ISSUE 1 2012
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07
IN BRIEF
ABC LANDMARK
In December, the Australian
Government announced that
the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation will have
permanent responsibility for
delivering Australia's inter-
national TV service, Australia
Network. The decision will
allow the ABC to create a
fully converged broadcaster,
utilising the combined
energy and resources of the
existing Australia Network
and Radio Australia. In a
fiercely competitive and
crowded global market for
broadcasting, this opportunity
willmake it easier for audiences
in Asia and the Pacific to
experience the rich content
available through the highly
trusted Australian national
broadcaster.
SKY BRASIL TO
BUY ACOM
As reported by Bloomberg
Businessweek, Sky Brasil, a
unit of satellite carrier
DirecTV, plans to buy Acom
Comunicacoes SA, the nation’s
biggest provider of pay-TV
and internet service using a
technology known as MMDS.
The wireless technology
uses airwaves in the 2.5
gigahertz spectrum band.
The company is now seeking
approval from antitrust and
communications regulators.
Financial terms of the trans-
action were not disclosed.
UNDERSEA
PROJECT
For the Asia Pacific Gateway
project, South Korean telecom
giant KT Corp has joined an
international consortium of
14 telecom companies,
includingNTT Communications
in Japan and Chunghwa
Telecom Co. in Taiwan, to
build fast-speed underwater
optic fibre cables by 2014.
The submarine cables
stretching 100,000 km and
linking Singapore, Malaysia,
Thailand, Vietnam, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, China, Korea
and Japan, will begin
commercial service in early
2014, transmitting data at a
speed of up to 38.4 terabits
per second.
China launches 3D,
curbs entertainment
China’s first 3D TV channel
started broadcasting in January.
It is jointly operated by China
Central Television and five local
TV stations in Beijing, Tianjin,
Shanghai, Jiangsu and Shenzhen.
Cai Fuchao, head of the State
Administration of Radio, Film
and Television (SARFT), said that
the new service could generate
significant revenue for the
consumer electronics industry if
a proportion of China’s 500m TV
sets are replaced by 3D ones.
Satellite broadcasters in
China have cut entertainment TV
by two-thirds, according to a
SARFT directive to curb the
'excessive entertainment trend'
which came into effect in January.
Each of the country's 34 satellite
channels are limited to broad-
casting two entertainment
programmes each week and a
maximum of 90 minutes of
entertainment content every day
from 7:30 to 10pm. Talent shows
and reality TV are among the
biggest casualities of the cuts,
also on the restricted programmes
list are talk shows and emotional
stories that are deemed "low
taste." However, popular soap
operas and dating shows such as
Jiangsu Satellite TV's "If You Are
the One" will still be aired during
weekend primetime hours.
Broadcasters are required to
broadcast more news and are
airing more documentaries to fill
their schedules. SARFT believes
that the move to cut
entertainment programming is
crucial in improving cultural
services for the public by offering
high quality programming.
SARFT has also set tough
internet TV rules by stating that
internet TV set-top boxes can
only be deployed if distribution
comes from a partner/supplier
approved by SARFT.
China Xinhua News Network
Corporation, Xinhua News
Agency's TV arm, has launched a
music website, dedicated to
China's folk music scene
. The
website will seek cooperation
France 24 on demand on Boxee
recently concluded a
distribution agreement with
Boxee, a multimedia “over-the-
top” TV offer available via
software, set top boxes or
applications for tabs and
mobiles.
Mainly used in the US and
Canada, the Boxee platform will
now include a dedicated France
24 application in its global
catalogue, allowing users to get
access to the channel’s
programmes in English (reports,
talk shows, debates, etc.). Boxee
will offer the complete France 24
VoD catalogue, including all
programmes in French and
Arabic.
The international news
channel which celebrated its 5th
anniversary in December
continues to expand in the US -
its penetration rate increased by
some 50% during the first
semester of 2011. The recent
distribution agreement with
digital terrestrial TV network
Mind TV, available on major US
operators such as Comcast,
Verizon and AT&T, means France
24 English is available to over 3m
households throughout
Pennsylvania.
globally and expand its derivative
services, including audio and
visual product publication as well
as film and TV production. In
2011 Xinhua launched the
internet search engine
jointly with
China Mobile, the country's
biggest telecom operator by user
volume.
Abroad, CCTV is using Vision
IPTV's internet broadcast playout
service to deliver three Chinese-
language channels on
FreeviewHD in the UK. China
Telecom is partnering with
Everything Everywhere and
Transatel to launch mobile
virtual network operator services
to Chinese residents and visitors
in the UK in early 2012, with
France, Germany and Italy to
follow by 2014.
