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Tag: BBC World

  • AIR ties-up with Deutsche Welle on Fifa coverage

    AIR ties-up with Deutsche Welle on Fifa coverage

    MUMBAI: The enthusiasm for Fifa World Cup is truly at an all time high. Some good news for All India Radio listeners! 

    AIR has tied-up with the German broadcasting company Deutsche Welle for World Cup programming. 

    Starting 10 June, AIR will broadcast a Deutsche Welle magazine programme on the World Cup everyday till 10 July at 8:30 pm, directly from Germany.

    This magazine will be aired in English and Hindi on 65 radio stations across the country on AIR’s national network and in Delhi on the Indraprastha channel at 819 kHz as well as on Air’s DTH service, according to an official release. 

    This World Cup broadcast will is expected to reach as many as 90 per cent of India’s population. Deutsche Welle has also announced a contest to lure this segment.

    BBC extends deal with AIR on Fifa coverage

    More good news is that BBC World Service is extending its live commentary for a further 11 pool matches. BBC had earlier entered into a deal with AIR to broadcast live commentary for the opening match, the semi-finals and the final.

    In the statement issued today by AIR, the two have entered into an agreement, whereby BBC will provide live commentary on all matches featuring the soccer biggies – Brazil, Argentina, Germany and England.

    A total of 11 pool matches will be relayed over the AIR network comprising 65 primary service stations and 17 rainbow FM channels and Vividh Bharati service (late night matches). 

    The commentary will be in English, which will be given by BBC Radio Five Allan Green and John Murray.

    While, the commentary for the two semi-finals and final matches will be in Hindi and English, as AIR will be sending its own team to Germany to cover these matches live.

    The special World Cup reports can be heard daily on All India Radio’s FM Gold 106.4 FM and Rajdhani Channel at 07.05 local time everyday until 10 July.

  • Liliane Landor is BBC World Service news, current affairs editor

    Liliane Landor is BBC World Service news, current affairs editor

    MUMBAI: BBC World Service has appointed Liliane Landor as its new editor for news and current affairs. She is responsible for all the BBC World Service News and Current Affairs programmes in English.

    BBC Radio News Stephen Mitchell says, “Liliane has a great track record in World Service as well as the vision and experience to build on the success already achieved during Mary Hockaday’s tenure.”

    Landor joined the BBC in 1990 – working for the BBC French Service after experience as an interpreter in Paris and as a print journalist. She had been Head of BBC World Service News and Current Affairs Programmes since 2002, and in 2004 spent six months as Head of the BBC Arabic Service.

    More recently, she has played a key role in leading flagship news and current affairs programmes across BBC World Service – while also being part of the Creative Future for journalism team led by the BBC’s Deputy Director-General, Mark Byford.

    Landor says, “I am delighted to have been offered the job and I’m very excited at the prospect of leading such an impressive department. It has a deep understanding of our huge and diverse audiences and has always delivered strong and creative journalism. The World Service is a special place to be and we’ll focus our energies on delivering value and quality to our audiences.”

  • BBC World launches ad campaign to generate buzz in New York City

    MUMBAI: BBC World launched in the US on 1 June 2006. To support the launch, the channel is running an ad campaign in New York City. The outdoor campaign created by BBDO New York communicates ‘unbiased international news’, through three thought-provoking and impactful creative approaches.

    The first –Develop a Point of View- is an interactive digital billboard situated on the corner of Broadway and 50th Street. The first-of-its-kind billboard displays dramatic news photographs and invites people to text in their votes on key news issues. New Yorkers and visitors can vote whether illegal immigrants should be considered ‘citizens’ or ‘criminals’; US soldiers, ‘occupiers’ or ‘liberators’; bird flu, ‘imminent’ or ‘preventable’ and China ‘befriend’ or ‘beware’.

    The votes will appear on the billboard in real-time and the updated tallies will be broadcast twice daily on WFAN’s “Imus in the Morning” show, as part of the BBC World radio promotion.

    The second approach -See Both Sides of the Story- uses poster sites featuring photographs creatively wrapped around building corners, with the entire story becoming clear only when the viewer sees both sides of the image.

