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.
RNW Media has supplied mobile radio stations to two earthquake-ravaged regions in Nepal. The “radios in a box” [RIAB] were sent to restore communication in two agricultural areas, each situated around 100 kilometres from the capital Kathmandu.
It took RNW Media’s Technical Coordinator Marc Brouwer a three-hour drive eastwards on dirt roads to reach Krishi Radio, the “first and only agricultural radio of Nepal”, with a reach of around 25,000 people in the valley.
The second RIAB went northeast of the capital to Radio Melamchi Community in the mountainous village of Sindhulpalchok, one of the regions hit worst by the April earthquake.
Disaster zones.
The RIAB is a small mobile radio station specially designed for use in war zones or disaster areas where radio transmitters have been destroyed. With both stations situated on top of mountains, the transmitter range is at least 15 kilometers. Brouwer provided a crash course in operating the RIAB for staff at both stations.
Less than a cubic metre in size, the portable Radio in a Box is equipped with an FM transmitter, a mixing console, microphones, headphones, two recorder sets and a laptop computer for editing.
Monsoon
“We arrived just in time,” Brouwer says. “It was just before the monsoon season and we were lucky to get back to Kathmandu before the heavy rains started coming down. Our journey would have taken much longer in the pouring rain.”
“Besides, the monsoon season is when farmers in these areas rely the most heavily on the practical information aired by these specialised radio stations. They had cobbled together a makeshift transmitter themselves, but are now fully up and running with the Radio in a Box.”
Gratitude
The RNW Media crew appreciated the warm traditional welcome with shawls which they received at both stations.
As a token of gratitude, Krishi Radio presented Brouwer with a plaque reading:
From Saturday 8 August, football fans in Africa can follow the exciting live action of the new season of the Barclays Premier League in four languages. BBC Africa will bring commentary from matches of the world-famous league to football fans across the continent – in French, Hausa, Somali and Swahili.
Broadcasts are available on BBC FM stations and partner radio networks. The programmes provide live match commentary and also interaction with pundits and fans across the continent via satellite links, telephone, SMS and social-media channels. Live updates from matches will also offered via live pages for each of these services on bbc.com, giving fans the chance to keep up with the matches wherever they are.
Solomon Mugera, BBC Africa Editor (pictured right), says: “We know that the English Premier League has millions of supporters from all across Africa and are very happy to be launching the season once again. Our commentary brings the thrill of these matches directly to fans, and there is more to come. In response to our audience’s growing interest in all things English Premier League, we want to give them an all access pass to players and clubs as well featuring the people who are the league’s heartbeat: its fans. Look out for our new and exciting online extras to support this season.”
How it will work
BBC Hausa
Weekly on Sharhin Gasar Premier League, commentators are Aminu Kado and Aliyu Tanko.
BBC Hausa reaches an audience of 18. 1million every week across Nigeria, Niger, and parts of Ghana and Benin. It is broadcast via 14 local FM stations.
BBC Hausa has over 872,000 fans on Facebook and over 110,000 followers on Twitter (as of July 2015).
Hausa-speakers anywhere in the world can access BBC Hausa multimedia content at bbchausa.com.
BBC Afrique (French)
Weekly on Samedi Foot, commentator is Emmanuel Coste.
BBC Afrique reaches an audience of 12.7million every week and provides content for 23 countries across Africa. It is broadcast via eight local FM stations.
BBC Afrique has over 382,000 fans on Facebook and over 124,000 followers on Twitter (as of July 2015).
French-speakers anywhere in the world can access BBC Afrique multimedia content at bbcafrique.com.
BBC Somali
Weekly on Tabinta Tooska ah ee Tartanka Premier League-ga Ingiriiska ee Sabtida, commentators are Ahmed Abdinur and Mohamed Deysane.
BBC Somali reaches an audience of 3.5 million every week across Kenya, Somali, Djibouti and parts of Ethiopia. It is broadcast via four local FM stations.
BBC Somali has over 299,700 fans on Facebook and over 32,000 followers on Twitter (as of July 2015).
Somali-speakers anywhere in the world can access BBC Somali multimedia content at bbcsomali.com.
BBC Swahili
Weekly on Ulimwengu wa Soka, commentators are Salim Kikeke and Hamisi Kizigo.
BBC Swahili reaches an audience of 16.6 million every week across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and parts of Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. It is broadcast via 21 local FM stations.
BBC Swahili has over 973,000 fans on Facebook and over 55,000 followers on Twitter (as of July 2015).
Swahili-speakers anywhere in the world can access BBC Swahili multimedia content at bbcswahili.com.
Deutsche Welle and Channels TV have agreed on a partnership that DW’s Director General Peter Limbourg said the deal further demonstrates the long tradition of showing a positive view of Africa.
The collaboration was announced in Lagos on 17 July at Channels TV headquarters. Speaking at the event, Limbourg said the coverage on Channels TV by DW correspondents at the German Stock Exchange in Frankfurt will bring economic information not only about Germany but also about Europe to Nigeria.
“Channels is a great station and a perfect partner for us. Working together means having concrete projects,” Limbourg said. Channels is one of Nigeria’s largest television networks. Limbourg said the partnership will expand to other shows such as Africa on the Move – a programme that showcases ordinary people seeking to make positive changes to their environment. “We at Deutsche Welle think that we have to report the great things that happen in Africa, especially in Nigeria. We will like to bring another African picture into the discussion,” Limbourg said.
The head of Germany’s international broadcaster said the collaboration would include input from both sides. “We don’t want to have a one-sided picture of Africa. I am even more convinced to do more of these kinds of things,” Limbourg said. Under the partnership, journalists from Channels TV will benefit from DW training.
Solid partnership
John Momoh, CEO of Channels TV, said the relationship with Deutsche Welle looks like it was “made in heaven.” He said the whole idea is to be able to tell African stories to wider societies, specifically to Europe and then to the rest of the world.
“This is part of our strategy to tell the African story, especially that of Nigeria, from the African perspective so that we do not leave this key element of definition of who we are, what we do and why, to other people to tell on our behalf,” Momoh said.
He said the partnership will enable Channels television “to take the lead in covering Nigeria and the rest of the African continent.”
Boason Omofaye, head of business news at Channel TV, is particularly pleased about having the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on his programme. “As someone who has covered the financial market for the last 26 years, it will be nice to see the Frankfurt Stock Exchange live on Channels Television,” Omofaye said.
He said their newly-launched partnership is strategically important from the economic and business perspective, given that Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa while Germany is Europe’s largest. “For Nigerians in Germany, for Germans in Nigeria, who are interested in terms of buying stocks, buying Nigerian bonds, investing in Nigerian government treasury bills, the partnership brings something new to the table,” Omofaye said.
The collaboration with Channels TV is the latest move by Deutsche Welle to further strengthen its presence in Africa.
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.”
Solomon Mugera, BBC Africa Editor (pictured right), says: “We know that the English Premier League has millions of supporters from all across Africa and are very happy to be launching the season once again. Our commentary brings the thrill of these matches directly to fans, and there is more to come. In response to our audience’s growing interest in all things English Premier League, we want to give them an all access pass to players and clubs as well featuring the people who are the league’s heartbeat: its fans. Look out for our new and exciting online extras to support this season.”
