8 May 2012
UK based talkSPORT, the world’s biggest sport radio station, has announced plans for its expansion into Asia at Radio Asia 2012 in Jakarta. talkSPORT director of strategy Jimmy Buckland said that the station team is aiming to work collaboratively with Asia’s leading radio broadcasters to deliver the brand to sports fanatics across the continent.
The announcement follows talkSPORT’s recent agreement to become the official Global Audio Partner of the Barclays Premier League for the next four football seasons (2012/13 – 2015/16). The deal grants talkSPORT an exclusive package of audio rights outside Europe for the next four seasons, with internet users across Asia gaining access to an innovative new service from August 2012, offering commentary on all 380 Barclays Premier League games in English, Spanish and Mandarin.
talkSPORT said it wants to work with local partners to launch its new 24 hour sports FM radio services in key markets which include Jakarta, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand initially, followed by India and the Philippines, with further services becoming available in markets in China and India.
According to research, 56 per cent of the population of Indonesia express an interest in the Barclays Premier League, with 70 per cent expressing an interest in badminton, yet the country currently lacks a dedicated sports station. A similar picture emerges elsewhere in Asia.
Launched in 2000, talkSPORT is the world’s largest dedicated sports radio station with an audience of more than 3.2 million adults in the UK and was named UK Radio Station of the Year at the 2011 Sony Radio Academy Awards. talkSPORT is part of UTV Media plc, which is one of the UK and Ireland’s leading media groups which also publishes Sport, the most widely read! print and digital sports publication in the UK.
Jimmy Buckland, director of strategy, talkSPORT said: “Asia’s passion for sport and dynamic radio industry makes it the perfect market to replicate talkSPORT’s success in the UK. We are excited about the opportunity to work with partners in Indonesia and across Asia to realize this ambition and look forward to announcing our first new FM radio service showcasing the best of local and international sport.”
Scott Taunton, chief executive, talkSPORT said: “Our expansion into Asia builds on the significant progress the station has made in the UK in establishing itself as the world’s largest sports radio station. Our recent agreement with the Barclays Premier League to become its global audio partner provides the perfect platform for this next stage in our development as we seek to forge a range of exciting partnerships with some of Asia’s leading radio broadcasters.”
4 April 2012
German media regulator BLM has told satellite operator to cease carrying Tehran-based news channel Press TV.
The move was expected after the channel lost its UK broadcasting licence in January 2012. Under European broadcasting legislation, a channel with a valid licence in one EU Member State can be uplinked from, or distributed in, any Member State. However, if a channel does not hold a licence in a Member State, it is not authorised to by carried on services based in an EU country.
The Astra Press TV service on the 19.2E satellite was switched off on 3 April.
Press TV remains accessible via its web streaming service.
4 April 2012
With this new contract, the international news channel, euronews, will be available for the first time in Mongolia on the national television channel MNB. MNB, the country’s #1 channel, reaches 90% of the population via Apstar satellite, i.e. 1.8 million viewers with direct reception. In terms of market share, 53% of viewers watch MNB during prime time.
Since April 1st, 2012, MNB broadcasts euronews’ six daily news slots, i.e. two hours per week. After its national news bulletin, MNB will offer its viewers a window to the international news and economic affairs via euronews news and business bulletins. business offers analysis and a summary of international business, economic and financial news. In conjunction with euronews’ editorial team in Lyon, MNB will dub the channel’s programmes in Mongolian.
Michael Peters, CEO of euronews said: “I sincerely thank the Mongolian broadcasting company for their enthusiasm to work with us and to offer our channel to their viewers. This new partnership confirms the rich and independent nature of euronews’ editorial line as well as its appeal outside European borders. This agreement with MNB also provides new exposure in this part of the world between Russia and China. euronews is now broadcast in 11 countries in Asia i.e. to 7 million homes across Asia.”
4 April 2012
GlobeCast has provided videography, production, and creative services for the Men’s Health Urbanathlon 2012, a one-of-a-kind obstacle race organised by SPH Magazines and HiVelocity. Published by SPH Magazines, Men’s Health is Singapore’s leading lifestyle magazine for men.
GlobeCast provided camera coverage for nine urban obstacles over a 14-kilometre course that tested 2,300 participants’ fitness levels to their limit. GlobeCast produced and edited a 90-second race highlight video, which was broadcast on the same day on ESPNews in Asia.
