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New Years Day Broadcast Plans
EBU signs Vienna Philharmonic
For classical music fans the annual New Years Day broadcast of the Vienna Philharmonic is a special treat. The EBU announced a four year distribution deal to bring the New Years Day broadcast and two others to public television. (See EBU release with a list of stations here)
The EBU release mentions that this broadcast is the most watched classical music presentation on television. Not surprising. The broadcast is produced by Austrian public broadcaster ORF (www.orf.at) and airs at 1115 CET in Austria. Check local listings for times.
An Austrian tradition, picked up by broadcasters around Europe, is the New Years Eve midnight broadcast of the Blue Danube Waltz. (JMH)
Mondadori finally takes Milan station
Shuffling or stalking horse
Back at the end of May Milan local radio station Rock FM ceased broadcasting, causing a minor stir among alternative rock fans. The owners said the station would never make any money because it didn’t have a national license. But one owner – Mondadori Group – bought out (December 23) the other owner – Attica Publications – for €322,000.
As usual, it’s a delightfully complicated story. In 2005 Mondadori Group bought the Radio 101 network from One-O-One Radio Services and formed a radio division, Monradio. (Read that story here) At the same time it bought 10% of Rock FM and Radio Milano International, the later being the original licensee of Radio 101, the name change taking place in late 1980’s. Monradio proceeded to shuffle some frequencies to Radio 101, which had a bit of a coverage problem. Radio 101 was re-formatted, heavily promoted and jumped into the big leagues of Italian radio.
Attica Publications acquired 90% of Radio Milano International in 2003 when the stations’ owner went to prison for fraud. Italian law did not allow Mondadori to own both a national and local radio channels. Radio Milano International was an early Italian radio pirate.
Rock FM withered. Its principal owner, Luxembourg domiciled International Radio Networks – 99% owned by magazine publisher Attica Publications – seemed to take little interest. Mondadori Group owns 41.66% of Attica Publications, the later owning local Athens station Radio Dee Jay. In 2005 Rock FM was valued at €2.7 million.
Not wanting to be without a Rock FM somewhere in its portfolio Attica Publications purchased in August, through its subsidiary Civico, 100% of Cyprus-based Bandos Holdings, owner of Athens local station Rock FM, for €3.8 million. (JMH)
New digital radio forecast
Realistic?
The sweet words “shut off” were not mentioned in a report (December 19) commissioned by the UK government and prepared by the Digital Radio Working Group (DRWG). Analogue radio – FM, that is – will live as long as most of us, even as most trade journals hearlded this announcement as the impending end.
Three criteria would need to be met, the DRWG report suggested, before a proper “migration” from analogue (FM) to digital (DAB) in the UK. First, more consumers will need to stump up for more digital radio listening devices – the report does not seem to differentiate among the several available or potential platforms – giving more than half of all listening to digital platforms.
Second, national DAB coverage – that would be the multiplexes – would need to be comparable to FM coverage. And, thirdly, local multiplexes would need to cover 90% of the population, “including all major roads.”
All of this might be achieved by 2015, says DRWG, allowing “migration” to begin in 2017. Evidence, according to DRWG chairman Barry Cox, is the “million DAB sets expected to be sold this Christmas.”
"This proposal is not realistic,” said a BBC spokesperson to the Daily Telegraph (December 19). (JMH)
EU closes media Chapter for Croatia membership
Territorial issues still sticky for candidates
The Intergovernmental Conference on European Union expansion concluded (December 19) with only a shade more hope for Croatia and Turkey. Progress in the information society and media policy areas, referred to as Chapters, was duly noted.
Chapter 10, which covers electronic communications and the Television Without Frontiers Directive, was provisionally closed for Croatia, one of 35 Chapters that must be closed before voting on EU entry moves forward. The Conference, chaired under the French EU Presidency by State Secretary Bruno Le Maire, reported that Croatia had made “considerable progress with preparations in all areas under this Chapter” and further negotiations would not be required. The information society and media chapter for Croatia was opened in May 2007.
Twenty-two Chapters have been opened for Croatia and seven formally closed.
The Conference opened Chapter 10 for Turkey. For the next two years or so EU and Turkish officials will negotiate issues like independence of a media regulator, TV rules and transparency.
Croatia’s bid hit another snag as Slovenia refused to allow nine new Chapters opened, effectively putting accession on hold. It seems the two countries have a bit of a border dispute dating back to the breakup of Yugoslavia. Turkey’s bid for EU membership is also mired in geo-political dispute. Commission observers see no leap forward for Turkey’s EU candidacy without a resolution of the division in Cyprus.
"Let's all try to calm down,” said EU Expansion Commissioner Olli Rehn, “have a good Christmas break and immediately after start thinking about how we can get out of this.” (JMH)
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