9 February 2005
The Voice of America, which reaches listeners in northern Nigeria through its Hausa language service, is officially launching a new Kano Reporting Center (KRC) in conjunction with a health reporting workshop for women journalists. The KRC, funded through an agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Developments (USAID) Nigeria mission, is a digital broadcasting facility that allows VOAs Hausa Service to broadcast a weekly, health-oriented youth radio program, Karamin Sani Kukumi Ne (Little Knowledge is a Danger), from the largest city in the region. Reporters can also file news and information from the KRC with state-of-the-art equipment.
The KRC will be opened officially at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on 16 February. Officials from VOA, USAID and the Kano government are expected to attend. “Were very excited about this new center, which will help us provide important and timely information about health issues and other topics to our Hausa-speaking audiences,” said David S. Jackson, the VOA director. “We want the KRC to be a beehive of activity for both broadcasting and training.”
The official opening coincides with a workshop for female journalists focusing on health, including HIV/AIDS, polio, tuberculosis, leprosy, malaria and other epidemics. More than a dozen Nigerian women journalists are participating in the workshop. Doctors and health officials will brief the journalists at the workshop in sessions which will also feature practical advice on issues such as finding the human angle and myths and misconceptions about reporting disease. Among the trainers are Hajia Bilkisu Yusuf, a leading journalist and the president of the Federation of Muslim Women Association in Nigeria; Akin Jimoh, program director for Development Communications Network and Cece Fadope, country coordinator for Internews. Also present will be Sunday Dare, chief of VOAs Hausa Service.
Under an Inter-Agency Agreement, USAID/Nigeria provided VOA/IBB (through its parent agency, the Broadcasting Board of Governors) $310,000 in FY 2003-2004 to support health and educational programming for VOAs Hausa service. Besides the KRC, the VOA has conducted reporting on numerous health issues, including HIV/AIDS and polio, and conducted call-in programs and general health forums.
VOAs Hausa Service, which began in 1979, has a strong presence in northern Nigeria where millions of people listen to the program weekly. Some 50 million people, predominantly in Nigeria but also in Niger, Ghana and Cameroon, speak Hausa. The service broadcasts 90 minutes daily, Monday through Friday, and one-hour on Saturdays and Sundays.
The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages, including English.
9 February 2005
Harris Corporation announced on 8 February that Chrysalis Radio, one of the UK’s largest commercial radio networks with more than six million weekly listeners, has migrated its all-E1 star network to a hybrid E1/IP-based MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) platform via an upgrade to its Harris Intraplex CrossConnect Server.
The CrossConnect Server, which combines E1 multiplexing and cross connect capabilities in a single compact unit, improves Chrysalis’ ability to manage critical network traffic between its network hub in London and additional broadcast sites in Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham. The Chrysalis move to hybrid switching reduces transmission costs with the bonus of being able to prioritize radio programming over other IP data.
To achieve this functionality, CrossConnect was upgraded with the Harris Intraplex IntraLink(TM)-IP streaming multiplexer, which manages the encoding and transport of programme audio, voice and data channels over Ethernet networks while ensuring the most efficient use of available transmission capacity. The simple upgrade has the benefit of adding a superior level of flexibility and cost control to the distribution of programme channels within existing LAN, WAN and corporate Intranets.
Bruce Davidson, group technical director, Chrysalis Radio, said, “The goal was not to fix something that wasn’t broken, but to expand and enhance data connectivity within the group. However, since our business is to maintain a broadcast radio network, we had to ensure we didn’t make any changes that could jeopardize our core operation, which is providing uninterrupted, high-quality radio.”
Prior to making the switch to an MPLS platform – designed and provided by UK IT giant THUS – Chrysalis wanted to be certain that the new platform would be fully compatible with existing Harris equipment and retain all current functionality. Extensive tests last year proved that to be the case.
“We did two full days of lab testing and the results were excellent,” said Davidson. “We wanted to link our sites with a flexible, cost-effective, converged system that could be developed to incorporate new technologies, which is precisely what has happened. Now that the upgrade is complete, I’m extremely pleased with the flexibility and robust performance of the Harris system. The transition has been painless and we now have the functionality, reliability and excellent support that give us all the confidence we need to operate 24/7/365.”
8 February 2005
As the AIBs Regional Representative for Pakistan and the Middle East, Tariq Bhatty, reports, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) recently held a public hearing and granted 8 new satellite television licenses. There are 24 applications pending from cross media companies and they will be considered after cross media restrictions are waved through legislation.
Presently most of the private television stations in Pakistan are broadcasting from outside of Pakistan. 8 companies who are awarded the licences are required to set up the facilities in Pakistan within a certain period of time. This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that private parties are allowed to set up satellite TV stations.
In addition, 21 FM radio licences were awarded. Complete details are available on the PEMRA web site.
