BroadcastPro ME December 2014

Issue 54 | DeCeMBeR 2014

2o14 broadcast superstars

ASBU BroadcastPro Awards celebrates the MENA’s best of the best

Issue 54 | DeCeMBeR 2014

2o14 broadcast superstars

ASBU BroadcastPro Awards celebrates the MENA’s best of the best

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Welcome

Publishing Director Raz Islam raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com +971 (0) 4 375 5471 Editorial Director Vijaya Cherian vijaya.cherian@cpimediagroup.com +971 (0) 55 105 3787 EDITORIAL Deputy Editor Vibhuti Arora vibhuti.arora@cpimediagroup.com +971 (0) 4 375 5478 Sub Editor Aelred Doyle ADVERTISING Group Sales Manager Sandip Virk sandip.virk@cpimediagroup.com +971 (0) 50 929 1845 +44 (0) 7734 442 526 Senior Sales Manager Rodi Hennawi rodi.hennawi@cpimediagroup.com +971 (0) 50 714 0427 DESIGN Art Director Simon Cobon PHOTOGRAPHY Jay Colina Anas Cherur MARKETING Marketing Manager Lisa Justice lisa.justice@cpimediagroup.com +971 (0) 4 375 5498 CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION Production Manager Vipin V. Vijay vipin.vijay@cpimediagroup.com +971 (0)4 375 5713 Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh.nair@cpimediagroup.com +971 (0) 4 440 9147 DIGITAL SERVICES Digital Services Manager

On November 11, at the ASBU BroadcastPro Summit, our keynote speaker Her Excellency Sameera Ebrahim bin Rajab, Minister of State for Information Affairs and the Official Spokesperson for the government of Bahrain, brought an important issue to light. Her sentiments were echoed a week later by Queen Rania of Jordan at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit. Both women expressed concern about how Arabs were being perceived across the world, thanks to outfits like ISIS. “The perception of Arabs as terrorists, reactionaries and savages has never been more rampant,” HE Sameera Rajab stated in her speech. Queen Rania seconded that in her own speech when she decried how “a minority of irreligious extremists” was “using social media to rewrite our narrative … hijack our identity and rebrand us”.

“The rich and ancient cultures of 22 countries … the cosmopolitan character of over 350 million people … the diverse heritage of these historic lands … Islam, a religion of peace, tolerance and mercy … reduced to this,” she commented, pointing to a slide filled with images of violence and war.

“That’s what ISIS is doing to the Arab world … and all of us. These images don’t represent me anymore than they represent you. They’re alien and

abhorrent to the vast majority of Arabs – Muslims and Christians. And they should make every Arab across this region seethe.

Because they’re an attack on our values as a people. And on our collective story.”

Wherein lies the solution?

While Queen Rania called for education to fight this, the rallying call from HE Sameera Rajab to the MENA broadcast community was to use the most powerful medium they had in their hands – television.

“It is true that television productions are associated with market conditions, yet we should not forget that TV programmes have a role to play in social life, one which should not be overlooked in the service of market needs … operators [and] producers must not forget that … TV programmes … influence public opinion.”

The ASBU BroadcastPro ME summit served as a platform for influential government entities this time to remind broadcasters about their social responsibility, even as they debated the technical and commercial aspects of television in the Middle East. We bring you the details inside.

Vijaya Cherian, Editorial Director

Tristan Troy P Maagma Published by ISSUE 54 | DECEMBER 2014

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2O14 BROADCAST SUPERSTARS

ASBU BroadcastPro Awards celebrates the MENA’s best of the best

On this month's cover…

Let’s create a vibrant online broadcast community!

Celebrating innovation at the ASBU BroadcastPro ME Summit and Awards.

1

THE CHAMPIONS

1. Dr Raed Khusheim, 2. HE Sameera Rajab, 3. Khulud Abu-Homos and George Kordahi, 4. Jamal Khashoggi, 5. Fadi Izzaldin, 6. Eiad Al Najjar, 7. Nick Grande, 8. Peter Nothen, 9. Ibrahim Al-Rowaitie and Samir Assiri, 10. Moustapha Bekheet, 11. Rizwan Qureshi, 12. Ali Abu Khamra, 13. Hamad Abdelrazaq, 14. Lisa Robinson and Paulo Ferreira, 15. Dominic Baillie and 19. Ashraf Badriya.

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3

2

8

11

15 14

10

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4

6

12

13

16

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@BroadcastProME www.facebook.com/BroadcastProME BroadcastProME

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December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 1

Lenses and accessories shown are not included

The new Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K includes built in optical fiber, talkback, tally and massive 10” viewfinder!

The Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K is the world’s most advanced broadcast camera for live, multi camera production in both HD or Ultra HD 60p!

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Full Size HD Viewfinder The Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K includes the world’s largest viewfinder built in! The massive 10” full HD resolution screen has a super wide viewing angle and extremely high brightness so you can see your images with amazing detail even in bright daylight! This professional grade viewfinder makes it easy to frame, focus, change iris settings and make subtle adjustments with full confidence even when you’re live on air!

Optical Fiber and 12G-SDI Connections Connect Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K to your live production switcher with optical fiber cables for massive long distances!

Also includes BNC SDI connections for advanced 12G-SDI so you can connect to HD-SDI, 6G-SDI or 12G-SDI equipment for HD and Ultra HD production up to 2160p60. The video connections are bi-directional and carry video plus full talkback, tally, audio and camera color control.

