20 April 2004
BBC Technology, provider of products and services to global media-driven organizations, has signed a new contract with Discovery Networks International to provide high-bandwidth streamed programme content to Discovery Channel website users via BBC Technology’s dedicated broadband service in international markets outside the United States. Under the terms of the agreement, BBC Technologys Internet Solutions team will encode programmes onto a digital platform and
provide content hosting and streaming, thereby laying the foundation for future multi-channel content delivery of Discovery networks family of 10 international channels.
“In this new, multi-platform world we live in, its vital that we can provide our audiences with content in whatever format they want it, wherever and whenever they want,” said Tanya Field, vice president, new media, Discovery Networks International. “BBC Technology will help us make the most of our content by optimizing accessibility of programme material as well as the audiences’ experience of it. In addition, we will be able to
create new revenue opportunities by offering fresh and compelling forms of
interaction with our programming.”
The implementation utilizes several elements of BBC Technology’s Internet Solutions portfolio, including: content encoding, digital rights management capabilities and intelligent network delivery.
20 April 2004
At NAB, Panasonic Broadcast Europe was able to announce growing support and commitment by a number of key European broadcasters for Panasonics DVCPRO P2 memory card technology and ING, the tapeless IT news gathering system.
RFO in France, Réseau France Outre-mer, the French public broadcaster with responsibility for serving French territories round the world has decided to use Panasonics P2 solid state technology. RFO was one of the first European broadcasters to adopt DVCPRO technology in the late 1990s. Sogecable, Spain’s leading pay television group and a major European media organisation, is studying the adoption of P2 technology for a future replacement of its ENG DVCPRO equipment. DVCPRO equipment is widely used across Sogecable media organisations including Canal+,CNN+, and Canal Satélite Digital. ZDF in Germany will be purchasing P2 to fully evaluate the technology. ZDF is a major user of DVCPRO equipment. Danish Broadcast , a major user of DVCPRO equipment announced that it would also be purchasing a first set of P2 units to fully evaluate the technology. Swedish Television (SVT) which purchased 72 DVCPRO50 camcorders in the autumn of 2003 for its news operations announced at the time that the purchase decision was strongly influenced by developments on P2, which it was closely monitoring.
Panasonic has also been working closely with a number of other key European broadcasters, which form part of the global P2 Partners Programme to help in the development of the technology and products. The broadcasters involved include: TF1 in France, ZDF and MDR in Germany, the Sogecable Group (including CNN+ and Canal+) in Spain and ITN, BBC and Reuters in the UK.
20 April 2004
Quantel and Harris Corporation’s Broadcast Communication Division announced that the two companies are working together to ensure complete compatibility between Quantel’s generationQ integrated digital newsroom environment and Harris Automation Solutions playout and control automation systems.
Utilising the industry-standard CORBA interface (Common Object Request Broker Architecture), Harris software engineers have written the necessary code allowing Harris Corp’s feature-rich ADC series to control Quantel’s ISA servers and beta testing is currently underway. The first customer for the new system will be SZM Berlin in Germany, but there has already been considerable interest from other broadcasters, particularly in North America.
“We are delighted to bring our systems together in this way,” comments Quantel Marketing Director, Nigel Turner. “generationQ has already taken server-based production beyond the traditional confines of the newsroom and into the close-to-air production of promos, trails and other productions more usually associated with pure playout systems. Quantel’s new relationship with Harris Automation Solutions, a market leader in the network playout, can only help to further these developments.”
“With the two systems, broadcasters now have the capability of accessing a facility’s automation system directly from the newsroom,” added Brian Lay, Harris Automation Solutions product marketing director.
20 April 2004
A deal has been finalised enabling bilingual Arab and English portal Ajeeb.com to display headlines and news summaries from the BBC’s English and Arabic websites, bbcnews.com and bbcarabic.com.
Ajeeb.com will give priority to the BBC’s news websites amongst all news sources recommended to its visitors and to the users of Johaina, the portal’s automated news monitoring service which collects and categorises online news headlines and summaries in navigable directories around the clock.
Fahad Al Sharekh, Business Development Director of Ajeeb.com, said: “By forging a deal with the BBC, the world’s largest newsgathering operation and the most trustworthy and reputable news source, we are sending a message to all Arab-speakers, particularly those working in international media.” Mr Al Sharekh added that the collaboration with the bbcarabic.com represents an ideal step towards developing mutually beneficial business relationships on the internet. “It sets an example of what can be achieved through co-operative efforts of web portals that truly care about Arab users and improves the services we offer them,” he said.
16 April 2004
Max Uechtritz, Executive Director of News and Current Affairs at ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, is to join commercial broadcaster Nine Network.
The ABC’s Managing Director, Russell Balding, said that he had accepted Max Uechtritz’s resignation with much regret.
“Max has served the national broadcaster with great distinction over the past 18 years, both as a correspondent and more recently as an Executive Director.
“Throughout his outstanding career at the ABC, Max has upheld the highest traditions and unmatched reputation of the Corporation’s news and current affairs reporting.
“His commitment and contribution to public broadcasting and his leadership of the News & Current Affairs Division will be greatly missed.”
Uechtritz said that it had been a great privilege to have been a part of the ABC’s news and current affairs team.
“I will always look back to my years at the ABC with great pride and a sense of real achievement. I would like to pay tribute to Russell Balding for his personal and professional support and encouragement, and also to my News & Current Affairs colleagues for their loyalty and dedication.
“The ABC’s reputation for delivering news and current affairs programmes of quality and relevance to Australian and international audiences has never been higher.
Max Uechtritz has been at the ABC since 1986. Prior to his appointment as Executive Director of the News & Current Affairs Division in 2000, he had served in a number of positions within the Corporation, both in Australia and overseas.
14 April 2004
The AIB Global Media Business Conference – taking place in Prague on 12 and 13 May 2004 – offers a limited number of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities.
Download the sponsorship pack
here, and contact Anver Anderson to discuss the opportunities for your company to raise its brand profile.
