31 October 2005
Harris Corporation and Leitch Technology Corporation announced today that Harris has completed its previously announced acquisition of Leitch following approval by Leitch shareholders and Court approval of the transaction. Leitch shareholders approved the acquisition by Harris of all of the outstanding common shares of the Toronto-based company for a cash price of C$14.00 per share. Total cash consideration paid by Harris, net of Leitch’s cash on hand, was approximately US$450 million.
“The addition of Leitch’s talented workforce, complementary product portfolio and customer base helps establish Harris as the partner of choice for broadcasters upgrading their equipment and software systems to operate in a digital environment,” said Howard Lance, chairman, president and CEO of Harris. “No other company offers the breadth of products that span the entire digital media content delivery chain. This acquisition enables Harris to further expand into larger, faster-growing broadcast markets, and we’re delighted that Tim Thorsteinson and his leadership team will remain with the company and continue to build on Leitch’s success as a business unit within our Broadcast Communications Division.”
“As part of the Harris Broadcast Communications business, Leitch will continue to provide the products that allow the broadcaster to transition to high definition digital services but with the added resources and global scale of one of the world’s leading broadcast hardware and software suppliers,” said Leitch President and CEO Tim Thorsteinson. “We look forward to building on our success and maximizing our value to customers as a combined company.”
Leitch shareholders should refer to Leitch’s management information circular dated September 16, 2005 for information regarding receipt of the payment of C$14.00 per share for their Leitch shares.
All of Leitch’s products – including routers and distribution equipment, signal processing, signal management and monitoring, servers and storage area networks, branding software and post-production editing systems – will be added to the Harris broadcast product portfolio. This combined portfolio serves every segment of the increasingly complex supply chain that brings digital audio, video, and data content to consumers. Leitch currently serves approximately 3,000 television service providers in 100 countries.
Harris Broadcast Communications Division is the worldwide leader in providing digital broadcast technology solutions for global broadcast media markets, including television and radio transmission systems, networking solutions and enterprise-wide software and media management systems.
Harris Corporation is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. With headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, the company has annual sales of over $3 billion and has 12,600 employees – including 5,500 engineers and scientists – dedicated to the development of best-in-class assured communications(tm) products, systems, and services. The company’s operating divisions serve markets for government communications, tactical radio, broadcast, and microwave systems.
28 October 2005
Turner International (Turner) and Global Broadcast News (GBN), a TV18 Group Company, are forming a partnership to launch a co-branded, 24-hour, English-language general news channel in India. Renowned TV journalist Rajdeep Sardesai will spearhead GBNs foray into the general news space as the Editor-in-Chief of the service. The co-branded service, CNN-IBN, will build upon the strong foundation of TV18’s newsgathering experience and infrastructure in India, bolstered by CNNs eminent and extensive global news network.
Under the terms of the agreement, GBNs proposed channel formerly known as India Broadcast News (IBN) and now co-branded as CNN-IBN – will have access to CNNs trademark live breaking news as well as key feature programmes. This unique alliance will, for the first time ever, enable Indian viewers to view local news as well as relevant global news from CNN, the worlds news leader, on the same platform. The new channel will focus on providing robust and high quality news from every corner of India with a complete commitment to the needs and aspirations of the Indian viewer, while CNN International will continue to deliver global news to Indian viewers.
According to Sardesai, The news channel is built on the age-old ethic that editorial sovereignty is inviolable and this shall be a cornerstone of GBNs partnership with CNN. It will be a journalist-driven channel rooted in the realities of modern India. With nationwide news gathering capabilities, superior journalistic talent, and a passion for news, the new service will endeavour to get the news first and direct from the ground. In a fast-globalising India, access to CNN’s global news network will add immense value for our audiences.
This service will complement CNN Internationals global news offering and marks another milestone in CNN’s efforts to move closer to its audience though local partnerships. The coupling of CNN’s global resources and GBNS local expertise will take news broadcasting in India to a whole new level, said Chris Cramer, Managing Director, CNN International.
With a history of editorial independence and vitality, the enterprising local media is playing an increasingly important role in keeping Indians informed as the global influence of India continues to grow. Being the world’s largest democracy, India has a voracious appetite for news and this unique partnership with GBN will enable Turner and CNN to bring an unparallelled global scope to this genre, said Steve Marcopoto, President and Managing Director, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Inc.
Headquartered in New Delhi, the channel will be supported by over 20 bureaus nationwide, along with a team of experienced newspersons and production staff, backed by TV18s state-of-the-art broadcast infrastructure and newsgathering technology.
GBN, a TV18 Group Company, is a 74:26 joint venture between the TV18 Group and professionals Rajdeep Sardesai, Sameer Manchanda and Haresh Chawla. GBNs charter is to launch channels in the general news space under the editorial leadership of Sardesai, one of Indias most renowned TV journalists. The TV18 Group is Indias leading and most successful business news broadcaster in both English and Hindi.