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Talkback and Tally The Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K features built in talkback using general aviation headsets, so you get better noise canceling and comfort all at a much lower cost! You also get built-in tally lights that illuminate automatically when your camera is live so your cast and crew can easily see which cameras are on air!

Talkback and tally signals are embedded in the return video connection to the camera, so you don’t have to run separate cables!

Micro Four Thirds Lens Mount The active Micro Four Thirds lens mount is compatible with an incredibly wide range of lenses and adapters. You can use your existing photo lenses for smaller setups and fixed camera use, or connect incredible broadcast ENG lenses via a B4 lens adapter. You can even use third party adapters for high end feature film PL or B4 mount lenses, so it’s easy to customize your camera to suit any sized production!

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PROCONTENTS

Inside this issue 05 NEWS Regional installations, news from DIFF & ADMS 2014 wrapup

December 2014 12

CElEbRatiNg iNNOVatiON

12 COVER StORy Debates, discussions and celebrating innovation at the ASBU BroadcastPro ME Summit and Awards 2014

48 iNSight Cisco's broadcast strategy

56 filmiNg iN abu dhabi Beno Saradzic's film chronicles the growth of Abu Dhabi as a world-class city app'S thE WORd

62

app'S thE WORd

53 Apps in broadcast 62 The future of apps

56

filmiNg iN abu dhabi

64 tV EVERyWhERE TV's potential to draw monies questioned

67 tRaiNiNg day

CiSCO'S ViSiON fOR bROadCaSt

72

buSiNESS CONtiNuity

Workshop introduces the Sony PXW FS-7

72 guESt COlumN Mohammed Akhlaq on the critical nature of disaster recovery for business

48 December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 3

PRONEWS

Selevision and Arabsat formalise partnership at ASBU BroadcastPro Awards Two stalwarts in the Arab broadcast industry formalised their partnership at the ASBU BroadcastPro Awards on November 11, 2014.

Dr Raed Khusheim, CEO of Selevision, and Mohamed Karim Mahmoud from Arabsat shook hands at the event and formally announced the launch of the region’s first Hybrid TV service.

With this partnership, Selevision and Arabsat will deliver the first Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) service to the MENA region.

This new service will be provided to Arabsat’s customer base from three different locations: Jordan Media City, Du in the UAE and Overon in Spain. The Arabsat service will be complemented by Selevision's OTT platform and its content library.

The service will be available to viewers on all HbbTV compatible set-top boxes in the market. The two companies are also launching the first HbbTV channel in the region as a pilot to present the concept to Arabsat’s customer base.

BSA completes radio projects in Libya UAE-based Broadcast Systems Arabia (BSA) has completed the installation of a 3.5kw FM transmitter on a 120m tower for Al Jabal Radio in eastern Libya, BroadcastPro ME can reveal.

The company also recently completed an installation for another Libyan radio station, Alwasat Radio. The project involved the installation of 3.5kw transmitters in radio transmission sites in Benghazi, Albayda and Tubruk.

Muhammad Irfan Gondal, CEO at BSA, also revealed to us that BSA has established an office in Gaziantep, Turkey to handle additional projects.

From left: Dr. Raed Khusheim, CEO, Selevision, and Mohamed Karim Mahmoud from Arabsat.

IN FIGURES

37.2% Expected ad spend by advertisers on digital platforms by 2018. The total ad spend is estimated to increase from 28.2% in 2013 to 37.2% by 2018.

Source: emarketer

Lebanon’s Alfa Telecom selects Argela ITV platform Orascom Telecom-managed Lebanese mobile network Alfa has launched its mobile TV service, powered by Argela ITV platform. The service will enable Alfa’s data customers to watch TV and movies on various devices through Alfa’s 3G and 4G networks or through Wi-Fi. The service provides the subscribers with the ability to watch live TV channels and video on demand (VOD) content on their tablets and smartphones.

Alfa Mobile TV covers content including sports, movies, news, music and entertainment for kids from a host of broadcasters.

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 5

PRONEWS

oman tV expands MAM with tedial

joB trAck

The Oman TV headquarters in Muscat.

Oman TV, the national broadcaster of the Sultanate of Oman, has expanded its MAM facility with Tedial.

The expansion at the broadcaster’s HD digital studio facility has enabled the launch of its new channel, Oman TV Live, with the addition of increased storage and MAM client licences. The new contract also includes a 12-month service level agreement with an upgrade to the latest version of Tedial’s Tarsys MAM system.

The TV station broadcasts three HD channels: Oman TV General, Oman TV Sport and Oman TV Live.

The new expansion also increases the speed at which content ingested into the Avid production workflow can be broadcast, significantly improving productivity and efficiency. Now, operators can select content that hasn’t previously been archived, for fast-turnaround playout.

The process includes editing, compliance-censorship, automatic QC, segmentation, subtitling, validation and archiving. The operator can also decide if content needs to go through the validation process or if it can be bypassed via the shortcut workflow, for immediate playout.

Tedial’s MAM technology forms the heart of Oman TV’s digital production facility, which launched three years ago, providing the country’s first HD studios.

Piksel has appointed Neil Berry as Executive Vice President of commercial for EMEA. Berry will be leading the expansion of Piksel’s business in Europe, building on 25 years of experience as a senior executive in the broadcast, digital media and enterprise space.

Berry joins Piksel from video streaming company ooyala, where he had executive responsibility for leading the rapid growth of the company’s operations and revenues in Europe.

