The Associated Press has signed a landmark distribution deal with the Press Association which will see PAs UK video news footage integrated into APs extensive video archive.
The agreement will dramatically extend the reach of PAs video footage beyond the UK, and will significantly bolster the UK news element of APs video offering.
From today, APs archive customers are able to access over 18,000 archived UK video news, entertainment and sports stories, amounting to 35,000 minutes of PAs video footage. New PA content will continue to be added on a daily basis with around 15 new stories being added each day. The PA stories supplied to AP have been specifically designed as `archive-friendly` compilations of the rushes from which the story was created. Fully shotlisted, the stories provide customers with longer sequences and greater depth than the tightly edited packages offered by other suppliers.
The deal also heralds a breakthrough in the speed with which video content can be accessed by archive clients. PAs footage will be available on APs archive website www.aparchive.com on the day of filming and can be easily accessed via AP. This contrasts sharply with competitor commercial archives where there is usually a time lag of several days before new content becomes available. This provides AP with a considerable edge in a market that is increasingly driven by speed.
The Press Association has ramped up its production of video news in recent years and launched its own video portal for UK clients in 2010. As well as investing in a team of dedicated video journalists, PA has instigated a training programme to multi-skill its news reporters and now has over 60 journalists covering news events in words, pictures and video.
Tony Watson, Managing Director, Press Association, commented: In recent years PA has worked hard to increase its video content output, and this has proved popular with newspapers and broadcasters alike.
By integrating our high quality UK video news into APs video portal we are not only increasing our potential client base, but we are able to offer UK video news to global clients quicker than ever before.
APs director of international archives, Alwyn Lindsey added, PA is now a significant force in UK video newsgathering and the addition of PAs video to APs offering provides customers with a fast, fresh and cost-effective alternative in the market. The PA video packages supplied to AP have been configured specifically with archive customers in mind, which is a unique approach and one that we expect to be very popular.