6 February 2014
Vizrt Ltd. announced today a deal worth USD 1.8 million for the implementation of broadcast graphics (BG) products with a sports channel in Asia. The channel is a new Vizrt customer, who will use the purchased systems for live in-game graphics and in-studio shows.
“Sports broadcasting is very prominent in Asia, and this deal shows how our offering matches the requirements of this important market,” said Martin Burkhalter, Vizrt CEO. “We are very pleased to have been selected by this ambitious new channel and look forward to growing together with our customer.”
The deal includes multiple Viz Trio systems, Vizrt’s character generator (CG), for building playlists of graphics and playing them back during a live match and during in-studio shows.
The deal further includes Viz Arena, which allows the sports channel to add virtual graphics to the field or track during a live sports event. This capability gives the customer the option to add customized branding, information graphics or advertisements to the broadcast.
Viz Libero will provide sports analysis capabilities for cricket and field hockey. Viz Libero combines realistic looking 3D replays and advanced virtual graphics to create unique perspectives of key plays and controversial calls.
In the studio, the channel will use Viz Virtual Studio to create and control customized virtual sets for each broadcast. Multiple Viz Engines are part of the deal to render all graphics in real-time, for every live broadcast.
5 February 2014
The International News Safety Institute has published a report detailing threats to media workers and measures that are in place to protect them.
The safety guide, called ‘Journalism Safety: Threats to Media Workers and Measures to Protect Them’, looks at examples of best practice in the protection of journalists by national authorities, civil society organisations and media professionals in different countries around the world. Incentives include training programmes, hotlines for journalists in distress, safe houses and awareness raising campaigns in several countries including Nepal, Iraq, Pakistan and South Sudan, where the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity is being implemented.
The UN Plan of Action aims to create a free and safe environment for newsmen and women in both conflict and non-conflict situations.
“Across the world countless numbers of our colleagues are facing dangers and living in fear simply for doing their jobs. This publication provides an important look at what is being done to help them, where it is being done and by whom. We’re honoured to have had the opportunity to make a start in mapping the vital work that is aimed at helping journalists stay safe and help those who have been affected rebuild their lives,” said Hannah Storm, Director of INSI.
“But this is just the start. We call on governments and the international community to work together better to end the scourge that affects our colleagues and guarantee their safety, knowing that without that their can be no press freedom.”
The 78 page study outlines risks to journalists around the globe and provides practical information about the measures with are in place to protect them, with the aim of determining why some measures are more effective than others, so that other organisations can put more efficient safety mechanisms in place.
The report was funded by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).
INSI would like to thank the individuals and organisations who supported and contributed to this project.
5 February 2014
SES has been selected to provide satellite capacity to NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, during its production of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, from February 6-February 23. The announcement was made today by Ron Gnidziejko, Vice President, International Transmission, NBC Universal, and Samantha McCloskey, Vice President of Global Occasional Use Services for SES.
NBC Olympics will use Ku-band capacity aboard the NSS-7 satellite to distribute HD Olympics coverage directly from event venues and a pair of roaming NBC News SNG (satellite news gathering) vehicles to the International Broadcasting Center (IBC) at the Sochi Games.
A portion of the capacity will provide emergency backup capabilities, enabling NBC to route HD Olympics traffic from Sochi to North America over NSS-7, if necessary. SES’ NSS-7 satellite and NSS-5 satellite played an integral role in NBC Olympics’ coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
“NBC consistently sets the gold standard with world class sports event coverage, and the 2014 Winter Olympics are sure to offer up a compelling backdrop for 18 days of riveting and innovative NBC Olympics broadcasts from Sochi, Russia,” said McCloskey.
Gnidziejko said, “We are pleased to be working once again with SES, whose satellite fleet affords us unique capabilities that meet NBC Olympics’ challenging requirements for broadcasting the Games on the networks of NBCUniversal.”
5 February 2014
RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd., a leading provider of comprehensive digital content management and global content distribution services to the broadcasting industry, today announced that the World Teleport Association named Avi Cohen, CEO of RRsat, as its 2014 Teleport Executive of the Year. Mr. Cohen will be honored during WTA’s Teleport Awards for Excellence luncheon on March 11 during SATELLITE 2014. The Teleport Executive of the Year award is presented to an individual for demonstrated entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation in the development or operation of a teleport-based business.
Mr. Cohen was named the CEO of RRsat in July 2012. His challenge was to take RRsat – already a global player – to the next level of business success and value creation. Over the last 18 months, Mr. Cohen has led RRsat in its “Glocal” strategy – become a global leader with local footprints in key markets around the world. Part of this strategy included two acquisitions: SM2 Sports & Media Solutions and JCA TV. RRsat also consolidated two sites at its Israeli headquarters into a new state-of-the-art Broadcast Center in Emek Haela. Financially, Mr. Cohen as led RRsat to all-time record results, including expectation of full-year 2013 growth in revenues in the range of 6% to 10% year-over-year growth from 2012.
“Only a handful of teleport operating companies have grown to significant size,” said WTA executive director Robert Bell. “It is a highly competitive, capital-intensive business that is also built on personal relationships and service excellence. That is a high bar for any company to pass, and we salute Mr. Cohen for continuing the work of his predecessor, another Teleport Executive of the Year, and taking RRsat to the next level.”
