4 April 2013
The Berlin-based agency provides real-time and archived visual news materials from all the global hotspots via state-of-the-art delivery platform, RUPTLY.TV.
RUPTLY aims to become the go-to alternative resource in a highly concentrated market of professional news video footage, and to deliver coverage of stories that other agencies miss. RUPTLY works heavily with the international stringer network and leverages RT’s extensive global presence that counts outposts in Washington DC, London, Madrid, Damascus, Cairo, Gaza and Baghdad among its 22 bureaus. From its Berlin headquarters RUPTLY manages nearly 100 industry professionals who have worked for the largest news agencies and media organizations around the world.
“Right now there are basically a handful of agencies that provide majority of news footage to international outlets, and particularly to TV channels and online platforms that cannot afford to have bureaus or send correspondents to every hotspot. As a result, viewers often see events around the globe through the eyes of these providers. In such a market there are inevitable gaps in coverage, plus the risk of bias in the eventual reportage,” says Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor-in-chief. “RT has already established itself as the alternative voice on the international news landscape and now, with RUPTLY, we can bring our vision and expertise to a whole new market.”
One of RUPTLY’s breakout features is its unique and game-changing delivery mechanism, which allows TV stations, online media outlets and mobile multimedia platforms to receive and broadcast RUPTLY video feeds of live events in real time, as the events are happening, via RUPTLY’s website, http://ruptly.tv/. The platform enables simultaneous streaming of five live video feeds, of the highest quality, including HD, and built-in redundancy ensures continuity of streaming even if one of the servers goes out. RUPTLY is the first video agency in the world to utilize such a high-tech delivery system.
RUPTLY builds on success of FreeVideo, RT’s unique project for media professionals, launched in 2009. FreeVideo became Russia’s first English-language video agency, and over 16 000 TV channels and agencies from 185 countries avail of the service, including CNN, Fox News, ABC News, AP, and Reuters. RUPTLY offers flexible subscription packages, a range of payment options, and a wide range of benefits to users from all media platforms.
RT is launching RUPTLY on the eve of MIPTV, where it will present the agency to media professionals from around the world. MIPTV is the world’s largest television content market, forum and festival, which takes place every spring in Cannes, France. This year’s event kicks off on April 8th and will mark MIPTV’s 50th anniversary.
www.RT.com
RT is a global international news network that broadcasts in English, Arabic and Spanish from its studios in Moscow and Washington, DC, and is available to 630 million viewers worldwide. Pew Research Center’s 2012 study named RT, whose YouTube channel has passed 950 million views, as the largest provider of news video footage on the world’s largest video sharing platform. RT is the only Russian TV channel to garner two nominations for the prestigious Emmy International Award.
25 March 2013
Elections for the AIB’s Executive Committee, the six-member group that oversees the Association’s strategic direction and work plan, were held during March. Eleven candidates had been nominated from within the AIB’s international membership for the Executive Committee whose members hold their position for a two-year term.
The six member Executive Committee is now
6 March 2013
Access to arabic.rt.com, the site of Rusiya Al-Yaum, RT’s Arabic channel, has been restricted in Libya. As a result, online traffic coming from Libya has dropped by 98%.
“We are addressing the situation in the most urgent manner possible. We have sent inquiries to all government agencies in Libya to find out the reasons why the site is being blocked. RT is doing everything it can to restore full accessibility to what is one of the main news resources in the country and the region,” said Margarita Simonyan (left), RT’s editor in chief.
In December 2012 Rusiya Al-Yaum’s website was ranked in the top three online TV channels in the Arab world by Forbes Middle East. The site, arabic.rt.com, recorded more than 50 million visitors in a year and the highest new visit rate amongst the top three channels. Forbes used data from Google Analytics in its rankings.
Rusiya Al-Yaum is an award-winning news channel that began broadcasting from Moscow in 2007. As of December 2013, Rusiya Al-Yaum, alongside all of RT’s other channels, has been available in the HD format. The channel is available to more than 350 million viewers across Middle East, North Africa and Europe. According to a Nielsen study, more than 5 million people watch Rusiya Al-Yaum in Syrian, Lebanon, Kuwait, UAE, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia*.
