Monday, October 30, 2006

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
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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

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

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.

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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.
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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
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Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi

Sunday, October 15, 2006

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.
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http://www.bnr.bg
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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.
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Source: http://www.bnr.bg
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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

சர்வதேச வானொலி-அக்டோபர் 2006

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

Wednesday, October 04, 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.

Monday, October 02, 2006

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.
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Source:http://agencyfaqs.com/
perl/radio/onair.html?id=
15752&ntype=af