14 September 2011
The Global Broadcast Summit, which is to debut in London in May 2012, has today announced Saleha Williams to join as Chief Executive Officer.
Williams, has over 22 years global business and strategic marketing experience within the broadcast, Telco and IT sectors; she joins the Global Broadcast Summit from London2012, where she has been leading the Olympic & Paralympic Inspire Programme across the UK. Prior to London2012, Williams worked as a business and strategic marketing director across Europe, USA and Asia, on behalf of companies including BBCTechnology, News Corp, BT, Siemens and One Caribbean Media Group. She has extensive experience in the media space, working with both public and private broadcasters, VC funded digital media and ICT companies, on a global basis, across the entire convergent media value chain.
Williams will be responsible for the leadership and management of the Global Broadcast Summit which will debut ahead of the Olympics in London, May 2012. The summit which already has the support of Boris Johnson Mayor of London, will bring together, by invitation only, Chief Executives of the worlds leading broadcasters, as well as regulators and government officials to debate and discuss the global broadcast industry from a strategic economic, technological and regulatory perspective. Moreover, against a backdrop of a rapidly changing media environment, the summit will look at television, its business future, regulatory environment and its role in society, in both the public and private broadcasting arenas.
Michael McEwen, Global Broadcast Summit Chair said, the GBS Board unanimously selected Saleha based on her extensive professional experience, management abilities, and knowledege of the broadcast industry. She has a track record of leading and delivering strategic media business programmes across the world and is uniquely qualified to lead and expand our support for the summit . Many within the industry will know Saleha for her passion for the industry, as well as her strong executive and personal qualities.
Saleha Williams commented, In the past 20 years conventional TV has gone from a position of overwhelming dominance to one of many competing entertainment and information choices. Faster broadband access, increased internet penetration, mobile devices and new digital technologies have enabled consumers to choose TV services that offer better quality, more choice, flexibility and mobility. As a result, social behaviour and the way audiences interact with television have changed. Until now there has not been a forum for the worlds broadcast leaders to come together and debate and discuss how these changes are impacting their organisations and how they are shaping their future business, creation of content, distribution platforms and changing the national and international context by which broadcasters are regulated and mandated. The Global Broadcast Summit will provide the opportunity for the conventional broadcast industry to assess the impact of digital technology, social policy, regulation and changing consumer demands on their businesses past, present and future: I am delighted to be given the responsibility for driving and leading the team that will make this happen.
About the Global Broadcast Summit
The Global Broadcast Summit, which will debut in London in May 2012, will bring together, by invitation only, Chief Executives of the worlds leading broadcasters as well as regulators and government officials to debate and discuss the global broadcast industry from a business strategy, economic, technology and regulatory perspective. The summit will create the opportunity for the conventional broadcast industry to assess the impact of digital technology, social policy, regulation and changing consumer demands on their businesses past, present and future.
14 September 2011
S4M Solutions for Media, a worldwide provider of software solutions for the television broadcasting and media industry, today announced the integration of S4Ms Media Asset Management (MAM) System, VPMS (Video Production Management System) and the studio production tool ClipJOCKEY, with Adobe® Premiere® Pro CS5.5 software to provide enhanced editing and video solutions for the broadcast sector.
VPMS acts as a cross-functional control unit for broadcasting processes within the infrastructure of the video server, editing, and graphics, and provides for easy and effective central controlling. The integration with Adobe Premiere Pro software allows video editors to search for video material within the MAM system and then directly use the clips in their Adobe workflow.
ClipJOCKEY supports the daily ingest and playout processes in the control rooms of TV broadcasters or post production companies and enables file-based production. The direct exchange of Editing Decision Lists (EDLs) between ClipJOCKEY and Adobe Premiere Pro provides for simplified workflows.
At IBC2011, the combined workflows of the Adobe and S4M solutions will be shown in the Harmonic booth (1.B20) as well as in the S4M stand (3.B26).
5 September 2011
Radio New Zealand has further strengthened its award winning News team with the appointment of Karen Mangnall as Pacific Issues Correspondent.
A respected journalist with 30 years experience in print, radio and television, Karen has a long and impressive track record reporting on the Pacific region and on Pacific communities in New Zealand.
As well as frontline reporting, Karen Mangnall has also held roles in editorial management, and the training of Pacific Island journalism students.
In announcing Ms Mangnalls appointment, Radio New Zealand Head of News, Don Rood, said he was delighted to have such a highly qualified and respected journalist joining the news team.
