10 July 2018
Move follows French media regulator warning to RT France
The Russian federal agency regulating the mass media and telecommunications, Roskomnadzor, warned French international TV news channel France 24 that it was in violation of a Russian media law for being “under the control of a foreign legal entity”, Russian news agency Tass reported on 29 June. The law limits foreign ownership of media companies in Russia to 20 per cent.
In a letter to the channel Roskomnadzor warned France 24 that it could be stripped of its licence.
A day earlier the French broadcast media regulator CSA had issued a warning to RT’s French-language outlet, RT France, over what it said was a misleading report about a suspected chemical attack in Syria broadcast earlier this year.
RT France said that “the misleading association between the translation and a specific video clip aired on 13 April was the result of a purely technical glitch, which has since been put right.”
The CSA didn’t fine RT France, but it has the authority to do so or to suspend its licence.
Clear retaliation
Roskomnadzor’s threat is seen as being a clear retaliation to the CSA warning, as confirmed by comments made by RT chief editor Margarita Simonyan to Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti. “Russia is a big country, unlike many, we can afford ourselves the luxury of tit-for-tat measures,” Simonyan was quoted saying.
9 July 2018
US Department of State, Broadcasting Board of Governors, OSCE denounce the move
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on 05 July that it had been fined by a Moscow district court for allegedly failing to comply with a Russian law regulating media outlets branded by the government as “foreign agents”.
The ruling comes seven months after the Russian Justice Ministry classified the following nine US international broadcasting and news services as “foreign agents”: Voice of America (VOA), RFE/RL, Current Time TV (the Russian-language TV network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA), and six RFE/RL affiliated news services: the Tatar-Bashkir Service of RL (AzatliqRadiosi), Sibir.Realii, Idel.Realii, Faktograph, Kavkaz.Realii, Crimea.Realii.
“Sharp new escalation (…) worrying and unacceptable”
RFE/RL President Thomas Kent said the prosecution of RFE/RL was a “sharp new escalation in a series of Russian actions aimed at hamstringing the work of the company and at casting public suspicion on its Russian staff.”
John Lansing, CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the federal agency that oversees the five US international broadcasting networks, released a statement condemning the ruling. Lansing described it as “worrying and unacceptable,” saying it represented “an escalation in a targeted campaign against RFE/RL and VOA,” and added that it “will not deter us from our mission to inform and engage people – in Russia and around the world – in support of freedom and democracy.”
The US Department of State spokesperson issued a statement that said “we condemn the selective targeting of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Voice of America (VOA) under Russia’s law on ‘foreign agent’ media outlets.”
The statement further called “on the Russian government to uphold its commitments under the Helsinki Final Act and its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights to respect the exercise of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, in Russia.”
OSCE and CPJ denounce foreign agents branding
For his part the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, “denounced the fine imposed on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for not complying with a Russian law regulating the activities of media outlets branded by the authorities as ‘foreign agents’.”
The day the State Duma’s information and communication committee approved legislation that would allow authorities to label private persons as foreign agents, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a statement condemning the move as “the latest step in the Russian authorities’ systematic policy towards obstructing the free flow of news.”
“We call on Russian authorities to reverse course and allow its citizens to receive information and opinion from a wide range of sources,” said a CPJ official.
4 July 2018
Match of the Day’s live studio in Moscow presents the most dynamic and ambitious virtual effects to date.
Moscow’s Red Square is the center of the football universe as the world’s broadcasters cover the World Cup. The BBC’s iconic Match of the Day is broadcasting to UK living rooms, as well as digital platforms and social media channels with coverage that includes hundreds of hours of match footage, studio discussion, interviews, news packages, and analysis.
Augmented reality in Red Square
Match of the Day Live’s Red Square studio features augmented reality (AR) graphics to help pundits and hosts tell the story of each match with stats, team news and a few surprises along the way. This is all set up with an impressive view of St. Basil’s Cathedral in the background.
The aim is to let the viewer feel that they are being taken directly from Red Square into the live stadium action with a 180-degree camera move.
Croatian tracking specialists, stYpe are providing tracking for six cameras in the studio while the UK’s Alston Elliott (AE) were challenged to design and are operate AR graphics to compliment the broadcaster’s teams. Vizrt’s Viz Engine is the workhorse behind all of the graphics rendering, including AR in the studio and virtual set extensions to hide the massive amounts of production systems in the Red Square studio.
“AE is delighted to be working with BBC Sport to assist with the delivery of its highly impactful World Cup studio in Moscow, said Stuart Coles, Chief Commercial Officer at Alston Elliott. “To be involved with such a high-profile event undoubtedly inspired our creative, R&D and broadcast engineering teams to really push the boundaries of what is possible and we are both proud and delighted with the results achieved.”
“BBC Sport, AE, stYpe and Vizrt have worked on many major events together, and in my view make a veritable AR dream team. We’re incredibly proud that four RedSpy systems are tracking every camera movement from the Red Square studio and truly excited to be covering the World Cup together, making it another successful collaboration,” said Stype Cajic, stYpe CEO.
“We’re very proud that BBC Sport and Alston Elliott continue to innovate with our technology, this year’s World Cup is the boldest yet for all involved, let’s hope England’s football team do us proud too” said Mark Pizzey, Vizrt’s Key Account Manager.
