20 July 2015
Voice of America, in partnership with AudioNow Digital, has launched an audio-only app that will allow users to listen to VOA programming over data or cellular voice connections. That option is especially valuable for VOA audiences in emerging markets where streaming audio is not available or cost prohibitive.
VOA Mobile Streamer, which is available on Apple and Android platforms, will provide broadcast audio programming in 33 languages. In addition to on-demand programming, the app also offers live 24/7 radio streams in more than a dozen languages.
“We are very pleased to add this app to our suite of mobile products,” said Kelu Chao, acting director of the Voice of America. “VOA Mobile Streamer allows us to better serve and connect with audiences in low-bandwidth countries and provide them with high-quality news and information they can’t get elsewhere. By giving our audience access to our radio broadcasts via voice VOA is now availab! le on even the simplest of mobile phones.”
“We worked with VOA and AudioNow to make a very non-traditional news app experience,” added Adam Martin, acting director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ Office of Digital and Design Innovation. “Mobile Streamer’s unique and refreshing design is particularly attractive to younger audiences, and its accessibility in low-bandwidth areas is crucial to reaching key audiences.”
VOA Mobile Streamer leverages AudioNow’s international Interactive Voice Response infrastructure and will showcase thousands of hours of VOA audio programmes that are produced each week.
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16 July 2015
SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced today that the leading German and Austrian pay TV-provider Sky Deutschland has secured additional capacity for Ultra HD broadcasts on ASTRA at 19.2 degrees East.
Ultra HD delivers four times the resolution of today’s HD TV, providing more dramatic action for sporting events and a more compelling experience for premium movies and documentaries.
“At Sky Deutschland, we believe in being innovative with our offerings and providing our customers with the best television experience, and have therefore been investing in Ultra HD. The agreement with SES gives us planning security in terms of capacity so that we can continue to develop Ultra HD and get it ready for the market,” said Holger Ensslin, Chief Officer of Legal, Regulatory Affairs and Distribution at Sky Deutschland.
“We are pleased to partner with Sky Deutschland as they embark on their Ultra HD journey. There is no better way to broadcast Ultra HD than on satellites: unlike other infrastructures, satellites can deliver Ultra HD programmes in the best quality available and cost-effectively all over the country,” said Ferdinand Kayser, Chief Commercial Officer at SES. “That, coupled with the extensive reach of 19.2 degrees East, will ensure that Sky Deutschland’s Ultra HD content will be made readily available to all satellite households in Germany and Austria.”
13 July 2015
International news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has invested in Quantel’s new sQ 1800 servers for its brand new global news production solution. AFP’s Enterprise sQ system supports more than 50 simultaneous users at the Paris headquarters, a large operation in London, 10 further international bureaux and 100+ roving journalists.
The sQ 1800 servers are 100% compatible with AFP’s existing Enterprise sQ system, providing a zero-risk system upgrade with more disk space for original footage and support for more editing workstations. When the new system goes live, scheduled for late 2015, AFP expect to produce more than 100 unique video stories a day, with localized versions for six different markets, all in TV and web formats, making a total output at least 1,200 media assets every day. In addition to daily news ingest, all system users will have access to the online archive, expected to accumulate up to 3,000 hours of media every year.
Philippe SENSI, deputy CIO at AFP, said, “The new servers are an investment for the future, allowing us to take maximum advantage of the latest generation of disk and processing technologies. We have developed a close relationship with Quantel and Snell over the past year, with our support team travelling to Quantel and Snell’s Newbury, UK headquarters every two months to work with the development team to debrief and get an update on the project plan.”
Tim Thorsteinson, CEO at Quantel and Snell, said, “We’re working very closely with the AFP team to ensure their workflow has the ability to adapt and grow as future requirements in the industry change. The new servers give AFP unbeatable speed from ingest to editing to playout, maintaining its position as one of Europe’s leading fast-turnaround news production facilities.”
9 July 2015
Following a capital increase of €35m, Media Globe Networks, a company controlled by the Sawiris Family, becomes the majority shareholder of Euronews
Euronews announced that Media Globe Networks, a company owned by the Sawiris Family and managed by Naguib Sawiris, now holds 53% of shares of the international news media based in Lyon. The majority stake has been purchased through a capital increase of €35m. The remaining 47% of shares stay with Euronews’ traditional shareholders; 21 public television channels and 3 local authorities. The purchase of Media Globe Networks of Euronews’ capital comes after several months of exclusive negotiations, validated by an Extraordinary General Assembly on June 19th.
Since then, a dedicated Shareholders Agreement has been signed by the vast majority of the public shareholders, giving final validation to the entrance of Media Globe Networks to the capital.
Euronews will be governed by three distinctive bodies: The Supervisory Board, the Editorial Board and the Executive Board. The 10 members of the Editorial Board will be journalists or have a strong experience in the media area. Seven out of the 10 members of this Editorial Board, including the Chairman, will be directly appointed by the public shareholders of Euronews. The creation of the Editorial Board will allow an active permanent control of the independence and diversity of Euronews editorial line. This new governance, validated by all stakeholders, will ensure the preservation of the mission of general interest of the international news media as well as its editorial independence.
The Supervisory Board also renewed the directorship of Mr. Michael Peters as CEO of Euronews for a term of 4 years.
“I am grateful for the consistent support that the Euronews’ Shareholders demonstrated over the preceding months throughout this project, which will definitely put Euronews in a new dimension”, commented CEO Michael Peters. “The process of capital increase started one year ago. We chose to enter exclusive negotiations with Media Globe Networks, because of its clear commitment and guarantees to respect Euronews diversity and editorial independence. We are delighted to work alongside our new investor to expand our reach and service lines in order to reinforce Euronews’ position as a key-player in the media industry.”
