Suitcase Radio in Rs 5000

Shubhranshu Choudhary

Suitcase radio is what they call it. Weighing only about 12 kgs andmaking a hole of about only Rs 5000 in your pocket, this radio stationis being prepared by three students Kamal, Vikas and Dayal from Haryana.One can listen to the waves till 15 kms and none of the material used in its manufacturing is imported. All the material was procurred from the local markets of Ambala.This radio station was quite popular among the students in theuniversity hostel where they used to play it. They also used to getrequest from outside the university to play songs of choice.Interestingly the professors also knew about it but they never stoppedthem.In 1995, Indian Supreme Court passed a judgments that public has full and more rights on radio transmission rather than only government but unfortunately it is still illegal for a common man to run a radio station.Although this radio stations is analog but Kamal, Vikas and Dayal claim that they can make a digital FM radio station in about 20,000 rupees which will have a CD player, cassette player, mixer of four channels, two mikes and an antenna cables. It will be a complete radio station on its own which one can take anywhere.They emphasize an important fact that these techniques existed longbefore, only thing they want to prove is that technology can bedeveloped based on existing techniques without putting too much pressure on the financial front.These kinds of experiments and innovations are taking place in otherparts of the country as well. Few days back a volunteer organizationfrom down south organized a seminar for tribal communities from all over the country. The translation of the developments of the seminar in four different tribal languages kept playing on four FM radio stations. Because the people from different tribal were able to understand whatexactly was being said and done at the seminar, their participationinvolved was amazing to look at. This was all possible because of the FM radio station of mere Rs 50.Unfortunately, the women of tribal association near Vishakapattanam were not so very lucky. Police into custody labeling them as illegal took their sets.Vickram Crishna of the Radiophony.com organization who is providingtechnical help to such organizations says, "We are using the same radio technique which the foreign security agencies use in their walky talkies to maintain security systems of multinational companies in urban areas.But it is very much saddening and unfortunate that our government trusts them but its own tribal women."Recently, Government has given green signal to educational institutes to open radio stations. Frederick Noronha who is associated with themovment says that with such low-cost instruments, radio station and run in almost every village of India.Every citizen of this country can take part in information revolution.To democratise the media in a country like India there is no better option available than radio.

story on BBCHindi.com about radio in India (text in Hindi), at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi/regionalnews/story/2005/

08/050823_radio_station.shtml

Community Radio Manager’s Handbook

A Guide to Sustainable Radioby AMARC Africa This handbook, targeted at station managers and anyone involved in community radio, aims to be a guide on how to manage a community radio station in a sustainable manner. The handbook does not aim to be prescriptive, but aims to offer guidelines on issues that need to be considered when setting up and operating a community radio station and at what stage of the process they need to be considered. It offers information on the relationships that need to be built with stakeholders and gives ideas on how to make these relationship work better for the station. The handbook covers guidelines on the following issues:
How to get the Government to support you
How to identify what you want to do for the community, then doing that in your radio station
What is a volunteer
How to work with volunteer
How to get the community involved and how to keep them involved
How to market the station
What is an audience survey?
How to make money for your station
How to keep your station independent
How to manage conflict
How to manage change
How to help a community radio station to grow
How to make a training plan for the station
How to solve common problems you may face.
http://africa.amarc.org/files/AfricanCRHandbook.pdf for this resource in PDF format.

Publisher: AMARC Africa
Cost: Free downloadDate of publication: 2000
Number of pages: 185
Language(s): English
Contact:AMARC International
705 Bourget Street
Suite 100
Montreal
Quebec
Canada
H4C 2M6
Tel : +1-514-982-0351
Fax : +1-514 849-7129
amarc@amarc.orgAMARC website
Source: The African Community Radio Manager’s Handbook

Separate Lakshadweep Islands DXpeditions No Longer to Butt Heads

NEWINGTON, CT, Nov 28, 2006 -- The first of two planned DXpeditions to rare Lakshadweep Islands (VU7) is set to start December 1. A team sponsored by the Amateur Radio Society of India (ARSI) -- the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society for India -- plans to operate as VU7LD from Kavaratti Island. Meanwhile, a second announced foray to the second most-wanted DXCC entity has returned to its original plans to commence in mid-January instead of December, thus avoiding the potential for on-air chaos. ARSI says it has permission from India's telecommunication and military authorities to operate from December 1 until December 30.

"The plans for this expedition are well under way, and we are assembling together around 25 Indian radio operators who have a proven record of operating in 'pile up' conditions on all modes, so that the poor propagation conditions are utilized to the maximum," the DXpedition's Web site reports. ARSI says VU7LD -- the actual call sign could change -- will operate on all HF bands on CW, SSB and digital modes.

A DXpedition under the auspices of the National Institute for Amateur Radio (NIAR), will kick off with a three-day hamfest January 15, and the DXpedition will continue for approximately 10 days. The NIAR DXpedition plans to operate as VU7RG, in honor of the late Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, VU2RG.

"We are pleased to inform that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Department of Telecommunications, WPC wing has released the first list of special permission issued to foreign hams holding Indian Amateur Radio licenses to operate Amateur Radio stations from Bangaram, Kadmat and Agathi in Lakshadweep Islands," Rama Mohan, VU2MYH, said in a November 22 statement on the VU7RG Web site. "Until today a total of 33 DX hams have been officially approved for the VU7RG operation!" The NIAR operation could include as many as 50 radio amateurs from India and elsewhere.

NIAR says the "well-known, experienced operators" staffing all three operating sites will "work closely together to avoid multiple stations on the air using overlapping frequencies."

Concerns arose within the DX community in October after NIAR rescheduled its event from January to December, and it appeared the two DXpeditions would have multiple stations on the air simultaneously on various HF bands and modes at least during the first part of the month. NIAR organized and sponsored a DXpedition and hamfest-conference in the Andaman Islands (VU4) earlier this year.

Part of the Laccadive Islands, Lakshadweep -- the smallest union territory of India -- is located in the Arabian Sea some 200 to 300 km off the southwestern coast of India. The territory marks its 50th anniversary this year.
++++++++++++++
Source: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/11/28/103/?nc=1

AIR QSL's

Couple of qsl's from AIR :


AIR Gangtok QSL - 3390 kHz
http://www.geocities.com/alokeshgupta/air_gangtok_qsl.pdf

AIR Gangtok Prog Schd ( Times in IST)
http://www.geocities.com/alokeshgupta/air_gangtok_ps.pdf

AIR Bhopal QSL - 3315 kHz
http://www.geocities.com/alokeshgupta/airbhopal_qsl.pdf

These are also available at files section of this group :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dx_india/files/

-----------------------
Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi

குமுதம் தொடங்க உள்ள 'ஆஹா எப்.எம்': விளம்பரம்

குமுதம் 8/11/2006 இதழில் பக்கம் 15 இல் வெளிவந்த விளம்பரம்

சீன வானொலி: நேயர் கருத்தரங்க அழைப்பிதழ்

Radio Mirchi Advertisement in Thina Thanthi Chennai Edition on 06-11-2006

'Listeners' lifestyles the key to radio sustainability'

Radio broadcasters should get involved in the lifestyles of their
listeners in order to guarantee the sustainability of their stations and
services, the ABU Programme Committee meeting heard in Beijing today.
Addressing delegates to the Programme Committee at the 43rd ABU General
Assembly, Capital Maharaja-Sri Lanka's Nedra Weerasinghe said radio
broadcasters should develop new services that complement the lifestyles
of their listeners.
"In an age of on-demand availability of information and entertainment,
radio needs to respond to keep up with the changes. The answer to this is to
develop new services that listeners want.
"A service that fits a lifestyle is often set for greater success than
a single emphasis on increasingly complex gadgetry," she said.
Ms Weerasinghe also cautioned broadcasters against upgrading to new and
better technology just to keep up with the times.
"We should use technology and not be driven by it. Upgrade only if it
enhances the listening experience and brings you closer to the
listeners, or if you have no choice," she said during the symposium on "Ten great
ways to make people listen longer".

Among the ways highlighted to attract and retain radio listeners were:
- having innovative programming;
- finding disc jockeys that can express themselves powerfully;
- rewarding listeners with competitions and prizes;
- connecting with listeners by inviting them to the studios;
- taking complex issues and presenting them in an easy-to-understand manner;
- maintaining good public relations and social responsibilities;
- motivating staff to interact directly with the public; promoting the station constantly and consistently.

"The key point is that radio needs to better understand what people
want. Radio stations that want to be in business 10 years from now will need
to better understand how consumers choose music to fit their lifestyles.
"It's a question of convenience and enriching people's lives, because
we can provide interaction, information and entertainment the way they want
it," said Ms Weerasinghe.

Friday 03 Nov 2006
http://www.abu.org.my/public/dsp_page.cfm?articleid=2417&urlsectionid=715&specialsection=ART_FULL&pageid=247&PSID=2807
----------------------------
Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi

DXERS UNLIMITED'S WEEKEND EDITION NOV 4 -5 2006

RADIO HAVANA CUBA
DXERS UNLIMITED
DXERS UNLIMITED'S WEEKEND EDITION NOV 4 -5 2006
BY ARNIE CORO
RADIO AMATEUR CO2KK

Hi amigos radio aficionados ! You are now listening to the weekend
edition of Dxers Unlimited, your favorite radio hobby program, covering
each and every aspect of our wonderful way of using our spare time.
YES,
there are more than 80 different ways that you can enjoy this hobby...
from listening to the AM broadcast band with a very inexpensive little
radio trying to pick up distant stations late in the evening, to taking
part in one of the big worldwide amateur radio contests... From
soldering the last electronic component to a printed circuit board that
will let you listen to the aircraft VHF band when connected to your
short wave radio, to installing a home brew antenna that will extend
the
range of your ham radio station... Si amigos, there are many different
and always challenging ways of enjoying the radio hobby... and that's
exactly what I want you all to think about every time that you have a
chance to start a new radio project... For example, listener Anil from
Mumbai , India, writes via e-mail to tell me that he has picked up
Radio
Havana Cuba's short wave broadcasts on 15230 kilo Hertz, something
surprising if you consider that 15230 kilo Hertz at the time that he
heard that transmitter was using our 160 degrees azimuth curtain array
of dipoles antenna... It seems like an odd radiation lobe of the big
curtain was making its way to India, across the Pacific Ocean, or as
one
of our engineers said , one never knows how a big antenna radiation
pattern may generate small lobes, that are the ones that produce such
unusual reception in far away places, even when the main lobe of the
antenna is pointing to a completely different azimuth..

