Visnews was a London-based international news agency. It began as the British Commonwealth International Newsfilm Agency (BCINA), which was setup with help from The Rank Organisation when that company closed its cinema newsreel operation. The original headquarters in School Road, Acton, London NW10, had formerly been a Rank Laboratory. The founder shareholder broadcasters were the ABC (Australia), the BBC , CBC (Canada) CYBC (Cyprus) and NZBC (New Zealand).
35-524: Its main competitor for the early part of its existence was UPITN (later Worldwide Television News, WTN; this was taken over in 1998 by APTV, to form Associated Press Television News or APTN). By 1992, Visnews was owned by NBC News (37.75%), the BBC (11%) and Reuters ; Reuters bought out the others' shareholdings in the company that year. In 1993 it changed its name to Reuters Television and its operations were absorbed into Reuters' global operations. Visnews
70-540: A Regional Radiocommunication Conference to abrogate the ST61 plan and to put a new plan for DTT broadcasting only in its place. In December 2005, the European Union decided to cease all analog audio and analog video television transmissions by 2012 and switch all terrestrial television broadcasting to digital audio and digital video (all EU countries have agreed on using DVB-T ). The Netherlands completed
105-607: A virtual channel is defined as part of the ATSC stream metadata so that a station can transmit on any frequency but still show the same channel number. Additionally, free-to-air television repeaters and signal boosters can be used to rebroadcast a terrestrial television signal using an otherwise unused channel to cover areas with marginal reception. (see Pan-American television frequencies for frequency allocation charts) Analog television channels 2 through 6, 7 through 13, and 14 through 51 are only used for LPTV translator stations in
140-448: A certain number of frequencies by virtue of the ST61 plan, not all of them were brought into service. The first National Television System Committee standard was introduced in 1941. This standard defined a transmission scheme for a black-and-white picture with 525 lines of vertical resolution at 60 fields per second. In the early 1950s, this standard was superseded by a backward-compatible standard for color television . The NTSC standard
175-461: A full satellite uplink are able to use the local agency bureaux. AP has a department called "AP360" which specialises in providing on site production and transmission facilities either through the AP bureaux infrastructure or at breaking or set-piece news events. APTN managed to get a satellite dish and transmission gear into Banda Aceh , Indonesia , following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake before
210-532: A graduated program. The first centre to experience analog switch-off was the remote Victorian regional town of Mildura , in 2010. The government supplied underprivileged houses across the nation with free digital set-top converter boxes in order to minimize conversion disruption. Australia's major free-to-air television networks were all granted digital transmission licenses and are each required to broadcast at least one high-definition and one standard-definition channel into all of their markets. In North America,
245-560: A network of local bureaux by the agencies means that local staff with expert knowledge are on hand to capture footage in places where Western camera crews could be in danger. An example of this is the Kosovo War in Serbia during which most journalists left the country prior to the NATO bombing campaign. In addition, TV reporters who often do not have the budgets or expertise to carry with
280-515: A regular schedule of experimental television programmes . However, these early experimental systems had insufficient picture quality to attract the public, due to their mechanical scan technology, and television did not become widespread until after World War II with the advent of electronic scan television technology. The television broadcasting business followed the model of radio networks , with local television stations in cities and towns affiliated with television networks , either commercial (in
315-697: A specification laid out by the ATSC has become the standard for digital terrestrial television. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set the final deadline for the switch-off of analog service for 12 June 2009. All television receivers must now include a DTT tuner using ATSC . In Canada, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) set 31 August 2011 as
350-680: Is a type of television broadcasting in which the content is transmitted via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an antenna . The term terrestrial is more common in Europe and Latin America, while in Canada and the United States it is called over-the-air or simply broadcast . This type of TV broadcast is distinguished from newer technologies, such as satellite television ( direct broadcast satellite or DBS television), in which
385-536: Is also made available from its extensive film and video archives, which date back to 1895. It includes the film and video archives of onetime AP rival UPI 's longtime newsfilm service United Press International Television News , which was the original agency that became WTN. AP Video is based in North London (in a former gin warehouse on the Regent's Canal called "The Interchange" because its original function
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#1732786593889420-806: Is the video division of the Associated Press . It provides many of the world's broadcasters with a round-the-clock continuous feed of news, sports, entertainment and feature video content. Associated Press Television News Ltd. is a UK corporation owned and controlled by the Associated Press. Headquartered in North London , AP Television News was founded in 1994 as Associated Press Television or APTV. They moved to their present headquarters in 1999 when APTV bought out competitor Worldwide Television News (WTN) and hired Roberto FE Soto as their first NYC Bureau Chief. The WTN building and facilities located at 1995 Broadway were deemed more suitable than
