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March/April 2006
Vol. 25 No. 2
PP 4408/2/2006 ISSN 0127-4902
Commonwealth Games:
ABU delivers a billion
viewers
M
ore than a billion people
in the Asia-Pacific region
had free-to-air television
coverage of the Commonwealth
Games in Melbourne through the
ABU rights platform.
The 12-day Games wrapped up on
26 March, with hosts Australia heading
the medals table ahead of England,
Canada and India.
“We built the biggest television
platform in Asia and the Pacific for the
Melbourne games and we will continue
to see it grow over the years, especially
with New Delhi hosting the next event
in 2010,” The ABU’s Head of Sport, John
Barton, said.
Televising multi sport events such
as the Olympics and Commonwealth
Games on free-to-air television would
have lasting economic benefits for a
nation, Mr Barton said.
“We’re not just investing in a
sporting contest. It is much greater
than that.
“We are showcasing the character
of a host nation, its many cultural and
commercial assets, and the character
and values of the competing nations.”
INSIDE
Across Melbourne’s Yarra River … the International Broadcast Centre
That was why it was extremely
important for the events in Melbourne
to be seen on the free-to-air television
markets around the world where their
countrymen could share the highs and
lows that came with the great sporting
occasion, he said.
“Governments and broadcasters
have a dual responsibility to make sure
that their athletes and teams are given
due recognition on television for their
years of effort and training.
“So when they step out onto the
international sporting stage they
know that their nation is with them,
right at that moment, sharing their
joy or sadness.”
Governments in Asia were spending
hundreds of millions of dollars on
sporting infrastructure, facilities,
coaches and new training methods,
Mr Barton said.
“Asia is thriving as a regional sporting
power house with the increasing numbers
of Olympic champions. But without
television, which has been the engine for
growth for many years, that development
could be arrested,” he said.
CABSAT 2006 • TORINO WRAP • NEW ABU MEMBERS • AVN AWARDS
ABU News
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More coverage, more countries
T
he ABU enjoyed its most
successful Commonwealth
Games.
It produced more hours of coverage
to more countries and had a record
number of unilateral broadcasters at
the International Broadcast Centre.
For the statistically minded the ABU
multi-channel platform produced by
Television New Zealand contained:
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“We can be very proud of our role
in building this event in the AsiaPacific,” the Secretary-General, David
Astley said.
“But even more pleasing is the role
that we have played in providing major
international sports coverage to our
smaller members, such as RTTL-Timor
Leste, TV5-Mongolia and MBC-Mauritius.
“One of the key objectives of
the ABU with events such as the
Commonwealth Games is to achieve
geographical reach.
“This is a base that we intend
to build on for Delhi 2010,” Mr. Astley
said.
“No one can dispute that we achieved
that with M2006.
More Commonwealth Games
coverage on pages 17-19
Eight separate channels
Six full time programme streams
1,000 hours of mainly live events
Unilateral options for ABU members
to play out news, interviews and
related features
Unilateral programming options for
specific events
The ABU was located within the
space allocated to TVNZ, as was
MediaCorpTV who sent a small
production team of five people.
“It turned out to be a
‘Commonwealth’ of nations within
our area,” said Murray Needham,
General Manager of TVNZ Sport.
RTM-Malaysia’s Ahmad Afandi and Nurul Alis in Melbourne
“By the time the games began we
had housed broadcasters from South
Africa, Canada, Mauritius, Singapore,
Brunei and the ABU Secretariat,” Mr.
Needham said.
There were some other firsts in
production.
The ABU delivered the Commonwealth
Games to:
●
●
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●
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TV5-Mongolia
KabelVision-Indonesia
RTTL-Timor Leste
Hong Kong Cable Television
Six Pacific island nations
CBC flies the flag for Canada
3
ABU News
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New PSG chairman appointed
he ABU’s Planning and
Strategy Group (PSG) has a
new chairman. He is Colin
Knowles, Executive Director
Technology and Distribution of
the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation (ABC).
T
Mr Knowles was appointed as
chairman by the ABU President, Genichi
Hashimoto, following the retirement
of Chu Pui Hing from the position.
Mr Chu, who is Director of
Broadcasting for Radio Television Hong
Kong (RTHK), had chaired the PSG
for more than five years since his
appointment in 2000.
The appointment of a new chairman
was announced at a meeting of the PSG
held in Hong Kong in March, hosted
by RTHK.
Mr Chu said that his five years as
PSG chairman had been an interesting
and challenging time, as the ABU had
faced many pressures to adapt to the
changing media environment during
this period.
“The PSG played a key role in the
formulation of the new Strategic Plan
which was approved by the Tokyo
General Assembly in 2002, but it is
now time for me to step aside and let
someone else take over, following the
implementation of all of the action
points in the 2002 Plan,” he said.
for reports and recommendations to
be prepared for the Council.
The new chairman, Mr Knowles,
thanked Mr Chu for his leadership
and commitment to the PSG over such
a long period.
The PSG’s recommendations will be
discussed at the April Administrative
Council meeting to be held in the
Maldives.
“The PSG will be commencing the
drafting of a new Strategic Plan this
year and will be presenting a timetable
for this to the Administrative Council
prior to the Beijing General Assembly,”
Mr Knowles said.
The current members of the PSG
are Colin Knowles, ABC-Australia (PSG
chairman); Chu Pui Hing, RTHK-Hong
Kong (ABU Vice-President); Turgay
Cakimci, TRT-Turkey (chairman,
Technical Committee); Han Hee Joo,
KBS-Korea (chairperson, Programme
Committee); Yoshinori Imai, NHKJapan; Dr Reza Saidabadi, IRIB-Iran;
Navin Kumar, DDI-India; and Shaun
Seow, MediaCorp News-Singapore.
The PSG was established in 1996
and provides policy advice to the
Administrative Council on matters
relating to ABU activities, membership
and strategy.
It meets twice a year, usually one or
two months before the Administrative
Council meeting so that there is time
At its Hong Kong meeting, the
PSG reviewed proposals for a content
distribution network, expansion of the
ABU Prizes, an avian influenza strategy
and a membership growth strategy.
The ABU President, Vice-Presidents
and committee chairpersons are
automatically members of the PSG.
Chu Pui Hing, RTHK-Hong Kong (fourth from left), congratulates Colin Knowles, ABC-Australia
on his appointment as chairman as members of the PSG look on
4
ABU News
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ABU develops radio-in-a-box
for UNESCO
he ABU has developed a radioin-a-box for UNESCO to
demonstrate the possibility of
low cost radio broadcasting using
digital technology.
