29 June 2005
PRESS RELEASE
Al Jazeera International and Indian public broadcasting unveil global plans at AIB London forum
London, 29 June 2005
Taking place on Friday 15 July, the AIB Regional Media Leaders Forum Crossing borders, influencing minds in the 21st century will be the platform where Al Jazeera International slated for launch in early 2006 and Indias public TV network, Doordarshan, explain their global ambitions. Entering the highly competitive international TV marketplace, both channels want to win audiences across the world, beating strong competition from established players in the sector.
Nigel Parsons, Managing Director of Doha-based Al Jazeera International, and Mr K S Sarma, Chief Executive of Prasar Bharati the organisation that controls Doordarshan TV and All India Radio will talk about their strategies and explain how they plan to overcome the challenges facing channels launching in new markets while fighting for viewers.
Moderated by ITV News Channels Andrew Harvey and with ITN as the broadcast partner, the event is the first regional conference to be organised by the AIB.
“Were seeing immense growth in the number of international channels,” comments Simon Spanswick, AIB chief executive. “This Forum in London will provide an insight into how two major broadcasters each with its own particular mission are planning to address the challenges of going global, attracting viewers and building business.”
The half-day conference, at the Geological Society, Piccadilly in central London, has delegates registered from broadcasters, production companies, satellite operators and related industries across the UK and Europe.
The event will include the presentation of the inaugural AIB International Broadcasting Awards which attracted more than 60 entries from over 20 countries in three distinct categories: best radio documentary or current affairs programme for an international audience; best childrens or youth TV programme for an international audience; most innovative use of technology in international broadcasting.
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Notes for Editors
About the AIB
The Association for International Broadcasting is the industry association that supports and represents the interests of international television and radio broadcasters. Its members encompass public and commercial radio and television broadcasters, providers of technology and equipment to broadcasters, satellite and transmission companies, and consulting firms.
The AIB provides members with representation and lobbying services, market intelligence briefings and networking opportunities. The AIB publishes a quarterly magazine, The Channel, which reports on the international broadcasting industry to more than 8,000 readers in 120 countries worldwide. It also produces the Directory of Global Broadcasting which is a definitive guide to the worlds radio and television industry.
Press accreditation is available for this event. E-mail requests for accreditation to register@aib.org.uk.
28 June 2005
The Association for International Broadcasting is staging the first in a series of Regional Media Leaders’ Forums in London on Friday 15 July.
The half-day conference, called Crossing borders, influencing minds in the 21st century, takes place at the Geological Society in Piccadilly, central London. Keynote speakers are Mr K S Sarma, chief executive of India’s Prasar Bharati – the organisation that controls Doordarshan TV and All India Radio – and Nigel Parsons, Managing Director of Al Jazeera International, whose English-language news channel launches in early 2006.
Delegates are travelling from across Europe to attend this event, priced at a modest GBP75 plus UK VAT (AIB members benefit from a significantly reduced rate of GBP25 plus VAT).
Follow the link below to see the agenda and access the online delegate registration system.
27 June 2005
GlobeCast announced on 21 June that it is delivering MTV Networks European channels on the HOT BIRD satellite platform to cable and satellite television providers across Europe, with an MTV-dedicated transponder aboard the HOT BIRD 6 satellite. The channels include music and entertainment brands such as MTV European, MTV France, MTV Netherlands, MTV Portugal, Nickelodeon Europe, Game One and VH1 Europe.
GlobeCasts solution for MTV Networks includes connectivity from the broadcasters UK facility in Camden to GlobeCasts London gateway at Brookmans Park, as well as uplink and space capacity on HOT BIRD 6 for downlink at control rooms throughout Europe. HOT BIRD 6, located at 13ºE, provides ideal European coverage and reaches millions of homes via cable operators and DTH operators such as TPS (France).
GlobeCast CEO Christian Pinon said, GlobeCast is pleased to be providing MTV Networks Europe with a transponder on HOT BIRD 6. GlobeCast has a longstanding relationship with MTV and is proud to be delivering this leading broadcasters programming to millions of households across Europe.
27 June 2005
Harris Corporation announced on 21 June that Cordillera Communications, the owner of 11 television stations throughout the United States, has selected Harris automation solutions for a centralization project in Montana and for stations in California and Colorado. Among reasons Harris was selected, Cordillera Communications cited Harris’ strong after-sales support and its ability to provide scalable and cost-effective systems that can meet the needs of medium- to smaller-market broadcasters.
