The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU or APBU), formed in 1964, is a non-profit, professional association of broadcasting organisations. It currently has over 287 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 Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

in the west to

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

in the east, and from

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

in the north to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the south. Its secretariat is located in

Angkasapuri Angkasapuri is the main governmental building for Malaysia's Ministry of Information and it is also the headquarters for Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) located in Lembah Pantai, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. History Pre-Angkasapuri (1946–1968) ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, its secretary-general, currently Dr Javad Mottaghi. One of the ABU's activities is Asiavision, a daily exchange of news feeds by

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

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 Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...

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 The ABU Asia-Pacific Robot Contest (ABU Robocon) is an Asian-Oceanian college robot competition, founded in 2002 by Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. In the competition robots compete to complete a task within a set period of time. The contest ai ...

) *publication of ABU News and Technical Review *started 2012: ABU TV and Radio Song Festivals left, 200px, Journalists from ABU member organisations 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.

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. } , , MRTV , - , rowspan="2", , ,

Nepal Television Nepal Television ( ne, नेपाल टेलिभिजन), shortened to NTV is the Nepalese national public state-controlled television broadcaster. It is the oldest and most watched television channel in Nepal. The news broadcast at 8:0 ...

, , नेपाल टेलिभिजन , , NTV , - ,

Radio Nepal Radio Nepal ( ne, रेडियो नेपाल) is the state-owned Radio broadcasting organisation of Nepal. It was established 2 April 1951. Radio Nepal airs programs on short wave, medium wave ( AM) and FM frequencies. Regular broadcasts ...

, , रेडियो नेपाल , , RNE , - , , , The Radio and Television Broadcasting Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , , , , KRT , - , , ,

Television New Zealand , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the Solo ...

, , ''Television New Zealand''
''Te Reo Tātaki o Aotearoa (Māori)'' , , TVNZ , - , rowspan="2", , , Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation , , , , PBC , - ,

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

, , , , PTV , - , rowspan="2", , , Media Niugini Limited , , — , , MNL , - ,

National Broadcasting Corporation of Papua New Guinea The National Broadcasting Corporation of Papua New Guinea (NBC PNG) is Papua New Guinea's state owned broadcaster. Its head office is in Boroko, Port Moresby, and has approximately 20 locations around the country. It operates two national radi ...

, , ''National Broadcasting Corporation of Papua New Guinea'' , , NBC/PNG , - , rowspan="2", , ,

People's Television Network People's Television Network ( fil, Telebisyon ng Bayan; abbreviated PTV) is the flagship State broadcasting, state broadcaster owned by the Government of the Philippines. Founded in 1974, PTV is the main brand of People's Television Network, In ...

, , ''People's Television Network''
''Telebisyon ng Bayan (Filipino)'' , , PTNI/PTV , - ,

Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) is a Philippines, Philippine State broadcasting, state broadcaster owned by the Government Communications Group under the Presidential Communications Group (Philippines)#Presidential Communicat ...

, , —, , IBC , - , , ,

Qatar Media Corporation Qatar Media Corporation (formerly known as Qatar General Broadcasting and Television Corporation) is a public service broadcasting network in Qatar. It was incorporated on 27 April 1997. Several television channels and radio networks are being r ...

, , المؤسسة القطرية للإعلام , , QMC , - , , , Samoa Broadcasting Corporation , , ''Samoa Broadcasting Corporation'' , , SBC , - , , , Saudi Broadcasting Authority , , هيئة الإذاعة والتلفزيون السعودية , , SBA , - , , , Media Corporation of Singapore , , ''Media Corporation of Singapore Private Limited''
新加坡传媒私人有限公司 ''(Chinese)''
''Perbadanan Media Singapura Sendirian Berhad (Malay)''
சிங்கப்பூர் ஊடகம் கூட்டுத்தாபனம் ''(Tamil)'' , , Mediacorp , - , rowspan="2", , , Korean Broadcasting System , , , , KBS , - , Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation , , , , MBC , - , rowspan="2", , ,

Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව, ''Shrī Lankā Guvan Viduli Sansthāva'', ta, இலங்கை ஒலிபரப்புக் க� ...

, , 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 , - , rowspan="2", , ,

National Broadcasting Services of Thailand National Broadcasting Services of Thailand ( th, สถานีวิทยุโทรทัศน์แห่งประเทศไทย) (NBT) is the broadcasting arm of the Government Public Relations Department (PRD), a division of the ...

, , 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 The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio ...

, , ''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 The National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan ( uz, Oʻzbekiston Milliy teleradiokompaniyasi, MTRK) is the national broadcaster of Uzbekistan, operating four Television network, television networks. Two new Television channel, channels ...

, , ''O'zbekiston milliy teleradiokompaniyasi'' , , MTRK , - , , ,

Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

, , ''Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation''
''Société de Radiodiffusion et Télévision du Vanuatu (French)'' , , VBTC , - , rowspan="3", , ,

Voice of Vietnam The Voice of Vietnam or VOV (also Radio the Voice of Vietnam, Vietnamese: ''Đài Tiếng nói Việt Nam'') is the Vietnamese national radio broadcaster. Directly controlled by the government of Vietnam, it is tasked with propagating the pol ...

, , ''Đài Tiếng nói Việt Nam'' , , VOV , - ,

Vietnam Television Vietnam Television ( vi, Đài Truyền hình Việt Nam), or VTV, is the national television broadcaster of Vietnam. As the state broadcaster under the direction of the government of Vietnam, VTV is tasked with "propagating the views of the ...

, , ''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.

Associate members

* Below is a list of associate members of the ABU. These are international broadcasters beyond the ABU region, and national broadcasting associations.

Institutional members

Affiliated members

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.

References

External links

Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
{{Authority control Broadcasting associations Organizations established in 1964 Organisations based in Kuala Lumpur International organisations based in Malaysia