25 July 2013
Box TV and WRN Broadcast today announce a partnership that sees Box TV’s music portfolio available across the globe. The move signals a confident step forward for Box TV, the biggest music television player in the UK, accelerating its robust distribution strategy with WRN Broadcast’s cutting edge cloud-based broadcast technology solution – a key new element of the company’s OTT offering announced at NAB 2013 in April.
Box TV’s network features seven premium music channels including Kiss, 4Music, Kerrang!, The Box, Magic, Smash Hits and heat. Each channel has its own personality catering for every music enthusiast with original and innovative programming. Kiss, Kerrang! Magic, Smash Hits and The Box have already launched successfully in new territories.
Scott Monks, Box TV’s director of international said: “Box TV has already secured carriage on a number of key television platforms across the world. Demand has also been particularly high from small and medium sized platforms. However, physically accessing the channels from the UK was a problem for some and we required a fast, innovative and cost effective distribution solution. WRN Broadcast’s Alto Cloud solution solves this issue for us. If a platform has good IP connectivity they can receive our premium channels in broadcast quality anywhere in the world. It’s great to see the portfolio reaching new and emerging audiences which is really at the heart of our plans to make Box TV borderless.”
David Treadway, CEO, WRN Broadcast commented: “Our new range of OTT delivery services are proving a fantastic way of delivering content to a global market and the tailored Alto Cloud solution for Box TV is a perfect example of this. WRN Broadcast continues to listen to it’s clients in order to better assist them in meeting their business and broadcasting objectives. We look forward to continuing our work with Box TV and watching the continued success of the network on a global scale.”
Box TV’s seven channels are available via WRN Broadcast’s ground-breaking technology now.
(Source: WRN Broadcast press release)
11 July 2013
AIB has published its regular industry briefing, covering programming, people, distribution and business.
With stories about sports rights, executive changes at Gazprom-owned Russian TV and news safety, the AIB’s briefings provide a useful overview of the media industry around the world.
See the briefing here.
2 July 2013
The first Kazakhstani national sports TV channel «KAZsport» was officially launched on Monday July 1, 2013.
Well-known athletes, world champions of Kazakhstani, Asian and Olympic Games, winners of international and national sporting events, veterans of sports, coaches attended the launch ceremony.
The Minister of Culture and Information Mukhtar Kul-Muhammed and the Chairman of the Agency of Sport and Physical Education of Kazakhstan Yerlan Kozhagapanov extended their congratulations to the new sports channel.
“All the years of our independence, the head of state has taken constant care and provided full support for development of national sport. The opening of “KAZsport” TV channel was also the idea of the President of the country. I am sure that the channel reporters will become active promoters of sports and healthy lifestyle. To all my colleagues from the newly created channel I wish the best of luck!”, said the minister.
The champion of the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980 Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov, champion of the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000 Olga Shishigina, two-time Olympic champion Ilya Ilyin, four-time world chess champion Bibisara Asaubaeva and others also sent their best wishes for the opening of the “KAZsport” channel.
New Sports TV is part of the television family of “Kazakhstan” Republican Television and Radio Corporation, which brings together 3 national and 14 regional TV channels.
Sports broadcasts on «KAZsport» TV, including broadcasts of Kazakhstani championships and live broadcasts of major international sporting events, will account for 70% of programming. The commentators will be well-known Kazakh sports journalists, commenting in Kazakh and Russian. There will also be news, own productions and sports documentaries in the programme schedule.
“Kazakhstan” Republican Television and Radio Corporation is a state-owned media company that brings together the “Kazakhstan” National TV channel, “Madeniet” (Culture), “Balapan” (Kids), “KazSport” TV channels, Kazakh Radio, Radio “Shalkar”, Radio “Astana” and Radio “Classic” as well as “Kazinform” News Agency and 14 regional television companies. The Corporation originates from the first airing of Kazakh radio in 1922 and first regular TV channel of Kazakhstan, established in 1958. www.kaztrk.kz
27 June 2013
Today, the change of name to “France Médias Monde” from “Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France”, decided in May by the Board of Directors, was submitted for vote and approved at the company’s extraordinary general meeting.
