28 September 2015
Alhurra Television launches Delusional Paradise, a ground-breaking documentary series on Sept. 26th, exposing the brutality of extremism and the viciousness of Daesh. The Alhurra-produced program goes beyond the daily death count, to focus on the human stories of the living victims.
Delusional Paradise concentrates on the families and communities who have lost loved ones to Daesh. Through raw and griping firsthand accounts, they express their anger and grief as reluctant witnesses to extremism. The program gives a voice and platform to victims, many of whom are speaking publicly for the first time. It airs every Saturday at 20:00 GMT.
“Alhurra’s team searched the Arab world to bring original human stories about the suffering of extremism victims. This program sheds light on the pain and suffering caused by Daesh in a way not often seen on Arab television,” stated Brian Conniff, President of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN). MBN manages and oversees Alhurra. “We wanted to share the real stories of the destruction caused by Daesh, not the ones put out by their propaganda.”
The first episodes focus on parents whose sons left to fight with Daesh and were killed. They denounce Daesh’s actions and its claims to represent Islam. Umm Mohamed, a Tunisian mother who is inconsolable due to the loss of her son, heard from strangers that he was killed. “My son is not a martyr,” she says, “martyrs don’t kill their Muslim brothers.” Nevertheless, she lives on the hope of learning the facts about his death. The series continues with stories from Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, Jordan, Syria and other countries.
Alhurra is operated by the non-profit corporation MBN and is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG serves oversight and as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters. (Source: Alhurra TV press release)
24 September 2015
Globecast, the global solutions provider for media, has announced today that it has successfully completed a major project with its customer Lagardère SPORTS to bring comprehensive daily coverage of the 11th All Africa Games to European and African audiences.
The 11th All Africa Games took place from September 4–19 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. This edition marked the 50th anniversary of the Games – with over 50 countries involved in 22 sports – as well as their return to the Congo.
Globecast was contracted by sports marketing agency Lagardère SPORTS, leader in the management of marketing and audiovisual rights for sports in Europe and Africa.
Globecast provided two flyaway antennas in Brazzaville with dedicated satellite capacity for four contribution feeds (equivalent to 300 hours of satellite time) from the country to France. These four feeds were received in Globecast’s Paris headquarters with London operating as backup.
As well as the technical infrastructure, Globecast also took the four feeds arriving in its Parisian MCR and created a comprehensive single package for broadcasters. This included three language variants – Arabic, French and English. This was achieved using dedicated commentary facilities within Globecast with the programme broadcast for six hours per day using three satellite feeds for European and African broadcasters to retransmit. On request, the distribution of additional private (unilateral) signals for European and African broadcasters was also made possible.
Michele Gosetti, VP Contribution and Media Services at Globecast, says, “We are very pleased that our contribution expertise – technical, logistical and editorial – has been recognised by Lagardère SPORTS. We have extensive experience of operating across Africa, often in challenging conditions. With three engineers in Brazzaville and a dozen people dedicated to the operation in our Paris MCR during the All Africa Games, the results were great and this was a successful project.” (Source: Globecast press release)
22 September 2015
Arqiva has today announced the launch of the nostalgic British film channel, Talking Pictures TV – an independent archive film and television company – on Freeview channel 81. Available from 13:00 on Tuesday 22 September 2015, people watching Talking Pictures TV will be able to relax at home and watch vintage and rare films, 24 hours a day, and relive their memories of the ‘Saturday morning pictures’. The channel will broadcast in standard definition nationally in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland with just over 72 per cent population coverage, from the Arqiva Freeview multiplex.
Talking Pictures TV is a family-run business, which first began as a classic films DVD label under Renown Pictures Ltd. With its own large library of rights for UK films and acquired programming from many major broadcasters, Talking Pictures began to see a huge demand for its DVD content, and saw the opportunity to launch a TV channel. Targeted at the mature audience who grew up going to the Saturday Morning Pictures, viewers can now watch vintage films from the 1930s through to the 1960s on TV.
