22 June 2016
GRAND SUMO Highlights
Jul 10 – 24 16:30/ 22:30/ Next Day 4:30/ 8:30 (UTC) <23 min.>
Sumo, Japan’s national sport, is coming to NHK World TV. Six grand sumo tournaments are held each year, and with wrestlers coming from around the globe, the interest of overseas fans is growing. During the 15 days of the July tournament, NHK World TV programming will feature bouts involving high-ranking wrestlers. Mongolian Yokozuna Hakuho, the winner of the previous tournament, is the centre of attention. To make the highlights even more enjoyable, the weekend coverage will have “Sumopedia,” information of the sports, including its history and customs.
Other highlights from the July schedule include:
Amazing Bug’s Technology
Jul 15 Fri 23:10/ Sat 5:10/ 10:10/ 17:10 (UTC) < 48 min.>
For millions of years, insects have come out ahead in the struggle for survival. The programme reveals some of the mechanisms hidden in their bodies and shows how human-made technology is being inspired by those evolutionary traits. 4K high-speed cameras and digital microscopes provide an extraordinary view of the world of bugs, from painless mosquito stings to high-performance dragonfly wings.
Bunraku in Paris-Oiran: Experts in the Art of Love
Jul 23 Sat 23:10/ Sun 5:10/ 10:10/ 17:10 (UTC) < 49 min.>
Designing shoes for Lady Gaga garnered a lot of attention for contemporary artist Noritaka Tatehana. Now he’s turning his talents to staging Japan’s traditional puppet theatre in Paris. Collaborating with Bunraku master Kanjuro Kiritake, Tatehana serves as art director for a story steeped in Japanese aesthetics. The master himself is giving the grand role of the courtesan Akoya its premiere outside of Japan, bringing the soul of the character to the present. The programme documents the two men’s efforts to discover new dimensions of Bunraku.
(Source: NHK World TV press release)
16 June 2016
One of MMA’s greatest, Fedor Emelianenko, will take on Fabio Maldonado of Brazil in his first fight in Russia since 2012 on Friday, June 17. For the special occasion, which is part of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2016) activities, RT, the global television news network, is preparing a treat for all MMA fans – a 360-degrees video of the event.
RT will film the EFN 50 tournament, organized by Eurasia Fight Nights, though specialized 360-degree camera equipment and will make it available to fans worldwide via its dedicated panoramic video mobile app – RT360. The app is available on Google Play and from the AppStore for all fans from around the world to watch the unique event like never before.
“This will be an unprecedented experience for all the viewers who will tune in to watch Emelianenko take on Maldonado. RT is one of the world’s first media organizations to develop broadcast infrastructure to film and broadcast 360 video, which opens brand new horizons in news gathering and delivery; we already have a library of 360 video news stories and documentaries. Now we are doing a major MMA event coverage in the 360 format for millions of viewers,” said Kirill Karnovich-Valua, Head of Online Projects at RT.
Viewers will be able to see not only the MMA fights from various angles, but will also witness reaction from 9,000 spectators packed inside Sibur Area in Saint Petersburg. The event’s headliner – Fedor Emelianenko – is a four-time MMA champion nicknamed “The Last Emperor”. The main promoter of the show is Kamil Gadzhiev, co-founder and CEO of Eurasia Fight Nights. EFN has partnered up with Russia’s Summa Group to produce the show.
“We all are looking forward to the event on Friday, which will feature some of Russia’s greatest MMA stars – Fedor Emelianenko, Vitaly Minakov, Kirill Sidelnikov, Rasul Mirzaev and Sergei Pavlovich. We are happy to partner with Fedor, with Summa Group and its CEO Ziyavudin Magomedov, and we all share big plans for development of MMA in Russia,” said Gadzhiev.
RT has already produced VR 360 videos during a football match played by the Russian national team and the launch of the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur spaceport. Viewers can also tour RT studios during a newscast with the RT360 app.
For more information about EFN 50 and RT’s 360 video broadcast, please contact
Anna Belkina (RT) at +7.499.75.000.75
Max Smetannikov (MVG) at +1.212.330.8063 ext. 1001 info@mvgmain.com
(Source: RT press release)
14 June 2016
CNN International will be syndicating its news, business, feature and entertainment content to Newstag, an award-winning ‘mobile-first’ video news service. The agreement grants Stockholm-based Newstag the right to share and distribute two hours of CNN video content per day on its mobile and online platforms alongside current affairs and entertainment content from other professional content producers around the world, including AP, AFP and Reuters.