CNN International is the world’s leader in 24-hour global news and information. CNNs combined branded networks and services are available to more than two billion people in more than 200 countries and territories in six different languages. CNN International can be seen in more than 186 million television households and hotel rooms, including over 30 million in the Asia Pacific, via a network of 38 satellites. CNN.com’s news web sites include international and US editions of CNN.com as well as five local language sites in Arabic, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. The web sites also support mobile services, including a PDA service on Avant Go and a breaking news SMS news alert service.
28 October 2005
RadioScape, the world leader in end-to-end Digital Radio solutions, has provided the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) expertise for a new DAB safety broadcast system for use in road tunnels called RadioScape TunnelAlert. When an incident occurs in a particular tunnel bore, the system is switched in with the effect of replacing the audio on all the DAB audio services being re-broadcast in that tunnel bore with a live emergency message, thus providing the occupants of the vehicles in the tunnel with appropriate instructions. Systems have been in existence to deliver this service on FM for some time but RadioScape is the first company to provide systems for DAB.
Prompted by the Mont Blanc disaster a few years ago, a recent EU mandate requires that long tunnels (over 500 metres) must have an emergency broadcast system that will automatically change the in-car entertainment system to the emergency channel. There are over 2000 tunnels in Europe that will require such a system.
RadioScape has partnered with Tyco Traffic & Transportation, a major systems integration company that specialises in providing radio rebroadcast systems, emergency radio systems and PA/EVAC systems for new and refurbished existing tunnels, to create TunnelAlert. RadioScape used its unique end-to-end systems knowledge of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) to create the DAB part of the system. The system provided by RadioScape monitors the specified on-air DAB multiplexes (received outside the tunnel and, in normal conditions, re-broadcast inside), dynamically updating the in-tunnel DAB multiplexer system to follow their configuration. This local multiplexer can then be switched in to replace the rebroadcast signal if an incident occurs, encoding the warning messages in real-time. In this way, all the DAB car radios in the tunnel switch seamlessly from the external service to the warning message.
This was a very complex challenge, explained Les Sabel, Vice President of Development at RadioScape. We have patented the techniques used to effect the seamless and instantaneous transition of all the external DAB broadcasts to the emergency broadcast. David Giles, Business Group Manager for the Wireless Solutions Group at Tyco Traffic & Transportation, added, The EU has recognised the growing importance of DAB in cars and therefore this is a key part of the specifications. Interrupting FM reception is straightforward and we already have systems that can do that part but DAB is more complex requiring the use of a multiplex so we brought in RadioScape. Their Software Defined Digital Radio approach enabled them to create, test and effect all the modifications to their standard equipment via software very quickly.
The first tunnel to have TunnelAlert installed will be the Rotherhithe Tunnel in the UK, which is expected to go live early in the New Year.
25 October 2005
The BBC has this morning publicly confirmed its intention to launch a 12 hour-a-day Arabic-language TV service funded by the closure of a number of language radio services – a story we gave to AIB members last week.
The World Service announcement said that broadcasts in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak, Slovene and Thai would end by March 2006. BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman said many of those services resulted from the Second World War.
“It is acknowledged that their presence has contributed to the building of freedoms now enjoyed by their citizens. We believe this will be a lasting legacy.”
But he said many national and local services “which subscribe to similar values as the BBC” had since been started in Europe.
According to the BBC News website, National Union of Journalists (NUJ) general secretary Jeremy Dear condemned the cuts ahead of the confirmation of job losses: “It would be a bitter blow to BBC World Service staff and a step which has the potential to cause massive damage to Britain’s influence in a significant part of New Europe. Does Jack Straw [UK Foreign Minister] really believe that countries like Kazakhstan where intimidation of political opponents remains common and there is significant international concern that recent elections were rigged no longer need the type of public service broadcasting offered by the World Service”.
All the countries will continue to be served by other BBC Global News division services such as BBC World Service radio in English, BBC World television, and BBC News Online. The changes follow a ‘root and branch’ strategic review of BBC World Service.
BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman said: “The changes add up to the biggest transformation of BBC World Service that has been undertaken – and one of the most far-reaching – since the BBC began international broadcasting more than 70 years ago. Whilst the mix of services has to evolve as the world changes, the overall core aims of the BBC World Service will remain the same: to provide quality news and information that people trust, which stands out for its independence, authority and objectivity; and to be an open forum for global debate. Our new services on television and in new media will be judged by those values just as their distinguished predecessors have been.
“BBC World Service is already the most successful, trusted and respected voice in the Middle East with more than 60 years experience of broadcasting in the Arabic language on radio, and more recently and successfully, online. The BBC Arabic Television Service will build on this legacy by offering trusted and accurate news with an international agenda.
“It would mean the BBC will be the only major broadcaster who will provide a tri-media service in Arabic to the Middle East using TV, radio and online for sharing views and perspectives across the region and the wider world. Our research suggests there is strong demand for an Arabic Television service from the BBC in the Middle East.”
In its press announcement about the plans, the BBC says that the changes have been approved by the BBC Board of Governors. It also reports that the British Foreign Minister, Jack Straw, has given his approval as he is required to do under the terms of BBC World Service’s agreement with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
20 October 2005
Harris Corporation’s Broadcast Communications Division (BCD) has played a key role in rebuilding WQRZ-FM, a low-power FM station serving Hancock County, Mississippi that was nearly destroyed by the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. WQRZ-LP was the country’s first Amateur Radio-based organization granted a community broadcast FM station, hitting the airwaves in January 2003. Since then, the 24/7 station has been the premier source of information to Hancock County residents, providing music as regular programming but also offering communication resources and automatic Emergency Alert System (EAS) broadcasts to local listeners in times of emergency.
