26 October 2018
It wasn’t long ago that the large majority of broadcasters were confined to a national audience. Back in 1993, when the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) was founded, the only international reach was through radio. There was no Internet as we know it and IP technology was not yet integral to the industry.
“Back then, international broadcasters were fairly unloved within their own national parent organization, always starved of money and facing different issues to the national broadcast,” says Tom Wragg, Business Development Director at AIB.”
“They wanted an association that could lobby on their behalf and help them with information services, so service radio operations like BBC World Service and Voice of America came together and formed the AIB.”
Today, the AIB is still the only global trade association for people who broadcast across international boundaries, but they no longer represent the “unloved” minority. With IP technology advancement, most broadcasters are international — even if it’s only within their own diaspora — and international broadcasting has gone from the reach of a few radio stations to the primary producer of global news and entertainment.
Signiant’s solutions have been a key driver in the evolution of international broadcasting, enabling efficient transfer of media files around the world, between people, systems and the cloud. As such, we have a real affinity for people who continue to work in places other than major Western urban centers.
Especially in today’s world, we believe it is ever more important for factual stories from around the world to get the broadest possible exposure. That’s why we’re excited to once again sponsor the AIBs.
The AIBs 2018 International Awards
The AIBs are “the international awards for factual video, audio and interactive productions,” according to their website. 2018 marks the 14th year of these independent, influential and respected awards, which will take place on November 7th in London.
Signiant has sponsored the AIBs for the last three years and, as one of the few technology company sponsors, we have appreciated the opportunity to get to know the people who make this industry possible and the work they care about. The event itself is unique. With a breadth of programming awarded and displayed from unexpected regions that range from heart wrenching to hilarious, it’s easy to understand why the AIBs have become so popular.
“One of the big issues that has always existed is the inevitable bias within national awards. You’ve got set players, the big networks and affiliate chains, who are usually involved in the awards directly. In those awards, there are not many surprises.”
“But the international marketplace is changing. Independent small production units are growing in number and interacting more internationally, even though the big players are consolidating at the top,” says Wragg.
“Winners of the AIBs come from everywhere. It doesn’t matter what language they’re in, it doesn’t matter the budget or the scale or the audience size. They’re judged purely on the quality of the programming. And they’ve become very popular because they give that level playing field between all types of broadcasters.”
The Sustainability Awards
November 7th is actually the second part of this year’s AIBs, which also included a new awards event held in Taipei in early October. The Association for International Broadcasting Asia-Pacific Sustainability Awards were sponsored by Radio Taiwan International, marking the 90th anniversary of their AIB membership. Those awards recognized the best radio and television coverage of sustainability issues in the Asia-Pacific region.
“As the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals mark their third anniversary, the AIB wanted to demonstrate the importance of the media in ensuring that facts and events relating to these challenges reach global audiences,” said Simon Spanswick, chief executive of the AIB.
“We were delighted to see a wide range of entries from broadcasters within and outside the region, showing that relevant stories about the Asia-Pacific region and the challenges it faces are receiving the attention they deserve.”
Sustainability is a central concern of many AIB members, attested to by the special awards event and a newly formed sustainability Working Group, which will address how international broadcasters can support the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Working Groups are developed by AIB to address the concerns of their members and provide a forum for the exchange of knowledge and expertise. Other recently established Working Groups cover cyber security, audience research, and international regulatory and legal affairs.
Reflecting a Global Concern
Signiant is proud to be part of an industry with global reach and global concern, and the AIBs are a one-of-a-kind opportunity to see those concerns awarded.
“Reaching an international audience requires a level of concern beyond your own borders,” says Wragg. “Some of the best programming produced by our members reflects that concern.”
The Shortlist for the AIBs has already been released. We’re looking forwards to seeing the awards announced and getting a chance to rub shoulders with all the people who make international programming happen.
by Megan Cater | Blog, Broadcast Engineering, Transfer Media Files
26 October 2018
Global broadcaster supports world’s leading factual programming Awards
The Association for International Broadcasting announces a landmark partnership arrangement with Al Jazeera Media Network for the annual factual programming awards, the AIBs.