T
The “box” measuring around 55 x
50 cm contains a laptop, mixer,
CD/cassette player and a 30W FM
transmitter. It can be used to produce
radio programmes using a portable
digital audio recorder, microphone
inputs or other pre-recorded material,
schedule play lists for playback
automatically and broadcast via the
built-in FM transmitter.
UNESCO commissioned the ABU to
design and build the “box”, at a cost
of not more than US$5,000. The ABU’s
Head of Studio Technology & Training,
Rukmin Wijemanne, handled the
project and designed the box.
The equipment was sourced from
various parts of the world and met
the cost requirement. The laptop is the
heart of the system, being used for
editing with freeware software and for
the playout of scheduled programmes
also using freeware.
Rukmin Wijemanne and the radio-in-a-box
Using the portable digital audio
recorder, interviews and other events
taking place in remote areas can be
recorded. This material is then downloaded
via the USB port to the laptop where it
can be edited and prepared for broadcast.
to remote communities as it can be
transported to such areas easily and a
broadcasting station set up in very short
time. It is also ideal for serving disaster hit
areas where broadcasting infrastructure
may have been destroyed.
The 30W transmitter can be tuned to
any frequency within the FM band by a
simple setting process. The transmitter
which is only 13 cm in height is heavily
screened to be able to be used close to
audio sources without interference.
The ABU will send one unit to
UNESCO in Paris and another will
be kept in the ABU Secretariat to
be demonstrated to broadcasters
from developing countries. The ABU
has obtained an “experimental
broadcast licence” from the Malaysian
Communications and Multimedia
Commission for the purpose.
The radio-in-a-box affords an ideal
way to provide broadcast communications
Pakistan bans two Afghan television channels
akistan has banned two
Afghan television channels
from being carried by
cable networks in the country
as they have not obtained
broadcast rights, an official said.
P
The Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has
asked all cable operators to
immediately stop relaying the Kabul-
based Ariana and Tolo television
channels, a PEMRA official told AFP
news agency in March.
southwestern city of Quetta and in
the North Western Frontier Province
bordering Afghanistan.
“Ariana and Tolo have been banned
with immediate effect for the reason
that they have not obtained landing
rights in Pakistan,” the official said.
The ban came amid tension
between the two countries over
Islamic militants that the Afghan
government says are launching
attacks in Afghanistan from bases
across the border in Pakistan.
The two channels are mainly
watched by Pashtuns in the
5
ABU News
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Engineers get down to
business planning
lanning a pay-TV service in a
small Pacific island country –
this was the task for 24
senior engineers who took part
in a seminar in Kuala Lumpur at
the end of February.
P
Donald Bowie, General Manager of
Corporate Services at Television New
Zealand (TVNZ), explained that planning
engineers must consider the business
viability of their proposed project.
The ABU-HBF Seminar on Business
Planning and Financial Analysis
brought together engineers from ABU
members in 12 countries.
In each project, different stake
holders expected different things. A
business case was built by considering
these expectations and making realistic
estimates and assumptions of key
factors and risks, he said.
It was funded by the Hoso Bunka
Foundation of Japan and organised
by the ABU.
Many aspects
The first one-and-a-half days
were devoted to financial indicators
and principles of business planning,
and the remainder of the three-day
seminar to the fictitious Pacific island
project.
Tan Kwong Meng, General Manager,
Engineering at Malaysia’s TV3, described
the company’s practices in preparing
project proposals for approval by the
management, and the criteria used to
evaluate such proposals. He provided
information on many financial aspects of
broadcast engineering.
Financial model
The engineers broke up into groups
of three for the project, with each
group being given a financial model
that they could use.
Seven of the groups came up
with business plans for the pay-TV
service, many showing ingenuity.
The eighth group decided the project
was not viable.
Participants realised during the
seminar that building a business
case is part of the overall planning
process and that engineers have to
take into account the financial
implications of their plans for capital
expenditure projects.
6
Participants found the seminar
valuable. One probably spoke for
most when he said: “The seminar
was a very fruitful contribution to my
professional career. I learned many
new things from it.”
One of the organisations represented
said: “(Our nominee) is back to work
and is enthusiastic with the enriching
experience acquired during the seminar.
He has already had a meeting with
his head of section and colleagues
to give them an overview of what he
has learned.
“Gradually he will be able to share
with them his experience and how to
apply it in their day to day work.”
ABU News
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ITU to offer greater help to broadcasters
roadcasters are to receive
greater assistance from the
I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Telecommunication Union on
implementing new technology and
human resource development.
B
The decision to offer a comprehensive
package of assistance was taken at the
World Telecommunication Development
Conference-2006 (WTDC-06) which
ended in Doha on 15 March.
Organised by the ITU every four
years, this conference decides on the
organisation’s developmental assistance
in various telecommunication sectors,
including broadcasting, and sets up action
programmes for developing countries.
As usual, the ABU made several
broadcasting development related
proposals to the conference. It was the
only broadcasting union to make
proposals to WTDC-06.
At the conclusion of the conference,
most of the ABU proposals were reflected
in the decisions taken, including the action
programmes on broadcasting.
Programme 2 of the conference
provides a powerful package of assistance
to broadcasters in developing countries. In
comparison with previous conferences,
this time the broadcasting sector has been
offered a substantially larger share.
Broadcasters in developing countries
are now in a position to obtain the ITU’s
assistance in all the areas indicated
in Programme 2.
These include imparting information
on digital conversion, migration, transition
and use of digital technology; assistance in
frequency and coverage planning and
expert advice on development of business
network models and organisational
restructuring.
Expert advice is also available
on digital broadcasting technology
deployment; and advice in the
development of relevant human
resources.
Continued development of analogue
sound and television broadcasting has
high priority within this programme,
particularly for isolated rural areas in
developing countries.
ABU member broadcasters in
developing countries who wish to seek
ITU assistance can do so as follows:
●
Formulate a project proposal for
assistance falling under one of the
above items in Programme 2.
●
Discuss this proposal with the
Development Sector of the ITU
(ITU-D) representative agency in
your country (most often this is
your national telecom regulator).
●
Advise them to forward the proposal
to the Bureau of Telecommunication
Development (BDT) of the ITU.
●
Follow up with the BDT.
