The British government has announced that it proposes to provide a grant of £34m [US$51.42m] between 2016 and 17, and £85m a year from 2017-18 for the expansion of BBC World Service.
The BBC currently reaches 308 million people worldwide, and its goal is to reach 500 million people by 2022. The BBC World Service reaches into some of the most remote places in the world, providing a link to the UK for individuals and societies who would otherwise not have this opportunity. We will invest £85 million each year by 2017/18 in the BBC’s digital, TV and radio services around the world to build the global reach of the World Service and increase access to news and information.
BBC Director-General Tony Hall commented on the news: “I warmly welcome today’s announcement. It’s fantastic news.
“This new funding is the single biggest increase in the World Service budget ever committed by any government.
“The millions announced today will help the BBC deliver on our commitment to uphold global democracy through accurate, impartial and independent news reporting.
“The World Service is one of the UK’s most important cultural exports and one of our best sources of global influence. We can now further build on that. The funding will also help speed us on to our target of reaching half a billion people globally.”
The new funding will allow the BBC to develop a range of services, including:
Enhanced TV services for Africa
New radio services for audiences in North Korea; radio and digital services for Ethiopia and Eritrea
Additional language offers via digital and TV in India and Nigeria
More regionalised content to better serve audiences to the BBC Arabic Service
Dedicated TV output for Somalia and a fully digital service for Thailand
Enhanced digital and TV services for Russian speakers, both in Russia and surrounding communities
A video-led digital transformation of Languages services
To expand the impact and future-proof World Service English
The BBC took over the funding of BBC World Service – including all radio services and foreign language television services, but not BBC World News – in April 2014. It had previously been funded by a “grant-in-aid” from the British Foreign Office [Ministry].
The AIB’s governing Executive Committee is a six-person team elected from the AIB’s Membership. The Committee holds office for two years.
Elections for the next two-year period have now started, with five nominees for two vacancies, and four current members of the Committee standing for re-election. Voting papers have been sent to the primary contact in all AIB Member organisations. Votes must be cast no later than 9 December 2015.
Radio Taiwan International has been broadcasting since the 1920s. Now it’s moving into the future with increased online and video activities supplementing its traditional radio offering. AIB chief executive Simon Spanswick visited RTI’s headquarters and talked with the broadcaster’s President, Weber Lai.
Stockholm-based Newstag, an award-winning mobile first video news service, has announced an agreement with Euronews, the most-watched news channel in Europe. The global multi-year deal grants Newstag the right to share and distribute Euronews’ world news, business, European affairs, culture, science and technology videos. The content will be available in seven languages on Newstag’s mobile and online platform – English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.
Newstag Chairman and Founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson, says: “Newstag is committed to providing global news coverage from truly distinct perspectives and we’re delighted that Euronews has partnered with us to offer our users access to a diverse range of European voices on international and European stories. Euronews is a leader and innovator in worldwide news and it’s exciting to have the opportunity to work with them to revolutionise the way in which audiences consume news.”
Six hundred Euronews journalists, from more than 30 countries, report round-the-clock in 13 editions (Arabic, English, Persian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian). The channel, which is received by 420 million homes in 158 countries, joins professional content producers around the world on the Newstag platform, including AP, AFP and Reuters, as well as top brands.
By presenting news stories from different global perspectives, the platform sheds new light on international news as it breaks. Users can create their own personalised TV channel in seconds, organising, consuming and sharing stories among their social networks on the ‘mobile first’ platform.
Newstag aims to make journalism sustainable through a proper funding stream, radically rebalancing the traditional relationships between industry stakeholders. The platform also offers users a unique opportunity to make a difference.
In response to developing news, consumers can take direct action by supporting relevant causes and research since a part of Newstag’s revenues are available for users to allocate to charitable, NGO and NPO partners, including as WFP, the Red Cross and Oxfam.
In recent months Newstag has rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch. Last month the platform, which is currently in public beta, announced that it will be partnering with CNBC Africa – the pan-African financial and business news channel – on a multi-year deal granting Newstag the right to share and distribute CNBC’s news videos.
Newstag recently won the best start up category in the TVB Europe Awards in London. The company was also selected as a top international start up by Mobile World Capital Barcelona and as one of the best international news sites at the prestigious WAN-IFRA awards in Hong Kong, alongside Business Week and Singapore Press Holdings.
Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Jeff Shell, Governor Ken Weinstein and CEO and Director John Lansing testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on November 17 to discuss the importance of United States international media and options for reform.
