11 May 2013
Japan International Broadcasting (JIB) announced that NHK WORLD TV is now available, in full HD, to Virgin Media XL TV customers on channel 625.
NHK WORLD TV, an English-language television service for viewers all over the world, provides the very latest information from Japan , Asia and the rest of the world, as well as a wide variety of programming, 24 hours a day.
Making full use of NHK’s extensive global network, “NEWSLINE” updates viewers every hour with the latest hard news, covering world events and business-related news. Other popular programs include “J-MELO”, which highlights the latest Japanese music of all genres ranging from pop and rock to jazz and classical, as well as “Dining with the chef”, which introduces the world view and attraction of Japanese cuisine that cares about the overall harmony of a variety of ingredients.
Virgin Media is the first provider of all four broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services in the UK. Through its expanding cable network, it has developed the most advanced interactive television service through combining broadcast TV, thousands of hours of on demand programming and the best of the web in a single set-top box powered by TiVo. The company was the first to offer HD TV and 3D on demand to millions of UK households.
NHK, Japan’s only public broadcaster, operates four television and three radio channels in Japan. NHK WORLD is the overseas wing of NHK providing TV, radio and internet services.
http://www.jibtv.com
For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com
9 May 2013
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I; formerly Intelsat Global Holdings S.A.), the world’s leading provider of satellite services, today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2013.
IntelsatS.A.reported revenue of $655.1 million and a net loss of $7.8 million, or $0.09 per share, for the three months ended March 31, 2013. The company also reported EBITDA1, or earnings before net interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization, of $496.8 million, and Adjusted EBITDA1 of $505.8 million, or 77 percent of revenue, for the three months ended March 31, 2013. Contracted backlog at March 31, 2013, was $10.4 billion.
Intelsat CEO Dave McGlade said, “Intelsat provides critical communications infrastructure on a global basis for customers in the media, network services, and government sectors. By offering solutions for global media distribution, broadband infrastructure for fixed and mobile applications, and innovative, end-to-end government services, Intelsat is positioned to benefit from the rapidly expanding global consumption of content and data.”
“Total revenue grew 2% in the first quarter of 2013, as compared to the year-earlier quarter. On-network revenue grew 4% in the period, reflecting solid demand for transponder services and the benefit of refreshed video neighborhood capacity and mobility capacity provided by our 2012 launch campaign,” McGlade continued. “In addition, managed services revenue increased, reflecting demand for our global hybrid infrastructure of terrestrial and satellite capacity, particularly for mobility applications for network services customers. New customer and renewal activity remains steady, and our backlog, at $10.4 billion, offers visibility into future revenue trends.”
“I am pleased to welcome common and preferred stockholders following our IPO in April 2013. We are using the funds raised in our stock offerings, combined with the interest savings from our recent debt re-financings, to begin a positive cycle of de-leveraging that we believe will enhance the equity value we create for our stakeholders.”
About Intelsat
Intelsat (NYSE: I) is the leading provider of satellite services worldwide. For almost 50 years, Intelsat has been delivering information and entertainment for many of the world’s leading media and network companies, multinational corporations, Internet Service Providers and governmental agencies. Intelsat’s satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video, data and voice services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and broadband access, with Intelsat, advanced communications anywhere in the world are closer, by far.
8 May 2013
Arab Satellite Communications Organization – Arabsat – has signed a contract to build its new headquarters in the Diplomatic Quarter inRiyadh. The new building will be constructed by Al-BAWANI Co. Ltd on land provided by the Government of theKingdomofSaudi Arabiato Arabsat and covers an area of nearly 14,000 square meters.
Eng. Khalid bin Ahmed Balkhyour, President & CEO of Arabsat, stated “This project has been in collaboration with the High Commission for Development of Riyadh, where His Royal Highness the Prince of Riyadh issued his consent so that Riyadh Principality take over the supervision of the design and implementation of the building through an international competition in which more than 25 local and global designers have participated. Al-BAWANI Co. Ltd will build Arabsat headquarters within 30 months.”
Balkhyour praised the fundamental support received by theKingdom ofSaudi Arabia since the establishment of Arabsat, when the Kingdom hosted Arabsat headquarters in the Diplomatic Quarter and its main station in Dirab outsideRiyadh, allocating pieces of land to these headquarters. The Kingdom also provided a grant to build Arabsat’s new headquarters, which will be one of the main features of the Diplomatic Quarter inRiyadh as expected by the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh.
Mr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Tuwajiri, Chairman of Al-BAWANI Co., Ltd. said, “We thank Arab Satellite Communications Organization for providing the opportunity for Al-BAWANI Co. Ltd to build this important building with its distinctive architectural features.” He added that his company is looking forward to a lasting strategic partnership with Arabsat.
1 May 2013
The Broadcasting Board of Governors today announced a new strategic partnership with leading audio platform SoundCloud, adding hundreds of hours of audio programming weekly for users to access worldwide. The move is expected to expand the BBG’s online audience by introducing its radio broadcasts to a new, widely-available mobile platform and to content-sharing through social media.
“Audio programming is the lifeblood of our broadcasters’ connection to much of their worldwide audiences,” said Syndication Product Lead Addie Nascimento with the BBG’s Office of Digital and Design Innovation. “Reinventing that experience through the SoundCloud platform and allowing for audio to become a social experience will revitalize our audio content in a powerful way.”