●
You may also seek the ABU’s
assistance. In many cases the ABU
will be able to assist you.
EBS to hold third documentary festival
he Korea Educational
Broadcasting System (EBS)
will hold its third
international
documentary
festival, EIDF 2006, in July. A top
prize of US$10,000 is up for grabs.
T
The seven day festival in Seoul
on 10-16 July will be devoted to
contemporary documentaries dealing
with social, cultural and economic
aspects of Asian life.
EIDF – the EBS International
Documentary Festival – is one of Korea’s
premier documentary festivals. It is
dedicated to connecting the audience
with documentary filmmakers, and
supporting the growth of non-fiction
filmmaking.
Under the theme Prospering Asia,
Reconciliation and Coexistence, EIDF
2006 will feature an intensive TV showcase
of 100 non-fiction films on EBS TV, various
special events such as public screenings,
forums, seminars, performances and
photograph exhibitions. There will be a
special focus on five Asian countries.
EIDF’s programming will consist solely
of documentaries for 15 hours a day for
the entire week of the festival, providing
a venue for established and emerging
filmmakers, and for filmgoers to view a
large selection of documentaries.
7
About 15 films will be selected
from the entries for the main
competition section, and a total
amount of US$25,000 will be awarded
in four prize categories: Grand Prix –
US$10,000, Spirit Award – US$7,000,
Special Jury Award – US$5,000,
Audience Award – US$3,000.
For more information, contact the
festival organisers at [email protected] or
by telephone at +82-2-526-2122-3.
The postal address is EBS
International Documentary Festival,
463 Dogok2-Dong, Gangnam-Gu,
Seoul 134-854 Korea. The festival’s
website is www.eidf.org
ABU News
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Mongolian broadcasters to work
together on copyright issues
here is a need for
broadcasters in Mongolia
to share information on
intellectual property rights issues
as well as their negotiation
strategies with the Mongolian
collecting societies.
T
This was the consensus reached
during a two-day ABU copyright
workshop held in Ulanbaatar, Mongolia
on 21-22 January 2006.
TV5, TV9, MRTV and UBS, all
members of the ABU, acknowledged
during the workshop that various
collecting societies in Mongolia would
soon start claiming remuneration for
the broadcast of their works, including
music and performances.
“It would be for the mutual benefit of
the broadcasters if they work together
and collectively bargain with collecting
societies”, Fernand Alberto, ABU Legal
Counsel, told the participants.
“At the national level, broadcasters
should consider sharing information
on how they negotiate their music
royalty payments to music collecting
societies”, he said, while stressing that
a common broadcasters’ position
would provide a strong bargaining
position for the broadcasters.
Hosted by TV5, the seminar attracted
over 60 employees of TV5, TV9, MRTV and
UBS as well as lawyers from Mongolian law
firms, university professors, and the
phonogram producers society in Mongolia.
Davaajantsan Sarangerel, Director
General of TV5, said: “The copyright
seminar was our first ABU seminar
in Mongolia and we see it as a
contribution to the development of
television in Mongolia.
“We believe that this was the
beginning of many other upcoming
seminars and conferences of the ABU
in Mongolia.”
8
Among the copyright issues discussed
were the use of copyright works for
broadcasting, music rights and licences,
performers’ rights, copyright in the
digital age, ownership of copyright,
exceptions to copyright rules, and getting
copyright permission.
A lawyer from a Mongolian law
firm, Legalius, made a presentation on
Mongolia’s copyright law.
Mr Alberto also discussed the
proposed Broadcasters’ Treaty and
urged the ABU’s Mongolian members
to spend time learning about crossborder signal piracy issues.
He asked the members to be more
involved in the ABU’s efforts in lobbying
with the governments in the AsiaPacific region to support the adoption
of the treaty.
For more than a decade the ABU
and the world’s other broadcasting
ABU News
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unions have been urging the World
Intellectual Property Organisation
(WIPO) to introduce a treaty protecting
the rights of broadcasters. The ABU
has been actively speaking to its
members and lobbying with some
governments to ensure that government
representatives from the ABU region
manifest their support for the treaty
during the WIPO sessions in Geneva.
The workshop also looked in detail
at broadcast rights for sports events
such as the Olympics. Among the issues
covered:
The Mongolian broadcasters agreed
to speak to their government about
the treaty. They will ask the government
to send a representative to a WIPO
session on the treaty in Geneva on 1-5
May 2006.
●
●
●
If a broadcaster acquires exclusive
rights to air a sports programme, can
it stop other broadcasters (non rights
holders) from airing excerpts of the
programme?
Can non rights holders air as “news”
excerpts of sports programmes based
on fair dealing rules?
Do news access rules of sports
organisers prevail over copyright
exceptions stated in national
copyright laws?
Mr Alberto discussed what non
rights holders can broadcast based on
the News Access Rules of the
International Olympic Committee.
Mrs Sarangerel said copyright issues
had become more relevant since TV5
had broadcast the Athens Olympics live.
“Previously, there was no
understanding about copyright. Many
programmes and productions used
materials without securing the necessary
copyright licences,” she said.
Koreans take Asian copyright tour
group
of
Korean
broadcasters has visited
the ABU as part of a
copyright study tour of Asia.
A
The 10 broadcasters were
members of the Korean Broadcasters
Association’s Copyright Coordinating
Committee.
They
included
representatives of KBS, MBC, SBS,
EBS and the KBA itself.
negotiating with collecting societies on
how much to pay for the use of music
in broadcasting.
He said broadcasters should bargain
collectively on music royalty payments.
Koran broadcasters were already doing
this, and broadcasters in other countries
should do the same.
The Korean group also visited Japan,
Indonesia and Singapore, as well as
holding discussions at Radio Television
Malaysia.
In Tokyo they visited NHK, Fuji
TV, the National Association of
Broadcasters and the Centre for
Performers’ Rights Administration.
In Jakarta they met officials from
Radio Republic Indonesia and Karya
Cipta Indonesia, and in Singapore
they held talks with MediaCorp.
The KBA plays the role of arbitrator
and mediator in negotiations between
its members and various copyright
organisations.
The association’s SecretaryGeneral, Ma Kwon-Soo, said the
study tour in February was aimed at
dealing with the advent of new media
that were rapidly changing the
conditions of copyright.
