10 September 2010
A groundbreaking new Voice of America television program, Karwan (Caravan), premiers in Afghanistan Friday, with an exciting and youthful approach to critical issues facing the country.
The 30-minute dual-language weekly program, broadcast in both Dari and Pashto, will tackle social and political issues, culture, health, education and other topics, highlighting what young people are doing in Afghanistan and the United States.
The program is hosted by the easygoing Daoud Sediqi, who has been called the Ryan Seacrest of Afghanistan. Before coming to the United States Daoud was the moderator of Afghan Star, the wildly popular Afghan talent show modeled on American Idol.
With a creative mix of off-site remotes, in-studio discussion and direct audience feedback through social media sites, Karwan will offer viewers in Afghanistan a chance to comment on what is important to them.
The program, which is funded by the U.S. State Departments Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, plans to develop ways for viewers to send in web-based videos to expand the dialogue. It will also draw on a network of Afghan-based journalists to give the show a strong regional presence.
In addition to Karwan, VOA reaches millions of people daily in Afghanistan through its popular radio programs and TV Ashna (which means friend in Dari and Pashto) as well as the Internet. Check the VOA Dari website at http://www.voanews.com/dari/news/, and the VOA Pashto website at http://www.voanews.com/pashto/news/.
8 September 2010
Intelsat S.A., leading provider of fixed satellite services, announced that Orion Express, a major satellite television provider in Russia, is now offering expanded direct-to-home (DTH) programming via capacity on the Intelsat 15 satellite (IS-15). Under the multi-year, multi-transponder contract, Orion Express is distributing news, sports, entertainment and childrens programming for its new satellite platform, CONTINENT TV, which crossed the 100,000-subscriber threshold within three months of its service launch. CONTINENT TV offers viewers access to 50 television channels and 16 channels for cable network operators.
IS-15, launched in November 2009, provides video and data services through its high power Ku-band payload. Located at 85º E, the satellite offers Orion Express the ability to deliver television and media services across the Russian territory and supports the countrys ever-growing demand for DTH services.
The IS-15 coverage has enabled us to rapidly grow our services, reaching a large number of subscribers across the country within the few months since CONTINENT TVs launch, said Maria Zhilina, Marketing Director of Orion Express. Intelsats expertise in supporting global DTH platforms, as well as IS-15s broad coverage, has helped us meet the growing DTH market demand and strengthen our position in Russia.
The success of Orion Express demonstrates IS-15s ability to be one of the regions leading DTH distribution satellites, said Jean-Philippe Gillet, Intelsats Regional Vice President, Europe and Middle East. Intelsat has already developed a strong position in Russias data sector and is committed to further strengthening its media service offering in the region. DTH programming in Russia remains a strong growth market for satellite providers and CONTINENT TVs success represents a significant milestone for Intelsat in the region.
8 September 2010
Google Inc will launch its service to bring the Web to TV screens in the United States this autumn and worldwide next year, its chief executive said, as it extends its reach from the desktop to the living room.
CEO Eric Schmidt said the service, which will allow full Internet browsing via the television, would be free, and Google would work with a variety of programme makers and electronics manufacturers to bring it to consumers.
“We will work with content providers, but it is very unlikely that we will get into actual content production,” Schmidt told journalists after a keynote speech to the IFA consumer electronics trade fair in Berlin. Sony said last week it had agreed to have Google TV on its television sets, and Samsung has said it was looking into using the service.
The announcement comes less than a week after rival Apple unveiled its latest Apple TV product and will intensify a battle for consumers’ attention and potentially for the USD 180 billion global TV advertising market. (Source: Reuters)
8 September 2010
Digital Media Centre, one of Europes most advanced digital media facilities and RRsat, a global communications network, have announced a new partnership focused on offering complete global play-out and content delivery solutions.
DMC and RRsat have combined capabilities and hooked up their networks, through a dedicated fibre connection, to offer a cost effective, global play-out and delivery service with a range of advanced solutions. The alliance will combine DMCs world class capabilities in multi-lingual, multi-territory play-out solutions with RRsats outstanding global content management and distribution services.
The companies say that the partnership has been launched to satisfy the growing demand from media companies and channel owners for a cost-efficient centralised approach to reaching large audiences. The alliance meets the need for localised content working with a single service partner for comprehensive end to end delivery worldwide, including disaster recovery and backup services.
DMC, launched in 2000, provides advanced play-out, content management, multi-territory and multi-lingual solutions from its main operation in a suburb of Amsterdam which AIB has visited. It’s an impressive operation.
DMC currently delivers over 60 HD and SD channels including History Channel, National Geographic, MGM, E! and Fox. With a history of innovation, DMC first launched a HD channel and full digital delivery in 2006 and made its first 3D broadcast in 2010.
Robin Kroes, Vice President, Commercial, Operations and Corporate Development at DMC, said: “As the media industry becomes fully digitised, broadcasting without geographical boundaries is now a reality. DMC has always been a leader in the European market, offering its clients cost competitive, multi-territory, multi-language playout solutions. We are tremendously excited to now be working side by side with RRSAT in a new, global broadcast service to take our offering to a global scale. We believe that the bundling of our capabilities with RRsats leading fibre and satellite networks will deliver a convenient, high quality, cost efficient service that clients will find very appealing.”
Lior Rival, Vice President, Sales and Marketing at RRsat, commented: “Our strategy has been to build an extensive content management and distribution network of fibre and satellites to offer clients a global, one-stop service. We are delighted to partner with DMC, a recognized leader in playout, based in mainland Europe, to continue to offer first class, global solutions together, with a complementary focus and philosophy.”
8 September 2010
Leading African media executives are preparing to meet in Tanzania from 26-29 September for the 2010 edition of the Africa Media Leadership Conference (AMLC). This years summit will focus on identifying and developing Sustainable Media Business Models in the Digital Age.
The AMLC series – now in its ninth year – is the foremost pan-African gathering of senior media professionals, and the gathering represents akey opportunity for Africas most influential media leaders to discuss strategic, operational and other challenges in a fast and constantly changing media landscape.
Since its inception in 2002, the meetings have developed into an annual high-level forum for strategy formulation, networking and sharing by senior executives of print, broadcast, online and converged media on the African continent.
The conference is co-hosted by Rhodes Universitys Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership (SPI) and Germanys Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) , and was convened to promote high-level interaction among Africas media chiefs.
This year we switch focus from a broad look at understanding and doing digital media in Africa to specifics of what works and what does not work under African conditions, said SPI Director Francis Mdlongwa.
Frank Windeck, the director of Konrad Adenauer Stiftungs Sub-Sahara Africa Media Programme, the sponsor of the AMLC series, said: These meetings provide Africas top media people with a unique opportunity to network at the highest level, debating key industry challenges, while seeking practical solutions by examining case studies drawn from Africa.
The conference meets annually in an African country, and past AMLC summits have debated timely topics such as Managing Media in a Recession (Mauritius, 2002); South Meets East: Strategic Challenges for African Media (Nairobi, Kenya, 2006); and Learning from the Future: Africas Media Map in 2029 (Accra, Ghana, 2009).
