31 May 2012
twofour54 ibtikar has announced it is supporting a music publishing and music rights consultancy called PopArabia, which has secured agreements to become the exclusive representative in the Arab World for Universal Music Publishing Group, the Universal Production Music Library, and Imagem Music Group, the world’s largest independent music publisher. This gives PopArabia exclusive management rights to millions of titles, driving the development of a sustainable commercial music industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
PopArabia is a music publishing company, created by entrepreneur Hussain Spek Yoosuf, representing the world’s leading music catalogues to ensure music rights are licensed appropriately in all forms of media, including; film, mobile, online, broadcast and advertising. The aim is to monetise international and regional rights, creating a profitable arena for new and existing talent, and ensuring that international music publishing businesses, such as Imagem and Universal, see the potential of the MENA market.
Wayne Borg, twofour54 Deputy CEO & Chief Operating Officer, explained; “Music already plays a key part in the growing media and entertainment industry across the region, but by ensuring that its use is properly and transparently monetised, PopArabia can help prospective Arabic musicians to understand that music can be a business not just a passion. PopArabia is a unique opportunity for twofour54, complementing our existing initiatives and driving the creation of a vibrant, sustainable and commercial regional media and entertainment industry across a wide range of disciplines.”
Experienced music publisher and the entrepreneur who developed PopArabia in late 2011, Hussain Spek Yoosuf, further explained; “All of my work in music rights in the UAE has been focused on developing a sustainable and thriving music industry regionally. I really couldn’t have found a better partner than twofour54, who are doing a fantastic job of cultivating a local creative eco-system. As the region’s creative, entertainment and media industry grows and develops, PopArabia is helping to pave the way for more international music stakeholders to benefit from and grow this exciting market.”
PopArabia’s combined catalogue includes major pop hits and songs of all genres and eras. It also includes the widest body of production music available in the region, providing film and TV producers with ‘one-stop-shop’ access to background music for their productions.
Andrew Jenkins, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific Region and Industry Affairs, Universal Music Publishing Group commented: “I am delighted to be working with PopArabia and twofour54 as we at Universal Music Publishing Group continue to make the best music in the world available to the global marketplace. There can be an exciting future for the music business in the region and it is great to be working with people who want to create the conditions necessary for a thriving creative community to evolve.”
“We are delighted to welcome PopArabia to our international network of publishing partners,” said Imagem Music Group CEO André de Raaff. “The MENA region has enormous potential for our wide variety of musical genres. We are confident that with twofour54 and Spek’s new venture, PopArabia, we have the right partners to generate greater revenue for our writers, and give our catalogues even greater exposure.”
twofour54 ibtikar offers growth and nurturing opportunities to creative companies in the MENA region that have the potential to grow and participate in Arabic content creation, across media and entertainment sectors, with a focus on growing new businesses, through early stage and growth capital investment along with strategic support. Importantly, ibtikar ventures not only gives businesses access to financial support but also strategic guidance to help them fulfil their potential.
twofour54’s mission is to enable the development of world class Arabic media and entertainment content, positioning Abu Dhabi as a regional centre of excellence across all media platforms including film, broadcast, music, digital media, events, gaming and publishing.
www.twofour54.com
30 May 2012
Eurosport has just launched the Eurosport Player application, the sports channel’s online simulcast streaming service on VIERA Connect, Panasonic Smart VIERA’s cloud-based connected TV platform. The launch of the app[1] coincides with the start of Roland Garros, the French Tennis Open Grand Slam this week, enabling fans to select live action from up to seven different courts depending on the schedule of play.
The Smart VIERA app will give its pay subscribers access to live streaming from Eurosport, Eurosport 2 and bonus channel content for other significant sporting events such as snooker, World Superbikes and wintersports, and feature a full seven day EPG schedule.
The launch consolidates Eurosport’s position as a multi-screen broadcaster with the channel’s content now extensively available beyond television on PC, Mobile, Tablet and now Smart TV.
The Eurosport Player app operates as a subscription service and will be pre-installed on all 2012 Panasonic Smart VIERA models and is also compatible with all VIERA TV models from 2010 onwards.
Sports fans in 23 countries* will be able to access the Eurosport Player app and enjoy commentary in their local language. This summer, Panasonic Smart VIERA customers who will subscribe to the Eurosport Player application, will also be able to enjoy the Tour de France and London 2012 Olympic Games[2] via the app.
Fabien Roth, Director TV Group at Panasonic Marketing Europe said: “We are delighted to be the first to offer the Eurosport Player application via Smart VIERA. The app showcases the possibilities of Smart TV, providing great interactive and personalised experiences. For Roland Garros, subscribers can now choose the courts they would like to watch the match on – putting them in the director’s chair. With the Eurosport Player we further strengthening our VIERA Connect eco-system of innovative and benefit-oriented applications. It supports our Smart VIERA strategy to provide easy-to-use networking functionality, allowing the user to enjoy interactive functionality that goes far beyond traditional broadcast experiences.”
Arnaud Maillard, Eurosport’s New Media Director said: “Eurosport continues to develop innovative ways for sports fans to access its great content. This launch with Panasonic opens up new opportunities for fans to experience our Eurosport Player service which is at the forefront of our multi-screen offer. It is timely that the first event to be accessible is Roland Garros which really complements the Eurosport Player’s multi-court coverage offer.”
*Andorra; Austria; Belarus; Belgium; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; Germany; Ireland; Italy; Latvia, Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Russia; San Marino; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Ukraine; Vatican and the UK.
