17 July 2008
Australias free-to-air commercial television networks together with the nations public broadcasters today formally announced the establishment of Freeview.
The consortium has been formed to help drive take-up of the free-to-air digital television platform in Australia.
Freeview shareholders include the ABC, SBS, the Seven Network, the Nine Network, Network Ten, Prime, WIN and Southern Cross. The ABCs Director of Television, Kim Dalton, will Chair the not-for-profit organisation.
Mr Kim Dalton says Freeview will work to ensure all Australians continue to enjoy the great range of programming offered by free-to-air broadcasters as the nation transitions from the analogue to the digital platform.
This is an extraordinary step forward for the free-to-air broadcasters.
Together we have pioneered digital television in Australia, investing millions in infrastructure and converting our equipment and studios accordingly. Now its time for Australians to reap the rewards; Freeview will offer viewers more channels, great content and the very best quality picture and sound, Mr Dalton said.
From next year, Government legislation will allow the commercial free-to-air networks to broadcast an additional standard definition (SD) channel each, in addition to their primary SD channels, and their recently added high definition (HD) channels. The three new channels, together with the two ABC and two SBS channels and their respective HD channels, will bring to 15 the suite of channels to be marketed under the Freeview umbrella.
To receive all the Freeview channels, consumers will need an HD digital-set-top box, digital video recorder or an integrated digital television.
Freeview will be launching an awareness campaign in the coming months to ensure consumers are ready for when the full suite of 15 Freeview channels are available next year.
Ahead of the launch, Freeview is working with manufacturers to ensure appropriate technical standards are met on all television or digital set-top-box equipment that will carry the Freeview badge.
Freeview will work closely with all relevant areas of Government to ensure consistent messaging.
11 July 2008
RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd. (NASDAQ: RRST), a rapidly growing provider of comprehensive content management and global distribution services to the television and radio broadcasting industries, announced today it has signed an agreement with WatchIndia TV, a popular video platform which enables live and on- demand broadcasting of well-known Indian TV stations worldwide. Watchindia TV is a subscription-based service which enables the global Indian diaspora to watch local Indian channels and programming through the Internet. WatchIndia TV is a subsidiary of Live Asia TV.
According to this agreement, RRsat will provide Watchindia TV with various transmission services including downlinking, turnaround, playout, and Internet connectivity. Using RRSATs transmission services, Watchindia TV will be able to extend its platform and offer its more than 500 thousand users with additional live and on-demand channels broadcast from India.
As a growing company in a rapidly evolving market, it is important that we are able to support the latest technologies and changing viewing trends, commented David Rivel, CEO and Founder of RRsat. The ability to watch TV from your hometown through the Internet, wherever you are in the world, is a new and fast growing development, particularly as people become more mobile and Internet bandwidth grows. We believe we are very well positioned to enable this emerging and growing trend.
Our partnership with RRsat will enable us to expand our platform to support our increasing global subscriber base, said Jonathan Benartzi, CEO and CO-Founder of Live Asia TV. As the Indian content market grows, we are committed to providing access to a larger number of channels. The partnership with RRsat guarantees we will continue to do it rapidly and aggressively.
11 July 2008
WRN is pleased to announce that, as of the 28th June, its Moscow AM station on 738 kHz has been extended to continuous 24 hours a day operation.
Vsemyrniya Radioset, which translates as World Radio Network, broadcasts the best Russian language news and feature programmes from the most respected international radio broadcasters, alongside local content from Russian broadcasters.
Previously the station broadcast from 0600 to midnight, local time, however, there was much interest in it being on air round-the-clock. This has resulted in the decision to take the station 24/7 as of 28th June.
WRN is very pleased to provide this fantastic opportunity to broadcasters wishing to be heard in Russias capital city and therefore reach the millions of people who live and work there.
Karl Miosga, WRN’s Chairman, said: We are delighted with the success of the Moscow station which has been on the air for the past three years. Russia is a dynamic and fast changing country and its geopolitical position on the world stage means having a voice in Moscow is becoming increasingly important. We would like to invite any broadcasters or producers with programming in Russian or English to contact us to hear about opportunities to be heard in this important city.
3 July 2008
Al Jazeera has named Sami al Haj, the journalist recently released from Guantanamo Bay after six years of detention, as news producer for the newly created Liberties and Human Rights Affairs desk. The creation of this position will further enhance Al Jazeeras coverage of human rights issues, providing another avenue for the Network to put the concerns and suffering of real people back at the centre of the global news agenda.