Karen was born and raised in Fiji, and lived and worked in New Caledonia and Tahiti. She knows the Pacific and the issues that are important to Pacific communities, Rood said.
Radio New Zealands team of correspondents produces some of the countrys best journalism and ensures New Zealanders are kept informed about the issues and debates important to them and their societys development, he said.
Having Karen Mangnall as part of that reporting powerhouse is terrific news.
Radio New Zealand is New Zealands top-rating radio network, and its only true public service broadcaster. RNZs flagship breakfast news programme Morning Report is the countrys most-listened to radio show, enjoying a bigger audience than any rival station.
Karen Mangnall holds a Master of Arts (Honours) in Pacific Studies from the University of Auckland. She has previously worked for Radio New Zealand and her career also includes working for other leading media organisations, including The New Zealand Herald and TVNZ.
Karen will begin her new role in late October.
5 September 2011
Up to 650,000 visitors per day on mobile as Eurosports apps become integral part of Europes sports fans daily routine
In only two years since launching its first multi-lingual app, Eurosport has built a loyal and fully engaged audience of sports fans across Europe for its range of apps for iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android.
The suite of apps, which includes the Eurosport.com live sports news and the Eurosport Player live streaming apps, now account for up to 650,000 daily visitors and over 5 million downloads, demonstrating strong consumer engagement and fan loyalty for Eurosports mobile offering.
And, with World Championship athletics, the start of top flight football across Europe and the US Open tennis (29 August – 11 September), that daily visitor figure is set to jump further this autumn thanks to Eurosports quality sports offer, which includes real-time content (text commentary, breaking news, goal alerts and user commentaries), social media and video.
Two years ago today saw the launch of the free Eurosport.com live sports news app for iPhone in 9 languages*, which proved an immediate success for Europes sports fans, being downloaded over 1 million times in the first three months. Today it is widely considered Europes most downloaded sports app.
According to a recent Eurosport study carried out by Paris institute Opinion Way, 85 percent of users polled said the Eurosport.com live sports news app had become an indispensible part of their daily routine.**
Since 2009, Eurosport has continued to innovate and expand its mobile offering. In May last year, it launched a premium streaming Eurosport Player live streaming app for iPad and iPhone users in the UK and Ireland, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, providing live and on-demand access to Eurosport’s TV channels. In December, a V.2 version of the Eurosport.com live sports news app was released, with improved functionality including live goal alerts to better serve todays sports fans on the move.
In just a short time, mobile has become a very important part of Eurosports multimedia offer, says Laurent-Eric Le Lay, Eurosport Chairman and CEO, and it is now key to helping us deliver on our brand promise of giving fans the best sports entertainment experience on the device of their choosing. The strong consumer engagement figures are good news not only for the sports fans but for our clients and advertisers, as we can guarantee the right multimedia environment in which to raise awareness of their brands.
5 September 2011
The Voice of America is concerned about a legal warning issued in connection with VOA coverage of the U.N.-backed tribunal in Cambodia that has been investigating atrocities committed by the former Khmer Rouge regime.
On August 31, the Co-Investigating Judges at the U.N.-backed Cambodian tribunal announced they had instituted contempt of court proceedings related to the VOA Khmer Service reports. The unsigned statement from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, cited VOAs use of confidential court documents in a report broadcast on August 10 that identified potential new defendants.
The statement said proceedings had been instituted for Interference with the Administration of Justice after VOA quoted verbatim from a confidential document and even showed that document on a video. The statement went on to say, Anyone intending further disclosure of confidential court documents is hereby warned that his case could be transferred to the National Prosecutor pursuant to Rule 35 (2) (c).
Voice of America is concerned about the potential chilling effect this threat by the co-investigating judges could have on coverage of an important international story. Some rights groups have accused judges at the tribunal of failing to fully investigate cases brought by prosecutors.
Voice of America believes the warning issued by the co-investigating judges is unwarranted. The Voice of America has a journalistic and legal responsibility to provide balanced and comprehensive coverage of important issues. The careful use of confidential sources and documents that provide important insight into critical issues is a well-established practice by independent journalists the world over. Furthermore, the documents in question have been used by other news organizations.
Voice of America and its Khmer Service are committed to providing accurate, objective and comprehensive coverage of the ongoing investigation into Khmer Rouge atrocities and issues of importance to the people of the region and the world.
