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Week ending August 9, 2008

Informa Telecoms - The Rise and Rise of Digital TV - August 5, 2008
from Adam Thomas/Informa

Western Europe smashes through 100 million digital homes barrier

New research published today by Informa Telecoms & Media shows that digital TV penetration of Western European households broke the 50% barrier in 2007, ending the year at 54%, up from 42% at end-2006. The 12th edition of Informa’s Western European TV report forecasts that digital homes in the region will reach 104 million by the end of 2008, rising to 157 million by 2013, equivalent to a 90% penetration rate.

Top 5 markets: Digital TV households (000)

	2007	2010	2013
Germany	15,300	24,361	30,439
France	18,017	24,328	26,992
UK	22,268	25,110	26,459
Italy	11,037	17,635	23,811
Spain	8,207	13,379	17,903
Others	13,932	23,863	31,204
Total	88,761	128,676	156,808

Source: Informa Telecoms & Media

Despite the rosy picture, full digital conversion is only expected in four (Finland, France, Ireland and the UK) of Western Europe’s 15 major broadcast countries. Adam Thomas, Informa’s Media Research Manager, said: “While cable will remain the region’s leading pay TV platform, the satellite subscriber base is eating into its dominance. Satellite’s much higher ARPU levels mean it will overhaul cable in revenue terms during 2009.”

Cable is also expected to lose its position as the leading platform, when digital terrestrial TV (DTT) overtakes it in 2011. According to Thomas: “DTT often provides a similar channel line-up to analogue cable, usually for no monthly fee, so will benefit from churning cable customers. IPTV is also using attractive triple-play bundles to tempt away cable subscribers.”

The UK is currently the most prominent digital market, accounting for 25% of the region’s digital TV homes, followed by France with a 20% share and Germany with 17%. The UK’s dominance has begun to wane though, as other markets show improved digital growth rates and by 2013 Germany will lead the way with 19% of the total.

Western Europe: Digital penetration of TV households in 2013 (%)

	Cable	DTH	IPTV	DTT	Total
France	12	22	18	46	100
UK	12	37	6	39	100
Italy	0	24	9	57	95
Spain	8	12	7	67	94
Germany	22	6	7	13	76
Total	20	18	9	34	90

Source: Informa Telecoms & Media

WAN - Thousands Protest China¹s Press Freedom Violations - August 4, 2008
from Larry Kilman/WAN

More than 3,500 people from dozens of nations have written to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to call for the immediate release of all jailed journalists in a campaign organised by the World Association of Newspapers to draw attention to the issue in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.

China, the world¹s biggest jailer of journalists, was the focus of a global WAN advertising campaign that was carried by newspapers in 20 countries. The advertisements, which highlighted China¹s press freedom abuses and noted that at least 30 journalists and 50 cyber-dissidents are being held in Chinese prisons, urged readers to send letters to Premier Wen calling for their release.

The WAN campaign can be found at http://www.wan-press.org/china/home.php (there is still time for newspapers to run the advertisements in support of press freedom in China).

Despite criticism from international organisations and some governments, China has failed to honour the promises of reforms it made in its successful Olympic bid. Most recently, China reneged on a pledge to provide journalists covering the Beijing Olympics with unrestricted internet access and admitted it will censor internet content at the Olympic venues as it does in the rest of the country.

Chinese authorities promised in their successful Olympic bid that media would have "complete freedom to report when they come to China." The authorities have not only failed to honour their pledge, but they have intensified their crackdown on journalists and others who seek to exercise their right to freedom of expression. Foreign journalists now reporting from China are regularly harassed and even expelled, as was the case during the March 2008 events in Tibet.

Conditions are even worse for Chinese journalists themselves: 31 have been jailed since the successful Olympic bid in 2001, and 16 of those remain in prison half of all Chinese journalists currently in prison.

WAN renewed its call on the International Olympic Committee to hold China to its promises, and has called on all going to the Beijing Olympics -- athletes, sponsors, media partners and others -- to "exert serious pressure on the Chinese authorities to cease their flagrant and persistent abuses of human rights" and to release all jailed journalists.

NRJ International increases turnover - August 4, 2008
from Lea Maier/NRJ International

Radio group improves figures in the first semester of 2008

NRJ International, a division of the French NRJ Group, improves its turnover in the first half of 2008 to 17.4 million Euros. This is a rise of 7.4 percent compared to the same period in 2007 (16.2 million Euros). Hereby, the international division operates against the general negative trend in almost all European radio markets. The positive development is mainly due to the good performance of the German speaking and Nordic markets.

“The good results of the last six months show the positive impact of the multimedia strategy that the NRJ Group has set up and been implementing since a few years. It gives NRJ International the opportunity to draw additional revenues other than the traditional radio income, coming from internet, new products and events”, explains Mathieu Sibille, CEO NRJ International.

Some facts at a glance

German Zone Operations (GER/AT): + 10,6%
Nordic Zone Operations (SE/NO/FI): + 11,4%

The turnover results of the German Zone include an increase by 9.2% in Germany and 18.8% in Austria. The results of the Nordic Zone include an increase by 14.5% in Finland compared to the same period in 2007.