24 July 2003
BBC World, the BBC’s commercially funded 24-hour international news and information channel, is now broadcasting free-to-air across continental Europe on the Astra 1H satellite at 19.2 degrees east. With this new satellite position, BBC World has become available in an additional 2.4 million households across Europe, in particular France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.
Jeff Hazell, Director of Distribution, BBC World, said: “We are delighted that BBC World is now being broadcast in digital on Astra 1H. This new orbital location will further strengthen our distribution in Europe, making the channel more accessible to cable and satellite platform operators.”
23 July 2003
Following its recent international expansion in the United States, China and the Middle East, AIB member ND SatCom AG, a leading global supplier of satellite based broadband VSAT, broadcast and military has a re-designed and newly structured website at www.ndsatcom.com.
“A substantial amount of functionality and relevant content has been put together in order to increase the internet’s and extranet’s utility to our customers online. We plan to provide a constant stream of current information to ensure that this web site becomes an important online resource in the field of satellite based communication solutions”, says Dr. Karl Classen, CEO of ND SatCom. explaining the concept behind the new site.
ND SatCom’s customers can directly access information that is specific to their needs by easily navigating into the crucial areas of content such as products, solutions and services.
23 July 2003
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) announces that the High Court in Hong Kong has entered judgment in favour of the plaintiffs in civil actions against the five remaining defendants for importing and trading in unauthorized satellite TV signal decoding equipment.
In his ruling, the Judge granted an injunction prohibiting the defendants from trading in unauthorised smart cards and associated apparatus stating that such use was offensive and must be stopped.
In the Judgment the Court held that the defendants had breached Hong Kongs copyright law and had no licence to deal in the plaintiffs broadcasts. The defendants were found to have been importing, possessing and supplying apparatus obtained in territories outside Hong Kong designed to infringe the plaintiffs copyright.
With this action we have won an historic decision which unequivocally signals that our industry is tackling piracy which is costing our businesses hundreds of millions of US dollars each year, said Mr Twiston Davies. This was our first action in Hong Kong and new actions will soon be underway in other markets such as the Philippines and Thailand. This is vital work.
The plaintiffs named in the actions are STAR, CNN, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, ESPN STAR Sports, Discovery Networks Asia and NGC Network Asia.
23 July 2003
AIB member VT Merlin Communications has signed a major £220m contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the Defence High Frequency Communications Service (DHFCS), which will see VT Merlin deliver beyond line of sight high frequency (HF) communication services to the three armed services and other authorised users.
As part of the 15 year contract VT Merlin has taken over the operation, maintenance and support of current HF defence communications facilities in the UK and overseas. In addition to assuming responsibility for the continued operation of this service, VT Merlin will enhance capability, quality and reliability through the rollout of new technology, which will be introduced progressively by 2008.
This new service will enhance the quality and effectiveness of strategic communications, generating savings for the MoD over the existing systems, and will lead to the redeployment of more than 250 military personnel to other, higher priority duties.
23 July 2003
Katsuji Ebisawa has been reappointed as President of NHK for a third term, effective as of July 31st, 2003, for a period of three years.
The Chairman of the Board of Governors, Hiroshi Suda, explained the reason for the reappointment. He said Ebisawas strong leadership is crucial at a time when the broadcasting industry in Japan is going through a challenging period of digitalization. Digital terrestrial broadcasting is to gradually start in Japan from December this year, and Ebisawas efficient management oriented on provision of quality programming is considered a key factor for this realization.
21 July 2003
DW-Radio has won two silver medals and a bronze in the Environment, National and International Affairs and Science and Technology categories of the New York Festivals radio programming competition.
The Silver Medal in the Environment category was awarded to the English Service for a feature series: Indigenous Peoples: Partners in Conservation, presenting projects on all continents of the world aimed at helping indigenous peoples to protect their traditional lifestyles and the bio-diversity of their environments. The series was made in cooperation with the Worldwide Fund for Nature, WWF
DWs International Co-productions Department was awarded a silver medal by the United Nations for Living with the Past: Ruanda in Search of Reconciliation and Justice.
The bronze medal in the Science and Technology category was awarded to Deutsche Welles English Service for a feature series: Green Development: The Path to a Sustainable Future. The series presents projects supported by Germanys Society for Technical Co-operation, the GTZ, to provide developing countries with innovative technical solutions to environmental problems.
