31 January 2005
Intelsat, Ltd., a global satellite communications leader providing services in over 200 countries and territories, announced on 28 January the successful closing of the amalgamation under Bermuda law of Intelsat and a subsidiary of Zeus Holdings Limited.
Zeus is a company formed by a consortium of funds advised by Apax Partners, Apollo Management, Madison Dearborn Partners and Permira. As a result of the closing of the transaction, those organizations and individuals that held shares in Intelsat immediately prior to the closing are entitled to receive $18.75 in exchange for each such share. The total value of the transaction, including approximately $2 billion of existing net debt, was approximately $5 billion.
Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisors to Intelsat, Ltd. in connection with the transaction. Credit Suisse First Boston, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Lehman Brothers Inc. acted as financial advisors to Zeus in connection with the transaction.
27 January 2005
Faced with a rising number of viewers refusing to pay their licence fees due to embezzlement scandals, Japans public broadcaster NHK’s President Katsuji Ebisawa tendered his resignation on 25 January.
The 2005 budget endorsed by the management committee showed the first decrease in subscription fee income in NHK’s history. The broadcaster has recently also been embroiled in a scandal over claims that it censored a documentary of a mock trial on Japan’s wartime atrocities, bowing to political pressure.
NHK has appointed Gen-ichi Hashimoto as its new President with immediate effect. Mr Hashimoto has been General Managing Director/Executive Director-General for Engineering since September 2004. An engineer by training, he joined NHK in 1968.
27 January 2005
EICTA, the European industry organisation representing the information and communications technology and consumer electronics sectors, has published its Conditions for HD Labelling of Display Devices and associated HD ready label.
The HD ready label is introduced as a quality sign for the differentiation of display equipment, capable of processing and displaying high definition signals, awarded on the basis of minimum functionality requirements detailed in the EICTA conditions for HD Labelling of Display Devices.
The EICTA Conditions for HD Labelling of Display Devices are the result of a concerted effort from the European high technology industry, elaborated in close dialogue with representatives from the European public and private broadcasters,
infrastructure and service providers, as well as national HDTV-related initiatives. The conditions embody a carefully sought after balance between technology and business drivers. I am pleased to announce that EICTA is taking the lead in driving the dynamic changes we are seeing in what is undoubtedly one of Europe’s most exciting and revolutionary industry sectors . Setting the Conditions for HD Labelling of Display Devices marks real progress in the rollout of HDTV in Europe and demonstrates the organisations commitment to actively creating the conditions for the digital economy as well as fully embracing the challenges and benefits of innovation, says Rudy Provoost, CEO Philips Consumer Electronics, as President of EICTA and Chairman of the Executive Board.
In an early response, some of the parties that were involved in the process that led to the definition of the EICTA Conditions for HD Labelling of Display Devices commented: It is critically important that the public is informed about the capabilities of home displays to provide high definition television – and that broadcasters understand what will happen to their content. The HD ready label is fully supported by Europes national broadcasters, the Members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The EICTA Conditions for HD Labelling of Display Devices offers a well balanced approach which responds to viewers and broadcasters needs for certainty regarding interoperability with future HD receiver products. says Daniel Sauvet-Goichon, Chairman, EBU Technical Committee.
Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA, states: The HD ready label provides consumers with the guarantee that displays from different manufacturers are genuinely future -proof and fully compliant with commonly agreed technical standards for state-of-the-art High Definition broadcasts. In combination with ASTRAs unique 24 hour HD promo channel which is available for live demonstrations on HD displays at points of sales all across Europe, it provides a powerful marketing tool to educate millions of end-consumers about the single most important technological development in broadcasting since the introduction of color TV: HDTV!
The issues addressed by the EICTA HD ready label are critical to fostering growth, guaranteeing confidence in the Consumer Electronics sector, and achieving the goals of putting Europe on the worldwide HDTV map. The EICTA Conditions for HD Labelling of Display Devices offers a carefully balanced approach which preserves the incentives for European innovation in broadcasting technologies, while also responding to the consumers call for certainty and clear messaging regarding interoperability with future HD receiver products. The HD ready label should introduce consumer assurance and confidence when purchasing new display devices assumed to be ready for use with High Definition broadcasts and other HD equipment. The label is awarded within a self-certification regime.
