WRN, the London-based TV and radio transmission company, has appointed a new managing director to lead the company.
David Treadway, WRN’s Business Manager, takes over as MD succeeding Tim Ashburner, one of the company’s founders.
Treadway has worked extensively in radio and in cable TV, as well as in finance at investment house 3i.
Asia’s leading satellite operator, Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) and Fashion TV (FTV) today announced the signing of an agreement for C-band capacity on AsiaSat 2 to launch FTV HD, the new high definition channel by FTV, in Asia Pacific.
Broadcast of FTV HD has commenced on AsiaSat 2. Through AsiaSat 2s powerful coverage and excellent penetration, the channel is distributed to all major cable and satellite networks, and pay TV platforms across the region, providing Asian viewers access to exceptional picture and sound quality of new programming on fashion, beauty, lifestyle and luxury.
FTV has also chosen once again RRsat Global Communication Network Ltd., a provider of comprehensive content management and global distribution services to the television and radio broadcasting industries, to provide the advanced playout and uplink services for the FTV HD channel to AsiaSat 2.
Following the successful launch of our HD service in Europe, we are delighted to work with AsiaSat, our long-term partner, to continue to roll out FTV HD in Asia. We have been using AsiaSat satellite for our Asian services since 1998, and AsiaSat has proved itself to be a highly valued satellite partner over the years. We are pleased to further extend our relationship through distributing both our high definition and standard definition channels on AsiaSat satellites, said Michel Adam, President and Founder of Fashion TV. Taking the opportunity that many pay TV platforms in Asia are rapidly expanding their HD offerings as their differentiating feature, we have successfully concluded carriage arrangements with several major Asian platform operators prior to our official launch of service.
We are very pleased to welcome FTV HD on board AsiaSat 2. FTVs extension of services on AsiaSat satellites has again demonstrated broadcaster confidence in AsiaSat to be the ideal satellite platform for distribution service in Asia Pacific. This new HD channel is an exciting addition to AsiaSats HD service offering. We shall continue our efforts to grow our HD neighbourhood on AsiaSat to meet the fast growing demand from Asian TV platform operators for HD services in the region, said Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of AsiaSat.
“RRsat is pleased to be once again chosen by its long standing partner, Fashion TV, to provide advanced playout and uplink services for its FTV HD channel. This is in addition to the playout and uplink services already provided for FTV SD channel via AsiaSat 3S. We are proud to be part of such a strong group comprising a major satellite organisation covering all of Asia, a high quality programming channel as well as an advanced technological playout and uplink service provider namely AsiaSat, Fashion TV and RRsat,” said David Rivel, Founder and CEO of RRsat.
The GSM Association has announced that the mobile world has celebrated its four billionth connection, according to Wireless Intelligence, the GSMAs market intelligence unit. This milestone underscores the continued strong growth of the mobile industry and puts the global market on the path to reach a staggering six billion connections by 2013.
The growth is driven by two primary sources: the integration of mobile into previously unconnected devices and subscriber additions in emerging markets. At Mobile World Congress, the worlds leading mobile communications industry event, taking place from 1619 February in Barcelona, the industry will be exploring ways of sustaining this growth.
“As we enter 2009, the world is in the midst of a broad economic slowdown, one that is impacting every facet of business, every link in the communications value chain. To address the significant challenges facing the global economy, the GSMA and its membership are focused on leveraging mobility to create new opportunities and to drive productivity and prosperity,” said Michael OHara, Chief Marketing Officer of the GSMA. “GSMA industry initiatives in the areas of Mobile Broadband, Mobile Lifestyle and Mobile Planet will help drive this innovation and growth despite the challenges of the global economic downturn.”
Mobile Broadband
The GSMAs Mobile Broadband initiatives focus on the development of a ubiquitous Mobile Broadband infrastructure and the proliferation of Internet-connected mobile devices. With the worlds mobile connections now numbering four billion nearly 100 million of which are Mobile Broadband – and with 1.1 billion fixed broadband lines reaching only one sixth of the worlds population, the opportunities are vast.
At Mobile World Congress on Wednesday 18 February C-level executives from China Unicom, Google, Nokia Siemens Networks, Qualcomm, Skype , Telstra and Verizon Communications will unite at the “Mobile Broadband” and “Mobile Internet” sessions to explore Mobile Broadband uptake, how consumers are adapting, and how Internet services become even more compelling when married with always available Mobile Broadband.
Mobile Lifestyle
The GSMAs Mobile Lifestyle initiatives concentrate on the cross-industry creation of innovative services that combine web attributes with mobility to make services, such as banking or entertainment, far more compelling.