Senator Bob Corker, who presided over the hearing, said in his opening remarks that the “BBG’s work is as critical as ever when authoritarian regimes around the world deprive their citizens of credible news and use sensational misinformation to undermine the credibility of democratic values and institutions.”
Ranking member Senator Ben Cardin added, “Despite the importance of U.S. international broadcasting, we have come to understand that the structure of the BBG has limited the effectiveness of its efforts….it is clear that reform is needed and that Congress has a central role to plays in strengthening its efforts.”
BBG Chairman Jeff Shell agreed and identified a number of structural improvements that would allow the agency to operate more effectively, including institutionalizing the position and power of the CEO and adding increased agility to the BBG’s operations to allow it to better surge its resources during overseas crises.
“While the Board has elected to delegate key powers to the CEO through its own volition, it is clear that we need to institutionalize this role through legislation so that all future Boards can benefit from expert operational leadership,” Shell explained.
Newly appointed CEO and Director John Lansing agreed, saying that the agency needs a CEO that is empowered to manage all operations and functions, including the ability to shift resources as needed and to appoint senior officials.
However, many improvements, he argued, have already been made.
“Regardless of these [needed] legislative fixes,” said Lansing, “My team and I have taken action internally to move the BBG into a more modern, impactful stance…. with the unanimous support of the Board, [I] am aggressively prioritizing five core themes to ensure the BBG is the 21st century media organization that the tax payers demand.”
He then outlined his strategic priorities: an emphasis on digital platforms, expanded coordination and content-sharing across the BBG networks and with other content producers, a focus on five key issue areas (including reporting on Russia, covering violent extremism, reporting on the expanding influence of Iran and China, and the promotion of fundamental freedoms in Cuba), and the emphasis on impact instead of simply reach.
Governor Weinstein also advocated for reform, citing the need to quickly respond to the technological changes and geopolitical crises that the BBG faces.
“US international media operates in an environment of rapid geopolitical change and growing instability in world affairs, he told the committee. “Last week’s horrific terror attacks in Paris are just the latest example of the challenging international environment, and one in which tragic events in one country are increasingly linked to those in others.”
The purpose of the hearing was to examine and get feedback on a reform bill introduced by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in May 2015, which includes a number of structural changes to the BBG. A second panel, which included former BBG member S. Enders Wimbush and former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President Kevin Klose, immediately followed. A recording of the hearing, as well as testimonies from both panels, is available on the SFRC website.
As the prices of High Definition (HD) satellite set-top boxes have become more affordable in Asia, larger numbers of viewers are demanding and switching over to HD services. With Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV platforms in Thailand expected to add more than 2.5 million new subscribers in the next 10 years, Intelsat S.A (NYSE: I), the leading global provider of satellite services, today announced that Next Step, a multi-channel operator and distributor, is leveraging Intelsat’s satellite solutions on Horizons 2 at 85º E to launch a new Free-to-Air DTH platform in Thailand.
Under its multi-year agreement with Intelsat, Next Step is utilizing Ku-band capacity on Horizons 2 to diversify its business offerings – moving from content provider to platform operator through its new Freeview HD platform, a platform positioned to serve an addressable market of approximately 67 million people. Given Intelsat’s global, flexible fleet, Horizons 2 was moved to the 85º E orbital location and its beam repositioned to enable Next Step to capitalize on the opportunity to support the HD trend in Thailand.
“The breadth and depth of Intelsat’s global satellite solutions provide a perfect complement to help expand and diversify our business,” said Philipp Heussen, Head of Freeview HD. “By partnering with Intelsat, we will be able to quickly and cost-effectively launch a DTH platform that will enable us to meet the demand for more affordable, high-quality HD content in the region. As a result, viewers across Thailand will have access to a greater variety of entertaining and educational content, regardless of whether they reside in the city or in more remote communities in the country.”
“Intelsat is a leading provider of satellite services for DTH operators, delivering programming to over 31 million subscribers and supporting more than 30 DTH platforms around the world,” stated Terry Bleakley, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific Sales, Intelsat. “Throughout our history, Intelsat has incorporated the latest technology to enable our media customers to differentiate their service offerings and grow their businesses. We look forward to working closely with Next Step to ensure the seamless migration to HD as they launch their Freeview HD platform and distribute new and compelling content to Thailand.”
BBC Director-General Tony Hall commented on the news: “I warmly welcome today’s announcement. It’s fantastic news.