Page 6 - The Channel Issue 2 2010

As reported in the Indian press, the third phase of the rollout of private FM radio stations in India is set to go ahead with 806 new FM channels across 217 towns in the country. The private FM stations will cover all towns with a population of over 100,000. FM-III had been delayed over various issues, including objections from the Defence Ministry on potential interference of FM radio signals on defence installations. A compromise agreement has now been reached.

The first quarterly report for 2010 by India's TRAI showed that the number of registered TV channels in the country stands at 503. These include 147 pay

channels being broadcast or distributed by 24 broadcasters. In addition to Doordarshan's DD Direct Plus, which is the only DTH player for FTA channels, there are six private DTH licensees with a subscriber base of 21.3m viewer homes. TRAI has issued a new tariff order that mandates service providers on digital platforms to offer pay channels à-la-carte, by January 2011 at the latest. The order covers all digital addressable systems such as DTH, HITS, IPTV and cable service providers in conditional access system areas. The operators can set the subscriber tariff for each channel but have to offer channels of Doordarshan.

1GOAL, the ambitious global campaign to provide education for 72m children who are currently missing out on school, used the first FIFA World Cup in Africa to galvanize people the world over into action. A string of high-profile ambassadors and supporters raised awareness for the campaign – including the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB). Broadcasters in all parts of the world played a key role in getting the message across to viewers – the 1GOAL campaign now has

over 14m supporters. On 11 July , during the World Cup, world leaders came together at the 1GOAL Education Summit in Pretoria. The meeting was opened by President Zuma (pictured above right), followed by Sepp Blatter (FIFA President) and 1GOAL Ambassador and South Africa captain Aaron Mokoena. The main outcome of the meeting was the statement agreed by those in the room which said: "Inspired by the massive support for the 1GOAL

Campaign, we urge the international community – especially national governments – to translate their commitment to education into concrete actions, including increased financial allocations...The international community is accountable for their pledged commitments to defy the odds in reaching education goals by 2015. Let us join forces and scale up our efforts for education and a better life for all." The full text is at www.join1goal.org.

The GSMA reports that new figures from research firm Strategy Analytics show that global handset shipments rose 13% to 308m units in Q2 of 2010. Lower-end 2G models in emerging markets, particularly South America, and high-end 3G touchscreen devices in mature regions are the growth drivers. The growth rate was slower than the +17% YoY average over the previous two quarters, but well above the -8% annual rate recorded in 2Q09. The firm forecasts that 325m handsets will be shipped worldwide in 3Q10, which would represent annual growth of 12%. Among the top five brands, RIM and Samsung outperformed their major rivals, which Strategy Analytics attributed to "robust demand" for their QWERTY phones and touchphones. Samsung grew its market share to 21% share, while RIM maintained fourth position on 3.6%, the same as Sony Ericsson. Market leader Nokia shipped a slightly lower-than-expected 111.1m handsets worldwide in Q2 2010, growing 8% annually, slightly below the industry average. Apple just failed to make the top five, but its global market share has edged up from 2% in 2Q09 to almost 3% in 2Q10.