7 April 2004
The British Government announced on 2 April that Michael Grade has been appointed BBC Chairman for four years from 17 May 2004.
Welcoming the appointment Richard Ryder, Acting BBC Chairman, said: “The Board of Governors warmly welcomes the appointment of Michael Grade. We are delighted that he will be the BBC’s new Chairman and we look forward to working closely with him. He will find a united Board which is optimistic about the future. The Board is conscious of the importance of the tasks it will tackle under his leadership, including Charter Review, the appointment of the Director-General, the Graf Review of bbc.co.uk, the first stage of the Ofcom PSB review and the DCMS reviews of new services.
Mark Byford, Acting Director-General, said: “Michael Grade is one of the major world figures in broadcasting and the wider creative industry, with an outstanding record of achievement. He has a deep understanding of broadcasting, and firmly believes in the BBC and its place at the heart of national life. He is passionate about creativity, talent and ambition in programmes. That is why everyone in the BBC will warmly welcome this exciting appointment. It’s great that Michael is coming back to the BBC and he will enjoy the full support of the whole organisation.”
Michael Grade said: “This is quite a day for me. Apart from my obvious pride and delight, I also feel my experience has prepared me to step into the role at a difficult moment in the Corporation’s history. I would like to thank those who appointed me for having the courage to break the mould. I would also like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Gavyn Davies, who gave so much to support the ideals of the Corporation and who showed great courage and dignity in the manner of his departure. The editorial independence of the BBC is paramount in maintaining the support of the viewers and listeners. Without it, there is no point to the BBC. It is my job, and the job of the whole board, to ensure that the BBC can continue to earn public and parliamentary support so that the provision of universally available, value for money, public service broadcasting is neither jeopardised nor marginalised. Nothing must be allowed to deprive our children and our grandchildren of the rich experience we have come to expect and enjoy these past decades from the British Broadcasting Corporation.”
7 April 2004
Leading satellite services company GlobeCast announced on 2 April the delivery of Moroccan television channel 2M Maroc to Africa via its digital satellite television platform on NSS 7. GIobeCast – a subsidiary of France Telecom – operates a global network of satellite distribution platforms for broadcast and advanced content delivery. GIobeCast manages proprietary Direct-to-Home satellite television platforms in Europe, America, Australia and Africa.
Since 1 March GlobeCast has been providing 2M with end-to-end channel distribution including transmission, multiplexing and space capacity. GlobeCast receives the feed in Casablanca and delivers the signal via Telecom 2D to its Serte technical operations center in Paris. From the Serte, 2M Maroc is inserted into GlobeCasts channel multiplex and uplinked to NSS 7 at 22°W for C-band distribution over Africa. A powerful satellite for DTH and cable distribution, NSS 7 boasts an established international community of programmers including CNN, EuroNews and Canal France Internationals French-language bouquet LeSat.
2M is the second-largest television channel in Morocco, offering 24/7 programming in both French and Arabic. Its lineup includes news programs, documentary features, childrens entertainment and cultural programs as well as the latest sporting events.
1 April 2004
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26 March 2004
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) today released the first aggregated data endorsed on an industry-wide basis covering the size and value of the Asia Pacific pay-TV market with newly calibrated estimates of advertising revenues. The CASBAA-validated data has been derived from a six-month consultation process by the CASBAA Advertising & Research Committee with the region’s leading pay-TV channels, system operators, agencies and data providers on both a regional and local basis. Participants in the process included representatives from Discovery Networks Asia, STAR Group, Turner International Asia Pacific, Nielsen Media Research, TAM India and Media Partners Asia.
“This robust consensus provides the firmest platform yet to argue in favor of the pay-TV industry’s maturity and attractiveness as an advertising vehicle,” said Marcel Fenez, the Chairman of CASBAA. “With this data the industry can look forward to the future in terms of forecasting development from a solid and assured base.”
The CASBAA data shows that the Asian cable and satellite industry in 2003 accounted for almost 190 million multi-channel homes, 95% of which are pay homes. Pay-TV advertising revenues for 2002 were US$2.6 billion in 2002 compared to an estimated US$14.8 billion in overall TV ad spend. Previous estimates showed 150 million cable subscribers in 2002.
In 2003, there were 48 million multi-channel subscribers in India, 12 million in Korea, 8 million in Japan, 7.7 million in Taiwan and 100 million multi-channel subscribers in China, according to the new CASBAA data.
This assessment of the market conditions of just over 12 months ago show total multi-channel adspend at US$2.592 million for the industry but with just US$205 million for pan regional advertising buys. China leads with US$752 million; followed closely by India at US$739 million; and Taiwan at US$586 million.
However, in terms of the percentage of the total TV adspend, the numbers demonstrate considerable room for growth, in all representing just 17.5% of the US$14.79 billion on TV advertising in the Asia Pacific outside of Japan. The multi-channel total TV viewing share is now over 50% in multi-channel homes in many markets.
“This highlights the challenge the industry face in promoting itself to clients, agencies and the media community as a whole,” said Mr Fenez. “We need to address these issues through further engaging on a regular basis with the agency and client communities to articulate the value that multi-channel television brings to the advertising community and initiatives such as the launch of the CASBAA Media College for sales and marketing executives in Singapore on April 22nd. The CASBAA Council of Governors recognizes this issue and gives it the highest importance.”
26 March 2004
Radio Canada International expands its reach in the major capitals of French-speaking Africa, thanks to a new agreement with German international radio broadcaster, Deutsche Welle. Under the agreement, DW will allow its over 100 local partner radio stations to use its receivers to pick up RCI programming.
This initiative fits perfectly with Radio Canada Internationals repositioning, which puts greater emphasis on building meaningful partnerships with large-scale international radio services. Our agreement with Deutsche Welle will enable us to reach a larger French-speaking audience in Africa, said Jean Larin, director of Radio Canada International. According to Deutsche Welles distribution director, Heinz G. Pianka, Radio-Canada International programming will enrich our current radio offering by providing a Canadian perspective on the major issues of the day.
On March 26, RCI also launches new Portuguese programming specially tailored to Brazilian audiences. Journalist Hector Vilar will host the new weekly programme, a prestigious news and information magazine covering key current affairs in Canada and Brazil. Vilar holds a masters degree in communications, and has worked as reporter and news director at a leading São Paulo daily, Jornal da Tarde, as well as editor and teaching assistant at Université du Québec à Montréal.
Thanks to an agreement with Radio Netherlands, this half-hour programe will be broadcast on 300 AM and FM stations throughout Brazil. It will also be aired live on RCI short-wave on Fridays at 4 p.m. EST, and on weekends via satellite and Internet.
RCI and DW are members of the AIB.
