15 September 2016
This morning the UK Government has published the draft new BBC Charter and Agreement.
Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC said:
“This hard won Charter is now an opportunity to write the next chapter in the BBC’s history. It will deliver the strong and creative BBC the public believes in. It provides an 11-year Charter and a licence fee guaranteed for 11 years. It endorses the remit, scale and scope of the BBC, and backs it as a great British institution.
I set out my concerns regarding the new board appointments back in May and said we would continue to make the case to the Government. The BBC is a public service broadcaster – not a state broadcaster. I am glad they have reconsidered. There will now be an equal number of board appointed non-Executive Directors alongside the ones appointed by the Government. And there will now be four Executive directors on the board too. An independent and strong BBC is what the public want and demand.
Our position on talent pay has not changed and all major broadcasters have questioned the merit of the proposal. The BBC is already incredibly transparent and we publish what we spend on talent pay – a bill which has fallen in recent years. The BBC operates in a competitive market and this will not make it easier for the BBC to retain the talent the public love. Ultimately, the BBC should be judged on the quality of its programmes.
There has been a passionate debate over the BBC’s future. Overall, we have the right outcome for the BBC and its role as a creative power for Britain. It lays the foundation for more great programmes and journalism. The BBC has always existed to inform, educate, and entertain. We will do that with renewed energy and vigour.”
(Source: BBC press office)
13 September 2016
Iconic Russian voices from the last five decades are on air again in the BBC Russian Voices from the Archive video series.
The first series consists of 12 parts and begins on Friday 16 September on bbcrussian.com.љ It features the voices of Joseph Brodsky, Maya Plisetskaya, Andrei Sakharov, Anna Politkovskaya, Andrei Tarkovsky and other Russian and Soviet personalities, based on their interviews with BBC Russian.
Each episode is introduced by the veteran broadcaster Seva Novgorodsev who conducted many of the original interviews. Other interviewers are journalists such as Masha Slonim, Natalia Rubinstein, Boris Nadan, Tatiana Berg, Diran Meghreblian and Igor Pomerantsev.
Seva Novgorodsev said: “Over decades of broadcasting, BBC Russian has accumulated a great deal of hugely valuable, often unique recordings. I am very proud to be fronting this fascinating new series which brings back the voices of people who, each in their own way, made history. Voices from the Archive is a testimony of times and lives, it’s the BBC at its best.”
The first episode of Voices from the Archive features film director Andrei Tarkovsky and ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, based on BBC interviews from 1981 and 2006.
The following episodes feature:
- nuclear physicist and dissident, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Andrei Sakharov (1978) and singer and philologist Anna Gerasimova-Umka (2001)
- journalists Alexei and Rada Adjubei (Nikita Khruschev’s son-in-law and daughter) (1991)
- musician Boris Grebenschikov (1996) and Countess Anna Shuvalova (1990)
- Natalya Koroleva, daughter of top Soviet rocket engineer and designer Sergei Korolev (2003) and musician Sergey Kuryokhin (1992)
- composer Oleg Karavaychuk (1990) and journalist Anna Politkovskaya (2003)
- physicist and dissident Yury Orlov (1986) and poet and translator Renata Mukha (1990/91)
- politician Galina Starovoitova (1992) and bass guitarist Sasha Titov (1996)
- writer Andrei Sinyavsky (1988) and literary critic Sophia Bogatyryova (2000)
- Nobel Laureate for Literature, poet Joseph Brodsky (1987)
- dissident poet Irina Ratushinskaya (1987) and Red Army general Vasily Petrenko (2001)
- broadcaster and writer Anatol Goldberg who headed BBC Russian during the Cold War (1961).
New episodes of Voices from the Archive series will be published every Friday on bbcrussian.com, after which they will be available on demand. Following the initial 12 episodes, there will be new editions of Voices from the Archive coming soon.
(Source: BBC press release)
9 September 2016
Satellite expected to enter service first quarter 2017 following extended orbit-raising mission
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), operator of the world’s first Globalized Network, powered by its leading satellite backbone, today updated the in-service date for the Intelsat 33e satellite, successfully launched on 24 August 2016. The in-service date is being adjusted from fourth quarter 2016 to first quarter 2017.
Due to a malfunction in the primary thruster used for orbit raising, the orbit raising will take longer than planned and the satellite will arrive on station for In Orbit Testing in December 2016. The satellite’s solar arrays and antennas have been successfully deployed, and after completion of the In Orbit Testing, the satellite will be ready for service sometime in the first quarter of 2017.
Boeing, the satellite’s manufacturer, is presently working with the company to determine the cause of the thruster malfunction.
