27 October 2014
BBC newsreader and Crimewatch co-presenter Matthew Amroliwala will host the 10th annual AIB Awards on November 5 in London. The AIB Award’s honour broadcasting’s top achievements in factual content from around the world.
After 16 years at BBC’s News Channel, Amroliwala moved onto BBC World News this August where he is now presenter of its flagship programme, Global.
Before Amroliwala began anchoring news coverage in the studio, he worked in the field as a foreign correspondent, a political correspondent and as a news reporter, and reported from Bosnia, New York and Washington. As a presenter he broadcast continuously for six hours on the day of London’s 7/7 bombings.
Amroliwala will join an esteemed list of AIB hosts who include Al Jazeera English’s Barbara Serra, BBC’s Mishal Husain, France 24’s Mark Owen and Bloomberg TV’s Francine Lacqua.
In addition to the awards gala, the AIB evening will also feature AIB’s traditional “In Conversation”, this year with special guest Olly Lambert. Lambert won an AIB last year for his Channel 4 documentary, Syria: Across The Lines. The film also won the Emmy this year for Outstanding Coverage of a Current News Story, a BAFTA for Best Current Affairs Programme, and the Rory Peck Award for Best Broadcast. Lambert was also nominated for an Emmy for his documentary The Bombing of Al-Bara.
The AIB Awards will take place at the spectacular LSO St. Luke’s in London and will be hosted by BBC presenter Matthew Amroliwala. A limited number of tickets are still available through the Awards website or by calling +44 (0) 207 993 2557.
24 October 2014
BBC America, the BBC’s commercial arm, will now be operated by American entertainment company AMC Networks, following a $200m (£125m) deal.
AMC, a company boosted by the tremendous success of its AMC Channel dramas Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, will manage BBC America as a standalone alongside other channels in the AMC Networks portfolio, including IFC, SundanceTV and WE tv. AMC bought a 49.9% stake in the Corporation, while BBC Worldwide will retain 50.1% stake.
The two networks already have drama co-producing experience, with such series as The Honorable Woman.
BBC Worldwide chief executive Tim Davie said AMC “are committed to the kind of high-quality, unmissable content that has already gained BBC America one of the most educated, affluent and tech savvy audiences in all of US television.”
Tony Hall, BBC director general, said the deal would “help us reach new audiences in the US, strengthen BBC America’s position for the long term and create opportunities for the UK creative community”.
23 October 2014
AIB, the Association for International Broadcasting, will present a special posthumous Founders Award to the family of gifted BBC journalist, Komla Dumor, who died suddenly in January at the age of 41. The award will be given at the 10th annual AIB Awards on November 5 in London.
Born in Ghana in 1972, during his short career, Dumor had an extraordinary impact, epitomising a new Africa, one of success and hope. Through his compelling story telling he worked tirelessly to bring this narrative to the world.
In 1998, during a break in his studies, Dumor answered an ad for a job as a part-time reporter for Ghanaian local radio station Joy FM and quickly moved on to become presenter of Joy FM’s Super Morning Show. He was named Journalist of the Year by the Ghana Journalist Association.
In 2007, Dumor joined the BBC as host of Network Africa for the BBC World Service, moving on to The World Today programme, then Africa Business Report for BBC World News television.
In June 2012, he was named the presenter of Focus on Africa, the BBC’s first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences, broadcast on BBC World News. He also interviewed a number of high-profile guests including Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Kofi Annan, Tony Blair and Africa’s wealthiest businessman, Aliko Dangote. He anchored live coverage of major global events including the death of Nelson Mandela and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In 2013, the respected publication, New African, listed Dumor in its list of 100 most influential Africans.
Peter Horrocks, Director of the BBC World Service, said at the time of Dumor’s death, “Komla was a leading light of African journalism – committed to telling the story of Africa as it really is. Africa’s energy and enthusiasm seemed to shine through every story Komla told.”
And Dumor said on the launch of Focus on Africa in June 2012: “After decades of turmoil and uncertainty, a new Africa is emerging. The old stereotypes are being challenged and a new, compelling narrative is being written. I am incredibly excited to be part of a new programme that will provide solid coverage and analysis of Africa’s challenges and prospects.”
“AIB is delighted to be able to commemorate the life and work of this accomplished and respected journalist,” said Simon Spanswick, chief executive of the Association for International Broadcasting. “Komla was an inspiration to his BBC colleagues and respected by viewers and listeners across Africa. He is sorely missed across the media industry.”
The AIB Awards, taking place on November 5 at London’s LSO St. Luke’s, honor the highest achievements in factual content for TV, radio and online. Komla Dumor’s legacy of high-quality journalism and knowledge-sharing across borders represent the ideals AIB aims to foster as the world’s leading knowledge network for the global broadcast industry.
A limited number of tickets to the AIB Awards are still available. Guests are travelling from all over the world to share ideas and knowledge and reward the very best in factual programme making globally.
22 October 2014
Francesca Unsworth has been appointed Director of the BBC World Service Group.
In this role she will lead the BBC’s global news services – BBC World Service, BBC World News and BBC.com/news – as well as BBC Monitoring, and will chair the BBC’s international development charity, BBC Media Action. The BBC’s global news services have a weekly audience of 265m.
Fran will also continue to act as deputy to the Director of News and Current Affairs.
Director General of the BBC, Tony Hall, said: “I have known Fran since she joined the BBC and watched in admiration as she has become that rarest of things: a lifelong BBC insider who thinks like an outsider. Her range of skills and experience combined with a quite exceptional gift for management makes her exactly the right person to take over the enormously important job of directing the World Service Group. I am thrilled with her appointment.”
