21 February 2008
RadioScape plc has announced that following a number of recent contract awards it has now delivered its 100th DAB Broadcast System for live service transmission.
The Company has additionally sold over 40 broadcast and test systems to DAB receiver manufacturers across Europe and Asia building radios for this expanding market.
2008 will be a year of increasing activity in the international radio market as more countries roll-out DAB and DAB+ services, commented John Hall, CEO, RadioScape. With new contracts in China, Indonesia and Belgium we now have DAB installations in 14 countries and we see demand continuing to increase on the back of further successful field trials in recent months.
RadioScapes announcement comes at a time when the UK commercial broadcast industry is debating the economic viability of DAB. Hall commented: Broadcasters realise they must take advantage of the opportunities afforded by digital if they are to make DAB economic. We are increasingly working in close cooperation with broadcasters to enable new types of digital content and services, leveraging our significant DAB receiver expertise to create end to end solutions. Most of these engagements are overseas at present, but we see real opportunity to assist UK broadcasters encourage more rapid consumer take-up.
In China, where RadioScape is already the primary supplier of DAB broadcast systems, the Company has recently expanded its installed base of DAB broadcast and monitoring systems, and is now enabling services in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Yunnan. Chinas media ministry, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT), has already endorsed DAB as the industrial standard for digital audio broadcasting in China. DAB transmissions will be a major feature of the 2008 Olympics with 14 services being planned for live transmission during the Games.
In Indonesia, a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) cooperation project, between South Koreas Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and DMB Nusantara, a Jakarta-based DMB service provider, recently selected RadioScapes DAB Broadcast System for its nationwide DMB infrastructure across Indonesia. This will enable access to mobile broadcasting services for up to 40 million Indonesians including radio, TV programs, movies and other entertainment content on mobile devices.
In Belgium, RadioScape has recently been awarded a contract by the state broadcaster, RTBF, to provide its latest fusion broadcast systems and field monitoring equipment to enable the roll-out of DAB services to the French speaking area of Belgium.
Many countries are also in the process of concluding DAB trials using RadioScapes broadcast and field monitoring systems: In Australia, RadioScapes field monitor and fusion broadcast systems have recently been used to undertake DAB+ network tests in Sydney. The tests were coordinated by Commercial Radio Australia, the national industry body representing Australia’s commercial radio broadcasters. The Australian Government requires the commercial DAB+ network rollout, for metropolitan areas, to be operational by 1st January 2009.
France also recently announced that all of its radio services will be digitised in the near future. As part of that process, RadioScapes portable field monitors were deployed in the trials in Nantes, while Digital Radio France deployed field monitors in its Paris trial.
Germany has invested in a significant number of RadioScapes latest range of field monitors to assist regional engineers in maintaining the national DAB transmitter network. Recently, both commercial and public broadcasters released statements of support for a re-launch of digital radio in Germany based on the Eureka 147 family of standards.
Quentin Howard, President WorldDMB, commented: Todays announcement by RadioScape is further evidence that the DAB family of standards continues to gain momentum around the world, becoming the system of choice for European and Asian broadcasters. No other system offers the variety and range of consumer devices, nor matches DABs low network costs, making it the worlds leading terrestrial digital radio and mobile multimedia solution.
20 February 2008
AIB Private Dinner, London, Tuesday 26 February 2008
7 February 2008
BBC Arabic TV is reported to have set its launch date as Tuesday 11 March 2008. The broadcaster will start its programmes from brand new central London studios in Egton House, alongside Broadcasting House, home of BBC radio and the world’s first purpose-built broadcasting centre.
You can read more about BBC Arabic TV in the latest edition of The Channel, the AIB’s magazine. To subscribe, follow the link below.
31 January 2008
In an extensive poll of Arab Academics in over 19 countries, Arab polling agency The Knowledge World Centre for Polls found that Al Jazeera was the most respected news agency in the Middle East, and over 98% of Political Science and Media professors in the region claimed to watch at least 3 hours of Al Jazeera per day.
Demonstrating its unrivalled popularity in the region, the poll found that Al Jazeera’s viewership was over three times that of its closest rival, and over twenty-eight times that of its third closest competitor.
Over 96% of the Arab academics surveyed found Al Jazeera a reliable source for news and over 73% expressed their confidence that the channel would quickly correct any mistakes that surfaced in news reports.
