1 August 2016
Establishing a new age of family TV entertainment as Saudi Football League returns to “Arabsat”
Arabsat commits to protecting viewers from pirated content
MBC PRO SPORTS channels resume broadcast on Arabsat with Saudi Super Cup between Al Ahli and Al Hilal
MBC Group channels announced the transition of its gulf channels and MBC Pro Sports Channels to “Arabsat” through a strategic partnership signed with “Arabsat” today. The cooperation aims to establish a new era of family TV entertainment reinforcing high quality viewership. While the transition of some channels will be exclusive to “Arabsat”, the next stages will focus on providing sophisticated reliable receivers, enabling viewers to experience the best in modern TV.
Khalid Bin Ahmed Balkheyour, “Arabsat” CEO stated: “We are pleased with this partnership between Arabsat and MBC Group; it is proof that the media industry is progressing in the right direction”. Balkheyour reiterated the benefits of this collaboration: “Most important is the protection of Intellectual Property Rights in the region through our commitment to prohibiting any channel from broadcasting pirated content, and so ultimately protecting and serving the Arab viewers’ interest”.
“Arabsat” initiated new HD technology several years ago in collaboration with Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) with the aim of improving the HD quality and growing it in the Arab world.
Sam Barnett, MBC Group CEO said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Arabsat and progressively, we will be moving our Gulf focused channels exclusively onto Arabsat.” Barnett added “Arabsat enjoys high viewership in general and in the GCC in particular and we’re sure that the addition of more exclusive MBC channels will boost Arabsat’s penetration further”.
Most immediately this partnership sees the return of the Saudi Football League to Arabsat. MBC PRO SPORTS will broadcast on “Arabsat” as of Monday 8th August during the Live broadcast of the Saudi Super Cup between Al Ahli and Al Hilal taking place in London.
(Source: Arabsat press release)
29 July 2016
Deutsche Welle (DW) has recorded a marked increase in its audience reach over the last year. 135 million people watch, listen to or use DW programmes and services at least once a week, compared to 118 million in 2015. The English-language TV programme and digital offerings across languages, especially in social media, are particularly successful.
DW Director General Peter Limbourg: “The positive development in the number of users of our media strengthens our conviction to focus on digital media and extensive news programming in English. The popularity of our formats, especially in the Middle East and Africa, is proof of DW’s positive image. Thanks to our multi-language editorial teams, DW is a recognized and valued source of independent, reliable journalism.”
TV programs
DW offers 24-hour TV programmes in German, English, Spanish and Arabic. TV formats in 16 languages are broadcast in cooperation with more than 2,500 partners worldwide. DW now reaches 66 million viewers, as compared to 55 million in 2015.
Among the four languages, English programming is the most popular with viewers, reaching up to 30 million people every week. The redesigned English channel was launched in June 2015. The hourly DW News shows which make up the core programming are complemented by magazines, reports, documentaries, interviews and talk shows. Interruptions due to breaking news are possible at all times.
Over the last year, the weekly number of viewers of DW’s Arabic television program in the Middle East and North Africa has increased by about 50 percent, due to many partnerships with regional TV stations. The digital offerings in Arabic are nearly as successful. The German-language programme is currently being updated and will be relaunched early next year with a clear focus on culture.
Radio programmes
For international broadcasters, radio remains a relevant media – especially in Africa, where DW programmes can be received via FM and short wave. Currently 40 million people listen to DW programmes on a regular basis, especially in Hausa and Kiswahili.
Digital offerings
29 million users choose the digital offerings of the DW App, on dw.com, social media or affiliated platforms. In 2015, the weekly figure was 22 million. The interactive app is available to download for free at dw.com/app/ios or dw.com/app/android).
Facebook likewise plays an important role. The increasing use of DW video content draws a growing number of young fans in Asia, especially in Bangladesh and Pakistan. In the Arab world, DW’s digital contents reach more than nine million users per week; in Europe it is more than six million.
July 29, 2016
The figures are the results of an extrapolation drawn from more than 90 studies with 250,000 participants from more than 60 countries. DW’s Market and Media Research department also took into account user figures regarding DW platforms including apps, Facebook and Twitter, as well as partner platforms.
