22 November 2016
The launch episode of motoring TV show The Grand Tour was released by Amazon on its Prime TV platform on 18 November to critical acclaim from viewers and critics. Amazon says that the new programme – presented by the three former hosts of the BBC’s
Top Gear programme – was the biggest show premiere ever on Amazon Prime, knocking its The Man in the High Castle drama off the top spot in terms of viewer numbers.
Amazon has also said that sign-ups to its Prime membership was high, beaten only by the company’s so-called Prime Day. Subsequent episodes will be released every Friday at 0001 GMT.
The Grand Tour has become the top rated TV show or movie on IMDb, the world’s most popular source of movie and TV data, with an overall rating of 9.6 and over 10,000 votes. The show is rated 4.9 out of 5 stars by more than 15,000 customers on Amazon, and currently has a score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The guys are back, doing what they do best – the chemistry between Jeremy, Richard and James is what makes The Grand Tour so entertaining,” said Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive Officer of Amazon. “Their creativity, along with the amazing production quality and 4K HDR streaming, has Prime members responding in a big way. Kudos and congrats to the whole team.”
The first episode of The Grand Tour was released at 0001 GMT on Friday 18 November, and customers immediately started tweeting their thoughts on the blockbuster opening episode:
- @annoyingracefan: I’m more excited about @thegrandtour than I am the birth of my child. I don’t have any kids but I am sure you know what I mean.
- @DannyAllenUK: That intro sequence for @thegrandtour has to be one of the most emotion/beautiful and expensive sequences I’ve ever seen on a TV show.
- @TransAmPatrick: I’m crying. Why am I crying? What’s going on here? I’m in a glass case of emotion! #TheGrandTour
- @BTMcLeod: Started the first episode of @thegrandtour and I can’t remember the last time I was this happy to see 3 middle aged dudes.
- @Tom__Berry: I’m only 3 minutes in and I can already tell that @thegrandtour is the best thing on TV this year.
Further episodes will be released weekly over the next 11 weeks for Prime members in the U.S, U.K., Germany, Austria and Japan, and the show will premiere worldwide for Amazon customers in over 200 countries and territories in December.
In addition to the unprecedented customer response, The Grand Tour has received outstanding critical acclaim from media around the world:
- “A brilliant beautiful spectacle.” Guardian
- “Between the gear head banter and intoxicating visuals, The Grand Tour makes for a sweet escape from the real world we all live in.” New York Post
- “The trio’s chemistry remains as brilliant as ever.” The Independent
- “Fans are over the moon.” Mail Online
- “The Grand Tour is stunningly beautiful.” The London Evening Standard
- “The Grand Tour is this year’s most eagerly-anticipated TV show. And, judging by the reaction to its Thursday debut, it’s fair to say that The Grand Tour is a critical and commercial success. Together, both viewers and reviewers flooded social media after the first episode aired on Amazon Prime, and they were unified in their praise.” Daily Mirror
- “They’ve sort of somehow come up with the world’s first scripted comedy factual show, and it works perfectly.” Digital Spy
- “Critics and fans welcome Jeremy Clarkson and co back with open arms.” Newsweek
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have been filming the first season of The Grand Tour in far-flung locations across the globe. The studio portion of the show takes place in a travelling tent in locations ranging from Johannesburg to California, Scotland to Rotterdam, Lapland to Nashville, Whitby in North Yorkshire to Stuttgart and the final stop in Dubai. The first episode kicked off in California, when Jeremy, Richard and James took their famous studio tent to Dry Rabbit Lake. Thousands of fans from across the U.S. travelled to the desert near Lucerne Valley, outside of Los Angeles for The Grand Tour’s very own “Burning Van” festival which was part of the opener of the first ever episode. The Grand Tour is available to stream at www.amazon.co.uk/thegrandtour with new episodes releasing weekly for 12 weeks. The official series trailer can be viewed here and to be the first to be notified of upcoming episodes and other news about The Grand Tour, fans can follow The Grand Tour on Facebook Twitter and at Amazon.
18 November 2016
The Association for International Broadcasting has expressed its concern about the proposal to abolish the TV and radio licence fee in Romania.
The plan was included in a bill that proposes the abolition of more than 100 fiscal taxes without any public debate or discussion. The AIB notes that in no EU Member State has there been a proposal for such a fundamental alteration to the funding model of a country’s public service broadcasting that has not been subject to public scrutiny and discussion.
The AIB has written to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis expressing the Association’s concern and asking him to ensure that the proposal receives the correct level of attention within the country and its parliament.
The AIB will be monitoring developments in Romania over the coming weeks.
15 November 2016
The AIBs 2016 were attended by guests from all over the world – Argentina to Australia, Qatar to the UAE, the USA to Norway.
A selection of pictures taken by our regular photographer Alex Beaton at the event appear below. Click on a picture to see it at full size.
Find out who won and who received commendations in our Winners Book here.
The AIBs 2017 will open for entry in April.
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14 November 2016
Arab Satellite Communications Organization – Arabsat – participates in AFRICACOM Conference & Exhibition held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 15-17 November 2016.
Eng. Khalid bin Ahmed Balkhyour, President & CEO of Arabsat, stated that “Through our participation in this show, we are looking forward to presenting our services provided to the African continent, as our 5th generation satellites are covering the entire African continent broadcasting TV, telecommunications and Internet satellite services. Arabsat satellites also broadcast dedicated bouquets over North Africa and other dedicated bouquets over the whole African continent including TV & telecom broadcast, in addition to the existence of several ground satellite stations inside Africa connected to the European and the Asian satellite ground stations to provide Internet services and mobile networking. ARABSAT will also showcase the capabilities of its 6th generation satellites, scheduled to be launched next year which will provide extra massive satellite capacities covering the whole African continent and its potential market with full in Orbit – back up.”
Balkhyour concluded that “We are currently working hard on several important strategic projects to operate many of our new orbital positions and keep up with our customers increasing needs, maintaining Arabsat status as the best choice to provide customers’ needs in satellite broadcasting & Telecommunication services.”
(Source: Arabsat press release)
28 October 2016
The AIBs 2016 – our twelfth annual international awards for factual TV, radio and online – take place in London on 2 November.
The event is sold out, with guests flying in to London from North America, Asia, the Middle East, across Europe, Africa and South America.
“This year’s AIBs awards dinner is bringing together more people than ever before,” said Clare Dance, AIB Awards Co-ordinator. “And we’re sold out at the earliest point in the 12 year history of these highly respected awards. We’re delighted that the AIBs are so firmly established among programme makers and broadcasters around the world who take the opportunity to showcase their work to peers around the world.”
At the close of the week before the awards, the venue – LSO St Luke’s just north of the City of London – is fully booked. There is now a waiting list in operation – to secure a place on the standby list, call the AIB on +44 20 7993 2557.
The Awards gala evening will be followed on Thursday 3 November by the inaugural #iamabroadcaster Masterclass. Details are online here.
24 October 2016
A freelance video journalist covering the battle against the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Mosul, Iraq for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) was critically injured in a mortar attack October 20.
Rasool Mahmood, who was covering the military campaign against IS in Iraq for RFE/RL’s service to Iran, Radio Farda, was reporting from the front lines of the push to retake the country’s second largest city from IS militants when he was wounded by a mortar in a counter attack by IS fighters against Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi forces.
Mahmood was traveling with Peshmerga soldiers about 25 kilometers from the center of Mosul when the attack happened. He sustained broken bones and the likely loss of one eye. He is currently being treated at a hospital in Erbil.
“We are devastated by the news that our colleague is wounded,” said RFE/RL President Thomas Kent. “He is a brave and dedicated reporter and we are doing everything possible to support his family and get him the medical attention he needs.”
Mahmood’s coverage of the battle for Mosul has included exclusive video and photo reports from the battlefield, as well as exclusive interviews, including with the Iraqi Army Chief of Staff and the Secretary General of the Peshmerga forces. Several of Mahmood’s reports for Radio Farda have been picked up by CNN, Time magazine, USA Today and other international media outlets.
RFE/RL’s Radio Farda has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for Mahmood and his family.
(Source: RFE/RL press release)
