3 April 2012
Dr. Tayeb Kamali, Vice Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology and H.E. Noura Al Kaabi, twofour54’s CEO Designate, today officially opened a new media lab at Abu Dhabi Men’s College.
The new lab has been designed to provide media and foundation students with a new dedicated creative space on campus, where they can go to hone the key skills required to succeed in the UAE’s burgeoning media industry. It will also be used to offer a regular programme of specialised media workshops, industry related seminars and leading industry guests, who will be invited to impart their expertise to the students and drive understanding of the viable and stimulating careers that are available in the region’s media sector.
The official opening of the twofour54 media lab was celebrated with an address from Dr. Tayeb Kamali and H.E. Noura Al Kaabi to a packed room of media students, who were using the lab for its inaugural creative session. The introduction of the new lab marks the first stage of twofour54 and HCT’s wider collaboration initiative to support and promote education and the media industry; the collaboration was formalised with the signing of a MoU in December 2011.
At the media lab launch, Dr. Tayeb Kamali said it was very pleasing to work closely with twofour54 to create such an innovative project designed to further develop students’ media-related skills, “The Higher Colleges of Technology maintain a strong commitment to excellence in education through innovation and technology, and this media lab is an excellent example of our focus on successful student learning outcomes in their chosen fields.”
He continued, “This lab will support creative entrepreneurship and help connect our students to the media and creative industries by preparing them for careers in these fields. Through our partnership with twofour54, we will develop graduates with the knowledge, skills and confidence to contribute effectively to creativity and business in the 21st century and to reach their full potential.”
H.E. Noura Al Kaabi commented on the lab’s opening saying: “Media has been identified as a key industry sector in Abu Dhabi’s economic diversity. We are committed to supporting young people develop their creativity whilst helping them understand the wealth of opportunities that now exist in the UAE’s fast developing media industry. We believe that this new dedicated media lab at Abu Dhabi Men’s College will help empower young UAE Nationals and Arab media students, which will in turn help drive the growth of a dynamic and successful local media industry.”
The media lab is an ideal space where media students can meet to discuss their ideas, and develop their skills. The lab will supported by industry themed seminars and workshops, as well as on-the-job training through internship opportunities for HCT students within twofour54 and its partners, based at its Khalifa Park campus in Abu Dhabi.
twofour54’s mission is to establish Abu Dhabi as a regional media hub. An initiative of the Abu Dhabi government, twofour54 offers world-class media skills training and talent development, supporting creative entrepreneurship and providing enabling production, post production and broadcast facilities from its integrated campus.
29 March 2012
Recent data from the MAVISE TV database, developed by the European Audiovisual Observatory for the DG Communication of the European Commission, shows the current status of the European television market. MAVISE contains data on the EU markets plus the candidates Croatia, “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Turkey.
In the context of national economic crises and competition from new modes of content delivery, the development of television channels in Europe remains stable. At the beginning of 2012, the MAVISE database contains information on a total of 8900 television channels. Of these, 7400 are established in the European Union, and 7900 in the EU and the candidate countries. A further 1000 channels are available in these countries but are broadcasting from third countries (including a large number of satellite channels from outside of Europe).
Regional and local channels represent about 40% of the total channels available. Among the channels available in the EU and candidates countries, cinema (and fiction) and sport channels represent the two most predominant channel genres (when one excludes local and regional channels), with 644 and 575 channels, respectively.
In 2011, 375 new television channels were launched in the European Union. Unlike in previous years where sport was the dominant genre of new channels, in 2011 the growth of HD channels had a major impact on the overall growth of the market.
High definition channels and their distribution
According to data from the MAVISE database, at the end of 2011 there were approximately 612 HD channels available in Europe, an increase from 414 at the end of 2010 (and 274 at the end of 2009). This figure includes both HD specific channels and simulcasts of standard definition channels. Sport remains the most important genre in HD television (approximately 20% of HD channels), followed by film and generalist channels (each around 15% of the total).
The distribution of HD television channels also continues to grow. In 2011 satellite packages offered more than 50 HD channels in Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and more than 30 in Germany, France and the Netherlands. The strongest HD offers on cable are available in Portugal (40+), the Netherlands and Germany (30+). At the end of 2011, more than 30 HD channels were made available in IPTV packages in Switzerland, Poland, Portugal and the Netherlands. HD channels are now available on DTT networks in eighteen countries (as compared to three networks at the end of 2009).
There are an estimated 20 3D channels broadcasting (or testing) in Europe, and they tend to provide a mix of content such as sport, films and special events.
Growth in the number of platforms and operators
The growth of distribution platforms has also remained stable (see for example regarding the EU in the table below). The number of IPTV platforms and Pay DTT services continues to increase, while satellite packages and cable offers have declined since 2010. This is partly due to consolidation in these sectors.
Digital Switch-over 2012
As we enter 2012, the EU deadline for switch-off of digital terrestrial television is fast approaching. In 2011, a further three EU member states completed the transition: Cyprus, France and Malta, bringing the EU total to 15. A further eight EU countries are expected to complete ASO (the United Kingdom, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) in 2012. Delays are expected in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and possibly also Hungary. Switch-off has also taken place in non-EU countries such as Switzerland, Iceland, Croatia and Norway.
Digital terrestrial television services are quite advanced in several countries, with more than 60% of homes being DTT only in Italy and Spain at the end of 2011. In France and the United Kingdom, 62% and 74% of homes respectively, were using DTT in their homes (on primary or secondary sets).