(Source: DW press release)
29 July 2016
Mediacorp honoured some of the best journalistic works across its news platforms – on television, radio, print and online – at the 2016 Mediacorp News Awards Gala last night. Now in its tenth year, the Mediacorp News Awards celebrates excellence in journalism and commends journalists for constantly raising the bar of Mediacorp’s news reporting.
The annual awards event was held at the Conrad Centennial Singapore last night and was attended by about 150 people including 100 journalists, as well as newsmakers and judges.
Mr Shaun Seow, Chief Executive Officer of Mediacorp, said in his speech, “The Great Digital Disruption has lowered the barriers to entry to our business. Journalism as a trade is under siege.” He added that Mediacorp journalists have what it takes to overcome these challenges. They include “quality journalism that begets trust”, “investing time and resources so that audiences find us wherever they are”, and attributes like “intelligence, determination, an unwavering moral and ethical compass, a relentless drive to beat the competition, and perhaps most importantly the ability to work tirelessly.”
The Special Guest at the Gala was Ms Sun Xueling, Member of Parliament and Deputy Chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Communications and Information.
The winners in the five categories of work are:
1)Documentary/Special of the Year
Winners:
1) Get Real: Heart of the Haze (English Current Affairs)
2) Mr. Lee, One Year On (TODAY)
2)Feature Story of the Year
Winners:
1) Sabah Quake: Heart of Courage (English Current Affairs)
2) Undercover Asia 3: Kasur’s Lost Children (Programme Production & International Production)
3)News Story of the Year
Winners:
1) Nepal Quake: Singapore Gurkha confronts destruction at home village of Barpak (Digital News)
2) Channel NewsAsia Exclusive: Interview With President of the United States Barack Obama (English Current Affairs)
4) Young Journalist of the Year
Winner: Jackson Board, Senior Correspondent (Digital News)
5) Journalist of the Year
Winners: 1) May Wong, Correspondent (International News)
2) Leong Wai Kit, Senior Reporter (Singapore News)
The winners were picked from a field of some 30 nominees by a jury comprising Mr Douglas
Foo, Chairman of Sakae Holdings Ltd, Ms Judy Hsu, Chief Executive Officer of Standard
Chartered Bank, and Mr Richard Magnus, Chairman of the Public Transport Council.
(Source: Mediacorp press release)
26 July 2016
Arqiva, the communications infrastructure and media services company, has today announced a partnership with Welsh free-to-air TV channel S4C, enabling its delivery in High Definition (HD).
Delivered by Arqiva’s spot-beam satellite technology, S4C HD launched on 7 June 2016 – three days prior to coverage of the UEFA Euro 2016 Championships, which saw the Welsh national team reach the semi-finals and attracted an audience of over 416,000 football fans throughout the course of the competition.
The channel – available on Sky and Freesat 104 in Wales (and Sky 134 and Freesat 120 in the rest of the UK) as well as on-demand platforms, including BBC iPlayer – will deliver high definition, Welsh-language broadcast coverage watched by over 629,000 viewers a week on- and offline.
Steve Cowin, Chief Technical Officer at S4C commented: “HD is important for TV viewers in 2016 – it is something that audiences both expect and deserve. The fact that we were able to do this in time for the UEFA 2016 Euro Championship was very important for us.
“We’re pleased to be extending our partnership with Arqiva to include the delivery of this HD option. From day one the HD stream was nearly faultless, meaning minimal alterations during transmission testing and final deployment within a short time period.
“The successful channel launch means our local audiences can now enjoy content – be that original drama (like Y Gwyll) entertainment, news or sports – both in high quality and Welsh-language, which is a significant step forward for us.”
David Crawford, Managing Director of Satellite & Media at Arqiva commented: “At Arqiva we pride ourselves on delivering high quality, reliable satellite solutions, and consider service excellence and client support core aspects of our DNA.