More about reception reports received here , and what to expect during
the frequency management period BO6 that has just started a few days
ago.
Stay tuned for more radio hobby related items, coming to from Havana...
I am Arnie Coro..

.....

This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and
yes, we do QSL , we do verify reception reports, and we do it the way
it
should be done... absolutely free of charge ... since the very first
day
that we tested a one Kilowatt Gates shortwave transmitter connected to
a
half wave dipole that was strung between two wooden poles provided by
the local electricity utility's storage yard near our Bauta
transmitting
station, we asked for signal reports, and as soon as they started to
come in, we began to answer them... and I remember from those days,
that
we went to the post office to buy stamps , and asked the girl at the
counter for the most beautiful Cuban stamps , so that when we sent out
the first Radio Havana Cuba QSL letters, listeners will also receive
Cuban stamps too...
You can send your signal reports and comments about this and other
Radio
Havana Cuba's programs via e-mail to arnie@rhc.cu, again arnie@rhc.cu,
and if you are not yet in cyberspace, send an AIR MAIL postcard to
Arnie
Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba...
Now more about B-06, and for those of you not familiar with that term,
now the international broadcast stations that use the so called HF or
more properly decametric bands, divide the year into two periods A and
B, each lasting six months. But the broadcast schedule periods don't
start on the first day of January, and end on the 31st of December...
The start up dates for the so called winter period, also known as the B
period, start at the end of October and lasts until some time in
March... This period that started a few days ago is known to broadcast
station frequency management engineers as B 06... And when B 06 ends in
March of 2007, then the A 07 period will start , covering all of the
summer season and a few weeks more until late October of 2007 when the
B
07 period will begin...
Selecting the best frequencies for broadcasting to the different target
areas of international short wave stations is a very complicated
process, that requires a lot of know how about antenna systems and
radio
wave propagation.
Managing the frequencies of a short wave station is quite a task, and
engineers make use of the most up to date computer programs, solar
activity forecasts and of course, that we do rely a lot on listener's
feedback, because short wave radio propagation is far from been an
exact
science...
In a few days time, our station Radio Havana Cuba will implement the
B-06 schedule, that this year is coming a bit late for us, due to the
need to finish working on several new antennas....
For our English language program listeners in North America, there are
a
few changes that are required due to the much lower solar activity
expected during the next several months... For example, our long time
frequency that has served so well listeners in the Central time zone of
North America, 9820 kilo Hertz , can not be used effectively during the
B-06 period, so we are changing it to a lower frequency band... YES
amigos, we are moving away from 9820 kilo Hertz from 23 hours UTC to 05
hours UTC , and will start using instead 6180 kilo Hertz with our new
low frequency band curtain array that is beaming to 340 degrees
azimuth.
This antenna has a gain of about 17 decibels over a dipole on 6 mega
Hertz, something that is achieved by using our new 105 meters high twin
towers that support the big antenna array, that engineers describe as
an
HR 4, 4, 0.8 Curtain Antenna, that meaning that it is a set of four
columns and four rows of dipoles, connected in phase, and that the
lower
row of dipoles is placed at 0 decimal 8 wavelengths above ground at the
center operating frequency of the antenna... I expect that this new
antenna will be delivering a very nice signal covering a large area of
North America from the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast... on 6180
kilo
Hertz... but of course, you, the listener will be the one that will be
telling us if reception is really good.By the way if you want to
practice Spanish, the 23 hours UTC to 00 Hours UTC segment on 6180 kilo
Hertz to Central North America is broadcast in Spanish, and we switch
to
our North America and the Caribbean English Language program at 00
hours
UTC... keeping 6180 kilo Hertz in operation until 05 UTC , that is
exactly twelve o'clock midnight Eastern Standard Time, and we may be
extending this broadcast until 07 hours UTC too...
Si amigos !!! the B 06 broadcast period is now in effect, and you will
need to take some time to find the new operating frequencies of many
international broadcast stations that have changed their schedules to
best adapt to the much lower solar activity expected...

......

ASK ARNIE, si amigos !!! ASK ARNIE is according to your e-mail,
postcards, letters, and Fax messages , THE most popular section of
Dxers
Unlimited... Today's ASK ARNIE, will be devoted to answering a question
sent by seventeen listeners from the USA, Canada, the UK, Jamaica,
Trinidad and Tobago , Nigeria and South Africa... They all want to know
more about what to expect during the end of the present solar cycle...
Well my friends, as you heard just a while ago, when I was explaining
why we have to drop our 31 meters band 9820 kilo Hertz frequency to
Central North America in favor of a frequency on the SIX megahertz or
49
meters band , the much lower solar activity has a devastating impact on
the higher frequency short wave bands...
When extended periods of very low solar activity happen, with the daily
solar flux staying around 70 units and the number of sunspots is zero
or
near zero for many days, the higher frequency short wave bands from 10
or 12 mega Hertz up simply go dead... The ionosphere is no longer
capable of sending back to Earth radio waves above 10 or 12 mega Hertz
during the local daytime hours... and as soon as the Sun sets, South to
North propagation paths take a nose dive, with the maximum usable
frequency dropping to frequencies as low as even 5.5 mega Hertz.. When
this happens, listeners monitoring the short wave bands will notice
that
there are almost absolutely no signals heard above 6 or 7 mega Hertz, a
very good indication of an extremely low period of solar activity. Of
the seventeen listeners that asked for the explanation that you have
just heard, six wanted also to know when HF propagation conditions
above
12 to 15 mega Hertz are going to improve... and the answer amigos is
that you should not expect any significant improvement until at least
the second half of the year 2008.... YES, you heard it right, until
solar cycle number 24 starts to generate more solar activity ,
something
expected by scientists to happen during the second half of 2008, short
wave propagation conditions on the higher frequencies are going to be
very poor or even non existent at all...
So, this is the right time to start thinking about installing antennas
for the lower frequency bands, and for those of you that don't have
space to install those long wires, there is an excellent option... home
brewing a large magnetic loop antenna , of at least 2 meters or about 6
feet diameter... that will provide the possibility of picking up low
frequency stations within the range between 1.5 and 10 mega Hertz..
In an upcoming edition of Dxers Unlimited, I will be describing such a
magnetic loop antenna, that can be installed in a much smaller space
than the area that you will require to install a long wire for low
frequencies reception...

......

Si amigos, we do QSL, send me your comments about the program,
reception
reports and radio hobby related questions to arnie@rhc.cu, or VIA AIR
MAIL, send a post card or letter to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba ,
Havana, Cuba...
Before going QRT here,let me tell you that many radio amateurs around
the world are enjoying very much using the PSK31 digital keyboard to
keyboard communications mode, that can be installed very easily using
readily available computer software for both LINUX and WINDOWS
operating
systems... PSK31 is a form of radio teletype that uses a very narrow
bandwidth and for that reason stations using low power and simple
antennas can make lots of DX contacts !!!

BBC International Playwriting Competition 2007

Introduction

Welcome to our tenth biennial International Playwriting Competition, run in conjunction with the British Council. Write our actors their dream script Once again, we have two first prizes: for the best play by a writer with English as their first language, and for the best play by a writer with English as their second language. These two winners will each receive £2500 sterling and a trip to London to see their play being recorded for broadcast on BBC World Service in the World Drama slot. The playwriting competition is one of the most exciting events here at BBC World Service Drama, as it provides us with an opportunity to connect with our audience, drawing on a vast, untapped resource of writing talent from around the world. Previous winners have gone on to gain further commissions for BBC World Service Drama and other areas of BBC Radio Drama. So, if you are an experienced novelist or writer for theatre, film, television, but are new to Radio Drama; if you are a writer with no experience at all writing your first script; or if you're a writer somewhere in between - we want to hear from you. Your work is our future. Good luck.

Prizes

£2500 sterling for the overall winning playwright of the best play written with English as a first language and a trip to London to see the play being recorded and to attend a prize-giving evening.
£2500 sterling for the overall winning playwright of the best play written with English as a second language and a trip to London to see the play being recorded and to attend a prizegiving evening.
A prize of a digital or short wave radio for the best radio play to be written from each of the following geographical areas: The Americas; Europe; Africa and the Middle East; South Asia; Russia and the Caucasus; Asia and Pacific.
BBC goodie bags for all writers whose plays reach the judges' final shortlist.

Rules

You are asked to write a radio play of about sixty minutes on any subject of your choice. This means that your finished script should be a minimum of 50 pages of A4 paper (or equivalent) and a maximum of 75 pages (note, a rough guide is a minute per page; read and time your play if you can before you send it!). The play should have a maximum of six central characters.
The play must be the original, unpublished work of the person or persons submitting it. It must not have been professionally produced, in any medium.
Open to anyone not normally resident in the UK.
If you are under the age of 16 you must obtain permission from your parent/guardian before you enter this competition. Your parent/guardian must be prepared to travel with you to London to collect your prize. Your parent/guardian must be prepared to pay for their own travel costs.
Your play must be with us in London by April 30, 2007.