“Euronews is a strong, global, independent and highly professional news media,” commented Naguib Sawiris, the Chairman and CEO of Media Globe Networks. “I believe that Euronews, with its unique expertise, has a huge potential for future growth and do fully support Michael Peters and his team in their aim of raising Euronews to the next level.”
“The public shareholders welcome the investment of Media Globe Networks and look forward to working alongside Naguib Sawiris to support the future growth and development of Euronews”, said Paolo Garimberti, current Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Euronews. “The new governance provides all the guarantees regarding the editorial independence of Euronews. The public shareholders will remain closely involved alongside the new investor for the success of this unique media.”
Founded in 1993, Euronews is producing international news and magazines 24/24 in 13 language editions available to 425 million households in 158 countries.
Euronews extends its agreement with CTH in Thailand
The international news channel is now available on mobile and IPTV, in addition to cable and satellite broadcasting.
(Lyon, 7 July) Euronews reinforces its position on the Thai audiovisual market, thanks to an important extension of its distribution agreement with one of the major operators in the country, CTH.
Broadcast since last year via cable and satellite, the agreement includes the availability of Euronews on the CTH mobile app, on iOS and Android. The recently launched app counts more than 65,000 downloads.
Moreover, CTH subscribers can have a 24/7 access to the English service of Euronews on both ZIPtv (IPTV) and CTH Everywhere (mobile application).
Arnaud Verlhac, Worldwide Distribution Director of Euronews said: “Thanks to our agreement in 2014, we immediately reached one million new households. It was a strong success for Euronews in Thailand. I’m thrilled that a couple months later, CTH chose the channel again and makes it available on its wide range of offers (cable, DTH, IPTV and mobile)”.
Sabrina Mimouni, Regional Distribution Manager Asia-Pacific added: “In Thailand, more people watch TV on their mobile devices than on TV screens. It was crucial to join the CTH mobile app. We are proud to announce that Euronews’ launch on the app has been a great success with more than 65,000 downloads”.
(Source: Euronews press release)
9 July 2015
· HD+ and TechniSat’s first UHD TV with integrated HD+ decryption system (no CI+
module for HD+ required) premiered at the IFA Innovation Briefings
· HD+ to launch UHD demo channel in September
German HD platform HD+, a subsidiary of SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext
Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), and German TV and satellite technology
manufacturer TechniSat unveiled the first Ultra High-Definition (UHD) TV with integrated HD+
decryption system (no CI+ module for HD+ required) today at the IFA Innovations Media
Briefing. HD+ also announced the launch of its UHD demo channel in September.
With this new TechniMedia UHD+, consumers will have easy access to more than 50 HD
channels via the HD+ platform as long as they have a valid HD+ card. They will also be able to
access HD+’s new UHD demo channel. Currently, HD+ customers access HD+ channels by
connecting their TV with an HD+ set-top-box or with a CI+ module.
The TechniMedia UHD+ will be available in the fourth quarter of 2015 in three sizes: 43 inches
(109 cm), 49 inches (123 cm) and 55 inches (140 cm). The TechniMedia UHD+ will also boast
extensive premium features as well as multi-media integration into the home network and can
be controlled through an app.
When launched in September, the HD+ UHD demo channel will broadcast an attractive mix of
sports, culture, lifestyle and nature content. Professional industry partners who are keen to test
out their Ultra HD content can also contribute to the demo channel.
“With more Ultra HD content being produced, it’s a matter of time before Ultra HD channels are
offered in the market. At the same time, consumer electronics must be easy to use and intuitive,
hence the reason why we partnered with TechniSat to offer HD+ on a new Ultra HD TV,” said
Georges Agnes, Managing Director of Product Development at HD PLUS. “In September, the
new HD+ Ultra HD demo channel will broadcast content of our professional partners and also
provide producers with the opportunity to broadcast their user-generated content on linear TV.”
2 July 2015
Globecast today announced that it has supplied distribution services for ten broadcasters covering the recent SEA (South East Asian) Games. Globecast was contracted by HBS, the Production Partner of MediaCorp, official media partner and host broadcaster to provide distribution.
The 28th occurrence of the Games saw this major sporting event return to Singapore after a 22-year gap. 36 sports and 402 events featured in the eleven-day spectacle including more unusual sports like wushu, sepak takraw and wakeboarding.
Globecast facilitated the distribution of ten channels to regional host broadcasters across Asia, creating two multiplexes onsite at the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC), one with six channels (in 36 MHz) and one with four (in 24 MHz). These were then uplinked via a 4.5m dish at the IBC dish farm using NS3 modulation.
HBS Project Director Daniel Wlochovski, said, “Since the start of the project, it has been a pleasure to work with an experienced team who are always responsive and solution-oriented. We initiated the discussions with Globecast with a very open scope, due to our lack of reference in the requirements for this type of event. But we managed, during the development of the project, to design with them an operation that meets the technical and operational constraints while offering sufficient flexibility to cater for latecomers. The satellite set-up put in place offers, for the first time at the SEA Games, full HD transmissions through a cost-effective approach.”
Liz McParland, Commercial Director Contribution at Globecast, says, “As well as the highly effective distribution technology, we also supplied an onsite technical team, a mix of engineers from the UK and from Asia as well as a coordinator. We are very pleased to have been chosen by HBS for this venture as events on this scale require a level of technical and logistical expertise that we have honed over many years. We are glad that has been recognised.”