During the group’s visit to Kuala
Lumpur, the ABU’s Legal Counsel,
Fernand Alberto, briefed them on
emerging copyright issues in the ABU
region, the results of an ABU music
royalty survey, and strategies for
The Korean group at the ABU
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ABU News
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AVN’s second feed
to be permanent
embers of Asiavision have
voted to make the news
exchange’s second daily
satellite feed permanent.
M
The second feed was launched on
16 May last year, initially for a one-year
period. Members agreed to review its
progress during the year and decide on
its future.
They have now voted overwhelmingly
to make it permanent.
The 15-minute feed, known as AVN2, is transmitted at 1215 GMT every day
of the year. The first feed, AVN-1, is
transmitted from 0830 to 0900 GMT
each day.
The second feed has proved its value
both in terms of overall coverage and in
the number of same-day news stories.
TRT-Turkey feeds a news item to AVN-2
Since its launch, the number of stories
contributed to the news exchange has
increased by 40 percent. And the number
of same-day stories – items contributed
on the day they were filmed – has jumped
by more than 80 percent.
SLRC, BTV win Asiavision awards
LRC-Sri Lanka has won the
Asiavision monthly award
for January for its coverage
of an upsurge in violence in the
north and east of the country.
S
The bloodshed saw some 150
people, mostly security personnel,
killed in the island’s restive regions,
putting in jeopardy the fragile peace
BTV
between the Colombo government and
Tamil Tiger rebels.
SLRC, responding to the crisis
situation, came out with almost instant
coverage of the violence, providing
Asiavision with frequent pictures, some
from remote areas.
The Sri Lankan national broadcaster
also demonstrated its professionalism
in its coverage of peace overtures to
contain the killings in the run-up to the
landmark Geneva peace talks between
the warring sides a month later.
The February award went to BTVBangladesh for its coverage of one of
10
the country’s worst industrial blazes.
The fire in the southern port city of
Chittagong on 23 February claimed
nearly 60 lives and was one of the
day’s top world headlines.
BTV’s instant response to the tragedy,
which left many others critically injured,
enabled Asiavision to be the first to
transmit the pictures of a major story in
the AVN-1 satellite feed.
BTV also provided regular updates
on the aftermath of the fire, including
steps taken by the government to
improve safety at the nation’s garment
and textile factories.
ABU News
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CABSAT 2006
IPTV a real success,
conference hears
compelling as more interactive content
became available.
nternet Protocol TV (IPTV) has
overcome sluggish growth in
Europe and is now achieving
real success throughout Europe and
Asia, the CABSAT 2006 conference
in Dubai has been told.
I
Success stories in 2005 included
Imaginio (Spain), which claimed more
than 200,000 subscribers, FastWeb TV
(Italy) with over 200,000 subscribers
and the biggest success story of all,
NOW Broadband in Hong Kong with over
500,000 subscribers, the conference heard.
However, IPTV operators needed to
offer “differentiating services” in order
to stay competitive in the market.
Jarnail Gill, Business Development
Manager of Tandberg Television, said
service differentiators such as highdefinition (HD), on-demand content
and interactive TV could be offered in
addition to the established TV service.
“This will assist operators in keeping
up with future demands on technology,
providing new platform and revenue
models, and delivering the right services
for the “now” generation,” he said.
Speaking at the second session on
“Digital Implementation Issues and
Experience” at the CABSAT Broadcasting
Conference, Mr Gill said phenomenal
growth was expected in HD, with
operators such as SKY and Premier
about to deploy HD in the mass market
“Interactivity has helped Sky generate
an enormous amount of revenue from
applications such as betting. The market
of online gambling is worth over US$10
billion a year and this is clearly a huge
and addressable market,” he added.
Jarnail Gill
Mr Gill said the model of how viewers
watched TV was changing. There was a
major shift away from the schedule-based
world to an on demand environment
where the viewer was in control.
He believed that by 2010, 50 percent
of television would be viewed as on
demand, and video-on-demand (VOD)
would become the de facto part of the
TV offering.
“I believe IPTV operators will have no
choice but to offer on demand,”
he said.
Mr Gill also highlighted the
importance of an interactive TV service
in the market place. He said interactive
TV was seen as more and more
“The service is already big in the US
and Japan, boasting over 15 million
viewers. We envisage that the number
of global HD viewers will reach 52
million by 2009,” he added.
11
Mr Gill also spoke about a number
of different types of value added services
that could be offered to the consumer.
However, he said that these services
needed to be presented in a simple and
intuitive method, so as not to scare the
consumers away.
“Today’s consumer is used to the
DVD and gaming interfaces, it’s simple
to use and looks good. This is the user
experience IPTV operators need to
provide,” Mr Gill added.
IPTV remained in a trial and testing
phase for many years until commercial
rollouts started during 2004. It then took
off and went from the early adopter
market into the mainstream during
2005. Several recent IPTV forecasts
have predicted nine million subscribers
in Europe by 2009 and around 45
million globally.
ABU News
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CABSAT 2006
Dubai conference looks at
what’s new in TV
igh Definition Television
(HDTV), Internet Protocol
TV (IPTV) and broadband
via satellite were given prominence
at the12th Middle East International
Cable, Satellite, Broadcast and
Communications
Exhibition
(CABSAT 2006).
H
The show – held in Dubai from 7
to 10 March – displayed products and
technologies by manufacturers such as
Thomson, Panasonic, JVC, Tandberg,
Sony, Arabsat, Nilesat, PanAmSat,
Eutelsat, Snell & Wilcox, among others.
Opened by Sultan Saeed Al Mansoori,
United Arab Emirates Minister of
Governmental Sector Development, this
year’s show occupied 13, 680 sq
metres of floor space and brought
together more than 8,000 trade visitors
from 105 countries.
Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General
of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC)
– organiser of the event – said: “The
percentage growth in floor space and the
number of participating companies are
Sultan Saeed Al Mansoori opens the show
clear indications of the level of interest
shown by international players who are
eager to do business in the Middle East
and the neighbouring regions”.
CABSAT 2006 also featured a
broadcast conference, which was
designed to keep broadcasters in the
region up to date with developments
in technologies and new systems for
the broadcast sector.
International and local speakers
covered a wide range of topics,
including updates on digital TV, digital
implementation issues and experiences,
satellite broadcast developments and
digital broadcasting developments in the
Middle East.
Both conference and exhibition
were supported by the Arab States
Broadcasting Union (ASBU), the
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, the
International Association of Broadcasting
Manufacturers (IABM) and the Global
Satellite Forum (GVF).
