Match of the Day World Cup coverage goes live with Vizrt’s Augmented Reality Graphics

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

CETel Expands Service Portfolio with SatADSL

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

BBC DG and France Télévisions CEO elected EBU President and Vice-President

2 July 2018

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has elected BBC Director General Tony Hall as its new President, and France Télévisions CEO Delphine Ernotte Cunci to serve as EBU Vice-President.

Both were elected by absolute majority at the EBU’s 80th General Assembly in Tirana on 29 June.

They will succeed outgoing President Jean-Paul Philippot, General Administrator of the Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF), who has served as EBU President since 2009, and RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) President Monica Maggioni, EBU Vice-President since 2015.

Hall and Ernotte Cunci will take up their new roles from 1st January 2019 for a two-year period. Since they are not already members of the EBU Executive Board, they shall each assume non-voting Observer status on the Board until their term of office begins. The EBU Executive Board is made up of 11 members.

Following EBU procedure for nominations on the Executive Board, the President and the Vice-President elected for the next term co-opt a third person chosen for having experience in how the EBU operates. Together, they constitute the Board Nomination Committee, which will draw up a list of candidacies for a seat on the Board; these candidacies must be received no less than 10 weeks before the General Assembly Winter Session.

The Board Nomination Committee sends the list to all EBU Active Members for comments.

After receiving these the Committee sends “to all Active Members its list of nine candidates, which shall be balanced and include persons from the main contributors to the Union and from other categories of Members, reflecting the geographical and cultural diversity of the Union.”

The nine members who will serve on the Board, with the President and Vice-President, are all senior representatives of EBU Active Member organizations and are elected by the General Assembly at its winter session for a two-year tenure.

The Executive Board meets around seven times a year.

The EBU has 73 Members in 56 countries from Europe and beyond

Ukrainian authorities deny entry into the country to RT journalist Paula Slier.

29 June 2018

The Association for International Broadcasting has expressed its disappointment at the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to deny entry into the country to RT journalist Paula Slier.

Slier, a veteran South African journalist, founded and runs her own international news agency, Newshound Media, and has been RT Middle East bureau chief since 2005. Slier flew to Kiev from Vienna to take part in an OSCE expert conference, “Strengthening media freedom and pluralism in Ukraine during times of conflict in and around the country”.

A spokesman for Ukraine’s State Border Service said that Slier was refused admission after a five-year ban on her entry to Ukraine, as a person who poses a threat to the country, was introduced in 2016.

The same day Ukraine Border Service personnel denied entry to Yevgeny Primakov, a journalist for Russia’s Rossiya 24 TV channel and aide to the head of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament.

“The AIB is disappointed that Paula Slier should have been refused permission to enter Ukraine to cover a media freedom conference,” said Simon Spanswick, AIB chief executive. “There is a certain irony that a correspondent who has worked across Europe, the Middle East and Afghanistan bringing stories to viewers around the world should have been denied entry to report on an important OSCE event. This Association asks the Ukrainian authorities to reconsider their decision.”

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Désir, recalling the organisation’s April 2014 communiqué on the “denial of entry of journalists from one OSCE participating State to another” tweeted: “I regret that journalists working for Russian media – Evgeny Primakov & Paula Slier – were reportedly denied entry to Ukraine. I reiterate that all OSCE participating states should facilitate free travel for journalists across the region.”

Euronews and CGTN exchange content

28 June 2018

Euronews and China Global Television Network, both official media partners of the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year (ECTY), have concluded a MOU to exchange and broadcast content that will highlight some of the most interesting destinations in Europe and China.

The EU-China Tourism Year initiative was set in motion in July 2016 by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Keqiang.

Lyon/Beijing- 28 June 2018 – Under their agreement, the partners will produce for each other a special 25-minute monthly programme to showcase some of the best cities, coastlines, mountains and culture in Europe and China. Each media will benefit from the network of its partner and will showcase destinations including off-the-beaten track places, along with advice to improve the travel and tourism experience.

– China Global Television Network (CGTN), headquartered in Beijing, is China’s international media organisation launched on December 31, 2016.

CGTN is a multi-language, multi-platform media group that includes six TV channels (English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian and Documentary), three production centres, a video news agency and a digital media division. CGTN currently broadcasts in over 170 countries, and its multi-language new media platforms have over 150 million active followers. Euronews is partnering with the 24-hour English-language news channel, which airs in Europe, Africa, North America and Asia.

