Replacement class for Friday, Dec 3 has been postponed to a later date. Please inform your classmates. I will send another email later today.
Thursday class is on as usual.
Cheers!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Just FYI: PM to calm telcos upset with YTL’s new TV spectrum
from: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/pm-to-calm-telcos-upset-with-ytls-new-tv-spectrum/
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — New network provider YTL Communication’s sole rights to a portion of digital television broadband spectrum has upset competitors who now want Datuk Seri Najib Razak to settle the issue in the fast-growing and lucrative industry.
Singapore’s The Straits Times said the prime minister will meet senior telco officials next Monday to defuse the widening controversy over the 700Mhz spectrum said to be given to tycoon Tan Sri Francis Yeoh’s YTL to operate its hybrid television service slated for end 2011. It can also be used to widen its broadband service.
“I guess the fear is YTL gets the spectrum for ‘broadcast’ purposes and ‘later’ comes back to amend the use of it to broadband on the pretext that convergence of technologies is already happening. Hence their big mantra about quadruple play,” a government source told The Malaysian Insider when asked to comment on The Straits Times’ report.
The Straits Times report quoted the chief executive officer of a large financial institution which has made huge loans to the country’s mobile operators, describing the award of the licence to YTL “scandalous.”
“Without access to the (700MHz) spectrum, the big three won’t be able to expand.” With this stranglehold, YTL “can either shut out other telcos, or resell bandwidth to them.”
While details of the licence are not yet public knowledge, it is believed the award was made without consultation with the three main mobile telcos, including Celcom Axiata which is government-controlled.
Media reports over the past month said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had issued 80Mhz of the 700Mhz spectrum to YTL, which had a disastrous launch of its long-delayed YES 4G WIMAX service.
The other WIMAX provider is P1 but the new spectrum could give YTL total control over the next wave of new technologies in the telco sector. Called Long Term Evolution (LTE), it powers the 4G market which both YTL and P1 claim to provide now. However, their current services do not meet the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) criteria for 4G.
The other two big players are Maxis Broadband and Digi Telecommunications. There were previously nine telcos in Malaysia but the regional financial crisis in 1997 forced a consolidation in the sector.
The prime minister now has to step carefully as he works towards defusing the situation. A senior government official said in The Straits Times report, “The industry wants him to review the licence. But to backtrack could also put him in a bad light.”
Senior executives of Celcom Axiata initiated this meeting with the prime minister. Their argument is that they, “together with the other two main players in the mobile business, have invested billions of ringgit in infrastructure over the past decade to service its 26 million or so subscribers.”
They contend the “government can’t just give a relatively new player such a licence and turn its back on the established operators.”
Broadband spectrums are highly coveted in the industry, and in Europe, these are auctioned, a move which raises huge amounts of capital for the countries.
YTL signed an agreement with the US-based Sezmi last month to offer hybrid TV services in Malaysia at the end of 2011. However, YTL would require new spectrum/frequency to offer such services.
Sources said YTL will deploy the Sezmi service using DVB-T2 (Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial) technology, which is now used in the United Kingdom and Italy, and being trialled in Spain and Germany.
The 700Mhz band is now being used for terrestrial television (TV) broadcast in Malaysia until sometime around 2015, but there are some unused spectrum in 700Mhz range which YTL could use to offer basic hybrid TV services end next year, said industry website malaysianwireless.com.
The 700Mhz spectrum has been prized all over the world including the United States where Yahoo, eBay and Google banded together in March 2007 to force the hand of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enable the parties to have a say in what is to be done with the spectrum.
The FCC has dubbed the 700Mhz to a “beach front” property and YTL’s reported rights to it is seen as disadvantageous to its rivals.
“The thing that caused the irk in most is, it seems, they were the only ones who even got a conditional offer,” the government source added.
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 — New network provider YTL Communication’s sole rights to a portion of digital television broadband spectrum has upset competitors who now want Datuk Seri Najib Razak to settle the issue in the fast-growing and lucrative industry.
Singapore’s The Straits Times said the prime minister will meet senior telco officials next Monday to defuse the widening controversy over the 700Mhz spectrum said to be given to tycoon Tan Sri Francis Yeoh’s YTL to operate its hybrid television service slated for end 2011. It can also be used to widen its broadband service.
“I guess the fear is YTL gets the spectrum for ‘broadcast’ purposes and ‘later’ comes back to amend the use of it to broadband on the pretext that convergence of technologies is already happening. Hence their big mantra about quadruple play,” a government source told The Malaysian Insider when asked to comment on The Straits Times’ report.
The Straits Times report quoted the chief executive officer of a large financial institution which has made huge loans to the country’s mobile operators, describing the award of the licence to YTL “scandalous.”
“Without access to the (700MHz) spectrum, the big three won’t be able to expand.” With this stranglehold, YTL “can either shut out other telcos, or resell bandwidth to them.”
The industry fears YTL will repurpose its spectrum allocation by claiming convergence.
Media reports over the past month said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had issued 80Mhz of the 700Mhz spectrum to YTL, which had a disastrous launch of its long-delayed YES 4G WIMAX service.