Chris DeWolfe, CEO and Co-founder of MySpace will be sharing his perspective on the role of the mobile industry in entertainment at the Mobile Backstage conference on Thursday 19 February at Mobile World Congress. The conference, which features both Kevin Spacey and will.i.am, will also tackle the technical challenges of delivering mobile services and commercial elements influencing mobile industry and entertainment partner collaboration.
AIB CEO Simon Spanswick will chair the session examining the synergies between broadcasting and mobile on that day.
Mobile Planet
The GSMAs Mobile Planet initiatives leverage mobility to help improve the lives of individuals across the developing world in a socially responsible manner. With countries like India adding 10 million new mobile connections per month, and many users accessing the Internet, email and banking exclusively via mobile devices, the developing world is central to mobile industry growth.
As grid electricity is inaccessible to many emerging market areas, Mobile World Congress will be exploring the use of renewable energy. The GSMAs Development Fund, that facilitates the delivery of mobile offerings to people living on less than $2 per day, will be presenting the Green Power Pavilion where leading green technology providers will meet with operators. The “Green Power for Mobile” seminar on Wednesday 18 February will explore the role of renewable energy in expanding off-grid network coverage and reducing OPEX.
“Mobile phones have evolved to become broadband-enabled multi-media devices that connect mass markets in mature and emerging markets alike. Mobile World Congress will showcase how the industry will continue to push the boundaries into the mobile future,” said OHara.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) began a new chapter in its long and distinguished history on 3 February when Radio Free Iraq broadcast its first program from RFE/RL’s recently completed Prague headquarters.
The six-minute news bulletin at 1800 Baghdad time was part of RFE/RL’s 17 hours of daily programming to Iraq. Many of today’s stories focused on the aftermath of Saturday’s elections and what they might mean for Iraq’s future. [Read a commentary by RFE/RL’s Abbas Djavadi, “Iraq is More Democratic than Iran”]
The broadcast was the first step in relocating all of RFE/RL’s more than 500 Prague-based employees to the facility in Hagibor, ten minutes from the city center. The five-story, 236,000 sq/ft broadcast center features multimedia recording studios, interlinking offices, and a modern newsroom. It is also energy-efficient and one of the most secure buildings in Europe.
“Our new home is tailor-made to meet the needs of a 21st century media organisation,” said RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin. “It allows us to stay ahead of the technological curve as we broadcast news and information to many places where authorities are hostile to free and independent media.”
Steve Simmons of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees all U.S. international broadcasting including RFE/RL, credited a number of partners for the successful completion of the project. “We could not have done this without the crucial support of the Czech government, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. embassy in Prague,” he said. “The BBG is delighted that RFE/RL employees, who broadcast in 28 languages to 20 countries via radio, TV, and the Internet, will now have a state-of-the-art headquarters to meet their needs.”
The building was constructed by Paris-based Orco Property Group and designed by the architectural firm Cigler Marani. RFE/RL is leaving its home of 15 years, the former Czechoslovak communist parliament building, which is being turned over to the National Museum.
As part of its continuing work on behalf of members, the AIB is taking part in the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
“We’re helping our members to get involved in the mobile industry,” comments Simon Spanswick, AIB CEO. “With more than four billion mobile users worldwide, it’s essential that broadcasters make sure they are positioned to deliver their content onto mobile handsets. The AIB is working on a number of levels to ensure this becomes reality.”
To do this, AIB has senior staff at MWC in Barcelona and AIB CEO Simon Spanswick is chairing the broadcast/mobile conference session at the Congress.
AIB is also arranging meetings with key players in the mobile industry to start conversations that could result in more AIB-member content being available on mobile devices.
For example in 2008, discussions with Nokia resulted in Deutsche Welle, Radio France Internationale and Radio Netherlands Worldwide joining the handset manufacturer’s Internet Radio platform.
AIB members can make use of the AIB Barcelona delegation to gather information and forge contacts. A conference call for members will help distil their requirements in advance of the event which opens on 16 February.
FRANCE 24 is now available live on the iPhone in French, English and Arabic via a WiFi connection.
For the first time ever, 17 million iPhone owners throughout the world can now
watch live television on their phone screens. The channel is proud to announce that
FRANCE 24 is the first channel worldwide to pioneer this ground-breaking service.
The FRANCE 24 LIVE iPhone application was enthusiastically welcomed by users and
is already among the top most downloaded free applications on iTunes.
At the cutting edge of innovation, FRANCE 24 makes use of the most modern
broadcasting technology to pursue its multimedia strategy, informing opinion leaders and
news lovers everywhere in the world.
To receive FRANCE 24 live and VoD anywhere in the world: visit the iTunes
website to download the free FRANCE 24 LIVE application.