14 January 2016
Al Jazeera Media Network on Wednesday announced from Doha its intention to expand its existing international digital services to broaden its multi-platform presence in the United States. As audiences increasingly turn to multiple platforms, including mobile devices, for news and information, this expansion will allow US and non-US consumers alike to access the Network’s journalism and content wherever and whenever they want.
The expanded digital platform will augment the Network’s successful current digital offerings, including AJ+ which has achieved more than two billion online video views since its inception in September 2014.
The Network’s commitment to its digital transformation of its global operations is consistent with its mission to inform and engage audiences no matter who or where they are. By expanding its digital content and distribution services to now include the US, the Network will be better positioned to innovate and compete in an overwhelmingly digital world to serve today’s 24-hour digitally focused audience.
Over the coming months the Network intends to provide more details around the forthcoming expansion of its multi-platform digital services to the US.
Separately, Al Anstey, CEO of Al Jazeera America, today announced that Al Jazeera America would cease operation by April 30, 2016. While Al Jazeera America built a loyal audience across the US and increasingly was recognised as an important new voice in television news, the economic landscape of the media environment has driven its strategic decision to wind down its operations and conclude its service. Al Jazeera America is committed to conducting this process in a way that is consistent with its respect for colleagues.
Anstey said: “I have witnessed and worked alongside some of the most talented people any organisation could wish for. Since its launch in 2013, the work done by the team at Al Jazeera America has been recognised with nearly every major award an American news organisation can receive. I greatly respect the unrivalled commitment and excellent work of our team, which has created great journalism. We have increasingly set ourselves apart from all the rest, and the achievements of the past two-and-a-half years should be a source of immense pride for everyone.”
Source: www.aljazeera.com
14 January 2016
Progressive political journalist Ed Schultz is joining RT America, beginning January 25, 2016, to host his new primetime news program, ‘NEWS WITH ED SHULTZ’ at 8pm EST weeknights. On his new show, Schultz will focus on exploring issues that most affect working Americans, particularly within the context of the upcoming US presidential election.
“Ed Schultz is one of the best-known and well-respected progressive commentators in America,” said Margarita Simonyan, RT’s Editor-in-Chief. “With Ed helming a show, we are continuing the tradition of collaborating with top international journalistic talent that engages our audience by providing in-depth coverage, analysis and commentary on important but underreported issues to millions of US viewers.”
WATCH PROMO: http://youtu.be/qj9BC4C53OY
“I am very excited to be joining RT,” said Ed Schultz. “The network is firmly established outside of US corporate media and is not afraid to give a platform to diverse voices, stories and perspectives to its viewers, even if it ruffles some mainstream feathers. I can’t think of a better fit than a news broadcaster that bullishly pursues issues that matter to hardworking Americans.”
Schultz’s broadcasting career spans more than two decades. Until recently, he hosted “The Ed Show” on MSNBC; the program was consistently the second-highest rated show on the channel. Schultz has won three Eric Sevareid Awards, managed a broadcast team that won two Marconi Radio Awards and a Peabody Award, and has been named one of the top 10 radio hosts in the country by Talkers Magazine for several years. He will work out of the RT America studios in Washington, DC.
Schultz is a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he achieved All-American status and led the nation in passing as a football quarterback. (Source: RT press release)
12 January 2016
Kymeta Corporation and Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), the world’s leading provider of satellite services, are making the next evolution of connected car a reality. The companies will combine Intelsat’s leadership in space-based communication with Kymeta’s innovative antenna technology to bring high speed connectivity to cars on a global basis. This will enable the creation of new services on every continent, support software over-the-air applications, advance the potential for autonomous driving and pave the way for the future of the connected car.
Last month, in an industry first, Kymeta and Intelsat proved that a “dish” ground antenna was unnecessary for on-the-move satellite connectivity. The team recently completed an 8,000 mile demonstration across the United States using the Kymeta satellite-enabled test car. Over the course of the journey, the mTenna™ technology, embedded into the roof of the automobile, automatically acquired and tracked Intelsat Ku-band satellite signals while on the move.
