Friday, November 30, 2007

E FM Showgram VS Yes FM Morning Show

Ever since the departure of Mark from Yes FM and the subsequent relaunch of E FM with Mark as programmes manager there has been some debate regarding the two morning shows which are now separately handled by the former co hosts.

It looks like that there has been no loss for the Yes FM Morning Show which has now adapted to include Shehara and Ross. They have not felt any great reduction in fans and they have also ramped up the give aways to keep listeners tuned in. The present E FM Showgram is much better than the previous morning show on E FM but it still has a lot of room for improvement. No doubt they have attracted listeners who are avid Mark fans and also by great give aways however it seems that Mark & Lenny just do not complement each other. Mark's comments at times leave Lenny speechless and clueless. The problem may be the different styles that they portray. E FM better start thinking of a new co host for the Showgram and they should try out Brad Stevens since Brad and Mark would be a better combination. Lenny does a good job on Sentimental Sunday and E FM should make use of him for shows of that nature. Hopefully the management of E FM would consider a few changes that would improve the station further. We are sure that there are some quality DJ's who are doing some job hunting after the closure of ABC Radio.

With Christmas round the corner, E FM will be broadcasting from Crescat from tomorrow (December 1st) onwards until December 24th and they are planning great give aways. Yes FM is keeping its plans under wraps and they will probably unveil it on monday and promise to match and do more than what others are doing and according to todays Morning Show they say they will do it first. It clear that competition between E and Yes is hotting up and as long as the listener benefits it is great for the industry.

Overall it seems that in the battle between Yes FM and E FM Morning Shows there has been no clear cut looser and winner. Each show has its own unique element and also of course room for improvement. It is the one who is willing to make changes and improve themselves that will emerge the leader.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

ABC case put off for December 10th

In what looks like will be a long legal process, the ABC Radio case has been put off for Dec 10th after the hearing concluded yesterday. The Supreme Court has requested for details of the original share holders of the company. The case has shifted focus from the false news report to the validity of the license issue them. It is quite ironic that neither the TRC nor the Media Ministry looked into the validity of the license previously. A good example of how efficiently these state institutions are operating.

Reports are coming in that some of the DJ's attached to this station have already switched stations, however we are unable to confirm this. It is highly unlikely that these stations will resume operations bearing the same name and may be relaunched as a completely new network.

Daily Mirror (Nov 27th 2007) : Court Orders ABC to reveal original shareholders


Monday, November 26, 2007

E FM to broadcast from Crescat this Christmas

Amidst the recent withdrawal of ABC Radio licenses and the relaunch of E FM it seems that competition among the English radio stations is increasing and the approaching Christmas season has pushed it up a notch.

For the past few years Yes FM has been broadcasting from Crescat and this time E FM would be at Crescat. We are unable to confirm whether Yes FM would also be broadcasting from Crescat or from another location. There is a chance that they may remain in their studio.

This is the first time that E FM would be moving out of their studio for the Christmas season and carrying out an outdoor event of this scale. The Crescat broadcast is expected to commence from next week.

Undoubtedly listeners of English Language radio stations can expect some great promotions from all stations as this festive season approaches.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

ABC preparing to resume transmissions?

In the light of recent political developments it seems highly likely that ABC Radio Network will commence transmissions soon. It has been reported that the employees have been asked to report for duty today.

All ABC channels are expected to start operations despite denials from certain individuals. We reiterate that the withdrawal of licenses to ABC was not required and it would have been sufficient to suspend news broadcasts over the network. However the manner in which the network would have it's license reinstated is even more controversial than the withdrawal. As expected if the license is reinstated then it would prove that the shutdown was politically motivated and had nothing to do with National Security issues.

If the license is reinstated the employees will be happy since they have their jobs back and the fans of ABC network also have their favourite radio stations back.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

SLRC buys domestic cricket rights

Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation has acquired the rights for the domestic cricket matches by coming forward to sponsor the tournament for the next five years at a cost of Rs 55 million. The tournament consists of limited over and Twenty20 matches.

SLRC will carry an highlights package of the days proceedings from 10pm and key matches will be telecast including the semi final and the final.

The tournament is scheduled to commence tomorrow with the limited over matches.

