20 April 2015
Director of BBC World Service Group, Fran Unsworth has announced the upcoming launch of a weekly BBC Bangla TV programme, BBC Probaho, on Bangladesh’s leading cable/satellite station, Channel-i. According to the contract signed today between BBC Bangla and Channel-i, the co-production between BBC Bangla and Channel-i, BBC Probaho, will go on air in June 2015.
The new weekly TV current-affairs show, BBC Probaho, will deliver in-depth reporting and live studio interviews, covering international and business stories. Presented by BBC Bangla’s Sharmin Rauma and co-produced with Channel-i, the programme will directly engage with the audiences. It will be broadcast live by Channel-i from its Dhaka studios.
Fran Unsworth is visiting Dhaka alongside the Controller of BBC World Service Languages Liliane Landor and Executive Director of the BBC’s international development charity, BBC Media Action, Caroline Nursey. Fran Unsworth said:
“I’m delighted to announce that we will be bringing BBC Probaho to Bengali TV screens via our partnership with Channel-i. BBC Probaho, hosted by Sharmin Rauma, will bring viewers hard-hitting interviews and analysis, and we’ll be actively encouraging audience interaction. For almost 10 years BBC Bangla and BBC Media Action have brought BBC Bangladesh Sanglap to Channel-i, and BBC Probaho sees our partnership going from strength to strength.”
This new partnership with Channel-i builds on the network’s decade-long collaboration with BBC Media Action and BBC Bangla. Channel-i has broadcast over 250 editions of the weekly television debate, BBC Bangladesh Sanglap, which is funded and managed by BBC Media Action. BBC Bangla provides key editorial support for the programme.
Shykh Seraj, Head of News of Channel-i, added: “Geographically the location of Bangladesh is predominantly important from a global perspective. The country has achieved remarkable social and economic progress since liberation. It has ensured free flow of information and transformed lives of many through the contribution from media. I firmly believe this partnership is certainly a milestone which will enrich the news and current affairs scenario and would also contribute to the democracy, politics and good governance in the region.”
The upcoming launch of the TV programme, BBC Probaho, adds to BBC’s strong presence in Bangladesh. BBC World Service’s radio programmes in Bangla and English are relayed on state broadcaster Bangladesh Betar’s FM frequencies in ten cities. While the website bbcbangla.com registers over a million unique visitors per month, the BBC Bangla Facebook page has over 4.7 million followers. BBC Bangla also offers a mobile news service, delivering 12 audio news and sports bulletins for mobile phone users in Bangladesh every day.
BBC Bangla is part of BBC World Service.
17 April 2015
RT’s exclusive interview with the ISS crew is part of a special project, #COSMOTREK. Roskosmos cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly will talk to RT’s Peter Scott in an exclusive interview with the channel on April 21.
RT will air a live broadcast of its exclusive link-up with the International Space Station on Tuesday, April 21. RT journalist Peter Scott will check in with Russian Mikhail Korniyenko and American Scott Kelly, who have recently embarked on the space expedition, at 12:45 pm Moscow time from the RKA Mission Control Center in Russia’s Star City, a cosmonaut training center.
During the interview, which will air live on RT, the ISS crew will also take questions from the general public. Viewers can send in their question via multiple social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, using hashtags #Cosmotrek and #СпросиКосмонавта. Questions can also be posted in comments to RT article here http://rt.com/news/250573-rt-live-space-station/.
ISS Expedition 43 crew took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 27, 2015. Kelly, Korniyenko and another Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka joined American Terry Virts, Russian Anton Shkaplerov and Italian Samantha Cristoforetti, the remaining members of the previous expedition, who are scheduled to return to Earth in May.
15 April 2015
SAT>IP Alliance will see leading satellite operators SES and HISPASAT and manufacturers Panasonic, NAGRA, ALi Corporation, MaxLinear join forces to encourage the development and adoption of SAT>IP technology
• SAT>IP technology makes it possible to distribute satellite TV services in an efficient way to any device connected to a domestic IP network
At the 2015 NAB Show in Las Vegas, six leading satellite operators and manufacturers announced today the formation of the SAT>IP Alliance, formalising a coalition that was initiated last year to develop compatible hardware and software for the SAT>IP technology. The SAT>IP Alliance consists of SES, HISPASAT, Panasonic, NAGRA, ALi Corporation and MaxLinear.
