28 May 2012
The mid-year meeting of the ABU Technical Bureau took place this weekend in Kuala Lumpur with the Bureau deciding to set up a Strategic Advisory Group on technical issues. The six member group will make recommendations on areas such as human resource development and information transfer, among others.
The meeting, chaired by the Technical Committee Chairman, Mr Yeo Kim Pow of MediaCorp, was attended by 16 members of the Bureau. It addressed the activities carried out by the Technical Department and identified some of the important issues faced by the broadcasters today and discussed possible solutions.
The Bureau was presented with reports on studies taking place in production, transmission technologies, training and frequency spectrum developments. A review of the ABU Engineering Excellence Awards was taken up with the Bureau recommending amendments to the existing guidelines.
The two-day meeting also addressed preparations for the annual Technical Committee meeting to be held in Seoul, Korea later this year.
www.abu.org.my
25 May 2012
Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media today said that the new Hungarian media legislation can still curb media pluralism and put the media at the risk of political control.
The Parliament adopted a new media package on 24 May 2012, following a Constitutional Court decision in December 2011 which ruled several provisions of the laws unconstitutional.
“I welcome that the revised provisions provide broader protection of sources, annul the ban of certain content from print and online media, and abolish the right of the Media and Communications Commissioner to interfere with editorial decisions in case of complaints. These are important improvements,” said Mijatovic. “Unfortunately, other elements that I raised as problematic already in 2010, have not been improved.”
“These include the ways of nomination and appointment of the President and members of the Media Authority and Media Council, and their power over content in the broadcast media, as well as the prospect of very high fines that can lead to self-censorship among journalists,” she stressed. “Key provisions of the legislation are not clearly defined, and the financial and editorial independence of the public broadcasters is not guaranteed.”
Mijatovic emphasized that these these concerns were also raised by the Council of Europe in its recent analysis.
In addition, she pointed out that several amendments to the media package were introduced and adopted at short notice without consultation with the stakeholders or the public.
Mijatovic noted that rules of frequency tendering, which present the core reqirement of independent regulation, have significantly changed. She argued that the legislation also does not clearly state that the Media Council has the obligation to sign a contract with the winning candidate, even when the winner is confirmed by a court decision.”These amendments could clearly affect the broadcast pluralism, given the lack of clarity in the definitions and procedures stipulated by the new legislation,” underlined Mijatovic.
She reminded that all participating States of the OSCE, including Hungary, committed themselves to stregthening media pluralism. “The changes to the Hungarian media law, however, only add to the existing concerns over the curbing of critical or differing views in the country,” Mijatovic said, recalling that on 23 May she sent a letter to Laszlo Kover, Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament, asking the Parliamentarians not to adopt the amendments that can harm media pluralism.
For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit:
http://www.osce.org/fom/90823
23 May 2012
MBC Group recently announced the establishment of “MBC Ventures”, investing in start-ups related to “Media & Entertainment” in the Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”) region.
Building on the growth of multimedia, online gaming and digital, and linked to the youth’s great consumption of broadband & mobile connectivity and internet access in the MENA region; “MBC Ventures” decided to tap into this industry and support the largest growing population in the region with their innovative projects. Positioned as a Phase Seed- Round A funding arm, MBC Ventures’ objective will be to invest in local talents and will further nurture individuals who will acquire global “best practices” and lead the future of this industry. In retrospect, those individuals will ultimately benefit from the Groups’ offering and access to its multi platforms, be it onscreen, online, in print or even on ground.
As a start, “MBC Ventures” partnered with Falafel Games (www.falafel-games.com), a Massive Multiplayer Online game producer operating from the Middle East and China. Falafel Games has launched “Knights of Glory” فرسان المجد (www.forsangame.com), the first Arabic MMOSG (Massive Multiplayer Online Strategy Game) inspired by the Arab Conquests. Falafel Games is led by Vince Ghossoub and Radwan Kasmiya. Vince is uniquely positioned in the nexus of Chinese tech innovation and Middle Eastern culture while Radwan is the pioneering game creator in the Middle East, having created the first video game and CG animation there, and bestsellers such as “Under Ash” تحت الرماد, the first “First Person Shooter” video game in the Middle East, “Quraish” قريش (Real-Time Strategy), “Under Siege” تحت الحصار, “Road to Jerusalem” الطريق الى القدس, among many others.
The second venture is “Aranim Games”, a social & mobile game developer based in Jordan creating social games inspired by Arabic & Middle eastern mythologies. Aranim Games was founded by Suleiman Bakhit, a TED fellow, best-selling comic book creator and games producer with a passion for creating characters and stories richly inspired by Arabic tradition, Suleiman is committed to providing the youth with inspiring role models and bring positive change to the Middle East through creative media.
The third investment, “SuperMama.me”, is the first online parenting community and portal in the Arab World that was launched in October 2011 and based in Egypt. It provides trusted parenting information verified by specialists in different fields, in both Arabic and English.
It is headed and run by Yasmine El-Mehairy and Zeinab Samir who have won numerous competitions including, first place at NexGen completion; first place at Arabnet Startup Demo in Cairo; first place at eNnovation in Poland, and among the 20 finalists at Google, Cairo.
23 May 2012
WRN Broadcast has today announced that it’s opened a Broadcast Data Centre as part of its state of the art facility in Vauxhall, London. The latest broadcast offering has the support of IPWorldTV and Farncombe, both having signed contracts for rack space.
The new, purpose-built data centre was constructed last year following increased interest from existing international broadcast clients, as well as new clients such as Farncombe and IPWorldTV who operate within the wider media industry.
The Broadcast Data Centre offers broadcast companies and related technology and telco businesses the opportunity of secure rack space in London with the added benefit of broadcast expertise being onsite 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.
This also means the broadcast community can now have the essential data centre requirements; including backed up electricity supply, air cooling system, fire suppression, triple ID process, Redcare Chubb intruder alarm and individually lockable racks; alongside WRN Broadcast’s Content Delivery Network, guaranteed internet connectivity with diverse fibre routing, access to over 3000 PoPs worldwide and the ability to receive satellite signals from anywhere on the planet. Other optional services range from monitoring and uplink to archive and storage, all taken from WRN Broadcast’s existing range of broadcast managed services.
David Treadway, Managing Director, WRN Broadcast, said, “We’re always listening to our clients and looking at how best to support them – the Broadcast Data Centre is just the latest evidence of this. We built the data centre with broadcasters in mind and we’re excited to provide a unique offering and one that has driven real interest from around the world. We look forward to working with some new clients, such as Farncombe and IPWorldTV, as well as further supporting our existing client base.“
Gary Marshall, Managing Partner, Farncombe, said, “Farncombe selected WRN Broadcast’s new Broadcast Data Centre due to the top class connectivity and proximity to many of our clients – this is complemented by a great level of service from the WRN Broadcast team.”
www.wrnbroadcast.com
22 May 2012
Arqiva has delivered its 100th full-length feature film via its Digital Cinema Satellite
Distribution System. The Hollywood blockbuster Digital Cinema Package (DCP) was
delivered via the IS905 satellite to Arqiva’s network which connects cinemas across Europe.
Marco Tinnirello, Head of Digital Cinema at Arqiva, said: “Arqiva is an industry leader,
pioneering the electronic delivery of cinema content via satellite. Our proven satellite-based delivery platform on IS905 offers studios and exhibitors significant cost savings as well as simplicity, speed and security. This powerful combination has led to an ever increasing uptake and the roll-out of our network across Europe; we are now delivering at least ten fulllength feature films to hundreds of cinemas every month. This makes the one hundred mark a clear indicator of the huge momentum our network has gathered and the tremendous potential for Digital Cinema in the years ahead.”
Arqiva works with leading media distributors to provide electronic delivery services of live
events and feature films into digital cinemas across Europe. Arqiva’s network includes
nearly 700 cinemas across 12 countries and includes many leading exhibitors including Vue, Empire, Cineworld, Odeon UCI, Apollo, Reel, Yelmo and Space. The excellent European coverage provided by Arqiva’s IS905 satellite platform, coupled with the professional receive-equipment deployed by Arqiva, delivers a robust solution which is rapidly becoming Europe’s cinema distribution network of choice.
www.arqiva.com
