Posts from ‘February, 2006’

The Dutch Media Authority has given its approval for the takeover of the Arrow Media Group (Arrow Classic Rock and Arrow Jazz FM) by Crosspoints BV, a company with PCM Publishers as the sole shareholder. Under Dutch media law, no publisher can operate a commercial radio station if it has one third or more of [...]

Today, British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) finally launched its new Electronic Programme Guide (EPG). The good news is that the radio stations now have their own separate category in the EPG instead of being tagged on to the listings for music TV channels. The bad news is that the Sky Gnome, the device that enables subscribers [...]

Text of report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo
Tokyo, 28 February: Internet information provider Japan Information Network Inc. will start the country’s first multilingual online television broadcasting Friday [3 March] in order to help foreigners learn more about Japan, company officials said Tuesday.
JIN will open a television studio in Tokyo’s Roppongi area [...]

Under the title “SOS-Democracy is under the threat and Human Rights undergo violation in the Georgian Public Broadcasting”, the website of Georgian Tele Radio carries the following announcement:
Today the massive laid off has taken place in the Georgian Public Broadcasting, among them are the translators of our web site Magda Guruli and Eter Chavleishvili that [...]

On the first day of the Tibetan New Year today, a satellite TV channel in the Amdo dialect has been officially launched in Tibet, which has some some 2.6 million Amdo language speakers. The service, prepared by the Qinghai provincial TV station, is the first Amdo language satellite TV station. According to Bai Jubi, director [...]

SW Radio Africa, which broadcasts to Zimbabwe from studios in the UK, carries the following announcement on its website:
“Apology to Medium Wave Listeners: We are currently experiencing technical problems that have temporarily affected our MW broadcast. Please tell relatives back home to bear with us.”
The broadcast is scheduled at 0300-0500 UTC on 1197 kHz from [...]

The trial of six directors of a Zimbabwe radio station, Voice of the People, began this morning at the Harare Magistrates Court. David Masunda, Arnold Tsumba, Lawrence Chibwe, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, Millie Phiri and Isabella Matambanadzo are facing charges of contravening the Broadcasting Act. If found guilty, the six could face a $5 million dollar fine [...]

Twenty years ago today Sweden’s prime minister Olof Palme was murdered on a Stockholm street as he walked with his wife from a cinema. I remember the event well, as I was living in Copenhagen at the time and we were able to watch the two national Swedish TV channels from across the water. Later [...]

UK media regulator Ofcom today published its Communications Market interim report, including the latest data available for the second and third quarters of 2005. The report provides an overview of developments within the telecoms, radio and television industries.
Key points for radio and TV include:
Radio

The share of all listening via digital platforms almost doubled to 10.5% [...]

Internet researcher eMarketer forecasts that the total US audience for podcasts could reach 25 million by 2008, and perhaps 50 million by 2010. “The total audience for podcasts has shown meteoric growth, particularly in the US,” says Mike Chapman, eMarketer Editorial Director and author of the new Podcasting: Who’s Tuning In? report. “The active listening [...]

Worldspace Inc. has appointed Stephen Shenefield, a leading consumer electronics industry veteran, as senior vice president, receiver development. With more than 15 years of consumer product development experience, Shenefield will be responsible for the overall development, strategy, and production of the WorldSpace next generation satellite radio receivers. Next generation receivers are a critical component of [...]

Police in Cameroon arrested the head of tax revenues at the state broadcaster as he tried to leave the country with two suitcases full of cash, state radio reported on Monday. The radio said Jean Marie Akono Ze, who was also president of the Cameroon Boxing Federation, told police he was on a mission to [...]

SES Astra has announced that it is enhancing its digital services and offering an infrastructure for Free-TV, Pay-TV and additional interactive services. The new offer will be open to all broadcasters and ease the development of digital services on an open technological basis. The offer will consist of playout services, encryption of programme signals, smart [...]

After seven years presenting the BBC Radio 2 drivetime show, Johnnie Walker is to step down from the daily programme at the end of March 2006. Since taking over from John Dunn in 1999, Johnnie has added more than two million extra listeners, making it the most listened to drivetime show in the UK.
Johnnie [...]

Alcatel Alenia Space has signed a contract with Turkish operator Turksat AS, for the construction and the in-orbit delivery of a new powerful telecommunication satellite, Turksat 3A. Alcatel Alenia Space has been Turksat’s sole satellite provider with five satellites awarded in more than 10 years.
The Turksat 3A satellite will enable Turksat to offer telecommunication services [...]