THE CHANNEL
|
MEDIA MARKETS
Globecast launches
The Indonesia Channel
In mid-June Indonesia’s first 24-
hour English language entertain-
ment and lifestyle channel
launched across the globe with
Globecast on multiple platforms.
Dalton Tanonaka (above left), CEO
of the privately-funded Indonesia
Channel, says the channel seeks
to inform and entertain with cool
and informative shows.
From its digital media facility
at Mediapolis in Singapore,
Globecast is providing playout and
media management services,
localising content for The Indonesia
Channel and ensuring that proper
formats are available to suit
each region’s needs. Globecast
also provides its OTT Managed
solution to adapt the content for
mobile viewing on various mobile
devices. The Indonesia channel is
available across Asia Pacific via
the MEASAT-3 satellite, across
Europe via Globecast’s fibre
delivery, and online via OTT in
most countries with high speed
broadband. Viewers on the go
can access the channel from
their mobile phones, tablets and
notebooks.
In July, Globecast extended its
reach in West Africa via a new
PoP partnership with Senegalese
telco Sonatel. Headquartered in
Dakar, Sonatel serves additional
local markets including Mali,
Guinée Bissau and Guinée. The
PoP – which is operating as an
access (in/out) point to
Globecast’s international
network dedicated to the
backhauling of audiovisual
services – is located in Dakar
and connected via fibre to
Globecast’s Parisian hub. The
partnership is ideally positioned,
from both business and
technology perspectives, to
attract local and international
broadcasters or production
centres that need to backhaul
signals to or from Senegal for
onwards cable, MMDS, satellite
or OTT distribution.
IN BRIEF
TELSTRA BUYS
OOYALA
Australian service provider
Telstra is to acquire video
streaming and analytics
specialist Ooyala for
US$270m. Telstra, which
already owns a 23% stake in
Ooyala, has invested
significantly in the company
over the last two years.
Ooyala will become a
subsidiary of Telstra, and
will operate as an
independent business with
its existing management
team under CEO Jay
Fulcher.
MICROSOFT
€19 HANDSET
Microsoft’s new entry-level
mobile phone, the Nokia
130, is billed as the most
affordable mobile phone
with video and music player,
with the ability to add
content via the microSD
expansion slot (it is dual-
band GSM only, with no
WiFi). Citing figures from
Strategy Analytics, Microsoft
said that 300m devices from
the “below $35” category
are sold every year. Nokia
130 will be available in
select markets, including
China, Egypt, India,
Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria,
Pakistan, the Philippines
and Vietnam.
SKY SPORTS
WEEK PASS
BSkyB’s OTT platform NOW
TV is offering a weekly pass
for sports fans keen to
watch more of the best live
sporting action. The £10.99
pass comprises all seven
Sky Sports channels for 7
days, including Sky Sports 5,
the new home of European
Football, and the new-look
Sky Sports News HQ, which
both launched on 12 August.
NOW TV is available on
devices including the NOW
TV Box, PC, Mac, iPad,
iPhone, Android smartphones
and tablets, Xbox 360, Xbox
One, PS3™, PS4™, YouView,
LG Smart TVs, selected LG
media devices, Roku boxes
and Apple TV.
Every day, millions of people
tune into a lifestyle show that
brings everything from comedy
and music to style, business and
sport, to audiences across the
globe. Broadcasting live every
Monday to Thursday from a
studio in the heart of London,
Living the Life
is Islam Channel’s
flagship programme.
This summer the programme
celebrates two years – that’s 400
episodes. The hour-long show
comprises three studio
interviews and five features from
around the world. You may find
yourself meeting renowned
international performers like
Zain Bhikha one minute and then
following the man walking from
Sheffield to South Africa to raise
money for water projects, the
next.
After the break expect to be
entertained by a report from
Pakistan’s annual donkey cart
race and later on, watch with
amazement how residents in
Gaza recycle rubber tyres to
make floor tiles.
The team behind the show
constantly push the boundaries
of TV production to pack a great
deal of entertainment value into
an hour.
400
episodes
Growing US audience for RT
With its UK operation set for a
full rollout in the near future, RT
– the global, Moscow-based TV
news network – has been
enjoying measurable success in
the United States.
A survey completed for RT by
Nielsen in seven of the largest
US cities, including New York,
Washington, Chicago and Los
Angeles, showed than in the
course of less than a year RT’s
weekly audience has more than
doubled there. The research,
concluded in March 2014,
showed that almost 3m people in
these cities watch RT every week.
RT’s editor in chief Margarita
Simonyan says that the channel’s
fresh editorial vision is a key
factor contributing to the rapid
increase in viewers: “Now more
than ever it’s important to listen
to an alternative point of view –
and audiences around the world
and especially in the US are
hungry for it.” She added that
“the situation in Ukraine, too,
has certainly put RT and its
regional expertise in the
spotlight. We’ve seen a massive
uptick in numbers across all
languages and platforms, online
and in social media. This growth
is only partially reflected in
Nielsen’s US results as the study
was done right before the crisis
escalated and became the top
international news story.”
10
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ISSUE 2 2014
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THE CHANNEL