27 January 2005
As reported on the ABU web site, Radio Taiwan International announced on 27 January that it will stop five foreign-language broadcasts as part of its efforts to streamline the company.
The five languages – Korean, Burmese, Arabic, Mongolian and Tibetan – will cease broadcasting from 1 February.
Chairman Lin Feng-cheng said that the company, with a workforce of 488 people, currently broadcasts in 18 languages daily worldwide and is the only international broadcasting station in Taiwan.
27 January 2005
Harris Corporation announced on 27 January the completion – nearly two years ahead of schedule – of the $85 million first phase of a comprehensive programme to upgrade and expand the nationwide broadcast infrastructure of S.N. Radiocomunicatii S.A., Romania’s state-owned broadcast organization. Modernisation of Romania’s ageing broadcast communications system marks a critical step forward for Romania and its population, bringing the country up to date with the solid-state analogue technology favoured in Western Europe. Harris’ end-to-end radio and television solution also provides S.N. Radiocomunicatii S.A. with a clear path to the digital future.
Phase 1 of the three-phase project, which is providing 100 percent radio coverage throughout Romania, was completed in just 20 months instead of the anticipated four-and-one-half years. Harris accelerated the project by dedicating the additional engineering and technical resources needed to establish nationwide radio coverage before Romania’s election in November 2004. Harris supplied 28 low-power (10kW to 50kW) medium wave transmitters, eight high-power (200KW and 400KW) medium wave transmitters, and 106 FM radio transmitters for local coverage as well as longer distances of difficult terrain at sites throughout Romania. The range and diversity of transmitters was essential to ensure 100 percent nationwide radio broadcast coverage for Romania’s regional network and two national networks across urban areas and vast stretches of rural communities often divided by the Carpathian Mountains.
Gabriel Grecu, president of S.N. Radiocomunicatii, said, “The ability to transmit high-quality radio and television broadcast signals throughout the country is crucial. Our previous system employed Eastern technology and frequency standards that were of poor quality and frequently unreliable. Our nationwide reception is now excellent, and we’ve harmonized our radio frequency bands with Western standards. We’re even looking into digital audio broadcasting (DAB) for the Bucharest area. The whole project represents a huge improvement that benefits not just our broadcast capabilities, but Romanian society as a whole. What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that, due to the often-remote geography of Romania, there are really only six months of the year when many of these areas are accessible. The engineering, technology and co-ordination support of our Harris team was superb.”
The end-to-end transmission solution also included antenna systems, microware links for resource sharing, engineering, installation, training and commissioning services. In addition, the first of many high- and low-power television transmitters and transposers were installed. The television installations begin upgrades to Romania’s television transmission infrastructure, which will be expanded and completed during the remainder of the modernisation program. Furthermore, three control and monitoring networks will reduce operational costs at each station facility by enabling the remote monitoring of all radio and television transmission equipment from four regional headquarters.
Until now, it has been estimated that the country’s ageing broadcast technology did not reach up to 40 percent of Romania’s 22.3 million. With the completion of the radio phase of the modernisation project, the country now enjoys 100 percent radio coverage at a higher fidelity and lower cost. With the inclusion of new RDS capabilities, public radio stations can be received and retained on the move throughout the country. Romania also has the ability to reach Romanians living in other European countries with the use of a Harris long-wave AM transmitter.
“Romania is showing Eastern Europe that the time to upgrade to solid-state analogue technology is now,” said Debra Huttenburg, vice president and general manager of Harris Broadcast Communications’ Radio Broadcast Systems business unit. “This is a great example of how the move from antiquated tube technology to solid-state technology can provide significantly lower operating costs and higher reliability. Romania has not only undergone the single largest installation programme in radio history, but it has also ensured that there is a digital future in place for its entire broadcast communications infrastructure. The fact that Harris completed the first phase nearly two years ahead of schedule also demonstrates that we can deliver comprehensive broadcast systems no matter what size and scale.”
