Al Jazeera Media Network becomes AIBs 2018 event partner

Al Jazeera Media Network becomes AIBs 2018 event partner

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.

 

Proposal for new Australian International Broadcasting Corporation

Proposal for new Australian International Broadcasting Corporation

Proposal for new Australian International Broadcasting Corporation

“Australia’s international broadcasting service is a wasting and wasted asset,” according to a strategy paper published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute [ASPI].
 
As Radio Australia heads towards its 80th anniversary in 2019 and Australia’s international TV services approaches a quarter of century of operations, the Australian government is consulting on the country’s soft power in the Asia-Pacific region.
 
The paper from ASPI, authored by Graeme Dobell, Geoff Heriot and Jemima Garrett, laments the lack of a strong voice from Australia in a region where other powers are exerting considerable influence but where news and current affairs is in short supply. The authors lament the way that the ABC has been used as a political football with the Corporation’s international services often suffering as a result.
 
The report calls for the establishment of the Australian International Broadcasting Corporation [AIBC], a ring-fenced organisation that doesn’t compete with ABC domestic services for funding. It claims that current legislation allows for the establishment of a subsidiary organisation by the ABC exists, making this new international corporation relatively easy to set up. It says that the AIBC should have its own chair and board and separate budget. Alongside the deputy chair and the managing director of the ABC, the head of the Special Broadcasting Corporation [sic] should also sit on the board.
 
It’s going to be interesting to see how this proposal is received by the Australian government, and what other responses are submitted to the consultation.

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SatADSL and AfricaCom

SatADSL and AfricaCom

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

Erkan Arikan to head Turkish department at Deutsche Welle

Erkan Arikan to head Turkish department at Deutsche Welle

On November 1, 2018, Erkan Arikan will take over as head of Deutsche Welle’s Turkish language service. One of Arikan’s new responsibilities will be the development of a Turkish-language TV service which will initially go on the air as a Youtube channel.

The 49-year-old Arikan is leaving his position at WDR to move to Germany’s international broadcaster. He currently oversees the Turkish-language offerings of the international and intercultural radio program Cosmo, formerly Funkhaus Europa. Arikan also held this position from 2003 to 2008 before moving to a position as senior editor and moderator at ARD-aktuell in Hamburg. He worked as a reporter for NDR aktuell and for WDR Lokalzeit in Düsseldorf starting in 2013 before returning to manage the Turkish editorial team at Cosmo in 2016.

Gerda Meuer, DW’s Director of Programming: “Erkan Arikan is a seasoned journalist, a passionate reporter and a longtime chief editor. He is a proven expert in Turkish issues and is a doer with an innovative mind. He is the right man at the right time for DW. Much of his focus will be on the development of our new Turkish channel.”

Erkan Arikan: “During a period of rapid political change in Turkey, I am looking forward to taking up this journalistically engaging and challenging position at DW. Taking into account the currently strained relationship between Germany and Turkey, it will be a <noteworthy endeavor> to launch a Turkish-language video channel with the goal of building bridges between the two countries.”

Arikan came to Berlin as the son of Turkish guest workers, where he studied law and journalism at the Free University. Arikan interned at the TV news channel n-tv where he later worked as an editor and moderator until 2003. Arikan has both German and Turkish citizenship. He is married and is the father of two daughters.

DW currently offers comprehensive online news and information in Turkish with an editorial portfolio that includes an extensive social media presence. Individual articles are also distributed through partner portals. Fearing reactive measures by Turkish authorities, potential new partners are increasingly rejecting cooperation with independent Western news providers. This makes DW’s in-house efforts to strengthen its own platforms – along with the further expansion of social media channels – increasingly important.

(Source: DW press release)

NHK President Ryoichi Ueda chosen as the new President of ABU

NHK President Ryoichi Ueda chosen as the new President of ABU

At the ABU General Assembly convened in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat, Mr Ueda was elected to a term until the end of 2021. He is the ABU’s sixth President from NHK. He will continue to lead the ABU for the next three years from January 2019.

On his election he stated: “Our industry is now facing a historic transformation. We are seeing the emergence of new media brought about by the digitalization of broadcasting and widespread use of the internet. We in the broadcast media will not be able to survive unless we adapt to this change in the environment and evolve.”

Mr Ebrahimi Eren of TRT Turkey  is the newly elected Co-Vice President who will work alongside Mrs Supriya Sahu, Director General of Doordrashan India, and Mr Sun Yusheng, Vice President CCTV & Executive VP CGTN, China who will both continue to serve the ABU as Vice Presidents.

(Source: ABU press release)

SatADSL and Avanti launch commercial Ka-band broadband in Africa

SatADSL and Avanti launch commercial Ka-band broadband in Africa

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.