Sarah Cronin-Stanley, Director Talking Pictures TV explained “Talking Pictures TV is the only broadcaster to offer TV viewers the opportunity to watch nostalgic films of this genre for free, on Freeview. By launching on Freeview, we’re excited to be able to deliver such a unique experience to a much broader audience of movie lovers, or those people who may discover a new interest in classic films through channel surfing and discovering Talking Pictures TV! ”
Mike Finchen, Director, DTT MuxCo at Arqiva commented, “It’s great to be able to add another movie channel to Freeview. Freeview gives niche broadcasters, like Talking Pictures TV, the chance to not only air content to an audience who already knows and loves its brand, but to engage and expand its footprint with a broader set of viewers who may enjoy vintage films but weren’t aware of the service.”
If viewers are able to receive BBC News HD on Freeview Channel 107, then subject to rescanning their TV or set top box, they should be able to view Talking Pictures TV on Channel 81 with effect from 13:00 on Tuesday 22 September, 2015.
21 September 2015
SES (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), the world-leading satellite operator, today announced the launch of this year’s annual training for the Andean Community as part of the company’s strategy to provide worldwide training, bringing together broadcast communities and growing the future digital ecosystem.
SES-10, the new Ku-band satellite, is expected to launch next year and will use the 67 degrees West orbital slot to provide coverage to Latin America and the Caribbean, including member countries of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru).
The specifically designed beam of SES-10, combined with its optimum elevation angle, represents a unique proposition for the Andean Community’s telecommunications operators, broadcasters and service providers. A total of 15 delegates from the Community, representing each Member State, and the General Secretariat of the Andean Community, arrived at the SES headquarters in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, today for the five-day training session.
“The training will enable member countries of the Andean Community to optimise SES-10’s coverage,” said Gerhard Bethscheider, Managing Director at SES Techcom Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES which is in charge of the training. “By interacting directly with our experts, the delegates will develop their knowledge and gain a deep insight into the workings of a satellite. These sessions will also open the doors for potential future partnerships between the Andean Community and SES in areas like disaster response communications and e-health.”
As with the first training held last September, the new group of participants will start with an introductory overview of the satellite communications industry and then be taken through a series of sessions that cover the lifecycle of a satellite.
Technical, operational, business and regulatory matters will all be covered. Participants will conclude the training with a hands-on exercise, where they will apply their newly-acquired knowledge to design a value proposition and business model for a satellite network.
“We pride ourselves on going beyond the technical provision of satellite capacity to enable our customers and their end-users to utilize our technology, bringing social and economic benefits to both the Andean Community and Latin America,” added Bethscheider. “This is one of a number of sessions we plan to host in the near future to bring together broadcast communities in different corners of the world and help grow our ecosystem.” (Source : SES press release)
15 September 2015
Today, Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicações de Moçambique renewed its relationship with Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), one of the world’s leading providers of satellite services, for satellite solutions that will help the company deliver broadband connectivity to corporate networks and provide cellular backhaul services to support residents in remote areas of Mozambique.
Under the multi-year agreement, Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicações de Moçambique will use C-band capacity on Intelsat 902 at 62.0°E to provide dual band connectivity for its own transport network and use with local cellular operators. For a country such as Mozambique that is susceptible to heavy rainfall and flooding, C-band spectrum is particularly useful given its known performance and durability in adverse weather conditions.
“Our customers expect and deserve fast, reliable and continuous broadband connectivity regardless of location or weather,” said Zainadin Dalsuco, Chief Executive Officer, Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicações Moçambique. “By partnering with Intelsat, we can quickly scale our existing network to meet the increasing broadband demands in the remote areas of Mozambique and ensure that our network infrastructure is robust enough to retain and, as needed, quickly restore service to local cellular operators and their customers throughout the country.”
“Access to high-quality and consistent broadband connectivity is essential for socio-economic development and the continuous growth of businesses and local communities. Intelsat’s C-band satellite services are incredibly resilient and a great complement to a network operator’s existing infrastructure,” said Rhys Morgan, Interim Regional Sales Manager, Africa, Intelsat. “This partnership will allow Empresa Nacional de Telecoms Mozambique to provide a reliable, always-on broadband service that will enhance customer satisfaction, and with mobile penetration rates in the country at sixty nine percent, allow the company to extend its network into untapped areas of Mozambique.”
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