Saudi minister axed after TV channel closure Saudi Arabia’s Culture and Information Minister, Abdul Aziz Khoja, was removed from his post following controversy over Wesal, an Islamist television channel. However, no link between the two developments has been confirmed officially. The order by King Abdullah said that Khoja was removed upon his request.

Khoja ordered the closing of Wesal channel, which was accused of inciting sectarian hatred.

“I gave orders to shut down the office of Wesal in Riyadh and to ban any broadcasting of the channel from Saudi Arabia. The channel is not Saudi in the first place,” he said.

Khoja’s duties have been taken over by the Haj Minister, Bandar Bin Mohammad Hamza, who will continue to keep his current post, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture is considering shutting down several satellite TV channels that broadcast programmes deemed hostile to the government and the people of the Kingdom, a ministry source revealed.

Abdul Aziz Khoja.

CNBC Arabia launches news-based game show with Youtoo Technologies CNBC Arabia has partnered with Youtoo Technologies ME to offer multiple interactive services for its audience. The broadcaster expects to launch a number of knowledge-based interactive services and game shows in the months ahead to engage with its audience. This partnership

will launch its first interactive game show, targeting millions of viewers, and open the channel for interactivity between the broadcaster and the audience.

The knowledge-based game show, claimed to be the first in the region, enables the audience to respond to

6 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

questions based on selected news headlines on the broadcaster's website.

This show empowers viewers to give their opinions and choose from various options on the selected news items, to win points. CNBC Arabia dubs it as a new way of rewarding a loyal audience.

PRONEWS

Dubai producer releases documentary in Hollywood

Stu Higton (l) and Stuart Cameron (r) of Portfolio Films.

All You Need is Love, a documentary focusing on the lives and dreams of the children of Good Morning School in the district of Mae Sot, Thailand, was recently released in Hollywood by Dubai-based Portfolio Films. Produced

by Stuart Cameron and Meddy Ezrah Ortega, executive produced by Suzy Amis Cameron, Patrick Dunn and Stu Higton of Octopus Advertising in Dubai, the film was shot over a period of 15 months at the Burma-Thailand border.

Commenting on the project, the film’s director, Stuart Cameron, said: “We are traditional documentary filmmakers and it was critical that our distributors understood our approach and shared our passion for the project. There is a hunger for such films in Los Angeles, which is why we chose a Hollywood release for the film.”

Shot on a Canon Mk 5D, the film is a 78-minute feature-length documentary and was edited in the UK. All promotional material and trailers for the film were created in Dubai by Octopus Advertising.

OSN Pehla adds three South Asian channels OSN has added three niche channels to its roster of South Asian channels. OSN Pehla will now carry Sony Mix, Dunya News and popular cookery channel Masala TV. Dunya News and Masala TV will be exclusive to OSN in two months.

This addition makes OSN Pehla one of the largest aggregators of South Asian content in MENA, with 36 channels.

DIFF 2014 to showcase promising Gulf projects This year, DIFF will open on December 10 with The Theory of Everything – the Stephen Hawking biopic from Academy Award winning director James Marsh.

Hollywood musical Into the Woods will close the curtain on the 11th edition of the Festival. The film blends classic stories from Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel.

A total of 118 features, film shorts and documentaries are set to be screened over eight days at this year’s edition; including 55 world and international premieres from 48 countries in 34 languages. These cinematic works of art have been created by both established and upcoming directors and producers.

At the opening ceremony, DIFF will present its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award to prominent

Egyptian actor Nour El-Sherif, for his work on more than 100 films in a career that has spanned almost five decades.

Abdulhamid Juma, Chairman of DIFF, said: “DIFF has come so far in the past 11 years, introducing new audiences to Arab cinema, fostering talent and welcoming the industry’s greatest directors, producers, writers and actors. I am proud to say that DIFF has contributed to putting the region’s film industry on the global map.”

Samr Al Marzooqi, Dubai Film Market Manager, added: “I’m looking forward to meeting our guests, who are set to visit DIFF and see the significant steps taken in the UAE’s film industry for themselves.”

DIFF’s Muhr Feature competition jury will be headed by producer and director Lee Daniels.

Fourth from left: Abdulhamid Juma, Shivani Pandya, Masoud Amralla Al Ali and Samr Al Marzooqi at the DIFF press conference.

Local content to drive MENA media growth: ADMS study Untapped demand for local, Arabic content will spur rapid regional media growth over the next five years, according to a new study unveiled at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit this year.

The joint study, undertaken by management consultancy Strategy& and Media Zone Authority Abu Dhabi, twofour54, also found that accelerated adoption of mobile technology,

8 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

evolutions in paid and digital media and a new wave of unique youthproduced content will be key factors in driving media growth in the region.

Noura Al Kaabi, CEO of Media Zone Authority Abu Dhabi, twofour54, said: “The MENA media market’s evolution is encouraging regional players to revisit their business models and explore investments in high-quality local content."

PRONEWS

ADMS 2014 calls for a fully connected world Noura Al Kaabi, Chief Executive Officer, twofour54, wrapped up the 2014 edition of the Abu Dhabi Media Summit by telling delegates that with seven billion connected individuals forecast by 2020, the media and e-commerce industry may soon be managers of the world’s

Noura Al Kaabi with Queen Rania at the opening of ADMS 2014.

Former Abu Dhabi Media head dies in car crash

largest and most relevant “mall”.

