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Week ending May 19, 2006

Médiamétrie - A l'occasion du Festival de Cannes, Médiamétrie mesure "La Rumeur de Cannes" - May 17, 2006

from Médiamétrie

Pour la 5ème année consécutive, cette enquête réalisée chaque jour auprès des festivaliers,
mesure l'opinion des festivaliers sur le film qui pourrait se voir décerner la Palme d'Or 2006.

Sources : Médiamétrie - La Rumeur de Cannes 2006 - Copyright Médiamétrie - Tous droits réservés.

Enquête réalisée à Cannes auprès de 382 festivaliers.

Ce film a déjà été projeté

Pour ce premier jour de festival, la rumeur cannoise est principalement animée par le duel, au coude à coude, entre deux films : « Marie-Antoinette » devance d’une courte tête (couronnée) « Volver ». 12,3% des festivaliers attribuent la Palme d’or au film de Sofia Coppola contre 12,0% pour le film de Pedro Almodovar.

Le podium est complété par « Babel » d’Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu et « Le vent se lève » de Ken Loach, tous deux cités par 6,8% des répondants.

VPRT - Privater Rundfunk informiert über Entwicklungen im Medienmarkt und Positionen - May 17, 2006

from Gesa Klebe VPRT

Einen umfassenden Überblick über das medienpolitische, -wirtschaftliche und -technische Geschehen der letzten zwölf Monate bietet der Geschäftsbericht 2005/2006 des Verbandes Privater Rundfunk und Telekommunikation e. V. (VPRT), der zur Jahreshauptversammlung 2006 vorlegt wurde. Der Bericht dokumentiert die aktuellen Entwicklungen und Verfahrensstände in den genannten Bereichen sowie die Positionen der privaten Rundfunk- und Medienunternehmen. Darüber hinaus stellt sich der Verband mit seinen Strukturen, wichtigsten Akteuren und Aktivitäten umfassend vor. Der Geschäftsbericht des VPRT ist damit ein wichtiges Nachschlagewerk für alle, die sich mit den Entwicklungen der Medienlandschaft befassen.

Die Gliederung und die Themen des Geschäftsberichts im Überblick:
Medienordnung

Im Bereich Medienordnung finden Sie u. a. Informationen zu den Themen Duales Rundfunksystem (EU-Beschwerde, öffentlich-rechtliche Expansion), Medienrecht, Binnenmarkt, TK-Bereich, Diversifikation (TKG, Sportwetten, Spieleinsatzsteuergesetz), Jugendschutz, Werbung, Verbraucher- und Gesundheitsschutz sowie Deutschquote im Radio und die Aktivitäten der privaten Radioveranstalter im Bereich der Nachwuchsförderung.

Medienmarkt

Der VPRT informiert hier u. a. über seine Tätigkeiten in den Bereichen Urheberrecht, Markt- und Reichweitenforschung, Werbung sowie das Verfahren gegen die DFL im Zusammenhang mit der Hörfunkberichterstattung über Spiele der Fußball-Bundesliga.

Medientechnik

Hier finden sich umfassende Informationen zu Positionen des VPRT und seiner Mitglieder rund um das Thema Digitalisierung (Analog-Digital-Umstieg im Kabel, MHP, Digitalisierung der Terrestrik, DMB- und DVB-H-Projekte, DAB etc.) sowie zu den Aktivitäten des VPRT in verschiedenen externen Gremien zu dieser Thematik.

WAN Launches Unique Approach to Media Development in the Arab World - May 16, 2006

from Larry Kilman WAN

The World Association of Newspapers is launching a unique media development programme in the Arab world in which selected newspapers will work together to share new commercial and editorial strategies with publishers and editors throughout the region.

A team from the Paris-based WAN is visiting potential partners in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia this week in the first phase of the WAN Arab Newspaper Development Project (ANDP), which aims to support and promote the collective intelligence that editors, publishers and press managers represent when they act together.

"Newspapers throughout the Arab region face a number of obstacles, including repressive press laws, a lack of editorial independence and numerous commercial challenges, such as attracting advertisers and increasing readership," said Timothy Balding, Chief Executive Officer of WAN.

"Although there have been some changes in recent years, most Arab media still principally act as part of the government process. The absence of cooperation between newspaper executives is one of the key reasons for the lack of 'press power' in Arab countries," he said.

The ANDP project will support 12 selected newspapers from the Arab region in the creation and execution of new commercial or editorial strategies. Experiences generated through the project will be shared among other Arab media executives in an effort to strengthen the viability of independent newspapers in the region.