The other WIMAX provider is P1 but the new spectrum could give YTL total control over the next wave of new technologies in the telco sector. Called Long Term Evolution (LTE), it powers the 4G market which both YTL and P1 claim to provide now. However, their current services do not meet the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) criteria for 4G.
The other two big players are Maxis Broadband and Digi Telecommunications. There were previously nine telcos in Malaysia but the regional financial crisis in 1997 forced a consolidation in the sector.
The prime minister now has to step carefully as he works towards defusing the situation. A senior government official said in The Straits Times report, “The industry wants him to review the licence. But to backtrack could also put him in a bad light.”
Senior executives of Celcom Axiata initiated this meeting with the prime minister. Their argument is that they, “together with the other two main players in the mobile business, have invested billions of ringgit in infrastructure over the past decade to service its 26 million or so subscribers.”
They contend the “government can’t just give a relatively new player such a licence and turn its back on the established operators.”
Broadband spectrums are highly coveted in the industry, and in Europe, these are auctioned, a move which raises huge amounts of capital for the countries.
YTL signed an agreement with the US-based Sezmi last month to offer hybrid TV services in Malaysia at the end of 2011. However, YTL would require new spectrum/frequency to offer such services.
Sources said YTL will deploy the Sezmi service using DVB-T2 (Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial) technology, which is now used in the United Kingdom and Italy, and being trialled in Spain and Germany.
The 700Mhz band is now being used for terrestrial television (TV) broadcast in Malaysia until sometime around 2015, but there are some unused spectrum in 700Mhz range which YTL could use to offer basic hybrid TV services end next year, said industry website malaysianwireless.com.
The 700Mhz spectrum has been prized all over the world including the United States where Yahoo, eBay and Google banded together in March 2007 to force the hand of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enable the parties to have a say in what is to be done with the spectrum.
The FCC has dubbed the 700Mhz to a “beach front” property and YTL’s reported rights to it is seen as disadvantageous to its rivals.
“The thing that caused the irk in most is, it seems, they were the only ones who even got a conditional offer,” the government source added.
Monday, November 22, 2010
History of Broadcasting in Malaysia
Hello!
I said in class that I was not interested in the History of Radio in Malaysia, and yet so many of you went to the RTM website to research about the history of broadcasting in Malaysia, which is essentially the history of RTM.
Very well then, since a lot of you are interested in this, I am incorporating it into our syllabus. Enjoy reading this:
The history of radio in Malaya began in the year 1921 when an electrical engineer from the Johore Government, A.L. Birch, brought the first radio set into the country. He then established the Johore Wireless Association and commenced broadcasting through 300 meter waves. This was then followed by the establishment of the same association in Penang and the Malayan Wireless Association in Kuala Lumpur.
In the year 1930, Sir Earl from the Singapore Port Authority commenced its short wave broadcast every fortnight either on Sundays or Wednesdays. The same effort was emulated by the Malayan Wireless Association, broadcasting from Bukit Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, via 325 meter waves. This was followed by the efforts of Sir Shenton Thomas who opened the Studio of Broadcasting Corporation of Malaya and its transmitter at Caldecott Hill, Singapore, on 11th March 1937. The British Broadcasting Corporation of Malaya was then taken over by the Straits Settlement and became a part of the British Information Ministry better known as the Malayan Broadcasting Corporation.
Following the Japanese invasion and the end of British rule in Singapore in 1942, the Japanese took over and used the existing radio channels in Penang, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban and Singapore to transmit Japanese propaganda. However, in the year 1943, the British came back into power and reclaimed the stations.
On 1st April 1946, the Department of Broadcasting was established in Singapore. When emergency, caused by the outbreak of social riots was declared in 1948, it became necessary to further enhance and develop radio services.
In the early 50's, broadcasting activities in Malaya were operated from its temporary studio in Jalan Young (now know as Jalan Cenderasari) in Kuala Lumpur and later in 1956, were moved to the Federal House, Kuala Lumpur. It was here that broadcasting in Malaysia grew with the establishment of several stations throughout the country including Sabah and Sarawak. Commercial advertisements were first aired on radio in 1960. This became a new source of revenue for the Government. An interesting point to note is that 'deejays' began to use the introduction "INILAH RADIO MALAYSIA" (This is Radio Malaysia) to greet listeners at the very first time Malaysia was formed in 16th September 1963.
Broadcasting further carved another milestone when Television services were introduced on 28 December 1963 from its studio, Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Ampang. Broadcast operations then moved office to Angkasapuri Complex which began its telecast on 6th October 1969, Radio and Television were merged under the Ministry of Information. The growth of the first channel, Rangkaian Satu encouraged the second channel to be established on 17th November 1969.
