Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), formed in 1964, is a non-profit, professional association of broadcasting organisations. It currently has over 280 members in 57 countries and regions, reaching a potential audience of about 3 billion people. The ABU's role is to help the development of broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region and to promote the collective interests of its members. The ABU covers an area stretching from Turkey in the west to Samoa in the east, and from Mongolia in the north to New Zealand in the south. Its secretariat is located in Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, its secretary-general, currently Dr Javad Mottaghi.
 | |
.jpg) ABU headquarters in Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur | |
| Formation | 1 July 1964 |
|---|---|
| Type | Union of broadcasting organisations |
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Membership |
|
Official language | English |
President | Ryoichi Ueda |
| Website | http://www.abu.org.my/ |
One of the ABU's activities is Asiavision, a daily exchange of news feeds by satellite among television stations in 20 countries in Asia. The ABU also negotiates coverage rights to major sports events for its members collectively, and carries out a wide range of activities in the programme and technical areas. The ABU provides a forum for promoting the collective interests of television and radio broadcasters, and encourages regional and international co-operation between broadcasters.
Full members must be national free-to-air broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific region, but there is an associate membership category that is open to provincial broadcasters, subscription broadcasters and national broadcasters in other parts of the world, and an affiliate category that is open to organisations connected to broadcasting.
Overview
The ABU's activities include:
- a daily satellite TV news exchange (Asiavision)
- co-production and exchange of programmes
- negotiating rights for major sports events and organising coverage
- technical, programming and management consultancy services
- advising members on copyright and legal matters
- rights-free content acquisition for developing countries
- representing members in international forums
- international frequency planning and coordination
- organising seminars, workshops and training courses
- annual competition for radio and television programmes (ABU Prizes)
- a robot competition for engineering students (Robocon)
- publication of ABU News and Technical Review
- started 2012: ABU TV and Radio Song Festivals[1][2]
The ABU works closely with the regional broadcasting . in other parts of the world on matters of common concern, and with many other international organisations, to exchange information on the latest developments in broadcasting, undertake activities to improve the skills and technologies of its members, and encourage harmonisation of operating and technical broadcasting standards and systems in the region. The ABU is funded primarily by annual subscriptions from members. The Union has an elected President and three Vice-Presidents, who serve three-year terms. The current President is Yoshinori Imai of NHK-Japan.
The ABU Secretariat is located in Angkasapuri, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has over 30 staff, of whom 12 are broadcast professionals recruited from among the ABU members within the region. The head of the Secretariat is the Secretary-General, who is appointed by the General Assembly. The current Secretary-General is Dr. Javad Mottaghi. The Asia-Pacific region is defined in the ABU statutes as countries within areas of Asia and the Pacific that lie substantially between the longitudes of 30 degrees east and 170 degrees west. On the map, this region stretches from Turkey in the west, to Samoa in the east, and from Russia in the north, to New Zealand in the south. All of the ABU's full members operate in this region.
Most of the ABU's associate members are European and North American broadcasters, many of whom have operations in Asia, and pay-TV and cable operators in the Asia-Pacific. Its affiliate members include satellite providers, telcos, production companies, equipment vendors and regulators. The ABU is the third largest of the world's eight broadcasting unions, but covers the largest geographic area of the world.