The three-day summit was opened

by Queen Rania of Jordan on November 18 and hosted regional and international speakers in a diverse mix of sessions. Bringing together international top-tier media players with their regional counterparts, the ADMS 2014 programme featured a series of high-profile conversations and interviews that mulled over the content, distribution and financing of media. Abu Dhabi’s emergence as a global media hub also figured prominently against the backdrop of the impact of recent trends on the media industry in the region.

Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, a noted cultural figure and former Chairman of Abu Dhabi Media, passed away after a car crash.

Al Mazrouei served as Director General of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Media. The Authority launched two of the most successful TV poetry programmes in the Arab world. It also launched the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, New York-Abu Dhabi Film Academy, Eastern Melodies Festival and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, Kilmat for Translation Project.

The UAE Journalists Association released a statement on Wam to mourn Al Mazrouri’s passing, saying that the UAE has lost a national symbol.

The New York Film Academy also paid its respects to Al Mazrouei.

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 9

PRONEWS

MGI training Academy hosts networking bootcamp

New legal firm to provide advice on media matters Cameron Crawford, who served as Senior Legal Counsel for Twofour54, has now set up Indigo Media, a legal and business consulting firm at Twofour54, Abu Dhabi.

The law firm will provide legal advice to clients in the media and entertainment sectors, with a special focus on adding commercial solutions based on detailed knowledge of the media and entertainment sectors, both globally and regionally. The firm also specialises in advising media clients on licensing.

NMK hosts series of seminars across the Gulf

Jim White conducts the Cisco Bootcamp for Broadcast at MGI Training Academy.

The newly-opened MGI Training Academy in Dubai Studio City hosted the "Cisco Networking Bootcamp for Broadcast" from November 16-20, 2014.

The course was tailor-made to bridge the gap between IT and broadcast. The objective of the course was to provide attendees with the basic skills required to design and build networks in a modern broadcast/media environment.

While 60% of the course was aligned to the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification, the remaining 40% was altered to make it more relevant to broadcast project engineers.

Jim White, Solutions Architect at MGI,

conducted the course, which ran for five days from 10am to 6pm.

“The course we are offering is around TV. We give real-life examples that our attendees can relate to. The idea is to equip broadcast engineers to understand networks better,” commented White.

“Throughout the course, we covered the challenges that are encountered when building IP networks for broadcast and explore solutions.

"With this course, and some additional preparation, students will be well positioned to take the CCNA exam,” commented Joe MacQuarrie, Training Manager at the academy.

Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises (NMK) successfully launched two roadshows in Doha and Muscat last month. Brands that were featured as part of the roadshow included HK Audio, Shure, Roland, Neutrik and Clear-Com. The roadshow, which took place in Doha on November 10 and in Muscat on November 18 attracted a broad spectrum of attendees, from systems integrators to end users. More than 80 people were present at the morning and afternoon sessions, the distributor claimed.

NMK product specialists teamed up with the manufacturer’s representatives to deliver comprehensive presentations and product demonstrations.

BroadcastAsia2015 unveils new TV Everywhere! zone

Yahoo acquires BrightRoll to boost online video business

Neumann collaborates with SAE Dubai for product demos

BroadcastAsia2015, slated for June 2-5, 2015, will unveil its new TV Everywhere! zone as increasing consumer expectations place new challenges on the industry to provide convenient and reliable access to content. With the proliferation of digital devices and today’s ever-changing market of always-on connectivity, content broadcasters are starting to look beyond TV to stream and monetise their content.

The new zone will explore the entire value chain of non-linear broadcasting.

Yahoo has acquired video-advertising company BrightRoll for $640 million in cash. The buyout is expected to help Yahoo win back ad revenue from rivals Google and Facebook.

The deal will enable the online giant to combine its premium desktop and mobile video advertising inventory with BrightRoll's programmatic video platform and publisher relationships.

Earlier this year, Yahoo sold shares worth $9bn to Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba.

Neumann, in conjunction with SAE Dubai, hosted an experiential day on November 20, 2014 at the SAE Campus in Dubai. The event was geared towards broadcast engineers, studio engineers and other professionals with an interest in microphones and monitors.

It featured live demonstrations of the latest Neumann audio solutions including, for the first time in the region, the new KH-420 studio monitor and the TLM 107 studio microphone.

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Science of the Beautiful CION is the new 4K/UHD and 2K/HD production camera from AJA. Shoot vivid detail with vibrant colors at any resolution. Effortlessly unite production and post by shooting directly to edit-ready Apple ProRes 4444 at up to 4K 30fps, ProRes 422 at up to 4K 60fps, or output AJA Raw at up to 4K 120fps. CION ships with PL mount; EF, B4, and F-mount options available from third parties. Unrivalled monitoring output options put CION at the heart of production.

4K sensor with 12 stops of dynamic range 4444 ProRes Recording Ergonomic and lightweight Open Connectivity

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Mediasys

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ASBU BroAdcAStPro ME

Summit 2014 Are MENA tV networks profitable? Are we creating enough Arabic content?

What new technologies are being deployed across the region? Is the demand for ott being addressed efficiently? More than 300 professionals attended the fourth annual edition of the event to hear industry leaders speak and network

12 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

The fourth annual edition of the ASBU BroadcastPro ME summit attracted a good mix of CEOs, CTOs and other senior executives from the broadcast community. Approximately 300 professionals including MENA end users as well as manufacturers, systems integrators and service providers attended the summit. A number of guests joined us from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia and other parts of the region. We were also happy to host manufacturers and industry professionals from the UK and Europe.

