17 May 2010
Corus Entertainment Inc., one of Canada’s most successful integrated media and entertainment companies, has selected Pharos Mediator’s content management technology to operate Corus’ content workflow management engine in the company’s new Toronto headquarters, Corus Quay.
The Pharos Mediator program will integrate the company’s multiple broadcast systems – including Open Text Digital Asset Management, OmniBus iTX and Pilat IBMS – into a seamless and unified operation of activities at every stage of Corus’ ingest, archiving, transmission and content delivery process.
“We selected Pharos Mediator based on its proven track record for delivering highly integrated workflow programs with the flexibility to meet new and demanding broadcast environments,” said Scott Dyer, Chief Technology Officer, Corus Entertainment. “We were also impressed with the depth of knowledge and experience shown by the Pharos team and we look forward to implementing Mediator in the coming months.”
Pharos Mediator’s automated “content centric” workflow engine requires minimal manual intervention and will help Corus meet its commitment to providing viewers with unprecedented access to its programming on multiple platforms including high definition, on-demand, mobile devices and online.
“One of the major strengths of the Pharos Mediator platform is its deep support for industry standards and third party systems which is essential for organisations that wish to create a best of breed environment,” explained Glen Sakata, General Manager for Pharos Communications in the Americas. “The power of our workflow system and the substantial number of operational interfaces we provide will allow Corus to perform the vast majority of their end-to-end workflow using a consistent and highly flexible browser based environment, helping to improve efficiency across the organisation.”
The project will be led by Siemens who will be working closely with Pharos on the project, which is expected to go live in the latter part of the year. “This physical move and technological transformation is something that few media organisations have the opportunity to accomplish,” said Holger Kormann, Vice President, Siemens IT Solutions and Services, Inc. “Siemens is pleased to contribute our expertise in technology innovation and media asset management to such an important project. We look forward to working with quality companies like Pharos to deliver to Corus the benefits of Pharos’ expertise in automated workflow management. Automated workflow management is a crucial element of the new Corus content management system and will provide substantial benefits to Corus and its customers.”
12 May 2010
S4M at Media Finance Focus 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee
From Sunday, May 23 to Tuesday, May 25, S4M – Solutions for Media will take part at the MFM/BCCA Annual Conference in Nashville, Tennessee (USA).
Media Finance Focus 2010 is an exclusive source for professional education targeting media financial and business executives. It is hosted by the Media Financial Management Association (MFM) and the Broadcast Cable Credit Association (BCCA) – and is MFM & BCCAs 50th Annual Conference Celebration.
More than 100 speakers/panelists will provide the latest information on accounting, taxes, human resources, technology, television, radio, cable, and credit & collection issues. S4M will present the solution S4AdOpt, a sophisticated advertising optimization engine.
6 May 2010
A pioneering new Voice of America Web feature, Digital Frontiers, is offering visitors the chance to share their experiences with freedom and censorship in the rapidly evolving world of internet and mobile communication.
VOA Director Danforth Austin says, We hope to make Digital Frontiers a global resource for those interested in online freedom and to expand this online project into broadcasts, seminars and other outreach.
Wherever you live, you have something to teach the world, Austin says, and with Digital Frontiers we’ll tell your story, and share it with the world.
VOA is inviting you to email or send videos that explain how you dealt with a censorship issue, or how the Web and mobile phones have changed the fabric of life where you live.
Digital Frontiers will make your story part of an interactive discussion that explores how our digital world is changing and how issues like privacy, identity, security and freedom are impacting real people.
The new Web feature launches May 6. Tell us your story by writing or sending videos to our website, Twitter, or Facebook page.
6 May 2010
Nigerian pay-TV news channel NN24 went live on 3 May, broadcasting on the DStv platform. The new channel is run by Anthony Dara who has worked in a range of TV jobs both in broadcasters and in equipment companies.
NN24 is the first news channel to come from West Africa and Dara says that the Lagos-based channel already has a content partnership deal with CNN International, a distribution deal with South African DSTV and an advertising arrangement with Nigerian firm MediaCom.
“We have a three-year plan to plant ourselves in the market, in the minds of the people. We want to establish our credentials, establish our unique position and build leadership from there,” he said. “We are aspiring to be the premium national TV news channel. In terms of branding if you talk about Sky, you think British, if you talk about CNN, you think about the United States of America. NN24 is an African concept with global reach,” he said.
Dara is quoted by AFP as saying around US$8million dollars has been spent on the project. “We are working on a shoestring budget with the best hands capable because we see ourselves as trying to reinvent the industry in Africa,” he said.
4 May 2010
Al Jazeera Childrens Channel (JCC) has signed an agreement with Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP), Qatars first publishing house, to publish a series of books inspired by the Channels most popular programs and educational characters. The Fafa book series based on JCCs famous Baraem character will be the first to be launched. The series of books will be distributed by BQFP in Qatar, across the Arab region, and in international markets.
This step comes as part of the channels strategy to further expand Baraems reach to more pre-school children and to generate more interactivity and family engagement. By collaborating with BQFP and drawing on their publishing expertise, the Channel aims to produce a creative and educational book series that will appeal to young children and create a passion for reading.
Further agreements with leading Arab and international publishers are in the pipeline. This project comes as JCC pledges to enrich the lives of Arab children by promoting reading and helping them develop their creative and learning abilities.
JCCs Executive General Manager, Mahmoud Bouneb said: We strive to diversify our communication tools with children to achieve the highest and most effective reach. There is a major readership deficit in the Arab world nowadays. Therefore, we have taken this initiative in order to provide appealing and vivid content for children in their formative years and play a key role in the rise of an avid readers generation. We are also hoping to assist parents involved in their childrens reading activities.
Amira Abed, Education Program Developer at Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing said: We at BQFP are delighted to work on this new childrens book series with JCC. Fafa in recent years has gained unmatched popularity to become one of the most popular characters developed specifically for pre-school children in the Arab world.
Award-winning author Sally Grindley will write this series of books basing her characters on Fafa and her friends and bringing in new adventurous plots that children just love. Illustrator Sirine Matta has created delightful versions of the characters for the printed page. I think fans of Fafa will be delighted with this new series. The books will be released in Arabic and English editions at the same time later this year.
