International news channel RT marked its tenth anniversary with a major conference in Moscow on 10 December. The theme of the one-day event – attended by a range of international delegates from the world of media and politics as well as delegates from across Russia – was “Information, messages, politics: the shape-shifting powers of today’s world”. Guest speakers from the worlds of news, politics and security are taking part in lively discussions.
Speaking in a panel on security and surveillance on a link from London, Julian Assange provided thoughtful analysis of the state’s need for surveillance of the public.
RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan spoke about the role of the channel in the global media environment, highlighting the channel’s 3 billion views on YouTube.
Arnab Goswami, well-known presenter on India’s Times Now, talked of the “hegemony of Western news” and urged India to join the increasing number of global news channels.
In the evening, a gala reception attended by Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Gorbachev, along with many other Russian politicians and guests from national and international TV and radio channels, was held to round-off the day’s celebrations.
The British government has announced that it proposes to provide a grant of £34m [US$51.42m] between 2016 and 17, and £85m a year from 2017-18 for the expansion of BBC World Service.
The BBC currently reaches 308 million people worldwide, and its goal is to reach 500 million people by 2022. The BBC World Service reaches into some of the most remote places in the world, providing a link to the UK for individuals and societies who would otherwise not have this opportunity. We will invest £85 million each year by 2017/18 in the BBC’s digital, TV and radio services around the world to build the global reach of the World Service and increase access to news and information.
BBC Director-General Tony Hall commented on the news: “I warmly welcome today’s announcement. It’s fantastic news.
“This new funding is the single biggest increase in the World Service budget ever committed by any government.
“The millions announced today will help the BBC deliver on our commitment to uphold global democracy through accurate, impartial and independent news reporting.
“The World Service is one of the UK’s most important cultural exports and one of our best sources of global influence. We can now further build on that. The funding will also help speed us on to our target of reaching half a billion people globally.”
The new funding will allow the BBC to develop a range of services, including:
Enhanced TV services for Africa
New radio services for audiences in North Korea; radio and digital services for Ethiopia and Eritrea
Additional language offers via digital and TV in India and Nigeria
More regionalised content to better serve audiences to the BBC Arabic Service
Dedicated TV output for Somalia and a fully digital service for Thailand
Enhanced digital and TV services for Russian speakers, both in Russia and surrounding communities
A video-led digital transformation of Languages services
To expand the impact and future-proof World Service English
The BBC took over the funding of BBC World Service – including all radio services and foreign language television services, but not BBC World News – in April 2014. It had previously been funded by a “grant-in-aid” from the British Foreign Office [Ministry].
Radio Taiwan International has been broadcasting since the 1920s. Now it’s moving into the future with increased online and video activities supplementing its traditional radio offering. AIB chief executive Simon Spanswick visited RTI’s headquarters and talked with the broadcaster’s President, Weber Lai.
The international news channel raises its reach in Taiwan to 2,3 million households
Euronews has announced the signature of three new contracts in Taiwan. Already present since 2010 on the major IPTV operator, MOD Chua Hua Telecom, the English language version of Euronews has now been integrated by the digital operator Dafeng Cable in its basic offer, reaching an additional 200,000 subscribers in the country.
In addition, Euronews English has been selected to be part of the launch package of the new IPTV offer Spider.net, projecting a rapid growth amongst young influential Taiwanese consumers.
And for the first time, Euronews is also available on mobile devices in Taiwan. Fain TV, the most important mobile video platform in the country provides high definition video streaming services (live or VOD) to 640,000 mobile viewers in Taiwan.
Arnaud Verlhac, Worldwide Distribution Director of Euronews said: “Taiwan is a leading place for new technologies and a great opportunity to develop our services to this demanding audience. We are proud to have grown our reach in only 5 years to 2,3 million users in this highly connected country. This not only proves that our strategy responds to the markets needs but also demonstrates the appreciation Taiwanese people have for the European angle and the independent editorial view on international news that Euronews offers.”
Sabrina Mimouni, Euronews Regional Distribution Manager / Asia-Pacific added: “Taiwan is the perfect market to explore Euronews’ capability to tailor its content to different distribution supports. From cable at the beginning to mobile today, live or VOD, almost 1 out 3 Taiwanese can chose how and when to be informed thanks to Euronews.”
Read an interview with Arnaud Verlhac and Celine Rodrigues of Euronews in the latest edition of The Channel, the AIB’s international media magazine.
Al Jazeera Media Network has appointed Dima Khatib as Managing Director of AJ+.
