18 October 2017
Leading global news agency Ruptly has announced the launch of the first video streaming platform to offer global live events with the ability to broadcast directly to social media.
The new platform gives anyone the chance to stream professional live video content from around the world in as little as three clicks, allowing broadcasters and vloggers alike, to stream live video quickly and easily.
Commenting at the launch of the new platform, CEO of Ruptly Dinara Toktosunova said:
“Live transmissions are the optimal content for our clients because they allow audiences to be fully immersed in any given moment, as if they were actually there, watching breaking news and viral stories as they happen – in both traditional and 360 formats. Live streaming allows for maximum audience engagement. What Ruptly has done is develop a break-through approach for live streams, never attempted by any other video agency. Ruptly Live is a two-in-one product. We are pushing the boundaries of accessibility by offering premium content that anyone and everyone can post on social media via an easy-to-embed live streaming solution.”
The process removes the need for specialist technology, coding or expertise – all users need to do is sign in, select an event and click to stream.
Live video can be streamed directly to social media such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Periscope, as well as delivered through CDNs to native players – giving users the freedom to embed custom adverts.
The platform will enable users to stream a diverse range of content, from light viral videos that bring millions of views to breaking news filmed by Ruptly’s teams on the ground.
Hosting multiple streams is also no problem – up to eight lives can be broadcasted directly to social media simultaneously.
It’s not just traditional lives that can be streamed. Ruptly Live will also offer users access to ground-breaking 360 degree video content and drone footage, available in 4K.
To cater for the increasingly diverse range of content creators, Ruptly Live offers a range of flexible pricing models, with the option to purchase content through subscription, revenue sharing, or on an ad-hoc basis.
The new platform was launched at MIPCOM 2017 in Cannes, France, where Ruptly hosted an insightful panel discussion with partners Vice, 9GAG, and What We Seee on the rise of live streaming, the growth of 360 video and predictions for the future of content.
Commenting at the launch, Lilian Leong, Chief Operations Officer of online platform and social media website 9GAG, said:
“Convenience and speed are the predominant factors for viral-ability these days, especially amongst the millennials who don’t have patience. Ruptly’s new move democratises the technology on LIVE videos, for people to see and to be seen, easily.”
Misan Harriman, Founder and CEO of What We Seee, a leading premium content network that reaches over 1 billion people per year, said:
“Ruptly Live heralds a new dawn of live content syndication, it allows a publisher to deliver broadcast quality live content to their audience without the high cost usually associated with setting up a global live video offering.”
The event, hosted by Jessica Davis (The Drum) also featured Vice Media’s Chief International Growth Officer, David Purdy and Ruptly’s Chief Digital Officer, Dmitry Keshishev.
(Source: Ruptly press release)
17 October 2017
Education For Employment (EFE), the leading organization linking unemployed youth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to tangible job opportunities, and MBC Hope, the CSR branch of the largest private media company in the Middle East, MBC GROUP, has launched #FirstJob – an awareness and action campaign that seeks to boost youth employment in the MENA region by changing how youth and employers view a first job. Major corporate entities such as EFE partner Citi Foundation have collaborated in the campaign. The campaign uses narrative storytelling and social media to enable inspiring individuals to share with unemployed youth the story of how they secured their first job and used it as a springboard to success, supporting EFE’s commitment to helping unemployed youth enter and thrive in the world of work. Since 2010, youth unemployment rates in the Arab have become the highest of any region at over 27%, with the percentage continuing to rise.
Andrew Baird, President & CEO of Education For Employment – Global (EFE-Global) said: “We’re pleased to launch our first regional campaign in partnership with MBC GROUP, and with long-standing EFE partners like Citi Foundation at our side. Through the #FirstJob campaign, we are engaging some of the region’s top business leaders, as well as young professionals early in their career, to share inspiring stories of their pathway to professional success. We believe that this is an innovative way to encourage youth to proactively seek job opportunities while motivating employers to hire first-time job seekers. The campaign also seeks to inspire more companies and foundations to invest in youth employment initiatives.”
Mazen Hayek MBC Group’s Official Spokesman, Group Director of Commercial, PR & CSR said: “Unemployment has become a pressing issue in the Arab world. According to Union of Arab Banks research, the number of unemployed workers in the Middle East has risen to 120 million. To address this challenge, we must invest heavily to increase economic growth rates and build knowledge economies, which will create millions of job opportunities annually. We must also educate the youth and equip them with theoretical and practical knowledge, as well as prepare them to enter the marketplace. This asserts the importance of #FirstJob and its role in educating the youth and utilizing their capabilities in their first job, which will in turn foster their competitive-edge in the future.”