Help writing a radio play

Tell a good story. Radio Drama thrives on strong narratives. Whether you?re writing a tragedy, a comedy, a deeply personal piece of autobiography or a play to change the world, a great storyline will keep your audience listening.
However, don?t make the story too complicated, with too many themes, characters and plotlines, or the listener will get confused.
Get under the skin of your characters. Get to know them really well. Each will have their own individual speech mannerisms. Don?t have them all speaking in your tone of voice.
Don?t - in the interests of furthering the plot - have characters telling each other information they already know!
Radio Drama is not only about words. Use the four building blocks of radio drama - speech, sound effects, music and silence. Decide exactly what ?sound picture? - what mixture of these four elements - the listener needs to hear in each scene. Will a scene be enhanced by having music under it? Will a pause between a speech add to the dramatic effect?
But, if in doubt, keep it simple - the play stands or falls by the words you have written, not the amount of music or sound effects.
Vary the pace and length of your scenes, as well as their background acoustics and ?location?. A radio play which has six ten-minute scenes, each set in a dining-room, is likely to be less effective than a play which varies its scenes and settings. Keep the listener interested by thinking about how the play will sound. Using a variety of backgrounds, scene lengths and sound effects will usually serve to make a story more effective for the listener.
Presentation is important. Script readers (and play competition judges) are better disposed towards neatly-typed, professionallypresented manuscripts. Type all directions and sound effects in capital letters (e.g. HAMLET?S GARDEN. HAMLET IS DIGGING FOR POTATOES. IT IS RAINING) and dialogue in lower case. Leave a space each time a character speaks. Enjoy writing your play. If you enjoy it, the chances are that other people will too.
Feel free to ignore some of these tips. All the best playwrights break ?rules? from time to time. But have a good reason for breaking them.
Remember that good drama is not simply about one idea but about what happens when two ideas collide. Sixty minutes gives you a lot of time to develop your plot and your subplot.
Tune in to BBC World Drama on BBC World Service or listen via our website by going to www.bbcworldservice.com and selecting BBC World Drama from the Radio Programmes list.

And remember

Please read the rules and abide by them. If a play is either too short or much too long it may be disqualified.
Please do not send your only copy. Manuscripts are not returned under any circumstances.
Please do not send us amendments or further drafts once your play has been submitted.
Please do not send cassettes, CDs, videos or sheet music with your play - it is not necessary at the entry level and they cannot be returned to you.

Entry form

The entry form should be completed by all competitors and attached to your play.
Click here for the entry form (pdf version)
Click here for the entry form (word version)

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1521_int_play_comp/index.shtml

BBC outsourcing to India

The BBC announced today that it has selected Xansa as the preferred supplier for the BBC's outsourced finance and accounting services. The new contract will run for a period of ten years.

It is the result of the re-tendering of services that were successfully outsourced to Medas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of EDS, in 1997.

Subject to contract signature:

Xansa will work closely with the BBC to deliver finance and accounting services across the BBC, including purchasing and sales transaction processing, artist and contributor payments, financial management and project accounting, payroll processing and expenses and customer support.

The ten-year contract will cost the BBC approximately £8.5m per annum, and will generate savings for the BBC in the region of £20m per annum.

This will be a major contribution to the BBC's target of releasing £355m of savings to invest in programmes and services.

The BBC is currently conducting a simplification of its business processes as part of its Future Finance programme, which is delivering further savings of £17m.

Xansa will provide their services from a blend of locations in the UK and India. All voice contact (Customer Support) with Xansa will remain in the UK; other services, including transaction processing, will be carried out at Xansa's location in Chennai, India.

In this way the BBC is taking advantage of the significant savings of globalisation while maintaining the benefits of more local customer support.

The original outsourcing of these services to Medas in 1997 was seen at the time as being a ground-breaking deal which included a successful implementation of a common systems platform (SAP) across the BBC.

Medas also successfully transformed the BBC's transaction processing operation, delivering a fit-for-purpose and efficient service to the BBC.

Xansa was selected from a shortlist of four companies (Capita, EDS, Infosys BPO and Xansa) after a rigorous evaluation process against a number of criteria which included value for money, cultural alignment with the BBC, service delivery capability; the ability to drive improvements to the BBC's business and financial processes, and transition and exit planning.

Xansa will act as prime contractor working with Siemens Business Services.

We are confident that this will bring advantages to the BBC in terms of simplicity and lower cost for making changes to the BBC's IT infrastructure.

Zarin Patel, BBC Group Finance Director, said: "I congratulate Xansa on winning this major contract. The BBC will benefit from Xansa's proven expertise in managing outsourced Finance and Accounting Services, and we look forward to developing a close relationship with them.

"I believe this is an excellent deal for the BBC, and I am confident that Xansa will help us further to transform our finance and business processes.

"By moving our transaction processing to India we are demonstrating that we are prepared to take bold and imaginative decisions that offer the licence-fee payer great value for money, while still maintaining the highest quality of service delivery.

"I would like to thank our colleagues in Medas for their valuable support over the last nine years: in that time they have helped us transform the BBC's finance and accounting processes, delivered a sound SAP implementation, managed our transaction processing, expenses and business systems and left us with a fit and stable operation to build on in the future."

Alistair Cox, Chief Executive of Xansa, said: "We are delighted that Xansa has been selected as preferred partner to deliver Finance and Accounting Services across the BBC.

"Our expert technology and back office services allows our clients to do more with their own business and we are confident that we will, as the UK leader in F&A services, enable the BBC to minimise its administrative costs and to free up funds to invest in its own core business of creative programming.

"We are particularly pleased to be the BBC's first offshore BPO partner, and this week's award win as offshore operator of the year is another terrific endorsement of our leading offshore position and capability."

Notes to Editors

BBC Finance

The BBC recently announced a significant number of changes to BBC Finance (BBC's finance division), as part of the corporation's drive to make significant cost reductions across its support divisions.

The Future Finance programme changes include:

The creation of a new specialist Finance Centre in Ty Oldfield (at the BBC's HQ in Cardiff), which came into existence in July 2006;

The introduction of new, simpler business procedures and a reduction in internal trading.

A reduction in the number of posts in BBC Finance from around 650 in 2005/6 to 310 in 2006/7, to 260 in 2007/8.

These measures will contribute to an anticipated saving within BBC Finance of £17m by 2008.

About Xansa

Xansa is the UK leader in the delivery of outsourced Finance and Accounting (F&A) services. With clients including BT, Lloyds TSB, MyTravel and the NHS, Xansa has many year experience of delivering F&A in both the private and public sector.

Xansa is an outsourcing and technology company with over 8,000 people in the UK and India.

Xansa has a 44-year history of delivering IT solutions to major clients across the private and public sector. Its portfolio of services includes: business and technology consulting, IT services, IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing, F&A outsourcing, and HR solutions.

Xansa is listed on the London Stock Exchange with revenues for 2006 of £357.3 million.

Medas and the BBC

Medas is a wholly owned subsidiary of EDS.

Medas was founded in 1997 to provide financial transactions processing for the BBC and also support the IT systems that facilitate that processing.

The company became fully operational in March 1998 following the transfer of nearly 400 finance staff from the BBC, in addition to the 80 IT staff who transferred in March 1997.

Medas operates from two sites: Ealing (West London) and Cardiff.

The services Medas provides to the BBC are in summary:
Accounts Payable
Accounts Receivable
Contributor Payments
Expenses and Advances
Financial Accounting
IT systems support and development
Payroll

Xansa have indicated that they will treat all existing Medas staff with fairness and sensitivity, and that normal TUPE regulations will apply.

BBC Press Office
++++++++++
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/
stories/2006/10_october/20/finance.shtml

Chennai is awash with FM radio stations

The second coming
R. Ravikumar

Chennai is awash with FM radio stations, with more to come. Find out how they all plan to add ears to their lives.Your late mornings will never be the same again," avows an FM station. "We will rekindle the romance in you every day after you dispatch your children to school and husband to work," it goes on, addressing lonely housewives."The traffic at Anna Flyover is moving at a snail's pace, so please avoid that junction if you can," a friendly note of caution to those at the wheel, from another FM station.Of late, the FM radio space in Chennai has been bustling with activity following the implementation of Phase II of FM radio privatisation. The transition to a revenue-sharing regime from the earlier fixed-fee licensing model seems to have changed the business dynamics, and the space is now drawing more players. The Chennai FM story could well be replicating the cities across the country.As of now, apart from AIR's Rainbow FM, there are five FM stations - Suriyan FM (from the Sun group), Hello FM (from Malar Publications) , Big FM (Adlabs Films Ltd, a Reliance ADAG company), Radio Mirchi (Entertainment Network India Ltd) and Radio City (from Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd). In addition to these, Muthoot Finance Ltd, which has got a licence, and Radio Mid-Day West (India) Ltd, a Radio One-BBC World combine, are all set to venture into the space soon. All for a share of just a little over 2.4 per cent of the Rs 13,200-crore ad industry.Though ad avoidance by listeners in radio is almost nil in comparison with 68 per cent in newspaper and 44 per cent in TV, and local reach makes radio a very effective medium of advertisement, the share of 2.4 per cent is very small."Many media planners may not be considering radio as one of the primary media for communication. They have been primarily focusing on mass media such as print and TV. Especially after the recent flow of channels into markets beyond metros, it is high time radio is studied and looked at more seriously," says Siddhartha Mukherjee, Director - Communications, TAM Media Research.According to TAM Media Research, of the overall ad industry size of Rs 13,200 crore in the year 2005, radio could manage to rake in just Rs 317 crore, which is 20 per cent more than the Rs 220 crore registered in 2004.However, according to Tarun Katial, Chief Operating Officer - FM Initiative, Adlabs Films Ltd, the ad pie will certainly grow over a period. "Ad revenue is purely based on the reach of the medium. In 2005, there were less than 30 frequencies in just seven cities. It's now going to reach over 330 frequencies across the country," says Katial. He sees the medium getting 15 per cent of the ad spend by 2010. Prashant Panday, Deputy CEO, Radio Mirchi, also says the ad pie will grow to 14 per cent by then. "Even without any proper mechanism in place for audience research, it will grow to 7 per cent. Once a research mechanism falls into place, it will certainly reach 13-14 per cent," he says.According to Radio AdEx, a division of TAM Media Research, during January-December 2005, FM radio ad revenues were in the range of Rs 90 crore in Mumbai, Rs 87 crore in Delhi, Rs 30 crore in Kolkata and Rs 21 crore in Chennai.But, during the period there were only three FM channels in Chennai (Rainbow, Suriyan and Radio Mirchi). According to industry sources, during January-August 2006, the ad revenues in Chennai alone grew by 31 per cent in comparison with the same period in the previous year.K. Srinivasa Ragavan, Station Director - Chennai, All India Radio, says Rainbow FM earned Rs 1 crore during 2005, and is growing at 80 per cent. "The FMCG sector and Government service organisations contribute over 50 per cent of the total ad revenues," he says.In the previous fiscal, Radio Mirchi registered Rs 120-crore revenues and Rs 35.5 crore in the first quarter of this year, which, according to Panday, is a growth of 69 per cent over the same period last year. Of the total revenues, Chennai's contribution is 10-12 per cent, he says. "And the contributions mostly come from FMCG, auto, telecom, retail and the durables segments."L.V. Navaneeth, Station Head - Chennai, Radio One, sees revenues flowing in from retail, banking and finance and telecom. "Retail is one of the larger categories, followed by finance, banking, telecom, FMCG, consumer durables and even the media industry," he says.However, Mukherjee of TAM Media says, on the basis of January-September 2006 data, that it is quite clear conventional media such as press and TV too take much help from radio to reach out to their audience.While Big FM charges up to Rs 1,800 for a 10-second slot, Radio Mirchi charges, for an evenly distributed campaign (across prime time, afternoon, evening and late night), rates of Rs 1,100-1,200 per 10-second slot. For a campaign with a higher prime time component, the rate could go up to Rs 1,600-2,000.For a campaign that does not use prime time at all, the rate may be Rs 700-800. "Pricing is also a function of the size of the deal, time of the season and so on. The biggest determinant of pricing, however, is client returns - we gain only when the clients come back again and again," says Panday."We are doing missionary work in spreading research numbers to our advertising agency and media agency partners. We are pioneers of research in the country. We also offer clients brand solutions and suggest ways and means of using radio effectively. We develop radio commercials for clients who need this service at no cost. And lastly, all the marketing that we do goes towards building listenership, " he adds. Big FM too claims to provide advertising solutions.
http://www.thehindu businessline. com/catalyst/ 2006/10/19/ stories/20061019 00020100. htm
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Alokesh Gupta