Dima joined Al Jazeera in 1997 as a broadcast journalist in Al Jazeera’s Doha newsroom where she became a news producer. She participated in managing the coverage of the channel during the Iraq War which brought Al Jazeera international recognition. She also helped launch the first Al Jazeera show dedicated to women in the region, while also setting up bureaus in China and Venezuela for the network. In 18 years, Dima has reported from over thirty countries, interviewing presidents and people from all walks of life. In 2012, Dima was classified as the most connected woman on Twitter in the Middle East.
Commenting on her new role as MD, Dima said:
“I’m very honoured to step into the role of Managing Director of AJ+. It is an exciting and enriching challenge for me to work on pushing this amazing project forward. We’re experiencing an era of rapid change in the news industry, where digital platforms require a new form of communication from within the digital world. Through AJ+, Al Jazeera has pioneered a world of digital storytelling that encourages its young audience to engage in conversations, build communities and challenge everything they see and hear”.
“It is time for AJ+ to be taken to the next level of success. I feel fortunate to be part of that”.
AJ+ was launched as a digital-only news platform from Al Jazeera in 2014, highlighting the stories that matter to people through innovative and informative ways. The goal of AJ+ is to meet its audience in every digital space by creating custom content for online social communities, which include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and the AJ+ mobile app.
According to Facebook data, since the end of June 2015, videos from AJ+ have been viewed more than 430 million times. In June AJ+ became the ninth biggest video publisher on the social network, according to video sharing data aggregated by NewsWhip, which lists AJ+ as second only to “Nowthis” among news publishers. And growth seems to be accelerating as AJ+ videos have made it into the feeds of 153 million Facebook users, and more than 24 million people engaged with posts from AJ+.
German broadcaster expands internationally by delivering two channels using ASTRA 4A, ASTRA 5B and SES-5 SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced today that German broadcaster Deutsche Welle has signed a new long-term capacity agreement on three SES satellites to broadcast two channels in Eastern Europe and Africa.
Deutsche Welle will be broadcasting its German-language TV channel DW via the ASTRA 4A satellite, allowing more than six million direct-to-home households in Eastern Europe and 40 million cable and IPTV households in Europe to receive the channel directly and indirectly.
Deutsche Welle will also broadcast its new English-language channel across Eastern Europe and Africa via the ASTRA 4B and SES-5 satellites. The 24-hour news and information channel, which broadcasts events from Germany and around the world, was already launched on 22 June via ASTRA 19.2 degrees East.
Guido Baumhauer, Director of Distribution and Technology at Deutsche Welle (pictured right), said, “Deutsche Welle produces high-quality content in 30 languages for the whole world. We are very pleased that we have found, in SES, a reliable technical partner that complements our global satellite portfolio and helps us to broadcast news and information to two of the most important regions in the world.”
“We are very pleased that Deutsche Welle is once again relying on SES to expand its coverage. The latest agreement with Deutsche Welle is an example of how our global satellite network can enable broadcasters to expand beyond their domestic markets to reach international audiences on all continents,” said Norbert Hoelzle, Senior Vice President, Commercial, Europe at SES.
Related story
Watch the interview with DW Director General Peter Limbourg here.
marked its tenth anniversary with a major conference in Moscow on 10 December. The theme of the one-day event – attended by a range of international delegates from the world of media and politics as well as delegates from across Russia – was “Information, messages, politics: the shape-shifting powers of today’s world”. Guest speakers from the worlds of news, politics and security are taking part in lively discussions.
BBC Director-General Tony Hall commented on the news: “I warmly welcome today’s announcement. It’s fantastic news.
Dima joined Al Jazeera in 1997 as a broadcast journalist in Al Jazeera’s Doha newsroom where she became a news producer. She participated in managing the coverage of the channel during the Iraq War which brought Al Jazeera international recognition. She also helped launch the first Al Jazeera show dedicated to women in the region, while also setting up bureaus in China and Venezuela for the network. In 18 years, Dima has reported from over thirty countries, interviewing presidents and people from all walks of life. In 2012, Dima was classified as the most connected woman on Twitter in the Middle East.
Guido Baumhauer, Director of Distribution and Technology at Deutsche Welle (pictured right), said, “Deutsche Welle produces high-quality content in 30 languages for the whole world. We are very pleased that we have found, in SES, a reliable technical partner that complements our global satellite portfolio and helps us to broadcast news and information to two of the most important regions in the world.”