455-1043: Is used while testing their DTT platform. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Advanced Television Systems Committee developed the ATSC standard for digital high-definition terrestrial transmission. This standard was eventually adopted by many American countries, including the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras; however, the four latter countries reversed their decision in favor of ISDB-Tb . The Pan-American terrestrial television operates on analog channels 2 through 6 ( VHF -low band, 54 to 88 MHz, known as band I in Europe), 7 through 13 (VHF-high band, 174 to 216 MHz, known as band III elsewhere), and 14 through 51 ( UHF television band, 470 to 698 MHz, elsewhere bands IV and V ). Unlike with analog transmission, ATSC channel numbers do not correspond to radio frequencies. Instead,
490-525: The VHF and UHF bands. Since radio waves in these bands travel by line of sight , reception is generally limited by the visual horizon to distances of 64–97 kilometres (40–60 miles), although under better conditions and with tropospheric ducting , signals can sometimes be received hundreds of kilometers distant. Terrestrial television was the first technology used for television broadcasting. The BBC began broadcasting in 1929 and by 1930 many radio stations had
525-585: The AP. As of 2023, the APTN abbreviation is not officially used, but many broadcasters still refer to the organisation as APTN. AP distributes video to its client broadcasters around the world, mostly by satellite and streaming. Many major broadcasters and networks rely heavily upon The AP for major breaking news from around the world. The company also provides specialised broadcast services to clients, via its AP360 operation, such as editing, crewing or satellite feeds from news and sports events. Historical footage
560-668: The APTN video feed by local terrestrial circuits, known as "local ends," via the BT Tower .) Video news agencies such as AP, and its main competitors AFP TV and Reuters Video News, typically do not produce programmes that TV owners could watch. Rather, they provide footage of an event with only natural sound and very loose editing. However, AP does also produce a range of entertainment and special interest programmes that are provided as white-label products for client use. Agency customers, who are local and national TV stations, documentary producers, cable television news channels, and
595-486: The Australian broadcasters. Visnews was also one of the first suppliers of news production to British Sky Broadcasting for its Sky News channel, commencing its contract in 1989. Associated Press Television News Associated Press Video , also referred to as AP Video and AP Television News (abbreviated APTN ), is a global video news agency operated by The Associated Press (AP). AP Television News
630-467: The US) or government-controlled (in Europe), which provided content. Television broadcasts were in greyscale (called black and white ) until the transition to color television in the 1960s. There was no other method of television delivery until the 1950s with the beginnings of cable television and community antenna television (CATV). CATV was, initially, only a re-broadcast of over-the-air signals. With
665-603: The United States. Channels 52 through 69 are still used by some existing stations, but these channels must be vacated if telecommunications companies notify the stations to vacate that signal spectrum. By convention, broadcast television signals are transmitted with horizontal polarization. Terrestrial television broadcast in Asia started as early as 1939 in Japan through a series of experiments done by NHK Broadcasting Institute of Technology . However, these experiments were interrupted by
700-478: The agencies, and on rare occasions footage shot by the public (such as the famous footage of the 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde outside Paris and the hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 , which ditched off the Comoro Islands in 1996) Footage shot with broadcast-quality cameras is preferred, but quality can sometimes come second to content or immediacy for an exclusive story. The maintenance of
735-755: The beginning of the World War II in the Pacific. On February 1, 1953, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) began broadcasting. On August 28, 1953, Nippon TV (Nippon Television Network Corporation), the first commercial television broadcaster in Asia was launched. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Alto Broadcasting System (now ABS-CBN Corporation ), the first commercial television broadcaster in Southeast Asia , launched its first commercial terrestrial television station DZAQ-TV on October 23, 1953, with
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#1732786593889770-474: The existing AP headquarters and Soto redesigned the newsroom, where APTN NY stayed until AP moved their operations to W 33 street in New York City , and later to 200 Liberty Street in New York City in 2017, where they remain. Since its rebranding in 2005, the APTN name and logo was dropped in favour of "AP Television News", featuring the red AP logo of the Associated Press to emphasise its connection to
805-500: The help of Radio Corporation of America (RCA). By the mid-1990s, the interest in digital television across Europe was such the CEPT convened the "Chester '97" conference to agree on means by which digital television could be inserted into the ST61 frequency plan . The introduction of digital terrestrial television in the late 1990s and early years of the 21st century led the ITU to call