    The poster site imagery takes an impartial look at a Jewish settler struggling against Israeli security officers during a West Bank settlement evacuation; an American soldier guarding a burning oil well in Iraq; French protestors fighting the Paris police force; U.S. border patrol facing Mexican immigrants and an Iraqi family following President Bush’s interview in front of a television set.

    Whilst the first and second creative approaches communicate BBC World’s core strength of impartiality, the third focuses on the truly global content the channel will bring to US viewers. News Beyond Your Borders is about reminding Americans that there is news outside America and that BBC World gives its viewers that global perspective. It has been appearing from 5 June onwards, via posters and interior cards on commuter rail network.

    Each ad is a puzzle, which at first glance appears to be a vaguely familiar map, but on further examination reveals a new and arresting image – a soldier with a gun; a health worker holding an infected bird; a hostage being detained and a city under water. The execution will also appear as an insert in the Financial Times and Newsday in June.

    BBC World head of marketing Seema Kotecha said: “BBC World has decided to develop an unprecedented, bold and interactive campaign to generate buzz around New York and spark debate around some of the key global news issues that affect all of us. These powerful images highlight the global perspective and the impartiality of coverage, for which BBC World is known around the world.

    “Research shows us that American viewers are increasingly interested in international news, yet most U.S. news networks are spending less airtime on international news stories. We hope to fill this gap in the market and are delighted to have the opportunity to bring our 24-hour global coverage and analysis to North American shores for the first time.”

    George Alagiah, a BAFTA award-winning journalist and one of the BBC’s most respected and well-known news anchors, is in New York this week to help officially launch BBC World channel in the U.S. Mr. Alagiah will also be hosting a media breakfast to launch BBC World News Today, a new hour long news programme to be broadcast globally from 3 July.

    The 24-hour BBC World channel is available to all iO: Interactive Optimum digital cable customers throughout Cablevision’s New York metropolitan service area on channel 104.

  • BBC World debuts in the US market

    BBC World debuts in the US market

    MUMBAI: In a bid to target a wider audience, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has launched BBC World in the US market. Though the news channel started broadcasting at the end of April, it was officially launched on 1 June. The channel can now be seen in New York. The BBC is also looking at striking deals with cable and satellite providers elsewhere in the US soon. 

    The launch coincided with the unveiling of an outdoor advertising campaign in New York to promote the service to viewers.

    In July, BBC World will launch a new breakfast programme presented by George Alagiah. “What we’re not setting out to do is carve a niche that reflects America back to the Americans. What we’re trying to do is reflect the world back to Americans,” Alagiah was quoted as saying in BBC News.

    The show, which will be based in London, will also be carried on the cable channel BBC America.

    BBC World was launched in 1995, and is funded by advertising and subscription. Apart from news bulletins, it also broadcasts the interview programme Hardtalk, motoring show Top Gear and film guide Talking Movies, amongst others.

    Although it can be seen in more than 200 countries, the channel has found it difficult to get a foothold in the US. “The American TV market is the most crowded market in the world. For cable operators to find a space for another news network has been quite difficult,” said the station’s editor Richard Porter.

    Porter also said that the channel’s coverage of global affairs has been their key selling point.

    The launch of BBC World in New York comes just four months after the station signed a distribution deal with Discovery. The channel’s main competitor in the US will be CNN International.

  • Macau Tourism celebrates heritage year with a new advertising campaign on BBC World

    MUMBAI: BBC World has produced a series of commercials for Macau Tourism to celebrate the country’s 2006 heritage year.

    The campaign, airing in Asia Pacific and Europe, focusses on Macau’s position as a heritage city and also highlights on three key annual events that take place in Macau – a fireworks festival, music festival and grand prix. Macau Tourism has partnered with BBC World for the past two years but this is the first time the advertising campaign has widened to include Asia Pacific and Europe.

    The three events highlighted in the BBC World advertising campaign include:

    – 20th Macau International Music Festival (MIMF) is to be held from 6 October to 5 November The eclectic programme of 28 performances promises to delight audiences in historical settings such as the Dom Pedro V Theatre, St. Dominic’s Church and Mount Fortress.