The innovative SAT>IP technology converts satellite signals into IP at the reception point using a small server, which may be located in the satellite dish or in the user’s home, and distributing the signal to the different IP devices such as tablets, smartphones and laptops. This technology makes it possible to provide high-quality content via satellite more efficiently to all the screens in a home, using pre-existing networks in the building. SAT>IP is currently a European standard (CENELEC EN50585) compatible with satellite and ground networks.
The SAT>IP Alliance, which will be constituted shortly in Luxembourg as a non-profit organisation, will be in charge of setting forth SAT>IP-related strategic developments and creating working groups through its executive committee. The main aims of the Alliance will be to promote the use of the SAT>IP protocol throughout the industry, facilitate certification of new devices, and develop and improve the SAT>IP standard.
Over the past years, nearly 40 manufacturers have supported the SAT>IP standard by developing products that are compatible with its requirements. The momentum behind SAT>IP technology today has created the right conditions to form this Alliance, an open forum for all manufacturers, satellite operators, broadcasters and service providers who wish to get involved in developing and improving a key standard for the future of satellite content distribution in multiscreen ecosystems.
For more information on SAT>IP, please go to http://www.satip.info/
11 April 2015
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), the world’s leading provider of satellite services, along with iStreamPlanet, Newtec, and PSSI Global Services, LLC will demonstrate the evolution of true 4K UHDTV using HEVC compression and Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) with end-to-end video transmissions via satellite and the internet at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 2015 NAB show. The demonstrations will take place at Intelsat’s booth located in the South Upper Hall, Booth SU3110.
At NAB, Intelsat will introduce IntelsatOne® Prism services, a new paradigm in media networking and content distribution, allowing customers to easily upgrade a legacy satellite-based network to a next generation, automated, hybrid, converged IP network. The team will demonstrate how media customers can manage multiple types of video content delivery and other IP applications in a single platform to optimize bandwidth and deliver high quality media content in a cost efficient, seamless manner, regardless of location.
The Evolution of True 4K UHDTV Distribution
4K UHDTV content provided by Discovery Communications will be transmitted from PSSI’s production vehicle located in Las Vegas. Using a playout server, a reference UHD HEVC Encoder and Newtec MDM6000 Satellite modem, the video feed will be uplinked in Ku-band to Galaxy 17, Intelsat’s premier sports and news contribution neighborhood, at 25 Mbps in a DVB-S2X modulated stream. The resulting 4:2:2, 10-bit 4K UHDTV signal at 60 frames per second stream will be downlinked and fed to the 4K UHDTV monitor in the Intelsat Booth (SU3110).
Maximum Flexibility – Simultaneous Content Distribution Network
Utilizing a similar configuration for the second live transmission, PSSI will uplink a 5 Mbps IP-based HD video stream to Intelsat’s Galaxy 17 satellite using Newtec’s efficient Mx-DMA return channel technology and an AVP3000 encoder, which will be downlinked at Intelsat’s teleport in Atlanta, Georgia and connected to the Newtec Dialog® 4IF hub, where the award-winning Newtec Dialog multiservice platform serves as the core of the IntelsatOne Prism services. The streaming will then be routed via the internet from Intelsat’s teleport to iStreamPlanet’s cloud-based Aventus® service for live media encoding, multiscreen packaging and publishing to the CDN. As the last step, the live streams will be delivered over the Internet to iPads for live viewing in the Intelsat stand.
IntelsatOne Prism will simultaneously coordinate several services and applications sharing the same space segment, while optimizing quality of service and offering simple, automated operations for customers. Leveraging the IntelsatOne Prism transmission management mechanisms and web user interface, the PSSI streams for both the 4K UHDTV and CDN demonstrations can also be controlled remotely and automatically via a laptop located in the Intelsat stand.
Supporting Quotes:
Peter Ostapiuk, Head of Media Product Management, Intelsat, said: “As an industry, we have proven that we are ready to support the commercialization of 4K UHDTV. However, in order for 4K UHDTV to gain widespread adoption, media programmers need high quality content and the ability to distribute that content across multiple devices in a simple and cost efficient manner. Intelsat and its technical solutions partners will demonstrate that with IntelsatOne® Prism services — which are based on the Newtec Dialog platform combined with HEVC compression technology, PSSI’s mobile production and transmission facilities and iStreamPlanet’s live, multiscreen media processing — we can deliver an immersive viewing experience from any geographical location to any media channel and any device. In addition, IntelsatOne Prism provides media customers what they need the most, the ability to manage multiple types of video content delivery and other IP applications through a single platform so they can optimize their bandwidth usage and streamline their operations.”
