Change accelerating in broadcasting, DBS delegates told

The momentum of change in the broadcasting industry is accelerating, the ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium in Malaysia has been told.

Opening the annual conference in Kuala Lumpur on 6 March 2013, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, YB Datuk Joseph Salang, said new technologies and the services they could provide were emerging in quick succession.

“These technologies often lure new players and new competition,” said Datuk Salang. “They also provide forward-looking broadcasters with new pathways to enhance their services to their audiences so as to be able to give them what they want and more importantly, what they expect.”

ABU Secretary General Dr Javad Mottaghi said the 2013 Symposium explored these and other exciting areas.

“The dynamic changes in technology have empowered new platforms that promote consumer participation and audience content creation, adding a new dimension to the media landscape,” he said.

“Content delivery on all platforms has become the first imperative of broadcasters, serving multiple screens, stationary and mobile. Failure to deliver on all platforms could result in a big handicap for us.

Ruxandra Obreja, Chair of the Digital Radio Mondale (DRM) consortium and Head of Digital Radio Development in the BBC World Service said Radio was still the leading form of communication.

“Mobiles and radio go hand-in-hand,” she said. 

Between 2012 and 2017 there would be 1.6 billion new mobile connections across the world, with 61% of those coming from the Asia-Pacific. Radio would also grow with the explosion in car numbers.

“Only good content will sell receivers and make digital radio a reality,” she said.