“On behalf of the entire RRsat team, I am extremely proud to accept this prestigious reward,” commented Avi Cohen, CEO of RRsat. “Over the past two years, RRsat has worked tirelessly to transform the organization to meet the needs of today’s broadcasters, creating a global company with more robust offerings and talented personnel in key broadcasting markets. I believe this award speaks to the progress we have made. Our industry is changing quickly, as consumers are now watching content in new ways, on new devices, in an increasingly mobile society. RRsat is proud to play a part in this evolution, and we look forward to what the future will bring for our industry.”
5 February 2014
Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of satellite services, today announced that ViewSat, a global provider of broadcast and transmission services for television and radio channels, is utilizing Intelsat capacity to facilitate and successfully enhance ViewSat’s distribution service to the North American direct-to-home (DTH) market. The service has been previously disclosed and live to new and existing ViewSat customers since November 2013.
As part of the agreement, ViewSat is utilizing the power of Intelsat’s Galaxy 19 video neighborhood. Located at 97° West, Galaxy 19 serves as the premier U.S. neighborhood for free-to-air multicultural programming, distributing content originating from 66 countries around the world in more than 40 different languages. The satellite offers a Ku-band DTH platform that serves customers in the United States and Caribbean. Intelsat is also providing an uplink via the IntelsatOneSM PoP in London and transporting the signal via IntelsatOne fiber to the company’s Mountainside Teleport in Maryland. At the Mountainside Teleport, the signal is being uplinked to Galaxy 19 for the DTH application.
“ViewSat’s programming lineup includes some of the world’s most diversified content,” stated Safia Rana, Head of Sales and Marketing at ViewSat. “As we looked to expand our geographic footprint to North America, it was only natural that we would work with Intelsat, which has been our partner in serving the sub-Saharan African market on Intelsat 20 for many years. The Galaxy 19 video neighborhood will allow us to deliver high quality, regionalized content, allowing us to increase our client’s audience and meet the unique demands of the North American market.”
“Maximizing viewership through global content distribution drives increased performance for content owners,” said Jean Phillipe Gillet, Intelsat’s vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sales. “Galaxy 19 is the perfect neighborhood for programmers and distributors, such as ViewSat, seeking multicultural audiences.”
4 February 2014
SatLink Communications, a global teleport, content management and HD playout services provider, has announced it has been extended its agreement with global channel, Fashion TV (FTV), for the global playout, content management and distribution of its HD and SD channels. As a part of the agreement, SatLink will distribute FTV’s content via satellite to Asia on AsiaSat3S, America on IS805 C-Band platform and to Europe on the new Hotbird DVB-S2 platform, which provides cost effective HD contribution to the Cable, Satellite and Pay TV Markets in the region.
The extension of SatLink and FTV’s relationship comes following the successful implementation of FTV’s HD Asian feed by providing playout and uplinking of FTV’s content to the AsiaSat-5 satellite located at 100.5° East to reach out to Asia’s Pay TV platforms across the continent including India, China and Indonesia in July 2013.
SatLink will be providing FTV with full HD and SD Playout services from its centre in Tel Aviv, Israel. For FTV’s HD feed to America, SatLink will be providing space and uplinking to IS805 C-band platform, which is located at 55.5° West and covers both North and South America. The IS805 satellite will enable FTV to extend its reach into the American market and is widely used for contribution to the Pay TV market, including DTH, cable and IPTV services. SatLink will be providing a second Asian feed to FTV with SD playout and uplinking to the Asiasat3S satellite at 105.5° East.
Across Europe, FTV will be utilising SatLink’s new Hotbird DVB-S2 platform to support the contribution of HD channels to the European cable, satellite and Pay TV platforms. The new DVB-S2 platform offers powerful wide beam coverage to Europe enabling a cost-effective solution for video contribution to the region and providing the highest audience penetration across Europe.
SatLink will also be provided FTV with content delivery to the Israeli local Pay-TV’s YES and HOT via a Fibre link. All services will be encrypted via a Viaccess system and SatLink is providing full technical support to FTV customers to ensure a smooth transition of the services.
Working together to provide FTV’s viewers with the latest interactive solutions to cater for their dynamic viewing habits, SatLink is also developing customised services for the seamless operations of FTV’s 4k broadcasting services and OTT and VOD solutions.
“As visionaries in the broadcasting market, I am constantly looking for new ways to extend our audience reach through innovative and reliable solutions. As our audience continues to grow and demand higher quality content across different platforms we needed to find a technical partner that was not only able to meet our requirements but work alongside us to develop creative new solutions to help us engage with our viewers” said Michel Adam, President and Founder of FTV. “We selected SatLink as our global partner because, following our highly successful engagement with them on the playout of our HD content on AsiaSat5 last year, we knew them to be reliable and offer a high quality service. We knew we had to change our satellite distribution partner and SatLink is the perfect match for FTV as we share the same creative ethos and strive to further enhance the viewing experience for audiences across the globe. Fashiontv was also motivated to consolidate its operations with SatLink, as we both share the vision to develop 4K broadcasting. Since January 2014, Fashiontv has switched all its productions to 4K, and is launching its VOD and Linear 4K channels by May to coincide with the Cannes Film Festival.”
David Hochner, CEO of SatLink Communications, said: “This is an exciting partnership and we are honoured that Fashion TV have chosen us as their global distribution partner. Having worked together since last year we know that we are able to successfully co-operate with one another to deliver a robust and reliable service that meets FTV’s requirements. As FTV’s audience continues to grow and they develop more innovative services for their viewers, SatLink will be alongside them to support this growth and ensure that we provide the advanced technical solutions that are required to make their vision a reality.”
