11 February 2009
As part of its continuing work on behalf of members, the AIB is taking part in the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
“We’re helping our members to get involved in the mobile industry,” comments Simon Spanswick, AIB CEO. “With more than four billion mobile users worldwide, it’s essential that broadcasters make sure they are positioned to deliver their content onto mobile handsets. The AIB is working on a number of levels to ensure this becomes reality.”
To do this, AIB has senior staff at MWC in Barcelona and AIB CEO Simon Spanswick is chairing the broadcast/mobile conference session at the Congress.
AIB is also arranging meetings with key players in the mobile industry to start conversations that could result in more AIB-member content being available on mobile devices.
For example in 2008, discussions with Nokia resulted in Deutsche Welle, Radio France Internationale and Radio Netherlands Worldwide joining the handset manufacturer’s Internet Radio platform.
AIB members can make use of the AIB Barcelona delegation to gather information and forge contacts. A conference call for members will help distil their requirements in advance of the event which opens on 16 February.
9 February 2009
FRANCE 24 is now available live on the iPhone in French, English and Arabic via a WiFi connection.
For the first time ever, 17 million iPhone owners throughout the world can now
watch live television on their phone screens. The channel is proud to announce that
FRANCE 24 is the first channel worldwide to pioneer this ground-breaking service.
The FRANCE 24 LIVE iPhone application was enthusiastically welcomed by users and
is already among the top most downloaded free applications on iTunes.
At the cutting edge of innovation, FRANCE 24 makes use of the most modern
broadcasting technology to pursue its multimedia strategy, informing opinion leaders and
news lovers everywhere in the world.
To receive FRANCE 24 live and VoD anywhere in the world: visit the iTunes
website to download the free FRANCE 24 LIVE application.
5 February 2009
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and the Voice of America (VOA) condemn the senseless murder of Said Tahlil Ahmed, Director of HornAfrik, a Somali media network. Mr. Ahmed was gunned down today in Mogadishu’s Bakara market.
“Targeting journalists such as Said Tahlil Ahmed has a disastrous impact on the institution of the press in Somalia,” said Blanquita Cullum of the Broadcasting Board of Governors which oversees the Voice of America. “Free media is one of the building blocks for stability, something greatly needed in Somalia.”
HornAfrik, a longtime VOA affiliate, operates two radio stations and a television station in Somalia. The private network has been an important partner in transmitting VOA’s news and information in both English and Somali to listeners throughout Somalia.
“This is a tragic loss for HornAfrik, VOA and the people of Somalia who suffer the most when they are without reliable and unbiased news and information,” said VOA Director Danforth Austin.
Mr. Ahmed had been director of HornAfrik since 2007 and hosted a popular talk show on the station. No one has claimed responsibility for his death.
Somalia remains one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, a situation that has led many journalists to flee the country or cease their work rather than risk their lives. Mr. Ahmed’s predecessor at HornAfrik, Mohamed Elmi, was killed by a roadside bomb in Mogadishu in 2007, and the network has been attacked and shut down at various times by insurgents or government officials.
27 January 2009
The UK’s Freeview DTT platform has announced that sales of Freeview+ boxes (PVRs) have reached over 900,000, up 118% compared to December last year.
26% of all sales were achieved in a record final quarter, and throughout December, more than two Freeview+ boxes were bought every minute.
Take-up of Freeview, the UKs most popular digital TV service, continues to grow indicating that Freeviews ability to deliver quality, subscription-free TV is of huge value to consumers particularly in the current economic downturn. More than 17.2 million homes are enjoying the benefits of viewing 13 of the 15 most-watched channels without having to pay for them and Freeview+ saves viewers more than £200 in the first year alone compared to the subscription alternatives.
This growth is expected to continue as consumers rein in their expenditure in 2009 – recent research highlighted one in five plans to curtail spending on pay TV channels – and as another five million homes go through digital switchover in the next twelve months, with Freeview+ providing the most cost-effective recording solution for a digital age.
Freeview+ was given a boost with a national TV ad campaign that launched in November 2008. Throughout the campaign period, sales increased by an average of 150% year-on-year and Freeviews website traffic increased by 80% during the first month alone. The ads celebrated the functionality of Freeview+ and featured a host of British TV talent including Coronation Streets Antony Cotton, Jennie McAlpine and Tupele Dorgu, comedian Alan Carr and Chef Gordon Ramsay.
Ilse Howling, Managing Director of Freeview, said: The popularity of Freeview+ isnt surprising given that it offers outstanding value giving the same experience as + recorders from other providers, the only difference is its free from subscription.
During a downturn, TV viewing naturally increases as people choose to stay in and watch TV as a form of free entertainment. We know that Freeview is an extremely compelling proposition of high quality, subscription free, digital TV, but Freeview+ is adding a new dimension to peoples viewing experience, allowing them to take control of what they watch and when they watch it. More than half of Freeview+ users tell us they cant live without it.
With over 60 models to choose from, including boxes with integrated DVD recorders/players and Freeview+ built into digital TVs, Freeview+ offers the biggest range of digital TV recorders available today. Viewers can pause, record and rewind their favourite TV shows without having to pay a monthly subscription.
In the first of Freeviews new channel launches in 2009, CNN International is now available on channel 84 bringing viewers world news, every night from 9pm to 1am. Discovery Networks UK also plans to launch a new channel in the coming months.
Howling concludes, These new additions to the Freeview channel portfolio, coupled with the roll out of Freeview HD across the UK from the end of 2009 is an exciting prospect for Freeview viewers and gives them even more value in the tough climate.
27 January 2009
Lyon-based international news broadcaster Euronews has a new single operating company, Euronews SA. Agreed by the general shareholders’ meeting in December, Euronews SA is formed by the merger of SECEMIE SA and SOCEMIE SA, respectively the former publishing and operating companies.
The merger has also brought with it a new governance organisation, comprising a Supervisory Board and an Executive Committee.
Three individuals and nine shareholding public television channels sit on the Supervisory Board:
- Mr. Pier Luigi Malesani (President of NewCo Rai International)
- Mr. Andrey Bystritsky (Chairman of the Broadcasting Company “The Voice of Russia” and Advisor of the Director General of VGTRK)
- Ms. Stéphanie Martin (Director of diversification and thematic channels at France Télévisions)
FRANCE TELEVISIONS (France), represented by Ms. Laurence Schwob - RAI (Italy), represented by Mr. Stefano Luppi
- RTR (Russia), represented by Mr. Oleg Kuprianov
- SSR (Switzerland), represented by Mr. Willi Burkhalter
- RTP (Portugal), represented by Mr. José Lopes de Araujo
- RTBF (Belgium), represented by Mr. Pierre Couchard
- ERT (Greece), represented by Ms. Fotini Yiannoulatou
- TV4 (Sweden), represented by Ms. Kajsa Stål
- NTU (Ukraine), represented by Mr. Vladimir Nora
Mr. Pier Luigi Malesani is President of the Supervisory Board and Mr. Andrey Bystritsky is the Vice-president.
The Executive Committee has two members: the President is Mr. Philippe Cayla, the former Chairman and CEO of SOCEMIE, and the Director General is Mr. Michael Peters, the former Director General of SOCEMIE.