Next year’s CABSAT will be held on 6
to 8 March. Commenting on what’s in
store for CABSAT 2007, the International
Project Manager of DWTC, David Lim,
said: “CABSAT 2007 will give prominent
focus to DVB-S2, mobile TV, and also
the recent technologies and updates on
HDTV and IPTV”.
“We also hope to be bigger, better and
more informative,” Mr Lim said.
The ABU’s booth at CABSAT
12
ABU News
N e w s
&
E v e n t s
CABSAT 2006
Cultural factors ‘will help determine
success of HDTV’
ultural factors will affect the
take up of high definition
television (HDTV) in each
country, the CABSAT Broadcasting
Conference in Dubai heard.
C
Chris Lawrence, a management
consultant for Siemens Business
Services, said broadcasters needed to
understand market attitudes in each
territory when deciding whether and
how to launch new HD services.
He said cultural factors included how
people spent their leisure time, whether
homes were large enough for large, flat
screens, and consumer attitudes towards
technology innovation.
“These will determine whether HD
services are a good source of new
revenue, a cost of staying in business
or an expensive distraction.”
Mr Lawrence said consumer uptake
would determine the success of HD
services, and broadcasters could stimulate
this demand by providing compelling HD
content, which would need to offer a
marked quality improvement on standard
definition content.
Apart from the attraction of high
profile live sport, such as the
forthcoming football World Cup, as a
relatively low cost HDTV content entry
point to stimulate public attraction to
high definition quality pictures, early
indicators in Europe were that HDTV
would initially be a niche service based
around premium content genres and
that its appeal would broaden over
the next five years.
13
“Broadcasters should consider HD
now when making planning decisions,
such as when refreshing technology
and building new facilities,” said
Mr Lawrence.
ABU News
N e w s
&
E v e n t s
CABSAT 2006
Saudi Arabia to get digital
terrestrial TV network
igital television over a
terrestrial network is to
be rolled out across Saudi
Arabia beginning this year.
D
The news was announced to the
closing session of the CABSAT 2006
Broadcasting Conference by Riyadh
Najm, Assistant Deputy Minister for
Engineering Affairs in the Ministry of
Culture and Information.
This decision follows trials conducted
in Riyadh during 2004/5. The roll out
starts with five major cities, where it will
be completed by June 2006.
The target is to cover a total of 22
cities by the end of February 2007,
serving 70 percent of the population.
The single multiplexer service will
carry four TV channels with a mix of
Riyadh Najm
existing Saudi Arabian TV channels plus
a new channel designed for the Saudi
market. The service will also carry four
radio programmes.
Responding to a question as to why
the ministry had elected to begin digital
TV over a terrestrial network, when
the majority of home received satellite
The Kingdom Tower in Riyadh…
symbol of Saudi development
signals, Dr Najm reminded participants
that the people of his country were quite
conservative, and that this included their
television viewing patterns.
Most of the population had not
signed up for satellite services, despite
the fact there was a wide range
of programming available for free.
The terrestrial network was a most
appropriate solution for bringing
digital television to Saudi Arabia.
He said set top boxes would not be
subsidised and the introduction of
interactive TV via the MHP standard
platform would be a feature of the new
service. The ministry would conduct a
wide ranging promotion using all forms
of media outlets to foster the uptake of
the new service, Dr Najm said.
Control room, Saudi Arabian Radio and Television
14
ABU News
N e w s
&
E v e n t s
BBC World Service confirms Arabic TV
he BBC World Service is to
launch an Arabic television
news channel in 2007, the
corporation has confirmed.
T
welcome the BBC’s expansion into
Arabic TV without hesitation, we cannot
ignore the potential threat of hundreds
of compulsory redundancies.”
The channel will initially broadcast
12 hours a day and will be the BBC’s
first publicly funded global TV service.
It said the decision to move funding
from European services to Arabic TV
appeared to be political, warning: “The
decision will create a perception abroad
that the BBC World Service is working to
a government agenda.”
It is part of a £30 million (US$52
million) restructuring of the World
Service and is being funded by the
closure of 10 foreign language services
– with the loss of 218 jobs.
Trade unions condemned news
of the closures and job losses as
a “bitter” and “devastating” blow, BBC
News reported.
The World Service provides news in
English and 42 other languages and is
funded by a Foreign Office grant.
The 2005/2006 grant is £239 million
(US$418 milllion) and the Arabic service
is expected to cost £19 million (US$33
milllion) a year in operating costs.
The World Service said broadcasts
in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Greek,
Hungarian, Kazakh, Polish, Slovak,
Slovene and Thai languages would end
by March 2006.
But Mr Chapman denied this, saying:
“We have no political motive. Our job is
to be a broadcaster.”
He said research had shown there
was a strong demand for an Arabic TV
service in the Middle East.
“BBC World Service is already the most
successful, trusted and respected voice in
the Middle East with more than 60 years
experience of broadcasting in the Arabic
language on radio, and more recently and
successfully, online,” he said.
“The changes add up to the biggest
transformation of BBC World Service
that has been undertaken – and one of
the most far-reaching – since the BBC
began international broadcasting more
than 70 years ago.”
It is estimated that 148 jobs will be
created by the new Arabic channel.
Overall, 236 positions will be closed as
a result of overall restructuring and 201
will be created through new investment.
The changes to the service follow
the government’s review of the BBC’s
Charter in March 2004.
“We believe the proposed changes will
enable BBC World Service to maintain
and build on its pre-eminent position
as the world’s leading international
broadcaster in the multi-media age for
years to come,” Nigel Chapman said.
The World Service has 149 million
weekly listeners and over 20 million
monthly unique online users.
The BBC has previously entered the
Arabic television market, in conjunction
with the Saudi-owned company Orbit,
but it foundered in 1996 following issues
of editorial control.
That same year Aljazeera launched,
based in Qatar.
Aljazeera is scheduled to launch a
new 24-hour English-language channel
– Aljazeera International – in May.
BBC World Service Director Nigel
Chapman said many of those services
resulted from the Second World War.
“It is acknowledged that their
presence has contributed to the building
of freedoms now enjoyed by their citizens.
We believe this will be a lasting legacy.”
But he said many national and local
services “which subscribe to similar
values as the BBC” had since been
started in Europe.
Broadcasting trade union Bectu
said: “While we would normally
The BBC’s London newsroom
15
ABU News
N e w s
&
E v e n t s
Australian media set
for big shake up
ustralia’s broadcasting and
print media are set for a major
shake-up under a plan unveiled
by the government in March.
