RapidTVNews reports that Abu Dhabi Media Co (ADMC) has bought a “fleet” of OB truck each equipped for HDTV. The order was placed in September last year, and worth some €15m. The first pair of trucks have now been delivered.

ADMC is said to be the first media company in the Gulf to make this investment. The first two vans have arrived following a deal with Thomson Grass Valley (TGV). TGV has also formed a technology partnership with ADMC. These trucks are very large production centres, based on articulated trailers with expanding sides. The other two are smaller, fixed axle units. In each case the production capability is based around a fleet of LDK 8000 multi-format HD cameras, Kayak switchers and other Grass Valley infrastructure products.

The new vans, which carry between five and eight cameras, also feature wireless HD cameras, digital sound systems, HD slow motion disk recorders, HD transmission systems and air conditioning systems that can deal with extreme operating temperatures during summer. The new vans will be operational in September.

RapidTVNews reports that Bahrain Radio & TV staff went on strike on Monday 4 August, arguing for better working conditions. Apparently, the new CEO, has imposed new policies that have “upset” most of the workers.

The Bahrain TV boss had also cancelled flexible working hours previously offered to workers and imposed fixed timings starting from 7am to 3pm, which caused a reduction in employee’s overtime to 30 hours.

Khaleej Times reports that management has ordered a reduction in the monthly overtime payment from 60 hours to 30 hours and implemented a rotating system under which no employee could stay on a post for more than a few months.

Workers have said the strike would continue until the government looks into their demands, otherwise mass resignation would take place.

Read more.

RapidTV News reports that, finally, the full details of the draft regulations covering satellite transmissions over the Middle East have been agreed by Arab information and broadcasting ministers, who met recently in an attempt to overcome objections from some nations as to the wording of an earlier attempt to introduce region-wide licensing for satellite channels.

The initial February 2008 outline is now to be incorporated into a new document under the authority of the Arab League General Assembly (and the Information Ministers Council) is to now recommend to the Permanent Committee for Arab Media that:

1: [It] follows "the Principles for Organizing Satellite Radio and Television Transmission in the Arab region" Document and to implement it within the framework of each country legalizations and systems.

2: Submit a Request to Secretary General to draft a project to establish Arab commission for information which would attain, among its tasks, respect to the Principles for Organizing Satellite Radio and Television Transmission in the Arab region" Document, and above all, respect for the right to express opinion and to activate dialogue. This project shall be presented in the Next meeting of the Arab Information Ministers Council.

However, the formal document noted that the UAE confirms it has reservations about that part of the original February draft document in relation to comments about Duty Free Zones.

RapidTVNews reports that old draft guidelines created by Arab ministers to force Middle East broadcasters to obtain formal transmission licences will be replaced with a new charter. The problem is that there is little coordination between Arab governments on TV transmission.

This means satellite operators themselves judge any dispute as to content or fair and accurate broadcasting. Last February a joint ministerial communiqué backed the Satellite Broadcast Charter, drawn up by a committee of experts in order to provide a framework for national licensing. However, at last week’s meeting some ministers declined to endorse the charter, in particular Qatar (home to Al Jazeera) and the UAE (now home to dozens of TV channels including MBC’s Al Arabia 24-hour news channel). The charter was drafted by Egyptian and Saudi Arabian interests, although it took as its benchmark the broadcasting regulatory guidelines used in the UK, Europe and elsewhere.

With this lack of agreement the meeting last week decided to abandon the original February charter and instead set up a “high commission for Arab media” that will reflect a new agreement that all can abide by.

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RapidTVNews reports that Arab Advisors Group have published a study showing that Nilesat is now carrying 335 free-to-air digital channels over the Middle East. ArabSat, Nilesat, Noorsat and Eutelsat, between them were carrying well over 370 channels, having doubled in number since April 2006. Therefore, some 90% of TV viewing is via satellite.

Arab Advisors Group data says that 94.9% of Qatari’s have satellite TV. The Saudi Arabian figure is 93.9%, and this is almost totally DTH. Same with Kuwait, where, AAG says, 94.2% of homes view DTH satellite. In Jordan, where just about every home has a dish, the number is 89%. Even “1948 Arabs”, living in Israel, are big viewers of satellite TV (84.6%).