Commenting on the launch, Karim Seifeddine, Head of Public Affairs, Citi, Middle East and Africa from Citibank said: “Citi is honored to be partnering with Education for Employment in the #FirstJob campaign to support young people in the region to develop sustainable economic futures and help reduce youth unemployment. At Citi Foundation, we continue to support programs that catalyze economic growth and provide our youth with economic opportunities to thrive and promote continued progress through entrepreneurship training, mentorship, and leadership development.
Dima Najim, EFE’s Managing Director – UAE noted that: “The #FirstJob campaign was launched in celebration of EFE’s tenth anniversary. Since the first youth graduated EFE programs a decade ago, over 50,000 unemployed youth across the MENA region have been connected to the world of work with support from EFE. This impact is made possible by the support of over 2,300 EFE partners, such as MBC Hope and Citi Foundation.”
- To hire EFE alumni, partner to support their work, or enroll in an EFE training program, please visit www.efe.org
(Source: MBC press release)
13 October 2017
Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) has acquired NOORSAT, one of the leading satellite service providers in the Middle East, from Bahrain’s Orbit Holding Group.
Established in 2004, NOORSAT is the premier distributor of Eutelsat capacity in the Middle East, serving blue-chip customers and providing services for over 300 TV channels almost exclusively from Eutelsat’s market-leading Middle East and North Africa neighbourhoods at 7/8° West and 25.5° East.
The acquisition of NOORSAT fits with Eutelsat’s broader strategy of streamlining distribution within selected core video neighbourhoods where it can create value. It will allow Eutelsat to strengthen the long term commercial development of its market-leading video positions in the Arabic world and increase its direct access to end-customers, facilitating stimulation of High Definition TV take-up and the upselling of incremental video services.
Michel Azibert, Eutelsat Chief Commercial and Development Officer, said: “NOORSAT’s capabilities and market knowledge will further consolidate our longstanding position in the dynamic Middle East video market. By integrating NOORSAT’s service platform and teams we are underlining our commitment to serving customers in one of the key markets within in our global footprint.”
Eutelsat has acquired 100% of NOORSAT for a consideration of US$75 million, debt free and cash free. The acquisition will add upwards of US$15 million to Eutelsat’s consolidated revenues on an annualised basis after the elimination of the capacity leased by Eutelsat from NOORSAT. Its slightly dilutive impact on Eutelsat’s EBITDA margin will be absorbed within the current margin objectives.
(Source: Eutelsat press release)
12 October 2017
The Association for International Broadcasting has worked in the global media business for almost a quarter of a century. As the organisation moves towards its 25th anniversary in 2018, we’re making more of our archive of conversations, magazines and video footage available.
The latest video we have included in our conference archive includes highlights of the 2004 AIB Global Media Business conference in Prague. This was hosted at the then headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty which, before the fall of the Soviet Union, was the Czechoslovak parliament building. Guests attended from across the world, and the subjects under discussion ranged from “fake news” (before that name was coined), to the need for technology companies to adopt the mindset of broadcasters, through to media in the Arab World.
Looking back at this conference, it’s clear that the AIB brings together experts on subjects that are at the cutting edge of the global media industry. Have a look and see what you think – and you can read about the event in the conference report that we published in The Channel, our global media magazine.
10 October 2017
With an 86% reach of satellite TV households in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Arabsat is now gearing up to offer the next generation video and connectivity experience to viewers.
A recent analysis by Frost & Sullivan, global research and consulting company finds that Arabsat, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, reaches 86% of satellite TV households in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and nearly 78% in GCC, including Bahrain, Kuwait, KSA, Oman, Qatar, and UAE.
Arabsat, carries over 500 TV channels, 200 radio stations, pay TV networks and a wide variety of HD channels reaching nearly 4 million households in GCC. Operating six satellites at 3 orbital positions, the operator offers the youngest regional fleet with widespread coverage over the region.
“Satellite services continue to be an essential way of providing entertainment and communications across the entire MENA region where network connectivity is not uniform,” says Y.S.Shashidhar, Managing Director, Frost & Sullivan MENA. “Arabsat with its constant emphasis on innovativeness and partnerships is firmly poised to help its broadcaster customers connect to a wide user base in the region.”
Frost & Sullivan’s Research Director, Vidya S Nath adds, “Arabsat’s exclusive and strategic partnerships with leading international and regional broadcasting networks have enabled it to establish a significant footprint over GCC, especially KSA.”
