| Industry | Cultural |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | audio guides |
| Employees | 350 [1] |
| Website | http://www.antennainternational.com |
Antenna International (formerly Antenna Audio) is a company that produces audio tours and multimedia interpretation for many museums, art galleries and heritage sites around the world.[2]
Contents |
Antenna Tours began as a division of Antenna Theater[3], 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.[4] Antenna Audio's first major audio tour was for the Alcatraz Island penitentiary in San Francisco bay,[5] 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. Antenna Audio 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.[6] "Travel Media’s ownership of Antenna Audio was initially part of the deal, but was later excluded by mutual agreement of the two parties."[7] Antenna Audio was acquired by The Wicks Group of Companies L.L.C. (New York)[8] in October 2010 and subsequently changed the company's name to Antenna International.
The company has won several awards[9], full list here: