15 February 2012
“Any Time, Any Screen, Anywhere” will be the theme as GlobeCast spotlights multiplatform delivery at the 2012 NAB Show, at booth SU 812. In addition to announcing the launch of a new over-the-top (OTT) platform in the Americas, GlobeCast will display a streaming Web TV service and highlight its solutions for global satellite and fiber delivery. The company will also highlight the expansion of its commercial footprint in the Americas, with a dedicated Latin American sales team now in place. GlobeCast will exhibit alongside its sister company, NETIA.
Launch of OTT product in the Americas
On Tuesday, April 17, GlobeCast will announce the launch of an OTT product for the international broadcast community in the Americas. More details will follow in the days leading up to the show.
Any Time, Anywhere, Any Device
GlobeCast will also be demonstrating a streaming product called GlobeCast Multiscreen, which allows broadcast clients around the world to stream their content to any Internet-connected device. At the 2012 NAB Show, representatives will be on hand to demonstrate the new solution.
Expansion in the Americas
There will be a perceptible Latin American accent to GlobeCast’s participation at NAB this year, as it has maximized its commercial footprint in the Americas, including the creation of a dedicated Latin American sales team and a refocusing and strengthening of ad hoc services in North America for the broadcast of major events. Already present with a major technical facility in South Florida and with extensive satellite coverage of the entire Latin American region, GlobeCast last year extended its fiber network to Buenos Aires and São Paulo.
Playout including localization/regionalization of content
GlobeCast will run video and flash animations demonstrating the company’s ability to adapt content to local markets around the world, simplifying the global distribution of content. From ad and graphic insertions to program substitution, GlobeCast can provide localized playout and origination from its strategically located centers in Florida, the U.K., Paris, and Singapore.
13 February 2012
The Eurosport Group has secured the rights of the 2013 and 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The deal includes exclusive TV and digital LIVE rights in all Eurosport’s territories in Europe, except in France.
On air, all 32 matches of each tournament will be covered LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport 2, as well as in high definition on Eurosport HD and Eurosport 2 HD. Online, the Eurosport Player, Eurosport’s dedicated web TV service, will bring fans on PC and mobile all matches LIVE and complete VOD.
The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations will also be broadcast on Eurosport Asia-Pacific and Eurosport Asia-Pacific HD channels.
Eurosport has broadcast LIVE all Africa Cup of Nations since 1994. The 2013 and 2015 tournaments, respectively held in South Africa and Morocco, will be the 11th and 12th consecutive Africa Cup of Nations on Eurosport.
Usually held every two years, the Africa Cup of Nations will switch as of 2013 to being held in odd-numbered years so that it does not clash with the FIFA World Cup, UEFA EURO and Olympic Games.
13 February 2012
Following the departure of Chairman Walter Isaacson, the Broadcasting Board of Governors today unanimously approved BBG member Michael Lynton as its new interim presiding governor.
It is a pleasure to work with this multi-talented, bipartisan board, and an honor to be elected to help lead the organization, Lynton said. We are each committed to the cause of making this agency the best it can be. And with our various strengths and diverse backgrounds, we all bring something to the table.
Lynton is the Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. He is the former CEO of AOL Europe and Chairman and CEO of Pearson PLCs Penguin Group. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr. Lynton and also serves on the boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Rand Corporation. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School and is proficient in French, German and Dutch.
Lynton serves on the BBG Governance Committee.
The Senate confirmed him and all the other appointed Governors in the summer of 2010.The Governors noted that Mr. Isaacson provided an inspiring example, and they acknowledged his great efforts and tremendous contributions
during his tenure as BBG Chairman from July 2010 until January 2012.
The Board extends its deepest gratitude for his service to the BBG and to United States international broadcasting.Inspired by Chairman Isaacsons example, the Board reaffirms its unqualified and ongoing commitment to fostering and promoting high-quality, independent and objective journalism by all BBG broadcasters. The Board rededicates itself to pursuing the mission adopted during Chairman Isaacsons tenure: To inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.
