Pharos expands training resource at its UK Headquarters

Pharos announces a major extension of training support at its UK headquarters in Reading. Managed by technology specialist Elaine Jarvis, the expanded resource is geared to providing hands-on training at Pharos offices or at customer sites.

Elaine joined Pharos recently from Viasat Broadcasting. She commenced her broadcast career in 1979 as an on-air assistant at BCTV in Vancouver, progressing in 1983 to senior video tape engineer at TV-AM in London, to IndiEdit as an editor in 1988 and to Viasat in 1994 as a transmission controller.

“Pharos produces a highly coordinated range of broadcast content management control solutions centred on Mediator which allows practically every element of television and radio channel operation to be handled efficiently,” Elaine comments. “I first became familiar with Mediator while working at Viasat. We began using the system in June 2006 and I later ran a three-month training course for the transmission department. Mediator is controlled from networked desktop computers displaying Web-style pages. These give operators the exact information they require to perform each aspect of their duties quickly and confidently. Mediator is very easy to drive whether approached from a task-specific perspective or in total. Once incoming content has been ingested into the system, everything is handled on-screen. A huge improvement on the old days of moving tapes and disks physically to and from a library, and hoping your content arrived in a playable form.”

Also supporting the Pharos training resource is Andy Benning who recently rejoined the company from Miranda. Andy’s focus will be on providing an information bridge between the Pharos development team and colleagues in sales and other departments, ensuring that all Pharos staff have a good understanding of the company’s capabilities.

Founded in 1997, Pharos has pioneered collaborative desktop workflow and integrated third-party infrastructure management. Pharos solutions today handle millions of media assets across hundreds of television channels and an increasing number of new media distribution networks. Pharos is an open company embracing open standards. Pharos software architecture, integration and support services enable disparate broadcast and IT processes to be unified across the enterprise. The unique Mediator content management platform, with its integrated Playtime playout and Pilot control options, provides efficient tools to deliver multi-format content globally.

RRsat launches its fourth US TV and radio platform

RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd. a rapidly growing provider of comprehensive content management and global distribution services to the television and radio broadcasting industries, has launched a new platform on the Galaxy 19 (G-19) satellite that enables the distribution of television and radio channels devoted to religious programming. The new platform, together with RRsat’s three other platforms already operating on this satellite, will broadcast more than 50 religious and ethnic TV and radio channels, reaching millions of homes across the United States, and represents a major step in RRsat’s program to distribute content within the Americas originating in the Americas.

The Galaxy 19 satellite, located at 97degreesW, is one of the largest ethnic video platforms in the U.S. offering programmers and content distributors access to millions of homes in the U.S. cable community. RRsat has signed agreements with thirteen TV and radio channels to be broadcast on its new Galaxy 19 platform directly from RRsat’s Hawley Teleport in Pennsylvania. Channels already launched include the Three Angels Broadcasting Network (3ABN), which also use RRsat’s services for global distribution, the three Hope channels: Hope Channel, Esperanza TV, and Hope Church channel; and Loma Linda Broadcasting Networks Inc., which broadcasts on Galaxy 19 in English, Arabic and Chinese and uses RRsat’s distribution services to North America, Asia, Africa and Australia.

3ABN, LLBN and the Adventist Television Network channels are all major Christian television and radio networks in the United States offering a full range of religious content and programming. Their presence on this platform is representative of the increase in content being distributed by RRsat’s Hawley Teleport in which both the source and the destination is North America.

“Interest in religious programming and content is on the rise in the United States,” commented Lior Rival, Vice President, Sales and Marketing of RRsat. “By positioning ourselves as a provider of global distribution for all types of religious content, we believe we can further penetrate this important market and become a leading distribution solution for this programming. Moreover, this launch represents another significant step in our penetration of the America-to-America market.”

Eurosport.com iPhone app celebrates first birthday by reaching 2.5 million download landmark

The free app, boasting more LIVE sports content than any other sports app in Europe, has been downloaded 2,518,432 times (and counting!) since its launch last year.

The app leverages Eurosport.com’s ditorial expertise and online excellence, featuring real-time text commentary, live results, breaking sports news, stats, standings and fixtures.

It is the only sports application available in 9 different language versions,* plus an international version available in any country in the world, and has been a resounding success, topping download lists in France, Germany, Italy and the UK.

Laurent-Eric Le Lay, Eurosport Chairman and CEO, said: “Eurosport innovates to provide quality content across all media devices, and mobile is the perfect way to enjoy, share and experience sports news and events. Any first birthday is always a very special time and, together with the 2.5 million downloads, it is proof that we are delivering the global sports fans what he wants, when he wants it and where he wants it.”

Arnaud Maillard, Eurosport’s New Media Director, added: “This is a life-cycle, and though today we celebrate the free app’s first birthday we will continue to innovate and grow our diverse online and mobile offering for the iPhone and iPad.”

Not forgetting the iPad … Since its launch in May of this year, the Europsort.com for iPad sports app, has been downloaded over 118,000 times in two months, making it the most popular iPad sports app across Europe.

All of Eurosport’s apps for iPhone and iPad are available for download on iTunes and the App Store.

Vizrt appoints Laborie as new CCO

Vizrt, a leading provider of content production tools for the digital media industry, announced today that it has appointed François Laborie as its new Chief Commercial Officer.

François Laborie joined Vizrt at the beginning of 2006 as the Company’s Executive Vice President Marketing. At the beginning of 2010, he took on the additional role of Regional President for the EMEA region. Prior to joining Vizrt, he held senior positions, such as project manager at the EADS Corporate Research Center, division Information Technologies.

