[HCDX] Excerpts from ABU weekly news digest week ended Jan 20, 2005

["Alokesh Gupta" <alokeshgupta@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Excerpts from ABU Weekly News Digest Week ended January 20, 2005 :

Vietnam to host 2005 ABU General Assembly
20 January 05
The venue for the ABU's 2005 General Assembly and annual meetings has been
changed to Hanoi, Vietnam.
ABU Secretary-General, David Astley, made the announcement today after
several months of discussions with Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV).
He said that the Secretariat had been advised by Prasar Bharati in November
that they were unable to host the 2005 General Assembly in India as planned.
"VOV had previously indicated interest in hosting the General Assembly in
2005, so we immediately contacted them to see if they could step into the
breach, and this week we were delighted to learn that they had obtained
Government approval to proceed," Mr Astley said.
The President of the ABU, Katsuji Ebisawa, said from Tokyo: "I am very
grateful to our Vietnam members for their generous offer to host the 2005
General Assembly. We look forward to visiting the wonderful city of Hanoi
for what I am sure will be a memorable event."
The General Assembly will be hosted jointly by VOV and Vietnam Television
(VTV) and the dates of the meetings will be November 21-28, with the
Administrative Council meeting being held on November 24 and the three-day
General Assembly opening on November 26.
Mr Astley said that the dates were about two months later than last year to
avoid the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
"The dates were also chosen to avoid clashing with the WSIS meetings in
Tunis on  November 16-18, and the World Media Environment Summit in Sarawak
on November 30 - December 2," he added.
---------------------------------------------------------------

ABU members working fast to provide relief
20 January 05
The first cache of 20,000 radio sets for survivors of the tsunami disaster
are on their way to the capital cities of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the
Maldives, as ABU members do their bit to help in relief efforts.
The radio sets, with two sets of fresh batteries each, are being flown to
Jakarta, Colombo and Male. Arrangements have been made to clear the
consignments at the destination ports.
The initiative to send the radio sets to stricken areas was mooted by  Joan
Warner, the CEO of Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) on the New Year's Day,
and is being coordinated by the ABU secretariat in Kuala Lumpur.
Some 23,000 radio sets, low power radio and television transmitters,
emergency studio equipment,  portable production equipment and volunteer
engineers are among the needs identified by affected broadcasters.
Long-term relief include rehabilitation and construction of broadcasting
facilities damaged by the tsunami, which is being spearheaded by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
---------------------------------------------------------------

ABU questions system of spectrum allocation
19 January 05
The traditional way of allocating spectrum should be overhauled to ensure
that the value of the commodity is better optimised, the Pacific
Telecommunications Council's annual conference in Honolulu was told today.
The recommendation was made by the ABU's Secretary-General, David Astley,
when addressing the PTC'05 plenary session on the broadcasting perspectives
of the continuing convergence of ICTs.
"The days have passed when each sector of the telecommunications and
broadcasting industries independently worked within its own sphere of
business," he said.
"The trends of the last 20 years of deregulation, the introduction of
competition and major technology changes led by digitalisation, have had a
profound impact on this traditional, individualistic approach".
Mr Astley told the conference that despite the importance of spectrum to
broadcasters, they often felt they were being treated as second cousins to
the telcos, particularly in respect to spectrum needed by carriers for
mobile services.
He said that convergence had advanced to the point where telecommunications
operators are providing broadcasting services and broadcasters are using
telecommunications platforms for new services.
 "The availability of radio spectrum is a fixed dimension and whilst
technology enhancement allows use of the spectrum in more efficient ways,
the boundaries around the needs of broadcasters and telcos are becoming
blurred as the convergence process stretches and encroaches across our
industry sectors".
---------------------------------------------------------------