SLAF bombs broadcast tower in Vanni

Two Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir bombers Tuesday destroyed the main broadcast tower and transmitter of the Thamileelam Radio that broadcasts the official broadcast of the Liberation Tigers, the Voice of Tigers (VoT), Thamileelam Vanoli, a commercial Tamil service and a Sinhala language broadcast. Political Head of the LTTE, S.P. Thamilchelvan, who visited the broadcast station along the A9 Road in Kokkavil, 15 km south of Kilinochchi, charged the Sri Lankan Government for attacking the broadcast station with a "planned agenda to suppress the freedom of expression prior to the talks scheduled in Geneva."

LTTE Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan visited the attack site and condemned the Sri Lanka Air Force bombing as a planned attack on Freedom of Expression. The broadcast station broadcasts Thamileelam Radio in Tamil and Sinhala from Vanni and the Voice of Tigers. The radio stations continued to broadcast the services.

LTTE Political Head S.P. Thamilchelvan visited the attack site and condemned the Sri Lanka Air Force bombing as a planned attack on Freedom of Expression. The broadcast station broadcasts Thamileelam Radio in Tamil and Sinhala from Vanni and the Voice of Tigers. The radio stations continued to broadcast the services.

Two employees were wounded in the attack.
Sri Lankan bombers dropped bombs and fired mortars, hitting the tower and the building 25 times, destroying the main 500 feet high broadcast tower and the main transmitter at Kokkavil Tuesday morning at 9:30 a.m.
3 million USD (more than 300 million Sri Lankan rupees) worth of broadcast equipments were damaged in the attack, according to officials at Thamileelam Radio.
However, the Thamileelam Radio and VoT continued their broadcasts as usual.
An electricity generator, and two vehciles of the station were also destroyed in the attack.
Rajasingham Surendran, 23, from 4th Mile Post, Murasumoddai and another employee identified as Harithas wounded in the bombardment, were rushed to Kilinochchi Hospital.
Harithas was in unconscious state due to the shock caused by explosion, medical sources said.

===============
Main tower of the broadcast station at Kokkavil.

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Source: [TamilNet, Tuesday, 17 October 2006, 10:38 GMT]
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=19944
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"புலிகளின் குரல்" வானொலி நிலையம் மீது விமானத்தாக்குதல்

இலங்கையில் கொக்காவில் பகுதியில் இன்று காலை ஒலிபரப்பு நடந்து கொண்டிருந்த வேளையில், "புலிகளின் குரல்" வானொலி நிலையத்தின் மீது இலங்கை அரசின் வான்படையினர் தாக்குதல்களை நடத்தியதாக விடுதலைப் புலிகள் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.

இந்தத் தாக்குதலின் போது அதனுடைய ஒலிபரப்பு கோபுரம் முற்றாக அழிந்து விட்டதாகவும், கலையகங்களும், ஒலிபரப்பு நிலையத்தின் மற்ற சில பகுதிகளும் கனிசமாக சேதமடைந்ததாகவும், புலிகளின் குரலின் பொறுப்பாளர் நா.தமிழன்பன் பிபிசி தமிழோசையிடம் தெரிவித்தார்.

இந்தத் தாக்குதல்கள் நடைபெறும் என எதிர்பார்க்கப்பட்டதால்,மாற்று ஒலிபரப்பு ஏறபாடுகள் தயாராக வைக்கப்பட்டிருந்தன எனவும், இந்தத் தாக்குதலினால் ஒலிபரப்பு பாதிக்கப்படவில்லை எனவும் அவர் தெரிவித்தார். இதே போன்ற தாக்குதல்கள் முன்னர் பல முறை நடந்துள்ளதாகவும், அதனால் அதை எதிர்கொள்ள தயார் நிலையிலேயே இருந்ததாகவும் அவர் தெரிவித்தார்.

தாக்குதல்கள் நடந்த பின்பும், குறிப்பிட்ட அலைவரிசையில் அனைத்து ஒலிபரப்புகளும் திட்டமிட்டபடி ஒலிபரப்பாகியதாகவும், தமிழன்பன் கூறினார். இந்தத் தாக்குதலில் தங்களுடைய நிரந்திர பணியாளர்கள் யாருக்கும் எந்த பாதிப்பும் ஏற்படவில்லை என்வும், தற்காலிக பணியாளர் ஒருவர் காயமடைந்ததாகவும், மற்றொருவர் தாக்குதல் நடந்த அதிர்ச்சியில் பணியாற்ற இயலாத நிலையில் இருப்பதாகவும் அவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்தார்.

இந்தத் தாக்குதல்கள் குறித்து இலங்கை போர் நிறுத்தக் கண்காணிப்பு குழுவிடம் முறைப்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டு அவர்கள் நேரில் வந்து பார்வையிட்டு விபரங்களை அறிந்து கொண்டு போனதாகவும் அவர் தமிழோசைக்கு வழங்கிய பேட்டியில் கூறினார்.

இதனிடையில் "புலிகளின் குரல்" வானொலி நிலையம் மீது நடத்தப்பட்ட தாக்குதல், அரசுக்கும் விடுதலைப் புலிகளுக்கும் இடையில் ஜெனீவாவில் சமாதான பேச்சுக்கள் ஆரம்பமாகவுள்ள சந்தர்ப்பத்தில் அரசு திட்டமிட்ட வகையில் கருத்துச் சுதந்திரத்தை நசுக்குவதற்காக நடத்தப்பட்ட ஒன்று என்று விடுதலைப் புலிகளின் அரசியல்துறை பொறப்பாளர் சு.ப.தமிழ்ச்செல்வன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
================
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/tamil/news/story/
2004/05/040528_tamil_currentaffairs.shtml

SL Air Force bombs LTTE radio station

PK Balachandran
Colombo, October 17, 2006

The Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) on Tuesday destroyed the LTTE's radio
station called Voice of Tigers (VOT), which broadcasts Tamil and
Sinhala programmes daily, and carries Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran's annual
Hero's Day oration on November 27.
After visiting the wreckage in Kokkavil, 15 km south of the LTTE
headquarters at Kilinochchi, the Head of the Political Wing SP
Tamilselvan said that it was an assault on the freedom of expression.
"It is part of a planned agenda to suppress the freedom of expression
prior to the talks scheduled in Geneva," the pro-LTTE Tamilnet website quoted
Tamilselvan as saying.
The aerial attack occurred at 9.30 am. Bombs and cannon fire hit the
station and the 500 ft transmission tower 25 times. The radio station had lost SLRs 30 million (INR 15 million) worth of equipment as a result. The damaged equipment included two vehicles and power generator. Two staff members were injured.
Tamilnet however said that the VOT did not stop its broadcasts!
The Sri Lankan Military did not report the incident. All that the National Security Media Unit said was that the Air Force attacked two LTTE naval bases in Mullaitivu and a military camp in Mankulam with great accuracy.

Will Prabhakaran broadcast his Hero's Day speech?

The LTTE radio station might have been attacked to prevent Prabhakaran
from making his Hero's Day speech where he takes stock of the political and
military situation and outlines the LTTE's plans for the future.
The VOT station had been licensed by the Sri Lankan government after
the peace process was initiated in February 2002. This was done with the active involvement of the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Norwegian peace broker Erik Solheim, for whom this was a way of bringing the LTTE into the Sri Lankan legal system and mainstream.
But the measure was attacked vehemently by the then Sri Lankan
President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the Sinhala and English media as appeasement
of terrorists.

http://www.hindustantimes.com
/news/181_1822878,0000.htm
-----------------------------
Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi

160-Meter Experiment Will Explore Marconi`s 1901 Transatlantic Success

A 160-meter beacon will take to the air this fall and winter from
Cornwall, England, to explore how Guglielmo Marconi was able to span
the Atlantic by wireless for the first time on December 12, 1901.
Radio history says that`s when the radio pioneer at a receiving
station in Newfoundland successfully copied the Morse code letter
``s`` sent repeatedly by his team in the Cornwall town of Poldhu.The
latter-day venture is a cooperative effort of the Poldhu Amateur
Radio Club and the Marconi Radio Club of Newfoundland. The Poldhu
club`s Keith Matthew, G0WYS, said the 2001 centenary of Marconi`s
achievement reopened discussion into the mechanism by which the 1901
spark transmitter signal propagated.