It was in Angkasapuri Complex that rapid development in broadcasting for both radio and television began. Broadcast time was extended to cater to the needs of listeners from all walks of life. National Radio Channel (Rangkaian National) began its round the clock services to cater for night shift workers such as factory operators, wardens, hospital staffs, lorry or bus drivers, pick-up service operators, food courts or caterers and security guards. Today, Malaysians enjoy listening to 6 radio channels 24 hours a day in Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil while East Malaysians (Sabah and Sarawak) are tuning to radio channels in their respective native languages such as Kadazan, Murut, Dusun, Bajau, English and Mandarin via Blue Channel RTM Kota Kinabalu. Bidayuh, a dialect widely used by Sarawakians, is the main language for Blue Channel RTM Kuching. Iban and Kayan/Kenyah are dialects used in the Green Channel of the station while English and Mandarin are local dialects used for the Red Channel. Except for RTM Limbang, dialects used for the Red Channel. Except for RTM Limbang, dialects used to communicate with the listeners are as mentioned but Bisaya and Murut (Lun Bawang) are also spectacular dialects used in that channel.
Electronic media is the most important source of receiving and disseminating information because it is fast, cheap and direct to or from the clients. Knowing the fact that being laden with too much information creates adverse effects to Radio listeners or TV audience, an alternative of placing information side by side with entertainment is practised. On 20th June 1975, Radio Muzik (Muzik Radio) was launched. As the name implies, the channel allows for total entertainment in the form of songs for listeners of all ages.
Development in television is also very rapid especially in the era of Information Technology (IT). Efforts to air 80 percent local programmes and 20 percent foreign or imported programmes are taken very seriously.
April 1st 1996 marked RTM's 50 years anniversary.RTM has experienced tremendous changes and development in the field of broadcasting. 1998 was another historical year for RTM. World class sporting events were brought to Kuala Lumpur. World standard athletes came from all Commonwealth countries in the world to witness and judge Malaysia's capabilities in broadcasting. The International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) became the centre of broadcasting excellence during the Commonwealth games and RTM is the Host Broadcaster.
TV Malaysia started its early telecast on 1st March 1994 and started transmission as early as 6.00 am. TV1, The Prime Channel introduced "Selamat Pagi Malaysia" (Good Morning Malaysia). TV2, The Golden Channel, later followed by launching "Moving On Two" in December 1996. The commencement of the early morning telecasts also enable news and up-dates to be aired more frequently. RTM's News Centre which is fully computerised with up-to-date editing and post-production facilities was able to provide this service.
What could be more praiseworthy is not only that the number of listeners, viewers and revenues collected from commercial advertisements derived from airing them increasing year by year, but RTM has marked yet another milestone with the introduction of RTM's website at the end of 1995. This service which was launched by the Honourable Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed on 27th December 1995, enables listeners to tune to the TV and Radio stations via the Internet. The Internet does not lessen the role of radio and television. On the contrary, the Net can be used to enhance the functions of radio and televisyen in disseminating information globally.
Reference: http://www.rtm.net.my/
I said in class that I was not interested in the History of Radio in Malaysia, and yet so many of you went to the RTM website to research about the history of broadcasting in Malaysia, which is essentially the history of RTM.
Very well then, since a lot of you are interested in this, I am incorporating it into our syllabus. Enjoy reading this:
The history of radio in Malaya began in the year 1921 when an electrical engineer from the Johore Government, A.L. Birch, brought the first radio set into the country. He then established the Johore Wireless Association and commenced broadcasting through 300 meter waves. This was then followed by the establishment of the same association in Penang and the Malayan Wireless Association in Kuala Lumpur.
In the year 1930, Sir Earl from the Singapore Port Authority commenced its short wave broadcast every fortnight either on Sundays or Wednesdays. The same effort was emulated by the Malayan Wireless Association, broadcasting from Bukit Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, via 325 meter waves. This was followed by the efforts of Sir Shenton Thomas who opened the Studio of Broadcasting Corporation of Malaya and its transmitter at Caldecott Hill, Singapore, on 11th March 1937. The British Broadcasting Corporation of Malaya was then taken over by the Straits Settlement and became a part of the British Information Ministry better known as the Malayan Broadcasting Corporation.
Following the Japanese invasion and the end of British rule in Singapore in 1942, the Japanese took over and used the existing radio channels in Penang, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Seremban and Singapore to transmit Japanese propaganda. However, in the year 1943, the British came back into power and reclaimed the stations.
On 1st April 1946, the Department of Broadcasting was established in Singapore. When emergency, caused by the outbreak of social riots was declared in 1948, it became necessary to further enhance and develop radio services.
In the early 50's, broadcasting activities in Malaya were operated from its temporary studio in Jalan Young (now know as Jalan Cenderasari) in Kuala Lumpur and later in 1956, were moved to the Federal House, Kuala Lumpur. It was here that broadcasting in Malaysia grew with the establishment of several stations throughout the country including Sabah and Sarawak. Commercial advertisements were first aired on radio in 1960. This became a new source of revenue for the Government. An interesting point to note is that 'deejays' began to use the introduction "INILAH RADIO MALAYSIA" (This is Radio Malaysia) to greet listeners at the very first time Malaysia was formed in 16th September 1963.
Broadcasting further carved another milestone when Television services were introduced on 28 December 1963 from its studio, Dewan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Ampang. Broadcast operations then moved office to Angkasapuri Complex which began its telecast on 6th October 1969, Radio and Television were merged under the Ministry of Information. The growth of the first channel, Rangkaian Satu encouraged the second channel to be established on 17th November 1969.
