5 September 2014
Deutsche Welle (DW) Director General Peter Limbourg has held talks on bilateral cooperation with senior representatives of Chinese broadcasters during his visit to Beijing.
From August 27 to 29, 2014, Limbourg met in the Chinese capital with, among others, the vice president of the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) as well as the presidents of the state educational broadcaster, China Education Television (CETV) and CCTV’s nationwide digital platform (CDP). Talks with the director general of China Radio International were also on the agenda.
Limbourg said the goal was “to present the journalistic offerings of Germany’s international broadcaster and to examine possibilities for an extended cooperation.” He said the discussions took place in “a good atmosphere and were very constructive.”
Various collaborative projects have been agreed upon with CCTV with the aim of building further cultural ties between the two countries. Both sides are looking into possible co-productions in the fields of music and business. A contract was signed with the cultural broadcaster SHTV, for the sale of more than 100 hours of DW Transtel programs. The cooperation will be expanded through a Chinese edition of DW’s weekly cultural magazine Arts.21. CDP will continue to broadcast the Chinese adaptation of DW’s lifestyle magazine Euromaxx for another three years. The program is available in 140 million Chinese households, via the Chinese World Geographic Channel, and is also accessible as video-on-demand at www.tv.cn.
Limbourg discussed, with Beijing TV, DW’s possible participation in the Beijing International Documentary Festival. The station recently acquired the license for the purchase of DW Transtel programs. Since June 2014, the educational broadcaster CETV has also taken 150 hours of DW Transtel programs. The programs are among the most popular documentaries in Beijing.
On September 4, Limbourg addressed representatives of both German and Chinese media at the 5th Sino-German Media Forum of the Robert Bosch Stiftung. In his speech under the title “Fight or Cooperate? The Global TV Networks and Their Roles in the World,” Limbourg called for the lifting of the Chinese blockade of DW and firmly rejected all censorship measures. Earlier he had held extensive talks with Chinese officials on the theme of press freedom. (Source: DW press release)
4 September 2014
Regional broadcaster, Channel NewsAsia, today announced
plans to expand its Kuala Lumpur bureau to operate a High Definition (HD) satellite studio. This will
boost the channel’s production capability in Malaysia and its 24-hour rolling news coverage of Asia.
The studio will be directly connected to the channel’s headquarters in Singapore and take “live”
interviews with guests in a studio environment.
Ms Debra Soon, Managing Director of Channel NewsAsia noted that when the channel was
launched 15 years ago, one of its first bureaus was established in Kuala Lumpur. She said,
“Singapore and Malaysia are strongly linked by history, kinship and friendship. The channel has
made it a priority to report on developments in Malaysia first-hand, not just political and economic
news, but also on its people, society and culture. Malaysia will play a significant role in the world’s
fastest growing region, and we will play a role in helping the rest of the world understand Malaysia”.
Ms Soon made the announcement at Channel NewsAsia’s Malaysia Business Insights in Kuala
Lumpur today.
The channel’s premier regional business forum gathered government and corporate leaders to
discuss Malaysia’s role in the global economy, and the challenges facing companies as they head
towards the vision of making Malaysia a developed economy. Delegates shared insights on its
theme, “Sustaining Growth and Development in Malaysia”, and the structural reforms being
introduced to drive growth.
Senator Dato’ Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, who presented
the keynote address, said “Malaysia is restructuring to evolve towards a high-income nation and
create an economy that is more resilient, globally competitive and sustainable. Within this
framework, the coming together of key policy makers and corporate leaders at Channel NewsAsia’s
Malaysia Business Insights allows for keen dialogue and facilitates greater understanding by the
private sector. This will enable closer and greater collaboration between the public and private
sectors.”
Malaysia Business Insights was moderated by Channel NewsAsia’s Malaysia
Bureau Chief, Melissa Goh, and featured speakers on two panels:
Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta. Maria, Secretary General, Ministry of International Trade and
Industry
Datin Roslina Zainal, Vice President, Regulatory Economics & Planning Division, Tenaga
Nasional Berhad
Mr Philip Rao, Senior Partner, EY Malaysia
Mr Mohd Emir Mavani Abdullah, Group President/CEO, Felda Global Ventures Holdings
Berhad
Mr. Teh Kee Sin, National President, SMI Association of Malaysia
Mr. Christopher Ong – Managing Director, DHL Express Malaysia & Brunei
Mr. Heng Huck Lee – President, FREPENCA / Chief Executive Director, Globetronics
Technology Berhad
Mr. Manoj Menon – Senior Partner & Asia Pacific Managing Director, Frost & Sullivan Asia
Pacific
Malaysia Business Insights is the latest in the leadership series hosted by Channel NewsAsia
across Asia. The forums have travelled to Jakarta, Bangkok, Yangon, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh
City, with the aim of establishing stronger linkages across Asia and promoting deeper
understanding of the business climate and practices in the host countries.
