Bernama TV Starts Internet News Feeds

Digital Broadcasters Vendor News Asia (DBVNA) can report that Bernama TV, the Internet based network of Malaysia's state run news agency will launch its first live-feed Internet news channel on Sept 3, 2008. Bernama TV's Internet online feed will operate on a time delay of 2 - 3 minutes after broadcast on Bernama's news output on Astro Channel 502. The intention behind this latest addition to Bernama's website is to reach the Malaysian Diaspora around the world, especially the youth segment of the audience that is IT savvy. More importantly online users want news immediately as events unfold without delay. An official dry run for this new service was the debate recently between Malaysian Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek and Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. A huge audience of Internet users in 44 countries accessed the Bernama server to watch the televised "live" debate. Online users were located in Norway, China, South America and western countries. Bernama says that the new service is free. It will be supplemented by video-on-demand feeds for individual news stories and will be advertiser supported. DBVNA believes that Malaysia's ruling party, UMNO, is working hard to stem the loss of support from the mainstream Malay population as witnessed by the recent by-election win of Anwar Ibrahim in Penang. UMNO through Bernama TV, belatedly is recognising the reach and power of the Internet with young Malaysians.

Digital Broadcasters | TV3 Rate Roar Not Appreciated

Malaysia's TV3 may be roaring ahead but its latest announcement is not appreciated. Digital Broadcasters Vendor News has learned from advertising agency contacts in Kuala Lumpur that a just pronounced 5-15 per cent advertising rate hike by premier private TV3 network is not causing ripples but a Tsunami size reaction. TV3 owned by Media Prima Group dominates Malaysia's terrestrial television on-air advertising market with a 60 per cent market dominance along with stable mate, TV8. Mind you, last year TV3 faced vocal criticism too from advertisers when it talked about rate rises at that time.

Digital Broadcasters | Malaysia to Adopt DVB-T

So now we know, it is confirmed the Malaysian Government is going ahead with the adoption of DVB-T for digital terrestrial transmissions. Digital Broadcasters Vendor News notes that this is clearly ahead of the intended date of such an announcement - a month before the present Klang Valley trial was due for completion.

Deputy Information Minister Chia Kwang Chye who made the announcement, March 26 at the ABU Digital TV Symposium in Kuala Lumpur indicated that the results of the DTV trial were very positive, the meaning was "why wait?"

According to Mr Chia more than 60 percent of trial participants said signal quality was 'good' to 'very good'; 70 percent sound quality was better -- responses being all better than his department had imagined.

That means that DTTV will roll out in the Klang Valley in 2009, and in Mr Chye's quoted words "Malaysia was keen to trial the DVB-H standard for mobile phones".

Mr Chia said the Malaysian government's Digital Task Force was also considering the implementing the HD format in programming.

Digital Broadcasters | 6m Malaysians Listen to Muzik FM

Digital Broadcasters Vendor News Asia (DBVNA) noticed an interesting announcement from Malaysia's news agency Bernama referring to the increasing number of listeners to Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) radio networks. Bernama quoting Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said that some some six million residents across Peninsula Malaysia tune in every week. Peninsula Malaysia excludes Sabah and Sarawak.

Bernama said that this was the result of a survey carried out by "Utusan Airtime" on RTM's 32 radio stations.

Muzik FM was the most popular network, followed by Minnal FM and Klasik Nasional FM.

DBVNA notices that no other survey results were mentioned.