5 March 2010
RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd.,provider of comprehensive content management and global distribution services to the television and radio broadcasting industries, announced today that it has signed an agreement with ISG Media, one of the largest distribution companies for Indian movies and entertainment content in the Middle East. RRsat will provide fiber connectivity, playout and distribution for the first high definition Indian movie channel, for distribution to the Israeli market. RRsat and ISG Media are working together to offer the channel to other multichannel platforms in Europe and North America.
Bollywood film and television industry has grown tremendously in the past few years and it is now producing movies which are watched throughout the world and not just in India, commented Lior Rival, Vice President, Sales and Marketing of RRsat. By cementing ourselves as an enabler of global distribution for high definition Indian movies and content, we believe we can further penetrate this important market. We look forward to working with ISG Media in helping grow their Bollywood distribution franchise.
We are very pleased to be working with RRsat to distribute our Bollywood franchise. This enables us to focus on what we do best- that of sourcing the best Bollywood content for a global audience, while RRsat takes care of all the technical aspects of distribution, commented Shai S Sampson, VP Content and Marketing of ISG Media. Time and again, RRsat has proven their ability to distribute value-added content throughout the globe, and we look forward to growing and expanding our business with them over the coming years.
4 March 2010
GlobeCasts newly launched Content Acquisition and Distribution division has signed a VOD distribution deal with ZN Animation, one of Chinas biggest animation producers, as well as general and popular entertainment content from Shanghai Media Groups subsidiary, WingsMedia.
Under the deal, GlobeCast – the content management and delivery company and division of France Telecom, will help this top-notch content reach VOD viewers on DTH and pay-TV bouquets throughout Europe.
The contract was signed with Zhejiang Zhongnan Group Animation Video Co., Ltd. (ZN Animation) as represented by their worldwide distributor, CHINAnimax Pte Ltd in Singapore, and Shanghai Media Groups subsidiary WingsMedia.
ZN Animations popular programmes include Chinese animation hits such as RUBI, an educational and entertaining pre-school program, and Zheng Hes Voyages to the West Seas, the adventures of the great explorer, Admiral Zheng He, which won the 2009 Accolade Award of Excellence/TV/Animation and was nominated for Best Animation by The Asian TV Awards 2009.
WingsMedia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinas one of the biggest media groups, Shanghai Media Group (SMG). Among its hit shows are talkshow ChenChen All Star and hugely popular dramas such as Love Affairs and Burning Roses.
4 March 2010
For NAB 2010, Pharos will be demonstrating the latest version of its widely adopted Mediator broadcast workflow management platform which now includes its Playtime automation options within a highly integrated solution aimed at improving operational efficiency and driving down costs.
For its ninth year attending the event in Las Vegas, Pharos will show full integration of Playtime into Mediator 4, providing a functionally advanced broadcast automation system that helps broadcasters and service providers publish content for both traditional channels and new media. Mediator 4 now has the ability to separately manage presentation requirements and content independently based on schedule priority and media management workflows.
Additional enhancements to Mediator 4 include an advanced metadata system allowing information to be added as new delivery platforms such as On Demand, .com, podcasting and mobile are launched. Combined with detailed workflow analytics, ongoing system optimization and maintenance can finally keep pace with a constantly evolving business environment.
Over the course of NAB 2010, senior Pharos team members will be available to answer questions and conduct real-time demos exemplifying how its technology has helped international clients across 40 countries including HBO, MTV, Turner CNN, BBC World Service and Ascent Media.
As Glen Sakata, Senior VP, Pharos Americas; explains, The close integration between media asset management, workflow, playout and automation within our Mediator 4 platform is helping to reduce the complexity and costs associated with the repetition of the same tasks across multiple systems.
Pharos Mediator is built around the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) concept to aid speedy implementation and to provide flexibility for future products and services. Key elements such as the Mediator interface, device control, workflow and messaging are designed based on the best tools for the job and include Oracle, Java, Flash and key industry standards such as MXF and BXF.
Using a Service Oriented Architecture we provide a platform that is able to grow and adapt as our clients explore new business models, processes, delivery methods and content types. This agility is vital in a production and broadcast environment that is evolving rapidly and a key differentiator that defines Pharos as a true innovator within our industry. Sakata adds.
4 March 2010
Only better content will persuade listeners to buy digital radio receivers, the RadioAsia conference in New Delhi heard today.
The real challenge for the broadcaster is to motivate the listeners to replace their analogue receivers with digital receivers, R Narasimha Swamy of Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) said.
This can happen only if the created content be more imaginative, innovative and attractive.
On the third and final day of the conference, participants heard how digital radio technology was penetrating the Asia-Pacific region.
The Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner, said there were now more than 55 Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+) services on air in Australias five largest cities, covering nearly 60 percent of the population.
She said DAB+ radios could now be obtained at more than 600 retail shops.
The other technical standard gaining ground in the Asia-Pacific region is Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). The DRM consortium was founded in 1998 as a non-commercial entity promoting the adoption of the DRM standard around 100 members including broadcasters and manufacturers.
The conference heard that All India Radio was carrying out DRM shortwave transmissions from Khampur in Delhi on an experimental basis.
RadioAsia was jointly organised by the ABU, the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) and Singapore Exhibition Services.
2 March 2010
At the recent
North American Broadcasters Associations (NABA) Annual
General Meeting, John Harding was appointed the new Secretary
General of the organization. Mr. Harding has been serving as
NABAs Executive Director since August 2008 where he has
applied a unique set of skills, depth of knowledge and
organizational leadership that has served the Association well
during a time of great industry change.
Speaking on the new appointment, Leonardo Ramos, Director of High Technology
Televisa and President of NABA said “the NABA Board of Directors is very pleased
with this appointment of Mr. Harding as Secretary General. It recognizes the many
contributions he has made over the past 18 months to the Association, and our
confidence that he will continue to make an impact in his new and important position.
Mr. Ramos continued “Mr. Harding is a respected thoughtful leader recognized for
driving consensus, building relationships and managing change in rapidly shifting
environments.”
Prior to his involvement with NABA, Mr. Harding served in the broadcast industry as
President of the Radio Marketing Bureau and before that as Executive Vice President
of the Institute of Communications & Advertising.
Mr. Harding will continue to work out of NABAs headquarters in Toronto.
2 March 2010
In the latest recognition of the quality and independence of its editorial content, euronews has been named the best foreign news channel in Russia.
The “Big Digit” prize, the National Award in the sphere of multichannel digital TV, in the category: Foreign Television in Russia was given at the 12th edition of CSTB, Cable Satellite Television Broadcasting Exhibition on 3rd February, 2010. The idea being to promote digital broadcasting technology.
euronews is broadcasting in Russian since 2001. The channel is available 24-hours a day in nearly 6.5-million Russian homes via IPTV, cable, satellite and on Moscow’s Channel 25. euronews is also broadcast part-time on the Kultura channel to 27-million households.
