13 December 2015
Starting Tuesday, December 15, 2015, West European viewers can receive Deutsche Welle’s Arabic-language television program via Astra satellite. DW and satellite-operator SES arranged the partner project with the aim of reaching refugees who come from the Middle East. Plans are made to expand the program in the coming months into a conduit of information and an aid to integration. Politicians are welcoming the initiative.
The Arabic-language TV program of the German foreign broadcaster will be transmitted in Europe via Astra 1M. DW (Arabia) offers round-the-clock news and information about Germany. Until now it was available in Germany exclusively via Internet livestream at dw.com/arabic.
Norbert Hölzle, Senior Vice President Commercial Europe of SES, pledged to DW Director General Peter Limbourg to transmit the channel at no cost for twelve months.
Limbourg: “Thanks to SES, we are in the position to make available a high-value TV-program for refugees and all interested parties from the Arab region. It is an important goal of ours to convey European values and to provide access to reliable information from a German perspective, initially in their native language. In that way, Deutsche Welle contributes to the refugees’ participation in German society.”
Hölzle outlined the motive behind the pro-bono project: “We are a market leader in Europe, and we see it as our duty to provide good, additional offerings. At the same time, we want to show how important social engagement is to us.”
The charitable project is not the company’s first, Hölzle said. For example, SES was engaged in Haiti and Nepal after devastating earthquakes there, as well as in the Philippines after the typhoon. In the midst of the Ebola crisis, SES used its satellite fleet to broadcast an educational channel throughout West Africa.
Hölzle: “With this project we want to contribute towards providing better information and integration for the refugees. Deutsche Welle is an ideal partner, because as an internationally-oriented media company it has a good reputation as a fair and neutral intermediary.”
DW (Arabia) offers a diverse program with an emphasis on providing information, understanding, and cultural exchange.
Politicians respond
Peter Altmaier, chief of staff of the German Chancellery in charge of coordinating the country’s refugee policy, welcomed the initiative. “This mission of democracy, freedom of opinion and cultural exchange can provide a valuable contribution to the integration of Arab refugees fleeing from war,” Altmaier said.
Minister of Culture Monika Grütters said: “The media, especially international broadcasters like Deutsche Welle, assume a special responsibility in times marked by war and terror. People from war-torn areas seeking safety, not only in Germany, are reliant on it for trustworthy and objective information about the situation in their homeland as well as that in their places of refuge. The continuing dialogue with the Arab world about values and ideologies as well as about the worth of respecting universal human rights is more important than ever.”
Deutsche Welle acts as a symbol for democracy and freedom of opinion and against intolerance and terror, the culture minister said. “Shows like Shababtalk also contribute to that, in addressing topics that are critical of society and are often taboo in the Arab-speaking world. I thank SES for making this possible,” Grütters added.
Germany’s commissioner for migration, refugees and integration, Aydan Özoğuz, said: “Information knows no boundaries. I therefore greatly appreciate that Deutsche Welle’s Arabic TV program can now be received via satellite in West Europe. DW stands for democracy, freedom of opinion and cultural exchange – now it does in our country as well.”
Step-by-step expansion planned
Initially, the full extent of the Arabic channel will be adopted as it is currently received in Arab countries. Adjustments are planned to match the needs of the target group in Germany – including, for instance, a German-language course crafted for television and bought-in features from German and European partners.
A satellite-receiver is all that is necessary to receive the new channel. The service can therefore be easily accessed at refugee accommodation facilities.
A publically traded company, SES has its headquarters in Luxembourg. By its own account, it operates over 50 geostationary satellites worldwide. SES offers services for broadcasters, content and Internet providers, mobile and stationary network providers, business associations, and governmental organizations. (Source: DW press release)
10 December 2015
SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced today that SES-9 has safely arrived at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and is being processed for a mid-January 2016 launch on board Space X’s newly upgraded Falcon 9 rocket.