A
The plan calls for the existing rules
banning a company from owning more
than one type of medium in the same
capital city or regional area to be
abolished.
New restrictions would ensure there
were at least five commercial media
groups in major cities, and four in
regional centres.
Limits on foreign ownership of the
media would be lifted and power handed
to the Treasurer (Finance Minister) to
determine whether it was in Australia’s
best interest, The Age newspaper reported.
The ABC’s headquarters in Ultimo, Sydney
The government is now consulting
media companies over the planned
changes, and hopes to enact the plan
into law later this year.
Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). The rule
may also apply to some mobile TV
services that use broadcast spectrum.
●
Other key points of the plan include:
●
●
●
●
Analogue TV services will be switched
off by 2010 in the cities and by 2012
elsewhere. After that, viewers will need
digital TV sets or set-top boxes.
In a big concession to the existing
networks, the government will not
issue any new commercial TV
licences at least until the conversion
to digital is complete.
Current restrictions on Australia’s
two public broadcasters, the ABC
and SBS, will be lifted to allow them
to broadcast news, movies and sport
on their extra digital channels.
Internet service providers will have to
apply for a broadcast licence for
Broadcasters who hold rights to
sports events will have to use them or
face losing them to a competitor – a
“use it or lose it” rule.
The Communications Minister, Helen
Coonan, said the proposed changes were
an “evolution” and necessary for the
media industry to move forward.
“There is a compelling case for
change and if the government does not
act then there is a genuine risk that
Australia will become a dinosaur of the
analogue age.” But the opposition Labor
Party said the changes would allow the
major media companies to strengthen
their position, reducing the number of
owners and threatening diversity.
Under the present rules, there is a
limit of 15 percent on the amount of TV,
16
radio and print holdings one company
can own in a single city. And foreign
companies cannot own more than 15
percent of a TV company or 25 percent
of a newspaper firm.
The Sydney Morning Herald
reported that the planned changes would
see the introduction of up to 30
specialist television channels as early as
next year, covering everything from sport
to shopping to religion.
The channels would not be allowed
to look like existing free-to-air television
but would be restricted to niche and socalled “snack” TV.
Niche covers special interest shows
such as religion and shopping, or
programmes for a particular ethnic
audience.
“Snack” content would include news
headlines, sport highlights, entertainment,
music and information services.
ABU News
Sports
View
ABU Radio News Exchange
covers the Games
he ABU Radio News
Exchange, ARNE, broke new
ground with a daily wrap
up of the Commonwealth Games
in Melbourne in March.
T
One of the exchange’s members,
Radio Australia, provided the wrap
up free of copyright in two parts, one
at noon and the other at the end of
each day.
The two scripts contained all the
highlights of each day’s events.
Radio Australia offered a week
before the games opened to provide
a daily news wrap-up. ABU Legal
Counsel Fernand Alberto and Radio
Officer Vijay Sadhu reviewed the
associated copyright issues and got
these cleared by the games organisers,
who waived any objections to short
news stories being used in the
exchange in text form.
It was the first time that sports news
has been contributed to the news
exchange. Efforts are being made to
organise coverage for ARNE of other
major sporting events such as the 2006
FIFA World Cup, the Asian Games and
the 2008 Olympics.
This could be done either by satellite
or, better still, by Internet streaming.
Another possibility is to involve
radio members in coverage of the ABU
Robocon contest.
ARNE has come a long way since
being launched on 17 August last year.
It began on a trial basis with scripts
provided by Asiavision, and graduated
to receiving new story contributions
from participating members.
Inside the Melbourne IBC
A web based exchange was set up
on the ABU website to enable
participating radio members to upload
their radio news scripts and download
or retrieve news script files
contributed by others. The ARNE web
page can be accessed from the ABU
home page using a password.
The exchange of news sound
bites commenced in December. ARNE
participants contribute around 20
news stories everyday, including two
or three sound bites and Asiavision
stories.
While many of the stories are of
regional interest, some of them are of
purely local interest. A lot needs to be
done in the way of selection of the
right types of stories for a regional
news exchange.
Stories in two regional languages,
Bahasa and Chinese, are also accepted
but this facility has not been used over
the last four months.
17
Several radio members contribute
actively to the news exchange, among
them ABC, NHK, KBS, MediaCorp
Radio, PBC, TRT and RTHK. But the
bulk of radio members have not taken
the plunge.
Preparations are afoot to run the
news exchange using a much improved
software platform on an exclusive
webserver.
Once it gets going, it will provide the
facility of metadata, pre-listening of
sound bites and archiving.
In September the ABU plans to
conduct a training workshop for the
news staff of members. It will deal with
selection of news stories and sound
bites for the exchange, uploading
and downloading files, and other
related aspects.
The workshop is being supported
by UNESCO under the IPDC
programme.
ABU News
Sports
View
Aussie gold,
again and again and again…
By John Barton, Head of Sport
ome years ago after the
release of the Whitney
Houston hit, I Will Always
Love You, a woman in Britain was
charged with inflicting on others
cruel and unusual punishment.
S
She had for six months played the
song repeatedly, hour after hour, day
after day. Her neighbours petitioned
the local magistrate’s court that they
were going loopy: Whitney was giving
them nightmares.
The magistrate agreed. He gave the
woman a suspended jail sentence and
had the police confiscate her music
system.
Fast forward to the Melbourne
Commonwealth Games 2006, and the
playing of the national anthem, Advance
Australia Fair, over and over again as
their athletes and teams staked a real
estate claim to the medals podium.
competing nations seemed to be no
more than supporting acts.
I suppose it was only to be expected
from this great sporting nation.
They were freakish in just about
every sport – in the pool, on the
cycling track, shooting, on the courts
in basketball and netball, and even
track and field where they seem to be
able to spring, endure, throw and
jump their way gold.
But the river of gold flowing
through Australia did have a few
eddies and counter currents.
From an Empire where once the
sun never set, we saw the emergence
of athletes who one day will end the
chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie…oi,
oi, oi”.
There was young Mark Cavendish
from the tiny Isle of Man in the Irish
Sea who came home with gold in the
80 lap cycling scratch race.
The name Ryan Pini from Papua
New Guinea will long be remembered
as time wearies the mind. How did he
triumph in the 100 metres butterfly
against world beaters such as Klim
and Burmester?
You could see on the quizzical
faces of many spectators their
astonishment: where’s this place PNG?
