10 June 2005
Teletrax, the first and only global digital video monitoring and media asset management service, has increased its coverage to 1,000 television channels worldwide, it was announced today at Broadcast magazines conference on content management held at the Waldorf Hilton in London. Teletrax is a subsidiary of Medialink Worldwide Incorporated, a global leader in providing media services to corporations and organizations seeking to communicate their news to the public.
With Teletrax, content owners such as motion picture studios, TV networks, syndicators, news organizations, and advertisers can unlock greater value from their video assets. Content tracked by Teletrax includes news segments, TV show promotions, commercials, and entertainment programming. In the United States alone, several units of NBC Universal and The Walt Disney Company have already adopted Teletrax for the management of media assets and television rights.
This expansion in global coverage further solidifies Teletraxs reputation as the industry standard for the monitoring and reporting of all content that is broadcast on terrestrial, cable and satellite television around the world, said Andy Nobbs, managing director of Teletrax and conference speaker in a panel discussion about media asset protection. Teletraxs unmatched delivery of broadcast intelligence captured from 1,000 channels in 50 countries worldwide is vital to significant video content owners in the entertainment, news, and advertising industries.
Launched in 2002 as a service developed by a joint venture between Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and Medialink, Teletraxs patented technology embeds an imperceptible and indelible digital watermark into video whenever it is edited, transmitted, broadcast or duplicated.
A global network of decoders or detectors, then captures all occurrences of the embedded video being transmitted via satellite, cable or terrestrially and generates tracking reports for the content owners. Reports of individual broadcast airings are delivered online in near real-time to each clients custom-designed portal or in data file transfers. Each clients broadcast activity is updated dynamically, 24 hours a day, enabling clients to respond immediately to reported results such as changes in end-user preferences or detections of unauthorized use.
Teletrax now maintains a proprietary network of detectors that monitor the television broadcasts of 1,000 channels worldwide. Its U.S. footprint includes more than 800 television stations and cable channels in more than the top 100 markets in the United States, representing more than 85% of all U.S. television households. Its international network monitors nearly 200 channels being broadcast from 50 nations and is comprised of 12 monitoring stations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South and Central America, and Canada.
A growing list of leading news, entertainment and media organizations that have contracted with Teletrax to track broadcast video content includes: The NBC Agency, BBC, Buena Vista Television, ABC Television Network, Tribune Entertainment, NBC Universal Television Distribution, NBC News Channel, Reuters Television, Medialink and Australian-based Media Review International. A number of other entertainment, news and media companies are also currently testing the Teletrax service.
2 June 2005
The AIB will be attending Broadcast Asia 2005, taking place in Singapore 13-17 June.
Represented by Anver Anderson, Director of Business, the AIB has stand number 1E4-03.
Visitors to the event will be able to collect material about the AIB, including the latest edition of the Association’s quarterly magazine, The Channel together with information from many of the AIB’s global members.
31 May 2005
SW Radio Africa, a radio station based in the UK targeting listeners in Zimbabwe, has said that its last short wave transmission would be Tuesday 31 May 2005.
The station – operated by a number of expatriate Zimbabweans – has been subject to extensive jamming, seemingly carried out by the Zimbabwe government. This forced the station to broadcast on multiple frequencies. While this was successful and SW Radio Africa’s listeners have been able to clearly receive the station, it has proved financially unsustainable. The station simply could not afford the extra sums needed to pay for multiple short wave transmissions.
From 1 June 2005 SW Radio Africa will be carried on medium wave for two hours in the early morning
(05000700 Zimbabwe time) and 24 hours a day on the website www.swradioafrica.com.
The station reports that its medium wave signal does not cover the whole of Zimbabwe and many listeners will no longer be able to hear the channel which carries uncensored news from across Zimbabwe.
The station manager, Gerry Jackson, commented: “A free media is the cornerstone of any democracy and we will do our very best to ensure that we continue to provide a voice for Zimbabweans, as we struggle along this difficult road to freedom together.
“A luta continua (the struggle continues) was the slogan of African liberation movements. Sadly its a slogan that is still applicable to Zimbabwe.”
31 May 2005
The AIB has submitted its response to the UK government’s Green Paper which is part of the review of the next BBC Royal Charter, due to start in 2007.
The AIB response, which has been forwarded to the UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport, carries the views of the Association’s members in regard to the future of the BBC, with particular emphasis on the BBC’s international operations.
“Part of the AIB’s role is to ensure that the voices of its members are heard by governments and regulators around the world,” commented Simon Spanswick, AIB chief executive. “We monitor media regulators and potential media legislation in many of the countries that AIB members operate in, and this includes the United Kingdom. The AIB makes sure that its members’ views are heard by legislators, regulators and politicians throughout the world.”
Download a copy of the AIB response by clicking on the link below.
25 May 2005
The AIB has announced that it will postpone the fourth annual AIB Global Media Business Conference, scheduled for 6 and 7 June in Montreal, Canada.
“We have taken this decision with extreme regret,” said Simon Spanswick, AIB chief executive. “In spite of an extremely strong agenda with excellent speakers from all over the world combined with the fantastic facilities offered by the CBC, the conference has not attracted sufficient delegates to provide the range of discussion, debate and networking that weve enjoyed at AIB conferences over the past three years.
“As a not-for-profit industry association, the AIB has to ensure that all its activities support and provide value for money to members,” continued Spanswick. “The risks of running a conference that is not fully attended are too great and that is why we decided, in conjunction with AIB member and conference host Radio Canada International, to postpone the 2005 conference.”
The AIB International Broadcasting Awards due to be presented at a gala evening at the headquarters of the Cirque du Soleil will now be rescheduled in a few weeks time.
Meanwhile, the work of the AIB on behalf of its members continues, providing market intelligence, lobbying, representation and marketing support. For example, the AIB is currently working on its response to the UK governments Green Paper on the BBCs Charter Review, incorporating the views of its global membership in a document that will be submitted to the UKs Department of Culture, Media and Sport on 30 May.