SES-9 will be positioned at 108.2 degrees East and provide both replacement and incremental capacity for a prime video neighbourhood over Asia which already serves over 22 million households with high quality broadcast solutions. The spacecraft will be co-located with SES-7 and increases SES’s global video capabilities to serve fast-growing markets in Asia, such as Indonesia and the Philippines.
The spacecraft is also designed to deliver reliable data connectivity to homes and enterprises across Asia, and provides dedicated beams to support growing mobility communications needs across the Indian Ocean.
SES-9 was built by Boeing Satellite Systems and is designed to operate for 15 years in geosynchronous orbit with a 12.7-kilowatt payload and 57 high-power Ku-band transponders (equivalent to 81 × 36 MHz transponders). SES-9 will use a chemical bi propellant apogee motor to quickly achieve a 24h synchronous orbit and then electric propulsion to circularise the final orbit and to remove eccentricity at 36,000 kilometers over the equator. Subsequent on-orbit manoeuvres will be executed with electric propulsion.
Martin Halliwell, Chief Technical Officer at SES, commented: “SES-9 is the latest step in the globalisation of SES’s video capabilities, and provides additional capacity to serve a range of Next Generation Data and Mobility applications in the Asia-Pacific region. As SES’s first spacecraft to use electric propulsion, SES-9 incorporates some of the latest innovations, helping SES to reduce cost and deliver the next generation of satellite today.”
10 December 2015
International news channel RT 
marked its tenth anniversary with a major conference in Moscow on 10 December. The theme of the one-day event – attended by a range of international delegates from the world of media and politics as well as delegates from across Russia – was “Information, messages, politics: the shape-shifting powers of today’s world”. Guest speakers from the worlds of news, politics and security are taking part in lively discussions.
Speaking in a panel on security and surveillance on a link from London, Julian Assange provided thoughtful analysis of the state’s need for surveillance of the public.
RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan spoke about the role of the channel in the global media environment, highlighting the channel’s 3 billion views on YouTube.
Arnab Goswami, well-known presenter on India’s Times Now, talked of the “hegemony of Western news” and urged India to join the increasing number of global news channels.
In the evening, a gala reception attended by Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Gorbachev, along with many other Russian politicians and guests from national and international TV and radio channels, was held to round-off the day’s celebrations.
9 December 2015
Burmese-speaking users of Viber now have access to the BBC’s news updates thanks to the launch of the BBC Burmese channel on the app. The BBC Burmese channel on Viber will deliver several updates of key news stories of the day, in text, images as well as short audio and video clips.
With its population of 48.7 million, Myanmar (also known as Burma) has 29 million active mobile subscriptions. According to the international telecoms providers operating in the country, Myanmar is among world leaders in smartphone usage.
BBC Burmese Editor, Tin Htar Swe, comments: “While BBC Burmese audio news bulletins are available for listening on mobile phones in Myanmar, this is the first time BBC Burmese content is made available on a chat app. With Viber’s reported 14.8 million unique users* in Myanmar, we can now connect with our audiences – existing and new – through this growing platform, offering them access to news from the BBC, in their language.”
To access the BBC Burmese Public Chat on Viber App, users are required to:
- go to their App Store and download the Viber App on their smart phone; Viber will ask them to provide their phone number – that’s all they need to register
- once they are in Viber, they need to click on the ‘Public’ icon – this takes them to Viber Public Chats
- hit the magnifying glass and search for the BBC Burmese Public Chat
- hit ‘Follow’ – and the chat will be visible whenever the ‘Public’ icon is clicked.
BBC Burmese reaches 6.9 million people every week (2015). The BBC Burmese Facebook page has over 3.7 million fans (December 2015). The BBC Burmese radio programming is broadcast on shortwave and on Asiasat5 satellite television channel and streamed online via bbcburmese.com. Selected radio programming is rebroadcast by some of the country’s nationwide FM networks. BBC Burmese TV news bulletins are broadcast live on the national TV channel, Myanmar National Television (MNTV) at 20.45 local time (14.15 GMT) Monday to Friday, and are streamed live on the website bbcburmese.com.
