Digital Broadcasters |Aussie ABC Massively Expands NewsRadio network

ABC Australia, already one of the world's biggest radio networks in terms of terrestrial transmission coverage, informed Digital Broadcasters Vendor News that it is going one step further. Within three years it will make ABC NewsRadio its third main network after ABC Local Radio and ABC Radio National, terrestrially reaching all Aussie communities with a population of 10,000. That massively expands NewsRadio reach to 95 per cent of Australia's population. On April 18, 2007 in Wagga Wagga Senator the Hon Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts gave the project its formal start helped by ABC Director Radio & Regional Content, Sue Howard. Of the digitally supported project, Ms Howard said that this was a massive technological undertaking and important initiative for the ABC. The first stage of the roll out should be on May 1 when current trials will be completed for Wagga Wagga (105.1FM) and the surrounding South Western Slopes countryside(91.5FM) adding 1.2 million listeners to the ABC NewsRadio network. Stages two and three have the potential to extend the service to a further 3 million people by 2009. Three new frequencies will come on line each month until the project is completed. These are mostly FM but some are AM. ABC NewsRadio management says it is Australia's only continuous news format station with 24/7 broadcasts that include breaking news, sport, finance, weather, and when its sits, live coverage of Federal Parliamentary proceedings in Canberra. http://www.abc.com.au/newsradio/
http://www.abc.com.au/radio/localradio/
http://www.abc.com.au/rn/

Digital Broadcasters | India Censors Irked by FTVs Catwalk Capers

In India the satellite TV channels have been pushing the boundaries of decency in programming in the past six months - that is by Indian standards. The latest is from FTV and its catwalk capers of believing less is better. In a country that bans kissing on TV, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting was forced to act on March 29 when Fashion TV under the FTV.com India label showed models strutting the catwork clad skimpily and without brassieres and swearing seethough tops at the midnight hour. The channel is carried by the country's cable TV operators. The Ministry slapped a ban on the channel for two months under Sub-Section (2) of Section 20 of the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995. The transmission or re-transmission of this Channel on all platforms has been prohibited effect April 1 through to May 30 across the country. The ministry guardians depict the programming as "against good taste and decency, denigrating women and likely to adversely affect public morality." Is there no subtlety? The programming was called ‘Midnight Hot’. I suspect that most adult men would at least be tempted to take a peek at a program with such a title. Still, being "off-air" is an indirect way of even greater promotion for the channel that has not been short of a following as it is. Will FTV in turn be irked by the prudishness of the Censors at India's Broadcasting Ministry?

Digital Broadcasters | Genesis Opens Tokyo POP

Tokyo, Sydney and Auckland have been added as the latest "point-of- presence" POP's in Asia-Pacific on the New York - based, Genesis Networks global video transmission network. Digital Broadcasters Vendor News understands that POPs are already operational in Beijing, Singapore, and other major media centers in Asia. The new POP sites will allow Genesis Networks to interconnect with local broadcasters throughout the Asia Pacific region, notably in China and Japan routing content using fibre optic and satellite from Asia via the Genesis network and broadcasting it anywhere in the world but mainly to the US. The company has a teleport in North Miami and is building a reputation as a carrier of ethnic channel programming from India, Poland and Latin America for distribution to US cable TV systems.

http://www.gen-networks.com