26 March 2009
Al Jazeera Network, the Middle East-headquartered international broadcaster, announced that it is significantly stepping-up the distribution of its feature programmes. It will be offering a range of its factual and documentary programming from Al Jazeera English, the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and the Al Jazeera Satellite Channel.
Phil Lawrie, Director of Global Distribution stated: “With a growing portfolio of programmes from these three acclaimed channels, we’re able to market a range of compelling programming that covers a wide variety of current affairs topics and issues.
The library available from Al Jazeera English includes over 50 hours from its award-winning documentary strand Witness, comprising stories told by local filmmakers that provide a fresh insight into world events as they impact on the daily lives of ordinary people.
Arabic-language content includes Al Jazeera Documentary Channel’s 4-part documentary Arab Christians and, from the Al Jazeera Satellite Channel, The PLO – a 13-part documentary looking at the creation, establishment and existence of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
Al Jazeera showcases this content and more at the forthcoming MIPDOC, March 28-29, and MIPTV, March 30-April 3.
26 March 2009
The AIB is pleased to announce that companies can now book enhanced entries in the
2009 Global Broadcasting Sourcebook.
For just £295 (plus UK VAT at 15%), companies can have an enhanced entry that includes their
logo in full colour, plus a description of up to 120 words – all set in an eye-catching
coloured box.
You can see an example of the enhanced listing
here.
To reserve your enhanced listing in the new edition of the
Global Broadcasting Sourcebook that
will be published at the end of May 2009, use our online shop
here. We will then contact you to obtain your logo and listing.
Alternatively, download the booking form
here, or talk to Alison
Seary on
+44 (0) 20 7993 2557.
You can also book advertising in the Sourcebook – look through the
media pack
here.
26 March 2009
Kenyans have found a new place to watch and listen to the Voice of America’s (VOA) (www.VOANews.com) news and information: the palms of their hands.
In a unique arrangement with Safaricom (www.safaricom.co.ke), a leading telecommunications company in Kenya, VOA provides daily updated audio and video stories to cell phone subscribers who download the material.
“We’re dedicated to delivering VOA’s news and information to all people – on all platforms,” said VOA Director Danforth Austin. “This arrangement with Safaricom shows the benefits of new technology,” he said.
The Nairobi-based Safaricom estimates there were 800,000 attempted downloads of VOA reports between mid-December 2008 and mid-March 2009.
Many downloads tracked with VOA’s comprehensive coverage of the January 19, 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama, whose late father was Kenyan. VOA’s inauguration coverage spanned the days before and after the inauguration, and included an interview with one of Obama’s cousins from Kenya.
Safaricom networks reach areas throughout Kenya, an East African country of nearly 38 million where mobile technology often has leap-frogged conventional landline telephones. Safaricom has about 10 million subscribers in Kenya, with many concentrated in the major cities, including Nairobi and Mombasa.
Approximately 10 million Kenyans subscribe to the service. Subscriptions are reportedly concentrated in the major cities such as Nairobi and Mombasa.
26 March 2009
SIRIUS XM Radio has made WRN available to XM subscribers. WRN is broadcast on SIRIUS channel 140 and XM channel 135.
This is excellent news for WRN’s content partners as the merger between SIRIUS Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio brings the combined company, operating under the name SIRIUS XM Radio, to more than 19 million subscribers (based on subscriber numbers ending 4th Quarter 2008).
Tim Ashburner, WRNs Board Chairman, said, WRN has had a long association with SIRIUS and is absolutely delighted to make its programming available to XM subscribers across North America, bringing to listeners a unique perspective on the worlds news and offering different viewpoints from around the world.
WRN will be re-modelling its North American service specifically for satellite radio by adding a wide variety of programming from the worlds news broadcasters.
26 March 2009
Quantel today announced that its award-winning Genetic Engineering teamworking technology now supports the popular Lasergraphics Director pin-registered film scanner.
The Lasergraphics interface allows frames to be scanned at full speed directly to the Genetic Engineering shared workspace so that creative work can commence immediately, without wasting time and disk space on an intermediate transfer stage. The interface leverages the openness of Quantels Sam data server, which enables third party access to Quantel shared workspace without requiring a special API or licence.
The high speed Lasergraphics Director pin-registered film scanner replaces HD telecines and first-generation scanners while delivering higher quality, said Lasergraphics CEO, Dr. Stefan Demetrescu. “Quantel’s open access technology is very much in line with our efforts to design products that remove the risks associated with file-based workflow integration and interoperability while dramatically lowering overall system costs.”
Were delighted to add Lasergraphics to the many manufacturers with tried and tested workflow partner products for our Genetic Engineering technology, said Mark Horton, Quantel Strategic Marketing Manager. Working with the team at Lasergraphics, weve produced a practical and productive solution which will be of interest in DI, post production and restoration.