With 41 editorial offices and more than 1,100 affiliates worldwide through CNN Newsource, CNN provides local news organisations with products and services across all platforms. CNN Newsource is the industry’s most powerful newsgathering resource.
This announcement follows the news that CCTV – China’s leading news agency – will also be joining Newstag, bringing quality news videos from four continents together through the innovative platform. By presenting these stories from different global perspectives, the platform sheds new light on international news as it breaks.
Newstag Chair and co-founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson, says: “Newstag is delighted to be working with CNN, one of the world’s most pioneering and innovative news providers. With the US presidential race in full flow, this partnership couldn’t have come at a better time. We’re committed to providing professionally produced global news coverage from truly distinct perspectives and CNN’s output will contribute to creating a rich and nuanced understanding of the world we live in today.”
Newstag’s ‘mobile-first’ service enables users to create their own ‘tagstream’ (or personalised TV channel) in seconds, organising, consuming and sharing stories among their social networks using the latest web and mobile technologies. These stories are available from a number of different perspectives, resulting in a platform that allows converging viewpoints to be presented side by side, shedding new light on international news as it breaks.
Alongside breaking news, Newstag also offers users access to archive footage and documentaries covering everything from business, science and politics to arts, culture and sports. Specialist content providers include IMG Media, the world’s largest independent distributor of sports programming and Videofashion, the video magazine covering all aspects of fashion.
As the platform gears up for launch, Newstag is a start-up of the year finalist in the MEG-awards and was recently selected as one the companies best positioned for growth in Asia at Asia Beat 2016. Last year Newstag received a bronze award for ‘Best News Website’ at the 2015 Asian Digital Media Awards jointly presented by WAN-IFRA and Google. The platform was also selected as a top international start-up by Mobile World Capital Barcelona in a contest to recognise the most innovative use of mobile technology in business and won ‘Best Start-up’ at the 2015 TVB Europe Awards.
(Source: Newstag press release)
14 June 2016
Euronews is a trusted source and leader for international news brands in the annual Ipsos Affluent Survey Europe.
Europe’s elite population, surveyed in this independent industry research study, shows that Euronews placed Second in highest reach to audiences in continental Europe with a digital usage increase of 23%.
In continental Europe, Euronews has the second highest daily, weekly and monthly reach of all international news channels.
Euronews is # 1 in Central and Eastern Europe, with the highest daily reach of any other international News brand, such as CNN, BBC World News, and CNBC. Euronews leaves other top News brands behind in the Central and Eastern European markets of Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland combined.
In total, Euronews services reach over 12 million people and among the most affluent and powerful people in Europe every month.
Euronews daily reach on digital services has increased by 23% year on year and every day digital adds an extra 32% to TV reach alone.
The survey again emphasized the desire of the elite to follow the News in their own language; this is what makes Euronews unique and why they provide an accessible platform to 97% of Europe’s most influential people. The independent news hub addresses audiences in 13 language editions, produced by its 600 journalists from 30 nationalities. The diversity of Euronews extensive content ranges from breaking News, through sports to culture. Today, Euronews is available 24/7 worldwide in 425 million homes in 158 countries.
| |
Olivier de Montchenu, Euronews Sales Managing Director |
“The Ipsos survey results confirms that Euronews is a major brand in Europe in the international news market and also perfectly fits today’s digital world. To reinforce its success with our consumers and our clients, Euronews unveiled, one month ago, its new visual identity inspired by its new strategic vision. This vision is based on a new mission that aims to empower people and their views so they can make up their own mind from a sound, reliable and trustworthy news media source. With its new positioning “All Views” Euronews clearly announces to be the source of the diversity of perspectives, based on its strong multicultural team. This new strategic approach is our solution to reinforce Euronews as a very effective media platform for our current and future advertisers.”
Ipsos Affluent Survey Europe
(formerly EMS)
In 1995, EMS was designed to expand the Pan European Media market and to allow comparative analyses on a national and multi-national basis. EMS contained significantly more detailed demographic, classification and marketing data than any other survey available at the time or indeed now.
