16 June 2009
The AIB is building dialogues with leading technology and service providers such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Real Networks to be able to provide advice on different solutions and help members decide on possibilities and priorities. We are reporting on the initiatives taken by members and reporting on overall trends and developments.
Our most recent Market Intelligence Briefing (for members only) analysed the uses of microblogging in broadcasting and reported on the Media140 event which studied the effect of Twitter and other tools on frontline journalism
Over the next few months we will continue to publish more information and conclusions on technologies and opportunities for AIB members. Watch out for updates on the website as new knowledge is made available
UPDATE 16TH JUNE 2009
Iranians protesting at the results of Iranian elections last week are using online and mobile technology to organise gatherings and spread information. At the same time, government officials have been trying to prevent communications by shutting down websites and monitoring who is spreading information. The microblogging site Twitter has been heavily used by supporters and commentators (using the hashtags of #iranelection or #gr88) so much so that they petitioned, successfully, for Twitter to postpone scheduled maintenance during this key period.
Protestors are posting information, government sources are countering with their responses and there is also misinformation being deliberately input and then innocently spread. There are also lots of informative tweets warning those outside Iran against spreading the names of protestors inside the country. More aggressively, there are tweets discussing the organisation of DoS attacks (Denial of Service attacks where servers are bombarded with so many messages that they are brought virtually to a standstill) to hamper government operations.
Keeping an eye on Twitter is an important method for finding out what is going on in Iran at present, but as usual there is reliable and less reliable information so it does have to be cross-referenced as much as possible.
16 June 2009
Quantel today launched a web initiative that enables Freelancers with experience of operating Quantel systems to offer their services to prospective customers via the new Freelancers section on the Quantel website.
Quantel has launched this new service in response to numerous requests from Quantel system owners looking for experienced freelance talent to cover events such as sudden spikes in demand, holidays, general staff turnover and a host of other short-term challenges. Many Freelancers have also expressed an interest in having their details made available to the widest possible audience.
Were confident that this initiative will attract rapid take-up from Quantel-experienced freelancers around the world, said Steve Owen, Quantel Director of Marketing. We hope that it will turn out to be a really useful and productive resource for our customers and freelancers.
The Quantel Freelancers page can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/kjc8ym, or, when visiting the Quantel website at www.quantel.com by simply clicking on the Community navigation bar at the top right of the page.
16 June 2009
Safaricom subscribers can now watch DStvs menu of TV programs from certain Nokia mobile phones.
And as part of an introductory offer, they do not have to pay any extra cost for the service till April, 2010, as long as they have the right devices.
This follows the signing of a partnership between Safaricom, Nokia and DMTV. This will enable the subscribers to access the service, dubbed DStv Mobile, through Digital Video Broadcast Handheld (DVB-H)-enabled Nokia phones.
To receive the service, which will give them access to TV channels offered by pay TV firm DMTV, Safaricom subscribers will be required to have a Nokia handset specially configured to receive DVB-H broadcasts and programmed for that purpose in Kenya.
Speaking during the launch, Safaricom Chief Commercial Officer Peter Arina said activating the handsets would be easy because unlike the past when subscribers had to get a special SIM card, this time they only needed to buy a DVB-H capable handset and insert their usual SIM card to activate the service.
Upon purchase of an enabled handset, one will enjoy the services without paying a fee until the end of April next year. Coverage is currently available in Nairobi and Mombasa and plans are already underway to extend this to other parts of Kenya.
Speaking at the event, Digital Mobile TV (DMTV) General Manager Felix Kyengo said the partnership with Safaricom and Nokia was an indication of the companies responsiveness to customer needs and devotion to continually improve service delivery.
We are very excited that the delivery of the DStv Mobile service to Kenyans will become even easier and more affordable. Kenya has now joined the first few countries that have a fully commercial DVB-H based mobile service, he said.
The new service will allow Safaricom subscribers to watch live matches of the FIFA Confederations Cup being currently being held in South Africa, ongoing World Cup qualifiers, English Premier League and Spanish La Liga games LIVE on DStv Mobile when the leagues resume in August.
Mr. Kyengo said with DStv Mobile, Kenyans would also be able to watch proceedings in Parliament wherever they might not have access to a television set, ensuring that they miss nothing.
Mobile TV is an emerging technology that allows people to view live television content on their mobile phones or other mobile devices that they ordinarily would only get through traditional cable or pay TV subscription.
