17 August 2007
BBC World Service has been informed by the owners of the Moscow FM radio station Bolshoye Radio that BBC programming in Russian will no longer be broadcast on the station, as of this afternoon (Friday, August 17). This was the BBC Russian Services last FM distribution partner station in Russia. It follows two other FM partner stations ceasing to take BBC programmes over the last nine months.
The owners of Bolshoye Radio, financial group Finam, have told representatives of the BBC Russian Service that they are required to remove BBC programming at the request of Russian licensing authorities, or risk the station being taken off air.
The BBC understands that this will take effect in advance of its scheduled block of programmes this afternoon at 1700 Moscow time.
The BBC intends to appeal to Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and Protection of Cultural Heritage. It will ask for the decision to be reviewed and for the original concept of the station to be respected.
According to official warnings received by Finam from the regulatory body, the licence requires that all programming must be produced by Bolshoye Radio itself. However the BBC said that the detailed concept documents – the basis on which the licence was awarded in February 2006 – clearly state that only 60 per cent of the station’s total output will be original material produced by Bolshoye Radio. The BBC also stated that according to the same concept documents, the station would also have up to 18 per cent foreign produced content. This percentage of foreign content is reflected in the stations licence. The concept documents of the station include the BBC and Voice of Russia as content providers and as integral parts of the output – specifically in order to enable the station to reflect many and often contradictory views on current affairs.
Richard Sambrook, Director BBC Global News, said: We are extremely disappointed that listeners to Bolshoye Radio in Moscow will be unable to listen to our impartial and independent news and information programming in the high quality audibility of FM. The BBC has invested a great deal of energy and resources into developing high quality programming for the station. The BBC has similar broadcasting arrangements with partner stations around the world. Our services are available on FM in over 150 capital cities some 75 per cent of the global total.” He continued: The BBC entered into the relationship with Bolshoye Radio in good faith, and the licence was won in a competitive tender in February 2006. We cannot understand how the licence is now interpreted in a way that does not reflect the original and thorough concept documents. We are appealing to Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and Protection of Cultural Heritage. We will ask for the decision to be reviewed and for the original concept of the station to be respected.
The BBC and Voice of Russia have been on Bolshoye Radio since May this year. The station, which was sold in July to financial investment company Finam, was currently at a test signal stage ahead of an official launch planned for the autumn. Bolshoye Radios test signal included the broadcasts of BBC programming in Russian. The BBC was on air from 0700-1000 MT and 1700-2000 MT. The programmes included Utro na BBC, London View, BBSeva (hosted by Seva Novgorodsev) and a new interactive programme, Vam Slovo. A new current affairs programme is currently being piloted, for launch in September.
The BBC has had previous problems with FM broadcasting in Russia. At the end of 2006, Moscow station Radio Arsenal ceased taking BBC programming, and in early 2006 the St Petersburg station Radio Leningrad also stopped taking BBC programmes. Radio Leningrad informed the BBC that it had been required to stop broadcasting BBC programmes by local licensing authorities.
BBC Russian programmes continue to be audio streamed online at bbcrussian.com. They are broadcast on the following medium-wave frequencies: St Petersberg – 1260 MW, Moscow – 1260 MW and Ekaterinburg – 666 MW. They are also available direct to home through ‘New Day’ channel on NTV+ satellite, as well as Hotbird 2 satellite. The BBCs shortwave broadcasts in Russian remain unaffected. For a full list of ways to hear BBC Services please see bbcrussian.com.
14 August 2007
The BBC has announced the appointment of marketing industry
heavyweight, Sanjay Nazerali as Controller of Marketing,
Communications and Audiences for the BBCs Global News Division.
Sanjay, who joins the BBC in September, will be responsible for leading the MC&A
teams at BBC World Service, BBC World television, BBC Monitoring and the BBC’s
international facing online news services. He will be responsible for building a
single brand platform across the Global News Division and developing the
marketing communications strategy to ensure that each part of the division has
maximum impact in a converging media environment.
Sanjay will report to Richard Sambrook, the Director of BBC Global News who
says, We created this pan-divisional post to enable us to communicate a unified
and compelling Global News message around the world, and were delighted that
Sanjay is joining the Global News Board of Directors to lead this new
department. He has a wealth of international experience in developing brand
strategies within the broadcast, entertainment and retail industries, and I
believe that with Sanjay on board we are now ideally positioned to take our
international news brands to the next level.
A graduate in philosophy from Oxford University and MBA graduate from INSEAD,
Sanjay is a former Senior Vice President, Marketing, at MTV Europe. During his
time at MTV he supported its distribution growth from 18m to 80m households and
grew creative sales from £750k to £5m. He was also the Launch Director for
Viacom channels including VH-1 UK, VH-1 Germany and MTV India.
Most recently Sanjay has been the Managing Director of The Depot, a marketing
consultancy he co-founded in 1998, where he worked with media clients such as
Channel 4, ITV, Discovery, the Sci-fi Channel, FX Channel, as well as BBC World
Service and BBC World television.
Commenting on his BBC appointment Sanjay says, In an age where newspapers are
becoming ‘viewspapers’ and the numbers of blogs are increasing exponentially,
audiences around the world are crying out for credible news, but delivered in an
engaging way. The time is absolutely right for the worlds best known news
organisation to connect with these audiences as a compelling and dynamic brand
in an increasingly competitive and complex news arena. Im genuinely honoured to
be part of this organisation, as I believe it can really make a difference to
how the world receives and interacts with news in the future.
