31 March 2014
Regional broadcaster Channel NewsAsia launches an all-new SMS news alert service in Malaysia. Offered in collaboration with mobile telecommunication service provider, U Mobile, the SMS alert allows subscribers to receive timely and accurate news content from Channel NewsAsia.
This new initiative with U Mobile seeks to become a key platform for Malaysians to be updated on regional and breaking news, and to actively engage viewers of Channel NewsAsia in Malaysia.
Subscribers can receive three categories of news – World, Business and Asia Pacific – in compact 152-character text messages. A much touted feature is a shortened link which directs subscribers to the full news article on Channel NewsAsia’s website. This is a new element that is not known to be currently offered by other SMS news alert providers in Malaysia.
Mr Woon Chuk Chan, Vice President of Channel NewsAsia’s Distribution and Marketing says, “We are delighted to have a vibrant partner in U Mobile for this SMS news alert service. We now live in a dynamic Asia, where the political and economic landscape is fast evolving. Channel NewsAsia has been providing quick, accurate and in-depth reports for the past 15 years in the region, and this new service is a must-have add-on for the modern business and decision makers who are constantly on-the-go.”
Commenting on the collaboration, Ms. Jasmine Lee, U Mobile’s Director of Marketing says, “Enriching interactive content for mobile platforms is the way to go to better engage today’s consumers, in-line with the exponential increase of smartphone penetration and adoption in Malaysia. Our partnership with Channel NewsAsia will provide our customers the latest news updates within the region from a different perspective, which will add value to their mobile experience with U Mobile, aside from the high quality mobile services priced at market-best rates.”
First-time subscribers can enjoy a free first month trial. Users can dial *118*4*1# to find out more about the service, or log on to the following websites for more details: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/mobilenews/sms
https://www.facebook.com/ChannelNewsAsia
Channel NewsAsia has been providing an English SMS news alert service in Singapore for over a decade since 2003. It also launched a Mandarin SMS news alert service just three months ago in December 2013. (Source: Press release)
31 March 2014
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), the world’s leading provider of satellite services, and telecommunications group, Vodacom (JSE: VOD), today announced an agreement under which Intelsat will provide a managed broadband service to Vodacom. The solution will strongly position Vodacom to offer a differentiated broadband service targeting the small office/home office (SOHO) and small/medium enterprise (SME) users across sub-Saharan Africa.
The growth of SMEs in Africa is viewed as a critical component in driving the continent’s further economic development, job creation and increase in GDP. In order to support that growth, SMEs will need consistent broadband connectivity to help ensure that their businesses thrive in an already complex and competitive landscape.
“Our agreement with Intelsat will enable Vodacom to provide our SME and enterprise customers with high quality, reliable, secure and cost-effective connectivity,” stated Vuyani Jarana, Chief Officer of Vodacom Business.
Under the agreement, Intelsat will provide Ku-band satellite broadband capacity to Vodacom on Intelsat 28 at 32.8ºE and deliver a fully integrated and managed solution, powered by Hughes broadband satellite technology. The solution will enable Vodacom to manage its service platform and determine the service levels while maintaining direct engagement with their SOHO and SME customer base. In addition, the scalability of the platform supports Vodacom’s plan to offer broadband service to millions of potential customers across Africa.
When the Intelsat 33e satellite enters service, scheduled for 2016, Vodacom will be able to seamlessly access a high performance overlay that will provide additional throughput for its busiest regions. The Intelsat EpicNG open architecture and flexible broadband platform will enable Vodacom to leverage its existing infrastructure and enhance Vodacom’s Satellite Connect (VSC) product line. This will result in the delivery of more reliable, secure and cost efficient broadband connectivity to the SOHO/SME market across sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania and the DRC.
Grant Marais, Intelsat’s Regional Vice President, Africa, stated, “This new and innovative solution demonstrates Intelsat’s leadership in satellite broadband connectivity. We worked closely with Vodacom to address their future business demands, providing capacity through traditional wide and high-throughput satellite spot beams to locations where our customers need it most. It also reinforces our ability to work with our customers such as Vodacom to anticipate their emerging business demands and tailor our broadband solutions to best fit their business needs and economic model. We look forward to working closely with Vodacom and Hughes to bring the next generation of satellite broadband solutions to the African SME market.”
Resources:
31 March 2014
Japanese architect Shigeru Ban won the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize in March. He is the second Japanese architect in a row, after Toyo Ito, to win. To mark the occasion, NHK WORLD TV’s “J-Architect” in April features the two laureates.