Director of BBC News and Current Affairs, James Harding, said: “Fran embodies the best of the BBC: she is thoughtful and enabling, tireless and determined, interesting and smart. Fran is already known for her record in fighting for journalistic freedom and free expression. I know she will prove an inspiring and respected director of the World Service, inside the BBC, in Britain and around the world.”
Fran Unsworth said: “Today is the proudest day of my professional life. I do not take on lightly the responsibility of looking after a part of the BBC with such a proud history. I promise to be the guardian of the best of the BBC’s values of independence, impartiality and fairness in our international services, while continuing the successful modernisation of the World Service Group to take our journalism to new audiences worldwide.”
Fran began her journalistic career in 1980 in BBC Local Radio joining Radio 1’s Newsbeat. She spent a spell as a network radio producer in Washington DC and later joined Radio 4’s The World At One and PM.
Fran was appointed the BBC’s Home News Editor and then, in 2001, Head of Political Programmes. In 2005 she became Head of Newsgathering, running one of the world’s largest newsgathering operations with bureaux across the world.
Between November 2012 and August 2013 Fran was the BBC’s Acting Director of News and Current Affairs. She is currently Deputy Director of BBC News and Current Affairs.
Fran will become the first female director in the 82-year history of the World Service. She will take up her new post on 8 December 2014. She succeeds Peter Horrocks, who announced earlier this year that he was leaving the BBC.
21 October 2014
arvato Systems will show future-oriented software solutions for Media Asset Management at this year’s Content and Communication World in New York. In a conference session, arvato Systems technology experts will also brief delegates on the challenges of cross-media TV and advertising scheduling and will show how customized IT support can help organizations to optimize their strategies for the future.
With around 7,000 attendees, CCW is the most important event for the media and entertainment industry on the East Coast of the United States, showcasing solutions for content creation, management and distribution. International industry leaders use the event to present their most up to date technologies and production techniques. arvato Systems is once again a part of this event. The IT experts show product innovations in Media Asset Management, TV Studio production and cross-media sales.
Taking center stage will be Avamio, the compact version of the internationally successful professional Media Asset Management solution, VPMS. Avamio was developed to meet the needs of smaller TV broadcasters, post-production houses and corporate TV production companies. In addition to video content management, the system provides fast, simple search and access to content from a browser-based client. Avamio automates and simplifies many processes such as metadata editing, content upload and import, transfer, and encoding tasks, to mention only a few…
arvato Systems will also show studio the ClipJOCKEY production tool. ClipJOCKEY is a professional standalone solution for ingest and playout and is already used by many TV stations and production houses around the world.
A particular highlight this year will be arvato Systems’ presentation at the CCW conference. Together with Black Arrow’s Senior Vice President of Business Development, David Stengle, Eivind Sandstrand will discuss and illustrate real-life IT implementations for cross-media monetization. During the session, “Bridging the Gap between Linear and Non-linear Advertising” on 13th November at 2pm (CET), delegates will learn how, by implementing simple techniques and integration steps, existing IT infrastructures can manage the non-linear business models of the future.
arvato Systems is on Stand 1149. The session will take place in the Streaming+ OTT Theater, Javit Center, New York. Contact: corporatesales@s4m.com
21 October 2014
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) and Dori Media Group (DMG) announced today that they have entered into an agreement whereby SPT will acquire 50% of the VIVA and VIVA Plus channels and the VIVA Walla online free video-on-demand (FVOD) service in Israel, along with 50% of DMG’s Baby TV operations in Indonesia.
Andy Kaplan, President of Sony Pictures Television’s worldwide networks, said: “This acquisition builds on our strategy to capitalize on channels opportunities around the world, which includes entering new markets. We’ve had a great experience working with the DMG team and are happy to be expanding our relationship.”
Nadav Palti, President and CEO of DMG, commented: “SPT’s decision to expand our working relationship in Indonesia, and in Israel for the first time, reflects the strength of our position in two excellent markets. We are excited to be working more closely with them and are confident these ventures will flourish.”
The VIVA branded telenovela channels, VIVA and VIVA Plus, are carried by all Israeli multi-channel platforms. VIVA boasts high viewership loyalty and is continuously amongst the four most popular entertainment cable television channels in Israel according to HOT Telecom’s audience measurement system. The co-branded online FVOD service VIVA Walla, which offers telenovelas through Walla.co.il, continues to attract high viewership.
Baby TV is Indonesia’s first channel for toddlers ages three years and younger. It broadcasts 24 hours a day and commercial free on leading pay TV platform Indovision, as well as on subscription service Top TV. The channel features programming that introduces babies to the natural world, assisting with the development of primary skills by inspiring delight and curiosity.
SPT Networks will also acquire 50% stakes in Dori Media’s EPG (Electronic Program Guide) operations and DMG’s holding in Dori Media Ot, which provides technical services including dubbing, subtitling and closed captions.
ABOUT SONY PICTURES TELEVISION
Sony Pictures Television (http://www.sonypicturestelevision.com), a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, is one of the television industry’s leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, around the world and for a multitude of platforms. In addition to one of the industry’s largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) boasts a current program slate that includes top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. In addition to its US production business, SPT has 18 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies in 10 countries and also maintains offices in 31 countries. SPT’s worldwide television networks portfolio includes 126 channel feeds available in 168 countries, reaching more than 980 million cumulative households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE’s premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns US production company Embassy Row and is a part owner of cable channel Game Show Network (GSN), 3D channel 3net, and national U.S media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premier national advertising sales companies and handles the commercial inventory in SPT’s syndicated series as well as the Rural Media Group and DrOz.com.
BBC newsreader and Crimewatch co-presenter Matthew Amroliwala will host the 10th annual AIB Awards on November 5 in London. The AIB Award’s honour broadcasting’s top achievements in factual content from around the world.