“We are passing on in-depth information to listeners about where to go for FEMA assistance, the Small Business Administration, medical center and shelter locations, and where to get a hot meal, ice, clothing and bare necessities,” said Sara Allen, an independent contractor assisting with WQRZ operations. “The hardest part of the update is reading the list of those still missing since Hurricane Katrina made landfall. But the feedback I’ve had from the public is that WQRZ has been a very important resource to the people of Hancock County. They are listening and trusting the source as we are attached directly to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) by way of the Public Information Office, and that co-location decreases the risk of faulty and inaccurate information.”
As Hurricane Katrina approached, WQRZ-FM Chief Engineer Brice Phillips, who operated the station from his home two miles from the Mississippi Gulf Coast, relocated the station’s existing 100-watt FM transmitter, the EAS, a portion of its four-bay antenna, and some studio components to the Hancock County EOC to continue broadcasts. When the storm hit on August 29, Phillips’ home was destroyed, but the station’s tower and a 10-foot by 10-foot shed survived. In the ensuing days, Harris engineers pre-built and shipped a turnkey studio system to the Hancock EOC featuring Harris resale products, including a Mackie VLZPRO mixer, a Denon 951FA CD player, microphones, headphones, wiring and cable. A Harris Quest(R) 1 kW FM transmitter from the Harris factory in Quincy, Illinois, was tuned and tested, crated and shipped to Phillips. Mark Goins, a Harris BCD national accounts manager, pulled all of the studio gear together and made sure it reached its destination in time. Harris also worked closely with Dielectric, which designed and built a one-bay antenna with transmission line for use with the Harris Quest transmitter and existing tower.
Once delivered, Gary Minker, president of Radio Works RF Consulting and a Harris contractor, headed the task of cleaning and converting Phillips’ shed into a transmission facility. “The working conditions were far from ideal with the heat, bugs and unbelievable amounts of mud,” said Minker. “We removed a foot of mud from the shed, rinsed it with water and drilled holes in the floor for drainage. We used repeater boxes, which had been used for local police and amateur radio communications before being destroyed in the storm surge, as stairs for access to the shed to create a new transmission facility. The Harris Quest transmitter frequency was changed from 98.1 to WQRZ’s 103.5 frequency, and we set the transmitter to mono so listeners using state-distributed transistor radios could pick up a stronger signal. Tower climbing, line sweeping, connector installation, antenna settings, and modulation testing were just some of the other tasks performed at the transmitter site. We then built the studio at the new Hancock EOC’s site at the Hancock Vocational Technical School seven miles from the transmitter. The entire project was completed in just four days.”
The Harris Quest transmitter has boosted WQRZ’s signal output to 1300 watts – 13 times its previous output – thanks to special temporary authority from the FCC that was secured by Allen. This has allowed Phillips and Allen to cover greater distances with these important broadcasts. Minker reports that he received clear car audio from the station at the Mississippi-Louisiana state line 15 miles from the site.
“WQRZ’s original purpose was to be the center of information for Hancock Country, providing trained radio operators to communicate public safety, health and property protection information to local residents,” said Phillips, who also serves as broadcast division director of Hancock County Amateur Radio Association, Inc. “We are very lucky that our tower escaped unharmed and are very appreciative of the help we received from numerous organizations and engineers. With the help of Gary Minker and his crew, plus the equipment supplied by Harris, we rebuilt quickly and transferred our temporary on-air operation to the new system with less than 45 minutes of off-air time.”
The state of Florida also donated a generator to keep the transmitter on-air due to the lack of electricity in the region. The generator was almost lost when Hurricane Rita blew through the area, but Phillips moved it to higher ground to ride out the second storm. Phillips reports that the new transmission system has been running perfectly since going on-air. There is no fixed date for changing the studio location, and it could be at its current home for up to several months. “The station is fairly portable at this point,” said Allen, “so all that’s required is to move the installed equipment to another site, connect it, and go back on the air in a fairly brief amount of time.”
Hal Kneller, manager of National Public Radio Initiatives for the Harris BCD’s Radio Broadcast Systems business unit, was instrumental in coordinating the Harris response to procure, pre-build and deliver the new studio equipment and FM transmitter. “It is gratifying to know that Harris employees across the company can come together very quickly to make the near impossible very possible. This was not just a Harris BCD project. Harris’ Government Communications Systems Division (GCSD) Homeland Security unit contacted us with a general description of what was needed, and we immediately turned to BCD’s Quincy, Illinois, factory to ensure rapid shipment of the Quest transmitter. GCSD had been in contact with the Florida Emergency Operations Center, which was coordinating all of Florida’s hurricane assistance to the Gulf Coast. This became the staging area for all the broadcast equipment coming in from different locations. We all feel a great sense of satisfaction from being a part of this crucial project.”
