16 June 2003
BBC Ventures Group’s businesses are working closely together to develop BBC Sport’s coverage of the Wimbledon Championships – an event which continues to be one of the biggest highlights of the sporting calendar. BBC Outside Broadcasts, which oversees the OB for the event, will be working closely with its sister companies BBC Broadcast, BBC Vecta and BBC Technology to combine technological and creative input to enhance the production team’s workflow and maximise the viewers’ experience.
At the tournament, BBC Outside Broadcasts will integrate an EVS Live Slo-Mo Machine network for the first time giving the production team the flexibility to grab images and compile highlights packages faster than ever. As well as being able to access and edit live material simultaneously, the on-site crew will be able to play back slo-mos as soon as the action happens without the need to wait for tapes. The digital non-linear editing network consists of 13 x 6 Channel EVS XT machines providing storage of up to 6,000 clips, 8 x supermotion camera replays, 20 further record sources for slo-mo and match turnaround. In addition, this year BBC Outside Broadcasts has increased the number of cameras in Court One to enhance the coverage of the all the matches.
As part of the outside broadcast, WiScape, a business unit of BBC Vecta, will be providing Digital Radio Cameras (DRC) which will broadcast shots from around the venue simultaneously with Sue Barker’s slots throughout Wimbledon. This means that for the first time viewers will be able to feel part of and closer to the action, really soaking up the atmosphere between matches as the cameras sit within the crowds at Henman Hill and between courts. It will also be used during the presentation ceremonies – capuring the excitement of the winners close up.
In addition, BBC Broadcast and BBC Technology will be further enhancing the viewing experience of the tournament by providing streaming of live matches on the BBC Wimbledon website and offering access to the viewer to watch play on all courts through the interactive TV service.
12 June 2003
Dutch television news programme Nova broadcast throughout the Netherlands on Wednesday 11 June caused uproar at the Hilversum headquarters of Radio Netherlands.
A statement issued by Radio Netherlands said that the station’s management reacted angrily to the item in the Dutch current affairs TV programme Nova. The item was based on a leaked copy of the McKinsey report into the efficiency of public broadcasting that was jointly commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Culture and the broadcasters themselves. Nova seized on one section of the report, suggesting drastic budget cuts of up to 83% for Radio Netherlands. Under this scenario, everything except the station’s broadcasts to the Netherlands Antilles and Surinam would be scrapped. The programme interviewed a representative of the Dutch Association of Journalists, who said this would effectively mean the end of Radio Netherlands.
In a press statement, Radio Netherlands management pointed out that the purpose of the report was to identify different scenarios where cost savings could be made, of which the example quoted by Nova was just one. They point out that Radio Netherlands, on its own intiative, has already embarked on a major reorganisation based on budget cuts already planned for the next few years. Decisions on the mission of Radio Netherlands are made by politicians in The Hague, not by other public broadcasters or McKinsey.
RN management also said that a motion was to have been put to the lower house of the Dutch parliament last year, specifically ruling out further cuts to Radio Netherlands within the overall budget for public broadcasting. The fall of the government prevented that motion from being discussed or voted upon, but Radio Netherlands has been told that a similar motion could still be on the cards. In a personal message to staff, Radio Netherlands Director General Lodewijk Bouwens said that he is no more pessimistic about the future of Radio Netherlands than he was before the Nova broadcast.
Radio Netherlands’ Financial Director Jan Hoek and Editor-in-chief Freek Eland addressed a meeting of staff about the Nova broadcast this afternoon. In answer to a question about why the programme did not contain any official reaction from Radio Netherlands, it was explained that Nova had contacted a number of individuals at Radio Netherlands prior to the programme, but had given the impression that it would be a general item dealing with cuts across the whole of public broadcasting. Given that the McKinsey report has not been officially published, the consensus was that Radio Netherlands should wait until it is in the public domain before commenting. The fact the the item actually broadcast was only about Radio Netherlands came as a surprise.
9 June 2003
Millbank Studios in London, a stone’s throw from the British Parliament, have taken delivery of a Geevs Broadcast Video Server from Gee Broadcast to service the digital channel BBC Parliament, transmitting 24 hours a day from Millbank’s Studio in Westminster. BBC Parliament is a UK domestic television channel, broadcast on Cable, Satellite
and Freeview.
The Geevs, which can play out four independent channels while recording a fifth, is used to transmit promos, stings and highlights during live Parliamentary broadcasts, and programmes such as The Record, the review of the day in Parliament, and Politique, an in depth look at the politics of Europe.
Millbank Studios’ application utilises Geevs Autorun Automation software to compile playlists which can be activated at a preset time or by an
external trigger.
“We had seen the Geevs in operation before,” says Nick Hattingh, Chief Engineer at Millbank, “and were impressed by its simplicity of operation.”
The project was on a tight timescale and had to be completed before Parliament reconvened after the Easter recess. “The box was delivered on Thursday and we were on air Saturday,” says Hattingh, “almost a week early.”
9 June 2003
The annual meeting of international broadcasting audience researchers, known as CIBAR will take place in Moscow, Russia from 27th to 29th October.
Subjects to be covered by this two day event, that brings together research managers from the world’s major international radio broadcasters, includes:
Designing a multi-media presence – how research helps in balancing resources between radio, TV, online etc.
Demographic divides – do different media serve different people?
International broadcasting to, from (and within?) the CIS
When international stations go local: how best to measure and understand impact?
The limits of ‘researchability’ – are there places and topics which go beyond our ability to research?
Deconstructing international TV numbers – is there a consensus on what’s being measured?
Does the market really care about the mission? How can research help broadcasters to get their message across?
Whose objectivity? What has the Iraq war told us about patterns of information need in crisis situations?
The meeting is open to all organisations involved in the field of international broadcasting research.
9 June 2003
Analogue TV is to be shut down across Sweden on 1 February 2008, when digital technology should be fully introduced. This was decided by the Swedish parliament although the Moderate Unity Party and the Liberal Party voted ‘no’.
Large parts of the proposal will be sent back to the government with a request to come back with more detailed proposals for the development of the broadcasting network, licensing, and related issues.
In other digital developments Berlin will be the first digital-only region of any European city when it ceases analogue television transmission in August this year.
In Spain, the national public service TV operator, TVE, will mirror the UK system by leading the development of digital terrestrial television following the collapse of commercial DVB-T operator Quiero TV in 2002.
New EU member Poland has outlined early options for DVB-T for the country. Total switch off in around 10 years or a switch-off in certain areas in 6-12 months are the options reported to be under consideration.
9 June 2003
The joint Finance and Economics Committee of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has decided to reduce the scale of the proposed cut in the budget of the ael Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Thee cut will be reduced by more than 50%. The committee said it had decided not to harm public broadcasting in Israel.
The IBA had earlier announced that the cut originally proposed would have forced it to axe a number of radio channels, including the international radio service.
