3 December 2004
Live football on TV at sea – possibly the best thing to happen to sailors since a cure was found for scurvy. Until recently, only the largest aircraft carriers, such as HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious were equipped to receive live TV at sea.
But life on the ocean wave has changed beyond recognition in the last two years. Live Grand Prix, World Cup Rugby, Premier League footie and internationals, not forgetting Big Brother, West Wing, Coronation Street and EastEnders!
All these programmes and more are now available to the Royal Navy following a two pronged attack by SSVC to get live BFBS TV to sailors at sea: TOMS or Television Over Military Satellite; and stabilised tracking dishes which will provide multi-channel TV.
The British Forces Broadcasting Division of SSVC (BFBS) produces a 24-hr mosaic channel a mixture of BFBS1, BFBS2, Sky News and Sky Sports which is uplinked to the Skynet satellite and uses spare bandwidth on the military data stream. Ships can receive this channel via their Scot antenna almost anywhere in the world under the Skynet footprint. Thirty-nine ships are now equipped and can get live TOMS TV. A few years ago, it was unimaginable to suggest the Navy would be enjoying all the Euro 2004 matches live at sea, but this year it became a reality. There will shortly be capacity for a second TOMS TV channel which will be Sky News, which means that ships will have a choice of viewing 24 hours a day.
BFBS were determined the Royal Navy should have an even wider choice of channels, and hence the second prong of the attack. The SSVC Operational Welfare Fund has donated £511,000 worth of receiver equipment and the Royal Navy has found the funds to provide and fit stabilised tracking dishes for 44 ships, which will be done over the next two to three years. This will mean that whenever these ships are anywhere under the Eutelsat W3 footprint they will have a choice of 6 channels – BFBS1, BFBS2, Sky News, BBC News 24, and two Sky Sports channels.
Plans are also afoot so that when they are under the NewSkies satellites covering Africa, the Falklands, and most of the Atlantic, they will be able to receive up to three channels as well as the two via Skynet.
3 December 2004
Video highlights of the AIB’s 2004 Global Media Business Conference are now available online in Windows Media format.
Download the file using the link below (note – it is 5MB in size), or play directly in Windows Media (if you have a good Internet connection).
A high-quality DVD version of the video is available on request from AIB head office.
30 November 2004
The Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Panamericana have announced that VOA Spanish-language programming will air on Bolivia’s largest national radio network, beginning Wednesday, December 1.
Thanks to an agreement between VOA and Radio Panamericana, VOA programming in Spanish will now reach an additional 8.6 million listeners weekly through Panamericana’s network of eight affiliate stations in Bolivia’s major cities, including La Paz, Santa Cruz, and Cochabamba. The new partnership with Panamericana builds on VOA’s current network of 15 smaller affiliate stations in Bolivia. An inaugural ceremony in La Paz will accompany the launch on December 1, 2004.
Each day, Radio Panamericana will carry Reportaje Desde Washington (Report from Washington). The exclusive, live question-and-answer news report from VOA’s Washington, D.C. studios will be customized for the region. Monday through Friday will feature Luis Facal at 0825 local time (0125 UTC), and Tuesdays and Fridays will feature Mercedes Antezana at 1645 local time (2145 UTC). Finally, a two-minute segment of VOANoticias will air daily at 1130 local time (1630 UTC).
Other VOA Spanish programming includes Foro Interamericano, a weekly, hour-long public affairs television program that examines issues of interest to the Americas. VOA also broadcasts the daily Desde Washington (From Washington), a five-minute, Spanish-language television newscast for more than three-dozen affiliates in 10 countries throughout Latin America. In addition, VOA Spanish broadcasts programs directly to listeners via shortwave and by satellite to AM and FM affiliates in the region.
Programmes are also available on the Internet at www.VOANews.com/Spanish.
25 November 2004
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned blatant attempts to prevent Ukraine journalists from reporting on the protests following the hotly contested Ukrainian election.
“The situation is very tense and we have extremely worrying reports about attempts to distort the news and control the media,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “Many broadcast journalists are risking everything by refusing to bow to pressure and censorship.”
Meanwhile print media fear that their publications will be blocked in the coming days following a series of incidents in the week prior to Sunday’s poll.
25 November 2004
British troops around the world have raised a staggering £103,000 for British Wireless for the Blind Fund (BWFB) through the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS). The money will be used to purchase over 700 radios for registered blind members of the charity.
For almost 60 years British Forces charity the Services Sound and Vision Corporation has been raising funds through their worldwide network of BFBS radio stations. This years activities included music marathons, golf days in Gibraltar, catamaran cruising in Cyprus, chest waxing and a raffle to win a brand new MG Rover car.
Controller of BFBS radio, Charles Foster said, Service personnel are among those who tragically lose their sight and radio provides a window to the world for them. Our listeners can identify with this and over the last 10 years have raised over £2 million for the BWBF fund.
Margaret Grainger, Chief Executive for BWBF added, Thanks to BFBS radios fundraising efforts this year, over 700 registered blind have benefited from receiving the latest audio equipment that we provide. These are necessarily adapted, designed and custom built to be easy to operate. Weve found that radio provides a constant and vital link to the outside world and offers a whole new life to our members.
