Tag: Europe

  • ABC News Now expands to Europe

    MUMBAI: As part of its international expansion plans, ABC News has launched its international service ABC News Now in three European territories on the internet service Zattoo.

    The service will be initially available in Germany, Spain and Belgium but would soon expand its reach into additional markets including UK in the next six months.

    Showing keen interest in the international markets, ABC had earlier announced plans to launch in India, which is still awaiting regulatory approval.

    “We plan on significantly increasing our international presence. It is critically important for our news coverage and our survival to expand overseas and into broadband band other digital platforms,” said ABC News senior VP digital Paul Slavin.

    In October ABC opened seven new international bureaus in places that include Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, Dubai, New Delhi and Mumbai in India, Jakarta, Indonesia, and Nairobi, Kenya. All the international bureaus have a single correspondent known as digital reporter, who primarily creates content for the digital platforms.

    Slavin further added, “There were not a lot of outlets for international stories when we were just serving our television newscasts and there were other ways to cover international stories. It is hard to justify a bureau in a country when maybe four stories a year get on the air. Now, with the internet and with the cost of distributing content getting so much cheaper, we see international as significant opportunity and we are making a significant investment to become an international organization.”

    He said that they are looking for all types of distribution for the ABC News Now channel and content.

    “Broadband is probably the easiest, but we will utilise every platform from cable, satellite, IPTV, broadband and mobile,” he said.

    He stated that ABC is looking for content partnerships to help expand their international presence and customise their international services.

  • BBC expanding channels presence across Europe

    MUMBAI: BBC Global Channels – one of six BBC Worldwide businesses – has chosen Poland as the first European territory to launch its new suite of BBC-branded thematic channels. Its partner is Polish satellite platform Cyfrowy Polsat.

    Poland was identified by the business as a priority market for channel expansion and, teaming up with Cyfrowy Polsat, represents the first time that all four new channels – BBC Entertainment, BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies – have rolled out in one market at the same time.

    The channels will debut in Poland on 2 December and will be available on satellite exclusively for subscribers of Cyfrowy Polsat as part of the platform’s Family package.

    BBC Global Channels senior VP Europe, Miiddle East and Africa Dean Possenniskie says, “I am delighted with the long term carriage agreement we now have in place with Poland’s most successful DTH platform, Cyfrowy Polsat. With this partnership in place I’m very confident we will quickly demonstrate the positive impact our channels can make in a highly competitive market through strong localised brands and programming of the highest quality across all four channel genres.”

  • France launches an international news channel

    France launches an international news channel

    MUMBAI: With the aim of offering a viewpoint different from global news channels CNN and BBC the French government has launched its international news channel France 24. The channel has two feeds – French and English.

    The channel’s CEO Alain de Pouzilhac ws quoted in media repotrs saying that the channel will focus on in-depth reporting and debate, culture and the art of living. Initial coverage will extend to 75 million households in over 90 countries in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and should expand to North America and Asia in the near future.

    The aim of France 24 is to offer a ‘third way’. This would be an alternative to the bipolar discourse by Anglo-Saxon BBC World and CNN on one hand and Middle Eastern Al-Jazeera on the other. Media reports add that although the France 24 website is trilingual in French, English and Arabic television programmes in Arabic will only begin from the middle of next year. Spanish shows will launch in 2009.

  • Online music sales in Europe to help reverse decline in music sales in 2010

    Online music sales in Europe to help reverse decline in music sales in 2010

    MUMBAI: A new report by media researchers Screen Digest, Online Music in Europe: Market Assessment and Forecast predicts that rapidly growing online music sales in Europe will start to halt the decline in overall sales of recorded music, but not until 2010.

    The total European market for online music will have more than doubled from Euro 121 million in 2005 to a forecast Euro 280 million by the end of this year. By 2010 consumer spending on online music in Europe will generate more than Euro 1.1 billion.

    This explosive growth is being driven by rapidly growing broadband penetration and the massive increase in portable music player usage. Over seven per cent of Europeans now use one, up from two per cent in 2004. By the end of 2005 there were 29 million portable music players in Europe and this figure will rise to more than 80 million by 2010.

    However, the big picture is not so rosy for the overall European music market, which has been in decline – losing 22 per cent of its total value since 2001. Screen Digest predicts the market will continue to fall until 2010, at which point online music sales of more than Euro 1 billion a year will begin to offset the decline in physical sales.

    Screen Digest analyst and author of the report Dan Cryan comments, “Online music has been booming. However, online sales alone are not going to be enough to halt the decline in music sales. The music industry needs to make the most of new delivery platforms. We believe with the right strategy – including mobile and online – that the worst might be over by 2010. The industry must adopt a broader approach to selling music, looking beyond the traditional single and album.”

    The report analyses the causes of declining revenues for the music industry and shows that a wider view must be taken to understand and address the change in consumer behavior. It is easy to point the finger at piracy but data from music industry body IFPI suggests that piracy is declining. The number of tracks available on illegal file sharing networks declined from 1.1 billion euros in 2003 to 885 million euros in 2005.