Martin Burkhalter, CEO for Vizrt, stated, “We are very happy to have been able to fill the vacant position of CCO internally. François has made a great impact since joining the Company. Together with his team, he positioned Vizrt as one of the major brands of the digital media industry. François also oversaw the establishment of consistent processes and structures to deliver product packages and customer care on par with Vizrt’s ambitions. Both as EVP and then President of Vizrt’s largest territory, François played an active role in Vizrt’s strategy development and implementation to create a unique platform for the media industry.

His leadership has been instrumental in changing the competence of his team from purely marketing to becoming an essential input in all commercial processes, proving that he is ready to take on an even more senior role within the Company.”

François Laborie commented, “I am very enthusiastic to be given the opportunity to build further on our ambitious global commercial strategy at such an exciting time in our industry. In the four years I have been with Vizrt, the Company has continuously evolved, anticipating the great rise and transformation of the digital media landscape. We are now present in all areas from content creation, through media asset management, to publication and delivery over a wide variety of platforms. The position Vizrt has achieved in the market is unique and I am proud to be a part of this. The next challenge will be to convert the great potential that is out there, both in terms of global expansion and product/solution diversification, into growth.”

AIBs 2010 – dates for your diary


Here are key dates to
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12 April 2010
   Awards launched and open for entry
2 July 2010
  
Closing date for entries
9 November 2010
   Awards dinner and presentations, London
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here


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Eight appointed to the Broadcasting Board of Governors

President Barack Obama has appointed eight media, communications, and foreign policy leaders to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the federal agency which supervises all U.S. civilian, international broadcasting.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is a bipartisan board comprised of nine members appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate; the ninth is the Secretary of State, who serves ex officio. The new governors include the following individuals.

Walter Isaacson, Chair Walter Isaacson is President of the Aspen Institute and serves as chair of the board of Teach for America. He is the former Chairman and CEO of CNN and former editor of Time Magazine. Mr. Isaacson is the author of Einstein: His Life and Universe and Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, and the co-author of The Wise Men. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he was appointed vice-chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Mr. Isaacson is a graduate of Harvard College and Pembroke College of Oxford University.

Victor H. Ashe Victor H. Ashe recently served as United States Ambassador to Poland from June 2004 to October 2009. He also previously served as a Tennessee State Senator and State Representative. Mr. Ashe was the longest serving Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee, was the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors from 1994 to 1995, and received the Distinguished Service Award for Leadership from the Mayor’s Conference in 2003. He is a former member of the Americorps Board of Directors and currently sits on the Board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Rivers Association. Mr. Ashe is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Tennessee’s College of Law in 1974.

Michael Lynton Michael Lynton is the Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. He is the former CEO of AOL Europe and Chairman and CEO of Pearson plc’s Penguin Group. Mr. Lynton is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Rand Corporation. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School and is proficient in French, German and Dutch.

Susan McCue Susan McCue is President of Message Global, a strategic advocacy firm she founded in 2008 for social action campaigns. She was the founding President and CEO of The ONE Campaign to combat extreme global poverty and was Chief of Staff to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 1999 to 2006. Before that she held numerous communications positions in government and campaigns. She is currently Vice Chair of Humanity United and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A New Jersey native, Ms. McCue is a graduate of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., with degrees in economics and journalism.

Michael P. Meehan Michael P. Meehan currently serves as President of Blue Line Strategic Communications, Inc. and as Senior Vice President at Virilion, a digital media company. He also served as the first President of BGR Public Relations, LLC. For over two decades, Meehan served in senior roles for U.S. Senators John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, Maria Cantwell and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, two presidential campaigns, two U.S. House offices and congressional campaigns in 25 states. Mr. Meehan earned a B.A. in political science from Bates College.

Dennis Mulhaupt Dennis Mulhaupt is founder and managing director of Commonwealth Partners, Inc., providing advisory services to philanthropic institutions and families. He previously served as Executive Vice President at KCET in Los Angeles, a west-coast flagship public broadcasting and media company. Earlier in his career, he was Vice President at Claremont McKenna College; Vice President for Medical External Relations at Stanford University; and Senior Associate Dean in the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences at the University of Southern California. Mr. Mulhaupt received his B.A. from the University of Southern California and an M.Phil. in international relations and criminology from Cambridge University.

Dana Perino Dana Perino is the founder of Dana Perino and Company, a strategic communications firm, a member of the Burson-Marsteller Global Strategy Team, and a Fox News Contributor. She is the former White House Press Secretary to President George W. Bush. She is the creator of Minute Mentoring, a program helping young women entering the workforce, and a member of the ONE Campaign’s Women’s Advisory Board, Mother’s Day Every Day, Running Start, and Pets2Vets. Ms. Perino served in the U.S. Justice Department, was Director of Communications for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and worked for Representatives Dan Schaefer (R-CO) and Scott McInnis (R-C). She holds a M.A. in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois – Springfield and a B.A. in Mass Communications from Colorado State University – Pueblo.

S. Enders Wimbush S. Enders Wimbush is Senior Vice President at the Hudson Institute. From 1987-93, he served as Director of Radio Liberty in Munich, Germany. Mr. Wimbush has worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, Science Applications International Corporation, and the Rand Corporation as a consultant, strategist and analyst of international security issues, and for Runzheimer International as director of communications. Earlier Mr. Wimbush directed the Society for Central Asian Studies in Oxford, England. In addition to dozens of policy studies, Mr. Wimbush is the author or editor of seven books. Mr. Wimbush studied for a PhD at the University of Chicago, where he received his A.M. from the Committee on International Relations. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Massachusetts at Boston.