17 January 2005
Australias metropolitan commercial radio stations attracted advertising revenue of $556.6 million in 2004, a 14.8 per cent increase over 2003, according to new figures released on 17 January by industry body Commercial Radio Australia. The data was compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the five major capital city markets. It showed Brisbane recorded the strongest growth in advertising revenue over the 12 month period ending December 2004 (up 24 per cent), followed by Melbourne (up 18 per cent) and Perth (15 per cent). Sydney, which accounts for about 40 per cent of revenue, grew by 11 per cent and Adelaide by six per cent.
The result was the industrys strongest growth rate in many years, reflecting the buoyant advertising market, said Joan Warner, chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia. A lot of new advertisers have been attracted to radio this year because it offers the best value of all main media in terms of reaching large audiences per advertising dollar. Were looking to build on this momentum in 2005 because radio continues to be extremely competitive, particularly when compared with some of the significant rate rises reported for other media.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers data showed strong advertising conditions continued in the month of December, with metropolitan advertising revenue for radio up by 14.7 per cent to $50.3 million, compared with December 2003. The growth rate for the six months ending December 2004 was 13.7 per cent compared with the same period in 2003.
The industry will continue to make a concerted effort in 2005 to sell the strengths of radio as an advertising medium. Its successful brand campaign which has been running for 18 months will be refreshed and kicks off on February 1 with a new batch of 45 second creative spots to be run nationally on all radio networks. The first ads will target the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and finance sectors, focusing on radios flexibility and emotive impact, TV ad avoidance and radios ability to reach consumers who are often too busy to read newspapers, Ms Warner said.
Ratings data shows radio increased listeners in 2004, particularly among the key 25-39 demographic in 2004.
The first radio ratings period of 2005 officially commenced this week, with survey results to be released on February 22. There will be eight surveys conducted by Nielsen Media Research during the year in each of the five mainland capital cities. The cities will be in survey for 39 weeks with over 50,000 respondents to be surveyed nationally.
17 January 2005
Many customers already restored to normal operations
Intelsat, Ltd. announced on 16 January that its IS-804 satellite experienced a sudden and unexpected electrical power system anomaly on January 14, 2005, at approximately 5:32 p.m. EST that caused the total loss of the spacecraft. In accordance with existing satellite anomaly contingency plans, Intelsat is in the process of making alternative capacity available to its IS-804 customers. The satellite, launched in 1997, furnished telecommunications and media delivery services to customers in the South Pacific. Intelsat and Lockheed Martin Corporation, the manufacturer of the satellite, are working together to identify the cause of the problem. Intelsat currently believes that there is no connection between this event and the recent IA-7 satellite anomaly as the two satellites were manufactured by two different companies and their designs are different.
A number of Intelsat-operated satellites in the region are being utilized to restore service to affected customers, and many end users of IS-804 capacity are already operating normally using replacement capacity. Intelsat has also begun working with other fleet operators where necessary to ensure the quickest possible restoration of service for customers. “The loss of a satellite is an extremely rare event for us, and our first priority must be restoration of service to our customers,” said Conny Kullman, CEO of Intelsat, Ltd. “Intelsat remains firmly committed to the region that was covered by IS-804, and all necessary effort and assets will be allocated to ensure Intelsat satellite coverage throughout the Asia-Pacific region.”
Intelsat expects to record a non-cash impairment charge of approximately $73 million to write off the value of the IS-804 satellite. The IS-804 was not insured, in accordance with Intelsat’s practice of insuring only those satellites with a net book value greater than $150 million.
Under the terms of the Transaction Agreement and Plan of Amalgamation for the sale of Intelsat dated August 16, 2004, among Intelsat, Ltd., Intelsat (Bermuda), Ltd., Zeus Holdings Limited (Zeus Holdings), Zeus Merger One Limited and Zeus Merger Two Limited, the total loss of the IS-804 satellite gives Zeus Holdings the right to not consummate the acquisition of Intelsat. Zeus Holdings has advised Intelsat that it is evaluating the impact of the IS-804 failure.
17 January 2005
Leading satellite services company GlobeCast announced on 17 January that PlayMonteCarlo, from OpenTV subsidiary BettingCorp, has signed up to its global distribution network. Interactive gaming channel PlayMonteCarlo will be available on BSkyBs platform, uplinked via Eurobird 28.5°E from GlobeCasts Brookmans Park teleport. GlobeCast will also house the interactive servers that power PlayMonteCarlos service. The servers will be controlled via a VPN, enabling remote access from PlayMonteCarlos production centre in London.
BettingCorp vice president operations Sean Eyen said: GlobeCasts reliable and scaleable bandwidth services were the obvious choice for BettingCorp. We are excited to utilise their global footprint in order to support an expansion of our PlayMonteCarlo gaming service and other BettingCorp technology powered services on interactive televison through our growing partner network. GlobeCast is perfectly placed to help us achieve this.
PlayMonteCarlo is a fixed-odds games portal available on Channel 7 of Sky Digitals Interactive Main Menu (IMM). It is also available through the Sky Active and Sky BettingZone interactive portals. The 24-hour service offers a number of fixed-odds games such as roulette, slots, keno and dice in both play-for-fun or play-for-real-money modes.