The event was headlined by Her Excellency Sameera Ebrahim bin Rajab, Minister of State for Information Affairs and the Official Spokesperson for the

Government of Bahrain. We also held a short but meaningful discussion with Mohammad Shihadah, a US-based Arab, who has been involved in developing human language technologies for several years and has found significant use for this technology amongst broadcasters.

Dominic Baillie, CTO of Sky News Arabia also briefly shared details about Project Skynet and invited interested parties to the broadcaster’s facility in Abu Dhabi to see a live demo of the award-winning project.

The summit covered some of the most pertinent issues affecting the region’s broadcast industry. We heard from CEOs on the commercial viability of running a TV station in the Middle East while CTOs from some of the leading

broadcast entities outlined their technical roadmap. Production experts debated the importance of producing Arabic content while traditional telcos and broadcasters were pitted against OTT players in a debate on whether the former would survive despite the emerging adoption of the latter’s services. We bring you more details in the following pages.

The Summit concluded with a raffle draw, with lucky winners walking away with iPhone 6 devices, two Sennheiser headphones, three Montblanc pens, a GoPro camera and two Canon cameras. A big thank you to Vizrt for sponsoring the iPhones, Sennheiser for the headphones, First Gulf Company for the Montblanc pens, Al Boom Marine Group for the GoPro camera and Canon for their cameras.

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 13

HE SamEEra rajab oPENS ASBU BroAdcAStProME SUMMIt

In her keynote address at the ASBU BroadcastPro ME Summit, HE Sameera Ebrahim bin rajab, Minister of State for Information Affairs, Bahrain, underlined the need for the region’s media to rethink its role and produce more responsible programming. We bring you excerpts from her speech

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HE Sameera Rajab receives an honorary award from Mohammad Abdullah, Managing Director, Media Cluster, TECOM Investments.

"It is estimated that there are currently more than 1200 Arab satellite channels, a number which, understandably, means Arab viewers have never been more spoilt for choice.

“At the same time, this also raises some very important questions: 1. Do citizens and residents of the Middle East and North Africa really need all these TV channels and programmes?

2. Do these productions take into account the sociocultural needs of viewers?

3. Do these films and programmes support and help preserve local cultural identities?

If the answer is ‘yes’, why is the Arab culture in continuous decline?

Even more serious is the fact that the perception of Arabs as terrorists, reactionaries and savages has never been more rampant.

“It is true that television productions are associated with market conditions, yet we should not forget that TV programmes have a role to play in social life, one which should not be overlooked in the service of market needs.

“In our countries, we deal with non-interactive viewers or recipients, the so-called TV addicts who watch TV simply because they cannot not watch television. This serves the needs of TV operators and television production companies.

“However, these operators or producers must not forget that the various TV programmes reflect certain cultural aspects and influence public opinion. Therefore, the role played by these programmes must be closely scrutinised in order to portray a positive image and contribute to supporting national and regional affairs.

“Arab cinema and television productions remain scarce. The rush to procure the latest in media technologies over the past thirty years has not been matched by a similar improvement in the standards of content, especially state-funded

“The rush to procure the latest in media technologies over the last thirty years has not been matched by a similar improvement in the standards of content, especially state-funded drama and film productions” HE Sameera rajab, Minister of State for Information Affairs, Bahrain

drama and film productions.

“Nor is this surprising when one considers that books have not fared much better. Unfortunately, we have become amongst the least [of] nations in production and reading of books of all types.

“I have no intention of laying the blame at the feet of a certain party to the exclusion of others.

Everyone bears an equal part of the responsibility and that includes officials like me, production companies, satellite channels as well as viewers and recipients.

“In this context, I would like to emphasise that cultural industries and the development of television production that serve the cultural and media interests of our countries, must be carried out within a safe and open work environment, [with] flexible mechanisms and

policies in place to encourage innovation and enhance competition between actors in the sector.

“On this basis, the laws regulating television and film production operations must be open and free to contribute to promoting production and encouraging innovation.

“Both private and public sections should integrate more and co-operate to promote national cultural industries.

“Today, we live in a global village of freedom of creativity and innovation, and ease and speed of movement. Therefore, having strict laws is no longer an option. Even some European countries that tried to protect their privacy against the invasion of American cinema did not succeed. For example, the idea of cultural specificity in France ceased to exist, and the European countries have accepted the reality, yet they created secondhand alternative solutions and new mechanisms to support national film and television production.

“I do not think we can provide miraculous solutions today, but we can still raise awareness about the reality of international production and its cultural and economic stakes, and work to support national and local production.

“Finally, I cannot say that the situation of television and film production in the Kingdom of Bahrain, in terms of content, is better than other Gulf and Arab countries.

“We need more time and effort to reform the sector and to encourage creativity and innovation through the modernisation of thought and laws as well as supporting investment and the conclusion of Arab, Gulf and regional agreements and partnerships.

“We are also working hard within the five-year strategic plan of the Ministry of State for Information Affairs in the Kingdom of Bahrain, to study the establishment of a film production city, to be a creative station for Arab and gulf innovators in the area of film and television.”

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 15

Creating content for an Arab audience

Fadi Ismail, Director of Drama Production and Distribution, MBC Group.

Khulud Abu-Homos, Executive VP Programming, Creative Services, OSN.

Bassam Alasad, Chief Content Officer, Integracast.

Samr Al Marzooqi, Manager, Dubai Film Market.

Ziad Kebbi, CEO, Maximum Media.

