8 March 2007
Vizrt has signed a deal with Australia’s Network TEN to provide a comprehensive Media Asset Management (MAM) system from Vizrt’s recently-acquired subsidiary, Ardendo, for a total contract value of US$5m, to be delivered during 2007 and 2008. This deal follows hard on the heels of a previous contract with Network TEN for a large Vizrt graphic system signed during Q4 2006, for a total value of US$1.7m, which is due to be fulfilled during this year. Vizrt holds the lead position in the Australian broadcast graphics and MAM market sectors and now has the following major customers in Australia:
Network TEN: graphics & MAM
ABC – Australia’s national broadcaster: video archive
Channel 7: graphics
Channel 9: graphics
Sky Channel: MAM
Premier Media Group: MAM
The strategic acquisition of the leading MAM (video storage) and electronic map software providers by Vizrt over recent years is now starting to pay dividends as broadcasters like TEN realise the benefits of investing in a fully-integrated system from a single supplier.
8 March 2007
Peter Winkler, a Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers Entertainment & Media Advisory Practice with more than 15 years of marketing, brand strategy and management consulting experience, has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Teletrax, the global broadcast intelligence company. Teletrax is a subsidiary of Medialink and provides digital video watermarking and content tracking service offering vital television intelligence on a global scale to video providers such as entertainment studios, news organisations, sports leagues, TV syndicators and the advertising industry.
Winkler served for six years in New York, London and Los Angeles as Global Marketing Director of PwCs Entertainment & Media Practice, leading all marketing and business development efforts. In this role, he oversaw PwCs Global Entertainment & Media Outlook, the industrys top five-year international market forecast. He has been a frequent press commentator on the Outlook and entertainment and media industry trends, speaker at industry conferences, and author of numerous white papers and articles on industry topics. More recently, Winkler was a management consulting Director in PwCs Entertainment & Media Advisory Practice, where he specialised in advising multinational companies regarding the impacts of digital technology and industry convergence on their businesses. His clients included some of the leading international entertainment and media conglomerates, as well as top software, telecommunications and technology services companies.
Peter is emblematic of the world-class breed of senior talent that Teletrax is now attracting, said Laurence Moskowitz, chairman of Teletrax and chief executive officer of its parent, Medialink. He has proven himself to be not only a leader of media in the 21st Century, but a visionary who now will bring that skill, along with his experience, energy and enthusiasm to the management team of Teletrax.
8 March 2007
EuroNews, Europes leading news channel, is now available on mobile phones in Scandinavia following the launch by Swedish mobile operator “3” of EuroNews Live in Sweden and Denmark. This latest agreement brings to 32 the number of mobile networks on which EuroNews is across 20 European countries.
Scandinavian customers will now have access to EuroNews world news from a European perspective 24 hours a day in English. They can watch breaking news as it happens as well as the regularly updated bulletins on the hour and half hour, containing in-depth coverage of the day’s top news, sport, business and European affairs, together with a comprehensive weather forecast. EuroNews also brings viewers a wide range of Current Affairs and Lifestyle features including space, science, sustainable development, web-news, arts and entertainment.
“This is an important step in the development of EuroNews on the European mobile telephone market,” said Philippe Cayla, Chairman and CEO of EuroNews. “We have already assured distribution with 3 in Austria; and for the first time EuroNews will now be broadcast in Scandinavia via 3G mobile phone devices thanks to our agreement with “3”, the first operator in Scandinavia to offer a mobile video communication service. It is also important for EuroNews to cement partnerships with strong companies such as “3” who have world-leading industrial and technological experience. With this new agreement; EuroNews now broadcasts on 32 mobile offers (3G, VOD) in 19 countries. EuroNews lends itself perfectly to the mobile TV market with its all image and multi-lingual format and this is why our service on mobile phones has become a real success for us.”
Brian Laffan, Nordic Product Manager TV of 3, said: “At 3 our goal is to provide the best mobile TV service available anywhere. This means that we have to work with only the strongest partners which made EuroNews an obvious choice. 3 focuses on delivering state of the art solutions and we are proud that a broadcaster like EuroNews recognizes the opportunities created by the new distribution channels we have made available.”
1 March 2007
S4M – Solution for Media´s Video Production Management System (VPMS) is now also used for production of the Tagesschau, Germanys best known and most successful news programme. VPMS is S4M´s solution for professional creation, management, editing and distribution of digital video material.
In the Tageschau VPMS is used together with Quantels SQ System – as part of an overall solution and handles diverse tasks:
The so called ingest process, i.e. the fully automated recording of video material that reaches broadcasters via satellite for example, is controlled by the VPMS module JobControl. This module also realizes the ARD video-file transfer connection. Another module, the VPMS PlayOut Control, is employed for controlling the tape play-out process for the archives i.e. the possibility to copy stored digital video material from video servers to regular tapes.
A further advantage: The Quantel zone concept which is in use by the Tagesschau is supported by the VPMS system. VPMS synchronizes the video material and thus creates permanently available backups of the videos. So VPMS manages video material through both zones used at the Tagesschau. That way for example recording as well as deletion of video material is possible for the different zones with just one user interface.