840-654: The like, edit the agency footage to suit their style, and add their own graphics and voice-overs before transmission. The premise for a video news agency is simple: very few TV stations devote enough money to newsgathering to put hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of camera, editing, and satellite transmission equipment everywhere that news might happen. Video news agencies provide rapid response coverage and international reach for those TV stations. The agency obtains footage from their own camera crews, arrangements with local TV broadcasters to redistribute their material, material shot by freelancers who sell their footage to
875-625: The old 405-line system, while UHF was used solely for 625-line broadcasts (which later used PAL color). Television broadcasting in the 405-line system continued after the introduction of four analog programs in the UHF bands until the last 405-line transmitters were switched off on January 6, 1985. VHF Band III was used in other countries around Europe for PAL broadcasts until the planned phase-out and switch over to digital television. The success of analog terrestrial television across Europe varied from country to country. Although each country had rights to
910-453: The region was closed to air traffic. This became just about the only live video feed point available for the world's media, and was used extensively by network reporters for transmitting their recorded reports, or going "live" on air into their news and bulletins. Wherever viewers see the same footage on more than one news station, the chances are that it came either from or via a video news agency. There has been little published research into
945-492: The signal is transmitted to the receiver from an overhead satellite ; cable television , in which the signal is carried to the receiver through a cable ; and Internet Protocol television , in which the signal is received over an Internet stream or on a network utilizing the Internet Protocol . Terrestrial television stations broadcast on television channels with frequencies between about 52 and 600 MHz in
980-667: The switchover by 2012 due to technical limitations; the rest of the EU member states had stopped analog television transmissions by the end 2012. Many countries are developing and evaluating digital terrestrial television systems. Australia has adopted the DVB-T standards and the government's industry regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority , has mandated that all analog transmissions will cease by 2012. Mandated digital conversion started early in 2009 with
1015-563: The transition in December 2006, and some EU member states decided to complete their switchover as early as 2008 (Sweden), and (Denmark) in 2009. While the UK began to switch off analog broadcasts, region by region, in late 2007, it was not completed until 24 October 2012. Norway ceased all analog television transmissions on 1 December 2009. Two member states (not specified in the announcement) expressed concerns that they might not be able to proceed to
1050-423: The widespread adoption of cable across the United States in the 1970s and 1980s, viewing of terrestrial television broadcasts has been in decline; in 2018, it was estimated that about 14% of US households used an antenna. However, in certain other regions terrestrial television continue to be the preferred method of receiving television, and it is estimated by Deloitte as of 2020 that at least 1.6 billion people in
1085-733: The work of television news agencies apart from a 2011 book which argues that through their agenda-setting role, they are an important, but mostly hidden, force shaping the global conversation about politics and international affairs. APTN's corporate services division produces and distributes video news releases (VNRs) , video-form press release designed for use on broadcast television, for businesses' public relations campaigns. APTN offers this service despite concern among journalists about some news broadcasters relying on VNR material for their news budgets instead of broadcasting their own original reporting. Terrestrial television Terrestrial television , or over-the-air television ( OTA )
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1120-431: The world receive at least some television using these means. The largest market is thought to be Indonesia , where 250 million people watch through terrestrial. By 2019, over-the-top media service (OTT) which is streamed via the internet had become a common alternative. Following the ST61 conference, UHF frequencies were first used in the UK in 1964 with the introduction of BBC2 . In the UK, VHF channels were kept on
1155-579: Was exclusively being used in the Americas as well as Japan until the introduction of digital terrestrial television (DTT). While Mexico has ended all its analog television broadcasts and the United States and Canada have shut down nearly all of their analog TV stations, the NTSC standard continues to be used in the rest of Latin American countries except for Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay where PAL-N standard
1190-484: Was one of two major independent television news suppliers, the other being WTN. At its peak, Visnews supplied international news material to 400 broadcasters globally. In its early days, distribution was mainly through shipped film and electronically via the Eurovision News Exchange. Later there were ad-hoc satellite news feeds, and in 1975 it started the world's first daily satellite news service, to
1225-457: Was to interchange freight between the canal and rail systems) with bureaus in 85 cities and 79 nations, including New York City , Washington D.C. , Paris , Rome and Moscow ; as well as current-event regions such as Iraq and Afghanistan . It uses fibre-optic and satellite-based distribution networks to relay video footage to TV networks and newsrooms . (Broadcasters based in London receive
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