    Instead factors like the gradual erosion of music dedicated shelf space in big retailers, like HMV and Virgin and its replacement with DVDs, books and mobile phones cannot be ignored. Seen in this light the fact that the decline in physical music sales corresponds to the boom in DVD sales begins to look less like a coincidence and more like a cause.

  • GloboSat to distribute SaharaOne channels in UK, Europe

    GloboSat to distribute SaharaOne channels in UK, Europe

    MUMBAI: In a bid to garner international subscription revenues and also expand its footprint in UK and Europe, SaharaOne Media and Entertainment has entered into a long term deal with New York based broadcast distribution outfit GloboSat Entertainment in order to help the company launch its channel services at various countries.

    SaharaOne Media and Entertainment CEO Shantonu Aditya says, “Through the association with GloboSat Entertainment, we are looking forward to the expansion of our channels in newer markets through this partnership so as to entertain our viewers worldwide.”

    The company is also eyeing broadband as well as mobile platforms in the US. GloboSat Entertainment is said to be in talks with a couple of moblie companies in this regard.

    One such company that the GloboSat is talking to for carrying the two Sahara channels (Sahara One and Filmy) is US based made for mobile company Ithentic.

    The channels will soon be on JumpTV, the subscription-based broadcaster of ethnic television over the internet. JumpTV already streams other Indian channels SET, India TV News, Kairali TV, People TV and Amrita TV.

    GloboSat president and CEO Sudhir Vaishnav says, “Our strategic partnerships with DTH, cable, broadband, IPTV, mobile and other platforms spanning across North and South America, Europe and UK help our broadcast partners to build international presence faster.”

    The media company will soon launch the channels SaharaOne and Filmy in UK and Europe. The two channels will soon be visible in Bangladesh as well. The channels will also be accessible on Rogers Cable in Canada.

    The general entertainment channel SaharaOne already has its presence in US on Echostar. And the movie channel Filmy is offered on DirecTV, the other DTH platform in US controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

    The two channels have recently been launched in Nepal and Maldives. The company now plans to push SaharaOne in the Middle-East, where the movie channel has already made its entry via the Pehla platform.

    The company is also targeting to push the two channels in Africa as well as in Australia in due course.

  • Animal Planet travels around the world to explore fauna and flaura

    Animal Planet travels around the world to explore fauna and flaura

    MUMBAI: Animal Planet will take viewers on a wild voyage around the world through its series Around The World In 14 Weeks. Viewers will experience the widest variety of flaura and fauna across continents as they travel from Indian subcontinent to Sahara, Europe, Africa, and America.

    The 14 episode show airs every Tuesday at 9 pm with a repeat every Saturday at 8 pm.

    One episode is called Fighting Bears Of The Punjab Airing. Bear baiting is big business in rural Pakistan, despite being illegal for over a century, but changes are now afoot by the World Society for the Protection of Animals to confiscate all bears used in baiting events. But this is no easy task, as the major promoters of these events are rich rural landowners who wield enormous power in Pakistan. This programme traces the history of the Qalandars and the Black Bears, as well as the dramatic events as WSPA workers, aided by the Pakistani Army, attempt to rescue bears and relocate them to a safety.

    Dream Team: Prince Of Camels provides a behind-the-scenes look at the magical world of a young Bedouin in love with camel racing. Sixteen years old Rahma grew up in a large family who, not so long ago regularly traveled hundreds of miles on camel-back. Although all-terrain vehicles have replaced the traditional mount, the camel remains a sacred beast for Rahma.

    In Ireland – Sculpted Isle the channel reveals Ireland’s dramatic nature through iconic landmarks and natural history. From the basalt columns of the Giant’s Causeway to the rugged beauty of the Blarney stone, from the polished limestone of the Burren to the lush, green pastures of County Kildare, each place has a story and resonance through history. Different landscape, different wildlife, different cultural past and a different face of modern life, come together to tell a single story – Ireland’s story.

    In Lost Crocodiles Of The Pharaohs viewers can join the search for the elusive crocodiles of the ancient River Nile. Despite their revered status in ancient Egypt, the crocodiles of the upper Nile were hunted into extinction by the 1800’s and the Pharaoh’s crocodiles were lost forever. Or so it was thought, until reports emerged of sightings of crocodiles in unexpected locations on the fringe of the Sahara desert, a small lake in Mali and a cave in Chad. Animal Planet explores if these are the direct descendents of the Pharaoh’s crocodiles? How could they survive in the desert?

    Lost Elephants Of Timbuktu goes into the heart of the Sahara Desert. A herd of elephants emerge from behind a wind-swept sand dune. They are completely isolated from other African elephants and trudge 700 miles each year to find food and water. This progamme tracks them to uncharted lands and reveals their relationship with the Tuareg, a nomadic people who have shared the elephants’ migration route for centuries.

