RT documentary channel celebrates 5 years on air

RT’s round the clock documentary channel RTDoc has presented hundreds of documentaries and has been recognized by many international industry awards, including the New York Festivals Awards and US International Film & Video Festival Awards, in the five years since its launch.

 

“The original idea was to focus on producing documentaries about Russia, but the channel has grown to cover the entire world in these 5 years,” says Yekaterina Yakovleva, head of RTDoc. “To-date, we have produced and aired over 500 films. Our teams find one-of-a-kind, absolutely stunning stories all over the world, and run live investigations at the sites of ongoing conflicts, often risking their lives.”

 

RTDoc crew’s recent trip to Syrian Kurdistan produced two eye-opening documentaries. In the Name of the Profit explores a possible connection between Turkey and the Islamic State; it has been scheduled for screening at the UN later this summer. Her War: Women vs. ISIS tells the story of Kurdish women fighting against the Islamic State militants who fear dying at the hand of a woman.

 

Other notable RTDoc films about the military conflicts include Trauma, which is dedicated to the work of emergency response doctors in the conflict-torn Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, and Zashto? (Why?), shot 15 years after NATO’s air strikes of Yugoslavia, which documents present-day consequences of that military operation.

 

Several RTDoc stories captivated the international public with their unexpected and peculiar subjects. Sleepy Hollow followed reports of a Kazakh village whose many residents would occasionally fall into several-days-long sleep. The documentary piqued the interest of the Washington Post, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Week, and other outlets. Meanwhile, Agafia presented to the world a 70-year-old recluse who has lived her entire life cut off from the civilization, hundreds of kilometers deep into the thick forests of Siberia.

 

RTDoc documentaries have been distinguished with many international awards including New York Festivals Awards, MediaExcellence Awards, OMNI Intermedia Awards, Broadcast Digital Awards, US International Film & Video Festival and Russian film festival Strana. Stand-out works include Blood and Honour, which investigated the story of a centuries-old tradition in the North Caucasus, Albino Africa about the hardships befalling albino children born in Tanzania, The Town of Little Angels, filmed six years after Beslan massacre, and Children of the Tundra, portraying the life of the indigenous population of Russia’s Far North.

(Source: RT press release)

Sumo is coming to NHK World TV

GRAND SUMO Highlights

Jul 10 – 24  16:30/ 22:30/ Next Day 4:30/ 8:30 (UTC)  <23 min.>

Sumo, Japan’s national sport, is coming to NHK World TV. Six grand sumo tournaments are held each year, and with wrestlers coming from around the globe, the interest of overseas fans is growing. During the 15 days of the July tournament, NHK World TV programming will feature bouts involving high-ranking wrestlers. Mongolian Yokozuna Hakuho, the winner of the previous tournament, is the centre of attention. To make the  highlights even more enjoyable, the weekend coverage will have “Sumopedia,” information of the sports, including its history and customs.

Other highlights from the July schedule include:

Amazing Bug’s Technology

Jul 15 Fri 23:10/ Sat 5:10/ 10:10/ 17:10 (UTC)  < 48 min.>

For millions of years, insects have come out ahead in the struggle for survival. The programme reveals some of the mechanisms hidden in their bodies and shows how human-made technology is being inspired by those evolutionary traits. 4K high-speed cameras and digital microscopes provide an extraordinary view of the world of bugs, from painless mosquito stings to high-performance dragonfly wings.

 

Bunraku in Paris-Oiran: Experts in the Art of Love

Jul 23 Sat 23:10/ Sun 5:10/ 10:10/ 17:10 (UTC)  < 49 min.>

Designing shoes for Lady Gaga garnered a lot of attention for contemporary artist Noritaka Tatehana. Now he’s turning his talents to staging Japan’s traditional puppet theatre in Paris. Collaborating with Bunraku master Kanjuro Kiritake, Tatehana serves as art director for a story steeped in Japanese aesthetics. The master himself is giving the grand role of the courtesan Akoya its premiere outside of Japan, bringing the soul of the character to the present. The programme documents the two men’s efforts to discover new dimensions of Bunraku.

(Source: NHK World TV press release)

RT to show Emelianenko fight at EFN 50 MMA event in 360 degree video

One of MMA’s greatest, Fedor Emelianenko, will take on Fabio Maldonado of Brazil in his first fight in Russia since 2012 on Friday,  June 17.  For the special occasion, which is part of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2016) activities, RT, the global television news network, is preparing a treat for all MMA fans – a 360-degrees video of the event. 

 

RT will film the EFN 50 tournament, organized by Eurasia Fight Nights, though specialized 360-degree camera equipment and will make it available to fans worldwide via its dedicated panoramic video mobile app – RT360.  The app is available on Google Play and from the AppStore for all fans from around the world to watch the unique event like never before.

 

“This will be an unprecedented experience for all the viewers who will tune in to watch Emelianenko take on Maldonado.  RT is one of the world’s first media organizations to develop broadcast infrastructure to film and broadcast 360 video, which opens brand new horizons in news gathering and delivery; we already have a library of 360 video news stories and documentaries.  Now we are doing a major MMA event coverage in the 360 format for millions of viewers,” said Kirill Karnovich-Valua, Head of Online Projects at RT.

 

Viewers will be able to see not only the MMA fights from various angles, but will also witness reaction from 9,000 spectators packed inside Sibur Area in Saint Petersburg.  The event’s headliner – Fedor Emelianenko – is a four-time MMA champion nicknamed “The Last Emperor”.  The main promoter of the show is Kamil Gadzhiev, co-founder and CEO of Eurasia Fight Nights.  EFN has partnered up with Russia’s Summa Group to produce the show.