``The winter of 1901 coincided with a sunspot minimumm and it was
realized that this coming December 2006 should show similar
conditions to those of December 1901,`` he said. Just how Marconi was
able to receive the transatlantic transmission has long been a topic
of discussion and even controversy, especially given the frequency
Marconi is likely to have used, thought to be between 800 and 900
kHz, and the time of day, afternoon in Newfoundland.

``The beacon will help understand the possibility of low sunspot
number transatlantic medium wave propagation 24 hours a day, but
especially 1400 through 1800 UTC,`` Matthew said. The 160-meter
amateur band is being used, he explained, because Marconi`s original
frequency today is a highly populated piece of the radio spectrum.
Matthew has announced that starting on or about November 1 and
continuing through next February, the GB3SSS beacon will transmit on
1960 kHz.
=================
http://www.bnr.bg
=================

The Automatic Link Establishment International QSO Party

HFLINK spomsors a new International Amateur Radio event called AOTAW
(ALE On The Air Week) October 13-23. All ham radio operators
worldwide are invited to participate in 10 days of amateur radio
Automatic Link Establishment on VHF and HF. AOTAW is an open
operating event for hams to explore ALE communications and equipment.
The experience gained by operator participation in AOTAW is useful
for emergency and disaster relief communications.

What is ALE? ALE enables hams to directly call each other on HF or
VHF using their callsigns like a ``telephone number.`` ALE uses a
short audible digital signal to call. ALE is not dependent on the
Internet, telecom infrastructure, or repeaters. Free PC-ALE software
by G4GUO is available for ham transceivers, and other transceivers
are available with ALE built-in.

Who is using ALE? There are now hundreds of amateur radio operators
worldwide with ALE stations. The international HFLINKGroup with about
1000 members, provide support and information exchange for ALE
operators. ALE is rapidly becoming a world standard for HF
communications, so it is especially important for hams who are
interested in interoperability with government and non-government
organizations.
==============
Source: http://www.bnr.bg
==============

சர்வதேச வானொலி-அக்டோபர் 2006

இந்த மாத நமது சர்வதேச வானொலி இதழ் வெளிவந்துவிட்டது. தேவைக்கு அழைக்கவும். +91 98413 66086

Radio one Daily Thanthi Advt on 06-10-2006

Radio One Advt in The Hindu

The Hindu Metro Plus published the Radio One (BBC joint venture) RJ hunt advertisement in page five on 05-10-2006 issue.

TBWA India wins Hello FM

TBWAIndia has won the advertising duties for Hello FM. The radio station is owned by Malar Publication, a part of the ‘Daily Thanthi’, which is foraying into FM radio broadcasting in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry under the brand name, Hello FM 106.4, by September 2006.

The ‘Daily Thanthi’ is one of the largest circulated Tamil newspapers in the country and has been in existence for over 70 years. Sovereign Media Marketing is the company that markets the ‘Daily Thanthi’.

TBWAINDIA did not participate in the pitch by making a creative presentation, but put into effect the agency’s philosophy and planning tool, Disruption. Nine agencies were in the fray for the business, but their names could not be ascertained. The size of the business is estimated to be Rs 3 crore.

Balasubramanian Adityan, managing director, Hello FM, says, “TBWA’s understanding of the business was unique and it has been assigned the comprehensive exercise of brand building and communication for the seven licences won by the radio station.”

“TBWAIndia offered to disrupt Hello FM. At first, it was a bit startling, but the end result is a truly disruptive brand, right down to the content and personality. Estimating the number of FM stations that are going to hit the people of Tamil Nadu in the months to come, a disruptive brand becomes the need of the day. TBWA has shown commitment to the brand and has been a true partner in every aspect of the programming, too. We are happy that we agreed to TBWA’s disruption policy,” says Rajeev Nambiar, chief operating officer, Hello FM.

Remy, content head, Hello FM, says, “It is easy to differentiate the channel from others and for creatives to stem from the disruption positioning. It has also formed the basis for our programming.”

Commenting on the win, George John, chairman and chief executive officer, TBWAINDIA, says, “Disruption is going deeper into the depths of the brand and developing a way that forges a path ahead for the brand and makes it fundamentally stronger in solving brand issues. It paves the way for great work and great relationships. I am happy when a prospective client agrees to a Disruption day instead of the usual pitch format.”

Kaustav Das, vice-president, South, TBWA India, remarks, “Hello FM is special for TBWA India because here’s one brand where everything from content to communication is Disruptive. Disruption is most versatile and arguably the world’s best planning process. It can be used to evolve disruptive products, disruptive marketing plans or disruptive communication.”

The media mix for Hello FM will consist of traditional TV, press and outdoor along with some unconventional media that are in sync with TBWA’s Disruption and Connections philosophy.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Source:http://agencyfaqs.com/
perl/radio/onair.html?id=
15752&ntype=af

RADIO FREE ASIA RELEASES ITS ELEVENTH QSL CARD

RFA’s eleventh QSL card honors Guglielmo Marconi

RFA’s Technical Operations Division is proud to announce the release of the company’s
eleventh QSL card in honor of the Father of Radio, Guglielmo Marconi. The card is scheduled for distribution from July 1 to August 31, 2006. Marconi was born on April 25, 1874, in Bologna, Italy. In 1901, people still thought the curvature of the earth would prevent radio signals from traveling more than 200 miles, but in July of 1901, Marconi was able to transmit across the Atlantic Ocean; this helped accelerate the development of the wireless industry. In 1909 Marconi shared the Nobel Prize for physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun. More information about Marconi, his life, and his work is available at the following Internet link:
http://nobelpr ize.or g/nobel_pr izes/physics/laur eates/1909/marconi-bio.html

Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information to listeners in Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. Created by Congress in 1994 and incorporated in 1996, RFA currently broadcasts in Burmese,Cantonese, Khmer, Korean to North Korea, Lao, Mandarin, the Wu dialect, Vietnamese, Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham), and Uyghur. RFA strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. As a ‘surrogate’ broadcaster, RFA provides news and commentary specific to each of its target countries, acting as the free press these countries lack. RFA broadcasts only in local languages and dialects, and most of its broadcasts comprise news of specific local interest.

RFA encourages listeners to submit reception reports. Reception reports are valuable to RFA as they help us evaluate the signal strength and quality of our transmissions. Radio stations, like RFA, usually confirm accurate reception reports by mailing a QSL card.

RFA welcomes all reception report submissions at www.techweb.r fa.org (follow the QSL
REPORTS link) not only from DX’ers, but also from its general listening audience. Reception reports are also accepted by email at qsl@r fa.org, and for anyone without Internet access, reception reports can be mailed to:

Reception Reports
Radio Free Asia
2025 M. Street NW, Suite 300
Washington DC 20036
United States of America.

Upon request, RFA will also send a copy of the current broadcast schedule and a station sticker.

BIG 92.7 FM hits city airwaves

Chennaiites get their fourth FM station with BIG 92.7 FM, a part of Adlabs Film Limited, hitting the city's airwaves today.

To connect with listeners, it has signed on the vivacious and talented actor Asin as the brand ambassador for Tamil Nadu, the first such move by any FM station in the country.

Having bagged licenses to roll out in 45 centres across India, the radio station, already launched in Delhi and Hyderabad, is next headed to Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata, besides the "virgin" territories of Jammu, Srinagar and Aligarh over the next month.

Announcing the launch at a press conference here, company Chief Operating Officer Tarun Katial said BIG 92.7 FM had aimed to touch 200 million listeners, that is every fifth Indian across the country, every third urban Indian and every eighth Indian in rural areas.

With an investment of Rs 400 crore dedicated to transmission equipment, infrastructure and licensing, the proposed network would be the largest ever, he added.

Company Regional Head-South Lakshmi Sharath said the programmes of BIG 92.7 FM were based on extensive research and in-depth analysis of the preferences of the people of Chennai.

The shows on the radio station would not only offer local flavour and city-connect through relevant content and interesting information and updates, but would also play music which appealed to the local tastes, she added.

The station had roped in popular TV personalities Uma Riyaz Khan and Chetan, besides famous radio jockeys like Balaji and Dheena.

Some of the interesting programmes that are in store include 'Alaipayuthe' - a special time for women to rekindle the romance in their lives and 'Ragasiyamai- where in one can share a secret which he/she wanted to get off his/her chest.

BIG 92.7 FM launched in Chennai

ARRIVES IN CHENNAI: Ms Lakshmi Sharath, Regional Head, South, BIG 92.7 FM, and Mr Tarun Katial, Chief Operating Officer, at the launch of the radio channel in Chennai on Wednesday. — Bijoy Ghosh

BIG 92.7 FM began its nation-wide roll out from here on Monday. Speaking to newspersons after the launch, the Chief Operating Officer, Mr Tarun Katial, said the station would be spending close to $1 million to promote the new channel in Delhi alone. "The programming will be different in each and every city where we are present. We will have a presence in all the six metros by the middle of October," Mr Katial added.

BIG 92.7 FM, the FM radio venture of Adlabs Films Ltd, backed by an investment of Rs 400 crore, will roll out 45 radio stations by March 2007, according to Mr Tarun Katial, its Chief Operating Officer.Speaking at the launch of BIG 92.7 FM in Chennai, Mr Katial said that the investment would go into transmission equipment, infrastructure and licensing. The company has launched the FM stations in Delhi and Hyderabad.

Next month, BIG 92.7 FM will be launched in Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata as well as in virgin markets such as Jammu, Srinagar and Aligarh. He said that 1,000 towns and 50,000 villages would be covered by the end of the financial year.