From Khmer to Kurdish, content in more than 40 languages from all five broadcasters of the BBG will be made available through the platform. Each of the broadcasters has multiple accounts based on the language services it provides, and there is flexibility to add more accounts based on user demand.
Users will be able to find BBG content by searching SoundCloud for either their favourite program or a broadcaster’s name. Listeners will also be able to connect directly on SoundCloud’s waveform with other users who share similar interests.
SoundCloud provides an easy way to share audio programming on the web, as it lets users distribute content seamlessly across numerous social channels. BBG content uploaded to SoundCloud may be posted to Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler and Pinterest, appearing on the user’s profiles via SoundCloud’s HTML5 widget, thereby increasing audience reach for the BBG.
“SoundCloud is thrilled to be working with BBG to share their expansive, multi-lingual content across the web,” said SoundCloud Head of Audio Manolo Espinosa. “Collaborating with the BBG enriches our community with their global audio programming and offers an opportunity for the BBG to expand their online growth and secure new listeners.”
The partnership between the BBG and SoundCloud provides more comprehensive access than an individual membership would in order for BBG to centrally manage multiple language profiles, through automated feeds or manual uploads.
SoundCloud is available as an app for both iOS and Android, and is available online at www.soundcloud.com.
29 April 2013
Following the appointment of Laurent-Eric Le Lay as Chief Executive Officer of TF1 Publicité, the new leadership has been announced with Philippe Denery as Chairman and Jean-Thierry Augustin as Chief Executive Officer of the Eurosport group promoted from his position of Managing Director, Distribution, Rights Acquisition & Development. Philippe Denery will remain Executive Vice President of TF1 Group Finances.
This organisational change is part of the TF1 group’s ambition to enable Eurosport to continue developing, particularly as part of the partnership agreements signed with Discovery Communications.
26 April 2013
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reports persistent campaigns of intimidation against two of its Radio Azadliq journalists, Khadija Ismayilova and Yafez Hasanov, in retaliation for their reporting. The threats to these Azerbaijan Service reporters come days before a UN-mandated review of Azerbaijan’s human rights performance and months ahead of presidential elections that President Ilham Aliyev has pledged will be free and fair.
In a return to the defamation tactics that targeted Ismayilova in March 2012, on April 25 a pro-government website posted a pornographic video that was fabricated to portray Ismayilova engaging in sexual acts. Ismayilova’s investigative reports for RFE/RL, which earned her the 2012 International Women’s Media Foundation’s “Courage in Journalism” award, have implicated the president’s family in financial activities and arrangements worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Over the past two weeks, Hasanov, who was abducted and threatened in Naxichivan in August 2011 following his investigation into the death of Turac Zeynalov and who was threatened by text, email and social media in November 2012, has been targeted in new incidents that he believes are intended to silence him.
On April 4, a package was sent to Hasanov’s home with documents that suggested he was having illicit relationships with several women. Soon after, Hasanov received a call from a man who identified himself as an agent of the Naxichivani Ministry of National Security (MNS), who recited orders from Naxichivani regional governor Vasif Talibov to cooperate with MNS. The caller also warned that if Hasanov reported on Naxichivan again he would be “exposed” and his life and the lives of his family members would be in danger. On April 19, the pro-government Internet TV station “Ses” aired recordings of cellphone conversations between Hasanov and residents of Naxichivan that Azerbaijan’s Media Rights Institution told the website contact.az could only have been obtained from the country’s security services.
In addition, three close relatives of Radio Azadliq’s Baku Bureau Chief Babek Bagirov were dismissed from their jobs on April 11, an act Bagirov said was reprisal for his work and as an effort to intimidate him and other bureau employees.
Azerbaijan Service Director Kenan Aliyev called these latest attacks shameful and said, “An attack against Khadija and Yafez and any of our journalists is an attack against the entire Radio Azadliq staff and an attack against all independent voices in Azerbaijan. ”
“These are actions of a deliberate and serious nature that the Azeri authorities must take very seriously, especially since many directly or indirectly suggest the involvement or endorsement of official Azeri entities and agents,” said Kevin Klose, Acting President and CEO of RFE/RL. “Yafez and Khadija are exercising their rights and professional duties as journalists and, as a journalists, their well-being is a matter of public and societal concern. I urge the Azeri authorities and President Aliyev personally to take steps immediately to stop the threats.”
Naxichivan, an Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, is an exclave bordered by Iran to the west and Armenia to the east, and Radio Azadliq is one of the only media organizations reporting on the region.
Azerbaijan will hold presidential elections in October in which President Ilham Aliyev will run for a third consecutive term. A joint statement issued in March by the Committee to Protect Journalists and leading international press freedom and human rights groups condemns the recent imprisonment of at least seven journalists in Azerbaijan, criticizes recent government attempts to restrict local press freedom groups and on-line expression and warns that such a crackdown threatens the integrity of the October polls.
Freedom House characterizes Azerbaijan as “not free” and ranked it 172 out of 197 countries surveyed in its 2012 Freedom of the Press Index. The Reporters Without Borders 2013 Press Freedom Index placedAzerbaijan at 156 on a scale of 179 countries.