Membership
A number of different membership types are available to national broadcasters and national broadcasting organisations. These include full, additional full, associate, affiliate and institutional memberships.[3]
Full members
- Below is a list of full members of the ABU. These are members who are independent nations within the ABU broadcasting region, and consist of two members per country. Broadcasters have the option to change between full and additional full membership.[3]
| Country | Broadcasting organisation | National script | Abbr. |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Radio Television Afghanistan |
| RTA |
.svg.png){kind=small} | Australian Broadcasting Corporation | Australian Broadcasting Corporation | ABC |
 | İctimai Television | İctimai Televiziya və Radio Yayımları Şirkəti | İTV |
 | Bangladesh Betar | বাংলাদেশ বেতার | BB |
| Bangladesh Television | বাংলাদেশ টেলিভিশন | BTV | |
 | Bhutan Broadcasting Service | འབྲུག་རྒྱང་བསྒྲགས་ལས་འཛིན | BBS |
 | Radio Television Brunei | Radio Televisyen Brunei | RTB |
 | National Television of Kampuchea | ទូរទស្សន៍ជាតិកម្ពុជា | TVK |
 | China Media Group | 中央广播电视总台 | CMG |
| National Radio and Television Administration | 国家广播电视总局 | NRTA | |
 | Egyptian Radio and Television Union | إتحاد الإذاعة و التليفزيون المصري | ERTU |
 | Fiji Television | Fiji Television | FTV |
 | All India Radio | आकाशवाणी | AIR |
| Doordarshan | दूरदर्शन | DD | |
 | Radio of the Republic of Indonesia | Radio Republik Indonesia | RRI |
| Television of the Republic of Indonesia | Televisi Republik Indonesia | TVRI | |
 | Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting | صدا و سيمای جمهوری اسلامی ايران | IRIB |
 | Japan Broadcasting Corporation | 日本放送協会 | NHK |
| Tokyo Broadcasting System | 東京放送 | TBS | |
 | Jordan Radio and Television Corporation | مؤسسة الإذاعة والتلفزيون الأردني | JRTV |
 | Khabar Agency |
| KA |
 | Broadcasting and Publications Authority | Broadcasting and Publications Authority | BPA |
 | Kyrgyz Public Radio and Television Corporation | Кыргыз Республикасынын Коомдук телерадиоберүү корпорациясы (Kyrgyz) Общественная телерадиовещательная корпорация Кыргызской Республики (Russian) | KTRK |
 | Lao National Radio | ວິທະຍຸກະຈາຍສຽງແຫ່ງຊາດລາວ | LNR |
| Lao National Television | ສະຖານີໂທລະພາບແຫ່ງຊາດລາວ | LNTV | |
 | Radio & Television of Malaysia | Radio Televisyen Malaysia | RTM |
 | Public Service Media | ޕަބްލިކް ސަރވިސް މީޑިއާ | PSM |
 | Mongolian National Broadcaster | Монголын Үндэсний Олон Нийтийн Телевиз | MNB |
| TV5 | TV5 Телевиз | TV5 | |
 | Myanmar Radio and Television | မြန်မာ့အသံနှင့်ရုပ်မြင်သံကြား | MRTV |
 | Nepal Television | नेपाल टेलिभिजन | NTV |
| Radio Nepal | रेडियो नेपाल | RNE | |
 | Television New Zealand | Television New Zealand Te Reo Tātaki o Aotearoa (Māori) | TVNZ |
 | Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation | ریڈیو پاکستان | PBC |
| Pakistan Television | پاكِستان ٹیلی وژن نیٹ ورک | PTV | |
 | Media Niugini Limited | — | MNL |
| National Broadcasting Corporation of Papua New Guinea | National Broadcasting Corporation of Papua New Guinea | NBC/PNG | |
 | People's Television Network | People's Television Network Telebisyon ng Bayan (Filipino) | PTNI |
 | Qatar Media Corporation | المؤسسة القطرية للإعلام | QMC |
 | Samoa Broadcasting Corporation | Samoa Broadcasting Corporation | SBC |
 | Saudi Broadcasting Authority | المملكة العربية السعودية هيئة الإذاعة والتلفزيون | SBA |
 | Media Corporation of Singapore | Media Corporation of Singapore Private Limited 新传媒私人有限公司 (Chinese) Perbadanan Media Singapura Sendirian Berhad (Malay) மீடியாகார்ப் (Tamil) | Mediacorp |
 | Korean Broadcasting System | 한국방송공사 | KBS |
| Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation | 문화방송주식회사 | MBC | |
 | Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation | ශ්රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාච (Sinhala) இலங்கை ஒலிபரப்புக் கூட்டுத்தாபனம் (Tamil) | SLBC |
| Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation | ශ්රී ලංකා රූපවාහිනී සංස්ථාව (Sinhala) இலங்கை ரூபவாகினி கூட்டுத்தாபனம் (Tamil) | SLRC | |
 | National Broadcasting Services of Thailand | สถานีวิทยุกระจายเสียงแห่งประเทศไทย กรมประชาสัมพันธ์ สถานีวิทยุโทรทัศน์แห่งประเทศไทย กรมประชาสัมพันธ์ | NBT |
| Television Pool of Thailand | โทรทัศน์รวมการเฉพาะกิจแห่งประเทศไทย | TPT | |
 | Radio-Television of East Timor | Radio-Televisão Timor Leste (Portuguese) Radio-Televizaun Timor Lorosae (Tetum) | RTTL |
 | Tonga Broadcasting Commission | Tonga Broadcasting Commission Komisoni Fakamafolalea Tonga (Tongan) | TBC |
 | Turkish Radio and Television Corporation | Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu | TRT |
 | State Committee of Turkmenistan for Television, Radio Programs and Cinematography | Türkmenistanyň Telewideniýe, radiogepleşikler we kinematografiýa baradaky döwlet komiteti | TTV |
 | National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan | O'zbekiston milliy teleradiokompaniyasi | MTRK |
 | Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation | Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation Société de Radiodiffusion et Télévision du Vanuatu (French) | VBTC |
 | Voice of Vietnam | Đài Tiếng nói Việt Nam | VOV |
| Vietnam Television | Đài Truyền hình Việt Nam | VTV |
Additional full members
- Below is a list of additional full members of the ABU. These are members who already have 2 full member organisations, and for countries in non-independent area.[3]
| Country | Broadcasting organisation | National script | Abbr. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ariana Radio and Television Network | آريانا تلويزيون | ATN |
| Educational Radio and Television | — | ERTV | |
| Noorin Radio Television Network | تلویزیون نورین | NRTN | |
| Saba Media Organisation | تلویزیون سبا | SMO | |
| Asian TV | এশিয়ান টিভি | |
| Radio Broadcasting FM (Bangladesh) Company Limited | Radio Broadcasting FM (Bangladesh) Co. Ltd. | Radio Today | |
| South Asian Television | — | SATV | |
| Centennial Radio | — | CR101 |
| Kuzoo FM | — | KFM | |
| Shandong Radio and Television Station | — | SDRT |
| Shanghai Media Group | 上海文化广播影视集团有限公司 | SMG | |
| Sichuan Radio and Television | 四川广播电视台 | SRT | |
| Fiji Broadcasting Corporation | — | FBC |
 | Radio Television Hong Kong | 香港電台 | RTHK |
| Television Broadcasts Limited | 電視廣播有限公司 | TVB | |
| New Delhi Television | — | NDTV |
| Sawt Al Madina Radio | — | SMR |
| Republican Television and Radio Corporation | — | RTRC |
| Adventist Hope Radio | — | |
| WAVE TV | — | ||
| New Broadcasting System | — | NBS |
| Television Lao Limited | — | TVLAO |
 | Radio Liban | اذاعة لبنان | RL[4] |
 | Macau Television Broadcasting | 澳門廣播電視股份有限公司 Teledifusão de Macau (Portuguese) | TDM |
| Media Prima Berhad | — | MPB |
| VMedia Island Broadcasting Company Pvt Ltd | — | VMedia |
 | Radio Marshalls V7AB | — | |
| Ekoron TV | — | |
| HBS TV LLC Company | — | ||
| MONGOLRadio FM 88.3-102.1 | — | ||
| MN25 Television | 25-р Суваг Телевиз | MN25 | |
| Mongolian National Educational Channel | Боловсрол Суваг | EduTV | |
| Mongolian Radio and Television Broadcasting Network | Монголын Үндэсний Олон Нийтийн Телевиз | MRTBN | |
| Must Technology | — | ||
| TV9 Television | TV9 Телевиз | TV9 | |
| SULD Television, Noyon Suld Co Ltd | — | ||
| United Broadcasting Corporation LLC | Юнайтед Бродкастинг Корпорэйшн ХХК | Star TV | |
| DVB Multimedia Group | ဒီမိုကရေတစ်မြန်မာ့အသံ | DVB |
 | Nauru Media | — | NM |
| Kantipur Television Network | — | KTV |
| Radio Sagarmatha | — | ||
| Radio Tarana | — | |
| Television New Zealand Limited | — | TVNZ | |
 | Norfolk Island Broadcasting Service | Norfolk Island Broadcasting Service | VL2NI |
