ABC Exits Shortwave Radio Transmission

Tuesday, December 6, 2016 — The ABC will end its shortwave transmission service in the Northern Territory and to international audiences from 31 January 2017.

The move is in line with the national broadcaster's commitment to dispense with outdated technology and to expand its digital content offerings including DAB+ digital radio, online and mobile services, together with FM services for international audiences.

The majority of ABC audiences in the Northern Territory currently access ABC services via AM and FM and all ABC radio and digital radio services are available on the VAST satellite service.

ABC International's shortwave services currently broadcast to PNG and the Pacific. Savings realised through decommissioning this service will be reinvested in a more robust FM transmitter network and an expanded content offering for the region that will include English and in-language audio content.

Michael Mason, ABC's Director of Radio said, "While shortwave technology has served audiences well for many decades, it is now nearly a century old and serves a very limited audience. The ABC is seeking efficiencies and will instead service this audience through modern technology".

The ABC, working alongside SBS, is planning to extend its digital radio services in Darwin and Hobart, and to make permanent its current digital radio trial in Canberra. Extending DAB+ into the nation's eight capital cities will ensure ABC digital radio services can reach an additional 700,000 people, increasing the overall reach of ABC digital radio to 60% of the Australian population.

ABC Radio is also investigating transmission improvements to address reception gaps in the existing five DAB+ markets. It aims to ensure a resilient DAB+ service in every capital city, with enhanced bitrates and infill where necessary.

"Extending our DAB+ offer will allow audiences in every capital city in Australia equal access to our digital radio offering, as well as representing an ongoing broadcast cost saving owing to lower transmission costs," added Michael Mason.

ABC International's Chief Executive Officer Lynley Marshall said the reinvestment from closing international shortwave services would maximise the ABC's broadcast capabilities in the region.

"In considering how best to serve our Pacific regional audiences into the future we will move away from the legacy of shortwave radio distribution," Ms Marshall said. "An ever-growing number of people in the region now have access to mobile phones with FM receivers and the ABC will redirect funds towards an extended content offering and a robust FM distribution network to better serve audiences into the future."

Once international shortwave ceases transmission, international listeners can continue to access ABC International services via:

the web stream at: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/listen

in-country FM transmitters: see Radio Australia's 'Ways to Listen' at: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/waystolisten/fiji

the Australia Plus expats app (available in both iOS and Android)

partner websites and apps such as www.tunein.com  and www.vtuner.com.

Audiences can access further information via the reception advice line 1300 139 994, online at abc.net.au/shortwave, or via ABC Local Radio (Darwin and Alice Springs).

(Press Release, Source : https://radio.press.abc.net.au/abc-exits-shortwave-radio-transmission)

ABC axes Northern Territory HF Service

ABC axes Northern Territory HF Service - Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, and Katherine 

Australian Broadcasting Corporation has axed Northern Territory HF Service - Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, and Katherine. Due to budget cuts, the transmission provider, Broadcast Australia, has closed down all of these services.

(Bob Padula, Melbourne, Australia, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Sept 5) via DXLD List

Cricket gets global radio run in new programme Stumped

On Saturday 17 January the BBC World Service launched Stumped, a new programme dedicated to exploring the global world of cricket. The programme brings together three of the hubs of world cricket - the UK, India and Australia - in a programme made by the BBC in co-operation with All India Radio and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The Stumped team will be made up of presenters from all three broadcasters who will drive lively, informative, irreverent and humorous debate. Alison Mitchell - the BBC's first female cricket commentator - will host, assisted by the voice of cricket on ABC, Jim Maxwell, and the lead cricket commentator for All India Radio in English, Prakash Wakankar.

The first series will coincide with the start of the 2015 World Cup and aims to entertain and inform cricket and non-cricket fans alike. Each week, the programme will examine key talking points as well as look at some of the lighter stories in sport from around the world while on location in World Cup host countries Australia and New Zealand.

Renowned cricketing raconteur Henry Blofeld will also appear each week with his 'tales from the test'. With almost 40 years of cricket travels behind him, Henry has stories to tell from right around the cricket world.

Hard-hitting questions on Stumped will include,

Why did penguins once stop play?

Why do so many cricket terms find their way into everyday language?

And which international team score highest in the fashion stakes?

Steve Titherington, Senior Commissioning Editor for BBC World Service, says: "Cricket is a game with huge international appeal, but is understood fully only by some. It's a game where the heroes can be as popular as pop stars and the facts and figures studied as much as mathematical equations. Most of all it's a game which has attracted some of the best conversation and the best writing around the world. Stumped will concentrate this heritage into a programme that will delight the hardcore fans in any continent while appealing to the rest of us."

Listeners can tune in to Stumped weekly. The first edition airs Saturday 17 January from 0030 GMT around the world on the BBC World Service; in India at 1130 IST on All India Radio; and on Sunday 18 January in Australia at 1130 EST on ABC News Radio and ABC's Grandstand DAB Sport network. It will be available as a listen again at bbcworldservice.com and with extra content as a BBC podcast.

(BBC Press Release)

The gutting of Radio Australia

The ABC's international broadcasting to the Pacific islands is being devastated by the latest round of staffing cuts, writes Nic Maclellan

Read more at:

 

http://inside.org.au/the-gutting-of-radio-australia/

ABC launches new homepage featuring more news

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) launched a new ABC homepage after research showed audiences wanted a more intuitive and news-focused experience.

More at :

http://www.abu.org.my/Latest_News-@-ABC_launches_new_homepage_featuring_more_news.aspx

Australia, India ink broadcasting partnership pact

New Delhi, Nov.8 (ANI): The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and India's Public Broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, will help to build a much stronger people-to-people and media partnership between our two countries', said Australian Minister for the Arts and Regional Development Simon Crean following a meeting today with Jawhar Sircar, the CEO of Prasar Bharati.

