4 July 2012
The BBC Trust has today appointed George Entwistle as the Director-General of the BBC.
George Entwistle, who is currently Director of BBC Vision, will take over from current Director-General Mark Thompson on a salary of £450,000 per year.
Mark Thompson announced his intention to leave the BBC in March this year and will hand over to George Entwistle in the autumn.
Announcing the appointment, BBC Trust Chairman Lord Patten said:
“George is a creative leader for a creative organisation.
“His experience of making and delivering great programmes that audiences love – built up through many years of working for the Corporation – will prove invaluable as he and his team work to ensure the BBC remains the greatest broadcaster in the world.
“Above all George is passionate about the BBC, is committed to its public service ethos and has a clear vision for how it can harness the creativity and commitment of its staff to continue to serve audiences in ever more innovative ways.”
George Entwistle said:
“I’m delighted that the Chairman and Trustees have decided I’m the right person for the job. And I’m very excited about all that lies ahead. I love the BBC and it’s a privilege to be asked to lead it into the next stage of its creative life.”
Mark Thompson said:
“I think this is a brilliant appointment. George has shown himself to be an outstanding leader with an intuitive understanding of public sector broadcasting. He has a formidable track record as a programme maker and in recent years has also shown his calibre as a leader. I wish him and the BBC every success in the years to come.”
Lord Patten added:
“I once again want to pay tribute to Mark Thompson. His creativity, vision and leadership have made him an outstanding Director-General of the BBC and he will be sorely missed.”
Notes to editors
- George Entwistle has been with the BBC since 1989 when he joined as a broadcast journalism trainee. His most recent position was as Director of BBC Vision, which he has held since 2011. Prior to that he was the Controller of Knowledge Commissioning and he has been responsible for some of the BBC’s most high profile programmes including Panorama, while he was Head of Current Affairs, and Newsnight, of which he was the editor. His full biography can be accessed here.
- George Entwistle will be the 15th Director-General of the BBC. The Director-General is the Chief Executive Officer of the BBC and its Editor-in-Chief. The Trust has also determined that the Director-General will chair the BBC’s Executive Board. The Director-General is the editorial, operational and creative leader of the BBC, with responsibility for a significant global workforce and the Corporation’s services across television, radio and online.
- The appointment was made at a full meeting of the BBC Trust this morning, following a two stage interview process. An initial short list of candidates was interviewed by Lord Patten and Trust Vice Chairman Diane Coyle. Following this a final list of candidates was interviewed by a panel comprising the following Trustees: Lord Patten, Dr Coyle, Alison Hastings, David Liddiment, Anthony Fry and Elan Closs Stephens. A recommendation was then put forward to the full Trust board and agreed this morning.
- The appointment is a permanent contract and is subject to standard BBC terms and conditions. The package consists of a basic salary and the BBC’s standard pension arrangements. There is no variable component to the pay.
- The Trust was assisted in the search for the Director-General by executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder after a competitive process. The firm carried out an initial succession planning phase of work to identify the key elements required of any new Director-General should a vacancy arise in the future. This involved interviewing more than 30 people with an insight into the role. They used this information to help the Trust draw up a role specification. In the second phase of the exercise Egon Zehnder designed and managed the recruitment process on behalf of the BBC Trust. Egon Zehnder was paid a total of £157,500 plus VAT, covering both phases of the work.
- Mark Thompson was appointed to the role of Director-General in May 2004. He is currently paid £671,000 per year.
3 July 2012
Iranians can now watch all of their favorite Voice of America TV shows online with Livestation, a 24 hour a day streaming platform that brings together news programs from around the world.
Viewers in Iran and elsewhere can simply go to www.livestation.com and select ‘VOA Persian’ from the list of regional channels. The site is free and can also be accessed on smart phones as well as an iPhone app.
VOA Executive Editor Steve Redisch says placement of VOA’s Persian Service on the streaming site marks a step forward in the delivery of our programs to the people of Iran. “New research from Gallup shows Internet use is growing in Iran and many people have web access in their homes. It makes sense for us to take advantage of new distribution opportunities,” Redisch says.
Earlier this year the Persian Service rolled out a new lineup of television programs including Inside the USA, which highlights aspects of American life and institutions. In addition to direct-to-home satellite, viewers of many popular VOA programs, including the satirical shows Parazit or OnTen, turn to Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites to watch the programs on demand.
With Livestation, viewers will have increased access to all the VOA Persian Service shows. Livestation aggregates dozens of television news programs from around the world in different languages. The channels can be watched for free via the Livestation website, a desktop player, a free smartphone app that presents all the channels on one interface, or through other mobile phone apps.
The latest audience data from Iran indicates VOA Persian TV has a weekly audience of more than 21 percent, making it one of the most popular international broadcasters in the country.
2 July 2012
The international news channel Euronews, member of Co-op association (Caribbean Cable Coperative Ltd), has signed the first two broadcasting deals in the Caribbean with the new Haitian digital platform NUtv™ and the cable operator St. Maarten Cable TV.