BBC Burmese is part of BBC World Service which also offers a Public Chat channel in Nepali on Viber App. BBC World Service’s content in other languages is also available via messaging apps such as LINE, We Chat and Telegram.
9 December 2015
NHK WORLD TV, 24-hr English language channel launches on PT MNC Sky Vision and PT MNC Kabel Mediacom platforms
NHK WORLD TV expands its presence on DTH and IPTV in Indonesia through a new deal inked with PT MNC Sky Vision and PT MNC Kabel Mediacom. NHK WORLD TV will now offer its contents on Indovision, OKEVision, Topvision and Playmedia. This move further increases the existing footprint of NHK WORLD TV in Indonesia with the addition of 2.5 million new subscribers.
“NHK WORLD TV provides domestic and international news with accuracy and speed which is essential for discerning viewers in today’s fast-paced world. Our global network enables the presentation of information on Asia from various perspectives to keep our viewers informed and updated which is our main focus,” said Yoshihiko Shimizu, president and CEO, Japan International Broadcasting.
Yoshihiko Shimizu said the wide variety of entertainment programs available to the new viewers will make the English language channel a complete package for the whole family.
Operating from Japan, NHK WORLD TV is a 24-hour English language television service for international viewers; providing the latest informative and entertainment programs. NHK WORLD TV is available to 290 million households in more than 150 countries and regions.
About Japan International Broadcasting, Inc.
Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIB), a subsidiary of NHK, is responsible for the worldwide distribution of NHK WORLD TV, as well as the Japanese language channel NHK WORLD PREMIUM. Currently, the two channels are broadcast around the world on three international plus domestic satellites in their respective markets and reach households, hotels and others via DTH, cable, IPTV and terrestrial broadcast.
9 December 2015
WikiLeaks co-founder, whose exclusive interview show on RT caused an international media firestorm, will take part in the panel dedicated to information privacy and security in the digital age, via a live-link from his asylum at the Ecuadorean embassy in London.
Assange will headline the session “Security or Surveillance: Can the right to privacy and effective anti-terror security coexist in the digital age?” Joining him in Moscow will be Philip Giraldi, former counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer of the CIA, Annie Machon, whistleblower and former MI5 intelligence officer, noted CIA whistleblower Raymond McGovern and historian, author and strategic analyst Gregory Copley. Thom Hartmann, a prominent American progressive intellectual and media personality, who hosts political discussion program “The Big Picture” on RT America, will moderate the discussion.
RT’s conference, titled “Information, messages, politics: the shape-shifting powers of today’s world,” brings together prominent politicians, foreign policy experts and media executives from around the world to discuss a wide range of international issues, including Middle East security, the state of geopolitical power balance, the battle of media narratives, the role of Russia on the world stage, tradeoffs between information privacy and security at the time of a global terrorist threat, the evolution that the international news landscape has undergone over the last decade and the role of media in addressing the challenges facing the world today.
The conference will take place in Moscow’s historic Metropol Hotel from 9:30 to 16:30 on Thursday, December 10, 2015 – 10th anniversary of RT’s first news broadcast. To find out more about the event, press accreditation and how to attend, please go to http://conference.rt.com/ or contact: Anton Konyaev, aakonyaev@rttv.ru , +7 (499) 750-00-75 ext. 2390.
About RT
RT is a global news network that broadcasts 24/7 in English, Arabic and Spanish from its studios in Moscow, Washington, DC, and London. It is available to 700 million viewers worldwide. RT is the most watched TV news network on YouTube with more than 3 billion views. RT is the winner of the Monte Carlo TV Festival Awards for best 24-hr broadcast, and the only Russian TV channel to receive three nominations for the prestigious International Emmy Award for News.