In the south, stations will be set up in Pondicherry, Tirupati, Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam, Mangalore and Mysore.

The company plans to take FM radio as a medium of entertainment to rural areas, which had not yet experienced it.

The company has undertaken a research of each of the markets and the programmes are tailored to region-specific tastes.

In Chennai, for instance, there would be a slot for Carnatic music as well as tie-ups with some concerts, Ms Lakshmi N. Sharath, Vice-President, South Operations, BIG 92.7 FM, said.

Key shows will be hosted by personalities such as Mona `Jassi' Singh and Gaurav `Nandu' Ghera in Delhi, Kaushik and Sheilajit in Kolkata, Uma Riaz Khan in Chennai and Jhansi in Hyderabad. Besides popular music and talk shows there will be weather and traffic updates.

BIG 92.7 FM has signed on film actor Asin as a brand ambassador for Tamil Nadu.

AIR First Day Cover

Indian Posts and Telegraphs published the First Day Cover for All India Radio Silver Jubilee Celebrations on 8 June 1961. Here is the Stamp for your view.
Thanks to www.swlcs.de/philatelie/paurein.html

Map of AIR stations

Map of AIR stations as on 31st Dec 2005 - shows 222 stations

http://www.geocities.com/alokeshgupta/AIR_STNS.pdf

Source : Ministry of Information & broadcasting Annual Report 2005-06, Govt
Of India.

-----------------------------
Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi

Sangean to introduce 'first DRM Radio' in Europe this October

After a long wait, a major manufacturer has at last announced plans to release what it calls 'the first DRM Radio' in Europe in October 2006.

The DRM-40 will have DRM coverage on longwave, mediumwave and shortwave. It will also have DAB coverage, which Sangean describes as “the digital alternative for the FM band.”

We think this is actually a misleading description, as the DRM Consortium is working on extending the DRM specification to include the current FM band, whereas DAB uses much higher frequencies. The radio will have RDS, according to Sangean. There’s also a USB connection and an SD-card slot, meaning that the radio can play and record MP3 files.

The DRM-40 uses the same case as the existing DPR-1 DAB receiver, which means the size will be 180×260x90 mm. Sangean says the weight will be 1700 gramm.

The recommended retail price in Europe, including VAT, will be 299 euros. The website gives the following capsule summary of the features:

RM / DAB Band III / FM / AM / LW / SW
RDS, AMSS and Radio text or DLS
MP3 Playback and recording on SD
Humane wake System on Radio or Buzzer Alarm
12 Alarm Settings
Timed recording
Clock with Auto Update
EPG, Pause Plus, SPDIF and Key Lock
6 Presets for each Waveband
with SD slot and USB connection
with SAI und USB connection
with RF-antenna and BAR Antenna
Audio Out and headphone Connection
With AC-adapter / operates also on DC (Batteries not included)
We hope to acquire and test one of these radios as soon as they become available.

In the UK, this radio will be sold as the Roberts MP40.
It’s not clear if there are any differences in the specification.
Some years ago the boss of Sangean visited Radio Netherlands, and at that time he told them that Sangean would make customised versions for any OEM customer ordering a minimum of 500 units.

Roberts Gemini 1 DAB Digital Radio

DAB and FM wavebands
PausePlus and rewind functions
Timed recording function
Digital optical output socket (Toslink)
Listen to a station whilst recording another via external recording device
Large easy to read multi-function LCD display
Digital record/playback using built in memory or via external SD card slot (Card included)
12 station presets
Menu display/selection of all major functions
Search/manual tuning
Clock/alarm functions
Sleep/snooze functions
Rotary control for station/menu selection
Rotary volume, bass and treble controls
External DAB aerial socket
Analogue audio 1 and 2 output sockets
Headphone socket
Uses 4 x LR20 (D size) batteries (not included) or via mains adaptor (included)
Size 190w x 260h x 130d mm
Weight 1.74Kg
+++++++++++++
Source:http://www.robertsradio.co.uk/rd1.htm
+++++++++++++

Chennai gets a fourth FM channel

Radio City targets 30% share in 2 years

Radio City is targeting a market share of 30 per cent of the FM radio market, which is estimated to be Rs 600 crore in the next two years, according to Ms Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City.

She said that currently the FM radio market is about Rs 250 crore and Radio City has a 40 per cent share. This year with more FM licences being awarded, the FM radio market is likely to be about Rs 350 crore.

She was talking to reporters at the launch of Radio City 105.8 FM in Chennai. Ms Purohit said that the company had done extensive research on listeners' preferences and research has shown that most listeners are partial to film music.

The programming would be city-specific with customised Tamil and English programming, reflecting the `true sound of Chennai'. It will also be tying up with the police department for traffic updates.

Ms Purohit said that Radio City would go beyond traffic updates and take up social issues. In Bangalore, for instance, the station campaigns for more car pools to reduce the traffic density on the roads.

Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd, funded by India Value Fund, promotes Radio City, which is present in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Lucknow and Hyderabad. In the second phase of expansion of FM Radio, Radio City has bagged the licences to broadcast in 16 more cities. Radio stations will open soon in Jaipur, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat and Nagpur apart from smaller towns in western India.
++++++++++++++++++
Chennai gets a fourth FM channel, with Radio City at 105.8 MHz. Chennai already has Radio Mirchi 98.30 MHz, Suriyan FM 93.8 MHz and Raibow FM 107.1 MHz as commercial FM stations. Other than this Anna University (90.4 MHz), Loyola (90.8MHz), MOP Vaishnava(91.2 MHz) colleges too have their FM channels, though I haven't listened to any of them.

Radio City was originally promoted by STAR, and now is owned by Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd, part of GW Capital which bought out STAR's stake.
(http://chennai.metblogs.com/archives
/2006/07/radio_city_enters_chennai.phtml)
++++++++++++++++++
She was speaking to media persons after the launch of Radio City, here, yesterday. Actor Surya lit the traditional lamp to mark the inauguration of India's first and leading FM radio brand.

Promoted by Music Broadcast Private Limited, Radio City was recently launched in Hyderabad. 'The feedback from Hyderabad shows that Radio city is doing extremely well', Apurva said.

Radio City will soon be launched in 16 more cities in the country. Apart from music, Radio City will air programmes on current affairs and plans to take up take up social initiatives like the campaign against plastics started by Radio City Lucknow.

'All our RJ's are college students or those who just passed out from college. The young people will surely find it interesting to talk to them', Apurva added. 'Namma City namma life', is the essence and spirit of radio city.
(newstodaynet.com/11jul/rf1.htm)

Malar Publications to launch its first FM station in Chennai, appoints Ramesh SK as Content Head

Malar Publications Ltd, publisher of the Tamil daily 'Malai Malar', is planning to start its FM radio foray from Chennai in August this year. It has also roped in Radio Mirchi's Ramesh SK (better known as Remy) as Head of Content for its radio venture.

"Preparations are underway to launch our first FM station in Chennai by August end," informed Rajeev Nambiar, COO, Malar Publications. Malar has won licenses for FM operations in seven cities - Coimbatore, Madurai, Pondicherry, Tiruchy, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.

Under FM Phase II expansion, the Government has allowed interim transmission in the four metros and in the cities of Hyderabad and Jaipur, in which players can start operations by setting up their own infrastructure before the common infrastructure by BECIL is ready.

Ramesh, who has 10 years' experience in the advertising industry, was Head of Programming at Radio Mirchi Chennai. He had earlier worked with Lintas, Chennai as its Creative Director. He also has five years' experience in the television industry, of which two years he spent with Tamil channel Raj TV as VP, Marketing. Ramesh also had a three-year stint with Sri Lankan Shakti TV as Station Director in Colombo and was in-charge of programming and marketing.

Commenting on Ramesh's appointment, Nambiar said, "I know Ramesh from his Lintas, Chennai days. I call him a creative Professor of Radio who can articulate experience and learning in contemporary style. Ramesh is a person who considers local as hip and that it can wear an attitude. As content head is the nerve centre of radio, we are happy to have him in our team."

Ramesh on his part said, "Radio offers a lot of promise both for the radio industry in general and for our brand in particular, considering the fact that we are truly a home grown brand in the context of FM radio being a very local medium." ["KARAN" ]

ஒலி விமலா வந்துட்டேய்யா.. வந்துட்டேன்!!

யாராவது 'புகைப்படம் எடுக்கலாம் வாங்க' என்று
அழைத்தால்.. எனக்கு ஒரே சங்கடமாகப் போய்விடும்
சிறு வயதிலிருந்தே புகைபடத்திற்கு எப்படி சிரிப்பது,
எந்த அளவுக்கு சிரிப்பது என்று குழப்பம்!

ஒலிக்கு வந்தப் பின் தொடக்கத்தில் எனக்கு
நடுக்கமாக இருந்தது..
இங்கு பல நிகழ்ச்சிகளுக்குச் செல்வதால்... பல
புகைப்படங்கள் எடுக்கப்படுகின்றன..
smile pls... :D click.. click..

