WRN Launches New Brand and Facility  
At the end of April 2010, WRN unveiled its new brand identity.  Henceforth, the company will be known as WRN Broadcast, a name that encapsulates who we are and what we do - that is, providing professional broadcast solutions to our growing list of clients worldwide.

We recently relaunched our website and our new visual identity is a further development of that look and feel, but with the addition of some vibrant colour. This represents not only the growing part of our business, television ingest, playout and managed services, but also the fact that radio continues to deliver some of the best pictures in the minds of the listeners, where the colours can be even more vibrant for some.  

The change of company name reflects last year's acquisition of TSI Broadcast and the integration of the two companies is now complete. We have completely rebuilt our technical facilities and our new Media Centre represents one of the finest state-of-the-art ingest and playout centres in Europe. Not only has this resulted in an increased range of broadcast services but has also seen our technical staffing levels double as we continue to invest in service delivery for clients.

David Treadway, WRN Broadcast's Managing Director, says: "We intend to build on our broadcasting and digital expertise to offer a wide range of innovative and cost-effective services to international television broadcasters and brands, in addition to our longstanding radio clients. The new Media Centre is central to this and will enable WRN Broadcast to take centre stage in TV and digital platforms as well as radio broadcasting."

If you would like any more information about the rebrand or the new Media Centre, please contact the Sales team on [email protected]

Sony Radio Academy Awards
The UK's most prestigious radio accolades, the Sony Radio Academy Awards, were this year held at the Grosvenor Hotel in Mayfair and hosted by Chris Evans.

The Awards proved to be a successful night for clients of WRN Broadcast, with both NME Radio and Absolute Radio scooping up Gold Awards, whilst Jazz FM - fellow inhabitants of the WRN Broadcast Media Village - picked up a Silver. Last, but not least, long standing client Prision Radio took home a Bronze.

For all that attended, it was clear that radio continues to attract a high volume of talented individuals to the industry. Client Account Managers,  Simon Walter and Fleur Nittolo both attended the awards and were the first to join in the celebrations with our victorious clients.

For more information about the Sony Awards refer to http://www.radioawards.org/  

Radio Netherlands launches Radio with Pictures
Renowned international broadcaster Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) was the first client to take advantage of WRN Broadcast's new and revolutionary satellite product. Radio with Pictures allows satellite and cable radio stations to display visual content on TV screens. Visuals could include live graphics, existing web content or interactive SMS and Twitter feeds.

WRN Broadcast's Managing Director, David Treadway, said: "Many radio stations use satellite and cable to extend their reach as these platforms offer relatively low barriers to entry, with lower costs and fewer regulatory hurdles. However, audiences prefer to have something on their TV screen rather than it being blank.

"Radio with Pictures addresses this missed opportunity, transforming satellite radio channels on digital TV platforms into full-service television channels but at a fraction of the cost of TV. This enables broadcasters to interact with their audience in a new way whilst also creating potential new revenue streams."

For more information about Radio with Pictures and how the product can add a new and innovative dimension to your existing radio service, please contact the Sales Department on [email protected] or +44 20 7896 4020.

WRN Broadcast launches Family Radio on Atlantic Bird 4A 
WRN Broadcast has recently launched Family Radio onto the Atlantic Bird 4A satellite, providing them with coverage across North Africa and Middle East regions.

Family Radio have a 50 year heritage in producing and broadcasting Christian content received in a range of major languages throughout the world. A client of WRN Broadcast for many years, this new service represents an exciting opportunity for Family Radio to broadcast all three of their international radio channels to a growing audience in the region.

WRN Broadcast continues to provide Family Radio with consultation and bespoke solutions for numerous opportunities in line with the organisation's wider broadcasting strategy. 

We have the capabilities to launch clients with radio content onto AtlanticBird 4A and a range of international satellite platforms. For more information please contact the Sales Department on [email protected] and +44 20 7896 4020. 

Sirius-XM Increases Audience Share
Great news for broadcasters on WRN English for North America as Sirius-XM again increases its audience share; a total of 11.4m are now subscribing to Sirius-XM thanks to the OEM units provided in new cars.

Total subscriptions for Sirius-XM now formally stand at 18,944,199 (as at 31st March) with the quarter seeing growth again, up 171,441, which is a huge improvement on Q1/09 when 402,000 subscribers walked away. Sirius-XM says it expects a net gain this year of 500,000 subscriptions.

The World Radio Network (a sub brand of WRN Broadcast) broadcasts 24/7 news and current affairs radio networks in five different languages - English, French, German, Arabic and Russian. The networks are made up of aggregated content from international public service broadcasters and renowned programme makers, presenting perspectives from around the globe.

WRN Broadcast re-modelled its North American network specifically for satellite radio by adding a wide variety of programming from the world's news broadcasters and is available on Sirius channel 140 and XM channel 135.

For more information on WRN North America or any of WRN Broadcast's other networks, please contact the Sales Team +44 (0) 207 896 4020 or e-mail [email protected]

Freesat Awards
On Wednesday 30th June, the Freesat Awards will be held in London's West End, honouring the best in digital TV and TV-related industries.

There are ten different awards up for grabs, including Best Specialist Radio Station which will hopefully see one of WRN Broadcast's own clients up on the podium. The winners of each category will be judged by a panel of industry experts including Fru Hazlitt, Former Chief Executive at GCap Media; Jemima Kiss, Digital Reporter for Guardian News and Media; and Ben Preston, Editor at Radio Times.

The deadline for entering the awards has now passed, but for details on the awards and how to vote visit http://www.freesat.co.uk/awards

Freesat is the new digital UK platform that launched in May 2008, providing the first HD digital TV and radio, complete with interactivity, all from one subscription, contract-free box. The platform makes HD TV available to 98% of UK households, some of which have previously been unable to benefit from this technology due to coverage, price or subscription contracts. Since the launch of Freesat, over one million receivers have been sold to British homes. As Freesat is served by the Eurobird 1 satellite, existing Sky broadcasters can gain access to this new platform at very little cost.

WRN Broadcast is able to supply satellite uplink and capacity and EPG services for Freesat and is also able to guide clients through the entire process of launching on the platform.

For more information regarding Freesat, please contact the Sales Team on [email protected]