The Daily News (Nov 13th) : SLC Premier League tourney's from tomorrow
The Daily Mirror (Nov 13th) : Rupavahini buys domestic cricket rights for Rs 55 Million

Monday, November 12, 2007

Sat Net to launch radio and television station

Sat Net (Pvt) Ltd., headed by Mr. Lakshman Hullugalle, Director of the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) which played a role in the closure of CBNsat (now Dialog TV) and also has been accused of being the motivator behind the closure of Asian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) resulting in the loss of 5 radio stations will commence a Sinhala Language Radio and Television Station very shortly in collaboration with United Telecom. This is in addition to being the distributor for Indian DTH service provider "Dish TV" in Sri Lanka.

We have no other details pertaining to the two stations such as frequencies or when they are expected to commence, however since they have commenced the recruitment drive the launch can be expected in a few months time.

The radio station was being delayed due to a lack of frequencies and it was reported that Mr. Hullugalle made use of the ABC saga to force a closure in order to grab a few frequencies for his radio station.

It is sad to see that the GOSL is not taking any interest in the introduction of digital radio and this has given rise to the culture of closing an existing station in order to provide a license and frequency to a government stooge.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Max TV Hantana transmissions failure

We are receiving reports that Max TV transmission on UHF 56 from Hantana is not in operation for the last few days. Viewers living close to Katugastota on the Kandy-Kurunegala Road are unable to view Max TV as a result of this. Even though they are able to receive Max TV UHF 30 from colombo but the reception is very weak.

We hope that the management of Max TV will take steps to correct this problem as soon as possible. We also like to thank Sgd Lionel Rajapakse for providing us with the information. We hope that the residents of this area inform us when the problem is rectified.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Seasonal Movies commence today

English Language Television Channel "Art TV" will be spreading the festive cheer commencing tonight (Nov 6th) with an array of Seasonal Movies.

Nov 6th @ 9pm - Single Santa seeks Mrs. Claus
Nov 9th @ 9pm - A Boyfriend for Christmas
Nov 13th @ 9pm - A chance of snow
Nov 16th @ 9pm - Picking up and dropping off
Nov 20th @ 9pm - A different kind of Christmas
Nov 23rd @ 9pm - George Lopez
Nov 27th @ 9pm - Angel in the family
Dec 11th @ 9pm - Ms. Scrooge

Art TV has more movies lined up as we head into December, and as they have done over the years we can expect them to telecast a Seasonal movie everyday in the last two weeks leading upto Christmas. In addition ETV may replace its Family Movie belt with "ETV Seasonal Movie" and Channel One MTV may also start airing seasonal programmes as we approach December.

In the pay television front "Hallmark Channel" has lined up an array of Seasonal movies which commence on December 13th. HBO Asia are also to unveil their seasonal movie lineup. Usually HBO Asia has the schedules for two months posted on the website but this time only the schedule for November is available and the schedule for December has not been unveiled yet due to the scheduling of movies for the festive season.

We will keep you updated further as the days progress. We request all seasonal movie buffs to keep us updated also on the seasonal movies that are to be telecast over the local and pay television channels as and when they are unveiled.

So here's an early Ho Ho Ho to all our readers.

Sri Lanka Tour of Australia 2007

The Sri Lanka tour of Australia will be telecast on Channel Eye (free to air television) and Star Sports (pay television) commencing November 8th at 5:25am.

In addition the New Zealand tour of South Africa will be telecast on Ten Sports also commencing on November 8th.

Star Sports and Ten Sports are available on Dialog Satellite TV, Comet Cable, LBN and all pay television networks available in Sri Lanka.

Friday, November 02, 2007

ABC petition rejected by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a petition filed by the Asian Broadcasting Corporation over the suspension of broadcasting licenses allocated to them. The Supreme Court has also charged the head of ABC Mr. Raynor Silva with contempt of court for withholding some information concerning the said news broadcast.

However considering the plight of employees the court allowed for applications for fresh broadcasting licenses with restrictions on news broadcasts.

We hope that the authorities concerned will issue fresh broadcasting licenses to ABC without allocating the ABC frequencies to any governement stooges.

Daily Mirror Nov 2nd 2007 : Supreme Court rejects ABC petition, suspension stands

Thursday, November 01, 2007

AXN to premier two editions of The Amazing Race

Pay television channel AXN will be premiering two editions of "The Amazing Race" this month. The Amazing Race Season 12 and The Amazing Race Asian Edition Season 2 will commence on Nov 5th and Nov 22nd respectively. The Amazing Race Season 12 is commencing on US broadcaster CBS on Nov 4th and under 24 hours later it will be broadcast over AXN.

Pay television channel AXN is available on Dialog Satellite TV, Comet Cable, LBN and all other pay television providers in Sri Lanka.