Or McClatchey. Who, or what, is
that? Just a young woman from the
wilds of Scotland who glided home
in the 200 and 400 freestyle.
But these were surprises, glittering
moments for the unsung in the
Melbournian sunshine, and not likely
to be repeated for another decade
or two.
Elsewhere a sleeping giant was
awakening… steadily accumulating
medals in all disciplines and whose
performance was already being
remarked on by those who plan for
success.
There didn’t seem to be an hour
in the day when the strains of:
“Australians all let us rejoice…” were
not heard at some venue, booming
out of the speakers and into what had
been a few weeks before, tranquil
suburban Melbourne.
If an anthem was to be an objective
measure of a nation’s success then, of
course, Australia were the winners.
But at what cost?
I even heard on Aussie commentator
say: “Crikey, not again. People will be
getting tired of this!”
But, such was the dominance of
the green and gold that the other 70
Spectators queueing for taxis at Melbourne airport
18
ABU News
Sports
India, the Commonwealth’s
economic juggernaut, had been
steadily investing in sports
infrastructure and the development
of its athletes.
Melbourne showed the wisdom of
this move where athletes and teams
from the sub-continent came fourth in
the medal tally behind Australia,
England and Canada, easily eclipsing
their performances in Manchester
four years earlier.
View
On the track, too, Indian athletes
were to the fore, often ahead of the
traditional favourites like England
and Jamaica.
If Melbourne’s character had been
written in the images of the opening
ceremony – trams, the greatest sports
stadium in the world, affectionately
known as the ‘G’, the story of
Melbourne’s multi-cultural past – then
the finale was even more memorable.
Were it to happen in swimming
then we really would be witnessing a
seismic shift in the balance of power
within the Commonwealth.
It evolved as a musical feast, the
underbelly of a city representing 170
nations of the world and all of the
Commonwealth.
the hockey field they were fiercely
competitive.
Delhi 2010, who knows?
India finished with 22 gold medals,
only four behind Canada.
They outshot the competition, they
often outboxed and outlifted them. On
But there is no denying Melbourne
saw the end of a swimming era in
Australia, their heroes of Athens and
Manchester fading away.
If the opening to the 18th
Commonwealth Games had been
too parochial for some, this was a
celebration played to a packed house
of 100 thousand people on a thousand
instruments.
Melbourne: A day for
all seasons
T
he Concierge suggested politely that some
slight additions to the day’s apparel might be
in order: perhaps a coat and gloves.
It was Sunday morning and outside the heat was already
curling the grass around Albert Park.
“I’ll be right,” I said cheerily, and strode off into the
early morning air, already thick with humidity.
distinction in the pantheon of meteorology owes much to
the fickleness of the weather and the speed of change.
Summer had come back with a vengeance, hot winds
sweeping into the city across the vast plaints of Western
Victoria.
Even before Michael Schumacher could complete a lap
of Albert Park in his Ferrari in place of summer came
winter’s snarling face, as it rolled in from the Southern
Ocean and across Port Philip Bay.
As for the Commonwealth Games family and athletes it
was a case of: “Let’s go to the beach!”
With a cold wind, and rain, Melburnians hunched
forward in a cold embrace of the elements, busily getting
about their work, and forgetting, sublimely, that the summer
wind was only 24 hours before.
And so did everyone else, grabbing their little patch of
sand from St. Kilda to South Melbourne, and pouring into
the al fresco diners along the promenade.
But there remained on the faces of the organisers the
sunny optimism that comes with experience.
It was as beautiful a day as you would find on the
Riviera or Queensland’s tropical north – beautiful one day,
perfect the next.
“Four seasons in a day, mate!”
And so it was.
Ahhh! Not quite. You see, Melbourne’s place of
19
ABU News
Sports
View
Many a talking point in Torino
here was a moment in the
opening ceremony of the 2006
Torino Winter Olympic Games
which was more than surreal.
T
On a bitterly cold night with the
‘Stadio Olympico’ packed to its small
rafters there was the unmistakable
sound of a cow bell, and then cow
bells in stereo.
Was this a pivotal moment in a
Winter Olympic Games? “Drowsy tinklings
to lull the distant folds.”
No, we weren’t mistaken. Cows, their
herdsmen, and the Alpine villages, which
were sustained by them, were central to
the games theme of ‘Passion lives here.’
And there was no way our bucolic friends
could be left out of the celebrations.
Even so, the giant dairy cows in
papier mache being pushed across the
stage seemed at odds with the alpine
events which were to follow in the
coming 16 days of competition.
It became a talking point. There were
many in Torino, not all positive.
There were the inevitable doping
scandals, with athletes stripped of their
medals.
Dusk settles over the satellite compound in Torino
The midnight raid on the Austrian
skiers and the car chase for their former
coach Walter Mayer and his subsequent
arrest by Italian authorities. There were
the desperate attempts to get rid of
hypodermic syringes – the skiers threw
them out of their apartment windows
into the snow below.
marred by significant problems associated
with accommodation and transportation.
Problems with accommodation and
transport. This seemed to be a replay of
Athens, with people on the beach in
sleeping bags.
However, time was against everyone.
So serious were the complaints
regarding accommodation that a series
of meetings was held with the Torino
Olympic Games Organising Committee
(TOROC) to try to resolve the issues.
The main gripes involved:
●
For broadcasters, these were games
●
●
●
●
●
●
Rooms without phones or TVs
Rooms without Internet
Breakfasts not supplied or where
food ran out
Hot water systems broken down
Lifts also breaking down and trapping
broadcast personnel
Rooms without doors
Rooms without beds or sofas
The complaints continued right up to
the last day of competition.
In Torino… John West of TVNZ (centre) with two IOC staff members
20
Every attempt was made, it would
seem, to fulfil the contracts signed by the
individual broadcasters and unions with
TOROC, but in the end a compensation
agreement was hammered out to the
satisfaction of most.
ABU News
Sports
As they said, the media villages
had been completed far too late and
there simply was not enough time
for them to check the 6,500 places
of accommodation that had been
supplied.
Transportation to the mountain
venues 105 kilometres away also became
a major issue with buses sometimes
failing to arrive to pick up broadcasters.
The EBU became so concerned that
they brought in buses from Germany
to support their German member!
The ABU provided its biggest
coverage of a Winter Games increasing
View
the number of countries in the
distribution pool from three (Salt Lake
2002) to 20.
