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
C. Bradley Hunt, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Motion Picture Association of America, has joined the board of Teletrax, the global broadcast intelligence company.
A subsidiary of Medialink Worldwide Incorporated, Teletrax offers the first and only digital video watermarking and content tracking service that provides vital television intelligence on a global scale to video providers such as entertainment studios, news organisations, sports leagues, TV syndicators, and the advertising industry. Teletrax is a joint venture between Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and Medialink.
We are thrilled that Brad will be joining us at such an important stage in the development of Teletrax, and at a time when the management and protection of video content is so high on the agenda of content creators and owners, said Laurence Moskowitz, chairman of Teletrax and chief executive officer of its parent, Medialink. Brads vast experience, intimate knowledge of the motion picture industry and technological vision will help us ensure we meet the ever-evolving critical needs of our clients.
Hunt began his career with Eastman Kodak Company in 1976, where he was steadily promoted over his 20 year career holding positions in research and development, marketing, international sales, and strategic planning in the motion picture and digital film businesses. In 1999, he joined the Motion Picture Association of America as CTO and was named executive vice president in 2005. Hunt is a fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a participant in more than a dozen motion picture, television, and video technology standards committees.
I am very excited to be able to participate at a high level in defining the strategic direction and future growth of Teletrax, a leader in broadcast monitoring services not only in the United States, but worldwide, said Hunt. My involvement in digital television standards, content watermarking, and new online media distribution will allow me to bring useful insight and be a strong contributor to the board of Teletrax.
