Posts from ‘February, 2007’

BBC Monitoring observed radio Voice of the Tigray Revolution commencing their broadcast day at 0355 gmt on 26 February 2007, on their recently-adopted shortwave frequencies of 5980 and 9650 kHz.
The transmission started with their call signal - five minutes of a repetitive melody played on a washint (Ethiopian flute) - followed by an identification announcement [...]

Compress Technologies, Inc (CTLG) is a technology-based company with patented and protected applications that improve bandwidth and network topographies. CTLG’s North American FM-SCA licensee, Ludwig Enterprises, Inc. (Ludwig), has entered a joint venture partnership with New Century Services, Inc. for deployment of CTLG’s FM-SCA technology into Mexico.
New Century Services, Inc, a forward- looking broadcasting group, [...]

UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Alistair Darling has today asked communications regulator Ofcom to conduct an initial investigation into British Sky Broadcasting Group’s acquisition of a 17.9% stake in ITV plc. This means Ofcom must provide advice to him by 27 April on whether the case raises public interest concerns about the number [...]

The Israeli defences have begun breaking into local radio and TV programmes as an alternative to dropping leaflets informing residents of their activities. According to a report from the Jerusalem Post, an operation took place today in Nablus. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops sealed off the center of Nablus’s old city with cement blocks and trash [...]

The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has announced the funding of over €1.1m for radio programming in the third round of Sound & Vision, the Broadcasting Funding Scheme. This figure represents a two-fold increase in the allocation of funding to radio projects in each of the previous rounds. 
137 radio applications were received from the sector in [...]

Frustrated by government jamming and dwindling audience figures, staff at the BBC’s Chinese service are worried about an increasingly uncertain future. John Plunkett reports in Media Guardian on the dilemmas facing the Corporation.
Read the article
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The wor’d’s first global maritime TV channel, MarineBiz TV, an initiative of Dubai-based marine design firm Aries, will broadcast from May 1 and will be accessible on DTH and worldwide networks, with a Web launch slated for March 1. It will cover Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia in phase 1 and its footprint will extend to [...]

Pay TV firm BSkyB said today its annual operating profit would take a hit of up to £20 million ($39 million) if it failed to reach a deal for its basic channels to be shown on rival Virgin Media. James Murdoch’s BSkyB and Virgin Media, the new company born of the merger of NTL, Telewest and [...]

BBC Monitoring notes that the Al-Zawraa television channel is no longer broadcasting via the Nilesat 101 satellite following reports that the station’s broadcasts had been terminated by the operators of the satellite.
It was reported by the Cairo-based Al-Jumhuriyah newspaper on 25 February that Al-Zawraa’s transmissions had been shut down due to “interference and jamming” the [...]

A sub-group on “Going Digital”, set up by the Indian Planning Commission, has recommended that digital terrestrial transmissions by state broadcaster Doordarshan should be launched with a slogan Digital Delhi by 2010 to coincide with the Commonwealth Games in that year.
The sub-group headed by Rajeev Ratna Shah, Member Secretary in the Planning Commission and a [...]

Univision, the largest Hispanic television  network in the United States, faces a record fine for representing soap operas  as children’s educational programming, The New York Times reported on Saturday. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to slap Univision with a  $24 million fine, which would be the largest FCC fine against any  company, the newspaper said. The hefty [...]

At least three people died and dozens were injured today in a fire that raged through a multi-storied building in the Bangladesh capital housing two private television channels and a newspaper office. Two of the victims died of burn injuries in hospital while another died after leaping from the sixth floor of the building to escape [...]

Gateway Communications, a leading provider of communications throughout Africa, has announced the launch of GTV, a pan-African pay-TV satellite delivered service. It will provide a unique bouquet of high quality international and local entertainment content with a subscription price aimed at penetrating the chronically underserved African television market.
Africa represents the least penetrated pay-TV region in the [...]

The Voice of America celebrates its 65th birthday today. VOA Director Danforth Austin has issued the following message to mark the occasion:
“The Voice of America turns 65 on Saturday. It’s a significant birthday, a celebration of both the accomplishments of a proud past as well as the hopes and aspirations we all share for the VOA [...]

Slovak-based Radio Tatras International has launched a Weblog containing the text of its hourly weekday news in Slovak. The new service, part of a complete enhancement of news within RTI-SK, is the first new online service from the RTI-SK News Team. It can be accessed 24 hours a day via rtispravy.blogspot.com
Eric Wiltsher, Director RTI, said, [...]