3 October 2006
WORLDSPACE Satellite Radio, one of the world leaders in satellite-based digital radio services, today announced it has signed an exclusive broadcast license agreement with ESPN STAR Sports to provide subscribers with live audio coverage of cricket, further enhancing its content offering and providing consumers with a truly unique listening experience. Under terms of the agreement, PLAY, the WORLDSPACE-branded all sports channel for South Asia and the Middle East, will have exclusive broadcasting rights throughout South Asia for 12 tours and over 200 days of cricket comprising both test matches and one-day internationals. Three of the 12 tours include India — WORLDSPACE Satellite Radio’s primary market in the Asia region. Coverage begins November 19, 2006 with India’s tour of South Africa, and runs through February 2008, with conclusion of the India-Sri Lanka-Australia Triangular Series in Australia.
“The exclusive acquisition of these premier cricket internationals is another demonstration of WORLDSPACE’s continued commitment to providing the best in audio entertainment for our listeners,” said Alexander Brown, co-Chief Operating Officer, WORLDSPACE. “We are very pleased to partner with ESPN STAR Sports, the leading sports broadcaster in Asia, to provide our subscribers with another compelling, personalized content option,” Brown continued.
Subscribers will have “ball-by-ball,” real-time coverage of all matches as well as a host of ancillary programming surrounding each match. The coverage will feature matches with the national teams from India, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies, and will also include the biennial Australia-England test series, “The Ashes.” Broadcasts can be received in countries covered by the WORLDSPACE AsiaStar(TM) satellite’s West Beam and include: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Qatar, and UAE.
29 September 2006
The news media death toll for 2006 has reached 102, yet another blood-stained milestone for those covering the news around the world, according to the International News Safety Institute.
The deaths of two journalists in a helicopter crash on assignment in Nepal, correspondent Hem Bhandari and cameraman Sunil Singh of NTV, were the latest in a spiralling death toll between January and the end of September.
And the outlook is grim. This time last year the total casualty count stood at 77.
The International News Safety Institute recorded 147 news media dead covering the news in 2005, making it the worst year ever. The numbers included 48 killed when a military aircraft packed with journalists crashed in Iran.
The majority of the dead between January and September this year were apparently murdered because of their work. Seventy-nine were shot, stabbed, bombed or beaten to death, 13 died in accidents and 10 in crossfire.
The journalists and support staff in their news gathering teams, such as drivers and translators, died covering stories in 33 countries through 29 September.
As has become customary, most – a total of 34 – were killed in Iraq, the vast majority by insurgents. Almost all were Iraqis, reporters and cameraman in the main, who bear the burden of keeping the world informed about their country’s agony. A total of 137 news media personnel have fallen in Iraq since 2003.
After Iraq, the deadliest countries were Sri Lanka, Guyana – where five newspaper print technicians were murdered by gunmen in one incident on 8 August – Philippines, India, Brazil and Argentina.
“The rising death toll suffered by people covering the news is a stain on free societies everywhere,” commented INSI Director Rodney Pinder. “Free societies cannot exist without a free flow of information and whenever a member of the news media is slain a window to the truth is slammed shut.
“We need fast and effective action by democratic governments and international institutions to halt this deadly spiral. If we do not act, our freedom will slowly wither and then it will be too late.”
INSI has joined with the International Federation of Journalists and the European Broadcasting Union in proposing a UN resolution on the protection of journalists around the world. Thus far it has met with little success but the effort will continue.
“We owe it to hundreds of brave colleagues around the world, who bring us the news at great risk to their lives, to press on with this initiative – to keep hammering on the doors of our governments and international bodies until someone wakes up,” Pinder said.
INSI monitors all places where members of the news media are in danger at work, whether from conflict, disaster, disease, hostile regimes or other violent elements. We track and record all staff and freelance casualties during coverage-related activities – print, photo and video journalists as well as essential support staff such as drivers, fixers and translators. As we are a safety organisation, our casualty list includes all causes of death, whether deliberate, accidental or health-related.
26 September 2006
The BBC has unveiled the new channel identity for its flagship domestic network, BBC ONE. Launching on 7 October, the new idents use a circle theme treated in a variety of ways by the creative team from Red Bee Media that was commissioned to create the new visuals.
One of the idents features a fantastical exploration of what it would look like if adult hippos could swim. The action climaxes with synchronised swimming in a circle. The 3D hippos were created by Framestore CFC, the team behind the famous Walking With series led by Mike McGee.
Naomi Gibney, Head of Marketing, BBC ONE adds: “In developing the new BBC ONE identity, the key for me was simplicity.
“Out of an incredibly challenging brief, Red Bee has created a simple, true, idea with the branding at the heart of the execution. We chose this idea from Red Bee as it celebrated BBC ONE’s unique ability to bring people together, and their executions beautifully convey magical moments when this happens.”
26 September 2006
More than 90 entries have been received for the 2006 AIB International Broadcasting Awards.
Broadcasters all over the world have answered the call to celebrate success in international broadcasting, submitting a wide range of programmes in a variety of languages that have been watched and heard by audiences worldwide.
Now the judges are starting work, evaluating the entries and deciding who will be the winners of the second AIB Awards.