4 September 2014
Vizrt Ltd. announced today a deal worth USD 470,000 for the implementation of broadcast graphics products with Media Studio Company Ltd. in Thailand. Media Studio Company Ltd. is the news production agency used by Channel 7 Thailand. The new purchase is for the upgrade of their currently used systems to HD in addition to a new HD video wall system.
The deal includes an HD upgrade for their three-camera Viz Virtual Studio system. Designers in the creative department will also get an HD upgrade to their Viz Artist workstations. In the studio, a new video wall control system with multiple HD Viz Engines was purchased. Viz Engine is Vizrt’s real-time rendering engine.
4 September 2014
SES S.A. announces a new cornerstone in its strategic partnership with EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) at the orbital position of 105 degrees West with the procurement of the new SES-11 satellite, also to be known as EchoStar 105.
SES-11 will be manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform. The satellite will be launched into space in Q4 2016.
SES-11 will carry 24 Ku-band transponders as well as 24 C-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent).The spacecraft will have a separated mass of approximately 5,400 kg and an end of life budget for the payloads of approximately 12 kW.
The spacecraft’s Ku-band capacity will replace the existing SES satellite AMC-15 at 105 degrees West, an orbital position where Echostar has been SES’s anchor customer since 2006. The spacecraft’s C-band capacity will also allow SES to provide replacement capacity for AMC-18 at 105 degrees West.
“The market for 50-state transponder capacity in North America has demonstrated significant growth for EchoStar Satellite Services over the past five years – the acquisition of EchoStar 105 renews our commitment to the fixed satellite services market in North America,” EchoStar Satellite Services President Anders Johnson said. “The replacement of AMC-15, with the increased capability offered by EchoStar 105, will allow us to meet the evolving demand from our customers for enterprise, broadcast, and government services applications. We are pleased to work with Airbus Defence and Space to provide our customers with new, high power satellite capacity at this established orbital slot.”
Stated Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer of SES: “SES-11 is the 6th large satellite contract with our longstanding partner EchoStar. The new spacecraft will offer comprehensive coverage of the Americas, including Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean, from a well-established orbital position. Together with EchoStar we look forward to a successful mission in collaboration with our reliable industry partner Airbus Defence.” (Source: SES press release)
4 September 2014
PRESS RELEASE
The Association for International Broadcasting has announced its panel of judges for its tenth annual international broadcasting awards, the AIBs 2014. The senior media executives who make up the independent panel come from all across the world and will judge the best in global factual radio, TV and online broadcasting.
CRANBROOK, UK 04 SEPTEMBER 2014 – The panel of 50 senior international media experts brought together by the AIB (Association for International Broadcasting) to judge the AIBs 2014 represents TV, radio and online broadcasting from all across the globe with in-depth knowledge of commissioning, writing, producing, editing and distribution. They have extensive experience in current affairs, investigative documentaries, short documentaries, children’s programmes, sport, science, transmission and broadcasting technology and will be bringing their insight and extensive knowledge to the judging the record number of entries received for this year’s awards which have come from all over the world.
“We are grateful to our panel of experts for agreeing to give up their time to judge the awards” said Simon Spanswick, CEO of the Association for International Broadcasting. “Their diversity of backgrounds and wide experience, coupled with the fact that they are free to choose the best entries without being influenced by any vested interest, ensures that the AIBs will continue to reward the very best of international broadcasting.”
The AIBs 2014 judges are:
- Faisal Abbas, Editor-in-Chief English online, Al Arabiya MBC
- Neeraj Arora, EVP Head of International Business, MSM Asia Limited/Sony Entertainment Network
- Tim Ayris, Director Channel and OEM sales EMEA, thePlatform
- Amadou Ba, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, All-Africa Global Media Inc.
