Philips Digital Networks has announced that its organization within Philips Electronics (Thailand) Ltd has been awarded the contract to design, build and commission a multimedia production facility for Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) of Bangkok. The turnkey project is worth several million US dollars.
Under the agreement, Philips will design and build a professional production and post-production facility comprising latest technology digital broadcast equipment. The facility will be used by SUT as a multi-media centre for research and education. The centre will contain a digital production/news studio with Philips‘ state-of-the-art digital cameras and production switcher. In addition, it will include a non-linear editing suite, a computer graphics system and a digital surround sound editing and recording lab. The various rooms will be interconnected through an advanced networking system.

The project will be implemented on a full turnkey basis, including the supervision of civil works. SUT has also asked Philips to provide operation management services for a number of years, during which skill transfer to SUT personnel will take place.

When commissioned in mid 2001, SUT‘s multimedia production facility will be the first of its kind in Thailand. It will provide students with the chance to produce audio, video and multimedia content using state-of-the-art TV, radio and computer graphics technology and advanced 2D and 3D animation tools. The centre will support the university‘s vision of the ‘virtual campus‘, where study and teaching are no longer restricted to classrooms and education can also be provided over the Internet.

Rik Dovey, formerly Senior Vice ?president of Production, Operations and Engineering at ESPN Star Sports (ESS) has taken over as managing director of ESS from Alexander Brown, who will now be a strategic adviser to ESS ahead of his departure before the year end.

In addition to management responsibilities he will also oversee the establishment of espnstar.com, the company?s new internet venture which is said to include complete localisation in major markets such as India, China, Taiwan and Korea.

Dovey brings along with him 30 years of broadcasting experience to the position.

Zee Telefilms along with its subsidiaries has registered what could be its lowest Q1 net profit in the recent past. The company showed a rise of a meagre 5% in its net profit for the first quarter of the year 2000-2001. The consolidated net profit for the current quarter is Rs 32 crore as against the corresponding figure of Rs 30.5 crore for the same period of the last year.

The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) is expanding its membership list to include New Economy corporations and telcos as well as traditional pay-TV players.

In early July, Hong Kong-listed Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW) joined CASBAA as a Patron Member, the highest level of membership. Patron Membership grants a company an automatic seat on the CASBAA Board of Directors. On July 1, PCCW (www.pcg-group.com) launched a regional Broadband service, Network of the World, distributed via cable and satellite to TVs as well as PCs.

Also new to the Association is Hong Kong-listed cellular phone system operator Sunday Communications, which is examining opportunities for a 3G Broadband license in Hong Kong and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, financial and business information service Bloomberg LP (www.bloomberg.com/asia) has upgraded its membership from Associate status to Patron level and will also take a seat on the CASBAA Board of Directors.

Other new CASBAA members include:

• Sony Pictures Entertainment‘s regional pay-TV channel AXN Action TV which has joined CASBAA as a corporate member (www.axn-asia.com)

• UK-based satellite communications consultancy Communications Systems Ltd. (Comsys) (www.comsys.co.uk)

• Bombay-based media investor UTV‘s Vijay TV, which recently launched its Sharkstream broadband service (www.utvnet.com)

• Hong Kong-based Internet content provider WebArts TV.com (www.asianartnews.com)

• Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Vision, a group that provides satellite up linking services as well as video production services (www.apvweb.com)

• Asia Capacity Exchange, a consortium that provides online bandwidth exchange services (www.ace-asia.com).

• CSM Sofres, a leading market research group specialising broadcast media with a special interest in China among other Asian markets (www.csm.com.cn)

• X [Ventures], led by Bangkok-based entrepreneur Jeff Blatt, provides consulting and representation services for clients in the satellite, broadcasting, Internet, multimedia, high technology and venture capital industries (www.xventures.com)
  

The International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive David Richards has labelled Zee TV?s allegations that the council was racist in its decision awarding telecast rights to its tournaments to the World Sports Group/News Corp consortoium as "ridiculous."

In an interview to air on ESPN?s Inside Cricket Richards has said that the racism allegation can be shown to be demonstrably untrue. "The ICC is made up of people from all over the world of cricket, from many different cultures, from many different backgrounds, but all with a common love for cricket," he is believed to have said during the interview. "And there are constituencies within that grouping of member nations from all over the world. It?s just too easy and trite to say that this group did this or that group did something else. The decision taken by the group was, I say, on commercial grounds and it was in the best interests of the long term development of international cricket in all parts of the world."

Richards also pointed out that there was no indication of any rebel tour being started by Asian member nations of the ICC. "They are all responsible organisations and all are key members of the ICC. So if there were any suggestions of breakaway cricket teams or tours that would not be done through the official boards."

The Rathikant Basu promoted Broadcast Worldwide‘s Tara Bengali channel is being rejigged by its programming team.
This decision comes in the wake of the recent survey conducted by IMRB at the behest of BWW for its regional channels (read: Broadcast Worldwide initiates broad-based research programmes). The survey found out that the viewers were overall satisfied with the kind of programmes being shown on the channel, but said that the programming was "too intellectual". Tara Bengali officials claim that the channel enjoys 100% awareness in the Bengali audience.

Speaking about the Tara Marathi channel, the channel officials said that they were expecting the results of the IMRB research in a short time. As far as the awareness about the channel was concerned, officials said that Tara Marathi has been accepted and appreciated in areas like Pune and Nashik. As far as Mumbai was concerned, the channel is not being received by too many households because the Hinduja-run InCablenet is proving a hurdle. It is reportedly demanding high carriage fees for retransmitting the signal.

It can be mentioned here that Star TV has been roped in as the distribution partner for Broadcast Worldwide but the details of the deal are still being worked out.