ABU on show for KBS Board of Governors delegation

Board members from the Korean Broadcasting System made an official visit to the ABU headquarters in Kuala Lumpur to see the work of the Union in action.

Three members from the KBS Board of Governors were welcomed on 12 November 2014 by Dr Amal Punchihewa, ABU Director Technology, on behalf of the Secretary-General Dr Javad Mottaghi.  They were briefed on ABU activities and future plans, discussing issues such as copyright, the fragmented media market and sports rights. 

Prof Jin-Mann Han mentioned the need for maintaining cultural identity and said the media could play an important role in peacemaking and creating harmony.

Dr Punchihewa explained there were only four countries out of 100-plus in the Asia-Pacific region switching off analogue broadcasting.

“Other than New Zealand and Australia, no other countries in Pacific have a clear analogue switch off date,” he said.

Dr Punchihewa said the ABU had been working on the broadcasting needs of Pacific countries and would be working under the umbrella of the Pacific Media Partnership (PMP) to enable digital transition. He said the ABU would continue to support its members to make the digitalisation transition. 

In reply to questions, Dr Punchihewa said ABU Technology had conducted two Over-the-Top (OTT) and Integrated Broadband Broadcast (IBB) workshops in the last 12 months to educate traditional broadcasters on the potential, opportunities and challenges they offered.

Mr Wansoo Kim of ABU Sports discussed the key issues of sports rights, coverage and distribution.