Lina Matta, Senior Channel Manager, MBC 2, MBC 4, MBC Max & MBC Variety.

16 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

Production in tHE middlE EaSt

the ASBU BroadcastPro ME Summit began with a discussion on creating content for an Arab audience – what works, and what doesn’t!

The moderator for the panel, Lina Matta, Senior Channel Manager MBC 2, MBC 4, MBC Max, MBC Variety, began the debate by saying that this is the best of times for Arab production. With exclusive TV channels that carry TV dramas, and state-of-the-art technical studios, there is support for production from all quarters.

Despite this, there seems to be a gap between production and demand. So what’s holding Arab production back? asked Matta.

Khulud Abu-Homos, Executive VP of Programming & Creative Services at OSN, was the first to respond, saying that OSN has three channels that focus on producing and acquiring Arabic drama. The problem lay in finding premium, quality content in the Middle East. The region is yet to find differentiators to stay ahead of the game. Abu-Homos pointed out that the Arab world is not creating enough original content, and is complacent in following trends.

“As a pay-TV network, we see it as our responsibility to provide our viewers with high-quality content and not merely fill air time,” she said.

Another major challenge that jeopardises legal revenue streams is piracy and illegal downloads.

Piracy is acceptable in the Arab world, as a lot of the viewers

here expect content to be free.

Abu-Homos also pointed out that there is not enough content produced for women or the young generation. Fadi Ismail of MBC disagreed saying that drama is targeted at women – there are no sci-fi or crime-centric stories and most of the themes of drama revolve around women.

Ismail added that there is a growing appetite for Arab content: “Content is king, local content is king of kings, and quality local content is king of the kings of kings.”

However, higher quality means higher costs. Broadcasters have commercial and budget limitations, which is why many use a triedand-tested formula. Panellists agreed that adapting foreign formats is a positive development and enriches the local industry.

“If there was no Turkish drama, Arab drama would not have reached this stage. Gulf drama is still lagging behind. Egyptian and Syrian productions are improving, and Lebanese drama is also quite sought-after,” pointed out Ismail.

A thriving production ecosystem cannot be built overnight in the region. Ismail pointed out that it is expensive to produce in the UAE, in the absence of a local talent pool. “You cannot produce a drama in another place – it has to be

supported by the ecosystem, which makes Egypt and Lebanon very attractive as production hubs.”

Commenting on the need to develop a healthy ecosystem in the UAE, Samr Al Marzooqi, Manager, Dubai Film Market (DFM), added that production companies as well as government entities need to collaborate and the region needs to invest more in quality content.

He added that the best way to counter piracy is to release content quickly on different media.

“We need to push our films on every single platform with a minimum time window, be it theatre, DVD and TV or second screen,” said Marzooqi.

He also explained that with films, the problem stems from the distribution model, which DFM would be addressing in its upcoming edition.

“Films die after the festivals.

We need to change our strategy to support sales and distribution, to reach our films to audiences and close this gap between production and screenings.”

Ziad Kebbi, CEO, Maximum Media, said that the secret to making good, value content lay in regionalising it.

Kebbi defended the adoption of international formats and regionalising them, stating that the triggers for human emotions are universal. These formats also

educate and inform the local talent pool by setting high benchmarks.

Kebbi pointed out that there is talent in the region, but not enough to meet demand: “We need to grow the local talent pool.”

He added that the MENA industry cannot be compared with the US or Europe.

The panel agreed that the answer to developing and creating compelling content doesn’t lie in competition alone. There needs to be a balance between competition and progress. Competition can be debilitating to an immature industry; instead, improved infrastructure should create the differentiation, Abu-Homos commented.

Ismail was quick to add that, at this juncture, the various players in the Arab film and TV industry need to collaborate rather than compete.

Panellists were unanimous in saying that there is a lack of support from advertisers in pushing for original ideas for content creation. There is a need to develop more genres, but no one wants to venture beyond

The production panel opened the discussion at the Summit.

the tried-and-tested formats.

Abu-Homos said that the objective of production should be to satisfy audiences. Content creators need to take risks and stand up for new and original ideas.

“It’s high time we made a beginning and took more risks, because that’s the only way to give our viewers the best,” she added.

Bassam Alasad, Chief Content Officer, Integracast, Executive Producer of Al Batal and member of the Producers Guild of America, said that catering to viewers’ needs by creating something that didn’t exist before is the best way to move forward.

“Al Batal was a niche production that catered to an audience that enjoyed fighting challenges.

There was a gap in the market, as this kind of content did not exist, and when we offered it to our viewers, they immediately embraced it,” said Alasad.

Kebbi drew the panellists’ attention to yet another challenge in the MENA market – the lack of audience measurement. There is a need to regulate people metres and provide the industry with statistics to measure the level of audience engagement with TV programmes. The panellists agreed that this would lead the industry in the right direction and help monetise content more effectively.

The discussion came to an end with closing remarks from each of the panellists. The panel concurred that there is a need for more Gulf content, and more revenue streams that use the latest technology need to be developed to make the second screen a value proposition.

“Films die after the festivals. We need to change our strategy to support sales and distribution, to reach our films to audiences and close this gap between production and screenings” Samr Al Marzooqi, Manager, dubai Film Market December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 17

Tackling OTT

Mahesh Jaishankar, Vice President, datamena and broadcasting.

Moustapha Bekheet, Head of Mazika, ARPUPLUS, Egypt.