2018 marks the 14th year that the UK-headquartered Association for International Broadcasting has staged the AIBs and it is the first year that the competition has secured a global event partner.
“We are delighted to welcome Al Jazeera Media Network as the event partner for the AIBs 2018,” said Simon Spanswick, chief executive of the Association for International Broadcasting. “The support of Al Jazeera will be central to the success of these awards which are designed by and for the industry to celebrate its work. This new alliance allows us to develop the AIBs and to enable more participation by broadcasters and production companies throughout the world.”
Abdullar AlNajjar, Executive Director of Global Brand and Communications at Al Jazeera Media Network, adds: “The Network is committed to freedom of the media, as we see more and more restrictions being placed on broadcasters in territories on every continent. We believe that it is vitally important to support those who are holding truth to power, and to celebrate the work of these programme makers from across the globe. Al Jazeera is glad to be partnering with AIBs factual programming awards to celebrate the achievements of some of the best programme-makers who bring the stories that matter to global audiences.”
The AIBs are the world’s leading awards for factual productions across TV, radio and online and attract entries from broadcasters and production companies in over 40 countries. The competition is divided into 20 categories that range from daily journalism to investigative documentary, children’s factual to sport.
The AIBs 2018 will be presented at a gala dinner in London on 7 November. This event, which regularly sells out, is attended by broadcasting executives, producers, editors and journalists from countries throughout the world. The shortlist of entries is available at http://theaibs.tv/AIBs-2018/Shortlist-2018/SHORTLIST3-2018.pdf.
18 October 2018
From 13 to 15 November 2018 SatADSL is now living in the 21stAfricaCom. This is one of the major events on the African calendar in the areas of the digital economy, telecommunications and IT. Of course, like every year, SatADSL awaits you!
Since last year, the supply of SatADSL services has continued to grow: expand our satellite coverage, integration of iDirect solution alongside that of Newtec new beneficial commercial formulas … not to mention the upgrade continuing our Cloud service delivery platform (C-SDP), to facilitate the lives of our partners in terms of capacity management network and customer tracking. The AfricaCom show is a great opportunity to present all this in person and offer you tailored solutions for your specific needs.
Like every year, AfricaCom will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Center, South Africa, where more than 13,000 visitors are expected. On the sidelines of the fair, which brings together 450 exhibitors, stand 16 animated lectures by 400 speakers. This year, the topics are, among others, the acceleration of the digital revolution in Africa, the development of an ecosystem for startups, the opportunities of the Internet of Things (IoT – Internet of Things), building a digital society with the deployment of mobile finance and trade, and a large section dedicated to connectivity, including in the field of broadcasting.
The mere enumeration of these themes, SatADSL had to be present at the show. Our experience and the testimony of satellite ISPs operators attest: our satellite IP connectivity solutions, our business solutions and specific business-oriented solutions are tailored to meet the challenges of many industries in Africa in a market increasingly competitive.
The stand of SatADSL is “C65”. To accommodate in the best conditions, we invite you already to make an appointment with us via info@satadsl.net or +32 2 351 33 74.
More information AfricaCom: https://tmt.knect365.com/africacom
5 October 2018
Brussels, Belgium, October 4, 2018 Commercial Ka-band broadband services in Sub-Saharan Africa have been launched bySatADSL, bringing cost-effective coverage to communities and businesses.
Utilizing Avanti’s High Throughput Satellite (HTS) HYLAS 4, the new offering will provide consumer and corporate business connectivity which Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will be able to easily offer to consumers via SatADSL’s Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution, the Cloud-based Service Delivery Platform (C-SDP). This includes VNO Flex and voucher-based services which are not currently available via other Ka-band offerings in the region.
“Providing fast, reliable and affordable connectivity is at the heart of what we do, and our latest solution empowers ISPs in Africa to cost-effectively provide satellite broadband to entire communities,” said Caroline De Vos, Chief Operations Officer and co-Founder of SatADSL. “This is made possible by our innovative C-SDP which mitigates the high investment costs traditionally associated with deploying satellite services.”