At the end of 2011, 31 pay-TV platforms were available in 19 European countries. At the same time some planned Pay-DTT services in Spain and Portugal have not materialised, services have ceased elsewhere (Italy) and in several smaller countries the development of a financially successful model for pay DTT is proving difficult.
27 March 2012
Vizrt Ltd. announced today that the Company has signed a deal worth more than USD 1 million for the implementation of broadcast graphics, web and mobile products with a French television station.
Martin Burkhalter, Vizrt’s CEO, stated, “This deal is a very good example of a broadcaster signing up to our integrated technology philosophy, which is steeped in the economic realities of the media industry. Following implementation, the customer will have a cost efficient way to produce, store, repackage and reuse compelling, high quality and uniformly branded content. The station will also have multichannel and multiplatform distribution capabilities, thereby increasing their addressable audience, critical in today’s quest for advertising revenues, while at the same time protecting the bottom line.”
The deal provides the station with tools for news production, including Viz Content Pilot, Vizrt’s content management solution. Viz World is easily accessible in the newsroom, control room and design department, and will allow the broadcaster to display branded maps.
In Master Control, Viz Multichannel will handle all channel branding on multiple networks while being triggered by the stations automation system. Viz Ticker will also be in place to provide constant scrolling of news information. Real time, HD content will be handled by Viz Engine.
The company is also bolstering its online and mobile presence with an investment in the Vizrt Online Suite and Viz Media Engine. The Vizrt Online Suite will be driving web and mobile content by providing a sophisticated CMC and back-end web publishing platform. Viz Media Engine will provide transcoding for videos published to the web and mobile devices.
26 March 2012
Join the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and Gallup as they discuss how the world’s populations perceive media freedom within their countries. They will also share data on citizens’ confidence in their media.
A central part of the BBG’s statutory mandate is to support freedom and democracy in a rapidly changing international environment. The ability of the media to communicate honestly and freely is critical in world affairs. Additionally, it is important for leaders and policy makers to understand how different populations around the globe view the quality, honesty, and accuracy of their media, as well as how free they perceive their media to be.
At this event, Gallup will present a new global analysis of such views. In addition, Gallup and the BBG will announce the details of a new global research project that advances the BBG’s mission to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. This unprecedented relationship combines BBG’s mission with Gallup’s global public opinion research. The event will take place on March 28, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Gallup’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
26 March 2012
At NAB 2012 arvato Systems (formerly S4M – Solutions for Media) presents its software solutions for the broadcast- and media industry. In booth N6419 the software experts showcase systems for Media Asset Management as well as Broadcast Management.
From April 16 to 19, 2012 the latest trends and technological developments around film and TV will be presented in Las Vegas. arvato Systems’ main focus on this year’s fair are different solutions to support the core processes of media companies and TV-Broadcasters:
This year the company presents the following solutions:
– AllAdOnce: The ad sales solution for Internet and mobile devices which supports the entire advertising workflow
– S4AdOpt: The advertising Optimization Engine which optimizes not only advertising inventory, spot placements, and customer satisfaction, but also a company`s revenue potential
– Dynamics Media: The “all-in-one” solution for all Broadcast Management needs, from scheduling, via license management, to air time sales. Now based on Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 with even more features!
– ClipJOCKEY: The studio production solution that enables customers to use the best features of their video server hardware and make it a real multi-channel production tool. The new software “ClipJOCKEY Server” provides an ActiveX component within newsroom control systems and allows customers to move clips to their rundown or see which clips are available on the video server.
– VPMS: The Media Asset Management System that serves all of a broadcaster’s video management needs – from acquisition through versatile production schemes to playout, distribution and archiving.
– OpenMedia: Arvato’s partner ANNOVA’s flagship Newsroom System, which has more than 15,000 users worldwide – the leading independent news platform for production and rundown management
26 March 2012
Sky News Arabia, the 24-hour Arabic language multi-platform breaking news service, today announced the names of ten more of its presenters, carefully selected from countries across the MENA region.
Sky News Arabia received over 1,300 applicants for the coveted presenter roles alone. Each presenter was chosen following a rigorous interview process and in-depth market research. Nart Bouran, Head of Sky News Arabia, commented: “As the channel launch draws closer, we are delighted to announce our second batch of presenters. I believe the line-up is a good representation of the Arab region and I know each will play a vital role in the success of Sky News Arabia.”
The presenter announcement coincides with the news that Sky News Arabia is ahead of schedule and is now in 24 hour rehearsal mode.
<p>“With all of our staff now in place, we are really gearing up to launch. This challenging move, ahead of schedule, will test our resources – technical and editorial – to the maximum as we prepare ourselves for the task of running a 24-hour news operation. It’s a very exciting time,” Bouran added.
<p>With 16 of its presenters announced to date, Sky News Arabia will soon unveil the remaining names to its line-up, all of which have already been recruited.
The ten presenters unveiled today are:
Mohannad Al Khatib, News Presenter
Hassina Ouchene, News Presenter
Jarir Dababneh, News Presenter
Dalia Abdalla, News Presenter
Darwish Al Taweel, Business Presenter
Alma Intabli, News Presenter
Imane Lahrache, News Presenter
Osama Khamayseh, News Presenter
Seza Armenazi, News Presenter
Maya Raydan, Business Presenter