அப்படி 'முதல்' முறையாக மிகக் குறைவான ஒப்பனையுடன் பயத்தோடு நான் எடுத்த புகைப்படம் தான் இது!
கன்னத்தில் கை வைத்து 'அந்தக் காலத்து' பாணியில்.. கொஞ்சம் old fashion-தான்..
இருந்தாலும் பரவாயில்லை.. ஏதோ பார்ப்பதற்கு ஓகே! hehehe
இப்பொழுது புகைப்படங்களை கொஞ்சம் தைரியமாக எடுத்துக் கொள்கிறேன்..
ஏதோ சமாளிக்கிறேன் :)

அண்மையில் ஒரு மின்னஞ்சல் வந்தது..
எனது இந்தப் படத்தை யாரோ மாற்றி,
இணையத்தில் வெளியிட்டதை..
நேயர் ஒருவர் எனக்கு அனுப்பி வைத்திருந்தார்..
இணையத்தில் பல தில்லு முல்லு.. அதில் இதுவும் ஒன்னு!
http://www.globaltamil.com/photoshow/displayimage.php?pos=-10737

++++++++++++++++++++++++++
வந்துட்டேய்யா.. வந்துட்டேன்!!
சரி.. எனது blog பக்கத்துக்கு என்ன பெயர் வைக்கலாம்?
ஒலி விமலா? boringgg..nyeeee
விமலாவின் கிருக்கல் .. நடிகர் பார்த்திபன் பார்த்தால் வம்புதான்
அப்படியென்றால்.. என்ன பெயர் வைக்க?
பிள்ளைக்குக் கூட பெயர் வைத்து விடலாம் போல இருக்கே?!
சரி.. சரி..
கொஞ்சம் பெட்டிக்கு வெளியே யோசித்துப் பார்க்கலாம்..
அதாங்க out of the box!!..
ம்ம்ம்ம்ம்ம்ம் ஆஆஆஆ ஊஊஊஊஊ

அண்மையில் மிகவும் சர்ச்சையை உண்டாக்கிய பெயர்.... 'Da Vinci Code'
எல்லோரையும் 'அடேங்கப்பா' என்று சொல்ல வைத்த பரபரப்பான கதை
புரியாத புதிரால் புகழ்பெற்ற நாவல்.. Da Vinci Code
நேயர்களைக் கேள்விகள் கேட்டுக் குழப்புவதில் எனக்கு எப்பொழுதுவே கொள்ளை ஆசை..
Da Vinci Code... அதையே கொஞ்சம் 'உல்டா' செய்தால்?
Da Vimala Code
Da Vi Code
Da Vim Code
(விமலாவின் தலைக்கு அருகில் light bulb-ல் ஒளி)
Da Vinci Code-ஐ மாற்றி Da Vimci Code!!
நல்லா இருக்கே!
ok! :)
இனி என் blog பக்கத்தின் பெயர் http://davimcicode.blogspot.com/
பேரு நல்லா இருக்கா?

தனிப்பட்ட முறையில் நான் blog செய்துக் கொண்டிருந்தாலும்,
இப்பொழுது ஒலி விமலாவாக...
வானொலியில் சொல்லும் கதைகளை
'குண்டக்க மண்டக்க' கேள்விகளை
'ஒரே கேள்வி'களை
குட்டி குட்டிக் அறுவைகளை
பிரபலங்களைப் பேட்டிக் கண்ட அனுபவங்களை
நான் படித்து மகிழ்ந்த கதைகளை, தகவல்களை
புகைப்படங்களை
சுவாரஸ்யமான அனுபவங்களை
உங்களோடு பகிர்ந்துக் கொள்ளவுள்ளேன்..

நீங்களும் படித்து மகிழலாம்..
உங்கள் கருத்துக்களையும் யோசனைகளையும் தெரிவிக்கலாம்..
யார் மனதையும் புண்படுத்தாத வண்ணம் பார்த்துக் கொள்ளுங்கள்..
சரியா? (",)

Radio City, the new FM channel from Chennai

What's in store for listeners on Radio City, the new FM channel?


Vikas Varma swears by the Sama Veda. One day, the National Head of Programming at Radio City took time out in the afternoon to propose to the lady who is now his wife. He has an unshakeable conviction that he was accepted because of the timing of his request — "According to the Sama Veda, the time between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. is conducive to romantic pursuits".

After actor Surya formally made Radio City (available on 105.8 FM) known to the Chennai public, Vikas spoke to MetroPlus about the forces that have structured the FM major's Chennai service, the rationale behind the choice of radio jockeys and the ethos the channel would be trying to promote.

"A research paper that came out of the Berkeley School Of Music spells out the effects of music on the human mind at different times of day. I drew upon this scholarly work and the Sama Veda while preparing the programme chart," says Vikas.

Both `West' and `East' are agreed on one thing — that the time between 10 a.m. and 12 noon is when people possess, exert and display great energy.

This time is handed over to UV (Yuvaraj), who, Vikas says, "can say in 30 seconds what I might take a minute and a half to deliver". UV anchors "Reel Time", where he gives updates about films and comes up with jokes. Jagan, who shot to fame playing Nandu (himself), Vandu (devil) and Chendu (angel) in a popular television film review show, hosts "Silmisa Balbaje Sikarika Bilba" (between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.). It is a nonsense phrase that he coined during the workshop (with Niladri Bose) that Radio City organised before going on air. . Mine is a de-stress programme, says Jagan, who actually is known to the wider world as VJ Nandu ("I did not want to spoil my own name, so I promoted this name which means `crab' in English). Vikas calls it a show for the family.

Archana will be in charge between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. in a programme that targets adolescents — Love Beat. "The show will be light and effervescent, but not a bit edgy," says Varma. "The jockey is not so much an analyst or psychologist as a friend who listens to your woes." Through e-mails, letters and calls, young adults can share relationship problems. As Chennai Chat is targeted at college students, it is anchored by "Cho-Chweet' Shermeelee, who was in college not long ago. `Smiley' Sulabha, who will be heard between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., will chat will celebs, apart from giving market updates and discussing topics. Aarthi hosts a programme that is aimed at housewives (there will be oodles of gossip and shopping tips).

Gopi will anchor "Idhayathil Irundhu" (Straight From The Heart), where he will talk with ease about a great many things under the sun.

"When I first met Gopi, he came across as a humorous person. I could not believe that he was dealing with serious issues on television shows."

His discussions will be devoid of pungent and irreverent adjectives; they will be light, refreshingly airy and entertaining, says Varma.

PRINCE FREDERICK
Source:http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/07/13/stories/
2006071300680100.htm

Jaisakthivel on Dxing

BBC planning to expand international activities

BBC Worldwide, its commercial arm, is planning to expand its international activities by starting six new channels in the India and US. There is scope for "five BBC branded channels in addition to news in any major market" offering a mix of content from the BBC and other British broadcasters, BBC Worldwide's Chief Executive John Smith said.

It is already active in India, a country in which the World Service has been operating for 75 years. The corporation, in partnership with Mid Day Multimedia, won seven FM Radio licences in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore last year.

Smith said India was "looking interesting" but added there were three or four parts of the world they were focussing on.

Last year BBC made a trading profit of Pounds 89.4 millions by selling British television, magazines and news media to the world.

The new channels will be funded

RADIO TIMES and 50 other popular magazines make the BBC Britain’s third largest publisher of consumer titles. The broadcaster now wants to replicate that power as part of its push abroad.
John Smith, the chief executive of the BBC’s commercial arm, said that the corporation had £350 million in unused borrowing, which could help it “make small acquisitions” internationally as it tries to export its formats abroad.

At the same time, Mr Smith said, he was hoping to make “tens of millions” from the BBC’s soon to be established bbc.com, the international website. That will feature a “limited range of carefully placed advertising” aimed at ensuring that the international internet edition breaks even.

As with television, the BBC has begun to dip its toe in the water with magazine expansion. Top Gear is published in 30 countries, while Teletubbies appears in Poland and Good Food in Romania. But these are only licence agreements, in which the BBC receives a modest royalty payment.

However, Mr Smith said that there was “scope to expand through joint-ventures and acquisitions” and demonstrate that the BBC wants to step up its activity as it builds an international television presence — cross-promoting titles built up with cash from the licence fee payer.

In India the BBC formed a joint-venture with The Times of India to create a magazine publishing operation owning 33 titles. The ubiquitous Top Gear is now published on the sub-continent and more familiar BBC brands are expected to follow.

The BBC may also try to expand its range of magazines in Britain, although any new title has to be programmerelated. It is considering, under the name Project Phoenix, publishing a current affairs title to compete with The Economist or The Spectator which could be based on Panorama or Newsnight.

The BBC’s international internet presence is also designed to ensure that web surfers overseas are not able to use BBC content for free, when British licence fee payers have paid for it. The corporation is careful to ensure that some of its online output — such as live coverage of World Cup games — is available only to viewers in the UK because that would otherwise affect international rights agreements.

The corporation’s thinking even extends to charging to watch programmes online for overseas viewers, as it tries to make its internet player become “the video equivalent of iTunes”.

Last year, BBC magazines made £19.3 million, down slightly after a number of titles that were not tied into programmes were sold. The bulk of the income comes from Radio Times, which accounts for about a third of turnover. Digital media profits, meanwhile, were a modest £3.4 million. Times Online and The Hindu)

New IRCs will be valid until Dec. 31, 2009

The IRCs currently in use clearly state that they must be exchanged by
Dec 31, 2006. New IRCs are scheduled to be avaialble on July 1, 2006
and will be valid until Dec. 31, 2009. See pic of new IRC at
http://www.dailydx.com/2007irc.jpg (425 DX News # 787 via Daily DX)

Wade Smith
New Brunswick

Radio Alakal for the fishermen's community in India

Billed as the first of its kind in the country, broadcasts from FM Radio Alakal for the fishermen's community have become a hit in Kerala. Radio Alakal has earmarked one-hour slots in the morning, afternoon and evening aimed at the fisherman's community, journalist L. Ajith, the brain behind the radio, told IANS.

'The FM radio benefits the community tremendously as it airs weather reports, folklore, and specialised programmes for women and children,' said Ajith, who also runs website Indiadisasters.org. The radio was launched May 1, thanks to the efforts of the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF), the South Indian
Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS), Indiadisasters.org and the Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment (SPACE).

SPACE, promoted by the Kerala State IT Mission, provides technical support to the project. 'The operations are run from our office. We provide the technical and
programme support free of cost. Programme support costs us Rs.30,000 a month,' said Arun of SPACE. Ajith said under the present regulations, community radios (CRs) were
not allowed to air commercials.

'The central government has been urged to allow CRs to invite commercials from their local areas of operation with lower tariffs, and increase the range of transmission, which is presently 16 km from the place of broadcast,' he said. © 2006 Indo-Asian News Service

Source:http://news.monstersandcritics.com/
india/article_1175669.php/FM_radio_a_hit_
with_Kerala_fishermen

Dxers Guide Blog Celebrate the First anniversary

Dxers Guide Blog Celebrate the First Anniversary

RTI's English service is looking for more monitors

RTI's English service is looking for more monitors
around the world. If you are interested in becoming
one of our official monitors and are committed to
sending reception reports on a regular basis, please
send us a postcard, letter or email with the phrase 'I
want to be an RTI monitor.'