It was in Angkasapuri Complex that rapid development in broadcasting for both radio and television began. Broadcast time was extended to cater to the needs of listeners from all walks of life. National Radio Channel (Rangkaian National) began its round the clock services to cater for night shift workers such as factory operators, wardens, hospital staffs, lorry or bus drivers, pick-up service operators, food courts or caterers and security guards. Today, Malaysians enjoy listening to 6 radio channels 24 hours a day in Malay, English, Mandarin and Tamil while East Malaysians (Sabah and Sarawak) are tuning to radio channels in their respective native languages such as Kadazan, Murut, Dusun, Bajau, English and Mandarin via Blue Channel RTM Kota Kinabalu. Bidayuh, a dialect widely used by Sarawakians, is the main language for Blue Channel RTM Kuching. Iban and Kayan/Kenyah are dialects used in the Green Channel of the station while English and Mandarin are local dialects used for the Red Channel. Except for RTM Limbang, dialects used for the Red Channel. Except for RTM Limbang, dialects used to communicate with the listeners are as mentioned but Bisaya and Murut (Lun Bawang) are also spectacular dialects used in that channel.
Electronic media is the most important source of receiving and disseminating information because it is fast, cheap and direct to or from the clients. Knowing the fact that being laden with too much information creates adverse effects to Radio listeners or TV audience, an alternative of placing information side by side with entertainment is practised. On 20th June 1975, Radio Muzik (Muzik Radio) was launched. As the name implies, the channel allows for total entertainment in the form of songs for listeners of all ages.
Development in television is also very rapid especially in the era of Information Technology (IT). Efforts to air 80 percent local programmes and 20 percent foreign or imported programmes are taken very seriously.
April 1st 1996 marked RTM's 50 years anniversary.RTM has experienced tremendous changes and development in the field of broadcasting. 1998 was another historical year for RTM. World class sporting events were brought to Kuala Lumpur. World standard athletes came from all Commonwealth countries in the world to witness and judge Malaysia's capabilities in broadcasting. The International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) became the centre of broadcasting excellence during the Commonwealth games and RTM is the Host Broadcaster.
TV Malaysia started its early telecast on 1st March 1994 and started transmission as early as 6.00 am. TV1, The Prime Channel introduced "Selamat Pagi Malaysia" (Good Morning Malaysia). TV2, The Golden Channel, later followed by launching "Moving On Two" in December 1996. The commencement of the early morning telecasts also enable news and up-dates to be aired more frequently. RTM's News Centre which is fully computerised with up-to-date editing and post-production facilities was able to provide this service.
What could be more praiseworthy is not only that the number of listeners, viewers and revenues collected from commercial advertisements derived from airing them increasing year by year, but RTM has marked yet another milestone with the introduction of RTM's website at the end of 1995. This service which was launched by the Honourable Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed on 27th December 1995, enables listeners to tune to the TV and Radio stations via the Internet. The Internet does not lessen the role of radio and television. On the contrary, the Net can be used to enhance the functions of radio and televisyen in disseminating information globally.
Reference: http://www.rtm.net.my/
Radio Formats
A lot of you asked about Radio Formats. Yes, it will come out in the final exams, so read and do your own research as well.
From Wikipedia: A radio format or programming format describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve. Music radio; Old Time Radio, All-news radio; Sports radio; Talk radio and Weather radio describe the operation of different genres of radio format and each format can often be sub-divided into many speciality formats.
From This Website:
What a radio station's music format sounds like is governed by four parameters: music style, music time period, music activity level, and music sophistication.
Music Style refers strictly to the type of music played, regardless of how the music is packaged for airplay.
Music Time Period refers to the time of the music's release. "Current" music generally refers to music released within the last year, "Contemporary" music generally refers to music released within the past fifteen or twenty years, "Oldies" generally refers to music released between the mid-50's and the mid-70's, and "Nostalgia" refers to music released prior to the mid-50's.
Music Activity Level is a measure of the music's dynamic impact, ranging from soft & mellow to loud & hard-driving. Some names of music styles include built-in descriptions of the music's activity level: "hard rock", "smooth jazz".
Music Sophistication is a reflection of whether the musical structure and lyrical content of the music played is simple or complex. Although difficult to quantify, this factor often determines the composition of a station's audience. It is also reflected in the presentation of the station`s air staff.
Samples of formats:
1. Active Rock
The term often used for stations which play rock music designed to be played loudly, such as "hard rock", "metal", and "heavy metal".
2. Adult Album Alternative
(AAA) A station which plays largely current music which tends to appeal more to adults than to teenagers. AAA playlists are much broader than the limited playlists of hit radio, and therefore depend on album tracks as well as on music released or designated as singles. Stylistically, such stations may play rock, folk-rock, country-rock, modern rock, blues, folk, and world music. Some publications refer to the adult-oriented rock music heard on AAA stations as "Progressive Rock", not to be confused with the 70's music of the same name.
