9 June 2012
Eurosport is to make its popular mobile streaming app available to Android users for the first time today, and has signed Samsung as exclusive launch partner.
Sports fans with Android devices across Europe* will be able to download the Eurosport Player app, to access live simulcasts of both Eurosport and Eurosport 2 TV channels.
Customers will be able to watch the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as live cycling from the Tour de France, motorsports, football, snooker, wintersports and live tennis action from US Open tennis Grand Slam.
The arrival on the Android platform is also expected to open up new audiences for Eurosport’s commercial clients.
As part of the Android launch initiative Samsung customers who purchase a GALAXY SIII will receive a month long promotional subscription to the Player app to experience Eurosport’s comprehensive London 2012 Olympic Games coverage. (1 month promotional period begins on July 14th for 30 days until August 12th) Customers can learn more about this offer by visiting Galaxys3.eurosportplayer.com.
Samsung, which is a Worldwide Olympic Partner, is also extending its promotion with Eurosport during the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Viewers can win Samsung GALAXY SIII’s by answering questions posed on Eurosport’s daily Olympic TV show “Together to London” via the Londonbuzz.Eurosport.com digital hub and use the online site to interact with athlete guests on-air.
Laurent Eric Le Lay, Eurosport Chairman & CEO, said: “The Eurosport Player app demonstrates how we are putting mobile at the core of our online development. We have received positive feedback from sports fans who have downloaded the app and are delighted to be able to now make our unrivalled content available to Android users. Eurosport continues to attract strong audiences across all its available screens, TV, PC, mobile and tablet and with such an exciting summer of sport ahead we are able to help fans follow the action wherever they are.”
Young Hee Lee, SVP and head of global marketing at mobile communications business said, “We are excited to be taking part in London 2012 Olympic Games and partner with Eurosport to promote the new GALAXY SIII to sports fans. I hope our customers will enjoy the mobile experiences Samsung is providing via the Eurosport Player app.”
The Eurosport Player app for Android is available for download today, on the Google Play app market https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eurosport&hl=en via a monthly pass costing 5.90 euros, or on Samsung Apps for GALAXY SIII users http://www.samsungapps.com/topApps/topAppsDetail.as?categoryId=G000016428&productId=G00007114287.
A Eurosport Player app is already available on the iOS operating system. The Player is also on PCs, and offers additional exclusive content and access to VoD.
All Player app versions are available at http://www.eurosportplayer.com/
9 June 2012
International news network RT has garnered four nominations for the most prestigious award in television design and marketing, the Promax/BDA Global Excellence Awards 2012.
Two of RT’s nominations are for excellence in Promotion Marketing: Noticias No Tienen Fronteras in the News/Information Program Campaign category, and Occupy W@ll Street Application (for Facebook) in the Interactive Media: Online/Interactive Games/Immerging Platforms category.
RT is also a finalist in the Design competition: promotional video for RT Spanish YouTube page is nominated in the Website Promotion – Video-Based category, and RT’s Sport News under Sports: Open/Titles.
In its nominated categories RT is competing against such prominent media outlets as CNN, Fox International Channels, Fox Sports Marketing, Turner Broadcasting System, Universal Networks International, Warner Bros. Television Marketing and NBC Sports Agency and Al Jazeera English. The award winners will be honored at the Promax/BDA: The Conference, which will take place inLos Angeleson June 12-14, 2012.
RT’s outstanding work has been repeatedly recognized by Promax/BDA. RT’s QUESTION MORE promotion campaign has won two gold awards in 2010, alongside another gold (for RT Prime Time) and bronze awards. Also in 2010, RT Spanish won six awards in the Promax/BDA Latin America competition. In 2008 the channel won the Gold Award in the Promotional Items category.
Promax/BDA is recognized as the industry standard for excellence in television marketing, advertisement and design. The contest is run annually for the best work submitted by the world’s leading TV channels.
RT is a global international news network that broadcasts in English, Arabic and Spanish from its studios inMoscowandWashington,DC, and is available to 530 million viewers worldwide. RT became the first TV news channel in the world to pass 700 million views on YouTube. In 2010, RT became the first ever Russian channel to garner a nomination for the prestigious Emmy International Award, in the News category. RT streams online at RT.com.
8 June 2012
Samsung Electronics and RTE Digital have released a free connected TV app that will allow Smart TV users to access content from the national broadcaster dirct on their Internet-connected TVs. The new offering adds to RTE’s existing online presence with its desktop RTE Player service, apps on Android and iOS, and PlayStation 3.
The agreement gives Samsung Smart TV users to access a selection of RTE’s flagship programmes such as Fair City, Home and Away, Saturday Night with Miriam, Father Ted, and coverage of GAA matches.
Brendan Carr, product marketing manager, Samsung Ireland said: “RTÉ Player is the latest addition to our ever growing library of great TV Apps, and further demonstrates our leadership in the Smart TV category. Catch up TV services are one of the leading drivers of Smart TV usage, so RTÉ Player will be a real added value benefit for Samsung Smart TV owners.”