Speaking about the poll, the Director of the Knowledge World Centre for Polls said, “This is the largest poll of its kind ever undertaken in the Arab World. By working for almost one year and sampling almost half of all political science and media professors in the region, we believe that we have illuminated peoples’ understanding of broadcast news viewing patterns in this part of the world. As the results show, our study found that Al Jazeera is the most trusted and widely viewed channel in the Arab world.”
Al Jazeera’s Director General Wadah Khanfar said, “We are very pleased with the results of this poll. It is further recognition by academic professionals across the Middle East on the value of our mission of bringing ground-breaking independent news to the Arab world. This poll serves as a testament to the professionalism and hard work of Al Jazeera’s staff around the world.”
According to the Knowledge World Centre for Polls, based in Amman, Jordan, the poll was designed to measure the perceived objectivity and professionalism of Al Jazeera among the Arab world’s academic elite. Conducted over 11 months in 19 Arab countries, the Knowledge World Centre for Polls sampled over 600 PhD holders, almost 50% of all Political Science and Media professors in the Middle East, almost all of whom reported using Al Jazeera as a primary source of news.
30 January 2008
London-based transmission company WRN has finalised an agreement with a major FM network in Turkey to broker airtime on its behalf to international broadcasters and programme makers wishing to reach listeners across the country.
The network offers 28 relays in the west and south of the country with a major presence in four of Turkey’s five largest cities; Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa and Adana.
The FM network can broadcast programmes in Turkish, English, French and German and already hosts regular shows from Deutsche Welle and US religious broadcaster Family Radio. Broadcasters are able to specify coverage across the entire network, regionally and even locally.
Marina Lois, WRN’s product development and distribution manager, says: “Our agreement with this FM network opens it up to any international broadcasters seeking to reach a substantial population in Turkey and is part of WRN’s strategy to develop FM and AM relay opportunities for international broadcasters in key global locations. These already include relays in Afghanistan, Israel, Argentina and several major American cities.”
18 January 2008
Radio New Zealand will provide extensive coverage of the state funeral for Sir Edmund Hillary from St. Marys Church in Auckland on Tuesday 22nd January.
Radio
New Zealand will provide extensive coverage of the state funeral for Sir
Edmund Hillary (left) from St. Marys Church in Auckland on Tuesday 22nd January
and is offering the coverage to broadcasters around the world on a
non-commercial free-of-charge basis (see below).
As the official radio broadcaster Radio New Zealand will also ensure New
Zealanders all over the world have the opportunity to be part of a very
significant time of national reflection and commemoration. Radio New Zealand
will broadcast the entire service live and will live-stream via the Radio New
Zealand website www.radionz.co.nz for
international audiences, allowing New Zealanders living or holidaying overseas
to share this important occasion with their friends and families back home.
People in the Pacific and parts of South East Asia listening on short wave will
be able to tune in to Radio New Zealand International on the frequencies of
15,720 kHz for the analogue service, and 17,675 kHz for DRM.
For those unable to listen to Radio New Zealands live coverage, a recording of
the service will be available on the website to be replayed as audio-on-demand
and as a podcast.
Radio New Zealand coverage will begin from 6.00 am on Tuesday morning (NZ time).
Morning Report and Nine to Noon will use respected senior
broadcasters including Geoff Robinson and Jack Perkins and a team of news
reporters in the lead up to live coverage of the funeral service which will
commence at 10.30 am.
The Radio New Zealand website is featuring several audio on demand programmes
covering the life and times of Sir Edmund Hillary, including an obituary by
Morning Reports Geoff Robinson and two special documentaries produced by
Jack Perkins for Radio New Zealand National.
Everest And Beyond, a tribute to the extraordinary life and
achievements of Sir Edmund Hillary was first broadcast on Friday 11th January
and Its One Thing To Climb A Mountain is a special three-part series
tracing the late Sir Edmund Hillarys extraordinary life from the conquest of
Everest onwards. The programmes highlight the largely untold stories of those
who were shoulder-to-shoulder with Sir Ed on his expeditions to remote corners
of the world and during his humanitarian activities with Nepals Sherpa people.
Broadcasters
wishing to carry the Radio New Zealand coverage or run the documentaries should
contact Matthew Finn, Broadcast Infrastructure Manager, or John Barr,
Communications Manager. The e-mail address system at RNZ is firstname.lastname @
radionz.co.nz.