 | The Radio and Television Broadcasting Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea | 조선중앙방송위원회 | KRT |
| Hum Network Limited | — | HUM TV |
| Shalimar Recording & Broadcasting Company | — | ATV/SRBC | |
| Virtual University TV | — | VTV | |
 | Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation | — | PBC |
| Amcara Broadcasting Network | — | ABS-CBN |
| Philippine Broadcasting Service | — | PBS | |
 | Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation | — | SIBC |
| Telekom Television | — | TTV | |
| Educational Broadcasting System | 한국교육방송공사 | EBS |
| Seoul Broadcasting System | 주식회사에스비에스 | SBS | |
| Asset Radio Broadcasting | Asset Radio Broadcasting (Pvt) Limited | Neth FM |
| EAP Holdings | EAP Broadcasting Company | EAP | |
| Independent Television Network Limited | Independent Television Network Limited | ITN | |
| MBC Networks | MBC Networks (Pvt) Limited | MBC Radio | |
| MTV Channel | MTV Channel (Pvt) Limited | MTV | |
| Power House | Power House LTD | TV Derana | |
| VIS Broadcasting | VIS Broadcasting (Pvt) Ltd. | VIS | |
| Thai Public Broadcasting Service | องค์การกระจายเสียงและแพร่ภาพสาธารณะแห่งประเทศไทย | Thai PBS |
| The National Assembly Radio and Television Broadcasting Station | สถานีวิทยุกระจายเสียงและวิทยุโทรทัศน์รัฐสภา สำนักงานเลขาธิการสภาผู้แทนราษฎร | Radio Parliement TPTV | |
| Audio Visual Global Joint Stock Company | — | AVG |
Associate members
- Below is a list of associate members of the ABU. These are international broadcasters beyond the ABU region, and national broadcasting associations.[3]
| Country | Broadcasting organisation | National script | Abbr. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Radio Australia Limited | Commercial Radio Australia Limited | CRA |
| CVC Network Limited | CVC Network Limited | CVC | |
 | France Télévisions | Organismes Français de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision | OFRT |
 | German National Broadcasting (Deutsche Welle) | Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland | ARD |
| Second German Television | Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen | ZDF | |
| Cable TV Hong Kong | 香港有線電視 | HKCTV |
| Phoenix Television | 鳳凰衛視控股有限公司 | Phoenix TV | |
| Dim Sum Television | 點心衛視 | Dim Sum TV | |
| PCCW Media Limited | 電訊盈科有限公司 | Now TV | |
| National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan | 日本民間放送連盟 | JBA |
| PT Media Televisi Indonesia | — | METRO TV |
| PT Indonusa Telemedia | — | Telkomvision | |
| PT Karyamegah Adijaya | — | Aora TV | |
| ASTRO All Asia Networks plc | — | AAAN |
| U Television Holdings Sdn Bhd | — | U Television | |
 | Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation | Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation | MBC |
 | Federated States of Micronesia Broadcasting Service | — | FSMBS |
| Eagle Broadcasting Company | Ийгл Телевиз | EBC |
| BTV Television | — | "BTV" Television | |
| DDishTV | ДДэшТВ ХХК | DDish TV | |
| Supervision Broadcasting Network Television | SBN Телевиз | SBN | |
 | Radio Netherlands Worldwide | Radio Nederland Wereldomroep | RNW |
| Radio New Zealand |
| RNZ |
 | Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation | Norsk rikskringkasting | NRK |
| Geo Independent Media Corporation Ltd | Geo Television | Geo |
| Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines | Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas | KBP |
| Al Jazeera English | قناة الجزيرة حاصلة | AJE |
 | All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company | Всероссийская государственная телевизионная и радиовещательная компания | VGTRK |
| Alternative Irkutsk Studio of TV | — | AIST | |
| MediaCorp TV | MediaCorp Pte Ltd | MediaCorp TV |
 | Swiss Broadcasting Corporation |
| SRG SSR |
 | British Broadcasting Corporation | British Broadcasting Corporation | BBC |