Arnaud Verlhac, Deputy Director Worldwide Distribution, said: “I am very happy about our launch on Haiti, which was devastated by the earthquake in 2010, and even more excited to go into partnership with NUtv who provides leading edge technology and thus a new television service, revolutionary for Haiti. On July 1st, Euronews was also launched in Saint Martin, these two new Caribbean agreements show again that the unique Euronews’ perspective on world news and the wide-ranging programmes produced by the journalists in different languages are major assets for the worldwide channel’s expansion.”
Euronews launched in Haiti by NUtv™
Euronews joins the new Haitian platform of satellite digital TV (DVB-S). From 1 July 2012, on the channel 736, Euronews in French is available via the Premium Offer on NTuv™ bundle.
The provider predicts 35,000 subscriber households in the first year and targets more than 100,000 households in year 3.
NUtv™ is a multimedia company dedicated to providing Haitians with diverse informative and educational content through wireless digital technology. Launching in July 2012, the company intends to fill the vacuum in television services in the country and will offer viewers in Haiti over 100 digital channels.
“NUtv™ is excited to be launching the Euronews channel in its effort to bring international perspectives and provide culturally diversified programming to its Haitian viewers,” said Patrice Turnier, CEO of NUtv™.”
Euronews launched in Saint Martin by St-Maarten Cable TV
On July 1st, Euronews was also launched on the cable network of Sint-Maarten, initially on the Dutch part of the island, then on the French side in the coming months.
St. Maarten Cable TV offers the English edition of Euronews to the subscribers of the Digital TV Total bundle.
1 July 2012
On 1 July His Excellency the Prime Minister Dr. Mawlay Weld Mohamed Al-Aghzaf inaugurated the Mauritanian bouquet broadcasting from Nouakchott platform for satellite broadcasting on Arabsat satellites (Badr – 5) , 26° degrees East , which was recently established in collaboration with Arabsat.
This is a significant step in the development of the infrastructure of TV satellite broadcast in Mauritania as governmental and private Mauritanian channels will be part of one bouquet which viewers in Mauritania and the Arab world will be able to watch on one frequency in all parts of the Middle East, North Africa and large parts of Europe and Asia.
Khalid bin Ahmed Balkheyour, President & CEO of Arabsat, said he hoped the cooperation with the Ministry of Telecommunications and with the Parliament in Mauritania would continue and further develop.
About ARABSAT
Founded in 1976 by the 21 member states of the Arab League, ARABSAT has been serving the growing needs of the Arab world for over 35 years. It carries over 450 TV FTA channels, 35HD channels, 4pay TV networks,. and 160 radio stations reaching tens of millions of homes in more than 100 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and way beyond around the world including an audience of over 170 million viewers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region alone tuned into ARABSAT’s video “hotspot” at 26º East.
Operating a growing fleet of satellites at the 26°East , 30.5°East, 34.5°East and 20ْ East positions of the geostationary orbit, ARABSAT is the only satellite operator in the MENA region offering the full spectrum of Broadcast, Telecommunications and Broadband services. This capacity will continue to expand with the launching of new satellites, making the ARABSAT satellite fleet the youngest in the region.
1 July 2012
New IPTV platform for international and thematic content in the United States launches with 16 Romanian channels; more international channels will be available soon
GlobeCast’s new IPTV platform, MyGlobeTV, made its commercial debut with today’s launch of 16 premium Romanian-language channels to U.S. viewers. MyGlobeTV is a television bouquet that brings international and thematic audiovisual content directly to subscribers in the Americas.
This full end-to-end solution provides broadcasters with not only the technical solution for reaching homes in the Americas, but also the necessary marketing and demographics research and support, as well other services including customer support and billing.
In the coming weeks and months, GlobeCast will expand the service beyond the initial Romanian offering, adding communities of channels targeted to different audience segments. GlobeCast is in discussions with broadcasters from around the world that wish to be a part of this exciting new platform.
Today, www.myglobetv.com opens its doors to allow interested viewers to sign up for the service. Currently, the solution uses a set-top box connected to the viewer’s existing broadband connection. By the end of 2012, however, GlobeCast expects to launch the application version of this product, allowing viewers to access the service from any Internet-enabled device, such as a smartphone, tablets, or PC, with or without the use of equipment.
“We unveiled MyGlobeTV at the 2012 NAB Show in April, and we’re very happy now to launch the initial group of channels to the public,” said Emma Brackett, Vice President of Consumer Video Products and Services at GlobeCast. “Broadcasters from around the world now have an additional means of distribution in the world’s largest media market. With MyGlobeTV, they can develop new revenue streams and expand their viewer base by reaching markets not easily accessed via DTH satellite. We will continue to develop the service by adding more channels from around the world that include content from many different genres, such as science, music, history, drama, faith, and culture.”
27 June 2012
The 2012 AIBs – open for entry
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Content from all over the world is arriving at AIB headquarters for this year’s AIBs – the international media excellence awards. The AIBs celebrate the best in factual programming across TV, radio and online broadcasting, as well as on-air talent and the most innovative production technology. Find out more about the 2012 AIBs at theaibs.tv, or download the entry book here.
Please note: The closing date has been extended to 16 July.