ABOUT EUROSPORT GROUP
The Eurosport Group is Europe’s leading sports entertainment group. Eurosport, the n°1 pan-European TV channel, broadcasts in 20 languages and reaches 129 million homes across 59 countries. Eurosport HD is the high definition simulcast of Eurosport. Eurosport 2 broadcasts to 59 million households in 18 languages across 47 countries. Eurosport 2 HD was launched in August 2009. Eurosport Asia-Pacific reaches 17 countries in the region and launched an HD channel in September 2011. Eurosportnews is the sports news channel transmitted worldwide. Eurosport.com, Europe’s n°1 online sports destination, has up to 19 million unique users per month (comScore) across an international network of sports websites in 11 languages, including Yahoo! co-branded sites in Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK. The Eurosport.com free mobile applications are available in 10 languages. Eurosport Player, Eurosport’s web TV service, provides LIVE and on-demand sports to fans’ PCs in 52 countries and the Player mobile application is available in up to 18 countries. Eurosport Events is the group’s expert division in the management and promotion of international sporting events.
30 May 2012
RT’s New York-based audience increased nearly 3 times in 2011[1], while its Washington audience grew by more than 60 percent over the same period, according to a Nielsen survey.[2]
Nielsen carried out its first simultaneous survey of international news networks audience in America’s five major cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. According to the survey, in these cities RT leads other international broadcasters. For example, in Washington, DC, RT’s daily audience is 13 times larger than that of the German Deutsche Welle, nearly 8 times larger than that of the Chinese CCTV News, and almost 4 times larger than the respective audiences of Euronews and France 24. The number of RT viewers in New York is 9 times greater than the audience of the Japanese NHK World[3], and in Chicago RT crowd is 3 times larger than that of Qatar’s Al Jazeera English[2].
The survey shows that RT’s daily audience in New York has increased 2.65 times in 2011 alone, while its viewership in Washington, DC grew by 60.9 percent over the same period[1].
“The growth of our audience in the largest cities in the US, especially in New York and Washington, DC, is a clear proof that we have firmly established ourselves as an alternative to the American mainstream media. More and more residents of the US require access to new information and different perspective, which they find at RT,” – said RT Editor-in-Chief of Margarita Simonyan.
According to Nielsen, the average RT viewer based in one of the 5 surveyed American cities is a male aged between 35 and 49. While most hold an undergraduate degree, over 20 percent of RT viewers have a Master’s degree or a Ph.D. as well. In terms of occupation, most American RT viewers are either business owners, self-employed, or are employed in management roles.
More than 85 million residents of America’s key metropolitan areas receive RT around the clock via cable and satellite networks. RT expanded its audience in the United States dramatically in 2011 by being included in the packages of major cable networks in San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia, as well as Dish Network, one of America’s largest pay-TV operators with nationwide coverage.
Nielsen carried out the survey in the fall of 2011, polling a total of over 10,000 residents in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.
Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.
1. Against the results of a similar survey carried out in Washington, DC, and New York in the fall 2010
2. Daily audience
3. Weekly audience
29 May 2012
RT’s Occupy W@ll Street Application is in the finals of the PromaxBDA Global Excellence Awards 2012 – the most prestigious award in television design and marketing.
The app is nominated in the Interactive Media: Online/Interactive Games/Immerging Platforms category. Within the category, RT is competing with such media giants as Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., Universal Networks International Germany and Warner Bros. Television Marketing- Digital Media.
The Facebook application (http://apps.facebook.com/occupyws) is based on the global Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement and is available to everyone on Facebook. It was inspired by the global social and political phenomenon which began in the US in 2011. RT was one of the first channels to extensively cover the OWS movement, before it gained serious attention from the mainstream media.
Occupy W@ll Street is the first Facebook app by RT. The app’s enables visitors to leave their mark and comments on the global stage through a virtual map of the New York financial market. The game is designed so that any user can occupy his or her piece of real estate near Wall Street and downtown New York. App players can take a stand, leave comments, chat with others across the globe, share their Facebook profiles, invite friends, read news, and join the Occupy community from the comfort of their own homes.
RT’s Facebook page has already gained more than 500,000 subscribers – more than any other Russian media outlet, and ahead of many of its international competitors including CNBC, Sky News, Bloomberg, Deutsche Welle and Reuters.
“This is the first game inspired by the Occupy Wall Street Movement it serves as a platform for frustrated 99% out there longing for a voice and ability to impact the future. Facebook friends now have their voices heard!” said Margarita Simonyan, RT editor-in-chief, in a statement.
This is one of RT’s four overall PromaxBDA nominations, the others being for excellence in Promotion Marketing in the News/Information Program Campaign category for Noticias No Tienen Fronteras, where RT is competing against CNN and Al Jazeera, and two nominations in the Design competition.
RT, an international news network available in English, Arabic and Spanish to more than 530 million viewers worldwide, has garnered four overall nominations for the marketing and design of its programs in 2012. The network has won multiple PromaxBDA awards since 2008. PromaxBDA is recognized as the industry standard for excellence in television marketing, advertisement and design.
29 May 2012
As North Korea readied itself for the centenary birthday celebrations of its Founding President and a controversial satellite rocket launch, it invited a record number of foreign journalists to watch the spectacle. Through the surreality of the pomp and pageantry, Pyongyang’s isolation becomes clear. Journalist Ken Teh takes us on a rare 10-day tour of the hermit kingdom, where he looks behind its image of perfection to see a nation lost in time, and a people whose voices are drowned out by an iron will to conform.
10 Days in Pyongyang
Thursday, 31 May 2012, 8:30 pm (Sin/ HK/ Mnl)
Follow Ken (@KenTehCNA) and hashtag your posts with #Pyongyang for LIVE Twitter updates during the programme.
www.mediacorp.com.sg
