NEW ZEALAND: ENHANCED SHORTWAVE BROADCASTING FOR THE PACIFIC

Radio New Zealand's current outdated transmitter will be replaced: the New Zealand government allocated NZ$4.4 million (about US$2.5 million) in May
Radio New Zealand’s current outdated transmitter will be replaced: the New Zealand government allocated NZ$4.4 million (about US$2.5 million) in May 2022
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As of September 2022, New Zealand’s public broadcaster (RNZ) has increased its shortwave broadcasting hours aimed at the Pacific region. The four morning hours, suspended in 2016, restarted thanks to new government funding, on three frequencies: at 5 a.m. local time on 7425 kHz, 6 a.m. on 9700 kHz, and 8 a.m. on 11725 kHz. The most listened news program is also repeated by the BBC Pacific Service. Shortwave broadcasting, largely abandoned since the 1990s at the end of the Cold War, still remains the most effective means of covering very large areas. As in the Pacific Ocean archipelagos, where many communities still use the old analogue radios with the SW (Short Waves) band to inform themselves.

It also broadcasts digitally

Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave radio frequencies
RNZ’s shortwave broadcast schedules can be seen on this page. The programs are also distributed via satellite
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In the middle hours of the day, however, the station broadcasts with the DRM standard: a digital transmission system that eliminates all the typical hissing due to atmospheric and electromagnetic interference. The audio is stereo, but it is out of reach of the old analogue radios. In order to receive the DRM you have to buy a receiver that is set up to decode the digital signal, which costs between 50 and 100 euros. Alternatively, the signal is broadcast by satellite from Intelsat 19 on C-band: coverage extends from Singapore eastward to the Cook Islands, including Fiji, Tonga, Niue and Samoa. (Written by Fabrizio Carnevalini)

AUSTRALIA: No to the migration of public radio from medium wave to FM

No to the migration of public radio from medium wave to FM
In the article by Radioinfo the statements of several commercial broadcasters and the five different options on which the authority is working
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The intention of the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) to leave the medium wave band in Perth (western capital of the continent and fourth-most populous city with over 2 million inhabitants) in favour of FM is seen as a threat by commercial radio stations. Five public channels would move into the FM band: 6PR, 6iX, ABC Radio Perth, Radio National and ABC News. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is exploring different solutions, but the commercial stations are against this migration. They do not find it acceptable that the ABC does not pay licensing fees to carry out this move, given that the public broadcaster receives funding of more than one billion Australian dollars a year. Radio operators complain of their own difficulties: the advertising market, still under the effects of the pandemic, does not yet allow for a return to 2019 revenue levels and having to share advertising resources with five new heavyweight competitors would be a problem.

TikTok opens a radio station in Australia

TikTok opens a radio station in Australia
UK music website CMU (Complete Music Update) has announced TikTok’s intention to open a radio station in Australia
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It is the first experiment in cross-media by a social network: TikTok has launched a radio station in Australia. It is a channel on the Australian version of the digital platform iHeartRadio. The new radio station, available online and on DAB, will let you know what music is popular on the video sharing app at the moment and listen to it in full. The presenters will be famous artists and influencers on TikTok. The project will run for three months: it has not yet been decided whether it will continue after that and be exported to other countries.

AUSTRALIA: Jobs “jump” like kangaroos

Southern Cross Austereo owns 88 radio stations on the Australian continent
Southern Cross Austereo owns 88 radio stations on the Australian continent
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The economic crisis generated by the pandemic is also making itself felt in Australia: Southern Cross Austereo restructures and cuts 38 jobs. The company’s revenues fell by 18.2%. Details in the article on the ABC website.

News Corp, the conglomerate owned by Rupert Murdock, has reacted to operating losses by restructuring its own premises
News Corp, the conglomerate owned by Rupert Murdock, has reacted to operating losses by restructuring its daily newspapers.
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The move comes on top of others already announced: News Corp announced in May that 100 regional and local newspapers would close the print edition and continue as digital edition, and thirteen newspapers will merge with others.

Reduction of programmes, leave for big names and staff cutbacks: the recipe of Ten
Reduction of programmes, leave for big names and staff cutbacks: the recipe of Ten
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The Ten television network will produce the news in its Sydney and Melbourne offices, with a number of prestigious news signatures. Weather forecasts will no longer be made on a regional basis but will be unified into a single national bulletin. As far as jobs are concerned, the extent of the cuts has not yet been announced because negotiations with staff are ongoing.

New Zealand: Unification of public radio and television?

The New Zealand Government is planning to disestablish public broadcasters (radio and television) and create a new public media entity in order to cut operating costs. The annual funding (25 million US dollars) primarily supports Radio New Zealand, whereas the television (TNZ) counts on advertising revenue. An advisory group is now working to create a new model with new funding options, such as introducing a fee and working on sponsorships (in addition to the actual funding).

Commercial TV crisis

The public radio and television sector is suffering, but also the commercial broadcasting is experiencing difficulties. The online giants, such as Google and Facebook, are draining resources from the advertising market, also affecting the private sector: MediaWorks, a New Zealand-based television, radio and interactive media company entirely owned by an American company, has recently put some of its channels up for sale: Three, Bravo and Three Life. This group also owns 9 national radio brands transmitted on 190 frequencies. 

RNZ & TVNZ
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Follow the services of Jane Patterson, political editor of Radio New Zealand here  & here
Find a complete list of frequencies and repeaters on FMList.

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