 

“We all are looking forward to the event on Friday, which will feature some of Russia’s greatest MMA stars – Fedor Emelianenko, Vitaly Minakov, Kirill Sidelnikov, Rasul Mirzaev and Sergei Pavlovich.  We are happy to partner with Fedor, with Summa Group and its CEO Ziyavudin Magomedov, and we all share big plans for development of MMA in Russia,” said Gadzhiev.

 

RT has already produced VR 360 videos during a football match played by the Russian national team and the launch of the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur spaceport.  Viewers can also tour RT studios during a newscast with the RT360 app.

 

For more information about EFN 50 and RT’s 360 video broadcast, please contact

Anna Belkina (RT) at +7.499.75.000.75

Max Smetannikov (MVG) at +1.212.330.8063 ext. 1001 info@mvgmain.com

(Source: RT press release)

Newstag adds CNN to video news service

CNN International will be syndicating its news, business, feature and entertainment content to Newstag, an award-winning ‘mobile-first’ video news service. The agreement grants Stockholm-based Newstag the right to share and distribute two hours of CNN video content per day on its mobile and online platforms alongside current affairs and entertainment content from other professional content producers around the world, including AP, AFP and Reuters.

 

With 41 editorial offices and more than 1,100 affiliates worldwide through CNN Newsource, CNN provides local news organisations with products and services across all platforms. CNN Newsource is the industry’s most powerful newsgathering resource.

 

This announcement follows the news that CCTV – China’s leading news agency – will also be joining Newstag, bringing quality news videos from four continents together through the innovative platform. By presenting these stories from different global perspectives, the platform sheds new light on international news as it breaks.

 

Newstag Chair and co-founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson, says: “Newstag is delighted to be working with CNN, one of the world’s most pioneering and innovative news providers. With the US presidential race in full flow, this partnership couldn’t have come at a better time. We’re committed to providing professionally produced global news coverage from truly distinct perspectives and CNN’s output will contribute to creating a rich and nuanced understanding of the world we live in today.”

 

Newstag’s ‘mobile-first’ service enables users to create their own ‘tagstream’ (or personalised TV channel) in seconds, organising, consuming and sharing stories among their social networks using the latest web and mobile technologies. These stories are available from a number of different perspectives, resulting in a platform that allows converging viewpoints to be presented side by side, shedding new light on international news as it breaks.

 

Alongside breaking news, Newstag also offers users access to archive footage and documentaries covering everything from business, science and politics to arts, culture and sports. Specialist content providers include IMG Media, the world’s largest independent distributor of sports programming and Videofashion, the video magazine covering all aspects of fashion.

 

As the platform gears up for launch, Newstag is a start-up of the year finalist in the MEG-awards and was recently selected as one the companies best positioned for growth in Asia at Asia Beat 2016. Last year Newstag received a bronze award for ‘Best News Website’ at the 2015 Asian Digital Media Awards jointly presented by WAN-IFRA and Google. The platform was also selected as a top international start-up by Mobile World Capital Barcelona in a contest to recognise the most innovative use of mobile technology in business and won ‘Best Start-up’ at the 2015 TVB Europe Awards.

(Source: Newstag press release)

Euronews maintains its leadership among the Top 3 International News Brands

Euronews is a trusted source and leader for international news brands in the annual Ipsos Affluent Survey Europe.

Europe’s elite population, surveyed in this independent industry research study, shows that Euronews placed Second in highest reach to audiences in continental Europe with a digital usage increase of 23%.

In continental Europe, Euronews has the second highest daily, weekly and monthly reach of all international news channels.

Euronews is # 1 in Central and Eastern Europe, with the highest daily reach of any other international News brand, such as CNN, BBC World News, and CNBC. Euronews leaves other top News brands behind in the Central and Eastern European markets of Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland combined.

 

In total, Euronews services reach over 12 million people and among the most affluent and powerful people in Europe every month.

Euronews daily reach on digital services has increased by 23% year on year and every day digital adds an extra 32% to TV reach alone.

The survey again emphasized the desire of the elite to follow the News in their own language; this is what makes Euronews unique and why they provide an accessible platform to 97% of Europe’s most influential people. The independent news hub addresses audiences in 13 language editions, produced by its 600 journalists from 30 nationalities. The diversity of Euronews extensive content ranges from breaking News, through sports to culture. Today, Euronews is available 24/7 worldwide in 425 million homes in 158 countries.

 

  Olivier de Montchenu, Euronews Sales Managing Director

“The Ipsos survey results confirms that Euronews is a major brand in Europe in the international news market and also perfectly fits today’s digital world. To reinforce its success with our consumers and our clients, Euronews unveiled, one month ago, its new visual identity inspired by its new strategic vision. This vision is based on a new mission that aims to empower people and their views so they can make up their own mind from a sound, reliable and trustworthy news media source. With its new positioning “All Views” Euronews clearly announces to be the source of the diversity of perspectives, based on its strong multicultural team. This new strategic approach is our solution to reinforce Euronews as a very effective media platform for our current and future advertisers.”

 

Ipsos Affluent Survey Europe
(formerly EMS)

In 1995, EMS was designed to expand the Pan European Media market and to allow comparative analyses on a national and multi-national basis. EMS contained significantly more detailed demographic, classification and marketing data than any other survey available at the time or indeed now.

The Affluent Survey Europe is part of the Ipsos suite of Affluent surveys which now covers Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia/Pacific, Latin America and the USA, spanning 51 countries and reflecting approximately 133 million adults.

Since its first launch, the Affluent Survey Europe has continually evolved and enhanced its methodology. Ipsos interviewed a sample of 27,751 Europeans representing a business elite of 52 Million audiences, across 21 countries, each of whom was screened to ensure they passed certain minimum household income thresholds established as representing the Top 13% population.

*Continental Europe: 19 countries (all countries excluding UK/Ireland)

(Source: Euronews press release)