The future of automotive connectivity is being revolutionized by high throughput satellite connectivity, combined with advancements in software-enabled, metamaterials-based electronic beamforming antenna technology. Together, the technologies allow for connected car solutions that address critical requirements including reliable and consistent service availability, economic multicast distribution, and global ubiquity of service levels with an unmatched security environment. In order to enable software over the air, unlock the new services for streamed content that consumers expect and support advancements in autonomous driving, the industry needs the efficient, consistent connectivity options and a global, scalable solution that only satellite can provide.
“Satellite connectivity can best address the capacity, coverage and security concerns of conventional solutions to car connectivity. Better yet, these assets are available now. We don’t have to wait 10 years for a next generation cellular network to be invented and deployed,” said Dr. Nathan Kundtz, Chief Executive Officer of Kymeta. “This will be crucial because five years from now, every car that comes off a production line should be connected. In fact, we should stop calling it the ‘connected car’, and just call it ‘the car’ because this is the future of automotive.”
“The automotive sector is a global business, where scalability and quality are essential to success,” said Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler. “We are enhancing the world’s largest satellite-broadband infrastructure with our next generation fleet, Intelsat EpicNG, allowing us to deliver highly efficient broadband services in the air, sea, and with Kymeta, to the automotive sector. With our global connectivity, automotive manufacturers and car owners alike will benefit from consistent, highly reliable and secure connectivity, literally anywhere in the world. Intelsat is confident that the future of connected car means satellite-enabled.”
Kymeta’s satellite antennas remove the need for mechanical components by using software to electronically track and steer towards satellites. This ensures that connectivity is maintained regardless of location, and gives manufacturers the ability to use a simple push-notification for software upgrades to guarantee futureproof technology. Working together, Kymeta and Intelsat will ensure that mobility customers are able to receive fast, reliable and cost-effective connectivity regardless of location. (Source: Intelsat press release)
4 January 2016
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| On 4 January, Africanews launched from its headquarters in Congo Brazzaville. Africanews says that it is the first independent pan-African news media, initially reaching its audience through its digital community;:website, YouTube channel, Facebook and Twitter and its innovative and interactive app, “Story Hunters”.
Africanews provides news not just on Africa, but also on the rest of the world, from a purely African perspective. At our current offices in Pointe Noire, 85 media professionals, of 15 different nationalities from all over sub-Saharan Africa, work under the direction of Mame Campbell Touré, Bureau Chief, Isaac Khaguli Esipisu, Editor in Chief, and François Chignac, Director of Editorial Development. An extensive network of correspondents in every African country rounds out the team.
Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews and Africanews stated:
“This is a milestone in the history of our Group. It all began with the recognition that the rising African continent is an incredible source of news and that there is a great pool of talent that lacks a quality media environment. I want to thank all of the people at Africanews and Euronews who have been working together for months to prepare the launch of this new media whose mission is to ensure the independence and diversity of the news, as a founding principle of Africanews. Africanews is the first organisation to provide news from a pan-African point of view and it will spotlight all the talents of Africa.”
In the news stories, features and magazines, Africanews will reflect the great creative diversity, ideas and perspectives of the evolving sub-Saharan Africa. The news coverage will be immediately available on africanews.com and, in a few weeks, the TV channel will start broadcasting across the major distribution networks.
africanews.com
People in Africa and anywhere in the world can now access the africanews.com website.
Presented in four key areas – News / Economy / Sports / Culture – all the essential African and international news will be available in French and English on africanews.com.
With its responsive web design, africanews.com is suited to all mobile, tablet and computer screens and has the added feature of adapting to the quality of the available connection. Viewers may choose from three versions:
| Lite version
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Standard version |
Advanced version |
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| For weak connections, the day’s headlines load quickly (text format only).