The two problem nations, according to AAG are the Lebanon, and Egypt. Lebanon has 75.8% DTH viewing, although this is also a highly suspicious number given that the Lebanon is a widely-cabled region and helped by widespread signal piracy. Egypt’s satellite TV viewing is stated as 49.1%, but Egypt is also said to be a country where signal theft is commonplace (via “neighbourhood piracy links”) for both TV and broadband access.

Arab Advisors Group says that a recent Egyptian survey carried out by them shows that 63.4% of Egyptian households with an ADSL connection share the connection with neighbours.

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RapidTVNews reports that Al Qurain TV, a new channel from Kuwait, will launch on April 17 on Arabsat, with a political socio-economic objective. The aim is to raise issues of concern trying to narrow the gap in viewpoints, in search for effective solutions to the problems that disrupt the development of the country.

The channel was announced some months ago and expected to launch later this summer in time for the all-important Holy Month of Ramadan. But local Kuwait elections have brought that start date forward.

Adel Al-Mekhaizim, General Manager of Al Qurain, clarified that the channel does not follow any specific political agenda and is unbiased to anything except the betterment of Kuwait. "It was not established to cover the elections, but seeing the situation in the country, we saw an urgency to establish it as soon as possible," Al-Mekhaizim explained of the creation of the channel. He denied the relation of any candidates or former MPs to the channel. The channel will first specialize in election coverage, but then will move on to discuss social issues and concerns.

RapidTVNews reports that NileSat is accused of shutting down the signals from a London-based Arabic TV channel. Al Hiwar is a controversial channel that has gained some notoriety over its criticism of the Egyptian government.

The station went off air from NileSat on April 1, “without any explanation,” according to its Managing Editor Azzam Al-Tamimi. "We constantly criticise Egypt and other Arab governments for their failure of policies," Al-Tamimi told the Reuters news agency. "Egypt has so many problems you cannot talk about it without criticising the government."

However, Nilesat’s chairman Amin Bassouni, in an interview with a London-based Arabic newspaper, insisted that he had no knowledge of any decision to ban the channel.

One problem for NileSat is its position in backing a new strategy designed to promote fair play for satellite operators which in the past have been criticised for carrying contentious channels. A newly drafted set of guidelines is designed to see a more rigorous licensing regime come into force, which will see governments having to take greater responsibility in the licensing of such channels.

Meanwhile, the channel continues to be transmitted on ArabSat.

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 RapidTvNews reports that Cairo-based Nilesat predicts the Middle East will have 1200 satellite channels by 2015, from today’s near-900 channels. “There has been criticism that the Middle East’s advertising spend cannot support more than a dozen or two successful channels in free-to-air but I would argue that if a channel isn’t making a profit, then what is it doing on TV?", said says Nilesat CEO Salah Hamza.

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RapidTVNews reports that a meeting of Arab ministers is going to consider regulations covering broadcasting over the Middle East, with plans to institute licensing measures for sattelite channels.

The current problem is that in many countries across the region, there is little or no need to be formally licensed to start broadcasting a satellite channel.

A meeting of the Arab world’s Information and Broadcasting Ministers in Cairo on Feb 12-13 will consider a pan-Arab approach to the problem, exacerbated because the responsibility for policing broadcasters is increasingly falling on satellite broadcasters.

Amin Bassouni, chairman of Nilesat is also head of the Permanent Committee for Mass Media, reporting to the Ministerial meeting. He says that a study was started last June to bring regulation to the Middle East.

Salah Hamza, CEO at Nilesat (pictured, above), says the lack of licensing in some countries places satellite operators in a difficult position. “The lack of regulation means we have to be judge and jury when complaints are made."

Read more.

Regional pay-TV platform Arab Radio & Television, having lost exclusive rights to English Premiership soccer, is fighting back. RapidTVNews reports that ART has acquired rights to broadcast English Premier League games 24 hours after their initial live transmission on arch-rival Showtime Arabia’s pay-TV bouquet.

Additionally, ART has secured this coming season’s Saudi League, arguably at least as important as English soccer, and is bidding for the UAE soccer league.

Showtime has paid a small fortune to secure the English games away from ART, and will make the games the backbone of its promotional activity this coming season.

ART believe that they're covering more ground than Showtime, as they will have: National soccer, regional soccer and international soccer.

Via [ RapidTVNews ]