The Affluent Survey Europe is part of the Ipsos suite of Affluent surveys which now covers Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia/Pacific, Latin America and the USA, spanning 51 countries and reflecting approximately 133 million adults.
Since its first launch, the Affluent Survey Europe has continually evolved and enhanced its methodology. Ipsos interviewed a sample of 27,751 Europeans representing a business elite of 52 Million audiences, across 21 countries, each of whom was screened to ensure they passed certain minimum household income thresholds established as representing the Top 13% population.
*Continental Europe: 19 countries (all countries excluding UK/Ireland)
(Source: Euronews press release)
13 June 2016
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are increasingly facing limitations the world over; in order to counter the culture of disinformation and manipulation, “We need to rethink the way in which we perceive, demonstrate and spread our values.” With those words, DW Director General Peter Limbourg opened the Global Media Forum in Bonn on Monday, June 13, 2016.
Limbourg greeted more than 2,000 guests from over 100 countries, including representatives from a number of partner broadcasters, at the ninth annual media conference from the German international broadcaster. The topic of the three-day conference is “Media. Freedom. Values.”
“Only when people are able to communicate freely, there will be change. The possibility to share ideas and values with others and the chance to inspire those, who are still under the control of dictatorial regimes,” said the Director General.
Deutsche Welle has positioned itself on a path to digitalization – and drawn upon more than 4,000 partners from around the world. Part of this strategy includes co-productions with partners to the benefit of both parties. “This is a first in international broadcasting. And an important step in recognizing the value of the contribution of regional partners,” said Limbourg. “We truly appreciate the local expertise and perspective which our regional partners contribute.”
Limbourg lamented the state of affairs in which instead of preserving the universal prestige of the right to speak one’s mind, in increasingly more countries, limitations are being placed on laws protecting freedom of expression. He cited Turkey, where critical media personalities are being suspended by members of President Erdogan’s governing party, where unwelcome journalists are labeled terrorists, without grounds, and being thrown in prison. “In the heart of the EU, freedom of the press cannot be taken for granted,” said the Director General. With an eye cast on the national-conservative powers in Hungary and Poland, Limbourg said, “But nothing – and I stress – nothing – justifies a limitation of the freedom of expression to be rooted within a democratic constitution.”
Limbourg referred to the example of Germany. “Even here in Germany, the enemies of the freedom of the press are at work.” Right-wing populists of all shapes have problems with tolerance and with a diversity of opinion, he said.
Journalists themselves can endanger freedom of the press. “If they don’t research with due diligence, if they copy without checking the facts, or if they scandalize every harmless occurence. Because thus, they provide arguments to their enemies,” said Limbourg.
Limbourg closed with the statement, “The end of the freedom of expression is also the beginning of the end of democracy. There are simply no more excuses when this point is reached. Each and every one of us is called upon, to stand up and demand the freedom of expression loud and clear.”
10 June 2016
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), operator of the world’s first Globalized Network, powered by its leading satellite backbone, announced the successful launch of the Intelsat 31 satellite, which is hosting the DLA-2 payload for DIRECTV Latin America. Intelsat 31 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan aboard an ILS Proton launch vehicle. Liftoff occurred at 7:10 GMT. The Intelsat 31 satellite separated from the rocket’s upper stage at 22:41 GMT, and signal acquisition has been confirmed.
Built for Intelsat by Space Systems/Loral (SSL), Intelsat 31 is a 20-kilowatt class Ku- and C-band satellite. The Ku-band payload, known as DLA-2, is designed to provide redundancy and reliability for DIRECTV Latin America’s distribution services in South America and the Caribbean, reflecting the company’s commitment to providing their subscribers with the highest reliability in the region.
The C-band portion enhances Intelsat’s existing C-band service infrastructure serving Latin America. The satellite will be co-located with the previously launched Intelsat 30, which hosts the DLA-1 payload, at 95° West and is expected to have a service life of more than 15 years.
“Intelsat 31 will deliver additional resilience to the DIRECTV service platform, further enhancing their leadership in the region. DIRECTV Latin America is committed to providing its customers with the highest quality programming at all times,” said Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler. “Intelsat 31 will also provide valuable C-band services for our customers and further fortifies our video neighborhoods serving Latin America.”
Resources:
(Source: Intelsat press release)