3. Adult Alternative
A station which plays current hits, whether single releases or popular album tracks, which tend to appeal to adults more than to teenagers. Playlists are drawn from rock, pop, country-rock, folk-rock and blues releases. There are no stations of this type in the New York area.
4. Adult Contemporary (AC)
A station primarily playing popular and rock music released during the past fifteen or twenty years, designed for general listeners rather than for listeners actively interested in hearing current releases. The playlists of many AC stations will also include a limited selection of older material and current hits. See Lite AC, Hot AC, and Rock AC.
5. Album Oriented Rock
(AOR) This is a format so named as to distinguish itself from Top 40 stations of the past, which played primarily singles. AOR stations thrived between the late 60's and the 80's, during the heyday of FM Rock Radio. See Rock, Classic Rock.
6. Alternative Rock
A station which plays rock music which is stylistically derivative of the Seattle grunge bands of the late 80's, and to some extent, the punk/new wave artists of the late 70's, rather than the "classic" rock artists of the 60's and 70's. These stations are aimed primarily at teenage audiences and feature mostly current single releases and popular album cuts. Since the Alternative Rock peak of the mid-90's, many alternative rock bands (and stations) have evolved in the direction of modern rock, or in some cases, hard rock. See Modern Rock.
7. Americana
A station which plays mostly current country-rock, folk-rock, blues and American roots music which tends to appeal to adults more than to teenagers.
8. Classic Rock (eg: Classic Rock Channel on Astro)
A station which plays rock music released during the 60's, 70's and 80's. These stations recreate the sound of Album Oriented Rock stations of that period (although often with a much more limited playlist) and appeal mainly to adults rather than to teenagers. Some Classic Rock stations play a limited amount of current releases stylistically consistent with the station's sound.
9. Contemporary Hit Radio (eg: Hitz.FM)
(CHR) A station which plays a significant amount of current popular music, whether singles or album cuts. As it is no longer unusual for a single to remain on the charts for 30-40 weeks or longer, "current" refers to music released within the last year. A more accurate description for "CHR" would be "Current Hit Radio". This format is the descendent of the Top 40 stations popular from the 50's through the 80's.
Although some CHR stations base their playlists on surveys of local record sales or phone requests, most rely on published charts such as the Billboard Hot 100. As of December, 1998, the Billboard Hot 100 chart began to include popular album tracks not commercially released as singles, and began weighing a song`s airplay three times as heavily as a song`s sales. The Billboard Hot 100 chart is therefore a measure of which songs are being played on CHR stations which, in turn, base their playlists on Billboard`s Hot 100 chart.
Contemporary Hit Radio stations tend to concentrate on specific music styles, such as Rock or Urban, or a range of styles, such as Rock/Pop/Dance or R&B/Rap/Dance. Some CHR stations play a significant amount of hits released during the past ten or fifteen years, particularly if there are insufficient current hit releases which fall within the station's stylistic range.
10. Dance
A station which plays music, whether or not current, produced primarily to be played for dancing. This type of music was originally known as Disco music. Stations which play mostly current Dance music are often referred to as "CHR-Rhythmic", while stations which play Dance music of the past two decades are referred to as "Rhythmic AC".
11. Ethnic/International
Programs which feature music, whether traditional or popular, of a particular ethnic group, nation, or region, and are aimed at listeners from the featured group or place. Compare to World Music.
12.Hot Adult Contemporary
(Hot AC) A station which plays commercial popular and rock music released during the past fifteen or twenty years which is more lively than the music played on the average Adult Contemporary station, but is still designed to appeal to general listeners rather than listeners interested in hearing current releases.
Another definition of "Hot Adult Contemporary" used in the radio industry is an Adult Contemporary station which plays a significant amount of new rock/pop releases. There is no strict rule as to how much new material a station needs to play in order to be considered "CHR" rather than "Hot AC".
To confuse matters further, you will often see an "Adult Contemporary" music chart, which tracks current songs which appeal to adults but are more pop-oriented than songs found on the "Adult Alternative" chart. Billboard Magazine also compiles an "Adult Top 40" Chart, which tracks rock singles and album cuts which appeal to an adult audience. This chart reflects airplay on rock-oriented CHR stations as well as the new release airplay component of Hot AC stations. See AC, Lite AC, and Rock AC
13. Lite Adult Contemporary
(Lite AC) A station playing particularly easy-going popular and rock music released during the past fifteen or twenty years designed to appeal to general listeners. This format is the descendent of the not-quite-extinct "Easy Listening" format of years past. See AC and Hot AC.
14. Modern Rock
A station which plays mostly current rock music performed by artists which have become prominent during the past five to ten years. Stylistically, the music tends to fall between Rock and Alternative Rock. See Alternative Rock, Rock.
15. Oldies
A station which plays popular, rock 'n roll, and rock music released during the "golden era of hit music", roughly 1955-1975. The term "Oldies" is actually a misnomer; a more accurate name for this format would be "Golden Hits", as music from the post-1975 period may qualify as "old" but will rarely qualify as "gold". Across the country, the format of various Oldies stations vary, some playing 50's and 60's music, others 60's, 70's, and even 80`s music, 70's music only, "rock oldies", or r&b oldies. A format which became briefly popular in the 90`s was the "Jammin' Oldies" format, which featured r&b oldies from the late 60's and 70's.