Send it to P. O. Box 24-38, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
postmarked by July 10th, or email to rti@rti.org.tw.
Official monitors will get a certificate and a
souvenir as a small token of our appreciation. We look
forward to hearing from you soon.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Source:
http://english.rti.org.tw/Content/WhatsNewSingle.aspx?ContentID=16693
+++++++++++++++++++++

India Radio Forum 2006

Radio is playing as loudly as ever, with new licenses, new digital options, new funding sources and a host of innovative ways to connect with a wide range of audiences. And not only in India. Around the world, the radio dial is being revitalized and recognized anew as a valuable part of the media and content creation mix.
Radio’s long history means many of the questions about listening and hearing have already been answered. But the new media environment means as many remain to be answered.
• Is India keeping up with world trends in radio?
• Is there anything we need to know about the rest of the world that can be applied to the Indian radio landscape?
• What are the predictions for India’s radio scene?
• Just how many players are too many?
• How can radio be most effectively, efficiently and creatively added to the media mix?
• What do media buyers need to know – and how can this best be delivered – to make the most effective radio decisions possible?
• How niche is niche when it comes to audience segments for radio?
• What are the technologies that will make the most difference to radio players and to listeners?
• Is digital radio a good option or a fancy gimmick for India?
• What are the best regulatory models for radio in the next communications age – and how best can India move towards a modern and robust framework that will encourage growth?
• And last, but by no means least, what are the business models for a new radio environment?


Business/Technology Track
Join our panel of Government regulators, industry CEOs and the Ad community as they share their vision of creating a vibrant and diverse Indian Radio industry by the year 2010. What needs to happen to make this vision a reality? The panel will look at the industry's current strengths and weaknesses and how our current thinking will shape the future. This session is presented in two parts - presentations and the Q and A discussions.
Abraham Thomas,
Chief Operating Officer,
RED FM
Apurva Purohit,
CEO,
MBPL / Radiocity
Prashant Panday,
COO,
Radio Mirchi
Raj Gupta,
Chief Strategy Officer,
Lintas Media Group

Rajesh Tahil,
Station Director
GO 92.5

Tarun Katial,
COO,
Adlabs Films Ltd
A look at the major radio markets from around the world. Is there anything India can adopt and adapt? Are there any lessons in what to avoid? Is there any way to fast-track the radio roll out process? How can Indian radio broadcasters make the best use of the lessons learned in other markets?
Neil Curry,
Senior Commissioning Editor,
BBC World Service English Networks
Is the Indian market big enough to support all the new radio licenses being issued? And if it is, is there enough differentiation between the channels to build viable businesses? What new genres can be explored to offer listeners a real choice?
Anish Trivedi,
Chief Managing Director,
Banyan Tree
Hemant Mehta,
VP & Country Manager,
IMRB International,
Media & Panel Group
Vehrnon Ibrahim,
National Head of Programming,
Red FM
Listeners can obtain their music from a range of new stations as well as a raft of new technologies. The new ways of distributing audio content - the Internet, pod-casting, 3G, and Visual Radio – are making radio stations’ jobs more challenging but ultimately offering more opportunities. How can radio use technological innovations to enhance the listening experience? This session looks at the many opportunities now available and how advertisers and stations can benefit from them. In the new media environment what does it now take to strike gold?
James Cridland,
Director of Digital Media,
Virgin Radio UK
Nick Piggott,
Digital Content Manager,
GCAP Media
Media Buying and
Advertising Track
With sponsorship and on-air promotions growing year on year as a percentage of all radio revenues, we look at the long-term future of spot advertising. What is the optimal mix of traditional spot advertising and linked sponsorship? How do you marry programming demands with those of the sponsor without alienating your audience and delivering value to the client? This session will explore ways to successfully manage the mix of programming, advertising and agency sensibilities.
Chris Goldson,
Director of Sponsorship & Promotions,
Virgin Radio
Radio offers many unique advantages over all other advertising options yet it is often overlooked in media campaigns. We look at successful local and international campaigns that have included radio as a core component and see what factors ensured their success. Join our panel of experts from agencies. FMCG, and Radio sales and be inspired by the selection of results proven campaigns.
Douglas McArthur, OBE
Chief Executive,
Radio Advertising Bureau
Rahul Welde,
GM Media Hindustan Lever & Head - Media Services,
Unilever South Asia

Sam Balsara,
Chairman & Managing Director,
Madison World

Saugata Gupta,
Chief - Sales & Marketing,
Marico
Almost no media schedules use only one medium. But what is radio's role in the mixed media schedule? Radio doesn't have visuals, which sets it apart from all other display advertising media. So, instead of being simply additional exposure to visual media, radio influences a different part of the brain and multiplies the message. Presented by the UK's RAB, this session will look at radio's role as a multiplier with TV, print, outdoor and the Internet, and provide you the right stuff to make radio work for you.
Douglas McArthur, OBE
Chief Executive,
Radio Advertising Bureau
Programming Track
Strategies and ideas for content creation and delivering an advertiser-friendly audience. How to use value-added services to ensure audience loyalty. How to grow the value of your stations through strategic programming and partnerships. Plus the programming challenges to overcome and the innovations that will make the difference.
Dave McDonald,
Senior VP/Market Manager,
CBS Radio Seattle Washington
10 great ideas for differentiating yourself from the crowd – The explosion of new licenses has changed the Indian radio programmer's job forever. The vast increase in competition for consumer's head space means the appeal of more “carbon copy” Bollywood stations may be limited. In order to thrive in this competitive environment you will have to have a clear programming identity and a unique listening proposition. How to cut through the clutter with your programming to establish yourself as the number one in your market? Which internationally successful programming genres would work well in India? How best can you fill the current gaps before your competition? This session will also look at some great competitions and contests that will also help make your station stand out from the crowd.
Omar Essack,
Executive Director: Broadcasting,
Kagiso Media Limited, South Africa
Promotion and
Marketing Track
(Promax)
Some shortcuts are more successful than others… In this hands-on session, we look at the crème of the hints, tips and suggestions for everything from identifying the target and building hype to exciting the audience and keeping them hooked. The synergies of off air and on air elements are even more essential today as no successful campaign works in isolation. Learn about the factors that make your viewers believe in your brand. Be proud of your origins, be inspirational and take your brand to greater heights.
James Yip,
CEO,
MediaCorp Radio Singapore
Bernard Lim,
GM - English Programme,
MediaCorp Radio Singapore
After a year spent creating and producing your own work, this is your chance to see what's been going on around you. This session brings you a brilliant selection of the best radio promotion and advertising work from around the globe. This is a unique opportunity to discover the most exciting work of your peers from every corner of the world.
Jim Chabin,
CEO,
PROMAX&BDA
Radio stations struggle to be heard in an ever-growing multi-channel world but there are a variety of ways you can use promotion to make a mark and get your voice heard. This session highlights some of the techniques, designs and great spots used to create a buzz about channels outside the US with a whole range of great ideas tailored to suit any budget. Tone of voice, technology, cross promotional identity and cultural relevance will come under the microscope.
Karen Tobin,
Director of Marketing,
CBS K-Earth 101FM

Individual

Early Bird
IRF06 – Mumbai - Registration (Individual)
USD100.00 INR4500

Regular
IRF06 – Mumbai - Registration (Individual)
USD120.00 INR5400

Payment may also be made in Indian Rupees.
For Contact
Partners In Media Asia Pte Ltd
Singapore
14 Mohamed Sultan Road #04-01
Singapore 238963
T. + 65 6736 1435
F. +65 6735 4048
India
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Mumbai 400052
P. +91 22 6707 6780
F. +91 22 6707 6781

Its time for Radio One in Mumbai

Radio One, the Mid-Day Multimedia and BBC Worldwide venture, has hit the airwaves in Mumbai, with the perishing of Go 92.5 FM brand image. Radio One has licenses to operate FM stations in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune and will become soon operational in Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi in the next few months.

Rajesh Tahil, CEO, Radio One, said, "With Radio Mid-Day becoming a national player in seven major metros around the country, it was only natural that we would evolve what we were doing in Mumbai into what is going to be a robust national player. As a single city player, being niche made sense, but a national presence gives us the opportunity to go back to the drawing board and look at opportunities to shed our niche image and broaden our markets, both in terms of audience and revenue."

Commenting on the opportunities that the FM Phase II licensing allows for the growth of private FM in India, Tahil said, "Being a significant national radio player is of great strategic significance for both Mid-Day Multimedia and BBC."

Shariq Patel, VP, Operations, and Head of Radio One, Mumbai, said, "We have tested the new format and have seen a healthy improvement in numbers from our own internal tracking. With FM becoming a truly mass medium, we are on our way to building a mass brand."

This also reflects in the programming of the station in Mumbai. This will be the first significant change in rolling out the national brand and is in tune with Radio Mid-Day’s stake to become the No. 1 station in the cities that it is present in.


Vishnu Athreya, VP, Programming and Brand, said, "The new radio station will still have the flavour of GO FM, which stood for fun, energy and exuberance – all the characteristics that reflected the city of Mumbai. However, there will be a little change in the language and the context. For us, music and Bollywood are an integral part of the programming mix. Hindi music itself has come a long way and the attitude that Abhishek Bachchan reflects in a new Bollywood film or the fact that Himesh Reshammiya is popular in clubs tells us that the audience preferences are changing."

The company is optimistic about the new format, giving a boost to their revenues. Avinash Pillai, VP, Advertising Sales, explained, "As the market share (audience) of the radio station increases, we are certain the share of revenue will increase as well. We have already seen interest from a wider list of advertisers that may not have considered us a necessity earlier."
Source:http://www.televisionpoint.com/news2006/newsfullstory.php?id=1149775248