To increase operational efficiency among three Montana stations, Cordillera is establishing a central “hub” at KXLF, a full-power station in Butte. At the hub, content will be ingested, prepared and distributed to another full-power station, KBZK in Bozeman, and a low-power station, KXLH in Helena. Harris will provide ADC playout automation, digital ingest and satellite ingest solutions. At KOAA in Colorado Springs, Harris will upgrade an existing ADC system to automate playout of an independent weather channel that is operated by the station as well as regular programming. The upgraded ADC system is being configured so that Cordillera can add new revenue streams in the future. At KSBY in San Luis Obispo, California, Cordillera has selected Harris to provide a new ADC-100 system to replace an antiquated manual system. Harris also will provide on-site installation and training.
“Cordillera works in very small to medium-size markets, and because budgets are not what they are in larger markets, we are forced to stretch our dollars and require that new products, such as our automation system, work with legacy systems,” said Andy Suk, Cordillera’s director of broadcast engineering. “With Harris, that is possible. It is proven technology, and we know going in that the support we’ll need is available. Harris’ innovation with digital ingest is also very important to our operations. We looked at other suppliers and found Harris was willing to tailor a solution for smaller markets and make it cost-effective for us. It is an exceptional system architecture.”
The relationship between Harris Corporation and Cordillera Communications dates back several decades and has included the purchase and installation of transmitters and other broadcast products. Suk views the strength of Harris as its willingness to take responsibility for seeing system issues through to resolution. “I like having a single point of accountability as there is with Harris,” he said. “If there is an issue, I know Harris will be an active part of the solution.”
Harris is the world’s leader in playout automation, with its systems controlling more than 7,000 channels. Among other benefits, Harris automation gives broadcasters a smooth and cost-effective path to total content delivery systems – the key to being able to deliver multiple channels of programming over any network to any type of receiver with maximum efficiency in the future.
27 June 2005
Xerox will once again use Inmedia to provide studio, editing and distribution facilities for the production of its pan-European training content. In a four-year extension to its contract, the global document management company will use Inmedias 3D virtual-reality studio and post production facility to create content and translate it into five languages for distribution to Xerox Concessionaires Europe, with production services from Tympani.
Xerox enjoys global success and it is essential that Xerox and Concessionaire staff across Europe receive consistent training and brand messages, says Xeroxs European manager of Learning Support Services Ian Sellars. Inmedia plays a central role in this by helping to create a professional look and feel to our digital audio/visual training content.
Video content is the most efficient and cost-effective means of delivering messages to employees across multi-national organisations, says Inmedias commercial director Barrie Woolston. With Xerox, Inmedia is demonstrating the simplicity of creating valuable instructional materials to ensure all staff have the right skills for their jobs.
Inmedia Communications Limited is an independent broadcast and media services company, using a combination of satellite and terrestrial solutions to deliver services to the broadcast and enterprise markets. With operational bases in London, Gerrards Cross and Bedford, a diverse range of international customers trust Inmedia to develop and deliver high quality and flexible solutions that include permanent and occasional broadcast services as well as IP, voice, data and digital media networks.
27 June 2005
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, expressed his concern regarding the combined five year prison sentence handed down to a Russian journalist by a Smolensk court. Nikolay Goshko, deputy editor-in-chief of Odintsovskaya Nedelya, was found guilty of libeling three Smolensk officials in 2000. As a result of this conviction, his previous suspended prison term for an unrelated offence nine years ago came into force.
“It would be alarming to see both the severity of the sentence, and the possibility to combine speech offences with crimes totally unrelated to journalism, become a precedent for the future, and thus amplify the chilling effect on journalism,” Mr. Haraszti wrote in a letter to the Russian Minister of Justice. “Criminal libel laws have been rarely used in democratic Russia,” said Haraszti. “However, this sentence proves that if a country’s laws criminalize speech offences, there will always be a court that will apply those provisions”.
Mr. Haraszti invited the Russian authorities to join international efforts in decriminalizing defamation and handle the offences of libel and insult only in civil courts. The Representative suggested an interim remedy – before full decriminalization was achieved – could be a moratorium. He also said that he would closely follow Mr. Goshko’s appeal to a higher court and expressed his hope that his prison sentence for libel would be reviewed.
