BBC Studios and MBC STUDIOS announce “Al Maktab”, the first Arabic-language version of award-winning comedy, “The Office”

31 May 2022

BBC Studios and MBC STUDIOS announce “Al Maktab”, the first Arabic-language version of award-winning comedy, “The Office”

BBC Studios and MBC STUDIOS – the in-house premium content production arm of MBC GROUP – the largest and leading media company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have announced a new scripted format agreement that will see the BAFTA and Golden Globe award-winning comedy series, “The Office” remade for audiences across the Arab world.

Titled “Al Maktab”, the Saudi-led version of the comedy will be produced by MBC STUDIOS, with support from the BBC Studios international production team who have licensed the format.

Scheduled to begin filming this June (2022), the Arabic-language series is to be directed by renowned Egyptian filmmaker Hisham Fathi, with Alessandro Martella as director of photography (DoP) and AFLAM Productions’ Shadi Mcdad as producer.

André Renaud, SVP Format Sales for BBC Studios said: “Although office working may look slightly different for many of us in 2022, the familiarity of these well-observed characters as they navigate petty rivalries, moments of friendship and humour, and a boss that sometimes makes a fool of themselves still rings just as true. I’m sure audiences in the Middle East and the Gulf will take Malik and his team to their hearts as much as audiences did with David Brent in the UK over twenty years ago”.

“Audiences around the world, including in the MENA region, are no strangers to ‘The Office’, and given its huge success over the past two decades, it’s incredibly exciting for us to now be bringing the very first Arabic version of the comedy to MBC’s screens very soon,” said Zeinab Abul Alsamh – General Manager of MBC STUDIOS KSA. “’Al Maktab’ features a very talented cast from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and beyond who will bring the stories of this eccentric group of colleagues and their boss to life, reimagined for Middle Eastern and Gulf audiences for the very first time. It’s definitely one for the history books!”

A fly-on-the-wall style mocumentary, the original version of “The Office” was written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and first aired in the UK over 20 years ago. The agreement with MBC STUDIOS and BBC Studios will mark the 12^th international sale of the format, alongside other territories including the US, Canada, Chile, France, India and most recently in Poland.

In the Saudi adaptation, “Al Maktab” is set in a courier services company, with the main character played by Saleh Abuamrh. He plays Malik Al-Tuwaifi, the self-absorbed yet loveable boss.

Also joining the cast are Fahad Albutairi, Nawaf Alshobaili, Saad Aziz, Adhwa Fahad, Razan Mansour, Reem Busati, Hisham Hawsawi, and others.

The twenty-part series will broadcast on MBC’s TV channels, and stream via Shahid VIP – the world’s leading Arabic streaming platform – later this year.

[Source: MBC press release]

NHK WORLD Japan Monthly Focus – June

31 May 2022

NHK WORLD Japan Monthly Focus – June

SHOHEI OHTANI: A Baseball Virtuoso

NHK has followed baseball sensation Shohei Ohtani closely since his 2018 Major League debut. We look at Ohtani’s ability to both pitch and bat at the highest level. We hear from those who have supported him on and off the field and examine the importance of his father’s training regime. Join us behind the scenes at such pivotal points as Ohtani’s battle to recover from elbow surgery and reclaim his place as a baseball virtuoso like no other.

June 12 Sun.

0:10 / 6:10 / 12:10 / 18:10

Digital Eye #01

Ukraine, How Satellites Changed the War

The first episode of our new flagship program Digital Eye focuses on Ukraine. Satellite imagery has helped reveal Russian troop movements and the destruction and humanitarian crisis left in their wake. We look at the way experts and ordinary people sift through such images and other data as part of open-source intelligence efforts. We also examine how smartphones record things on the ground and images and information are spread around the world via communication satellites.

June 18 Sat.

0:10 / 6:10 / 12:10 / 18:10

J-MELO

Japan’s exciting music scene! Pop, rock, traditional and more! Live performances, artist interviews, plus all the latest news!

Sundays

15:10 / 20:10 / 3:30 / 9:30　　

DESIGN TALKS plus

What is good design? And what is its power? From traditional to cutting edge, we explore Japanese designs that are literally shaping our lives.

Thursdays

1:30 / 6:30 / 12:30 / 17:30 / 22:30

[Source: NHK WORLD press release]

DW Global Media Forum 2022 kicks off in Bonn on June 20

31 May 2022

DW Global Media Forum 2022 kicks off in Bonn on June 20

More than 100 experts from all over the world will be “shaping the future of journalism in times of crisis and war” at the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum 2022. DW’s annual media convention will open its doors from June 20 to 21 at the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB) in Bonn, Germany and bring together global leaders as well as professionals from media, government, technology, and civil society.