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
4 July 2018
Latest partnership will deliver cost-effective VNO flex services across Africa and the Middle East
Cologne, Germany, and Brussels, Belgium, July 3, 2018 – SatADSL, a provider of professional VSAT services via satellite has joined forces with CETel – a leading provider of global satellite, fiber and wireless-enabled communications solutions – to deliver an expanded range of services in Ku- and C-band across Africa and the Middle East.
Under the agreement, SatADSL will provide CETel with its innovative Cloud-based Service Delivery Platform (C-SDP), a complete OSS/BSS carrier-grade, fully redundant platform. This will enable CETel to deliver cost-effective Virtual Network Operator (VNO) flex services to serve customers in Corporate & Enterprise, Energy, Mining, Construction, Telco & ISP, Marine and Government & NGO sectors.
Guido Neumann, Managing Director of CETel, said: “We’re excited to complement our product and services portfolio with volume-based vouchers and flexible, cost-effective VNO services, as this will enable us to keep costs low and service quality high. The demand for these services is growing in Africa and thanks to SatADSL’s solutions, we can guarantee access to reliable and constant connectivity via satellite across a range of industries.”
CETel is listed as one of “The Independent Top Twenty” teleport operators by the World Teleport Association (WTA). Providing a full range of fixed and mobile satellite services, CETel operates its own teleport in Germany, close to Cologne, offering turnkey solutions and value added services over Ku- and C-band to ensure reliable connectivity across the world.
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at SatADSL Thierry Eltges said: “It’s an honor to be partnering with a world leader in satellite services. We have extensive knowledge of the African market and experience of overcoming the challenges of connecting remote areas that will boost CETel’s offerings even further. Our innovative C-SDP platform also complements CETel’s tailored approach to providing flexible connectivity across challenging sectors in some of the most remote areas of the world.”
For more information, please visit: www.satadsl.net and www.ce-tel.com.
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 2010, 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.
Through its carrier-grade Service Delivery Platform (SDP), which integrates the most advanced technologies, SatADSL provides custom-made networking solutions, tailor-made service plans and value-added services, including hierarchical service control and monitoring, traffic prioritization and online billing and payments, for any frequency band and any access technology.
About CETel
CETel is an independent German provider of global satellite, fiber and wireless enabled communications solutions. CETel offers fixed and mobile satellite services to various vertical markets. Customers take advantage of fully managed services designed to individual requirements, operated from CETel’s own teleport near Cologne, Germany. Strategic partnerships with leading satellite operators and equipment manufacturers allow for tailored solutions in a timely and cost-efficient manner. As a private and independent company, CETel is able to select technologies independently, without the limitation to one or few suppliers.
PR Contacts
SatADSL
Caroline De Vos
Co-Founder & COO
+32 478 31 13 76
Caroline.devos@satadsl.net
and
Jayne Brooks
+44 1636 704 888
jayne.brooks@proactive-pr.com
CETel
Nadine Faßbender
Marketing Manager
+49 2295 90878 – 30
fassbender@ce-tel.com
22 June 2018
22 June 2018
With a series of videos in various languages, Al Jazeera seeks to shed light on the critical importance of press freedom around the world
June 22, 2018 (Doha, Qatar) – Al Jazeera Media Network is launching the second phase of its international Demand Press Freedom campaign to support a free press and denounce the harassment of journalists and media professionals across the world.
Phase Two of the campaign is being launched a year after the demand to silence and shut down Al Jazeera by the blockading countries, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, following the GCC crisis in 2017.
The Demand Press Freedom campaign (#DemandPressFreedom) incorporates video segments in different languages that shed light on the direct and visceral impact of a free press on people’s lives, and as a basic human right that is essential for the development and progress of societies.
The campaign will also go on to include events and international forums to highlight the conditions of journalists arrested in different countries, the assaults on media organizations, and the attempts to silence the press.
Acting Director General, Dr. Mostefa Souag, said: “Al Jazeera may be the one media organization which has suffered the most and has been targeted for its professional reporting. Our journalists have been threatened, imprisoned, tortured, and killed, our offices have been bombed, our signals have been blocked, our websites hacked, and our social media accounts taken down. We continue to support press freedom and highlight the sufferings of journalists and media professionals around the world.”
“Al Jazeera renews its calls for the safety and protection of journalists worldwide and calls on governments to adhere to international covenants, treaties and legal obligations.”
The first phase of the demand press freedom campaign saw exceptional engagements on social media platforms, as well as the support and engagement by celebrities, public figures, writers and presenters denouncing the targeting of Al Jazeera and the call for its shut down. In addition, Al Jazeera organized various International seminars and events to discuss and highlight the challenges faced by journalists and media professionals.
The Demand Press Freedom campaign 2017 was awarded a gold medal in the New York Festivals, received a Certificate of Recognition from AME Committee Awards; and was shortlisted for One Show awards. Despite the calls for its shut down, Al Jazeera’s achievements continued to see Al Jazeera English Channel awarded “Broadcaster of the Year” in the 2018 New York Festivals, and receiving a Peabody award for its documentary ‘The Cut’.