    – Wynn Macau – 18th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest to be held during September and October, features teams from Germany, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Portugal, Australia, the United States, Japan, France and China.

    – The 53rd Macau Grand Prix from 16 to 19 November is the single most important race in the Formula 3 season each year. Former Macau Grand Prix winners include great names such as Ayrton Senna, Michael and Ralf Schumacher, and David Coulthard.

    BBC World VP, Asia and Australasia Sunita Rajan, says, “BBC World is delighted to be able produce these commercials for Macau Tourism, which also showcase our creative excellence. The campaign, which focuses on music, sport and entertainment, targets the international traveller seeking new and different experiences. BBC World’s audience of 65 million viewers a week largely comprises of business and leisure travellers, so this partnership with Macau Tourism creates perfect synergy.”

    The Director of Macau Tourism, Joel Manuel Costa Antunez says, “It is our great pleasure to co-operate with BBC World again to showcase Macau – a unique tourist destination. Through leveraging the extensive network of BBC World, we are sure that Macau’s image, as one of the leading tourist destinations in the region, will be enhanced amongst our target audiences across the globe. We look forward to a fruitful and mutually beneficial co-operation with BBC World.”

    Macau Tourism is among a number of tourism boards to advertise on BBC World. Other boards include Tourism New Zealand, Palau Tourist Authority, Maldives Tourism, Beijing Tourism and Hangzhou Tourism.

  • Dubai developer Nakheel doing an ad campaign on BBC World

    MUMBAI: Nakheel, a Dubai development company, has launched an extensive advertising campaign on BBC World.

    Responsible for the waterfront developments The Palm, The World and Dubai Waterfront, Nakheel plans to raise its corporate profile through three commercials to air on BBC World during the next few months.

    This is the first time Nakheel has advertised with BBC World and the first commercial, which recently went on air profiles the company’s corporate image and focuses on Nakheel’s role in the development of Dubai.

    The other two commercial presentations, to be produced by BBC World, are based around the Jumeirah Family of brands, which includes the recently launched Jumeirah Park and the eagerly-awaited commencement of handover of the first residences of of the man-made palm tree-shaped island – The Palm Jumeirah. These will air on the channel in Europe, South Asia, the Middle East and Asia Pacific later in the year.

    BBC World’s regional director Mena and Pakistan Hani Soubra says, “The fact that Nakheel has chosen BBC World for their campaign is testament to the credibility of the channel. We are delighted to be working with Nakheel and look forward to a long and prosperous relationship.”

    Nakheel director of marketing, sales and customer service Manal Shaheen says, “The aim of these three profiles is to highlight Nakheel’s role in the ongoing transformation of Dubai to an international audience. The BBC is one of the world’s most respected media organizations and BBC World has an appropriate reach for our target markets. We are delighted to be partnering with BBC World in this instance”.

  • BBC World to go pay from mid-June; price undecided

    BBC World to go pay from mid-June; price undecided

    MUMBAI: BBC World is going pay. It will encrypt its feed to South Asia, beaming off PanAmSat10 satellite, from 15 June.

    BBC World director of distribution and business development Jeff Hazell confirmed to Indiantelevision.com the plans to go pay, but refused to divulge the rate that will be charged from the cable ops.

    “We do not have a direct relationship with the consumer. How the cable operators choose to package and bundle the price for the service is entirely up to them,” Hazell said.

    However, information collated from cable ops in Delhi and Mumbai reveals that BBC World has indicated a price of Rs 5.50 to its distribution dealers. The price might ultimately settle somewhere between Rs 4.50 Rs 5.50, a cable operator in Delhi opined.

    The boxes will be made available to key MSOs, cable operators and hoteliers in South Asia to facilitate the move to an encrypted mode, though a section of cable ops in Delhi said it is yet to hear from BBC World on its plans to go pay.

    “As a commercial channel, the transition from free-to-air to a subscription model is a natural progression for BBC World in South Asia. This change is in response to the dynamic and rapidly expanding cable TV and DTH satellite market across the region,” BBC World regional director of distribution and business development, Europe, Middle-East & South Asia Gerry Ritchie said.

