The AIB Executive Committee, the governance body that oversees the administration and long-term strategy of the Association for International Broadcasting, has elected Dennis Israel of InterMedia Survey Institute as its Chairman.
Other members of the Executive Committee are Mike Chandler, SES ASTRA; Linden Clark, Radio New Zealand International; Tom Dine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Elzbieta Olechowska, Radio Canada International.
The AIB’s annual summit of the international broadcasting industry took place in Prague in May 2004.
A report of the event appears in the June edition of the AIB’s quarterly magazine, The Channel, and is available online as a PDF document (600kB) by clicking the link below (right click and “Save Target As” to save to your hard drive, or double click to open the report in a new window).
Mobile users in Norway can now watch TV on their phones. The service from the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) allows people to watch television on their mobiles 24 hours a day.
Alongside the live streaming, people can pick more specialised content such as a news bulletin every hour and a Top Gear style motoring show.
NRK expects the content to become more tailored as the market picks up.
For the moment it is simply testing whether consumers will want and use
TV on their phones. So far the feedback has been encouraging.
The technology behind the video content has been developed by Norwegian firm RubberDuck Media Lab. The service supports 3GP, which is the
standard for mobile TV. This means that users do not have to download a
media player on to their phones and it will also work on all networks.
At the moment the TV company is offering its content free to operators
but plans to start charging for at least some of the content in the
autumn. Users, however, do have to pay a traffic download fee.
SES ASTRA, in a concerted effort with more than sixty of its European broadcast customers, hardware manufacturers and other industry partners, at their second European HDTV Forum session held on 17 June at SES ASTRA’s headquarters in Luxembourg, have agreed on the technical aspects and the timetable for the introduction of HDTV (High Definition Television) services in Europe via the ASTRA Satellite System.
Due to the eye-catching higher resolution compared to standard definition broadcasts, HDTV offers a compelling new viewing experience, notably on state-of-the-art flat screen displays and home cinemas, which are being installed at an increasing rate in European homes. HDTV is already a reality in countries like the United States and Japan, where more than 6 million households currently receive HDTV broadcasts and all major broadcasters offer full-fledged HDTV services.
SES ASTRA pioneered the transmission of HDTV services in Europe with EURO 1080. Europe’s first dedicated HDTV offer has been broadcasting via the ASTRA satellite system at 19.2° East since January 1st, 2004. In the meantime, the interest in HDTV has gained considerable momentum in several European countries under the ASTRA footprint. The latest pan-European HDTV initiative undertaken by ASTRA and renowned industry partners is expected to trigger a rapid deployment of the new technology across various European markets, with additional HDTV channels expected to launch as early as this year on the ASTRA Satellite System.
To ensure a uniform roll-out and avoid a fragmentation of the nascent market in Europe, SES ASTRA and its industry partners have agreed on the minimum technical specifications for HDTV broadcasts, based on e.g. the open MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 AVC standards. These technical specifications include:
– HDTV ready displays need a minimum of 720 lines vertical resolution
– Scan formats of 720P50 and 1080i25 for HDTV
– Standard interfaces for peripheral equipment
SES ASTRA and its industry partners have also agreed on the launch of an “HDTV” label which will be deployed to identify future-proof HDTV displays. The label is intended to ensure consumer confidence when acquiring new display devices and will be used in the upcoming HDTV marketing campaigns of the different manufacturers promoting the pan-European HDTV initiative.
Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA, states: “So far, Europe has been trailing countries like the United States with respect to the introduction of HDTV services. At the same time, sales of flat screen displays have been booming. Independent research institutes actually suggest that in a few years tens of millions of HD enabled TV sets will be deployed in the different European countries. By agreeing on minimal technical specifications and building on open standards, SES ASTRA and its partners from the broadcast and hardware industry intend to ensure that the roll-out of HDTV services in Europe kick-starts as early as this year.”
The BBC is responding to listeners’ demand for better radio reception by expanding its medium wave transmissions to India. BBC World Service programmes in Hindi and English will now be available to listeners in India on 576 KHz medium wave, daily from 10.00pm to 11.30pm Indian Standard Time (IST). The transmissions will cover North West Bihar and a large area of Uttar Pradesh. Head of BBC Hindi, Achala Sharma welcomed the launch of an additional medium wave frequency for the late evening Hindi programme Aajkal broadcast daily from 10.30pm to 11.00pm IST.
According to new audience figures released on 21 June, BBC World Service remains the world’s leading international radio broadcaster with a weekly global audience estimate of 146 million. Independent surveys in top markets also showed that the BBC World Service is the most trusted and objective international broadcaster when compared to its main radio competitors in each market.
The new global audience estimate indicates a drop of 4 million radio listeners compared to 2003’s global audience estimate of 150 million. This figure takes account of a significant drop in short wave radio listening year-on-year that has been partially offset by a big rise in listening via the higher quality audibility of FM. BBC World Service is now available on FM in 139 capital cities around 72 per cent of the world’s total.
Moreover BBC World Service also extended its reach with rapid growth in online usage, particularly among younger audiences. The sites attracted 279 million monthly page impressions in March 2004, this equates to over 16 million unique users a month. This is a rise equivalent to eight million new monthly users of the BBC’s international news sites during the 13 months between February 2003 and March 2004.
The BBC is planning an Arabic-language television channel that will be on the air 24 hours a day throughout the Middle East. Speaking before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the UK parliament on 22 June, BBC World Service Acting Director Nigel Chapman said the proposed channel’s mix of news, discussion programmes and documentaries would address what he described as “the dramatically changed media landscape in the Middle East”.
The plans have been included in the British Foreign Office’s 2004 Spending Review which goes before the British Treasury for approval. The BBC is seeking an additional 28 million pounds to fund the channel, according to reports in the London ‘Financial Times’. BBC World Service radio is funded by the UK government through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office while BBC World television is an entirely commercial venture.
BBC World Service Television ran an Arabic service that was carried on Orbit, the Middle East satellite bouquet, for a number of years until it closed in 1996 following pressure from the Saudi Arabian government.
In February, Al Hurra (the Free One) was launched from the United States, operated by Middle East Television Network, funded through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (a Member of the AIB). The station is an attempt to put across US policy in the Middle East to Arabic-speaking television viewers in the region. Al Jazeera television – also an AIB Member – operating out of Qatar, has gained significant audiences throughout the Gulf region, along with other channels like Al Arabiya – operated by MBC TV in Dubai.