“Many of our members were taking
the games for the first time, and we
were especially pleased to see the
events go out on free air,” Head of
Sport, John Barton said.
“We delivered 600 hours of
programming, including, for the
first time, members in the Pacific,”
he added.
The International Olympic Committee
offered special congratulations to the
ABU for its commitment to the Winter
Olympic Games and dramatically
increasing its territorial reach.
Speaking at a function to greet the
ABU’s broadcast team in Torino, the
President of the IOC, Dr. Jacques
Rogge, said the ABU had made an
outstanding contribution in the four
years from Salt Lake City.
“We are delighted to see the Winter
Games in so many countries on free
to air television,” he said.
“The ABU was a very important
partner with the IOC in propagating
the spirit of Olympism throughout the
region,” Dr. Rogge said.
Digital radio convention set for August
hen and how to introduce
digital radio transmissions
will be a key focus of a
conference staged by the ABU in
Kuala Lumpur in August.
W
The Digital Radio Convention on 14-17
August is aimed at radio broadcasters from
the technical, programming, management
and business development streams.
Aside from providing updates on digital
radio developments, the convention will
concentrate on implementation and
application – the many decisions required
on business factors, content production
facilities, consumer take-up, receiver
developments, and switch-over issues.
The transition to digital gives rise to
complex issues of organisation, technical
and infrastructure build-up, coverage
planning, capital expenditure and
operating funding, policy, regulation and
human resource development.
The digitalisation process in radio
has made significant inroads in many
countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
While most radio broadcasters have
completed the digital conversion of
studio operations and storage, only a
few have introduced transmission of
digital radio services.
Much to learn
For radio broadcasters who have not
yet taken any firm decisions, there is much
to learn from the pioneers as well as
from technology developers, regulators,
business strategists and the like.
The convention will comprise a
three-day conference followed by four
workshops on the last day.
The conference programme will
address core technical issues such as
system standard choices, transmission
planning and radio receiver developments.
Non-technical issues include digital
radio applications and services, content
development, transition and analogue
switch-off, and new revenue opportunities.
21
A highlight of the event is the special
session that will feature demonstrations
of digital radio transmission systems
such as DRM, DAB, ISDB-TSB, DMB and
HD-Radio.
The four digital radio workshops on
17 August will focus on regulations and
policies to supporting digital radio
broadcasting, devising a practical mix
of digital radio services, workflow and
management structures for digital
radio, and financing digital radio
implementation.
Sponsorship opportunities
For the ABU’s industry partners,
several types of sponsorship
opportunities are available.
For conference registration and
sponsorship details, please contact
the ABU Technical Department.
E-mail: [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected].
my or by fax at + 603 2282-4606.
ABU News
F r o m
T h e
S e c r e t a r i a t
ABU gets more new
members in 2005
he ABU welcomed over
20 organisations which have
signed up as members over
the course of 2005. Among them
were one full member, three
additional full members and three
associate members.
T
Afghanistan’s Moby Capital Partners
(Moby) has joined as full member.
The private broadcaster launched
the country’s first commercial radio
station, Arman FM, in April 2003.
It expanded operations to include
television coverage with the launch
of Tolo TV in October 2004.
Joining the ABU as additional full
members were Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar
Broadcasting System (UBS) and TV9.
UBS is a public broadcaster servicing
Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar,
while TV9 is a private network with
an emphasis on Buddhism-related
programming.
Among the affiliates joining the
ABU were Bloomberg and National
Geographic Venture. Hong Kong-based
Bloomberg is a global provider of data,
news and analysis for radio and TV, while
USA’s National Geographic supplies
documentary and film content to
international broadcasters, including to
its own subsidiary, National Geographic
Channels International.
Three Singaporean companies also
joined as affiliates. They are NewTec Asia
Pacific, which delivers distribution
equipment for broadcasters; ST Teleport
(STTP), a satellite communications
solution provider; and Telesto Broadcast
Solutions, which offers radio and TV
consultancies, project management and
system integration.
Transmission providers Broadcast
Australia and Multi Carrier (Mauritius)
Ltd (MCML) also joined as affiliate
members. Broadcast Australia is
a systems integrator, while MCML
broadcasts radio and TV channels for
private and public operators in Mauritius
and Rodrigues.
Other affiliates include two
US companies: Tiernan, A Radyne
Company, and Pacific Television Center.
Tiernan, which is based in Singapore,
manufactures digital video compression
and modulation equipment, while
Pacific Television Center is involved
in distribution and live broadcast
production.
The rest are Kabelvision-Indonesia,
OKNO-TV from Kazakhstan and Forever
Group-Myanmar. Kabelvision provides
cable-TV and Internet broadband services
in Indonesia, while OKNO-TV supplies
broadcast equipment and consultancy
services.
Forever Group specialises in
information and communication
technology, graphic design, special
effects and digital broadcasting.
The other additional full member
is Pakistan’s Eye TV Network (Hum TV).
The satellite TV broadcaster, which was
officially launched in January 2004, was
the first media company in Pakistan to
be listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange.
MiTV-Malaysia, Zee Sports-India
and Metro TV-Indonesia signed on as
associate members. MiTV is Malaysia’s
second cable-TV operator, offering a
service that combines digital video
broadcast and Internet technologies.
Metro TV, established on 25 October
1999, is a free-to-air broadcaster airing
shows in three languages – Indonesian,
English and Mandarin. Zee Sports is a
private sports channel run by Zee
Telefilms, one of India’s largest media
and entertainment companies.
The UBS headquarters in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
22
ABU News
F r o m
T h e
S e c r e t a r i a t
ABU CALENDAR OF EVENTS
ABU News Mar/Apr 2006
Vol. 25 No. 2
Events of interest to the ABU and its members in 2006
APRIL
3-7
20-21
20-22
22-27
26-27
MIPTV
WorldDAB DAB Conference
Eurasian Media Forum
NAB2006
ABU Administrative Council Meeting
Cannes
Beijing
Almaty
Las Vegas
Maldives
MAY
1-3
1-5
2-8
3
7-12
8
9-10
11-13
15-17
15-16 June
16
17-18
29-31
Colombo
Geneva
Kuala Lumpur
Colombo
Taipei
Taipei
Kota Kinabalu
Geneva
Brunei
Geneva
Geneva
Geneva
Kuala Lumpur
Asiavision Coordinators’ Meeting
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PP 4408/2/2006
ISSN 0127-4902
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