8 March 2004
Al-Arabiya, the Dubai-based newscaster, has signed a major distribution deal with the BBC. The channel, owned by MBC, has optioned 100 hours of factual content from BBC Worldwide including a number of shows about Middle-Eastern issues such as Palestine – The First Intifada and Mohammed Reza Pahlavi – The Last Shah. The broadcaster will air the in-house produced programmes, which also include Alan Yentobs BBC 1 arts programme Leonardo, over the next few years.
Al-Arabiya is a 24-hour news channel which airs across the world servicing around 130 million Arabic speaking people.
5 March 2004
Broadcast intercom supplier Drake Electronics has won an order from Al Jazeera Satellite News in Qatar for a 4000 Series II matrix to be installed in their main studio complex.
Drake won the contract in partnership with Tek Signals as part of Al Jazeera’s expansion programme for their satellite news channel.
The new order confirms Al Jazeera’s continued commitment to Drake, who already have many Drake intercom systems installed in their Qatar based news station. The order consists of a brand new 48 port 4000 Series II matrix and a combination of user panels. Al Jazeera has also ordered six FreeSpeak® beltpacks allowing their operators to have fully integrated communications whilst on the move.
The system operates using a cellular network of active antennas located around the production environment that are connected directly to the Drake matrix. FreeSpeak® continuously detects the best channel, automatically changing without any user intervention. The inclusion of FreeSpeak® in the system architecture allows wireless users to communicate across the Hi-Que paths to other matrices and studio clusters.
Installation will commence early Spring.
Al Jazeera is a member of the AIB.
4 March 2004
Kiev-based broadcaster Radio Kontinent, an independent station, was closed by an order issued by Ukraines State Centre of Radio Frequencies on 3 March, allegedly for broadcasting without an appropriate licence. As well as producing its own principally music-based programmes, Kontinent is a rebroadcasting partner of the Ukrainian-language services of BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Polonia and the Voice of America, all members of the Association for International Broadcasting.
Radio Kontinent has worked with international stations for several years, rebroadcasting news and current affairs programmes to listeners across the Ukrainian capital. Kontinent recently started to take the output of Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) which until February 17 had been transmitted by the Radio Dovira network in Ukraine.
The closure of Radio Kontinent has drawn criticism from broadcasters. Speaking from Bonn, Deutsche Welles Director of Programmes Joachim Lenz said that the closure was further proof that the Ukrainian state does not allow freedom of press and speech.
From Prague, Tom Dine, President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said “We at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are angry and outraged by this blatant act in suppressing factual news and information from a variety of high-quality journalists. Ukraine’s name and its people are badly damaged; the first freedom – free expression – is harmed.”
The BBC in London issued a statement in which it expressed its disappointment with the closure of Radio Kontinent and expressed hope the station will be given a chance to re-apply for a licence and be on air again. Many BBC listeners in Kiev have been tuning in to our programmes through Radio Kontinent, and we are sad that they will now be deprived of this option. We have enjoyed working with Radio Kontinent and hope they will be able to re-apply for the licence in the future in order to continue to enrich the choice of the Ukrainian listener with their mix of news, jazz and classical music.
4 March 2004
The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) today expressed its concern at the decision by Ukrainian authorities to close Kiev-based broadcaster Radio Kontinent. Kontinent, an independent station, was closed by an order issued by Ukraines State Centre of Radio Frequencies (Ukrchastnotnaglyad) on 3rd March. As well as producing its own principally music-based programmes, Kontinent is a rebroadcasting partner of the Ukrainian-language services of BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Polonia and the Voice of America, all members of the AIB.
“Radio Kontinent has been a vital source of impartial information for the people of Kiev,” says Simon Spanswick, Chief Executive of the AIB. “The station has worked in partnership with leading western broadcasters to bring world and regional news to its audiences in the Ukrainian capital. The AIB believes that this closure is not in the best interest of the Ukrainian people who want access to free speech as well as unbiased news and information. The AIB urges Ukrainian authorities to allow Kontinent to return to the air as a matter of urgency.”
Radio Kontinent has worked with international stations for several years, rebroadcasting news and current affairs programmes to listeners across the Ukrainian capital. Kontinent recently started to take the output of Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) which until February 17 had been transmitted by the Radio Dovira network in Ukraine. However, following a management change, the station ceased its working arrangement with RFE/RL.
“Hundreds of radio stations around the world carry programming from many international broadcasters,” continues Spanswick. “Tens of millions of people in countries from Argentina to Zambia tune in to local broadcasters who relay news and current affairs programmes from stations abroad. International radio and television stations provide trusted, reliable information, to make sense of our complex, confusing and contradictory world, and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas. It is vital to democracy worldwide that these broadcasts are not interfered with by governments and politicians.”
The closure of Radio Kontinent has drawn criticism from broadcasters. Speaking in Bonn, Deutsche Welles Director of Programmes Joachim Lenz said that the closure “was further proof that the Ukrainian state does not allow freedom of press and speech.”
From Prague, Tom Dine, President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, said “We at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are angry and outraged by this blatant act in suppressing factual news and information from a variety of high-quality journalists. Ukraine’s name and its people are badly damaged; the first freedom – free expression – is harmed.”
David Jackson, Director of the Voice of America, said: “The Voice of America has a reputation around the world for providing balanced and reliable news. Silencing that Voice is not in Ukraine’s interests.”
And the BBC in London issued a statement in which it expressed its disappointment with the closure of Radio Kontinent and expressed hope the station will be given a chance to re-apply for a licence and be on air again. “Many BBC listeners in Kiev have been tuning in to our programmes through Radio Kontinent, and we are sad that they will now be deprived of this option. We have enjoyed working with Radio Kontinent and hope they will be able to re-apply for the licence in the future in order to continue to enrich the choice of the Ukrainian listener with their mix of news, jazz and classical music.”
The AIB has written to Ukraines Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych and to Ukraines Ambassadors in Berlin, London, Prague, Warsaw and Washington concerning the closure of Radio Kontinent. The AIB has urged the return of its confiscated transmitting equipment and sought reassurance that stations in the Ukraine that broadcast programmes from abroad will not face censure or harassment.
2 March 2004
EuroNews, the European news channel, is now distributed by Germanys largest cable operator, Kabel Deutschland, on its digital cable platform, DigiKabel.
DigiKabel targets Germanys extensive foreign communities and EuroNews is included in five of the packages: DigiKabel RUS, DigiKabel I, DigiKabel P, DigiKabel E and DigiKabel D which carry EuroNews in the Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and English language versions respectively.
The German language EuroNews remains widely available in the analogue basic cable offer in Germany. The channel reaches a total of 17.8 million homes throughout the country, including 1.4 million by digital cable and 1.9 by digital satellite.
Kabel Deutschland has a total of 10 million subscribers to analogue cable in 6 regions of Germany (Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania / Lower Saxony, Bremen / Brandenburg / Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia / Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland / Bavaria.)