Our international judges – in countries from Australia across to Canada – have looked at the range and quality of the entries and have asked for additional time to evaluate and do full justice to the remarkable programming and technological innovations that have been submitted. For this reason, we are postponing the AIB Awards ceremony until after the summer break in the northern hemisphere. Look out for details of our evening of celebration of success in international broadcasting that will be taking place in early September.
See who’s entered and who’s judging by clicking
here.
25 September 2006
Czech TV has purchased a significant amount of high-powered graphics and editing equipment from Quantel to boost its all-important graphics and promos production capabilities. Czech TVs new Quantel equipment roster includes two eQ multi-resolution editing/ effects/ grading/ deliverables systems, both equipped with Quantels powerful QColor in-context color-correction option; a Paintbox gQ HD graphics system; two (SD) Paintboxes for close to air work, supported by four of Quantels QPaintbox software-only applications for preparation and off-line graphics creation.
The new systems sit alongside two Paintboxes and an HD-RGB eQ system purchased in October 2005, and all are fully integrated with Czech TVs two Quantel Picturebox sQ graphics servers, which provide centralised graphics storage, multi-user access and playout-to-air.
Quantel systems guarantee us super-fast results essential in news and sports, said Mr Zbynek Louda, graphics department chief at Czech Television. The eQs performance allows us to process a large amount of source material very quickly, so we can choose the best shots to make really stunning promos, and its HD-RGB operation also gives us an entry into the world of DI. The fact that all the Quantel systems share a common UI philosophy and file formats is also a huge advantage.
Mr. Rudolf Pop, technical director of Czech Television, added, Our large scale use of Quantel technology is a great advantage for a public broadcaster. We are currently engaged in a total re-design and re-branding exercise as we move towards introducing new digital channels. Such a project can only be successfully completed in a reasonable timescale with the kind of completely new approach to workflow that Quantel offers.
The equipment has been supplied to Czech TV through Quantels reseller, 20-20 Vision Graphics. Sales Manager, Tomas Kocanda, said, Czech TV is rightly proud of the very high quality of its promotions and news graphics, and many different versions of each piece have to be quickly and efficiently produced to keep the schedule fresh and up-to-date. This order for a second wave of equipment is a direct result of Czech TVs satisfaction with the systems it purchased last year.
25 September 2006
Harris Corporation today announced it will introduce MicroMax, a new low-cost FM exciter, at the upcoming NAB Radio convention (Booth #405, Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas, September 19-21). The MicroMax exciter is specifically designed for small-market U.S. and international radio broadcasters seeking an affordable yet feature-rich alternative to more expensive exciters on the market. Competitively priced, MicroMax is a 30-watt, 1RU exciter that can interface with any existing Harris transmitter as well as other transmitters on the market. It is especially valuable for FM broadcasters when used with the new Harris ZX range of low-cost FM transmitters (available in four power levels from 500 watts to 3.5 kW).
While the MicroMax FM exciter is an excellent choice for small-market broadcasters, it is equally useful in backup situations for medium- to large-market stations such as Cox Radio Orlando. The station group will install two ZX 1000 1 kW transmitters with MicroMax exciters at its Orlando, Florida, studios. The frequency-agile transmitters and exciters, which are scheduled to go online in November, will serve as backup units for five Orlando-area stations (WWKA-FM, WCFB-FM, WPYO-FM, WHTQ-FM, and WMMO-FM) in the event of system failure or tower maintenance at any of the Cox Radio Orlando’s transmission facilities.
Steve Fluker, director of engineering for Cox Radio Orlando, pointed to price and flexibility as his reasons for selecting the Harris solution for backup transmission. “The MicroMax exciter, along with the ZX1000 transmitter, is an excellent choice for emergency back-up transmission at our studio because of the economical price and the ability to change frequencies on the front panel,” said Fluker. “They also will be available to rush to one of our tower sites in the event of a main exciter failure. These exciters are easy to set up and plug in, which will get us back on the air quickly in emergency situations. I also like the variety of input choices for AES, analog and composite audio.”
MicroMax combines time-proven PLL technology with modern RF amplifier circuits and abundant features to provide driving power of very high quality to any FM transmitter. Visitors to the Harris NAB Radio booth can see a static display of the MicroMax FM exciter and its various features, including a built-in stereo generator and automatic power control at any power level.
Visitors also can see the ZX1000 transmitter outfitted with WEB Remote, another new Harris product that offers an Internet connection for transmitter control and monitoring over IP. All ZX transmitters can accept the WEB Remote option through an internal circuit board card slot. WEB Remote is also available as a 1RU standalone system for all Harris FM and AM transmitters.
“The global radio industry at large still operates in the analog domain and will continue to do so well into the future, even as the U.S. and certain international regions work toward a digital future,” said Richard Redmond, director of strategic marketing for Harris Broadcast Communications Division, Radio Broadcast Systems business unit. “Therefore it is crucial that we continue to develop new platforms for analog broadcasting instead of simply focusing on digital radio. The MicroMax exciter is a clear indication that Harris will continue to bring new analog systems to market that reflect the changing requirements of both FM and AM broadcasters, domestically and internationally.”
The MicroMax FM exciter is available now and will begin shipping in late December.