    Amongst the 25-odd news channels, both at the national and regional level, only a handful are pay channels in the real sense. The news channel that are pay include Zee News, NDTV 24X7, NDTV Profit, CNBCTV18 and Times Now.

    BBC World South Asia head of distribution and business development Amit Upadhayay feels that his team of 10 professionals are ready for the new challenge. But what about carriage fee?

    According to Upadhayay, “The decision to go pay was taken after close interaction with cable operators, distributors and MSOs. We have not been paying carriage fee till date and people in the market understand that. We want to partner with cable operators and work closely with them to have a mutually benefit relationship.”

    Pointing out that the Indian distribution market is emerging as a substantial subscription market for both Indian and international broadcasters, Upadhayay said response from distributors have been
    “encouraging.”

    “They feel the channel is a strong brand as it serves an important and influential audience across the region,” he added.

    BBC World is presently available to 15 million Indian households and 60,000 hotel rooms across the country. The channel’s advertising sales did well in 2005.

    The change in the status of BBC World will be communicated through the channel’s website on-screen scroll, which should start running in a few days time.

  • 2 days for downlink deadline: TV channels slumber on

    2 days for downlink deadline: TV channels slumber on

    NEW DELHI: With the deadline to adhere to downlink norms just two days away, not only does confusion reign, but television channels are still making last ditch attempts to push back the D-day.

    A senior government official admitted that the number of applicants seeking landing rights in the country is still “very low” compared to doubts and queries being raised. “This is surprising considering the deadline is 10 May,” the official added.
    If this lackadaisical attitude is not enough, government officials say, TV channels are still seeking clarifications whether those uplinking from India also need to register under the downlink guidelines.

    For example, a senior executive of a news organization told Indiantelevision.com that he doesn’t think his company needs to apply under the downlink norms as it has completed all formalities and given the necessary information while seeking a green signal for uplinking from India.

    “We have sought a clarification from the I&B ministry. Though we think downlink norms are more for those channels uplinking from outside India, but if the government insists, we would have to do the needful,” the news executive explained.
    Ditto for some international news channels like the BBC, CNN, which want to be on the right side of the law, but are confused on some portions of the downlink guidelines that state news content and advertisements targeted specifically at Indians would not be allowed and for which special waiver has to be taken on a case-by-case basis.

    ”BBC World is aware of the timetable set out by the Indian government for completion of all formalities of registration under the new down linking guidelines issued on 11 November 2005. In compliance with the timetable, BBC World has prepared its application and will submit the same within the 10 May deadline set,” a BBC spokesperson said.

    The downlink guidelines, formulated in November 2005 states, “No person/entity shall downlink a channel, which has not been registered by the ministry of information and broadcasting under these guidelines.”

    The seeming confusion is being created by Clause 1.1 in the guidelines, which goes on to say, “The entity applying for permission for downlinking a channel, uplinked from abroad, must be a company registered in India under the Indian Companies Act, 1956, irrespective of its equity structure, foreign ownership or management control.”

    In a country like India where there’s negligible restrictions on beaming into the country or the capability to be accessed by cable networks, according to industry estimates, 350-400 TV channels of various hues can be downlinked. Of this, almost 50 per cent can be considered regular TV channels.

    Though the government is always wary of giving out such information, it is estimated 130-150 TV channels, including news, sports and general entertainment, uplink from India.

    However, of the 75-odd popular channels, which in some form or other are in demand in 61 million cable homes in India, 35-40 per cent uplink from outside India and most of them are yet to file their papers with the government.

    The Indian government issued an ultimatum last week that those channels not fulfilling all the downlink criteria by 10 May 2006 would be denied landing rights.

    The I&B ministry also posted on its website communications sent to the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, Star Group, Time Warner and a lawyer. The missive made it clear that the deadline of 10 May stays.

    The lobbying against the downlink norms as a whole and partly is understandable. The moment a television company sets up a permanent establishment (PE) in India, as per downlink norms, its tax liabilities in India would go up drastically. Rather, more the revenues collected in India, higher would be the tax component.

