12 September 2017
Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) announced that it will participate in the Exhibition of the International Broadcasting Conference IBC-2017 in Amsterdam from 15th to 19th September. IBC is considered to be the largest international gathering attended by experts and professionals engaged in the field of Satellite TV broadcasting.
Eng./Khalid bin Ahmed Balkheyour, ARABSAT President & CEO said that Arabsat will showcase its new satellite services in addition to its new and updated marketing and sales strategies to accommodate market demands.
(Source: Arabsat press release)
6 September 2017
Cyfrowy Polsat Group, Poland’s leading media and telecommunications group, today signed a long-term contract with Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) for the lease of multiple transponders. The agreement covers the extension of existing capacity and expansion at the HOTBIRD video position. This new contract for capacity at Poland’s most popular video neighbourhood consolidates a collaboration that began in 1992 with the launch of Polsat, Poland’s first commercial channel, on a Eutelsat satellite.
The new contract adds 33 MHz to the capacity already used at the HOTBIRD position by Cyfrowy Polsat, Poland’s largest satellite platform and pay-TV operator and TV Polsat, the leading commercial broadcaster in Poland. The capacity will support the continued expansion of digital entertainment services and raise the bar for enhanced image quality. TV Polsat provides 24 popular channels under its brand and Cyfrowy Polsat offers approximately 180 channels, including over 80 in HD, in 4.8 million pay-TV subscriptions.
Dariusz Działkowski, CTO at Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. and Telewizja Polsat Sp. z o.o., said: “As Poland’s leading media group and the largest pay-TV platform, we have always placed the quality of our services among our priorities and their regular development as one of the main goals of our business strategy. The new satellite capacity and long-term cooperation with a reliable partner create a stable environment and give us a lot of comfort in these two areas.”
Michel Azibert, Eutelsat Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial & Development Officer, added: “The launch of Polsat on a Eutelsat satellite 25 years ago heralded the beginning of a multi-channel market that has evolved into a vibrant and innovative business offering viewers the benefits of quality, choice and diversity, and has seen Cyfrowy Polsat grow into one of Europe’s largest pay-TV platforms. We are proud to cement our collaboration with a new contract that underscores the continuing leadership of the HOTBIRD neighbourhood across Europe and chosen home for more than 200 channels in Polish.”
(Source: Eutelsat press release)
31 August 2017
In September, the programme of NHK WORLD TV comprises the following hightlights:
Orda Cave
A 300-million-year mystery of creation
Sep 9 Sat 15:10/ 21:10/ Sun 3:10/ 9:10 (UTC) <49 min.>
Nestled at the foot of Russia’s Ural Mountains, Orda Cave is said to be the site of the world’s most beautiful view. For the first time in history, the view has been recorded with a 4K camera, providing entrée to an underground world. The cave’s transparent water and white gypsum minerals lie beneath a field of snow. A specialist explains the mystery behind the cave’s origin, a tale of land and climate change that reaches back 300 million years.
Zhangjiajie’s Miracle Stone Forest
Bird’s-eye view of a Chinese World Heritage Site
Sep 16 Sat 23:10/ Sun 5:10/ 10:10/ 17:10 (UTC) <49 min.>
Thousands of 200-meter-high rock pillars jut out from Zhangjiajie’s Stone Forest. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is known as the inspiration for the world of the movie Avatar. Much of the area is not open to the public, but NHK obtained permission to document its unparalleled beauty using a 4K drone camera. Close-up images of the pillars, along with a perspective on the lives of the inhabitants, reveal the magic of this secluded treasure.
A Tale of Love and Honor
Life in Gion
Sep 23 Sat 15:10/ 21:10/ Sun 3:10/ 9:10 (UTC) <49 min.>
The doors to the 200-year-old Tomiyo tea house open to our cameras to provide a glimpse of the lives of geisha, or geiko as they are known in Kyoto. 77-year-old Kimi is Tomiyo’s eighth generation okami proprietress. She faces the difficult decision of when to pass on her responsibilities to her 45-year-old daughter, who also has outside interests. Tradition and modernity converge in this candid portrait of a rarefied world.
CYCLE AROUND JAPAN
A Summer Journey in Southern Hokkaido
Sep 30 Sat 0:10/ 6:10/ 12:10/ 18:10 (UTC) <49 min. 30 sec.>
This is a 500-kilometer bike ride through the grand scenery of Japan’s northernmost prefecture. The city of Hakodate offers a mix of cultural influences from East and West. Down the road, a port city keeps busy in summertime with kombu kelp drying. The trip includes stops at a dairy farm and a watermelon patch, evidence of the close connection between the people and the land.
29 August 2017
Euronews, in partnership with German regional media outlets and with the support of the Google News Lab, launches a series of 9 portraits of German people in 360° videos, produced in the weeks before the German federal election.
Following its innovative coverage of the French presidential election earlier this year, Euronews launches its immersive coverage of the German campaign with a series of portraits of voters produced using VR360 technology.
The unique project created by Euronews, one of the world’s pioneers in the production of immersive video reports, is backed again by the Google News Lab.
