MEDIA MARKETS
|
THE CHANNEL
THE CHANNEL
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ISSUE 2 2012
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09
IN BRIEF
NEW EBU HEADS
The EBU has appointed
Bettina Brinkmann head of
TV, Christian Vogg head of
Radio and Nicoletta
Iacobacci head of Strategy,
effective from September
2012. These appointments
complete the managerial
team of the EBU Media
department that consolidates
the activities of TV, Radio,
News and Training. The
department is headed by
AnnikaNyberg Frankenhaeuser
who took up her position in
February. The Head of
Strategy is a newly formed
position which will focus on
media developments from a
content perspective.
ALHURRA & AL
HAYAH
Alhurra TV and Al Hayah TV
2 partnered in a series of
high-profile interviews of
Egyptian presidential
candidates in the run-up to
the Egyptian election. As a
joint production, the eight
part series allowed more
viewers to hear the candidates
in their own words, said
MBN President Brian
Conniff. The President–
Egypt 2012 was part of
Alhurra’s extensive coverage
of the Egyptian presidential
elections. Recent ACNielsen
surveys show Alhurra’s
weekly reach in Egypt as
nearly 8m viewers.
OPTIMAL
BANDWIDTH
Satellite bandwidth
optimisation company
NovelSat has launched the
NS3000 modem, the fastest
and most bandwidth-efficient
satellite modem on the
market. It can achieve data
rates of up to 716Mbps and
bandwidth increases of 20- 50%
over DVB-S2 alternatives.
The NS3000 combines NS3
ground-breaking satellite
modulation and demodulation
technology, together with bi-
directional IP routing and
traffic compression in a
single device, whilst
enabling the simultaneous
transfer of data and video
over a single channel.
Milestone launches for
France 24
Audiovisuel Exterieur de la
France (AEF) media group
recently joined the Arab States
Broadcasting Union (ASBU) as
an associate member to increase
editorial, technical and strategic
cooperation with the different
members of the Union. AEF also
signed a cooperation agreement
with SOREAD 2M in Morocco to
strengthen technical and editorial
ties between both groups.
In the Americas, 16 new
partner stations are taking RFI
programming in Spanish,
Portuguese, French and English.
International news channel
France 24 has completed several
milestones with a string of
launches. In Haïti France 24 is on
NUtv, the country's first DTT
operator, as well as on cable
Téléhaiti, in English and French.
In Taïwan, France 24 has signed
an agreement with Chunghwua
Telecom which offers the English
signal in the basic package,
while the French version is
available à la carte. In Russia,
4.5m households can now watch
France 24 on Tricolor, Russia's
biggest satellite TV operator.
France 24 is also available
within the “Telefrance” bouquet
on Freeview HD in the UK –
which means international news
in French is now available to all
French expats, Francophiles and
French enthusiasts throughout
the UK.
As reported by iSuppli, Dish
Network’s introduction of a set-
top box with an automatic ad-
skipping feature has prompted a
furious legal response from
major broadcast networks Fox
Broadcasting, NBC Universal
and CBS Corp. Although analysts
suggest the move could be a ploy
by the satellite operator to
compel broadcasters to cut
retransmission-fee demands,
Channel NewsAsia going 24 hours
Regional broadcaster Channel
NewsAsia will be extending its
programming hours and
broadcast “live” 24 hours a day
from January 2013.
Channel NewsAsia MD Debra
Soon says “Going 24 hours isn’t
about creating more, but rather
better content for viewers to look
to us for reliable information to
help them make informed, key
decisions in their business and
daily lives.” The channel is
increasing its business content -
more daily market reports and
evening business programmes to
wrap up the Asian trading day
and pick up on the news as
Europe and the US opens.
New bureaux are planned for
Indochina and Indonesia while
interactive programme formats
like
Bridging Asia – the
Singapore Debates
demonstrate
the channel’s focus on digital.
Earlier this year Channel
NewsAsia launched a new
universal app for iPad and
iPhone which allows users to
interact directly with the
newsroom in order to share
user-generated content.
In July, veteran journalist and
award-winning programme
maker Ms Lian Pek was
appointed the channel’s new
Chief Editor.
BBC sells
TV Centre
Skipping the ads
the function may prove so
popular with consumers that it
will be difficult to take away. The
controversy centres on Dish’s
AutoHop feature in its Hopper
STBs, which will allow
consumers to automatically skip
ads during playback on a DVR
when viewing broadcast network
programming. Household
penetration for Dish this year is
an estimated 9.6m DVR units.
A brief statement from the BBC
Press Office said that on 14 July
the BBC exchanged contracts for
the sale of its iconic Television
Centre in West London to
property developers Stanhope
Plc for a total price in the order
of £200m. Full details of the sale
will be available on completion.
The BBC put Television Centre
on sale in June 2011 and has
operated on the site since 1960.
TV Centre will have been
completely vacated by next year
as staff and productions have
been moved to newer facilities in
Salford near Manchester, Cardiff
in Wales, and to the BBC’s
central London complex at New
Broadcasting House.
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