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Week ending June 9, 2007

WAN Resolution on Senegal Raid – June 5, 2007

from Larry Killman/WAN

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers, meeting at the 60th World Newspaper Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, from 3 to 6 June 2007, strongly condemns a raid on the offices of the independent daily Le Quotidien, the closure of its radio station Premiere FM and the seizure of broadcasting equipment.

WAN is appalled by the government’s closure of Premiere FM hours before it was due to launch on 31 May, an attack which has prevented owner Madiambal Diagne from attending this Congress. About 70 armed soldiers raided the Dakar offices of Avenir Communication - publisher of Le Quotidien, Week End magazine and the satirical Cocorico - as Mr Diagne was holding a press conference to launch Premiere FM. When Mr Diagne refused to order a halt to Premiere FM broadcasts, the soldiers removed radio equipment, leaving the station off the air.

WAN is seriously concerned that the closure of Premiere FM is part of a concerted campaign to restrict the media activities of Mr Diagne, whose publications have been critical of the government. Mr Diagne first applied for a broadcasting licence in 2003 but has since been blocked by the authorities at every turn.

This act of censorship tarnishes the international standing of Senegal, which holds itself up as a beacon of hope for free expression and democracy in West Africa.

The Board of WAN calls on President Abdoulaye Wade to immediately halt the intimidation of Avenir Communication, to allow the launch of Premiere FM and to fully respect international standards of freedom of expression.

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EBU members contribute to guarantee traffic safety in Europe – June 5, 2007

from Michelle Roverelli/EBU

Road safety is a major concern for Europe's public broadcasters. It is an integral part of our news gathering activity and part of our public service mission, to provide the public with the most valuable and reliable information necessary, particularly when it comes to ensuring their safety on roads.

The majority of EBU* members deliver traffic information, in close contact with public authorities, to a potential audience of 440 Million listeners. EBU Members are also the most active providers of Traffic Message Channels, which allow for drivers to receive traffic related information in “real time”. As of today, more than 275 million Europeans have the technical means to access these services.

The EBU strongly supports the European Commission’s eSafety Initiative, which aims by 2010 to reduce by half the number of traffic related mortalities. To achieve this goal, the initiative focuses on promoting the use of information and communication technologies in intelligent solutions, in order to increase road safety and reduce the number of accidents on Europe's roads. In contributing to this initiative, EBU Members have agreed to further expand their Traffic Information Services and continue to make use of the latest technologies.

Speaking at an eSafety Conference in Berlin, the President of the EBU, Mr Fritz Pleitgen, ARD/WDR (DE), said: "EBU members are working together to adopt common technical solutions in order to provide all European citizens with the highest quality traffic information." He went on to say that: "In this regard, EBU members have already developed a highly suitable platform based on the TPEG protocol, a promising standard for traffic information systems."

The President of the EBU ended his speech by expressing the willingness of EBU Members to engage in partnerships to promote the objectives of eSafety and adopt a common European approach for Traffic Information Services that would significantly reduce the number of accidents on Europe's roads.

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EBU-Präsident Pleitgen fordert europaweiten freien Zugang zu Verkehrsinformationen – WDR präsentiert Verkehrsdatendienste der ARD vor EU-Ministern – June 5, 2007

from Uwe-Jens Lindner/WDR

Für einen freien Zugang der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten zu öffentlichen Verkehrsdaten hat sich der Präsident der Europäischen Rundfunkunion (EBU) Fritz Pleitgen in Berlin ausgesprochen. Es dürfe nicht sein, dass von den Behörden erhobene „sicherheitsrelevante Informationen zum Gegenstand von Geschäftsmodellen verkommen“, sagte Pleitgen vor den EU-Verkehrsministern in Berlin. Rund 440 Millionen Menschen empfingen die von den EBU-Mitgliedern über Rundfunk verbreiteten Verkehrsinformationen und Datendienste wie dem Traffic Message Channel (TMC). Damit leiste der öffentlich-rechtliche Rundfunk einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Verkehrssicherheit. Da sich in nahezu jedem Auto ein Radio und in immer mehr Fahrzeugen auch empfangsfähige Navigationsgeräte befänden, sei der Rundfunk nach wie vor der beste und preiswerteste Verbreitungsweg für Verkehrsinformationen. Dieser „public service at it’s best“ könne aber nur aufrechterhalten werden, wenn der freie Zugang zu den Quellen für Verkehrsdaten sichergestellt sei, sagte Pleitgen.

Der WDR war für die ARD an einer EBU-Arbeitsgruppe beteiligt, die wichtige europaweite Standards für frei zugängliche Verkehrsinformationsdienste festgelegt hat. Diese Standards will die EU-Kommission in einer Empfehlung an alle Mitgliedstaaten übernehmen. Außerdem präsentiert der WDR auf der zweitägigen EU-Tagung zur Verkehrssicherheit „eSafety High Level Conference“ in Berlin neuartige Verkehrsinformationsdienste, die von verschiedenen ARD-Sendern bereits heute angeboten werden. Dazu gehören ein bundesweiter Verkehrsmeldungsbestand, der auf digitalen Verbreitungswegen weiter gehende Informationen über Gefahrenstellen enthält, ein Parkhaus-Informationssystem mit Angaben über freie Parkplätze in der Berliner Innenstadt sowie ein Dienst mit den Abflug- und Landezeiten der drei Berliner Flughäfen. Alle Dienste werden ohne zusätzliche Kosten angeboten und sind frei verfügbar. Rund 90 Prozent der in Deutschland im Einsatz befindlichen Navigationssysteme können die TMC-Daten der ARD empfangen.