    In Search Of The Giant Anaconda looks at the Green anaconda. It is the heaviest bodied snake in the world. It can grow six times longer than the average man, weigh eight times as much, and stay underwater for up to ten minutes at a time. Austin Steven, South African photographer and adventurer, travels to Amazon in search of the wild anaconda in the water and attempts to bring it to land. It is Steve’s most perilous photographic assignment so far.

  • iTunes in Europe sells over 200 million songs

    iTunes in Europe sells over 200 million songs

    MUMBAI: Apple has announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded more than 200 million songs from its European iTunes music stores in just over two years.

    The iTunes music catalog now includes more than three million songs from major music companies and over 1,000 independent record labels.

    Launched in the UK, France and Germany in June 2004, the iTunes Music Store now operates in 17 European countries. All iTunes Music Stores offer features, breakthrough pricing and integration with iPod.

    Apple VP iTunes Eddy Cue says, “The number of songs downloaded and purchased from the iTunes Music Stores in Europe have tripled in the past year from 50 million to 200 million. We are thrilled that music fans in Europe have shown such enthusiasm for the artists and exclusive music content found only on iTunes and would like to thank them for making iTunes such a success.”

    With Apple saying that it has pioneered features such as integrated video and podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and videos online. The iTunes Music Store features a selection of over 2,500 music videos, Pixar short films, and more than three million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent labels.

  • Modavox forms strategic partnership with INDOlink

    Modavox forms strategic partnership with INDOlink

    MUMBAI: Phoenix-headquartered internet broadcasting pioneer in producing and syndicating online audio and video Modavox has formed a strategic business partnership with INDOlink, an internet media company serving Asian-Indians.

    As per the agreement, Modavox will deliver Internet pay-per-view, podcasts, on-demand movie trailers and streaming video advertising to targeted audiences including Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and India with an estimated audience size of 300 million people.

    INDOlink, the first ethnic niche portal serving Asian-Indians worldwide, specialises in providing valuable and exclusive content and services catering to the core needs of the Asian-Indian community. INDOlink owns internet portals such as PlanetBollywood.com and Nettravel.com.

    Modavox’s VP, Nathaniel Bradley, commented, “Our StreamSyndicate(TM) and StreamSafe(TM) technologies are ideal for security, control and promotion of INDOlink’s Internet content. INDOlink’s niche marketing focus provides an exciting, sizeable opportunity. The capabilities of our proprietary software provide new sources of revenue and business opportunities for advertisers and co

  • Modavox forms strategic partnership with INDOlink

    Modavox forms strategic partnership with INDOlink

    MUMBAI: Phoenix-headquartered internet broadcasting pioneer in producing and syndicating online audio and video Modavox has formed a strategic business partnership with INDOlink, an internet media company serving Asian-Indians.

    As per the agreement, Modavox will deliver Internet pay-per-view, podcasts, on-demand movie trailers and streaming video advertising to targeted audiences including Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and India with an estimated audience size of 300 million people.

    INDOlink, the first ethnic niche portal serving Asian-Indians worldwide, specialises in providing valuable and exclusive content and services catering to the core needs of the Asian-Indian community. INDOlink owns internet portals such as PlanetBollywood.com and Nettravel.com.

    Modavox’s VP, Nathaniel Bradley, commented, “Our StreamSyndicate(TM) and StreamSafe(TM) technologies are ideal for security, control and promotion of INDOlink’s Internet content. INDOlink’s niche marketing focus provides an exciting, sizeable opportunity. The capabilities of our proprietary software provide new sources of revenue and business opportunities for advertisers and content providers seeking to access this key demographic.”

  • Exiting X-Games get exiting sponsors

    Exiting X-Games get exiting sponsors

    ESPN-Star Sports along with its sponsors will expand its X Games Brand to include new tours in Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan.

    The ESS event management group is organising the third Asian X Games Qualifier taking place at Phuket, Thailand from 7-10 December. Toyota is continuing with its sponsorship due to the immense success of the previous X games and will take the 2000 Asian X Tour to Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. Completing the list of confirmed sponsors of this year’s AXQ is the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

    ESS viewers across Asia, Australia, Japan, Europe and Latin America will be able to enjoy the X games, a competing sport of extreme games. The Asian version of the X games began as the qualifying round of the US summer X games which served as a platform for players of these exiting sports to showcase their talents.

    Along with their tremendous appeal to attract local people, the X games also translate into prime programming for ESS. A strong proof of this is the fact that Motor Sports giant Toyota is continuing with its sponsorship with a promise that it will sponsor the X games for another two years so that it can identify with the theme of passion and sports which Toyota says goes with its brand.

    The X tours consists of three qualifying events to select competitors for the 2000 AXQ. The X tour is slated to stop in Bangkok (12-14 August), Taipei (9-10 September) and Singapore (7-8 September). In addition to this ESS will be organising viewing events in the Philippines and Malaysia.