The new name of the state-owned company that comprises international French media RFI, FRANCE 24 and Monte Carlo Doualiya reflects its employees’ and managers’ desire for a name that is less administrative and easier to understand abroad. It coincides with the definition of a strategic plan in the coming weeks (COM – Contrat d’Objectif et de Moyens).
The new name is not intended to replace the brands RFI, FRANCE 24 and Monte Carlo Doualiya. Quite the contrary, the latter remain the principal vectors of communication and the three media can associate the new name to their signatures. These changes are in line with the current creation of new style guides and visual identities for each media, and will therefore not entail additional expense for the company.
The name “France Médias Monde” will be effective as of today, Thursday June 27th 2013, and will be gradually rolled out over the next few months through a domain name and the modification of the company’s official documents.
26 June 2013
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, today announced the availability of Eurosport on Samsung Smart TV, the first regional sports broadcasting service available on the platform. Leading pan-European sports channels Eurosport and Eurosport 2 broadcast live streams of internationally renowned sporting events such as the Tour de France, the Africa Cup of Nations and Grand Slam tennis, among many others, equating to over 5,000 hours of live sport every year.
“We are delighted to welcome Eurosport onto Samsung Smart TV further demonstrating our commitment to broadening our key content partnerships to deliver a rich and varied experience for our customers. We are proud that live sport is now part of our portfolio across Europe,” said Lee Epting, Vice President of Media Solution Centre Europe for Samsung Electronics Europe.
The Eurosport Player goes beyond linear live broadcasting giving viewers a selection of content and programming options during leading events. For example, at three tennis Grand Slams, the U.S. Open, Australian Open and French Open fans can choose to watch one of seven different courts ensuring they never miss the chance to see their favourite players. Likewise, Eurosport’s coverage of World Snooker tournaments will also allow for multiple tables to be viewed. Other prestigious sporting events include cycling’s Tour of Spain and Tour of Italy, World Championship Athletics, 2013 UEFA Women’s European Championships and the full 2013/14 wintersports season.
“Eurosport has been delivering innovative programming for many years; ensuring sports fans get the best live sports experience possible. We are very proud to be able to bring our services onto Samsung Smart TV and look forward to introducing viewers to a more dynamic and engaging viewing experience,” said Arnaud Maillard, Eurosport’s Director of Internet & New Media.
Eurosport Player is available to download from Samsung TV Apps Store in 40 European countries and 13 languages: German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Dutch, English, Danish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Czech, Finnish and Norwegian.
26 June 2013
Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of satellite services, and Ericsson today announced the successful demonstration of a true 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD), end-to-end video transmission over satellite to Turner Broadcasting’s facilities in Atlanta,Ga. This was the first transmission of a UHD signal over satellite in North America, and the demonstration proves that the satellite delivery chain can accommodate the next-generation signals as soon as broadcasters are ready to offer them.
During the demonstration, Intelsat’s Galaxy 13 satellite delivered a 4:2:2 10-bit, 4K UHD signal at 60 frames per second, which resulted in an immersive viewing experience. The 100 Mbps video feed was encoded and decoded in real time by Ericsson, using its AVP 2000 contribution encoders and RX8200 receivers, capable of 4K UHD operations as well as HD and SD contribution at the highest quality. Newtec provided the modulation and demodulation hardware, featuring Clean Channel Technology®, and the satellite downlink antenna was provided by Turner Broadcasting.
An earlier test between Newtec and satellite transmission provider PSSI Global Services, which was conducted in preparation for the UHD demonstration, achieved 140 Mbps over a 36 MHz transponder on Galaxy 13 to a 4.6-meter antenna.
“4K UHD is the next evolutionary step for television broadcasting, and just as Intelsat supported the smooth transition from SD to HD, so too will we be ready to support the transition to full-time distribution in this new format,” said Peter Ostapiuk, Intelsat’s vice president of media product management.
“We are tremendously pleased with the outcome of today’s demonstration,” said Giles Wilson, head of TV compression business, Ericsson. “It shows what is feasible in terms of meeting consumer demand for the highest quality possible. Demonstrations such as this show operators that it is possible to start building the necessary ecosystem and a library of UHD TV content now as the industry readies itself for the roll-out of commercial services in the coming years. Ericsson has always been a pioneer of next-generation compression systems, and we are pleased to have worked with Intelsat to lead the way for UHD TV over satellite.”