“Today’s viewers expect a high quality video experience across all of their screens,” said Jennifer Baisch, Vice President of Marketing for iStreamPlanet. “iStreamPlanet is committed to teaming up with industry leaders such as Intelsat, combining technologies and services to provide reliable, scalable, end-to-end multiscreen solutions to meet the growing demand for live video, from any corner of the globe to any device.”
Thomas Van den Driessche, Chief Commercial Officer at Newtec, said: “The evolving 4K and content exchange ecosystem will benefit from the hybrid IntelsatOne Prism services showcased in these demonstrations at NAB Show 2015. With Newtec Dialog at the core of IntelsatOne Prism, we are pleased to play a key role in providing a flexible, scalable and efficient solution. The Newtec Dialog platform, with its multiservice broadcast applications, demonstrates the capabilities of distribution and contribution of 4K content, both live and non-linear. It is equipped with the most efficient, open transmission scheme for that purpose – DVB-S2X – as well as the patented and award-winning Mx-DMA technology, which provides the optimal contribution back to the studios.”
“The combination of PSSI and IntelsatOne Prism will enable us to mobilize and deliver a powerful combination of data connectivity, media processing and digital content delivery on a single platform,” stated PSSI Chief Executive Officer Rob Lamb. “PSSI satellite trucks can operate as a mobile media gateway providing direct access to a complete range of multimedia services that can be rapidly provisioned through our fleet and scaled on-demand. Our new capabilities solve first and last mile connectivity challenges and sourcing variables by bringing the network on location. From data connectivity to 4K UHDTV distribution to video backhaul, we can now provide our customers with a single access point into a global satellite and terrestrial fiber and IP network. These initiatives augment what is already the largest and most versatile fleet of satellite uplink trucks, flyaway units and production/uplink hybrids in the industry. PSSI/Strategic Television is proud to be at the forefront of full-service, point-to-point-and-multipoint transmission and communication platforms for our domestic and international clients.”
NAB Show attendees are invited to join a guided presentation demonstrating the capabilities of the 4K UHDTV and content exchange ecosystem partners. This will take place at the Intelsat Stand at SU 3110 on Tuesday, 14 April at 11:00 a.m. PDT (UTC/GMT-7).
Supporting Resources:
Intelsat Media Services: Direct-to-Home
10 April 2015
The Association for International Broadcasting today condemned the cyber attack on TV5 Monde that took the broadcaster’s global channels off the air on 8 April.
The attack, apparently by the so-called Islamic State, was a concerted effort to take the international channel off screens around the world and take over the network’s social media accounts.
“To attack an international television channel that screens mostly cultural and entertainment programming is unprecedented,” commented Simon Spanswick, chief executive of the Association for International Broadcasting. “It is unclear exactly who was behind this major assault on TV5 Monde. However, those responsible were clearly intent on attacking freedom of expression.
TV5 Monde was able to resume most of its operations by Friday 10 April, although some of its live output is still limited by the attack.
“International broadcasters provide a life-line service in many parts of the world,” continues Spanswick. “We cannot stand by and let this type of attack on broadcasters that touch the lives of so many people around the world go unremarked.”
AIB is calling on all its members around the world to ensure that their computer security systems are up-to-date and, if necessary, reinforced in the light of the events at TV5 Monde’s Paris headquarters. AIB will assist its members in working to promote improved cyber security to help prevent further occurrences of this type.
1 April 2015
This month, Zee, India’s biggest pay TV channel, celebrated its 20th birthday in the UK and Europe with a gala event in London, which featured appearances by the likes of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. But the evening was not only a celebration of the past, but a look to the future. Zee used the evening as the platform to launch Zee’s new free-to-air channel &TV (AndTV).
During the evening, AIB had to opportunity for a one on one with one of the most influential players in Indian television, the MD and CEO of Zee, Punit Goenka.
Can you tell us a bit about your time at Zee?
My family owns the business. It’s a publicly listed business, but we are the majority shareholder, and I run this business on behalf of the family. I’ve been in this part of the business, for ten years.
I started off with running the Zee flagship channel for the network, then moved on to running all the channels for the group. And finally took over as the CEO and MD in 2008. And have been doing that ever since.