Users can browse the news and magazines of Africanews, check the stock markets, get sports scores or select features in the field that interests them the most. |
For a normal connection, the articles are illustrated by photos or standard resolution videos.
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For high-speed connections, the complete site is displayed with texts, photos and HD videos. |
The Africanews media comes with a community app known as “Story Hunters” which invites Africanews TV viewers and website users to play an active role in finding and creating news stories.
The Story Hunters app:
contribute, like, share, comment
More than just an app or a social network, Story Hunters is a news-sharing platform designed to be a forum for expression of all things important for Africa.
Available for iOS and Android devices, in French and English, the app allows users to watch video content published by Africanews, to comment on the items, rate them, send an emoticon, share or re-post them.
Africanews also invites news hunters to join the community so that they can contribute their own photos and videos, by sending them directly from their mobile phone via the app.
Download the app:
The Africanews team will select the best contributions and include them in the special ‘Story Hunters’ programme.
To round out its digital presence, Africanews has also created its first two YouTube channels, and Facebook and Twitter accounts. |
| Advertising sales
Sales of advertising space start today on digital media and on TV in a few weeks.
The first advertisers are: the mobile phone company MTN Congo, Brussels Airlines, and the hotel chain Accor Africa.
Sales contact for advertisers and ad agencies in Africa
Marianne Michelet,
Senior Account Director Africa
tel. +33 (0)1 53 96 60 49 marianne.michelet@euronews.com
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15 December 2015
With over 8,000 miles of successful road testing, Kymeta and Intelsat take significant step towards making global, high-speed connectivity for the connected car a reality
Completion of the first maritime product prototype provides path to scalable, high quality, low cost mobility solutions and compatibility with fleet of Intelsat satellites.
Kymeta Corporation and Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), the world’s leading provider of satellite services, have successfully completed initial testing of the mobility performance of Kymeta’s flat-panel antennas on Intelsat’s global satellite network for both maritime and automotive applications. Kymeta and Intelsat are the first companies to meet this significant milestone with a flat panel, software-based antenna.
In the automotive portion of the test, the team embedded Kymeta’s flat-panel antenna into the roof of an automobile and over the course of 8,000 miles, proved that the company’s mTenna™ technology was able to automatically acquire and track satellite signals while on the move. The Ku-band antenna was able to both transmit and receive signals with Intelsat satellites. It is designed for Intelsat’s current satellites and its next generation high throughput satellites, Intelsat EpicNG, the first of which is expected to launch on January 27, 2016.
Kymeta has also completed building and testing its first glass-on-glass, thin-film-transistor-based antennas, with receive and transmit on the same aperture. This maritime prototype is the workhorse of Kymeta’s 70cm Ku-band product and are currently being produced on existing liquid-crystal display TV display lines, marking the first step towards mass-volume and low-cost attainability for Kymeta antennas.
“We’re excited about these significant milestones and what they mean for our customers,” said, Dr. Nathan Kundtz, Chief Executive Officer of Kymeta. “In partnership with Intelsat, we’re ushering in a new generation of mobile communications that is lower cost and higher bandwidth.”
Kymeta’s flat panel, software-based antennas simplify the access to Intelsat’s satellite fleet by removing the need for mechanical components and by using software to electronically point, steer and acquire the satellite signal. This allows for both the rapid setup and installation of the hardware, in addition to the improved ability to acquire and track satellite signal. Working together, Kymeta and Intelsat will ensure that mobility customers are able to receive fast, reliable and cost-effective connectivity regardless of location.
“At Intelsat, we are pursuing innovation in both satellite technology and ground systems to enable simpler access to our services,” stated Stephen Spengler, Chief Executive Officer of Intelsat. “Our partnership with Kymeta will help ensure that our customers have much easier and more cost effective access to our fleet to leverage the power and higher performance of our satellites to solve their complex connectivity issues. Together, I look forward to using our collective expertise to expand the addressable markets for satellite technology and provide ubiquitous and fast broadband services to the billions of people and devices that need connectivity.”