Frost & Sullivan finds growing demand among end users for high quality of transmission resulting from the rapid increase in the penetration of 4K and HDR TV sets, receivers, Internet streaming boxes as well as cellular hand-held devices. Broadcasters and service providers eyeing viewership retention for boosting their revenue need partners that can offer optimal quality of transmission as well as the widest reach.
“Innovativeness to ensure the highest quality of experience for the viewer stands as our core undertaking and motto,” says Khalid Balkheyour, President and CEO, Arabsat. “Such keenness on innovativeness has both motivated and helped us build an exclusive portfolio of leading regional networks in the region, including the foremost MBC Pro Sports along with exclusive rights to broadcast the Saudi Football League, MBC full HD bouquet, and Rotana full HD bouquet,” he said. “Alongside, to establish our footprint in the Maghreb region, we have launched several strategic initiatives. We want to offer the viewers in Maghreb unparalleled content offering and hence we have on board exclusive access to the complete Mauritanian bouquet, the complete FTA MBC bouquet, the My-Maghreb package as well several other attractive channels across different genres.”
ARABSAT’s ability to ensure localisation combined with international diversity of content makes it a platform of choice for both broadcasters as well as viewers in the MENA region. It has a strong portfolio of exclusive first-class channels for the region such as France 24 Arabic and English HD, TV5 Monde Style HD, among several others.
2 October 2017
BBC News today began a major expansion in India, launching news services in four Indian languages – Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi and Telugu – and relaunching a nightly TV news bulletin in Hindi, BBC Duniya, to be broadcast on India News.
The new services are available online and on social media, with a Telugu TV bulletin, BBC Prapancham, also starting tonight. This will be broadcast on Eenadu TV Andhra Pradesh and Eenadu TV Telangana.
This forms part of a significant BBC investment in India, including an expanded news bureau in Delhi with 2 new TV studios. The Delhi bureau is now the BBC’s largest outside the UK. It will become a video, TV and digital content production hub for the whole of South Asia.
This follows a huge talent drive in India, with the BBC recruiting more than 150 new journalistic staff from across the country.
Director General of the BBC, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, is in India for the launch of the services. Speaking from Delhi, where he was officially opening the BBC Bureau, he said:
“I’m delighted to be in India to mark such a significant milestone for the BBC. For decades, audiences in India have trusted the BBC to bring them impartial, independent news, and today millions more have the chance to access the BBC in their own languages.
“We know the BBC is already held in great regard and affection across India, and we want to bring BBC News to new audiences, particularly the next generation of news consumers. We’ve recruited amazingly talented new journalists from across India, and it’s been an honour to meet many of them today.
“I’m also pleased the BBC is working with new TV partners in India News and Eenadu TV.”
K.Bapineedu, CEO of Eenadu TV Network, said:
“The BBC has established its brand name as a credible news channel across the globe. The initiative from the BBC to produce international stories with a global perspective, in the Telugu language and to be broadcast on the ETV Network , will add value to our existing endeavour of reaching the Telugu audience with the highest reach and authenticity.”
Kartikeya Sharma, Founder and Promoter of iTV Network, the owner and operator of India News, said:
“The BBC is known for its well-researched and unbiased content, which will now reach our viewers in a language and format they can easily comprehend. India News is acknowledged as a channel that captures the pulse of the nation and promotes a brand of direct and responsible news coverage. With the coming together of the two, our viewers can look forward to getting a global perspective on stories of international significance from networks they can trust.”
BBC News already broadcasts to 28m people in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil and Urdu, as well as English.
The investment in India comes as part of the BBC World Service’s biggest expansion since the 1940s, made possible by £291m investment from the UK Government. The BBC has already launched news in Pidgin, Afaan Oromo, Amharic, Tigrinya and Korean, with services in Yoruba, Igbo and Serbian to follow.
BBC Duniya is broadcast Monday-Friday at 1800 IST on India News. BBC Prapancham is broadcast Monday-Friday at 2230 IST on Eenadu TV Andhra Pradesh and Eenadu TV Telangana. Both bulletins will be fast-paced programmes giving audiences original journalism and a global perspective on the international and national stories of the day.
TV news bulletins in Marathi will be broadcast later this year, with Gujarati following next year.
Downloadable English language learning modules will also be available via our sites.
News in the four languages is also available on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
The new websites are available as follows:
https://www.bbc.com/marathi
https://www.bbc.com/telugu
https://www.bbc.com/punjabi
https://www.bbc.com/gujarati
(Source: BBC press release)