The Board designated Lynton to serve as presiding Governor on an interim basis until such time as it selects an alternate presiding Governor, Governor Lynton chooses to step down as presiding Governor, or a new Chairman is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency, supervising all U.S. government-supported, civilian international broadcasting, whose mission is inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. BBG broadcasts reach an audience of 187 million in 100 countries. BBG networks include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti).
(Source: BBG Press Release)
13 February 2012
The ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion GmbH put into operation the largest installation of S4Ms studio production tool ClipJOCKEY. Since the beginning of this year, all studios in Unterföhring/Germany use the system with Harris Nexio servers and will turn their whole production into file based workflows step by step.
The ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion GmbH is one of the largest production companies and Full service providers of audiovisual media in Germany. By using ClipJOCKEY the value from their existing Harris Nexio video servers can be increased. That way the ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion GmbH prepares for the future by changing the complete production to tapeless processes.
In addition to the easy management and operation of up to 12 server ports, the new system offers various functionalities like controlling the ingest or archive from VTRs or live multi camera recording. Besides the cost reduction, the tapeless production offers remarkable speed benefits. Video clips can go on air much faster through the connection between ClipJOCKEY and the AVID editing system. Furthermore the file transfer opportunities allow providing all areas, e.g. the archive from ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion, directly with clips or shows produced in the studio.
ClipJOCKEY supports video servers from leading manufactures like Harris, Omneon, Grass Valley and Quantel. The system is used by a growing list of broadcasters and production companies. These includes next to ProSiebenSat.1 also TV channels like QVC USA, MLB Networks, NDR, MDR and many more.
S4M – Solutions for Media
The Cologne-based company S4M Solutions for Media, a subsidiary of arvato systems and RTL Television, develops and distributes specialized software solutions for the broadcast and new media industry. Customers in 30 countries around the world use S4M systems for commercial airtime sales, media asset management, program planning, rights licensing, ratings evaluation, or production planning. S4M also offers customers professional consulting services based on its experience and knowledge of media and information technology.
13 February 2012
Satellite communications specialist Newtec has taken the lead, teaming up with DVB members Arabsat, Cisco, SES and Thomson Video Networks, to get the discussion for an update to the DVB-S2 standard on the DVB agenda. Last week DVB took up the task and has already started investigating the commercial reasoning behind a specific standard for satellite broadcast contribution and high speed IP trunking and backbone links.
As a first step in extending the current DVB-S2 standard, Newtec is launching its Clean Channel Technology at the up-coming Cabsat and SATELLITE exhibition and conference. Clean Channel Technology further improves satellite efficiency for IP trunking and backhauling, but also broadcast contribution by up to 15% compared to the current DVB-S2 standard. Newtecs customers will be able to immediately benefit from Clean Channel Technology as it is available as a software field upgrade for existing Newtec equipment.
According to Newtec the time for change is now and there are a number of critical items that can be addressed in the improvement of the current DVB-S2 standard including:
an extension to guarantee interoperability and better satellite efficiency for professional satcom applications
a differentiation between contribution and distribution to make the greatest efficiency gains by making the standard aware of the application in which it is being used
an optimisation per application for ranges of typical and realistic conditions
an increased number of modulation and coding schemes and Forward Error Correction (FEC) choices providing the highest resolution for optimal modulation in all circumstances.
Additionally, adding higher modulation schemes, such as 64APSK, is useful considering the professional applications that could work with improved link budgets provided by, for example, bigger antennas and more powerful satellites. Newtec sees the 32APSK boundary being reached frequently with its FlexACM® technology. In these situations 64APSK could provide higher transmission speeds and lower operational costs.
We predict that a new DVB standard will lead to significantly more efficient solutions than any DVB-S2 based satellite equipment on the market today is capable of. This step forward is critical to ensuring the continuation of a vibrant and profitable satellite industry, Dirk Breynaert, CTO and co-founder of Newtec, said. The current DVB standard has served the industry well, but it is now more than 10 years old. We do feel that our satellite industry will benefit even more by having DVB and its members support the idea of developing an extended standard in line with todays technological advances.