(Source: Intelsat press release)
9 September 2016
Virtualised offering gives customers a faster and more flexible way to trial new TV channels
Arqiva, the communications infrastructure and media services company, has today announced the launch of a new cloud-orchestrated Pop-Up Playout service, which will allow customers to quickly set up and distribute linear TV channels anytime, anywhere and for any duration.
Answering an increasing market demand for virtualisation, the Pop-Up Playout service utilises public cloud technologies and software from leading manufacturers integrated with Arqiva’s own suite of media services. The resulting service can be delivered via any distribution medium required – be that fibre, satellite, IP or OTT.
Designed for reliability and scalability, and with simplified, straightforward workflows, the solution provides integrated service management, allows for supplementary rights monetisation and can be launched with flexible durations and without long-term commitments.
Working in combination, these benefits will make it easier, quicker, and much more cost effective for customers to test new markets, provide content for short-run events (i.e. sporting fixtures or holiday periods), and make more use of their existing content catalogues.
The Pop-Up Playout service is the first to launch on Arqiva’s new virtualised services. With a virtualised platform delivery Arqiva will be able to quickly provision applications within the cloud at the touch of a button, dramatically shortening the on-boarding process for customers and ensuring a faster time to market. Following the expected roll-out of the Pop-Up Playout service in early Q1 2017, more services will be added over the year.
Alex Pannell, Commercial Director of Satellite & Media at Arqiva commented: “Arqiva is constantly innovating and evolving its products and services to directly reflect the conversations we’re having with the industry – the Pop-Up Playout service is just one example of this.
“Making the move to a virtualised environment is a topic that has come up time and time again when talking to our customers, and, once launched, we see the service having a rapid and wide evolution in terms of its use – opening up opportunities for sports rights providers, live event hosts and many more.”
Arqiva has already signed up a leading international broadcaster to trial the new Pop-Up Playout service – with testing expected to begin later this year.
(Source: Arqiva press release)
2 September 2016
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) announced on 31 August that SPN and its affiliates have entered into definitive agreements to acquire TEN Sports Network from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) and its subsidiaries for 385 million U.S. dollars. Completion of the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval. The acquisition will add South Asia’s leading sports network to SPN’s existing portfolio of channels.
The TEN Sports channels being acquired include TEN 1, TEN 1 HD, TEN 2, TEN 3, TEN Golf HD, TEN Cricket, TEN Sports that operate in several countries including the Indian sub-continent, Maldives, Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East, Caribbean.
TEN Sports holds broadcast rights to major cricket boards (South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe). In addition, Ten Sports holds rights to wrestling (WWE), football (UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, French League, English Football League Cup), tennis (WTA Events, ATP events), golf (European Tour, Asian Tour, Ryder Cup, US PGA Championship, LPGA Tour, Professional Golf Tour of India and Golf Channel Block), athletics (Asian Games, Commonwealth Games), motor sports (Moto GP) and cycling (Tour de France) events.
Long a television destination for sports fans, SPN sports properties include cricket (IPL, CPL, Ram Slam), football (FIFA 2018 World Cup Russia, UEFA Euro 2016, FIFA World Events including FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 in India, European and South American Qualifiers for FIFA WC 2018, FIFA Confederations Cup, LaLiga, Serie A, FA Cup, Copa America Centenario, International Champions Cup), tennis (Australian Open, ATP 1000 and 500 World Tour Events, Champions Tennis League), fight sports (TNA, UFC, Pro Wrestling League), basketball (NBA) as well as NFL and Premier Futsal.
Comments
NP Singh, CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India:
“I welcome TEN Sports to the Sony family. The acquisition of TEN Sports Network will strengthen SPN’s offering for viewers of cricket, football and fight sports, complementing our existing portfolio of international and domestic sporting properties. It also aptly demonstrates SPN’s commitment to providing a broad range of sporting entertainment to fans across India and the sub-continent.”
Andy Kaplan, President, Worldwide Networks, Sony Pictures Television:
“India has been a strong driver of Sony Pictures’ growing networks business for two decades, and sports continue to play a significant role in that growth. The acquisition of TEN Sports, following the launch of SONY ESPN channels, will mean that our Indian networks would reach over 800 million viewers and broadcast many of the most popular and prestigious sporting events in the world.”
Punit Goenka, Managing Director, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE):
“This is a landmark deal for ZEE and a step towards a strategic portfolio shuffle as we grow our general entertainment business both in the domestic and overseas markets. While we have grown our sports business over the last 10 years through acquisition of content at competitive prices, our focus now is on transforming ourselves into an all-round media and content company, comprising of five verticals, viz. broadcast, digital, films, live events, and international business; and we continue to move rapidly towards our set business goals. While I have always been proud of our sports business, I strongly believe that Sony will add more value to it by taking it to even greater heights. I wish them all the success.”
(Source: Sony Pictures press release)