16. Personality
Programs or formats which rely on the personalities of an on-air host or hosts to entertain listeners, often with humor, parody, satire, or commentary on current events. Personality programming may also include music, interviews, and other features.
17. Rock
A station which plays mostly current rock music, whether single releases or album cuts. Due to the diversity within rock music today, the playlists of different rock stations will tend to fall within different stylistic ranges. See Modern Rock, Alternative Rock, Active Rock, Rock AC.
18. Rock AC
A station which plays rock music released largely during the past fifteen or twenty years, designed for the general rock listener who is not actively interested in following current releases. These stations, sometimes known as "rock hits", include some "classic rock" material and some current material in their playlists. Some of the "name" formats such as "Jack" include some pop material along with rock hits.
19. Smooth Jazz
A station which plays easy-going popular music with a "jazzy" feel, designed to set a mood rather than to invite critical listening. "Smooth Jazz" is often set to a medium-tempo or "hip-hop" beat. This format is often referred to as New Adult Contemporary, or "NAC".
20. Standards/Big Band
A station which plays popular music recorded by the Big Bands of the late 30's and '40's, music recorded by Big Band-era singers during the 40's and '50's, and/or interpretations of the "standards" of that period, including recent interpretations. This format is primarily aimed at older adults and is sometimes referred to as "Adult Standards" or "Nostalgia" format. Some stations of this type will play any non-rock popular music of the past 60 years.
21. Talk
A format or program which features one or more hosts discussing current events and other topics, often in the context of a particular political ideology. Talk programs frequently feature in-studio guests and calls from members of the public, representing varying degrees of expertise. Health, medical, and financial topics are especially popular.
22. Urban
Stations or programs which plays music, such as rap, hip-hop, r&b, and soul, in the styles which are the descendents of rhythm & blues music of past decades. The mix favored by any given station depends in large part upon the age of the station's audience. Many Urban stations which appeal to adults rather than to teenagers include soul/r&b hits dating back twenty years or longer, and are sometimes characterized as "Urban AC".
23. World Music
Programs which play music which evokes musical styles of one or more regions of the world, but is not necessarily performed by musicians from those regions or aimed solely at listeners from those regions. Compare Ethnic/International Music.
24. And many more...
Now here's the good news. It is not necessary for you to memorise ALL the formats. I don't. In fact, radio people mostly don't. But it is good to know about it, because when you want to open a radio station, or someone asks you to manage one, these are the usual formats they adhere to.
It didn't used to be like this. Radio stations used to feature all kinds of programming, but eventually they drift and present what they are best at, be it talk, alternative music or current hits.
Next notes: FM, AM, CB and more.
Historically, there have been several different types of electronic broadcasting mediums:
The first was telegraphy. Generational gap question: If you were transported in time back to say, 1984 and wanted to send a telegraph, where would you go? The Post Office. I received my last telegraph from my grandfather, when I was 11 (1991). If you remember, early telegraphs used the Morse Code - a series of dots and dashes. But that's all been covered in primary school.
So anyway, one of the earliest forms of electronic broadcasting was really telephone broadcasting. What happens is that people would call using a phone and listen to the opera or stage plays.
Pathetic, isn't it? You call a number, and you listen to music. Hogwash, these days, but this was the iPod of its day. Furthermore, I remember some similar services in the late '90s. This started in 1881 and was called the Theatre Phone or Théâtrophone.
People back then didn't know that having a phone by your ear could give you cancer (unproven). In fact, cancer was perhaps not known back then. Tuberculosis was known as 'consumption'. Don't believe me? Watch Moulin Rouge.
Anyway, some business-minded people thought, "well, calling the opera was cool, but it sucks. There must be another way.
And there were! And these people, despite not having the Internet, were smart enough to come up with radio broadcast.
It started experimentally in 1906 and was made commercial from 1920
Radio broadcasting is an audio (sound) broadcasting service, broadcast through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna and, thus, to a receiving device.
Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast common programming, either in syndication or simulcast or both.
Now, syndication is like Rick Dee's and the Weekly Top 40s. I hope I got his name right. It's basically like the comic strips you see in newspapers. Syndication means that the show can be bought and broadcast on any station or network that buys the rights.
Just over a decade after the commercialisation of radio, telephone broadcast closed shop. It was ridiculous to hold the telephone over your ear and listen to the opera when you can lounge about in the comfort of your home, listening to the radio.
TV broadcast or telecast began experimentally in 1925, and was made commercial five years later. The radio people were scared. Simply because TV had pictures. Moving pictures.
When radio had cable radio (also called Cable FM) from 1928, TV had cable TV (from 1932). Both used coaxial cables instead of invisible waves in the air.
Side Note: The television was conceived as an educational instrument. The early programming were what you might have seen on TV Pendidikan. There were no American Idol, Lost or Glee back then.
