21 October 2003
Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) has started a 24-hour satellite TV programme for Croats living in Europe, North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. About 2.5m Croatian expatriates will be able to watch eight hours of domestically produced programming, which will be repeated twice daily.
The project was launched in cooperation with the Croatian government and the Croatian Emigration Institute. Addressing Croatian audiences worldwide, Prime Minister Ivica Racan said that the project was designed to inform Croats living abroad about events in their homeland.
21 October 2003
The seventh Pan Asia Cross Media Survey (PAX) has found that BBC World experienced an increase of 15 per cent in its audience within Asia, the fastest growth for any international news or business channel.
BBC World claims to be nearly 60 per cent ahead of CNBC in terms of reach among business decision-makers. The channel has enjoyed particularly large growth in Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Hong Kong and Taipei. Findings show that more than 24,000 ‘top management’ in Asia tune in to BBC World either every day or almost every day, according to an official statement from the BBC.
Among the ten largest international channels in Asia-Pacific, BBC World’s audience includes the highest proportion of frequent business travellers (34 per cent), business decision-makers (27 per cent) and business opinion formers (35 per cent).
21 October 2003
In line with plans announced a short while ago, a digital television channel featuring fashion, cosmetics and etiquette will start a nationwide trial operation on 11 November in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province. Another seven pay channels based in Beijing and Tianjin municipalities, and in Liaoning and Shangdong provinces will start at the same time.
China plans to sign up 30 million digital TV subscribers by 2005 and stop providing analogue signals by 2015. It is also expected that high-definition TV programmes of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics will be transmitted to the world.
China now has 370m TV sets and more than 1.2 billion TV viewers. At present, most Chinese TV stations are only capable of transmitting a maximum of 50 TV channels simultaneously. Digital TV will be able to provide up to 500 channels.
20 October 2003
Broadcasters from the Asia-Pacific region and Europe will step up the exchange of information on digital terrestrial broadcasting, to help cross the digital divide. The decision came at the 40th General Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, the ABU, in Istanbul.
The assembly unanimously adopted a resolution that the ABU and the EBU should work together to exchange technical information on DTT, and promote the exchange of programme content produced in digital formats, as well as information to promote and assist in the production of such content.
ABU President Katsuji Ebisawa described the migration from analogue to digital television as “an irreversible global trend” that, once in place in a proper context would bring many benefits.
18 October 2003
On October 26, 2003, US-based AIB member the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB) will begin a 23-week series of special joint broadcasts produced by the organisation’s member and associate member stations. This is the first time in the NASB’s history that is has produced joint broadcasts by its members. And equally important, this series of broadcasts will be transmitted in the DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) mode, as well as in traditional analogue form.
The broadcasts, titled “Voice of the NASB,” will be transmitted in the DRM mode each Sunday at 1330-1400 UTC on 9785 kHz, beamed primarily to Europe from the facilities of AIB member VT Merlin Communications in Rampisham, England. Each programme will also be broadcast on UTC Sunday at 0330-0400 on 7385 kHz, primarily to North America via WRMI in Miami, Florida. The broadcasts will run from October 26, 2003 through March 28, 2004. A special NASB QSL card will be issued for reception reports on these transmissions, both digital and analogue. Reports should be sent to the Voice of the NASB, P.O. Box 526852, Miami, Florida 33152 USA.
NASB, founded in 1990, has been a member of DRM since 1999 — one year after the DRM Consortium was launched. DRM officially inaugurated regular digital broadcasts on June 16, 2003. Since then, over 25 stations in various countries have broadcast programs in DRM. NASB has helped promote DRM to its members and around the world, helping coordinate DRM demonstrations at trade shows, shortwave exhibitions and the World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 in Geneva. NASB stations operate shortwave transmitters throughout the United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and Saipan. NASB broadcasters cover every continent with more than 5000 programme hours per week, according to a BBC study.
Jeff White, NASB President, commented: “We are very pleased to be a member of DRM, and very pleased to be in the forefront of digital shortwave broadcasting. While we believe that it is important to continue broadcasting in analogue form — especially to certain parts of the world — it is impossible not to see the tremendous advantages that DRM offers shortwave broadcasters and listeners. DRM-capable receivers are already on the marketplace, and the number of models is rapidly increasing, while the prices are rapidly decreasing. And with dozens of organisations already broadcasting in DRM, listeners will have more and more variety of programming to tune into.”
17 October 2003
Rupert Murdoch, aged 72, has been running international media group The News Corporation for 50 years (starting out as single-newspaper company News Ltd). At the groups annual meeting in Adelaide he forecast another year of record profits,
News Corp (which includes Fox News, Fox Sports, Sky and Star TV) saw its operating income increase by 36% in the past year, and Mr Murdoch predicts average earnings growth of 20 per cent in the coming years. He expects pay-television Sky Italia, in which News Corp holds 80%, to break even in 18 months and then achieve very steep growth.
Asked whether his son James would be appointed CEO at the UKs BSkyB, in which News Corp has a 35.4% stake, and of which Rupert Murdoch is chairman, Mr Murdoch said he was confident the best candidate will be appointed.
Although advertising bookings for all media in the United States for the next 12 months are just sensational, News Corps US television stations are actually contributing very little.
Does Rupert Murdoch have any plans for retirement? I will be carried out, he quipped.