The Arab Press Network, a web-based electronic network for Arab newspapers managed by WAN, will play a central role in disseminating the experiences of each newspaper involved. APN, available in Arabic, English and French, can be found at http://www.arabpressnetwork.org

The ANDP will, in its first phase underway now, support three newspapers from the Arab region. Each of the three partners will devise and implement a commercial or editorial strategy, with the support of external consultants. Once the project is completed, each newspaper, in collaboration with the WAN team, will develop a programme to disseminate the expertise and the lessons learned to nine other newspapers in the region, which will use the information to develop their own strategies.

The 12 newspapers will provide material for a practical training manual to be produced at the end of the 15-month project. The backbone of the manual will be monthly written reports submitted by the newspapers, as well as ongoing discussions between the consultants and newspapers, to be published on the Arab Press Network.

"When the three ANDP partners pass on the skills and knowledge they have gained through their own development projects to their colleagues in neighbouring markets, the pyramid effect of the skills transfer begins, and the walls begin to come down," said Mr Balding. "The creation of a practical training manual based on these experiences allows an even greater audience to access the skills gained."

The project is funded by WAN and the Cairo-based Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Institute.

Prix Europa 2006: Call for entries - May 15, 2006

from Prix-Europa

Television-, Internet- and Radio productions can now be entered for this year's Prix Europa festival,  which is taking place from 14 - 21 October 2006 in and around Berlin.

There are thirteen prizes in nine categories: Internet (1), Radio (4), Television (6), the script award Prix Genève-Europe (1) and Prix Europa-SPOT (1) for one minute films. New for the 20th edition of Prix Europa: the Finnish broadcaster YLE has donated a special award for the best TV series, mini-series or serial. Prix Europa-SPOT is looking for films from young film-makers this year under the heading "Happy Birthday Europe", celebrating 50 years of European unification.

Deadline for entries is 1 July 2006 (SPOT: 1 September).

Under the trademark  "Made in Europe" Prix Europa  annually invites the best media productions as well as their makers and managers to Berlin for a week of festival and competition. Prix Europa 2006 enjoys the patronage of Josep Borrell Fontelles, President of the European Parliament, and Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as the European Broadcasting Union.

BBC World Service audiences hit all-time record levels - May 15, 2006

from Mike Gardner BBC WS

BBC World Service now attracts 163 million weekly radio listeners to its 33 language services – a record audience for the world’s best-known and most respected international broadcaster, according to figures announced today (Monday, May 15).

The new weekly audience figure, compiled from independent surveys around the globe, is an increase of 14 million on last year’s figure of 149 million. The new figure equates to around 50 per cent more listeners than any comparable international broadcaster.

This new figure smashes the previous BBC World Service record audience of 153 million in 2001.

BBC World Service Director Nigel Chapman says: “This record-breaking audience is an outstanding achievement against the background of fierce competition, fast-developing technology and rapidly changing audience demands in many media markets.

“The challenges ahead for BBC World Service remain formidable, as they do for all broadcasters, but this is a strong and welcome indication that we are not only strengthening our impact in priority areas but are flourishing in the multimedia age.”

More BBC radio in world’s capital cities
Over 10 million extra listeners are listening on the higher quality audibility of FM through partner stations and the BBC’s own relays around the world. BBC World Service is now available on high quality FM sound in a record 150 capital cities out of a total of around 190 – up from 145 last year.

Shortwave and medium wave listening also showed an increase of around five million, particularly in rural areas in parts of East Africa and S E Asia (Burma, India and Nepal) which are among priority areas for BBC World Service.

Overall audience to all the BBC’s global news services
The BBC World Service audience figure contributes to a combined record global weekly audience of over 210 million individuals to all the BBC’s international news services – BBC World Service radio, BBC World television and the international-facing online news service bbcnews.com; some of whom are using all three media. This combined figure includes a record 65 million weekly viewers for BBC World – the commercially-funded international television news channel.

New Media
Online audiences to the BBC’s international facing news sites have also shown significant rises. The sites attracted around 500 million page impressions a month in March 2006 compared to 324 million page impressions in March 2005. This is a rise of over 50 per cent over the year. The site now attracts around 33 million unique users each month; up from around 21 million unique users a year ago.

  
SIGNIFICANT RADIO AUDIENCE CHANGES INCLUDE:

English language network
Global audiences to BBC World Service English language broadcasts have risen to 42 million, up from 39 million last year.

Regional increases
BBC World Service’s audiences in Africa and the Middle East are now 73.6 million – up 7.6million. An even bigger increase of 7.9 million BBC radio listeners was recorded in the Asia & Pacific Region of the world which now has 61.1 million in total.