In his new position, Sami will follow human rights and civil liberties issues closely, ensuring that they receive prominent coverage on Al Jazeera. Working closely with human rights groups and experts around the world, Sami will help produce features and documentaries that raise public awareness and educate people regarding human rights issues, from the international legal and political debates that take place in global centres of power to the acute suffering of those who have their rights violated.
Commenting on his new position, Sami al Haj stated, I am thrilled to be working for Al Jazeera again and to be working on issues that matter so dearly to me. Obviously, the protection of human rights and civil liberties is extremely important, and I hope to use my new position as a vehicle to show the world that human rights abuses still occur all over the globe. Hopefully, through this work, Al Jazeera can play some role in helping people around the world who have suffered too long in silence.
Commenting on the announcement, Wadah Khanfar, the Director General of the Al Jazeera Network stated, “We are pleased to have Sami back at work, performing a role that is very important to Al Jazeera. The Network has always strived to provide a voice to the voiceless and to tell the story of the weak and abused, and by creating this new position, we are further demonstrating this commitment. We hope that our work will help those who feel alone realize that they have friends and allies who care about their plight.”
Sami was detained on December 15, 2001 by Pakistani border authorities while attempting to cross into the country on assignment for Al Jazeera. He was transferred to American military custody, and after six months, was placed in Guantanamo Bay. As the only journalist detained in Guantanamo Bay, Sami was held without charge and without open and transparent legal hearings. Finally, in May 2008, Sami was released and returned to his family.
3 July 2008
After nearly 60 years of providing uncensored news and information to the people of Romania, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty‘s Romanian-language service will cease broadcasting to Romania on August 1, 2008. However, Romanian-language broadcasts to Moldova and the Transdniester region will continue.
“During the course of nearly six decades, hundreds of RFE/RL journalists, researchers and analysts displayed extraordinary bravery, dedication and commitment to a free and independent press in Romania, often at great risk to themselves and their families” says RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin. Their contributions to the collapse of communism and in helping to pave the way for a democratic Romania’s entry into institutions such as NATO and the EU, will never be forgotten.”
The Romanian Service began experimental broadcasting on July 14, 1950 and was fully operational by May 1, 1951. For years, its broadcasts were a thorn in the side of Romania’s communist rulers who, according to a 2006 Romanian government report, may have been responsible for the deaths of three RFE/RL Romania service directors.
In a 2006 address to Parliament, Romanian President Traian Basescu paid homage to the RFE/RL journalists who, he said, “fought with altruism and passion for the knowledge and utterance of the truth
Their unforgettable [Radio] Free Europe broadcasts were the moral conscience of Romanians.”
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent U.S. government agency that oversees all U.S. international broadcasting, is closing the Romanian service as RFE/RL focuses its broadcasting efforts in places such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Central Asian republics.
“As the threat of communism recedes in Europe, RFE/RL’s mission is changing,” says BBG Governor Jeffrey Hirschberg. “The latest threat to democracy and free expression is authoritarianism. That’s why RFE/RL is directing its resources so heavily to places where repressive rulers deny their people access to free and independent media.”
Since Romania’s accesion to the EU last year, media competition has increased dramatically and Romanians now have access to more than 70 daily newspapers, 300 private FM radio stations, cable TV and the Internet.
In 2005, Romanian filmmaker Alexandru Solomon released his documentary, Cold Waves, a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the RFE/RL Romanian service’s struggle against Communist Dictator Nicolai Ceausescu during the Cold War.
Solomon writes in the film’s synopsis: “I grew up with it. Every evening, in an underground atmosphere, my father listened to Radio Free Europe as anyone else did. It meant more than information. While Ceausescus propaganda had less and less to do with reality, Free Europes Romanian section provided – apart from news some hope.”
The RFE/RL closure is in parallel with the end of the BBC’s Romanian service.
2 July 2008
Alain de Pouzilhac, CEO of France 24, has been appointed President of Radio France Internationale.
The appointment, confirmed by French media regulator the CSA, means that de Pouzilhac now runs all of France’s international broadcasting. Earlier this year he was nominated as head of the new umbrella organisation of France’s international TV and radio that will encompass TV5, France 24 and RFI.