“Having delivered S4C in SD via DTT broadcast for many years, we’re delighted that the channel has confirmed its confidence in Arqiva’s expertise by extending its HD business to our talented satellite communications team. We look forward to continuing our relationship with S4C, helping them to deliver an even higher standard of content to their Welsh and wider UK audiences.”
19 July 2016
The Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) announced the launch of the its exclusive Mauritanian TV bouquet in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe on board of its satellite Arabsat Badr-4. This will contribute to the delivery of the Mauritanian broadcasting to its large sector of viewers in Europe, as Arabsat BADR-4’s footprint covers the entire Middle East, North Africa and Europe on the same frequency and only a small dish is required for reception.
Khalid Balkheyour, CEO of Arabsat said that this initiative is considered another remarkable milestone in the company’s partnership with the Arabic broadcasting television bodies. “We are proud to be the exclusive carrier of the Mauritanian bouquet for several years, and now we are thrilled to deliver the Mauritanian channels to all viewers in Europe and the Arab world, via Arabsat BADR -4.”
“We are delighted to launch the package of Mauritanian channels -exclusively- on Arabsat BADR-4,” says Mohamed Dieh Sidaty, General Director of the Mauritanian broadcasting cooperation. “We have a keen interest to ensure the proper delivery of the Mauritanian channels to all its viewers across Europe and the Arab world, who are always following news and media content from their home country, noting also the remarkable growth in the value proportions of Arabsat TV broadcasting hotspot at 26 deg East.”
You can now watch all Mauritanian channels on:
Satellite: Arabsat BADR-4 at 26° East
Frequency: 12563 MHz
Polarity: Vertical
Symbol Rate: 27500
FEC: ¾
Modulation: DVB-S, QPSK
(Source: ARABSAT press release)
18 July 2016
From today, the brand new BBC+ app is available to download, putting the things you care about from across the BBC at your fingertips.
Whether it is the big moments of the day, talking points on a wide range of topics or bringing you customisable content collections that matter to you, the easy-to-use app is available to download for free on both iOS and Android mobiles in the UK.
BBC+ is designed to put you in control of the information you receive. After signing-in, you can get up to the minute information about what’s happening in the world, discover new things from across the BBC that we know you love, never miss those ‘water-cooler’ moments with talked about TV and explore content you didn’t expect to find on topics such as Books and Authors, Mind and Body and Money Matters.
How does BBC+ work:
Download – Available for free for iOS and Android, all you need to do is download the app to your smartphone.
Sign in – By signing in to BBC+, you receive a better, more personal service, with relevant information and recommendations.
Customise – BBC+ keeps you connected to content that you want, whether it is news and politics or food and technology, the latest sporting updates or what’s new from the likes of BBC Three.
Use spare moments well – BBC+ means that whether you are travelling to work, in the queue at a shop or waiting to collect the kids from school you can get updates on the topics that interest you in one place from across the BBC.
BBC+ forms part of the BBC’s strategy for delivering a more personal BBC to viewers and listeners. To date, more than seven million people have signed-in to the BBC to benefit from more personalised experiences, giving you a better access to the things they like that fit their tastes and interests and discover things they might not otherwise have found.
Clare Hudson, Executive Editor, Homepage and BBC+ said: “By making BBC+ customisable, we are able to give users more relevant things to read, watch and listen to from across the BBC. This means you can use your spare moments well because once you’ve caught up on the day’s main events you can browse articles from across the BBC on topics you’ve chosen yourself. It’s also an easy way to discover things you weren’t expecting to find as everything is brought together in one simple app.”
Paul Owen, Head of Product, Homepage and BBC+ said: “As seven million people have signed up to myBBC, we are increasingly able to provide them with more of what they love based on what they’ve told us. BBC+ is a key part of the journey towards achieving a much more personal BBC and truly brings topical information from across the whole organisation to your pocket, ready for you to access at your convenience. This is just the start for us, and over time the app will evolve and add new features based on user feedback.”
myBBC facts and stats:
- 2 million people have signed in to the BBC to date – with over a third coming back each month.
- Signed-in users consumed 44% more BBC content than those who weren’t (Oct-Dec 2015).
- 6 billion programmes have been recommended to viewers and listeners.
(Source: BBC press release)