J-Architect – Shigeru Ban
Shigeru Ban has won the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize. While known for innovative architecture, such as the Centre Pompidou-Metz, since the 1990’s he has also devised a model of temporary architecture for disaster victims worldwide. His system of using cardboard tubes of recycled paper has been lauded for being inexpensive and quick to assemble. In the summer of 2013 he used these tubes to erect a temporary church in Christchurch, New Zealand. 30 April, 28 minutes
J-Architect – Toyo Ito
Toyo Ito claimed 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize. He graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Department of Architecture in 1965 and established his own firm in 1971. Known for his iconoclastic buildings such as the Sendai Mediatheque and TOD’S in Tokyo, he is recently making headlines with new works, such as National Taiwan University and Taichung Metropolitan Opera House. 23 April, 28 minutes
(Source: Press release)
30 March 2014
Following a long journey of music, talent and competitiveness that lasted over 3 months, “The Voice” in its second season – broadcast on MBC1 and MBC MASR simultaneously – ended with a big bang that witnessed an outstanding performance by the Global Super Star Ricky Martin – “The Voice” Australia coach, who performed his new hit song “Adrenalina” as a LIVE World Premiere, as well as “Come With Me”. As soon as the announcement was finally made for Sattar Saad from Iraq and part of Kadim Al Saher’s team as the title winner of “The Voice” in the Middle East North Africa region, by viewers’ votes, the studio audience showed their joy coupled by the viewers and fans of Sattar in the capital city of Baghdad, marking their happiness and celebrations on the streets of Baghdad. So the second season closed on a high note, with top ratings and high levels of audience engagement via the official program social media platforms.
In addition to winning the title of “The Voice” in season 2, Sattar also earned a contract with Universal Music Group, a brand new 2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS, as well as a trip on a cruise to attend and be part of the 4th season of MBC1’s “Stars On Board” program, with other stars.
Following the results and winner announcement, MBC Group held a press conference that included the winner Sattar, as well as the four star coaches, Kadim Al Saher, Shereen Abdulwahab, Saber Al Robaei and Assi Al Hellani, in addition to Mazen Hayek, MBC Group’s Official Spokesman and Group Director of PR & Commercial.
Mazen Hayek, MBC’s Official Spokesman, said that the second season of “The Voice” was a genuine evolution of talents in the region, and that the program achieved all its expected results, and contributed to the commitment of further placing the MENA region on the global entertainment map. Hayek further elaborated: “The Voice witnessed high viewership ratings, and was a very engaging program, for all age groups, especially youngsters, which was reflected by the voting and the social media platforms in the Arab world”. Hayek confirmed that the program will come back in season 3, next year, adding that “the star coaches have given the contestants and the audience alike the best of their experiences – thus helping to position the program as a vibrant and premium one, while entertaining audiences and making them move beyond the strict interpretation of fierce competition to camaraderie.” Hayek ended by thanking everyone that was involved in the success of the program, including Sony Pictures Television Arabia, as co-producers of the show, as well as TALPA – The Intellectual Property Right / format owners’ worldwide, MBC Production team, as well as the press and media for their continuous efforts and support. (Source: Press release)
28 March 2014
Deutsche Welle (DW) will offer audiences worldwide a wealth of content on the Beethovenfest Bonn in 2014. Features in a number of languages are planned for television, radio, online and as podcasts.
As the main media partner at the Beethovenfest Bonn, Deutsche Welle will report on its outstanding concerts and projects while supporting the event with DW’s expertise in international cultural and media affairs.
“The significance of music in our programming is also evident in our role at the Beethovenfest: As one of its partners, we provide access to the festival to people around the world – with TV reports, dedicated pages online, concert recordings and podcasts,” said DW Director General Peter Limbourg.
Audiences can expect coverage that includes reports from the festival and portraits of musicians in many of DW’s 30 languages. Additionally, DW will distribute recordings of the concerts to rebroadcasting partners, including stations in the US, Russia, Turkey and South America.
Orchestra Campus “Beethoven ile bulusma – Encounter with Beethoven”
Turkey returns as the partner country in this year’s Orchestra Campus project, organized jointly by Deutsche Welle and the Beethovenfest Bonn. Concerts, workshops and discussions are planned under the motto “Beethoven ile bulusma – Encounter with Beethoven.” DW’s Turkish Department will help bring that motto to life on its website, www.dw.de/turkish.
The partner orchestra for this year’s project is the Bilkent Youth Symphony Orchestra (BGSO) under Artistic Director Isin Metin. A highlight will be their September 23 performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony together with a German choir convened from musicians in the Bonn area. Their joint presentation of the Beethoven masterpiece, which includes the message “All men will be brothers,” represents the culmination of a three-year partnership with Turkey for the Orchestra Campus project. At a further concert in Berlin on September 25, the focus will be on the music of Turkish composers.
Composition commissioned from Turkish musician
Each year, DW commissions a new composition from a young musician hailing from the partner country for the Orchestra Campus project. Specifications for the composer include that the new work should creatively take up the influences of the partner country’s music culture as well as draw on the language of Western classical music. The commission, which pays 5,000 euros, went this year to Turkish composer Dr. Tolga Yayalar (*1973). Performances of his work will take place on September 23 in Bonn and on September 25 in Berlin under conductor Isin Metin.
DW will follow the world premiere with extensive coverage, including a televised portrait of the composer. Partner broadcasters in Turkey will also present the concert.
As part of the Orchestra Campus, an outstanding youth orchestra is invited each year from a selected region in the world. Turkey has been the project’s partner country since 2012. Two Turkish youth and university orchestras have been invited to Bonn: the Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Cem Mansur in 2012, and the Istanbul University State Conservatory Symphony Orchestra under conductor Ramiz Malik Aslanov in 2013.
In Bonn, DW will take part in the festival’s public viewing at the central market square. A moderated stage program followed by a live concert transmission is slated for September 7. The concert features the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
www.dw.de/beethovenfest (Source: Press release)