 | American Broadcasting Company | American Broadcasting Companies | ABC |
| CBS Corporation | CBS Corporation | VIACOM/CBS | |
| National Association of Broadcasters | National Association of Broadcasters | NAB | |
| Turner Broadcasting System | Turner Broadcasting System | TBS | |
| Voice of America | Voice of America | VOA | |
| Trans World Radio | Trans World Radio | TWR | |
Institutional members
| Country | Broadcasting organisation | National script | Abbr. |
|---|---|---|---|
.svg.png){kind=small} | International News Safety Institute | International News Safety Institute | INSI |
| PRIX JEUNESSE International | — | |
| Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia | Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia | CASBAA |
| Digital Radio Mondiale | Digital Radio Mondiale | DRM |
| Asia-Pacific Telecommunity | Asia Pacific Telecommunity | APT |
| Association for International Broadcasting | The Association for International Broadcasting | AIB |
| International News Safety Institute | International News Safety Institute | INSI | |
| WorldDMB | WorldDMB | WorldDMB | |
| International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences | International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences | IATAS |
| United Nations Department of Public Information | United Nations Department of Public Information | UN-DPI | |
Affiliated members
| Country | Broadcasting organisation | National script | Abbr. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radio Frequency Systems | Radio Frequency Systems | RFS |
| Broadcast Australia | Broadcast Australia | ||
| Globecast Australia | Globecast Australia | ||
| Asia Media Monitors Sdn. Bhd. | Asia Media Monitors Sdn. Bhd. | AMM | |
.svg.png){kind=small} | International Business Communications Consultants | International Business Communications Consultants | IBC Consultants |
| Eutelsat | Eutelsat S.A | |
| LS telcom AG | — | Lstelcom |
| AsiaSat | Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited | AsiaSat |
| Bloomberg L.P. | — | Bloomberg | |
| ITV Choice | ITV International Hong Kong | ||
| Broadcast Engineering Consultants India | Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited | BECIL |
| Network 1 Pvt Ltd | — | N1 | |
| Induslnd Media and Communications Limited | Induslnd Media and Communications Limited | IMCL | |
| Technomedia Solutions | Technomedia Solutions Ptv Ltd | Technomedia | |
| First Media | PT First Media Tbk | First Media |
| Indosat | PT Indonesia Satellite Corporation Tbk | Indosat | |
| PT Adhi Karya | PT. Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk | AKV | |
 | Deltatre | — | SPA |
| SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation | スカパーJSAT株式会社 | SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation |
| NHK Enterprise | — | ||
| NHK Integrated Technology | — | NHK ITEC | |
| NHK International | — | ||
| NHK Global Media Services | — | NHK G-Media | |
| SoftBank Telecom | ソフトバンクテレコム株式会社 | Softbank Telecom | |
| Arab Radio and Television Network | Arab Radio and Television | ART |
| OKNO-TV Kazakhstan | — | OKNO-TV Kazakhstan |
| Multi Carrier | Multi Carrier (Mauritius) Limited | MCML |
| Forever Group | — | Forever Group |
| Celcom | Celcom Axiata Berhad' | CELCOM |
| MEASAT Satellite Systems | MEASAT Satellite Systems | MEASAT | |
| Outsourced Broadcast Networks | — | on | |
| Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority | Pakistan Electronic Media Regulator Authority | PEMRA |
| Mabuhay Satellite Corporation | Mabuhay Investment Corporation | MIC |
| ABC Development Corporation | - | ADC | |
| Ascent Media Corporation | Ascent Media Corporation | Ascent Media |
| KIT Digital | Benchmark Broadcast Systems (S) Pte. Ltd. | BSS | |
| Globecast Asia | Globecast Asia Pte Ltd | GCA | |