    Recently, Economic Times reiterated this fact in a report also. “After unveiling the downlinking policy for satellite television channels, the government is set to re-examine the tax treatment of revenues earned by foreign TV channels (FTCs). These companies earn advertising revenues from ad agencies, sponsors, and subscription revenues from cable operators.

    “The task force on emerging issues in non-resident taxation, constituted by the finance ministry, is understood to have made an attempt to bring greater clarity and certainty in the tax treatment of FTCs. This, in turn, may enable India to get a larger share of the pie. Going by the recommendations, FTCs will be liable to pay tax in India if they have a permanent establishment (PE) here. Alternatively, a dependent agent who has the authority to conclude contracts, also constitutes a PE,” the newspaper said.

    Before 2001, foreign TV channels used to pay taxes on a presumptive basis on their advertisement revenues earned in India, which ranged between 35-40 per cent.

  • Rabindra Mishra to head BBC World Service in Nepal

    Rabindra Mishra to head BBC World Service in Nepal

    MUMBAI: BBC World Service has appointed 39-year-old Rabindra Mishra as the new head of BBC Nepali.

    Mishra is responsible for the editorial output of BBC Nepali broadcasts, the staff in London and Kathmandu and contributions from freelance journalists located throughout Nepal. He first joined BBC World service in 1995 as a producer with BBC Nepali.

    Later, he worked on English language flagship programmes, including World Today and Newshour, and in the BBC World Service Newsroom before returning to BBC Nepali to be its desk editor. He said, “I have an excellent team to work with, both in the UK and Nepal, and I am sure we will continue to meet the expectations of our valued audience. News from Nepal is presently dominating the world headlines and accurate reporting by the BBC is, now more than ever, absolutely vital.”

    Before joining the BBC, Rabindra worked with Pakistan’s English language daily, The New International and with Nepal Television.

    BBC Nepali has been serving audiences for 35 years. BBC Nepali programmes cover a wide spectrum of news stories, features, and regular analyses on Nepalese issues. It currently broadcasts 30 minutes daily on shortwave, which is rebroadcast by nine FM stations in Nepal. There is also a growing audience of Nepalese living outside the country who go to bbcnepali.com for programmes, in text and audio.

  • George Alagiah joins BBC World to present ‘NewsHour’

    George Alagiah joins BBC World to present ‘NewsHour’

    MUMBAI: George Alagiah, one of the BBC’s well-known news presenters, will join BBC World to present a brand-new programme NewsHour. Beginning in June, the programme will broadcast each weekday during peak times in the key markets around the world, including the US breakfast peak and Asia evening peak.

    Alagiah will present NewsHour at 12 PM (GMT) from Monday to Thursday. He currently co-presents the BBC’s Six O’Clock News in the UK, and will continue in that role in addition to presenting NewsHour, informs an official release.

    BBC Global News Division director Richard Sambrook says, “We are extremely pleased to have a journalist of George’s calibre on board to present our new programme. George has achieved tremendous success in the UK for his objective coverage, in-depth international knowledge, and his sharp interviewing skills. His experience and his ability to uncover the news behind each story will be crucial for the success of NewsHour, which was created to ensure that BBC World delivers continuous and authoritative news programming to its audiences in the US during peak morning hours, and in East Asia in the evening.”

    “As a foreign correspondent for a decade, I saw first-hand how people around the world turned to the BBC for its sheer breadth of coverage and the authority with which it came. Now, more than ever, American audiences are interested how global events can have an impact on their lives and Newshour will bring them the day’s international news stories from an impartial and global perspective.”

    Alagiah joined the BBC in 1989 and worked as a foreign correspondent specialising in Africa and the developing world. In March 2002, he launched BBC Four’s international news programme and began presenting BBC’s Six O’clock News in January 2003.

    He has reported on many issues and events including the famine in Somalia, the genocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Liberia, Saddam Hussein’s campaign against the Iraqi Kurds and the aftermath of the terror attacks on New York.

    Alagiah has won several awards for his reporting and has interviewed many prominent international figures including Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat and Tariq Aziz of Iraq.

    The introduction of NewsHour is part of the channel’s plan to establish regular NewsHour programmes throughout the day, to ensure BBC World delivers tailored news programming at the breakfast and evening peak-times across key time zones.