Among those who will tackle global media challenges and advance solutions for resilient societies are Nobel Peace laureate Maria Ressa from the Philippines, German Minister of State for Culture and Media Claudia Roth, Ukrainian journalist Angelina Kariakina, Brazilian investigative journalist Patricia Toledo de Campos Mello.

Taiwan’s Digital Minister Audrey Tang, Lutz Güllner, Head of Strategic Communications and Information Analysis European External Action Service, as well as Head of News Partnerships for Central Europe at Meta, Guido Bülow, will discuss the current role of technology in media and civil societies. Editors-in-chief from leading news outlets as well as scholars and media professionals from newspapers such as the Guardian and Süddeutsche Zeitung or broadcasters such as WDR, NDR and DW will share their extensive knowledge of the challenges and opportunities for journalism.

A list of confirmed speakers can be found here.

Discussion topics range from climate crisis and digital activism to war and pandemic journalism. Artificial Intelligence, fact-checking, political agenda-setting and representation in media also take center stage. The start-up contest @GMF focusses on new tech designed to foster resilient journalism and civil societies in times of rapid change. Start-ups, entrepreneurs and talent in media technology and innovation will showcase their work as a central feature of the DW Global Media Forum.

Learn more about the program and view sessions here.

Against a backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the GMF will spotlight the challenges of reporting from the front lines by hosting award-winning war correspondents who covered stories first-hand from war zones in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and beyond. Journalists from Germany, Ukraine and Russia, such as Paul Ronzheimer, Angelina Kariakina, Tetiana Kyselchuk, Mikhail Zygar and Maria Makeeva will share how they cope with reporting on the war.

Participants will also join DW in honoring Ukrainian AP journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka with its Freedom of Speech Award in recognition of their courageous reporting from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. The award ceremony will be co-hosted by Jodie Ginsberg, president of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Ensaf Haidar, Saudi-Canadian human rights activist and president of the Raif Badawi Foundation for Freedom.

Learn more about the Freedom of Speech Award here.

The annual meeting will also bring together younger generations of journalists, with a tribute to the honorees of the ARD.ZDF Media Academy’s “Women and Media Technology” award comprising successful female graduates from German, Austrian and Swiss universities in the fields of technology, engineering, and media studies.

About GMF

The DW Global Media Forum offers a unique interdisciplinary platform for media professionals as well as decision-makers from politics, civil society, culture, education, business, and science from all over the world to get together and to learn from each other as part of an intercultural exchange since 2008. The Global Media Forum is sponsored by the German Federal Foreign Office, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Stiftung Internationale Begegnung der Sparkasse in Bonn, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the City of Bonn.

[Source: DW]

NZ government boosts RNZ Pacific capabilities

27 May 2022

NZ government boosts RNZ Pacific capabilities

New Zealand’s government has announced an NZ$4.4 million capital grant for RNZ Pacific

The grant is to provide capital funding for a new shortwave transmitter for New Zealand’s international broadcasts to the Pacific. RNZ Chief Executive and Editor-in-Chief Paul Thompson has welcomed the budget investment in RNZ Pacific shortwave transmitters.

RNZ Pacific broadcasts into the wider Pacific on shortwave 24 hours a day, collaborating with 22 broadcasting partners across the region. Its current primary transmitter is nearing end of life, and its other transmitter has in effect already been retired (it is mothballed, for use in the event of the failure of the main transmitter).

“The value of the RNZ Pacific service can’t be underestimated. Our voice reaches all parts of the Pacific, at times with critical information such as cyclone warnings. During the Tonga eruption, when the undersea cable was cut, RNZ Pacific short wave was a lifeline source of information,” said Thompson.

This investment secures a productive future for our unique voice. The attraction of the shortwave service is its robustness, and the ability to have the signal travel great distances, and achieve good audiences,” he said.

RNZ Pacific broadcasts enhance the Government’s Pacific strategy as we share our history, culture, politics and demographics. The strategy is underpinned by the building of deeper, more mature partnerships with Pacific Island countries, and by supporting their independence and sustainable social and economic resilience.

Since the ABC ceased its shortwave broadcasting the only other shortwave broadcaster in the region is China Radio International. Thompson says RNZ can now start work on its infrastructure development with a new transmitter likely to take approximately 12 months to get in place, subject to further project planning.

The current primary transmitter is a 100kW DRM-capable shortwave transmitter, operating from the Rangitaiki transmitting station on New Zealand’s North Island (176 25’ 47.02” E 38 50’ 33.35” S). The transmitter, manufactured by Thomson Broadcast, was installed in 2005. The site is fed by a digital link from the Wellington headquarters of RNZ, 400km south of the transmitting site. The site has antennae manufactured by TCI. Read more at https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/technical.