NATIONAL RADIO AUDIENCE GAINS
Burma
Measured audiences in Burma rose by 6.7 million listeners to 7.1 million. This rise is as a result of improved access for the independent survey takers, who are now able to measure audiences nationwide rather than sample cities.

Nigeria
BBC services in Nigeria gained 3.6 million listeners, raising the total to 23.8 million. This figure means the BBC has more than regained the 1.5 million listeners it lost last year after a Government ban on local FM stations rebroadcasting news programmes from foreign broadcasters in 2004. Listeners have turned to shortwave broadcasts, as the ban is still in place.

Tanzania
Listeners to the Swahili Service in Tanzania rose by 2.7 million to 12.9 million. This follows a drop of 1.3 million last year.

Nepal
There was an increase in listeners to the BBC Nepalese service of 2.6 million to 3.7 million, fuelled by recent events.

Indonesia
Audiences in Indonesia rose again. There are now 6.4 million listeners - a rise of two million. This follows a rise of 1.2 million listeners last year.

India
There are now 17.6 million listeners in India – a rise of 1.2 million. This continues the trend of increasing audiences in the country and follows a rise of 4.8 million last year. This is the second annual increase in the country and follows a dramatic drop in overall radio listening in India and a ban by Indian regulators on local FM stations carrying news from foreign broadcasters. This resulted in a drop of over 12 million listeners between 1995 and 2002.

Kenya
There were rises in Kenya up 1.5 million to 6.0 million. This follows a drop last year of 2.1 million listeners.

NATIONAL RADIO AUDIENCE LOSSES
Bangladesh
Audiences fell in Bangladesh by 4.4 million to 8.6 million. This follows a rise of 2.6 million last year. The BBC is working with Bangladesh National Radio to develop FM distribution in Bangladesh.

Pakistan
Audiences in Pakistan fell by 0.9 million to 8.5 million. BBC World Service is looking to develop local FM partnerships to mitigate this loss.

ENPA General Assembly meets Finnish Prime Minister - May 10, 2006

from Hannah McCausland ENPA

On the occasion of ENPA’s General Assembly in Helsinki on 5 May, the Finnish Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen gave one of the very first indications about the agenda for the Finnish Presidency of the EU.

He notably presented the high relevance of one of his coalition government’s four policy programmes to the Finnish Presidency programme of the EU – the Information Society. This will influence the EU presidency in the spirit of his policy to promote a growth-based innovation society, particularly by raising the importance of intellectual property issues to the EU and other international organizations and including a high-level Presidency conference on the agenda for 13/14 July in Helsinki on “Content and Copyright Policy”.

The revision of the “Television without Frontiers” Directive will be a topical theme during the Finnish Presidency. The Prime Minister made clear that he wanted deregulation of the TV sector, but that any rules affecting advertising must respect the ethically important principle that the consumer needs to be able to distinguish between advertising and other content.

The Prime Minister finished his presentation by concluding that newspapers in particular will have an important role to play in society for a long time to come. “A free press is fundamental to an open and transparent society”, he remarked.

ENPA also exchanged views with Commission Cabinet Member (to Viviane Reding) Christophe Forax on the subject of Television without Frontiers current discussions and the Content Online initiative, due later this year.

ENPA furthermore held a special seminar to raise the issues that publishers are experiencing in situations where exclusive media coverage and sponsorship rights particularly in relation to sport have been allocated.

Presentations were given from a panel of three prominent figures who are all deeply involved in demanding fair rights for newspapers’ access to coverage of events subject to exclusive rights. Valdo Lehari Jr. , Publisher of Reutlinger General Anzeiger newspaper in Germany –also Vice-President of ENPA; Timothy Balding, CEO of the World Association of Newspapers; and Andrew Moger, former Times’ picture editor and now Managing Director of MM Consultancy specializing in the analysis of media accreditation.

ENPA welcomes the following members to its Board:

•          Mr Geert Steurbaut – Publisher, VUM Group, the new ENPA Board Member for Belgium.

•          Mr Denis Bouchez – Director, French National Newspapers’ Association - Syndicat de la Presse Parisienne, as ENPA Deputy Board Member.

•          Ms Katalin Havas –Secretary General, Hungarian Newspaper Publishers’ Association - Magyar Lapkiadok Egyesulete, as ENPA Deputy Board Member.

Previous News From You

Week ending April 28, 2006

Week ending April 14, 2006

Week ending April 7, 2006

Week ending March 31, 2006