Antenna Audio

Antenna Audio is a company that produces audio tours and multimedia interpretation for many museums, art galleries and other clients around the world. The company has offices in London, San Francisco, Paris, Rome, Berlin, New York, Amsterdam, Bangkok and elsewhere. The UK head office is in Bermondsey and the US head office is in Sausalito, California.

The company won the Queen's Award for Enterprise (Innovation category) in 2003.

Antenna Tours began as a division of Antenna Theater, a performing arts organization founded in 1980 to create original work exploring new forms of theatrical experience. The group's founder, Chris Hardman, developed "Walkmanology" for the Antenna Theater's first production, "High School," which premiered at Tamalpais High School, Mill Valley, California, in 1981. [ [http://www.antenna-theater.org/reviewshs81.htm Archived reviews at antenna-theater.org] ] Antenna Audio's first major audio tour was for the infamous Alcatraz Island penitentiary in San Francisco bay [ [http://www.nps.gov/alcatraz/ NPS.gov information] ] , which is still being used today.

In 1998, Antenna Tours was acquired by Arts Communications and Technology Ltd (ACT)to form Antenna Audio. [ACT was founded by Iain Burton in London in 1994 and quickly became the leading audio tour company in the world (outside USA) and had pioneered the invention and use of portable communication devices in Museums & Art Galleries. ACT had worked with Antenna in USA for three years prior to the merger. http://www.antennaaudio.com/content/section/5/32/lang,en_GB/ Antenna Audio history page] ] It was acquired by Discovery Communications in 2006, who on March 29, 2007 announced their intent to sell Antenna Audio to Cox Communications as part of a multi-billion dollar transaction. [ [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-29-2007/0004555929&EDATE= PRnewswire.com information] ] "Travel Media’s ownership of Antenna Audio was initially part of the deal, but was later excluded by mutual agreement of the two parties." [ [http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1320482/000095013407011438/d46725exv99w1.htm Sec.gov information] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.antennaaudio.com/ Company website]
* [http://www.museumsassociation.org/12890 Company information] and [http://www.museumsassociation.org/organisation/13100 supplier information] from the Museums Association