14 August 2007
Wohler Technologies, Inc., the leading manufacturer of in-rack audio and video monitoring equipment for the IAB member broadcasters, is pleased to announce the opening of our new sales and service division, Wohler Europe with offices located in Bedford, England. This facility will serve the IAB community as an extension of the companys headquarters in Hayward, CA, expanding Wohlers high quality sales and customer service throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
Over the last several months, we have carefully mapped out the service and support required by the expanding clientele base found in this region, said Carl J. Dempsey, CEO and president of Wohler Technologies. The strategic location of Wohler Europe will allow us to better serve this expanding market. As the demand for our products continues to increase at an average of 20 percent, we are serious about exceeding the needs and application requirements of our customers in this area.
Thom Belford, the companys Director of Marketing, agrees, There are many opportunities for business development in this market. The opening of our new Europe based office only further solidifies our commitment to expanding our presence in this region and providing superior levels of service and support to our existing customer base.
Staffed with sales, customer service, and technical support, in addition to on-hand inventory, Wohler Europe will provide direct support to its customers in this region and provide a strong link to the established resources of its home office located in San Franciscos Bay Area. Wohler Europe will also serve as the voice of the customer throughout all divisions of the corporation including engineering research and development. Providing a closer point of contact, IAB members in this area will benefit from reduced lead times, shorter turn-around for repairs, and technical support in their local time zone.
Through the end of 2007, Wohler, and their Panoramadtv division will be introducing several new models specifically geared to the needs of the IAB membership broadcasters. Several very exciting new product lines are planned for introduction at IBC-2007 in early September. Touch-It Digital is an innovative new product that combines the functions of 16 channel HD/SD-SDI multi-viewer, router, and control system into a single compact package. All the features offered with the Touch-It Digital, plus the affordable purchase price make this model a logical alternative to many multi-view products available in the market today, according to Mr. Belford.
The company is also excited about the introduction of their new HD/SD Closed Captioning systems plus a wide range of specialized modules to meet the expanding needs of todays digital video plant. Other new models include MetaData monitoring and Audio Level Alarm systems. A new line of larger screen video monitors-the HDMon, which is now available in wide screen formats from 9-inch to 37-inch. The company will also give IBC attendees a sneak peak of their new modular audio monitors, plus mini block and high-density frame installed conversion products.
Wohler Europe is located at Bedford Heights, Bedford, MK41 7PH, in the United Kingdom.
14 August 2007
S4M Solutions for Media took the next step to broaden its presence on the Asian Market and opened a new S4M branch in Malaysias capital Kuala Lumpur. That way S4Ms know-how also is available locally for Asian customers and prospects as well. So far air-time for 9 different Asian countries is managed by S4M solutions and the German broadcast experts presented their software twice at Broadcast Asia. The new S4M Asia office can be reached as follows:
S4M Solutions for Media GmbH
arvato systems Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Level 25, Menara IMC, No. 8, Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel: +60 (0)3 / 2330 1988
Fax: +60 (0)3 / 2330 1989
Kuala Lumpur accommodates nearly 1.5 million residents and is situated about 35 kilometres from the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula. It is an ideal starting basis to cover promising markets of the broadcast industry. The Malaysian S4M office is managed by S4Ms Asia specialist Michael Henkel (michael.henkel@s4m.de). arvato systems, S4Ms parent company, already has got offices in Kuala Lumpur since more than two years.
Visit S4M at IBC 2007, Amsterdam, September 07-11, Hall 3, Stand 328!
S4M Solutions for Media GmbH
The Cologne based company S4M Solutions for Media, a subsidiary of arvato systems and RTL Television, develops and distributes software solutions specialized on the broadcast- and newmedia industry. Today, S4M systems are used in 30 countries around the world. Whether commercial air time sales or video content management; whether program planning, rights licensing, ratings evaluation or production planning: S4M has got the solution. Furthermore, the S4M portfolio includes professional consulting services to pass along combined knowledge of media and IT to customers.
14 August 2007
We deeply regret and condemn the senseless murder of Ali Iman Sharmarke, a longtime friend of the Voice of America, and a courageous journalist committed to establishing a free press in his native Somalia.
On Saturday, August 11, 2007, Mr. Sharmarke, co-owner and founder of HornAfrik Media Company, and Mahad Ahmed Elmi, director of HornAfriks Capitol Voice FM station, were murdered in two separate incidents in yet another example of attempts to silence the independent media in Somalia. Their deaths bring to a total of six the number of media workers murdered in the country this year.
Mr. Sharmarke was educated in the United States and Canada and held dual Somali-Canadian citizenship. He sacrificed a comfortable life in Canada to return to his homeland in 1999, where he established the countrys first independent radio station, HornAfrik, in Mogadishu. The stations broadcasts often focused on the plight of civilians caught in the conflict between Somali government forces and Islamist insurgents.
HornAfrik has been a VOA affiliate for several years, broadcasting both English to Africa and, more recently, Somali-language programs.
The loss is profound, not just for his countrymen and family, but for the international community. He understood the risk to his life and faced great personal hardship in the name of contributing to the greater good of society through peaceful means. Sharmarke was a courageous and uncompromising force for good in the world.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Voice of America appeal to the government of Somalia to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice and to take substantive measures to protect its journalists and support free media.
