27 April 2006
SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company announced the international launch of its new interactive mobile phone service Blucom at the world`s largest electronic media show NAB in Las Vegas.
The innovative SES ASTRA tool for enhanced and interactive television (iTV) will be offered to broadcasters across Europe, Middle East and Africa and is based on Bluetooth technology. It enables the wireless transfer of broadcast data from the Internet or a Bluetooth-enabled TV receiver to the mobile phone, using text messages (SMS) as a return path. In addition, a GPRS/ UMTS functionality is feasible. Blucom has been developed by SES ASTRA`s German subsidiary ASTRA Platform Services (APS) and is already used by several German TV operators.
Blucom is a very interesting possibility for broadcasters and phone operators to develop enhanced TV by distributing programme related content and creating new interactive functions like voting, shopping or betting, said Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES ASTRA. The service offers a simple, attractive and very cost effective way of creating interactivity between viewers and broadcasters. After its successful commercial introduction in Germany this year, we are proud to offer Blucom to international customers.
Blucom is shown at NAB in Las Vegas at the booth of SES Americom (booth # C4145).
27 April 2006
New Skies Satellites, an SES GLOBAL company announced that Rede Canção Nova, the Brazilian Catholic broadcaster, has chosen its NSS-806 Latin American satellite to distribute its free-to-air international channel to cable operators, radio and television affiliates and the general public across Latin America and Europe.
New Skies is pleased to welcome Canção Nova to our Latin American video neighborhood on NSS-806, said Jurandir Pitsch, New Skies senior sales director of Latin America and the Caribbean. Canção Novas decision to choose NSS-806 reconfirms the satellites role as Latin Americas most attractive platform for video distribution and further strengthens New Skies position in supporting spiritual and ethnic broadcasters in reaching new audiences outside of their domestic markets. With its global fleet and mediaport network, New Skies offers religious and ethnic broadcasters a compelling satellite solution for all of their program distribution needs.
Canção Nova targets the Portuguese-speaking community in Europe and Latin America and is broadcast 24 hours a day. The channels mission is to spread its message through the use of mass media and to that effect Canção Nova operates a number of radio channels and a domestic television channel in Brazil.
“New Skies operates one of the leading video neighborhoods in Latin America; joining NSS-806 marks a major step in the development of our channel which seeks to reach out to the Catholic community throughout the world. NSS-806s widespread coverage allows us to expand to new viewers across Latin America and Europe,” said Wellington Silva Jardim, President of Rede Canção Nova. We selected the satellite for its high penetration of cable headends, as well as for its superb, high-powered coverage.
About the NSS-806 Video Neighborhood
NSS-806 is located at 319.5 degrees east, which provides an excellent look angle into Latin American markets while also reaching the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands, Western Europe and much of Eastern Europe. New Skies NSS-806 is the platform of choice for many of the regions national broadcasters and cable programmers, as well as a number international entertainment companies. NSS-806s video neighborhood includes ESPN Brasil, Fox, MGM, Universal, Eurovision (EBU), thus forming one of the largest video communities in Latin America. NSS-806 carries more than 120 channels and reaches a community of over 3,500 cable headends and 14 million households in South, Central and North America.
27 April 2006
WRN, the London-based international broadcaster, today announces the launch of its podcasting service. From 1st May a fantastic schedule of content will be available for download direct from the WRN website at www.wrn.org/podcasting and from iTunes and other podcast directories.
International programme producers providing weekly downloadable shows for the WRN podcasting service include Radio Prague, Radio Poland, Radio Slovakia International, RTE Ireland and Radio Guangdong from China. This list is set to grow over the coming weeks. The WRN Podcasting Team will also be producing exclusive podcast-only content for the service.
Abbie Cunliffe, WRNs Product Development and Distribution Coordinator, comments, WRN is delighted to launch this new service which will make a wealth of international content available as downloadable podcasts. This service follows the WRN strategy of making the content of our international radio clients available across a wide range of media platforms including satellite radio, mobile phones and the Internet.
27 April 2006
Entries for the AIB Awards for international broadcasting close on 8 May 2006. [Note – this a revised closing date]
Click on the logo above to find out how to enter these important
awards that recognise talent, enterprise and effectiveness in international
broadcasting.
27 April 2006
Doug Triblehorn is the AIB’s representative in the Americas. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Doug is the first point of contact for members within the Americas region. He is also the prime contact for organisations based across the Americas who want to get in touch with the AIB.
Doug can be reached at:
3021 Baynam Pond Drive, Wake Forest, NC 27587, USA
T +1 919 556 3876
M +1 919 671 3892
E doug.triblehorn@aib.org.uk