GlobeCast also produced and edited a four-minute official event video, which is currently on the Men’s Health Urbanathlon’s event website and its official YouTube site. GlobeCast also delivered another version that features interviews with the organiser’s sponsors. This latter version showcases the sponsors’ involvement in this event, and it serves as a means of communicating their brand messaging effectively.
“It is an exciting period to be offering our creative services, through which we provide a complete solution for the video needs of this obstacle race. From pre-production planning and scheduling to the actual day of video production, setting up interviews and editing of the event videos, this has been a true showcase of GlobeCast’s expertise and capability in extending our services,” said Wei Khim Cheah, Director of Creative Services.
The videos can be seen on the Men’s Health Singapore Urbanathlon 2012 official website.
In addition to providing creative services in Asia, GlobeCast provides content management and global delivery via satellite and fibre for hundreds of broadcasters worldwide.
4 April 2012
Dubai Press Club (DPC), organisers of Arab Media Forum, announced today its collaboration with Al Arabiya News Channel for hosting a key session on the closing day of the 11th Arab Media Forum.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the event will run from 8-9 May at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai. The largest media gathering in the region, the forum is expected to draw over 2,000 media professionals and opinion leaders from around the world.
Titled ‘News Channels and Arab Revolutions: Questions about Coverage and Performance’, the session will discuss the stringent professional scrutiny that the Arab and international news channels were subjected to while covering the sweeping social and political transformation witnessed in the Arab countries.
Some of the channels attracted millions of viewers from across the region and worldwide. Analysts and observers deem that a number of these channels barely adhered to professional standards or ethics in their coverage of the Arab revolutions. While some used inflammatory language, the others portrayed subjective rather than objective reporting. A few other television channels even revamped their entire programming schedule in order to provide round-the-clock ‘breaking news’ and televise sensational developing stories on ground.
Analysing incidents and professional mistakes made bycertain establishments in verifying their sources of information, the panellists will evaluate if the mistakes were professional oversights or part of a well-planned agenda and editorial policy.
In addition to exploring the current and future role of the Arab television media, the segment will discuss the effectiveness of news channels and lessons that decision makers at news establishments learnt. Additionally, the obstacles of field work, dangers that correspondents were exposed to and the deliberate jamming some channels experienced will also be highlighted.
Moderated by Muntaha Al Ramahy, from Al Arabiya TV, the discussion will feature panellists such as Ibrahim Helal, News Director, Al Jazeera News Channel, Alexander Nazarov, Director of “Russia Al-Yaum” News Channel, Amr Khafagy, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Al Shorouk newspaper, Fares Couri, Editor-in-Chief, BBC Arabic, and Nakhle El Hage, Director of News and Current Affairs, Al Arabiya News Channel.
3 April 2012
Arnaud Verlhac, aged 37, has joined Europe’s leading international news channel as Deputy Director of Worldwide Distribution, with the role of developing the channel’s international distribution across all broadcast platforms (cable, satellite, ADSL, internet, etc.) and in the out-of-home market (aircrafts, ships, hotels, public places…).
While strengthening the current contracts under which euronews is distributed to 350 millions in 155 countries, Arnaud Verlhac is also tasked with launching the channel in new markets, developing its footprint in the United States and Asia, and increasing its distribution revenues.
Michael Peters, CEO of euronews, commented: “I’m delighted to welcome Arnaud Verlhac to euronews, and particularly appreciate his determined, pro-active personality. He will dynamise our distribution operation beyond its classic commercial function, with the mission of consolidating euronews’ base in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; establishing the channel in Asia; and expanding its reach in the other continents.”
“I’m delighted to be joining euronews, the only news channel in the world that offers 11 linguistic services* and, in addition, distributes them globally,” said Arnaud Verhlac.
“While leveraging our strong existing foundations, I wish to develop euronews’ distribution by ramping up our marketing actions to raise the channel’s visibility. In particular, I intend to dynamise our existing networks of broadcasters and providers, but also to build new networks that will promote the rollout of euronews’ offering. Besides my team’s presence at all our business sector’s big events, I wish to more strongly differentiate euronews in the news-channel space, which is continually growing larger and thus more competitive,” he added.
* Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian.