RT is a global international news network that broadcasts in English, Arabic and Spanish from its studios in Moscow and Washington, DC, and is available to 630 million viewers worldwide. Pew Research Center’s 2012 study named RT, whose YouTube channel has passed 940 million views, as the largest provider of news video footage on the world’s largest video sharing platform. RT is the only Russian TV channel to garner two nominations for the prestigious Emmy International Award.
*Monthly audience
14 January 2013
BSKYB, the largest UK pay-TV provider, began carrying RT in High Definition effective January 2013.
RT, the global international news network, has switched all of its English-language news broadcasting to High Definition format in December 2012, following the network’s move of its studios to a new, state of the art facility in Moscow.
RT was the third most watched news channel overall in the UK in Q3 2012 after BBC News and Sky News according to BARB, reaching 2.5 million viewers*. A survey by Kantar Media showed that UK viewers tune into RT over other channels due to its “different take on news from mainstream media”, “informative news coverage”, and its range of stories of interest to the audience.
BSkyB – British Sky Broadcasting – is the major UK and Ireland satellite platform, and has been carrying RT since 2006. In January 2013 it began carrying RT in HD.
“The switch to HD is an important step for our network, as HD delivery is not yet offered by many other major international news channels. It’s now up to the satellite and cable TV service providers to make the HD signal available to the viewers,” says Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor in chief. “We’re very happy that thanks to BSkyB our UK audience can now enjoy the best RT programming in HD so soon after we completed the switch.”
RT is a global international news network that broadcasts in English, Arabic and Spanish from its studios in Moscow and Washington, DC, and is available to 550 million viewers worldwide. Pew Research Center’s 2012 study named RT, whose YouTube channel has passed 840 million views, as the largest provider of news video footage on the world’s largest video sharing platform. RT is the only Russian TV channel to garner two nominations for the prestigious Emmy International Award.
BSkyB operates the most comprehensive multi-channel, multi-platform television service in the UK and Ireland. Over 10.3 million households across the UK and Ireland enjoy an unprecedented choice of movies, news, entertainment, arts and sports channels. The Sky platform offers access to over 500 television and radio channels, plus up to 20Mb Broadband and free evening and weekend calls to UK Landlines with Sky Talk. In addition to their choice of Sky TV channels, all customers can receive more than 330 free-to-air television and radio channels and services.
*BARB Quarterly Reach Report- Quarter 3 2012 (BARB weeks 2293-2305) Individuals 4+ ( http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing/quarterly-channel-reach?_s=4 )
Source: RT press release
17 December 2012
RT, the global international news network, has switched all of its English-language news broadcasting to High Definition format effective December 16, 2012. The switch to HD was enabled by RT’s move of its studios and headquarters offices to a brand new facility in Moscow.
RT’s relocation on the eve of its seven-year anniversary is the result of the extraordinary growth experienced by the network since its inception. The HD broadcasting launch marks another important achievement by RT, as such delivery is not yet offered by many other major international news channels.
“We are incredibly proud of everything we have accomplished in just seven short years,” says Margarita Simonyan, RT’s editor in chief. “The switch to HD is just the next step as we continue to grow and expand. The upgraded capabilities of our new, technologically sophisticated facility allow us to stay ahead of the competition.”
When RT first launched its 24-7 news broadcast in December of 2005, it employed some 300 journalists and was comprised of just one TV channel, airing in English. Today the network boasts the staff of more than 2000 professionals, and its five channels broadcast in English, Arabic and Spanish, reaching 550 million people in more than 100 countries around the globe. In 2012, RT became the first Russian TV channel ever to garner a second nomination for the prestigious International Emmy award.
RT is the 2nd most watched foreign news channel in key cities in the US, according to a Nielsen study* and was the third most watched news channel overall in the UK in 3Q2012 according to BARB**. With more than 830 million views to date, RT’s YouTube channel is the largest provider of news video footage on the platform, according to a 2012 Pew Research Center study and the network’s online video agency boasts more than 13,000 subscribers, including top TV channels and agencies from 185 countries.
*Based on weekly viewership
**BARB Quarterly Reach Report- Quarter 3 2012 (BARB weeks 2293-2305) Individuals 4+ + (http://www.barb.co.uk/report/quarterly-channel-reach-open/download/2012-Q3-QTVS.pdf)