Cable radio and TV did not make the ultramagnetic wave broadcast obsolete. In fact, we still use it today. RTM and TV3, for example, uses VHF (very high frequency) to transmit. ntv7 uses UHF (ultra high frequency) both are waves in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The reason being the wave forms carry signals to a wider audience. Coaxial cables can only deliver to places connected to the transmitter.
Something came along in 1974 to have both the power of coaxial cable plus the wide reach of electromagnetic waves. This was the satellite broadcast.
TV was the first to use it. And remember, this was five years after man landed on the moon. People watching the Lunar landing did so via cable or VHF. Most poor people, listened over the radio.
Radio only started using satellite in 1990. They almost gave up, really, until personalities like Howard Stern and others showed the potential for Radio. I mean, you can't drive and watch TV, but you can still listen to the radio.
The hot topic now, is Internet TV. You've all seen YouTube. Now, imagine if ALL possible programming are broadcast via YouTube. Impossible? We have that already, today. In fact, I have IPTV at home. Best thing about it? SyFy Channel.
For added reading (non-compulsory, but for general knowledge):
Kahn, Frank J., ed. Documents of American Broadcasting, fourth edition (Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1984).
- talks a lot about US broadcast history. It's good, since US broadcast history is generally broadcast history. Good for starters, but not really what we're going for, which is modern broadcast.
Lichty Lawrence W., and Topping Malachi C., eds. American Broadcasting: A Source Book on the History of Radio and Television (Hastings House, 1975).
- Same as above. Introductions, introductions. It is good for you to know the history, as he who conquers the past, commands the future. I mean, those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.
Peters, John Durham. "Communication as Dissemination." Communication as…Perspectives on Theory. Thousand Oakes, CA: Sage, 2006.
- More conceptual. Fascinating at times, but a bit dry.
From Wikipedia: A radio format or programming format describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve. Music radio; Old Time Radio, All-news radio; Sports radio; Talk radio and Weather radio describe the operation of different genres of radio format and each format can often be sub-divided into many speciality formats.
From This Website:
What a radio station's music format sounds like is governed by four parameters: music style, music time period, music activity level, and music sophistication.
Music Style refers strictly to the type of music played, regardless of how the music is packaged for airplay.
Music Time Period refers to the time of the music's release. "Current" music generally refers to music released within the last year, "Contemporary" music generally refers to music released within the past fifteen or twenty years, "Oldies" generally refers to music released between the mid-50's and the mid-70's, and "Nostalgia" refers to music released prior to the mid-50's.
Music Activity Level is a measure of the music's dynamic impact, ranging from soft & mellow to loud & hard-driving. Some names of music styles include built-in descriptions of the music's activity level: "hard rock", "smooth jazz".
Music Sophistication is a reflection of whether the musical structure and lyrical content of the music played is simple or complex. Although difficult to quantify, this factor often determines the composition of a station's audience. It is also reflected in the presentation of the station`s air staff.
Samples of formats:
2.
(AAA)
3.
5.
(AOR)
6.
7.
8.
9.
(CHR)
Although some CHR stations base their playlists on surveys of local record sales or phone requests, most rely on published charts such as the Billboard Hot 100. As of December, 1998, the Billboard Hot 100 chart began to include popular album tracks not commercially released as singles, and began weighing a song`s airplay three times as heavily as a song`s sales. The Billboard Hot 100 chart is therefore a measure of which songs are being played on CHR stations which, in turn, base their playlists on Billboard`s Hot 100 chart.
Contemporary Hit Radio stations tend to concentrate on specific music styles, such as Rock or Urban, or a range of styles, such as Rock/Pop/Dance or R&B/Rap/Dance. Some CHR stations play a significant amount of hits released during the past ten or fifteen years, particularly if there are insufficient current hit releases which fall within the station's stylistic range.
10.
11.
Programs which feature music, whether traditional or popular, of a particular ethnic group, nation, or region, and are aimed at listeners from the featured group or place. Compare to World Music.
12.
(Hot AC)
Another definition of "Hot Adult Contemporary" used in the radio industry is an Adult Contemporary station which plays a significant amount of new rock/pop releases. There is no strict rule as to how much new material a station needs to play in order to be considered "CHR" rather than "Hot AC".
To confuse matters further, you will often see an "Adult Contemporary" music chart, which tracks current songs which appeal to adults but are more pop-oriented than songs found on the "Adult Alternative" chart. Billboard Magazine also compiles an "Adult Top 40" Chart, which tracks rock singles and album cuts which appeal to an adult audience. This chart reflects airplay on rock-oriented CHR stations as well as the new release airplay component of Hot AC stations. See AC, Lite AC, and Rock AC
13.
(Lite AC)
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24. And many more...
Now here's the good news. It is not necessary for you to memorise ALL the formats. I don't. In fact, radio people mostly don't. But it is good to know about it, because when you want to open a radio station, or someone asks you to manage one, these are the usual formats they adhere to.
It didn't used to be like this. Radio stations used to feature all kinds of programming, but eventually they drift and present what they are best at, be it talk, alternative music or current hits.
Next notes: FM, AM, CB and more.