“RTEs strategy is to be available wherever and whenever our audience wants,” said Aisling McCabe, director of strategic platforms and partnerships, RTE Digital. “We’re excited to partner with Samsung on our entry into the Smart TV market. Audience engagement, interaction and satisfaction is our primary focus. Our catch up service puts the viewer firmly in control, allowing them to view RTE content whenever they want. Marrying quality content with best-in-class products such as the Samsung Smart TV and the RTE Player App will provide an enhanced user experience that will allow the audience greater choice than ever before.”
RTE Player will join YouTube, Netflix, Muzu.tv, Facebook and Twitter on the Smart TV platform.
(Source: www.techcentral.ie)
8 June 2012
Members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors praised top officials of the Czech Republic, the headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, for their country’s long-term support for U.S. international broadcasting, a key instrument of U.S. foreign policy.
While in Prague for a board meeting, Dennis Mulhaupt, Michael Meehan and Victor Ashe conferred with Czech President Vaclav Klaus and First Deputy Foreign Minister Jiri Schneider. U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norm Eisen, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President Steven Korn, and IBB Director Richard M. Lobo participated in the discussions.
The Board observed that the Czech government has been a stalwart supporter of RFE/RL, which moved its headquarters to Prague from Munich in 1995 with the help of the late playwright, activist and former Czech President Vaclav Havel.
“The mission of U.S. international broadcasting is as relevant as ever, and Czech support is essential,” said Mulhaupt, the Board’s alternate presiding governor, who chairs the board of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “We could not imagine more hospitable, dedicated and supportive hosts, and we look forward to an even more rewarding relationship in the future.”
During their meetings, BBG members and the Czech officials discussed ways to engage audiences in countries of strategic importance that are served by RFE/RL, such as Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The governors also expressed their appreciation to the Czech Foreign Ministry for supporting RFE/RL operations in Belarus, and for its willingness to speak out about cases of intimidation and harassment of BBG journalists.
The Foreign Ministry also has enthusiastically supported the Vaclav Havel Journalism Fellowships at RFE/RL, created to honor the legacy of Havel, who passed away in December at 75.
Recently, RFE/RL renewed its long-term commitment to a presence in the Czech Republic by renegotiating a lease agreement with the new owners of the Prague building where it has been headquartered since 2009.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency supervising all U.S. government-supported, civilian international broadcasting, whose mission is inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. BBG broadcasts reach an audience of 187 million in 100 countries. BBG networks include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Martí).
7 June 2012
Fanatix, the leading social platform for sports, has launched a brand new iPhone app for Euro 2012. The new app will be available to the 120,000 fanatix users who have already registered for the service and to new users who visit the iTunes AppStore.
fanatix v2.0 is a fun new way to follow sports with friends and other fans. The innovative service prompts fans to check into live sports events where they can find out which friends are following the action and unlock extra fanatix features. New developments on v2.0 include an intuitive gesture-driven interface, score alerts from all of this summer’s major sports events (Euro 2012, MLB, AFL and International Cricket) and a points reward system.
Points are awarded to fans and their friends when they check in to follow games. Collecting points earns prizes such as tickets to big games or 3D TVs. To kick-off the new service, the prize for June’s top player will be two tickets to any game anywhere in the world and, as if that wasn’t enough, there will also be a special prize for checking in to England’s first game of Euro 2012.
The new app is housed on the fanatix social platform, which provides discovery and communication tools for users so they can find other fans watching the same game and talk to them, either privately in groups or publicly via the fanatix integrated Twitter client.
(Source: Appmarket TV)
6 June 2012
In the latest attack on a journalist in Belarus, police and security agents assaulted and interrogated RFE/RL correspondent Ina Studzinskaja while she was reporting on an opposition meeting outside of Minsk.
Studzinskaja, a free-lancer with RFE/RL’s Belarusian Service, Radio Svaboda, was detained by police and security agents for three hours on May 31 while on assignment in Svetlahorsk to cover a meeting of opposition activists and local residents.
According to Studzinskaja, police Maj. Jauhen Valentsinovich Klepik grabbed and twisted her arm to prevent her from using her mobile phone to call in a live report for the service’s afternoon broadcast. Studzinskaja was then taken to a local police station and interrogated, although no charges were brought against her. Upon her release, she reported the assault in a broadcast that evening.
Studzinskaja filed a complaint against Klepik for “rude behavior” and interference with her journalistic duties. Other agencies, including BelaPAN, , and Charter 97, also reported on activists being manhandled by Klepik during detention.
“We condemn the brutal and continued harassment of our journalists in Belarus,” said RFE/RL President Steven W. Korn. “This most recent incident displays the importance of media organizations to shine a light on these abuses and to defend the rights of journalists who are targeted by authorities for simply doing their jobs.”
Radio Svaboda reporters are often harassed by Belarusian security agencies while covering events. Several correspondents were detained last summer while reporting on the “silent protests” that swept throughout the country. The service’s website was also hit with a cyber attack that for a short period affected its ability to distribute coverage of the protests.
