12 September 2003
Recently, the Pakistan government has declared its intention greatly to increase the number of TV and radio outlets in the countries. Then came news of a ban on Urdu-language cable TV from India.
Now the Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sheikh Rashid Ahmad has asked cable television operators to show only those channels that provide entertainment and positive information to people. Talking to representatives of cable TV operators in Islamabad, the minister directed them not to show channels to Pakistani viewers which were against Islamic teachings and the ideology of the country. At the same time he announced reduction in charges for loop operators from 25,000 rupees to 10,000 rupees.
Federal Information Secretary Syed Anwar Mehmood directed the cable TV operators to improve their service and not show PTV dramas [soap operas] and other programmes illegally.
12 September 2003
Still striving to reach news audiences, VOA has launched a new daily Indonesian television news show, Jurnal VOA, on Metro TV in Indonesia.
Jurnal VOA, a 25-minute live and interactive show focusing on the main news stories of the day, will air on Metro TV Monday through Friday from 5.05 to 5.30 am local time. Metro is seen in 39 cities throughout Indonesia, including all the major markets.
VOA is currently on the internet at www.VOAindonesia.com, while VOA’s Indonesian TV programs include a 30-minute magazine show, Dunia Kita, broadcast via Metro TV on Mondays at 1.30 p.m. and Halo VOA, an interactive discussion, broadcast via satellite on Thursdays at 5.30 a.m.
10 September 2003
Satellite broadcast provider GlobeCast has launched Chai TV , the world’s first global Jewish television station, on its European and American direct-to-home platforms.
GlobeCast, a France Telecom subsidiary, will deliver Chai TV to Europe and the Mediterranean on HOT BIRD as well as to North America on Telstar 5 (World TV) and AMC-1.
Chai TV is the first global Jewish news channel specialising in Middle Eastern events. News reporting constitutes an essential part of its content, with seven hours of current events each day. Chai TV’s programs and reports are bilingual, presented in both English and French. The channel’s staff includes 40 journalists in Paris, 20 in Jerusalem and numerous correspondents throughout the Middle East. General programming on Chai TV includes weather reports, financial news, business news, documentaries, films and shows drawn from a variety of international programming.
10 September 2003
James Murdoch, Chairman and CEO of the STAR Group, will probably visit India to discuss the financial restructuring for its 24-hour Hindi news channel Star News.
The channel has been running on a temporary licence extension, but has to comply with the Indian government regulation according to which any news channel uplinking from India should not have more than 26 per cent foreign equity. And the single largest Indian shareholder must now hold at least 51 per cent of total equity. With the government deadline of 28 September approaching, Murdoch is expected to discuss the final negotiations with the potential partners for taking a 51 per cent stake in Media Content and Communications Services (MCCS), the company through which Star News is being uplinked from India.
10 September 2003
Progressive AIB member You/Com will launch its latest audio to DVB converter at IBC.
The MXTS is a multiple channel converter that can handle from 10 up to more than 100 audio programmes simultaneously, and multiplex them into a single DVB transport stream. This means that only one ASI slot of the DVB multiplexer is used. A unique feature of the MXTS is that it accepts MPEG audio signals from remote locations over digital leased lines and converts them into a single transport stream. The low processing delay, easy management and compact physical dimensions of the MXTS should meet the requirements of critical customers worldwide.
