18 December 2014
AIB has released its Position Paper on C-band frequency spectrum in advance of the World Radiocommunication Conference in November 2015.
On the agenda of WRC-15 is the potential reallocation of frequency spectrum currently used by satellite services on an exclusive basis, spectrum that broadcasters around the world rely on for a multitude of services.
“AIB is concerned about the impact that changes to C-band allocations will have on our Members and the wider broadcasting industry,” said Simon Spanswick, AIB chief executive. “Broadcasters rely on C-band to provide national and regional services to viewers in some parts of the world, and to feed programmes and provide newsgathering links. Large-scale sporting events like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics also rely on C-band to deliver feeds to broadcasting centres throughout the world. This call by the mobile industry to acquire C-band spectrum from satellite services must be resisted by national administrations.”
AIB is briefing its Members around the world and encouraging them to raise the issue with national regulators and administrations that will take part in WRC-15. The AIB Position Paper summarises the essential use made by the broadcasting industry of C-band spectrum. In addition, AIB is talking with other broadcasters – public, state and commercial – to ensure that they know of the threat to their operations.
“It is vital that as many broadcasters as possible raise this issue with national administrations,” continued Spanswick. “There needs to be a concerted effort by the world’s broadcasting industry to highlight the vital need to retain C-band on an exclusive basis for satellite services on which broadcasters – and by extension citizens – rely.”
You can download the AIB Position Paper here.
17 December 2014
Tomsk: The pioneer Russian broadcast company TV-2, one of the country’s first independent commercial stations, may have to put its plans to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year on hold if the local state monopoly goes through with plans to turn off its transmitters for what TV-2 believes are political reasons.
On November 30, the Tomsk-based company was notified by the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS), a local division of the state monopoly that owns broadcasting facilities, that it would not be renewing TV-2’s contract when it expires at the end of December. If implemented, the decision will turn off the station’s signal on 1 January 2015, silencing yet another independent Russian media outlet.
Roscomnadzor, the federal authority for information technologies and communications, has also informed TV-2 that as it will not be able to transmit from January 2015, the station’s licence extension, which was recently granted until 2025, will be revoked.
More than 4,000 people took the streets of Tomsk on 14 December to protest the threatened closure of the broadcaster.
This is not the first time that TV-2 has been involved in a conflict with RTRS. Earlier this year, TV-2 was not able to broadcast its signal because of repair works at RTRS’ facilities that lasted an unexpectedly long time. “About a month after we had been switched off the air, because of the long repairs, we started to actively speak out in the press. There were rallies in support of us. Maybe, RTRS perceived that as political pressure and got offended,” Viktor Muchnik, TV-2 Editor-in-Chief told the BBC Russian Service.
“We can presume that some people do not like some of our reports. For example, the governor [of the Tomsk region]. But I cannot bluntly say that he is in charge of the termination of our broadcasts. I have no proof. I know that the local government often discusses our reports. And many of the reports on everyday issues are considered political. I cannot say who exactly is annoyed with our reports but certain law enforcement agencies send letters about us to the top,” Muchnik said in an interview with the BBC Russian service.
During the 24 years of its existence TV-2 has been on the verge of closure many times. Last spring, when the broadcasts were suspended, the station’s licence was nearly terminated by Roscomnadzor, the federal authority for information technologies and communications. But the company admits that never has the threat been so grave or so imminent.
TV and Radio company TV-2 was founded in November 1990 and its first broadcast was on May 15, 1991. The company is the major asset of the Tomsk Media Group holding company which also runs cable channels, an advertising agency and a number of radio stations. Four of the TV-2 team are members of the Russian TV Academy. The company has a reputation for providing accurate and independent news reporting on important political and social issues. It has been awarded 22 TEFI awards by the Russian TV Academy.
RTRS (Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network) is a Russian state monopoly, providing terrestrial air transmission of TV and Radio channels over the whole of the Russian Federation.
(Source: TV-2 press release)
15 December 2014
SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), Ceska Televize (CT), RTVS and Ceske Radiokomunikace announced today that they will begin test broadcasts of Ultra HD content via SES’s ASTRA 3B satellite.
The Czech Republic public TV provider CT and Slovakian public broadcaster RTVS, in cooperation with leading Czech provider of digital infrastructure Ceske Radiokomunikace, are spearheading the first Ultra HD broadcast trial via ASTRA 3B at the orbital slot of 23.5 degrees East.
CT, RTVS, Ceske Radiokomunikace and other leading companies from the broadcasting industry in Czech Republic and Slovakia are part of the Ultra HDTV Forum. Formed in October 2013, the Forum’s primary task is to look at the production and distribution of Ultra HD content in Czech Republic and Slovakia. SES has recently become a member of the Ultra HDTV Forum.
“SES has been at the forefront of new broadcasting technologies since the arrival of digital DTH in Europe in 1996 and HDTV in 2005. We are committed to working with industry partners in developing the Ultra HD ecosystem and are delighted that the public broadcasters of Slovakia and the Czech Republic are keen to deliver an incredible and immersive viewing experience via satellite,” said Norbert Hölzle, Senior Vice President of Europe, Commercial at SES.
“Ceska Televize believes that the adoption of Ultra HD will be much faster than HD and is eager to make sure it arrives soon in the Czech Republic. We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with SES to conduct these Ultra HD test broadcasts and to work closely with SES following their new member status in the Ultra HD TV Forum,” said Ivo Ferkl, Chief Technical Officer at Ceska Televize.