Through the Ka-Band offering, SatADSL intends to significantly improve the penetration of high capacity Internet in the region, offering connectivity in regions barely covered by mobile operators and where fiber access remains unavailable. The new services are expected to be fully up and running by the end of this year.
SatADSL’s C-SDP provides a complete OSS/BSS, carrier-grade, fully redundant platform to deliver satellite services via the cloud, eliminating the expense of deploying physical infrastructure. It lets satellite and teleport operators easily offer any service, including pre-paid, post-paid, volume-based, customer VNOs, contention-based, multicasting, and more, independently of the communications technology used.
Kyle Whitehill, CEO of Avanti, said: “We’re delighted to extend our partnership with SatADSL and support the delivery of affordable broadband across Africa. Our new satellite HYLAS 4 completes our coverage of Sub-Saharan Africa and with our reliable high-speed connectivity, we look forward to building on this partnership to help liberate the potential of people and businesses, wherever they are on the continent.”
The new services leverage the Newtec Dialog® multiservice platform and Newtec’s MDM2210 IP Satellite Modems, which feature an embedded Wi-Fi-router. This modem delivers throughputs of more than 100 Mbit/s and enables end-users to easily add numerous devices to the same satellite subscription.
For more information about the new offering, visit:www.avantiplc.com/hylas4.
14 September 2018
Agreement will enable SatADSL to deliver its services globally while its Cloud-based Service Delivery Platform (C-SDP) will expand Marlink’s offerings
Brussels, Belgium, and Paris, France, September 14, 2018 – SatADSL, a provider of professional VSAT services via satellite, and Marlink Group (Marlink) today announced a new partnership which will grow both companies’ offerings worldwide.
Under the agreement, SatADSL will be able to link directly to Marlink’s Newtec Dialog® platform to provide high-bandwidth C- and Ku-band VSAT services across its coverage footprint. This will give SatADSL a global presence for the first time.
Marlink, the world’s leading provider of end-to-end managed connectivity and IT solutions, will utilize SatADSL’s Cloud-based Service Delivery Platform (C-SDP) to extend voucher-based and congestion-based services to customers, expanding its technology-leading portfolio of business-critical solutions.
“We are very pleased to be entering into this partnership with SatADSL which will allow us to further build on our smart connectivity strategy and existing value proposition,” said Olivier Gommes, Director of Technology and Innovation at Marlink. “The capabilities of the C-SDP will be offered as an add-on to our customers, helping them to manage their connectivity solutions more efficiently.”
SatADSL’s C-SDP provides a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution, supporting operators in delivering a full range of satellite-based connectivity services without investing in physical infrastructure.
“By securing this partnership and combining our C-SDP with Marlink’s expertise, we will be able to provide our breadth of services worldwide for the first time,” said Michel Dothey, CCO and Co-founder of SatADSL. “This will open up our services to new markets, helping to bridge the digital divide by providing cost-effective satellite solutions in areas currently underserved by terrestrial networks.”
SatADSL will showcase its services and highlight the benefits of its C-SDP at IBC2018 at booth 5.C31. For more information, please see: www.satadsl.net.
ENDS
About SatADSL
SatADSL (www.satadsl.net) is a satellite Service Provider which designs and offers innovative satellite networking solutions to banks, microfinances, broadcasters, NGOs, Governments, ISPs, telecom operators and other companies in Africa and the Middle East in remote areas or where terrestrial infrastructure is not reliable.
Founded in 2011, SatADSL has already installed more than 3,000 VSAT networks in more than 45 countries. It specializes in providing tailor-made solutions based on customers’ specific requirements and flexible service plans that meet its clients’ budgets.
About Marlink Group
The Marlink Group is the world’s leading provider of end-to-end managed connectivity and IT solutions. The group which includes Marlink, Telemar, Palantir, Livewire Connections and OmniAccess, provides maritime and enterprise customers with an integrated offering of reliable broadband communications and IT, digital solutions, bridge electronics, and flexible service and maintenance.