History of Broadcasting
Hello, everyone!
This are some of the stuff we discussed in class. I will be uploading some of your written assignments here.
FIRST NOTE: The past tense of 'broadcast' is 'broadcast'. If you any of you writes 'broadcasted' in the final exams, I am cutting marks off of you severely.
FIRST NOTE: The past tense of 'broadcast' is 'broadcast'. If you any of you writes 'broadcasted' in the final exams, I am cutting marks off of you severely.
We won't be covering Guglielmo Marconi, because well, we learned all that in high school, didn't we?
If you want a refresher, you can simply Google him online.
Now, broadcast used to mean only radio and is a means to transmit signals, carrying information, across wide spaces.
The term 'broadcast' comes from a term of 'sowing seeds' by scattering them widely across the field. In Bahasa Malaysia, this translates to 'menabur benih'.
Side Note: I come from a swamp, and we plant kangkung and other vegetables this way. Just take a handful of seeds and spread them around. In comparison, cucumbers like to climb on stilts and have to be properly planted. Same thing with corn.
You can find the history of broadcasting here:
The first was telegraphy. Generational gap question: If you were transported in time back to say, 1984 and wanted to send a telegraph, where would you go? The Post Office. I received my last telegraph from my grandfather, when I was 11 (1991). If you remember, early telegraphs used the Morse Code - a series of dots and dashes. But that's all been covered in primary school.
So anyway, one of the earliest forms of electronic broadcasting was really telephone broadcasting. What happens is that people would call using a phone and listen to the opera or stage plays.
Pathetic, isn't it? You call a number, and you listen to music. Hogwash, these days, but this was the iPod of its day. Furthermore, I remember some similar services in the late '90s. This started in 1881 and was called the Theatre Phone or Théâtrophone.
People back then didn't know that having a phone by your ear could give you cancer (unproven). In fact, cancer was perhaps not known back then. Tuberculosis was known as 'consumption'. Don't believe me? Watch Moulin Rouge.
Anyway, some business-minded people thought, "well, calling the opera was cool, but it sucks. There must be another way.
And there were! And these people, despite not having the Internet, were smart enough to come up with radio broadcast.
It started experimentally in 1906 and was made commercial from 1920
Radio broadcasting is an audio (sound) broadcasting service, broadcast through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna and, thus, to a receiving device.
Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast common programming, either in syndication or simulcast or both.
Now, syndication is like Rick Dee's and the Weekly Top 40s. I hope I got his name right. It's basically like the comic strips you see in newspapers. Syndication means that the show can be bought and broadcast on any station or network that buys the rights.
Just over a decade after the commercialisation of radio, telephone broadcast closed shop. It was ridiculous to hold the telephone over your ear and listen to the opera when you can lounge about in the comfort of your home, listening to the radio.
TV broadcast or telecast began experimentally in 1925, and was made commercial five years later. The radio people were scared. Simply because TV had pictures. Moving pictures.
When radio had cable radio (also called Cable FM) from 1928, TV had cable TV (from 1932). Both used coaxial cables instead of invisible waves in the air.
Side Note: The television was conceived as an educational instrument. The early programming were what you might have seen on TV Pendidikan. There were no American Idol, Lost or Glee back then.
Cable radio and TV did not make the ultramagnetic wave broadcast obsolete. In fact, we still use it today. RTM and TV3, for example, uses VHF (very high frequency) to transmit. ntv7 uses UHF (ultra high frequency) both are waves in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The reason being the wave forms carry signals to a wider audience. Coaxial cables can only deliver to places connected to the transmitter.
Something came along in 1974 to have both the power of coaxial cable plus the wide reach of electromagnetic waves. This was the satellite broadcast.
TV was the first to use it. And remember, this was five years after man landed on the moon. People watching the Lunar landing did so via cable or VHF. Most poor people, listened over the radio.
Radio only started using satellite in 1990. They almost gave up, really, until personalities like Howard Stern and others showed the potential for Radio. I mean, you can't drive and watch TV, but you can still listen to the radio.
The hot topic now, is Internet TV. You've all seen YouTube. Now, imagine if ALL possible programming are broadcast via YouTube. Impossible? We have that already, today. In fact, I have IPTV at home. Best thing about it? SyFy Channel.
For added reading (non-compulsory, but for general knowledge):
- talks a lot about US broadcast history. It's good, since US broadcast history is generally broadcast history. Good for starters, but not really what we're going for, which is modern broadcast.
- Same as above. Introductions, introductions. It is good for you to know the history, as he who conquers the past, commands the future. I mean, those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.
- More conceptual. Fascinating at times, but a bit dry.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Intro to Intro
Hi!
As promised, this is the blog. A new one, as I deleted the old one for being too cluttered.
All notes will be posted here, as well as Tutorial questions and reference materials, etc.
This blog will be updated every Sunday at least, so check back Monday for anything.
As promised, this is the blog. A new one, as I deleted the old one for being too cluttered.
All notes will be posted here, as well as Tutorial questions and reference materials, etc.
This blog will be updated every Sunday at least, so check back Monday for anything.
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