Tageschau
The Tageschau is the most popular and longest running news programme on German TV. It was broadcast for the first time in 1952. Since 1961 the Tagesschau is on air daily at 8p.m. In 2006, the 8 oclock edition reached a daily average of over 9 million viewers at ARD, 3 SAT, Phoenix and other German public stations. This is a market share of about 33% and makes Tagesschau the market leader by far. The Tagesschau is produced by ARD-aktuell, a collaboration of the nine affiliated German public broadcasters. ARD-aktuell is based at NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk) in Hamburg.
1 March 2007
On Tuesday 6 March, 12.30-1.30pm, The International News Safety Institute (INSI) is presenting the dramatic results of the world’s most comprehensive inquiry into the deaths of journalists over the last decade in a report called Killing The Messenger: The Deadly Price of News.
The dramatic findings are accompanied by recommendations for radical action by the UN, individual Governments, international development institutions, the military, national security agencies and news organisations.
The presentation will include a Top 20 of the most dangerous countries for journalists and media staff to work. The findings will be presented by Rodney Pinder, Director of INSI and the Chair of the inquiry – BBC Director of Global News Richard Sambrook. The event will be chaired by Foreign Press Association President Annalisa Piras.
Venue:
Foreign Press Association
11 Carlton House Terrace
London
SW1Y 5AJ
27 February 2007
Despite continued difficulties with security and reconstruction, television is gaining ground in Afghanistan as the most important news and entertainment source in urban areas, particularly the capital, Kabul, according to recent surveys conducted by Washington, D.C.-based media and public opinion research organisation, InterMedia.
Television use and importance is rising most quickly in Kabul, where socioeconomic conditions are better than in the rest of the country, and among young people 15-24, says Jacob English, an InterMedia Project Manager for the Middle East and North Africa. From 2005 to 2006, television access in the city rose from 59 to 78 percent. Even urban residents who can’t afford to buy a television set have greater access to places where TV is available-others’ homes, cafes and work places. However, due to problems with infrastructure, mainly a lack of consistent electricity and little disposable income, television’s appeal is more socially desirable than affordable for many Afghans.
In a country where 84 percent of the population is rural, the urban-rural split is pronounced: nationwide only 37 percent of Afghans claim to watch TV weekly, compared to 89 percent in Kabul. The capital’s viewers can choose from six privately run channels. InterMedia found that Tolo TV, funded by an Australian based Afghan businessman, is most popular, with programmes including a nightly newscast, roundtable discussions, Islamic programming, and shows on cinema, cooking, music and sports. Afghan State TV is the second most important information source. The station’s principal focus is news, the tone of which is usually consistent with the government line. When it has strayed from this, officials, religious leaders and culturally conservative print outlets have accused the channel of sowing dissent and disrespecting Islam, which in turn has resulted in some self-censorship.
Other challenges remain before Afghans have true choice in terms of media platforms and diversity of views. More than 25 years of war has devastated the country’s infrastructure, leaving radio as the most reliable means of news and entertainment (Afghanistan remains a radio culture-92 percent of Afghans own a radio, 73 percent listen weekly). Further, the resurgent Taliban and the reactivation of the Department for Promoting Virtue and Punishing Vice frighten Afghans, worried about possible future dire consequences from watching television’s more risqué fare.
In 2006, English says, Afghans witnessed increased violence in their country, yet interest in news and overall media consumption declined. This is unusual because media use typically spikes during wars and other crises. But in Afghanistan, many are sceptical of domestic media, perceiving these outlets as biased due to their ties with political figures and factions-thus, the decreased interest in news, which may be due at least in part to dissatisfaction with available media outlets. Nonetheless, the need for news and information will not disappear.
In a country where 56 percent of the people are under 34, young Afghans embrace television and other new technologies more readily than older generations. TV access among those 15-24 has remained steady at more than 30 percent since 2004, but averages less than 15 percent for those over 45.
International and local media producers realize this and are creating programs to target young Afghans.
Young Afghans, English says, are becoming more curious about new technologies and are most likely to drive media consumption patterns in the long run. Western influences — close to 60 percent of youths 15-24 view the United States favourably — and the prestige associated with television ownership may also impact their media choices.
Once this new generation sees and hears the images and voices of television, their demand for this media will likely rise, he says. It’s unlikely they will return to the radio of their parents.
InterMedia is a leading international media research, public opinion, evaluation and consulting organisation creatively equipping clients to understand their audiences, gauge their effectiveness and target their communications in transitional and developing societies worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., and active year-round in more than 60 countries, InterMedia helps clients understand complex issues in challenging research environments. The company’s strengths include its people — area experts skilled in scientifically-based research and focused on client solutions — its vast global network of local research partners and contacts and its rich data archive of close to 600 media and opinion surveys carried out over the past 15 years. Survey note: InterMedia commissioned the nationwide (31 of 34 provinces) survey of 3,110 respondents. Interviews were conducted in September 2006. Given a sample of this size, the range of error with a 95 percent confidence interval is +/-1.76 percent.