It is being produced in collaboration with the newsrooms of German regional media outlets – such as Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, Passauer Neue Presse, Berliner Zeitung, Weser-Kurier, Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag, isso., Südwest Presse, Schwäbische Zeitung. With-in depth regional knowledge, they will provide crucial insights into the geographic and sociological diversity at the local level, reflecting the German electorate.
Germany has consistently made headlines over the past year, whether for its role in Greek debt crisis, controversy over its immigrant policy or its targeting by terrorists. Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a post-Brexit post-Trump world, has at times seemed embattled, under fire from both the left and the right wing. She remains popular, but social-democrats hope to dethrone “the most powerful woman in the world” after almost 12 years in office.
To report on this fascinating situation, immersive journalism provides a fresh perspective on election cycle and a way to better listen to and understand the issues affecting the German electorate. This storytelling format also empowers German voters to have a say, express their hopes and worries in the run-up to this election.
Before the election day on September 24, Euronews’ journalists Carolin Küter and Lena Roche and partner journalists set out to meet the people of Germany, whether they intend to vote or not.
The series of nine 360° episodes is being produced in six languages: German, English, French, Turkish, Arabic and Russian.
After the vote, a tenth episode will gather the voters’ reactions in an interactive virtual-reality environment produced in partnership with German start-up Vragments.
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Thomas Seymat, VR & immersive journalism editor, Euronews |
“We are very excited to be using immersive journalism to our international audience on the ground in Germany ahead of this very important vote for the country, and for the European Union. With our extensive 360° video experience, and with the hard work of our German colleagues, we are looking forward to bring local German voices to the global stage.”
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Isabelle Sonnenfeld, Head of Google News Lab (DACH region) |
“During the French presidential election we already observed the positive impact these 360° stories had. Each episode gave voice to a voter and his or her personal perspectives. 360° video on YouTube in combination with cardboard offers a unique experience as it creates empathy with the person, the personal story and the environment. We are proud to support this second immersive storytelling project produced by Euronews in the run up to the German election. It combines collaboration with experimentation which lies at the heart of what the Google News Lab thrives for.”
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Joachim Dreykluft, Head of Digital, Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag |
“Elections are a celebration of democracy. And as with all great celebrations, we need things that bring us together, in substance and emotion. 360° videos are a wonderful way for us to combine both at shz.de. They convey relevant content. And they create a proximity and immediacy to people and their environment as no other form of representation.”
Germany 2017 in 360°
The series is simultaneously broadcast by Euronews and the media partners. Starting on August 28, they will be available on euronews.com in the respective languages, Euronews’ YouTube channels and its apps. If you have a Cardboard or VR headset at hand you will get a fully immersive experience.
(Source: Euronews press release)
24 August 2017
The statement reads: “Today the Cambodian government has launched what appears to be a campaign against key FM radio stations that carry Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts. These FM stations are a critical means for the Cambodian people to access accurate and independent news about Cambodia and the world. Reports indicate that at least one station has been intimidated into indefinitely ceasing broadcast of any RFA and VOA content, and another station has been completely shut down.”
“As networks supported by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, RFA and VOA work tirelessly to provide top-notch investigative journalism and reporting to audiences in Cambodia. This disturbing development is part of a pattern of intimidation and harassment of independent news sources that coincides with the run up to the 2018 elections. We call on the Cambodian government to reverse this decision to muzzle objective sources of news and to allow all impacted stations to resume normal operations immediately.”
(Source: BBG press release)
21 August 2017
The BBC World Service launched its first new language service in its biggest expansion since the 1940s on 21 August.
A digital Pidgin service for West Africa has launched and will be followed by new online services in Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrinya, aimed at Ethiopia, Eritrea and diaspora audiences around the world. Further services, including Korean, are set to launch from this autumn. This expansion means BBC News will operate in more than 40 languages.
The BBC World Service expansion comes following a funding boost of £289m from the UK Government.
Director-General of the BBC Tony Hall (pictured left) says: “Today marks the start of a new chapter for the BBC.
“The BBC World Service is one of the UK’s most important cultural exports. In a world of anxieties about ‘fake news’, where media freedom is being curtailed rather than expanded, the role of an independent, impartial news provider is more important than ever. The new services we’re launching will reach some of the most under-served audiences in the world.”
World Service Director Francesca Unsworth (right) says: “For more than 80 years the BBC World Service has brought trusted news to people across the globe. I’m delighted that millions in West and then East Africa will be able to access the BBC in the languages they speak.
“The BBC World Service expansion will also bring benefits to audiences in the UK. Having more journalists on the ground will enrich our international reporting, bringing news from areas which are often under-reported.”
Pidgin is spoken by an estimated 75m people in Nigeria alone, with additional speakers in Cameroon, Ghana, and Equatorial Guinea.
The Pidgin service is fully digital featuring six daily editions of BBC Minute – a 60-second audio news update – followed by two daily news video bulletins in November. Two further services for West Africa – Yoruba and Igbo – will launch at the beginning of next year.
The Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrinya services will launch online and on dedicated Facebook pages next month. This will be followed later in the year with shortwave radio services in each language, consisting of a 15-minute news and current affairs programme, followed by a 5-minute Learning English programme, from Monday-Friday.