| Intelsat Singapore Pte Ltd | — | Intelsat | |
| Media Development Authority | 媒体发展管理局 | MDA | |
| Motion Picture Association | Motion Picture Association International | MPA | |
| NewTec Asia Pacific Pte Ltd | — | NewTec | |
| PCCW Global (Singapore) Pte Ltd | 電訊盈科有限公司 | PCCW | |
| Telesto Broadcast Solutions | — | ||
| Editec International | — | ||
| Sony Entertainment Television | Sony Electronics Asia Pacific | SET | |
| Plisch Broadcast Asia Pacific | — | ||
 | Sentech | Sentech | Sentech |
| Korean Broadcasting Institute | — | KBI |
| Worldwide Global Media Limited | — | YA*TV |
 | Dolby Sweden | — | |
| Digital Video Broadcasting | — | DVB |
| Tonga Broadcasting Commission | Komisoni Fakamafolalea Tonga | TBC |
| VT Communications | United Kingdom VT Group Plc | VT Communications |
| International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers | International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers | IABM | |
| Broadcast UK Limited | — | Radioscape | |
| Pacific Television Center | — | PacTV |
| Radio Free Asia | — | RFA | |
| Pacific Satellite Connection | — | PACSAT | |
Other activities
Emergency Warning Broadcasting System (EWBS) for the Asia-Pacific region
EWBS development work has focused on identifying a suitable country code methodology. This system of codes has now been standardised by ITU-R. The General Assembly in Beijing endorsed the work carried out by the TC and issued an ABU Declaration calling all members to encourage their respective governments to implement an EWBS system.
ABU Engineering Excellence Awards
ABU Engineering Industry Excellence Award and ABU Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award are presented annually to broadcast personalities who have made significant contributions respectively to their organisations and to the industry as a whole. They are selected from nominations made by ABU members and followed by an evaluation process by a panel of judges. The Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award is being sponsored by Broadcast and Professional Pacific Asia Company (BPPA). The award includes a study tour of Sony research facilities.
Publications
The ABU publishes the ABU News magazine while the Technical Department publishes the Technical Review. Both publications are published quarterly. They are sent free to members and non-affiliates and published in print version, downloadable in PDF format through the ABU's Publications area of the ABU's website and on ABU's app on Android. The ABU also publishes books related to broadcasting which is available in print.
Inter-union activities
The World Broadcasting Unions (WBU) brings together eight unions including the ABU. The WBU has a number of specialised forums, including the International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG) and the Technical Committee (WBU-TC). The ABU is an active member of both.
See also
- ABU Song Festivals
- Arab States Broadcasting Union
- Asia-Pacific Robot Contest
- Association for International Broadcasting
- Caribbean Broadcasting Union
- Caribbean News Agency
- Commonwealth Broadcasting Association
- Commonwealth Press Union
- European Broadcasting Union
- International Telecommunication Union
- National Association of Broadcasters
- North American Broadcasters Association
- Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana
- Smart Alliance
- World Radio Network
References
- "ABU TV and Radio Song Festival 2012". ESCKAZ.com. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- "ABU General Assembly 2012 Seoul". Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- "ABU Members". Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
- Granger, Anthony. "Lebanon: Radio Liban Joins The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union". Eurovoix. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