Radio NZ gets ready to stream
18 January 05
Radio New Zealand (RNZ) will enter the mainstream of online news publishing
in February or March, investing a lot of money into this venture.
According to Stuff, a Wellington-based news website, RNZ's chief executive
Peter Cavanagh has told a select committee that the website redevelopment
was in its second phase and progress has been "wonderful".
Its revamped website will include online news, "some basic information about
weather and finance" and "enriched information about programmes".
This may include information that might be "some gateway to website links
that our researchers have come across in producing programmes that we think
our listeners might be interested in".
Mr Cavanagh said "audio-on-demand" will put the control of the radio
schedule in the hands of the listener.  The service is estimated to cost
US$180,000 to set up and US$250,000 a year to run.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Fuji TV may take over radio station
18 January 05
Japan's Fuji Television Network Inc. has said it will spend up to US$1.66
billion in an attempt to acquire all shares in radio broadcaster Nippon
Broadcasting System Inc.
The Japan Times reported that the acquisition would flip the relationship
between the two companies, as currently Nippon Broadcasting System is Fuji
TV's biggest shareholder with a stake of 22.51 per cent.
Fuji TV said it will bid US$58 for each share, which represents a premium of
some 21 per cent on the radio station's average share price for the past
three months.
The broadcaster also said that it will try to acquire at least 51 per cent
of the radio station and hopes to have all outstanding shares in its
possession by 21 February.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Ham radio to the rescue
18 January 05
Short-wave radios proved vital immediately after the tsunami hit Sri Lanka
on 26 December, allowing the Sri Lankan prime minister to communicate with
staff on the ground when power and phone lines were down.
The New Scientist magazine reported that shortly after disaster struck, the
head of the island's amateur radio society delivered a short-wave radio set
and two 12-volt car batteries to the prime minister's emergency headquarters
in Colombo.
At the same time, three others drove through the devastation to Hambantota,
on the hard-hit south-east coast, where they set up another battery-powered
short-wave radio, enabling the prime minister to use the short-wave link
over the next two days.
Short-wave signals from Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands and mainland India
also helped to spread news of the disaster around the world as short-wave
radio enthusiasts were able to maintain emergency communication.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Australian radio ad revenue up 15 per cent
17 January 05
Australia's metropolitan commercial radio stations attracted advertising
revenue of US$423 million in 2004, a 14.8 per cent increase over 2003,
according to new figures released by Commercial Radio Australia.
The data was compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the five major capital
city markets - Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Adelaide.
"The result was the industry's strongest growth rate in many years,
reflecting the buoyant advertising market," said Joan Warner, CRA's chief
executive officer.
She said many new advertisers were attracted to radio last year because it
offered the best value of all main media in terms of reaching large
audiences per advertising dollar.
"We're looking to build on this momentum in 2005 because radio continues to
be extremely competitive, particularly when compared with some of the
significant rate rises reported for other media, " Ms Warner added.
The first radio ratings period of 2005 officially commenced this week, with
survey results to be released on February 22.
Nielsen Media Research will conduct eight surveys during the year in each of
the capital cities. The cities will be in survey for 39 weeks with over
50,000 respondents to be surveyed nationally.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Radio Nepal to improve audibility, studios
17 January 05
Radio Nepal and the Japan International Cooperation Agency have signed an
agreement to carry out a study on the feasibility of expanding and
strengthening Radio Nepal's short- and medium-wave broadcasts.
Under the agreement, both parties have also planned to modernise Radio Nepal
's existing studios.
Radio Netherlands Media Network reported that the project will enable
Nepalese throughout the country to hear Radio Nepal loud and clear.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Deutsche Welle assists broadcasters
17 January 05
Deutsche Welle has embarked on a series of relief efforts in the wake of the
earthquake and tsunami which hit Asia, including sending 1,000 radio sets to
stricken areas in Indonesia.
The sets were distributed with the help of Jakarta radio 68H.
DW has also been providing assistance for its Sri Lankan staff in
Trincomalee as well as offering support to aid organisations at its relay
station, located 25km north of the Sri Lankan city.
It is also aiding the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation's scheme for
tsunami survivors, offering technical support where needed.
Back in its headquarters in Germany, DW has organised fund-raisers for the
disaster.
A helpline has also been set up for Germans to locate missing persons in the
affected areas. Appeals to contact family members are broadcast over DW's
current affairs programmes 24 hours a day.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi.

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