The Marlink Group’s unrivalled portfolio of multi-band communication solutions covering Ku-, Ka-, C- and L-band services is augmented with mobile and terrestrial links and an industry-unique range of digital solutions. With more than 1000 employees worldwide, the Group serves enterprise and maritime customers globally, including: Shipping, Offshore, Cruise & Ferry, Yachting and Fishing, as well as Mining, Oil & Gas, Utilities, Humanitarian & NGO, Media & Events.
The Marlink Group delivers solutions with unrivalled service and support through an enhanced global footprint, including a network of sales and service locations ensuring customer proximity. Our 24/7 service desk, local presence on all continents and a network of 1250 service points staffed with highly qualified service engineers support our customers globally to operate their business in an ever smarter, safer and more profitable way.
More than 70 years’ experience, combined with our strong satellite network and hardware manufacturer partnerships, enables Marlink to bring the power of smart connectivity solutions to customers worldwide, helping them to digitalise their remote business operations wherever they are.
The Group is led by Erik Ceuppens as CEO.
www.marlink.com
www.telemarspa.it
www.palantir.no
13 September 2018
The new version extends Viz One with higher resource efficiency across multiple cloud infrastructure zones and increased automation, while leveraging Cloud Technologies to improve video production workflows and IT return on investment.
At the 2018 IBC Show, Vizrt, the leader in powerful visual storytelling tools for the media industry, will present the latest version of its media asset management (MAM) system on stand 7.B01. Viz One 6.1 introduces a new smart transfer system, optimized search for millions of assets and extended media support.
MAM across multiple cloud infrastructure zones
Media companies have the flexibility to access their content anywhere with Viz One on Amazon Web Service. The new cloud infrastructure zones allow Viz One to manage compute, storage and transcode resources across multiple cloud and on-premise zones. This technology is also extremely useful for connecting multiple physical data centers or production facilities under a single Viz One system. Amazon Web Services support includes Amazon EC2, S3, Glacier, RDS/PostgreSQL, EFS and EBS. Support for these technologies enables both cloud and hybrid architectures.
“Viz One with multiple cloud infrastructure zones give media companies added flexibility by coherently managing both in-cloud and on-premise resources,” said Vizrt Product Manager for MAM Oscar Tengwall. “This allows pre-existing infrastructures to be connected and augmented with the most attractive cloud services. Users can securely access content on Viz One from any location using the improved two-factor authentication in-cloud or on-premise.”
A smarter transfer system
The new smart transfer system adds optimized restore decision for tape libraries, saving up to 10x in restore time for common restore scenarios. It also introduces group-based storage quotas. This enables different production teams to work on the same system without using each other’s resources. The transfer system supports automatic playout staging of media to multiple tiers of storage with different timings. In addition, it adds the ability to send stories across different sites.
Optimizing search for millions of assets
The search engine has been optimized for large datasets with millions of assets. This improves the responsiveness and user experience of working with these large systems. Improvements have also been made to the search system.
A more interactive thesaurus allows users to make changes to an existing thesaurus to keep it relevant, while providing managers with review functionality to keeping it consistent.
Viz One will be part of the Journalist at the Center of Production presentation at the Vizrt Live Stage on stand 7.B01.
About Vizrt
Vizrt is a worldwide market leader in the areas of real-time 3D graphics, studio automation, sports analysis and asset management tools for the media and entertainment industry. This includes interactive and virtual solutions, animations, maps, weather, social media, video editing, compositing, and multiplatform VOD and live playout tools. Vizrt has customers in more than 100 countries worldwide including CNN, CBS, Fox, BBC, BSkyB, Sky Sports, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, Al Jazeera, NDR, ITN, ZDF, VICE, The Washington Post, TF1, CCTV, NHK and the list keeps growing. Vizrt has nearly 600 employees and operates in 40 offices worldwide. Vizrt is a privately owned company by Nordic Capital Fund VIII. For further information please refer to www.vizrt.com