Read more at :

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/11/08/281-Australia-India-ink-broadcasting-partnership-pact.html

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) - launches new multi-lingual web and social media services

MELBOURNE - Radio Australia - the international broadcasting service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) - launches new multi-lingual web and social media services. Targeting audiences in Asia and the Pacific, the new digital services bring greater immediacy in coverage of breaking news, major stories, activities and events as they happen in and around Asia and the Pacific including Australia.
New multi-lingual web sites featuring Burmese, French, Indonesian, Khmer, Mandarin, Tok Pisin and Vietnamese will be accompanied by three English language web sites, tailored for Asian, Pacific and the wider international audiences. As well as continuing to offer high quality news and current affairs radio programs in multiple languages, Radio Australia's new web services encourage the sharing, participation and collaboration of stories of interest and relevance among audiences in Asia and the Pacific. English language learning content is also available in five languages.
Visitors to Radio Australia's new sites will experience more tailored and relevant content thanks to the latest technology that allows location detection enabling content to be delivered to and tailoredfor audiences on the basis of location and language.
"Socially, politically, and economically, Australia continues to more closely embrace the people, nations and cultures of Asia and the Pacific.
Our neighbours in this region are growing in wealth, education and confidence and we are interested in what matters to them, what they are doing and what they have to say. In addition to that, our neighbours are curious about us, as Australians, who we are and what we do, how we live our lives and why we think and perceive issues the way we do. Our new web and social media services provide the opportunity for thoughts, attitudes and opinions to be shared and exchanged," said Dr Mike McCluskey, CEO of Radio Australia.
Radio Australia's new web site is located at www.radioaustralia.net.au and for Australian audiences Radio Australia's multi-lingual audio streams can be accessed through the ABC's mobile apps at: http://www.abc.net.au/services/mobile/

(Press Release)

Radio Australia resuming broadcasts to Burma

Radio Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) radio service to Asia and the Pacific, is resuming broadcasts to Burma, including a new special service in Burmese. Hanh Tran, Radio Australia's CEO, says events in Burma such as the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, the recent conviction and extended detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the upcoming election, all highlight the need for strong communications into the region."The service to Burma in English will be imminent, with a Burmese language service to follow," he said in a statement Wednesday.The new services will use shortwave radio distribution and digital technologies.

More at :
http://australianetworknews.com/stories/200908/2653999.htm?desktop

Harris Corporation Transmitters Support Launch of First DAB+ Digital Radio Services in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia, July 21, 2009 — Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), an international communications and information technology company, announced the sale and installation of its DMB 670 transmitters to support the build out of DAB+ digital radio services in Australia, the largest such service in the Southern Hemisphere. Installed and commissioned for Broadcast Australia pty Ltd by local Harris agent — The Bridge Networks (TBN) — the transmitters form the infrastructure foundation for the provision of DAB+ service to Australia's national broadcasters — the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).
DAB+ digital radio offers interference-free reception, digital sound quality and a wide and varied choice of stations that broadcast both nationally and locally. Launched in early July, the new digital radio service in Australia has a countrywide reach encompassing five major cities — Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney — enabling over 60 percent of the nation's population to receive DAB+ digital radio.
"Australia is pioneering DAB+ digital radio in the world, and Harris is delighted to share in this momentous event by supporting the build out of the country's first digital radio broadcasting infrastructure," said Tim Thorsteinson, president of Harris Broadcast Communications. "The success of digital audio services worldwide has fuelled the consumer demand for multimedia capabilities. Over time, the added functionality that DAB+ brings is set to considerably enhance the consumer experience by offering high-quality multichannel audio and rich media services, such as mobile video."
The core of the digital operation is Broadcast Australia's Network Operation Centre (NOC) in Sydney, which provides centralized monitoring and forward control of all the transmission sites. At its NOC, Broadcast Australia receives the encoded and multiplexed signal and provides broadcast transmission services for its customers. This hub allows Broadcast Australia to effectively manage the performance of the entire network, respond remotely to any issues and keep clients abreast of the live status of their broadcast.
"The customer had a unique requirement, and Harris actively collaborated with The Bridge Networks and Broadcast Australia to design new products to meet the customer's needs," said Chris Dredge, national sales manager at The Bridge Networks. "With a wide variety of power levels to address every transmission strategy, the Harris DMB transmitters allow broadcasters to better serve consumers by offering distortion-free reception and superior CD-quality sound that considerably enhance the overall listening experience."
Available in power levels from 125 W to 10 kW, the DMB 670 mates the world-standard DAB665 exciter with a new, compact amplifier system to provide powerful, efficient, air-cooled DAB/DMB transmitters. With a unique modular design that provides for maximum redundancy, along with dual, auto-switching transmitters and exciters to eliminate off-air time, the DMB 670 is able to support the demanding requirements of Broadcast Australia and their end customers.
All DMB 670 transmitters utilize Harris PowerSmart™ architecture, which features a new 50-volt LDMOS device that minimizes parts within the transmitter — creating a compact and energy-efficient solution that provides robust transmission output for reliable delivery of multimedia services. PowerSmart enables television and radio broadcasters to lower the cost of ownership over the course of the transmitter life through a cost-effective, compact and "green" energy-efficient design.
Harris Broadcast Communications offers products, systems and services that provide interoperable workflow solutions that span the entire media delivery chain. The Harris ONE™ solution brings together highly integrated and cost-effective products that are ideal for emerging media business models and for customers upgrading media operations to digital and high-definition services.