Research indicates that mobile phones will remain the central multi-purpose device for the foreseeable future, especially in Africa, outnumbering any other mobile devices like digital media players and pocket PCs. 84 per cent of mobile phone users in countries where Mobile TV has been launched have shown willingness to use the service provided it is commonly available and affordable.
DVB-H is regarded as the worlds leading mobile broadcast technology standard and allows for digital terrestrial broadcast of live television channels to a mobile phone. DVB-H is a one-to-many transmission on a linear basis, unlike 3G that delivers point-to-point services. 3G and DVB-H can, however, be complementary, especially in the provision of return path service for live television for instance, viewer voting for TV shows.
16 June 2009
Reporter Without Borders reports that Radio Erena (‘Our Eritrea’), a Tigrinya-language station broadcasting by satellite to Eritrea, has begun operating in Paris.
The result of an initiative by Eritrean journalists based abroad and supported by Reporters Without Borders, the station is offering freely-reported, independent news and information to Eritreans in Eritrea. Independent of any political organisation or government, Radio Erena is offering news, cultural programmes, music and entertainment. A network of contributors based in the United States, Italy, Britain and the Netherlands is providing the Paris-based staff with Tigrinya-language programmes that are broadcast via Arabsat’s Badr-6 satellite. Eritreans can tune into Radio Erena on the 11,785 Mhz frequency with vertical polarisation (SR 27500, FEC 3/4). The station’s programming will soon be broadcast on the Internet as well, so that the Eritrean diaspora will also be able to listen to it.
Eritrea has had no free press since September 2001, when the few Asmara-based independent newspapers were closed down and their publishers and editors were arrested as part of a wave of round-ups ordered by President Issaias Afeworki. Since then, the only news available to Eritreans in their national language has been provided by the state media – Eri-TV, Radio Dimtsi Hafash and the government daily Hadas Eritrea – which are all closely supervised by the information ministry.
16 June 2009
Iranians today flooded the Voice of America (VOA) with videos, pictures, e-mails and calls from inside Iran as the popular U.S. broadcaster’s Persian News Network (PNN) launched a morning show to cover the country’s tumultuous post-election events.
“We’re leading all the Persian News Network (PNN) shows with news from Iran, giving our viewers the latest information and interacting with our audience inside the country,” said Alex Belida, acting director of PNN, whose original satellite-television broadcasts reach almost 30% of Iranian adults every week.
PNN’s new breakfast show aired for two hours today, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Tehran time, and will continue as an hour-long special for the foreseeable future, examining events in Iran in the aftermath of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s declared victory. Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi have protested the election results. In advance of the election, VOA created new TV satellite paths to circumvent jamming by the Iranian government.
Besides news videos, PNN has received and aired home-made videos and pictures delivered to a YouSendIt address. The videos provide on-the-spot accounts of events inside Iran, including protests which have turned violent in some cases.
PNN’s viewers have emailed comments that are posted on PNN blogs, Facebook, a dedicated YouTube channel and other social media sites. Callers have phoned in to various PNN shows.
PNN journalists have fanned out to cover expatriate communities in the United States, Dubai and Malaysia, and interviewed constitutional experts about the election and its aftermath.
In addition to the new morning show, VOA’s PNN broadcasts seven hours of television daily, repeated in a 24-hour format, and five hours of radio. Broadcasts are available on demand on the Internet at www.VOANews.com/Persian.
Currently, one in four adults in Iran watches or listens to PNN broadcasts at least weekly. Research indicates 96 percent of Iranians daily watch TV, which is the preferred medium for getting news and information.
11 June 2009
As reported by the Hollywood Reporter:
China’s leading popular television news programme will change its format to include more human-interest segments and critical reporting, with effect from 20 June.
State-run broadcaster China Central Television will revamp its flagship nightly news programme, ‘Xinwen Liangbo,’ prompted by a study that showed a waning interest in its dry and predictable reports on government announcements.
The official announcement came during the annual Shanghai International Television Festival when hundreds of foreign content owners and advertisers gather in China’s financial hub to try to sell their wares to China’s 2,300 TV stations. China’s one-party government is in the midst of a new campaign to revamp its image through the media, hiring more English-speaking editors and reporters. CCTV news faces steady competition from Hong Kong’s Mandarin-language Phoenix TV, from pirated satellite news channels from overseas and from news increasingly accessed from the Internet.
Before 1998, the CCTV news program dominated daily ratings with 40 percent of the market. Today, that figure is less than 10 percent.