“Having produced and broadcast all our shows in HD, RTVS is keen to remain the trendsetter in Ultra HD broadcasting and to position ourselves as a leader in technical innovation. As a first step, we will be offering our Ultra HD content on the ASTRA satellite, together with our partners,” said Václav Mika, Director General at RTVS.
“Ceske Radiokomunikace is pleased to be working with strategic industry partners — Czech and Slovakian public broadcasters and SES – to develop the Ultra HD ecosystem and to play a role in defining the TV landscape of the future,” said Martin Gebauer, CEO, at Ceske Radiokomunikace.
Parameters for the reception of the free-to-air Ultra HD broadcast trial demo channel:
Astra 3B @23.5 East
Transponder 3.204
11,778.050 MHz
Vertical polarization
27.5 Mbit/s
QPSK
FEC 9/10
Service ID: 5390
Service Name: Test UHD Forum
15 December 2014
Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) and nc+, a driving force in pay-TV services in Poland, today announced the signature of a major contract for the renewal of nine transponders at Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD video neighbourhood.
The agreement equips nc+ to pursue the expansion of its platform of digital services that broadcasts to 2.2 million subscriber homes equipped for Direct-to-Home reception in Poland. nc+ entered the market in 2013 when the Canal Plus-owned CYFRA+ platform that was launched
from the HOT BIRD position in 1995 joined forces with TVN’s “n” platform, also broadcasting through the HOT BIRD satellites. The platform today offers viewers more than 160 channels, of which almost 50% are already in HD, as well as access to over 400 free-to-air channels, including 20 in Polish.
Julien Verley, CEO of nc+, said: “Poland is a very important satellite-driven broadcasting market.
Thanks to satellite transmission we are able to provide exceptional image quality with today’s
best HD quality and in the future with the 4k standard. nc+ is at the forefront of technological
changes and we are proud to cooperate with such a strong and reliable partner as Eutelsat. We
look forward to strengthening this cooperation.”
Michel Azibert, Chief Commercial and Development Officer at Eutelsat, added: “Almost 25 years
since the launch of multi-channel broadcasting in Poland through Eutelsat satellites, that was
followed by the transition to digital and the launch of High Definition, we are proud that nc+ has
today renewed its trust in us. This new agreement further consolidates and confirms Eutelsat’s
HOT BIRD position as Poland’s neighbourhood of choice for free-to-air and pay-TV
broadcasting.”
12 December 2014
The Kenyan government has ordered that news agency Al Jazeera be investigated and face possible charges, over the network’s recent report alleging that the Kenyan police had been running death squads, with the knowledge of Western powers.
The Al Jazeera documentary, Inside Kenya’s Death Squads, asserted that the most high-profile assassinations were aimed at Muslim leaders, including those with links to the al-Shabab militant group and that Western intelligence agencies provided some of the information needed to carry out the killings.
The controversy comes just as Kenyan lawmakers in the country’s National Assembly are fiercely debating new security laws, which include proposals to limit picketing and holding public meetings.
The twitter feed of Kenya’s Interior CNG Ministry has promoted a hashtag #SecuringKenya, and responded to the Al Jazeera documentary in a series of tweets:
Govt has instructed relevant authorities to begin investigations with a view to bringing charges against those involved in…cont’d.
…Aljazeera documentary..
The documentary was deliberately planned & aired at a time when Kenya is seeking support to strengthen it’s war against terror.. cont’d
Cont’d through legislative reforms.
The tone & subjective nature of the documentary was deliberately skewed to support & empathise with terrorists & their sympathisers cont’d..
cont’d…without any consideration for the hundreds of innocent Kenyans who have died in the hands of terrorists.
The timing of the documentary is also suspicious & appears meant to derail KE’s efforts to fight terrorism.
Three Al Jazeera journalists, Mohamed Fahmy, Peter Greste and Baher Mohamed, have been jailed by Egyptian authorities for almost a year.
11 December 2014
The Broadcasting Board of Governors has partnered with
Hub Accra, a Ghana-based tech incubator, to develop mobile solutions to promote civic engagement in West Africa.
The partnership will create fellowships to provide local members of the tech and entrepreneurial communities with practical experience designing and developing mobile applications and services in collaboration with the BBG’s Office of Digital & Design Innovation.”We’re excited to work with Hub Accra to develop innovative mobile products that serve West African audiences and follow BBG’s principles for high-quality journalism. Engaging communities in the Sahel in this process will play a great role in building tools for civic engagement by West Africans, for West Africans,” said Adam Martin, acting director of ODDI.
The partnership will help provide Hub Accra program participants with media training, as well as mentoring in areas related to media development and local sustainability.
Hub Accra fellows will explore ways to share news, information, cultural programming and social commentary to mobile device users not served by traditional media channels in the Sahel region.
This initiative is part of the BBG’s significant investment for expanding content creation and distribution to the Sahel, with a focus on promoting original high-quality journalism and providing digital media for next-generation audiences.
The team of participants in the program include: Kofi Kwansa Bart-Plange, a Product Manager with Starfish Mobile Ghana, Mr. Bart-Plange is an Innovative software engineer, specializing in mobile applications and solutions development with over ten years of experience. He will serve as the Team Lead. Mukaila Hadi, Gbeila Aliu Wahab, Francis Kofigah and Samuel Kweku-Bio Dzidzornu, developers with Poll Afrique, a mobile startup team with the goal of, ‘helping make regional information easily accessible, by providing a platform that allows Africans to share their views via SMS and web.’ (Source: BBG press release)