(l to r) Zee executives Rajesh Iyer, Punit Goenka, Neeraj Dhingra & Parul Goel at the press conference launching &TV
I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of changes in those ten years. Is it the same channel as it was it first began?
It’s very different from how it was. Zee has been in the UK and Europe for 20 years, and almost 23 years in India. What started from only a two-hour broadcast per day in the first years, is today 34 services running 24/7. We are no longer just a television company, we are also now moving all our content onto the internet space. We produce a lot of our own content now, rather than just acquiring it.
We now reach 179 countries, at last count, and we have gone away from just the Indian languages to include foreign languages too. We do content in Arabic, in Russian, in Bahasa for Indonesia and Malaysia, in Thai, and we just launched an English-language service in South Africa. So it’s no longer an Indian company. I think it has transformed into a global company. We have over 715 million viewers globally and counting.
How has becoming a global channel changed Zee’s strategy?
Now, because we have spread out in so many markets, the company has grown significantly in terms of size, in terms of number of people. And we have to do a lot more content than we used to do. We create about 600 hours of content on a weekly basis. That’s really a lot of content. It’s actually a factory, if you look at it from that perspective. And we do it in so many languages, apart from the Indian languages – we do it for six local languages in India also.
How has the digital shift affected Zee and how you produce content?
In India and for South Asian markets it’s still slow. It’s not moved as fast as we’ve seen here in the UK. But what we believe is that it’s the platform of delivery that’s changing, and while the delivery mechanism may change via the Internet, content companies will still have to exist and create quality content and make sure that quality content is available to viewers. And that’s what we are transforming ourselves to allow.
The &TV launch featured entertainment by the Shiamak Davar Dance Troupe
As the channel expands, are you still primarily targeting a South Asian audience?
In this market, we’ve not gone into local languages yet – English or any other language in European language, except for Russia. But we are studying some markets, like Germany, where we do think there is a market for getting into local language content. But we are still in the research phase.
Are you looking to tailor content for those different markets?
Absolutely. The content that goes into each of these markets is researched and tailored for that market. Storylines and films are selected based on how they will work in those markets. For example, in Arabic, our research showed that the local woman there really lacks romance in her life, so the romantic movies really work well in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. That all comes from extensive research, and that’s how we’ve tailor-made the content for those markets.
What need is your newest channel, &TV, fulfilling?
Zee, being a brand that has been in existence for so long in India, has a certain loyal viewership base, and the best word to define them is they are the ‘traditionalists’. They are families – three generations of family living together. India is still largely composed of single-television homes. And the infrastructure is still not good enough for people to start consuming content on devices on a regular basis. So the kind of content we can do on Zee TV is very traditional. Whenever we tried to experiment with edgy content on Zee TV, our audience not responded.
So the need was felt that there’s a new audience base that’s been born in the last twenty years and they are looking for experimental new content. So we needed a new brand that is not Zee, and that’s how the ‘&’ franchise came about.
We first launched it with a movie channel, which showed a lot of edgy cinema. And once that was successful, we’ve moved into the entertainment sector as well. There is certainly a lot difference from what you see on Zee TV.
Was Zee’s more traditional programming in danger of losing young audiences?
Yes, younger audiences and the male audiences, who are not really attracted to the female soaps and drama. The need was felt for another brand to be created, where we can do a lot more contemporary and edgy content.
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan at the UK launch of &TV
What kind of content is there on the new channel?
We have everything from historicals to suggestive sex comedy to mafia-based family drama. We have game shows. And it’s all original content, produced in India. Some of the formats we’ve sourced from the overseas markets – like The Voice, Killer Karake and Who’s Asking?
What about news?
Given the regulatory scheme in India, this company cannot own news channels, because there is a restriction of 26% foreign direct investment in news. So we have a sister company that runs news businesses for us. That’s called Zee Media Corporation. Because we are majority owned by foreign direct investment, we are not legally allowed to do news.
How do you feel about the twentieth birthday celebration of Zee TV in the UK?
It’s a celebration for us. It’s a milestone that we’ve achieved in this market. But we feel that this market needs to grow further, so we are bringing the &TV franchise here to the UK.
While Zee TV will continue to play in the pay subscriber base game, &TV will go compete in the free-to-air market, with the rest of the competition, and we hope that it will be as successful as Zee TV has been to grow the market and grow our shares.