Paulo Ferreira, Head of Commercial, Digital, OSN.

Dr. Raed Khusheim, CEO of Selevision, Saudi Arabia.

Roger Bolton, Executive VP of Special Projects in Compression, Ericsson.

Ben Kinealy, CEO, Intigral .

18 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

traditional broadcaStErS and tElcoS vS ott

With the arrival of ott, are traditional players backing off or rising to the challenge? ott players and traditional operators battle it out at the summit When the speaker line-up for the BroadcastPro Summit was first published, it came as quite a surprise to me to see Ben Kinealy’s name listed as moderator rather than panellist on the OTT panel, given that he's the CEO of Intigral, one of the most important players in the MENA OTT space.

In fact, making Kinealy a moderator proved to be an inspired move, affording him the opportunity to set out a comprehensive overview of the nascent OTT industry.

During an intense 20-minute introduction, he outlined all the new players in video, the massive changes in broadband consumption that they have created, the effect this consumption has had on telcos and of course the effect that the new players have had on broadcasters, creating a whole new generation of “Cord Nevers”. He then outlined the broadcasters' various defensive responses to the OTT threat, and the way the telecoms industry has responded to the new demands on their capacity.

He didn't neglect the new content players in the market, content providers creating whole new TV networks that have never touched

the traditional broadcast space.

The five panellists came from a diverse range of disciplines, which meant the session covered a great deal of ground. We learnt from Mahesh Jaishankar, VP Datamena and Broadcasting at du that “97% of internet content in the Middle East is still accessed from Europe and US hosts. By comparison, 60% of content consumed in Singapore is locally hosted”. du is seeking to remedy this imbalance through internet exchanges. Mahesh pointed out that OTT services have a low barrier to entry, so we can expect a lot of them to launch, and a lot of failures – telcos must choose the best partners.

Roger Bolton, Executive VP Special Projects in Compression at Ericsson counselled us not to ignore the linear broadcast space. Based on Ericsson research, he forecast that “50% of content in 2020 would remain live [linear] content and OTT will remain a complementary service”. The improvements in OTT delivery mean that it has already all but caught up with IPTV from a quality perspective: “There is now a blurring between high quality OTT and low quality IPTV broadcasts.”

“Consumers will never pay when they can find content for free – we need to work together to change the equation” Moustapha Bekheet, Head of Mazika

Dr Raed Khusheim, CEO of Selevision, argued that “there is room for collaboration between broadcasters and OTT providers, particularly through hybrid platforms such as HbbTV”, which also combines the benefits of social media.

By comparison, OSN's Paolo Ferreira sees OTT as a new market opportunity for the broadcaster: pay-TV penetration still remains below 10%, providing a large window for a low-price unbundled pay-TV offering to complement OSN’s higher ARPU DTH services.

He pointed out that “we have all the premium content: we have just signed with WWE and we have one new movie premiere every day”. He also highlighted that OSN's biggest competitors in OTT remain the file-sharing pirates and the grey market operations of networks such as Netflix and Apple TV.

As the panel’s only standalone OTT player, ARPUplus’s Mazika product provided some telling insights into operating in the embryonic MENA OTT market.

Moustapha Bekheet, Head of Mazika, pointed out that “consumers will never pay when they can find content for free – we need to work together to change the equation. Consumers need to find quality and speed difference in premium content services between the legal and pirate service”. He suggested that more operators should follow T-Mobile’s example of white listing legal OTT services and limiting the pirates, creating a healthier environment for content. “It's either this or commercial partnerships with telcos,” he added. “Either way, we need collaboration to create better offerings through better services.”

These ideas sound like a

This panel focused on the rise of OTT and its impact on traditional players.

reasonable basis for a business model, but Ben Kinealy reminded us that around the world, “telcos who block pirates lose business to telcos that don’t block pirates, so they are wary about anti-piracy measures”.

He noted that the UAE telecoms regulator has a list of blocked sites but illegal file-sharing torrent sites are not among them. It seems that internet traffic still wins over antipiracy measures for operators.

A great deal of ground was covered, but the group consensus seemed to be that bundling and partnering between telcos and content owners are the most fruitful opportunities for legitimate OTT services. The biggest commercial challenge for OTT appears to be balancing between keeping the price of delivering high quality content and services low enough to attract consumers away from pirates, while meeting the financial expectations of content owners and telcos.

The message from my perspective was clear: Running an OTT business in the MENA region is still not for the faint-hearted.

Nick Grande, Md of channelSculptor, summed up this discussion.

The world is not round, it is parallel “digital broadcasters have always used hardware-based encoding as a method of compressing video to deliver to their networks while ott has used software. the trend now is towards creating a virtualised encoding platform, where broadcasters send their data and get their ott and broadcast services at the quality of the bandwidth they require. I see that happening in many regions. this gives the advantage to the broadcasters to be less concerned with what kind of encoding is used and more, with the quality delivered." roger Bolton, Executive VP of Special Projects in compression at Ericsson, on the cPU/GPU debate

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 19

The Tech Debate

Chris Anning, Senior Project Manager, Al Arab News Channel.

Dominic Baillie, CTO, Sky News Arabia, Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Naser Refaat, Acting CTO, Rotana TV Network, Egypt.

Robert Taylor, Programme Manager for AJWT, Al Jazeera, Qatar.

Stephen Smith, CTO - Cloud, Imagine Communications.

Mark Errington, CEO of BroadStream Solutions.