Prof-Media acquires 100% of MTV and VH1 Russia - June 4, 2007

from Marina Dralova/Prof-Media

Estermina Ltd., acting in the interests of Prof-Media – a leading Russian diversified media company – has acquired 100% of Wayfarer Media Limited, the holding company of the MTV Russia and VH1 Russia TV networks, for ca. US$360 million in cash. Wayfarer Media Limited has been 53%-owned by MTV Networks International (MTVNI), a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA; VIA.B), 42%-owned by Russia Partners and 5%-owned by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. MTVNI will continue to grant an exclusive license to Wayfarer Media Limited for MTV- and VH1-branded programming and their related web-sites in Russia.

MTV Russia broadcasts to 35 million TV households via a network of 21 owned & operated stations and ca. 650 affiliates as well as additional cable and satellite operators. VH1 is available in 14 million TV households primarily via cable operators.

TV advertising has posted significant growth rates in recent years and now comprises nearly half of the total Russian ad market, and thus is a key focus area for Prof-Media. Rafael Akopov, Prof-Media’s CEO commented: “Prof-Media is again strengthening its position in free-to-air entertainment broadcasting. The MTV Russia acquisition is very complementary to our existing operations and exposes us to a new segment of the young and proactive audience, which is heavily in demand from top advertisers. We are optimistic about MTV Russia’s future audience and market share growth”.

MTV Networks Chairman and CEO Judy McGrath commented: “MTV Networks has a long-term commitment to building our brands in the Russian market, and we look forward to continuing to advance the creative and business success of MTV Russia through our new partnership with Prof-Media. We’ve enjoyed our very successful relationship with Russia Partners over the past 8 years, and look forward to working closely with Prof-Media and the talented MTV Russia management team to drive our next phase of growth in Russia.”

“All of us at Russia Partners take great pride in having built one of the most creative TV channels in Russia. We are delighted with this transaction and are pleased that the channel will be able continue its tradition of excellent programming with Prof-Media and its other high quality media platforms.” added Drew Guff, Managing Director and co-founder of Russia Partners.

MTV Russia launched in September 1998 by Russia Partners under a license agreement with MTVNI. In 1999, MTVNI purchased a major stake in MTV Russia. VH1 subsequently launched through the joint venture in 2005.

Today MTV Russia’s signal is received by 94 million viewers in 655 cities in the Russian Federation and the other Former Soviet Republics. Targeting 11-34 year olds, MTV Russia features a mixture of music videos from Russian and international artists as well as locally relevant entertainment programming. The Company’s top shows include the Club series, Full Contact, True Life, Dr. 90210, and the MTVR RMA’s (Russian Music Awards) and MMA’s (Russian Movie Awards). In 2006, MTV Russia’s free to air Russian audience (11-34) share stood at 2.6% according to TNS Gallup Media.

Renaissance Capital acted as exclusive financial advisor to Russia Partners on the transaction.

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egta looks into the future of advertising with optimism - June 4, 2007

from Audrey MARQUES – TOSI/egta

egta - the association of television and radio sales houses - and its 90 members gathered in Helsinki last week at the kind invitation of MTV Oy and looked into the future of television advertising during three days of an exciting Annual General Meeting.

“A great sense of optimism really emerged from these debates” said Michel Grégoire, egta’s Secretary General. He added, “The future of sales houses’ business is challenging but also promising as digitalisation becomes reality. Being here in Finland in the land of mobile technology and where the transition to digital is well-advanced, helps everyone feel all the opportunities that will be offered to sales houses in a near future”.

On the occasion of this Annual General Meeting, egta members also welcomed the Council of the European Union’s adoption of a political agreement on the draftdirective on “audiovisual media services”.This future piece of legislation will largely reflect egta’s consistent calls for the liberalisation of television advertising rules and will boost advertising creativity.

In an unprecedented interactive session between advertisers and sales houses professionals, egta members demonstrated that, in this era of new media and 360° campaigns, television, radio and internet advertising remain powerful drivers of creativity, talent and emotional engagement with consumers,delivering great value for advertisers.

This Annual General Meeting also saw the handing over of theegta Presidency from Philippe Santini, Director General of France Télévisions Publicité, to Heikki Rotko, Executive VP Sales and Marketing of MTV Oy (Finland). In his new task, Mr. Rotko will be assisted by three Vice-Presidents, Andrea Malgara, Managing Director of SevenOne Media (Germany), Paolo Lutteri, Marketing Manager of SIPRA (Italy), and Wilfried Sorge, President of Radio Marketing Service (Germany).

Renewed confidence was given to the egta Board which welcomed four new members: Zoltan Vardy, Vice-President Sales of SBS Broadcasting, Michael Grimborg, Senior Vice-President Marketing and Sales of TV4 Nordisk Television (Sweden), Pierre-Paul Vander Sande, COO of France Télévisions Publicité International, and Valery Shabunin, Deputy General Director of Video International Russia.