BBC to drop and combine channels, focus on digital future

26 May 2022

BBC to drop and combine channels, focus on digital future

The BBC has set out the blueprint to build a digital-first public service media organisation.

In a speech to staff on Thursday 26 May 2022, Director-General Tim Davie said the BBC must reform to stay relevant and continue to provide great value for all.

This will include changes to content and services, efficiency savings and a drive to seek new commercial investment, as the BBC manages the demands of the licence fee settlement (every UK household owning a TV set and watching live broadcasts must hold a TV licence) and looks to the future.

The broadcaster will adapt to compete and succeed in a busy, global market, while staying faithful to the values that have underpinned it for a century.

It will change in step with the modern world, giving audiences the content they want and delivering it to them in the ways they want it.

The plan focuses on creating a modern, digital-led and streamlined organisation that drives the most value from the licence fee and delivers more for audiences.

This first phase represents £500m of annual savings and reinvestment to make the BBC digital-led.

As part of this, £200m will contribute to the £285m annual funding gap by 2027/28, created by the licence fee settlement earlier this year. The remaining funding gap will be covered in the final three years of this Charter period, which is consistent with previous savings programmes.

The BBC will also reinvest £300m to drive a digital-first approach, through changes to content and output and additional commercial income. This includes:

Shifting significant amounts of money into new programmes for iPlayer which will also attract extra third-party investment on screen
Shifting resources in local output towards digital, while keeping spend flat
Making savings in broadcast news, reinvesting that in video and digital news
Investing up to £50m a year in product development.

Overall, there will be up to 1,000 fewer people employed in the public-funded part of the BBC over the next few years.

Detailed plans and budgets will be set out as normal in future Annual Plans and Annual Reports and Accounts.

Director-General Tim Davie told staff: “When I took this job I said that we needed to fight for something important: public service content and services, freely available universally, for the good of all.

“This fight is intensifying, the stakes are high.”

Examples of future changes announced today include:

The creation of a single, 24-hour TV news channel serving UK and international audiences, called BBC News, offering greater amounts of shared content, but maintaining the ability to offer separate broadcasts depending on what’s happening at home and abroad;
Plans to stop broadcasting smaller linear channels, such as CBBC and BBC Four and Radio 4 Extra, after the next few years;
Ongoing work to strip out any unnecessary bureaucracy, reduce running costs and simplify ways of working to free up time;
Plans to stop scheduling separate content for Radio 4 Long Wave, consulting with partners, including the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, ahead of the closure of the Long Wave platform itself;
Shifting a number of World Service languages to be digital only;
An ambition to reach 75% of BBC viewers through iPlayer each week;
Reviewing commercial options for audio production;
New on-demand content and formats for news and current affairs;
Requesting Ofcom to remove regulatory restrictions on iPlayer to expand boxsets and archive content;
Bigger investment in programming from the nations and regions across the UK;
Investment in an enhanced news and current affairs offer for iPlayer and Sounds, with new video formats, simulcasts and podcasts;
Changes in local radio and regional news to ensure high-quality, distinctive BBC local journalism is available every day when and where audiences want it;
Plans to accelerate digital growth in audio and drive listeners to BBC Sounds, simplifying schedules and cancelling shows that do not deliver;
Further investment in data to ensure comprehensive, real-time data that supports growth of digital products and services.

Speaking to staff, Mr Davie said: “This is our moment to build a digital-first BBC. Something genuinely new, a Reithian organisation for the digital age, a positive force for the UK and the world.

“Independent, impartial, constantly innovating and serving all. A fresh, new, global digital media organisation which has never been seen before.

“Driven by the desire to make life and society better for our licence fee payers and customers in every corner of the UK and beyond. They want us to keep the BBC relevant and fight for something that in 2022 is more important than ever.

“To do that we need to evolve faster and embrace the huge shifts in the market around us.”

Work will start immediately, with further details to be announced in the coming months, including consultations with staff.

Mr Davie added: “I believe in a public service BBC for all, properly funded, relevant for everyone, universally available, and growing in the on-demand age. This plan sets us on that journey.”

Media intelligence served to AIB Members

26 May 2022

Media intelligence served to AIB Members

The AIB Secretariat has released the latest member-exclusive media intelligence briefing.

These briefings provide AIB member companies with insight into developments, opportunities and threats in media markets globally. They also analyse trends in the media industry to help members’ strategic planning.

The May 2022 briefing looks at the changes underway in OTT streaming services, Facebook’s U-turn on audio and more.

The intelligence briefings are one of the range of benefits that AIB members receive. Full information on AIB membership is available from the Secretariat.