GlobeCast to acquire Pacific Century Matrix

10 June 2008

Combined expertise and facilities will offer international broadcasters a major gateway to and from Asia

Content management and delivery
company GlobeCast and Pacific Century Group have reached a conditional
agreement for the acquisition by GlobeCast Asia of Hong Kong-based
broadcast services company Pacific Century Matrix (HK) Limited (PCM).
When the transaction is complete, PCM will be renamed GlobeCast Hong
Kong – GlobeCast’s fifth office in Asia and 18th office worldwide. The
acquisition will give PCM clients access to the worldwide reach of GlobeCast,a full subsidiary of France Telecom, while retaining PCM’s expertise and personnel.

GlobeCast and PCM’s international roster of clients will benefit from the
companies’ combined resources, including two major technical hubs in
Singapore and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong teleport and MCR facility will also
be interconnected with GlobeCast’s 12 other teleports and technical
operations centres around the world, as well as with the company’s extensive
satellite and fibre content distribution network. The result will be an increased capacity to offer worldwide solutions for broadcasters coming to and from Asia.

GlobeCast Asia CEO, David Justin, said: “The addition of PCM to the Group
will serve to dramatically increase the growth that GlobeCast has already
been seeing in Asia for the past few years. PCM comes to us with a strong
reputation and invaluable expertise, not to mention a service offering and
culture that is very compatible with our own.”

Guenter Kring, PCM CEO added: “PCM is delighted to join the GlobeCast
Group. We see a huge potential for developing new and beneficial services
for our combined client base, while continuing to offer the same high-quality of service that our respective customers have come to expect.”
This 100% acquisition of PCM, founded in 1999, confirms GlobeCast’s
continued commitment to the Asian broadcast market. In the past five years alone, GlobeCast has made significant investment in Asia, adding three new offices (Beijing, Seoul and now Hong Kong) to its portfolio, creating important partnerships to expand facilities and services, and increasing its fibre interconnection and satellite capacity in the region.
Neither the terms of the agreement nor the transaction amount were disclosed.

Bloomberg joins Awards sponsors

9 June 2008

Bloomberg Television
is the latest company to become a sponsor of the 2008 AIB Media Excellence
Awards, joining graphics company
Vizrt who announced its sponsorship in April.

Bloomberg TV is sponsoring the “most innovative technology” Award category
that will celebrate the best production or distribution technology in
international broadcasting. As a major user of sophisticated production
technology in its global bureaux and production centres, Bloomberg TV knows how
important it is that the right technological solution is in place in the
broadcasting environment.

Vizrt is sponsoring the “most creative use of graphics” category. This new
Award will recognise the most creative use of dynamic graphics in TV
storytelling, particularly in news, sport and weather.

Full information about this year’s AIB Awards can be found in the microsite
at www.aibawards.com.
Download the Awards information pack

here.

To sponsor this year’s AIB Media Excellence Awards, contact Ollie Kirkman
on +44 (0) 1727 739 184. Ollie will be pleased to explain the benefits of being
associated with the major celebration of excellence in international TV, radio
and online which includes having your brand placed in front of 25,000 media
executives, journalists, producers, editors and technologists in media companies
worldwide.

The Channel Download Centre

5 June 2008

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Euronews goes pure

5 June 2008

At 1830GMT on 4 June, Euronews unveiled its new corporate identity and
on-screen look.

With media executives, advertisers, parliamentarians and regulators gathered
at two simultaneous parties in Paris and London, the new look was launched in a
count-down to the 1830GMT news bulletin – the first to use the brand new
Euronews logo.

The new look distinguishes the channel from its international news rivals in
being round – in fact, the new logo is a simple white circle, while the Euronews
name is in a brand new font, entirely in lower case. And the channel is now
marketing itself as "pure" – in other words, it’s pure news, uncomplicated by
correspondents’ reports and live two-ways.

AUTOCUE ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF CARTONI AS NEW ITALIAN DEALER

4 June 2008

Autocue, the leading provider of newsroom automation and teleprompting solutions, today announced the appointment of Cartoni SpA as its new exclusive distributor in Italy.

Based in Rome, Cartoni prides itself on 75 years of offering the state of the art in professional camera support, with innovative solutions and patented technologies to serve the professional market.

Elisabetta Cartoni, General Manager said, “The Autocue range of teleprompters is highly regarded in Italy, and it is a pleasure to offer this extended range of solutions to our customers. Our products are often naturally used together and this will give our customers the opportunity to buy a complete solution from one place.”

“I’m delighted to continue growing our relationship with Cartoni” said Frank Hyman, Autocue CEO. “We have worked together on a strategic level for some time, and this relationship, coupled with their dominant position in the Italian camera support market, makes it a fantastic opportunity for both organisations to grow sales in the region.”

The agreement with Autocue covers Italy and includes the entire range of Autocue products, from the entry-level “Starter” range through to high-end prompting represented by the “Professional” and “Master” ranges.

RNTC 40 years of media and development

3 June 2008

Radio Netherlands Training Centre (RNTC), Radio Netherlands Worldwide’s centre of expertise on media, education and development, is marking its 40th anniversary with the international conference, Media and Development. RNTC will join forces with domestic and international colleagues to discuss the future role of the media in developing countries and the contribution to be made by international organisations.

Those taking part in the conference will include representatives of the Dutch foreign ministry, UNDP, the BBC World Service Trust, Deutsche Welle Akademie and Internews. Partners and former students of RNTC, now occupying senior positions in media organisations in the developing world, will also be attending.

RNTC’s general manager, Lem van Eupen, expects the conference to come up with new insights. “We’re continually aware of the great need of media organisations in developing countries to improve their capabilities through training, advice and co-operation. Naturally, what’s required has changed dramatically over the past 40 years, just as has the context in which those requirements exist. How can the international community deal with this need? That’s what we’ll be discussing with the various interested parties in the fields of media, education and development.”

RNTC was set up in 1968 by institutions including Radio Netherlands Worldwide and the Dutch foreign ministry as a centre for international education. Its goal is to provide training for media professionals from the developing world and strengthen media organisations in situ abroad. Since its foundation, RNTC has provided training to many tens of thousands of media professionals from developing countries.

“RNTC’s method of work is tailored to demand. We work pragmatically and aim for sustainable results. Recently published client satisfaction research shows our work is given over nine out of ten by media organisations and programme makers. It goes without saying that we’re very happy with that result”, says Ms van Eupen.