– Euronews, based in Lyon (France), celebrates its 25^th year anniversary in 2018. Euronews offers a European perspective on world events in 12 languages. A well-established brand in Europe, Euronews is available worldwide in more than 400 million households in 160 countries and is the leading international news media in the European Union.

Elzbieta Bienkowska, European Commissioner
for Internal market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

“The EU-China Tourism Year is a unique opportunity to increase visitors’ flows and investments on both sides.”

Michael Peters,
CEO Euronews Group

“Euronews is delighted to have been selected to be an official media partner to the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year. I am proud to cooperate with CGTN; our joint initiative contributes to the aim of the ECTY for a unique cross cultural exchange that allows Europeans to explore the magnificence of China and Chinese to discover the richness of our continent.”

Li Bin,
Deputy Director, CGTN English Channel

“We are excited to be working with Euronews. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the beautiful landscapes and unique cultures of both Europe and China to a global audience. As CGTN continues to work with international media organisations, we look forward to strengthening our partnership with Euronews.”

Euronews produces “Go Europe”

“Go Europe” focuses on tourism and the hidden beauty of the European continent.

The first episode was broadcast on CGTN on May 27 and 28. “Go Europe ” travels from France to the principality of Monaco, taking in a light festival, beautiful landscapes, gastronomy, culture, dance and music.

CGTN produces “Travelogue”

”Travelogue” is CGTN’s flagship English-language travel show. Sixteen years in the running, ”Travelogue” episodes take you to thousands of unrivalled destinations across China.

The first episode broadcast on Euronews, “The Lost Civilization of Sanxingdui”, a discovery that rocked the archaeological world, was aired on May 26 and 27.

Media contacts:

Euronews	CGTN
Lydie Bonvallet	Angela Fu
t +33 (0)4 28 67 05 35	t +86 10 8506 2453
lydie.bonvallet@euronews.com	angela.fu@cgtn.com
www.euronews.com	www.cgtn.com

follow Euronews and Africanews teams on Twitter: @euronews_group

for breaking news follow: @euronews @africanews

WBU Position on C-Band June 2018

28 June 2018

Background The World Broadcasting Unions International Media Connectivity Group (WBU-IMCG) Intentional Interference to Satellite Services Working Group (IISS) has drafted the following proposal for a WBU position on C-Band. In producing the proposed position below, the group referenced and updated the 2015 WBU-ISOG[1] position on C-Band. Examples of the impact on broadcasters of interference to their C-Band downlinks were invaluable in industry defense of C-Band spectrum at ITU WRC-15.

WBU C-Band Position

WBU members welcome technological change and the benefits it brings to both audiences and broadcasters. At the same time, many tried and tested technologies continue to deliver reliable and efficient services for WBU members. Satellite services have long provided valuable broadcasting services and remain an essential part of often complex broadcast supply chains serving our audiences, both nationally and internationally, for public service and commercial broadcasters.

C-Band FSS downlink frequencies between 3,400-4,200 MHz, have been and are extensively used throughout the world by WBU members for Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) applications and will continue to be used for the foreseeable future, in particular above 3,600 MHz. Since FSS downlink sites receive extremely weak signals from satellites in geosynchronous orbit, they are particularly fragile and susceptible to interference. WBU members have experienced serious interference to services where this spectrum has been opened up to other users and, because few countries require these receive-only downlink sites to be licensed or registered, little recourse is available. The WBU encourages our members to register their downlink sites.

WBU members have been and will continue to be highly dependent upon the use of satellite services using C-Band spectrum to 100 of thousands of FSS downlink sites for contribution and distribution. C-Band allows the operation of reliable, efficient and cost effective global and regional contribution/distribution systems and is also ideally suited to delivering media services into rapidly developing regions of the world. The potential allocation of C-band FSS spectrum to Mobile Services will create chaos to the economics of broadcasting by satellite, potentially interrupting services to audiences around the world. Furthermore, C-Band is critical for satellite services in tropical regions as it suffers less from the attenuation effects of heavy rainfall than higher frequency bands.

WBU members therefore call on satellite service providers and government regulators to protect the availability of the upper part of the C-Band spectrum, where the band has been allocated to satellite services and is currently used to provide many broadcasting services, enabling broadcasters around the world to continue to provide vital broadcasting services to billions of people across the world.

1 WBU-IMCG was previously known as the WBU International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG).

« Older Entries

Next Entries »