GlobeCast head of UK channel distribution Juliet Bayliss said: Its a great start to the new year signing up a company such as BettingCorp. They are the latest in a wide range of broadcasters to choose GlobeCast for their DTH delivery requirements and it is a measure of our flexibility and range of services that they have chosen us. We now deliver more than 500 channels worldwide and many of those are looking to expand into new territories. We are well-placed to help them.
14 January 2005
UK Radio Aid, the unique UK radio event that will raise money for children affected by the Asian Tsunami, will be beamed around the world via satellite by WRN, the London-based international transmission provider.
From 6am to 6pm on Monday 17th January 2005, the UK’s commercial radio stations will join together in a single, star-studded programme to raise money for the children affected by the Asian Tsunami and support them as they to start to rebuild their lives and look to the future. An estimated audience of up to 30 million listeners across 250 UK stations are expected to tune in, making it the biggest ever UK radio event.
With the support of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, some of the biggest names in UK radio history alongside musicians, sports and TV stars will take part in the 12 hour live broadcast. Each hour of programming will be hosted by two guest DJs who will introduce live acoustic sets, guest interviews, competitions, auctions, pledges, messages and news breaks.
The event will be simultaneously relayed around the world via WRNs extensive global digital satellite network. WRNs Richard Jacobs says, we are pleased to be able to donate the use our worldwide network to transmit this incredible event and take it to audiences on a global basis letting listeners in other countries get involved. Tim Ashburner, WRNs Technical Director says UK Radio Aid has an international resonance and our technical infrastructure makes WRN uniquely placed to turn it into a global event at short notice.
The event will be relayed as follows:
Across North America including the USA, Canada, the Caribbean and Central America via Intelsat Americas 5 at 97º West (Transponder 5, 11836 GHz, Vertical polarisation);
Across Europe, Middle East and North Africa via the Hot Bird 6 satellite (WRN Special, Transponder 94, 12597GHz, Vertical polarisation);
Across Africa and the Asia Pacific region via Thaicom 3 (WRN Special, Transponder 6G, 3.640 GHz, Horizontal polarisation).
14 January 2005
Inmedia Communications Limited (Inmedia) has acquired Cable and Satellite Transmissions (Cas.t) Limited (CAST) from Barnes Trust Television Limited, including staff, equipment, premises and customer contracts. This significant deal ranks Inmedia second only to Sky as a playout provider and strengthens its position as the largest independent UK playout provider.
The acquisition increases Inmedias playout client-base to more than 60 channels playing out half a million hours of TV every year and expands its service capability to more than 100 channels. Following the acquisition, Inmedias major playout customers now include The Travel Channel, The Chinese Channel, ESPN, Sony and Zone Vision.
Inmedia, owned by its management and global private equity firm The Carlyle Group, makes the deal as part of its long-term strategy to grow the business through such acquisitions, as well as maintaining a strong emphasis on the broadcast, enterprise and international carrier markets.
Inmedia is to use CASTs 20,000 square foot central London premises at Newman Street W1 as its new London Media Centre with additional studio and editing facilities. The new site helps broadcasters to physically deliver content directly to Inmedia in central London and is a significant addition to Inmedias services through the entire production chain from studios for capture to editing, post-production and playout. The London Media Centre is situated less than 500 metres from the BT Tower and will allow Inmedia to offer a cost-effective solution to broadcasters for occasional-use video feeds to and from Newman Street. In turn, this enables broadcast feeds to be played live to air or recorded on site for re-use by the broadcast station.
Former CAST general manager Geoff Trickey becomes head of playout and takes responsibility for the new London Media Centre, Newman Street, and playout operations at Gerrards Cross. Inmedia anticipates the acquisition will generate around £3 million incremental turnover from CASTs playout operation alone and sees the deal as a significant part of its long-term strategy to expand its playout operations. Inmedias acquisition of CAST both enhances its services for existing customers and enables it to deliver an advanced, comprehensive offering to even more broadcasters, says Inmedia CEO Nick Thompson. Not only do we now have strong presence in the heart of the London broadcast community, we have significantly increased our capacity to help more broadcasters conduct their essential operations as efficiently as possible.
13 January 2005
Arabic-language satellite news channel Al Jazeera has launched a campaign to collect donations for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster.
The Qatar-based broadcaster said the campaign is being organised in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
A spokesperson for the Channel commented: Al Jazeera felt that it is its duty, as prescribed by Article 9 of its Code of Professional Ethics, to actively assist in alleviating some of the human suffering caused by one of the most unfortunate disasters since Al Jazeeras inception as a news organization. We are not a charity, and hence are not equipped to handle the relief effort ourselves. We decided to take this initiative in co-operation with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent. We enhanced the appeal for donations by hosting on our screen, at peak hours during the day, renowned Arab dignitaries in fields ranging from politics, social, cultural etc. calling on our audience to donate. We have had appeals from Moslem as well as non-Moslem dignitaries. Al Jazeera has been the first Arab media organisation to undertake this effort.