- Hannelie Bekker, Founding MD, Wananchi Programming
- Klaus Bergmann, Director of International Relations, Deutsche Welle
- Graeme Blundell, The Australian
- Jenny Buckland, CEO, Australian Children’s TV Foundation
- Fernando Calvino, CEO/Owner, Señal Internacional
- Catherine Cano, Executive Director News Programs CBC/ Radio-Canada
- Rahul Chopra, SVP Global Head of Video, Newscorp
- Eugen Cojocariu, Head of Radio Romania International
- James Cridland, Radio Futurologist
- Verona Duwarkah, GE: Television, SABC
- Anastasia Ellis, Head of Europe TV, Bloomberg
- Géraldine Filiol, Deputy Managing Director, Eurosport
- David Finch, VP Europe, News Republic
- Marco Frazier, Senior Vice President Global Distribution, AMC Networks International (AMCNI)
- Angela Fung, Phoenix Satellite TV
- Mihai Gadea, CEO, Antena 3
- Lee Gal, Chief producer, i24 News
- Sumit Grover, Director, Pixel Party
- Mohamed Ali Harrath, CEO, Islam Channel
- Sven Herold, VP Creative Development, Shell
- Carlson Huang, Vice Manager and English Program Host, RTI
- Richard Jacobs, Business Development Director, Babcock International Group
- Emmanuel Josserand, Marketing Director, Civolution
- Bettina Klauser, Head of Press and PR, N-tv (Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland)
- Cheryl Knapp, Series Producer, Wild Kratts
- Nathalie Lenfant, Marketing Director, France Medias Monde
- Marcus Metzner, Head of Marketing Services and Communication, arvato Sysyems
- John Momoh, CEO, Channels TV
- Alexey Nikolov, Managing Director, RT Channel
- H Nwana, Executive Director, Dynamic Spectrum Alliance
- Lemi Olalemi, Deputy CEO, TVC News
- Lindsey Oliver, International Media Consultant
- John O’Loan, CEO, iO Media Group Europe
- Nenad Pejic, Editor-in-Chief, co CEO, RFE/RL
- Jonathan Perelman, Vice President Motion Pictures, Buzzfeed
- Helen Stehli Pfister, Producer/Editor, Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen
- Tom Porter, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4
- Libby Powell, CEO, Radar
- Paul Robinson, CEO, Creative Media Partners
- Gillian Rose, Managing Director, PBS Distribution
- Alla Salehian, CEO, TIMA
- Vatche Sarkisian, Director of Program Review, MBN (Alhurra/Radio Sawa)
- Ruth Sloss, Director of Programming, Spafax
- Simon Spanswick, CEO, AIB
- Lek Hwa TAN, VP English Current Affairs, Channel NewsAsia
- Htar Swe TIN, Editor South East Asia and Burmese Service, BBC
The list of judges, with links to their biographies of the judges can be found at theaibs.tv/aibs-2014-judges/.
The AIBs are now in their tenth year and are independent of commercial interest. They attract entries from throughout the world, representing the best of international factual broadcasting. The 15 different categories to be judged cover radio, television and online media across a broad spectrum from single news events to long-term investigation with special categories for children’s programmes, for sport and for coverage of science. The categories also include awards for radio and television personalities of the year.
The winners of the AIBs will be announced at the AIB awards gala on Wednesday 5 November 2014 which will be held at LSO St Luke’s in London.
The AIBs 2014 are sponsored by Eutelsat
Contact
For further information please contact
Roger Stone, AIB
roger.stone@aib.org.uk
T +44 (0)20 7993 2557
AIB, PO Box 141, Cranbrook TN17 9AJ, UK
About the AIB
Established in 1993, the AIB is the international industry association and global knowledge network for the international broadcasting industry– cross-media, cross-border, cross-cultural. With a reach of over 25,000 communicators and media professionals, AIB is a unique centre of information about international broadcasting, covering TV, radio, online and mobile. AIB researches regular market intelligence briefings for its members and provides client-specific consultancy and project support. Members receive an extensive package of services throughout the year. AIB publishes the comprehensive Global Broadcasting Sourcebook and the international media magazine, The Channel. AIB hosts the annual AIB International Media Excellence Awards – the “AIBs”. For more information, visit www.aib.org.uk and theaibs.tv or call +44 (0) 20 7993 2557
About Eutelsat
Eutelsat is one of the world’s leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 36 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies. Eutelsat’s satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user’s location.
For more information, visit www.eutelsat.com
AIB | PO Box 141 | Cranbrook | TN17 9AJ | United Kingdom
T +44 20 7993 2557
F +44 20 7993 8043
www.aib.org.uk
3 September 2014
The World Teleport Association (WTA) has opened its global email survey for the Top Operators of 2014 rankings. The Top Operator rankings, published annually by WTA since 2004, are the world’s only rankings of top teleport operating companies serving media, data and voice markets.
Rankings are based on total revenue from all sources and on year-over-year growth. They recognize that, to some extent, every teleport operator competes in the same marketplace – the biggest with the smallest – but that like all marketplaces, the teleport sector has segments in which even the smallest players can compete effectively and achieve strong growth.
From the data provided by its members and other operators, WTA publishes an annual ranking of –
- The Global Top Twenty – based on revenue from all sources and including all operators: from uplinkers to satellite carriers, fiber network operators to systems integrators, technology providers to specialized satcom service providers.
- The Independent Top Twenty – based on revenue from all sources but excluding companies whose primary business is satellite fleet operations or terrestrial network services.
- The Fast Twenty – based on year-over-year revenue growth in their most recent complete fiscal years, and including all operators.
The Top Operators announcement receives press coverage within the industry and provides valuable exposure to the operators included in the rankings. In addition, the Independent Top Twenty are automatically placed in nomination for WTA’s Independent Operator and Teleport Executive of the Year awards, presented in March at SATELLITE.
The Top Operators Email Survey is available on the WTA website. Companies wanting to try for a place on the Top Operators of 2014 rankings must download and fill out the survey, emailing the completed survey to TopOps@worldteleport.org by October 31, 2014. Surveys will not be accepted after this date. More information on the submission process can be found on the first page of the survey document.
