25 September 2009
As reported on the ABU web site:
After years of debate, Hong Kong has decided that public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) will remain a government department, Channel NewsAsia reports.
RTHK will also be given extra funds to set up its own TV channels, provide digital radio broadcasts and hire more staff.
There had been calls for RTHK to be corporatised, to make it a leaner and more cost-efficient body. Since the debate began three years ago, nearly half of the station’s staff have been on put on short-term contract terms.
Franklin Wong, Director of Broadcasting, said now that the uncertainty had been removed, RTHK will be recruiting people and collaborating with broadcasters overseas, on the mainland and local talents.”
The hiring freeze on the station has been lifted, and contract staff can re-apply for permanent positions at RTHK.
In addition, the government will create an advisory body for the station, and draw up a charter to govern its operations.
25 September 2009
From the GSMA Mobile Business Briefing:
Vodafone has officially announced details of its new Internet services initiative, ‘Vodafone 360,’ the UK-based operator’s answer to rival services such as Apple’s App Store and Nokia’s Ovi. Vodafone 360 aims to gather all of a customer’s friends, communities, entertainment and personal favorites (like music, games, photos and video) in one place.
Central to the service is a connected address book – known as ‘Vodafone People’ – which automatically synchs all contacts from a customer’s phone, social networks (such as Facebook) and other Internet messaging services such as Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger and Google Talk.
A catalogue of 1,000 applications is available at launch downloadable through the Vodafone Shop. The service is automatically backed-up and synchronised between the mobile and a PC or Mac. “Vodafone 360 is the first service of its kind to offer customers the benefits of a truly integrated mobile Internet experience that gathers all their contacts and content, all around them, in one place,” said Pieter Knook, director of Internet Services at Vodafone.
In a statement, Vodafone said that “the full Vodafone 360 experience” will be available initially on two specially-built handsets designed by Samsung. The proprietary User Interface on Vodafone 360 mobiles is based on the Linux-based LiMo platform. Vodafone added that a further four Nokia Symbian smartphones will come pre-loaded with Vodafone 360 at launch and that part or all of the service will be downloadable to over one hundred popular phones. Vodafone 360 will be rolled-out in eight of Vodafone’s European markets this year (Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK). Further launches penciled in for 2010 include India, Turkey, South Africa, New Zealand, Romania, France (via SFR), Russia (via MTS) and Australia (via Vodafone Hutchison Australia).
18 September 2009
euronews, the international multilingual news channel, has announced two new agreements in Indonesia with Indovision and Okevision for broadcasting the English version of euronews on DTH satellite platforms. These agreements will allow euronews to reach an additional half million households in Indonesia.
euronews is available since July 2009 on the Indovision satellite bouquet. Indovision, a brand of PT MNC Sky Vision, is the leading Indonesian operator for direct-to-home (DTH) satellite distribution. On the Indovision bouquet, euronews can be seen on channel number 334.
euronews is also available on Okevision since August 2009, a satellite bouquet belonging to PT Nusantara Vision. On Okevision, euronews is available on channel number 155.
In Asia, euronews is already distributed in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam, reaching more than four million homes in the region.
18 September 2009
AFP reports:
Al Jazeera broke a long established taboo on Arab TV – the satellite channel which has obtained the rights to broadcast Champions League matches in Arabic-speaking countries showed a football match featuring an Israeli team. This was a first on Arab television.
The UEFA Champions League match between Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa and German Bundesliga team Bayern Munich was broadcast with a commentary in English.
Previously Saudi-owned ART held the rights to broadcast Europe’s premier club football competition but ART never showed a game featuring an Israeli team.
18 September 2009
New Zealands TV public service broadcaster TVNZ and German systems and consulting company S4M Solutions for Media have successfully concluded the implementation of S4Ms S4AdSales system.
S4AdSales is a sophisticated airtime sales system that supports both local as well as global advertising campaigns, thereby connecting different channels, countries, languages, currencies and media. As TVNZs business system to sell and manage the broadcasters advertising inventory, either directly or through advertising agencies, S4AdSales is responsible for a core process within the enterprise. It is the engine room for the business, analogous to airline inventory management or hotel inventory (room) management. It is the guts of how we manage our $300 million revenue stream, says Damian Swaffield, TVNZs General Manager Technology.
Dr. Manfred Heinen, S4Ms CEO, adds: Long distance projects of course are always a challenge. It is especially important to establish channels that enable real team play. This was possible with TVNZ and we are happy that S4M was able to support TVNZ in such an important area as media sales.
S4AdSales is used by private and public service broadcasters in Europe, Asia and North America.
18 September 2009
From the ABU website:
Indias national television service, Doordarshan (DDI), has turned 50 with a call to win a bigger share of the cable and satellite market, Indiantelevision.com reports.
Its Director General, Aruna Sharma, said the 50th anniversary was a time for introspection to examine the role of the public broadcaster.
It was also a time to consider how DDI could penetrate the cable and satellite sector in a big way, as it had done in terrestrial TV, she said.
DDI was established on 15 September 1959 with an hour-long daily telecast from a studio in Delhi but began regular telecasts only in the 1970s.
It now operates 19 channels, accessible to more than 90 percent of people in India via more than 1,400 transmitters.
On the eve of its anniversary, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said the government was contemplating using ex-servicemen from the army and former policemen for the work of running television transmitters in the border areas.
She said it was important that Indian broadcasting signals should be stronger than those coming from China or Pakistan.