NEW CHAIRMAN AT PEMRA
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has appointed Mr. Iftikhar Rashid as the new Chairman. Since the retirement of Mr. Mian Shaib the authority was run my Mr. Noor Dastagir.
3 February 2005
Leading satellite services company GlobeCast announced on 1 February that home shopping channel Authentic TV has signed up to its global distribution network. Specialising in collectables and memorabilia, Authentic TV launches today on BSkyBs platform, uplinked via Eurobird 28.5°E from GlobeCasts Brookmans Park teleport.
The distribution service includes an online content storage and broadcast system which will enable Authentic TV to create and manage its own programming schedules remotely via the internet. The channel records some of its content in the USA but all content, regardless of its source location, can be sent direct to GlobeCasts secure server via FTP, thus negating the need for traditional satellite backhaul.
Once content is received and stored, Authentic TVs 24/7 programming schedule is automatically broadcast and uplinked to the Sky Digital platform. The channel will be available on EPG channel 687.
Authentic TV chief executive officer Stephen McCreath said: There were two reasons we chose to launch with GlobeCast. We make decisions based not just on costs and facility standards but also on the individuals who will personally be involved in the management of our business. Although GlobeCast was very competitive on price, we were also very impressed with their management team.
GlobeCast head of UK channel distribution Juliet Bayliss said: It is exciting to be in at the beginning when a channel such as Authentic TV launches. Our flexibility and range of services mean we can adapt to clients requirements regardless of their size. We now deliver more than 500 channels worldwide and many of those are looking to expand into new territories. We are well-placed to help them.
3 February 2005
Al-Jazeera has been ranked the fifth most influential brand in the world, behind global icons Apple and Google, in a survey by a worldwide branding consultancy. The Arab news satellite channel had the fifth largest impact on the lives of 1,984 readers of Interbrand’s Brandchannel.com, behind Apple, Google, Ikea and Starbucks.
This year the channel will move further towards the mainstream with the launch in November of an English-language international news channel that will run alongside its Arabic news service and rival CNN and BBC World.
3 February 2005
Sales of DAB digital radios in Europe are showing encouraging signs as the UK tops 1.2 million units in homes at the end of 2004.
The United Kingdom has historically been several years ahead of the rest of the world in the roll out and adoption of DAB digital radio. Four years ago, penetration of DAB digital radios in the UK was just 35,000. Today its 1.272 million. Many international markets are experiencing similar sales trends as the UK, as promotion is stepped up and receivers are made available on the high streets. Sales in the UK showed an increase of 122% in 2002/2003; and 178% in 2003/2004. Comparatively, Denmark has shown an increase of 525% in 2003/2004, and Belgium a 400% in the same period.
Kevin Dale, president of market leading DAB digital radio manufacturer PURE Digital, says: “Sales of PURE DAB radios in Europe have started to show significant progress with key territories including Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland and Norway. We are also seeing DAB gaining in popularity in countries outside Europe, such as Singapore and Australia. As the right products are becoming available in these countries we have begun to see the same pick up in public interest in DAB that we saw in the UK 18 months ago. We expect that in 2005 Germany, Sweden, Holland, Italy and other European countries will also begin to take DAB to heart.”
Denmark is a microcosmic example of how market growth can expand when the right elements are in place. With 80% population coverage, nearly 20 services broadcasting on DAB, a vigorous marketing campaign from broadcaster Danmarks Radio, and point-of-sale in stores for the first time, 40,000 DAB digital radios were sold in 2004, up from 6,400 at the beginning of the year.
Says Thomas Schwartz, director of Gizmolink, a distributor of technology products in Denmark: In November and December, DAB really took off. Sales in the New Year are continuing and Gizmolink are expecting to sell another 20,000 in 2005. Already in January we have sold 2,500 units.
Interest in other countries is also growing, with Norway reporting sales of just over 4,000 units in December. With 70% coverage (growing to 80% within two years) and plans to switch some popular FM services over to DAB only reception, the DAB market in Norway is expected to boom in 2005. Already there is strong interest from retailers where sales are reported to be exceeding expectations since promotions began on 1st December. Some shops sold out of DAB products over Christmas, and broadcasters NRK and P4 are experiencing good listener feedback.
There are positive signs in Belgium, which has an estimated base of 30,000 units sold, up from just 6,000 at the end of 2003. Holland is another emerging DAB market, as is Singapore where manufacturers teamed up with retailers and broadcasters to present a series of consumer roadshows, raising awareness of DAB in November and December last year.
While the actual sales figures in all these (and more) markets may be small, it is important to remember that serious promotion of DAB digital radio has not been possible until sufficient coverage and unique content were in place to engage the consumer. Now, broadcasters around the world have risen to the challenge of both delivering and marketing a new radio technology. Manufacturers, too, are recognising the promising rewards of overseas markets.
With more than 300 million people around the world estimated to be within range of a DAB digital radio transmitter, the potential for growth is enormous.