20 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

tHE Hot SEat

the region's leading ctos put their heads together to discuss the influx of new technologies and how to embrace change in an ever-evolving industry The CTOs had several points to discuss from the adoption of 4K, managing corporate expectations, transitioning to an IT infrastructure, tackling OTT and cloud as well as looking at software-defined networks.

The discussion began with the moderator, Mark Errington, CEO of BroadStream Solutions, asking the CTOs if they saw 4K as becoming a reality, considering that a majority of broadcasters had just completed the migration to HD. Apart from debating whether 4K was really on the cards and what was driving its adoption, he also questioned what channel types were likely to adopt 4K first and if it would ever be part of the mainstream.

Dominic Baillie, CTO of Sky News Arabia pointed out that while quality of video is important, for a news channel, it is more important to get the news across whilst it is still hot.

“Of course, we like the graphics to look great but sometimes when you are telling a story, the quality doesn’t really matter; it’s more important to get the story across,” he said.

For most broadcasters today, 4K is good for acquisition and the CTOs agreed that for viewers, it doesn’t make much difference whether they are watching the content in 4K or HD. Dr Naser Refaat, Acting CTO of Rotana, said that 4K cannot be limited to just acquisition but needs to be extended to all areas of broadcast for which the MENA broadcast industry is not yet ready.

From a production perspective,

higher resolution impacts storage, while the playout and post production impact the entire infrastructure. The existing broadcast infrastructure is not yet ready for 4K transmission, Dr Refaat added.

The video quality is often lost in compression as “we are not yet ready to stream uncompressed material to the viewers to experience original high quality” he said.

Robert Taylor, Programme Manager for Al Jazeera Workplace Transformation Project, Al Jazeera, Qatar said that Al Jazeera has been considering 4K for a while.

He pointed out that 4K is ‘roadmapped’ into the Qatari broadcaster’s programmes area for acquisition as well as production but more groundwork needs to be done to deliver it to viewers. The existing broadcast infrastructure needs to be upgraded to be able to handle higher resolution files, in order to meet viewer expectations.

“Speed is the key. In fact, I would say speed is king, when it comes to delivering content to the end user. It’s more relevant now in the multiscreen age than ever before,” Taylor pointed out.

Chris Anning, Senior Project Manager, Alarab News Channel added that the key focus areas for 4K were acquisition and platform.

He said that 4K production was a good starting point, which many broadcasters are doing to prepare for the future.

Broadcasters are aiming towards providing an immersive

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experience to their viewers, and to achieve that, better quality video is being discussed, which may be HD, 4K or even 8K. In broadcast, it’s the immersive experience that’s king and content is a part of that, according to Taylor. Delivering in 4K is a part of that value proposition.

At times, CTOs are limited by the management’s expectations to meet commercial and strategic goals. The panel was divided on this.

While some panellists said that the company should be led by corporate vision, others said that the CTO should define the technical roadmap of the company and convince the management to adopt it.

Baillie said that it is the CTO’s job to share his vision with the CEO. However, the solutions and technology deployed should adhere to budgetary restrictions in order to deliver a good cost benefit for the company.

He gave the example of Sky News Arabia’s DR project that was built in-house on a relatively small budget.

He also mentioned that investing in hardware is a thing of the past and the way forward is to take the software approach.

“We have invested a lot of energy into software development and design. Software can deliver a unique user experience at a relatively low cost,” explained Baillie.

Technical growth needs a lot of forward planning and thinking, added Taylor.

Taylor noted that Al Jazeera was working 8-10 years into the future in order to tackle issues they could foresee at that point in time.

Everyone on the panel agreed that future-proofing the systems was the only way to keep the costs in check and still have a robust technical roadmap.

Stephen Smith, CTO – Cloud, Imagine Communications agreed that broadcasters need to accept that technology is changing quickly and

keep pace. To keep in step with the developments in the industry, and to create differentiating products, broadcasters need to have a more software-centric approach, he noted.

It takes a long time to educate a network guy to understand the real time nature of video, Baillie chipped in. The panel also agreed that it was a challenge to find people on the broadcast side, who have a thorough knowledge of networks.

The IT and the networks teams don’t have a different mandate, they need to be on the same page to start with, the panellists concurred.

It cannot be emphasised enough that traditional broadcast is indeed transitioning into IT, but it need not be as complex as often perceived.

Smith said that the lines between IT and broadcast have blurred for a while now.

Dr Refaat was concerned that

The CTOs agreed that while traditional broadcasters are transitioning to an IT infrastructure, it need not be as complex as perceived.

“Speed is the key. In fact, I would say speed is king, when it comes to delivering content to the end user. It’s more relevant now in the multiscreen age than ever before” robert taylor, Programme Manager for Al Jazeera Workplace transformation Project, Al Jazeera, Qatar

22 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

budget would pose a challenge if broadcasters were to replace the existing infrastructure with software-defined networks.

Taylor and Anning agreed that today’s broadcasters operate in a hybrid environment. Modern broadcast infrastructures boast IT commodity equipment and the trend is only going to grow.

“We have IT-based commodity solutions throughout our installation in Alarab News Channel as they bring the cost down and are more reliable. Adopting IT is not a Herculean task, we have done it for years and our engineers are qualified to handle it,” Anning claimed.

Baillie supported the argument to say that it’s no secret that engineers have been using IT systems for the last 10 years.

However, with broadcast increasingly gravitating towards IT, the money spent on baseband infrastructure is also decreasing.

Cloud was also discussed in some detail and how it can extend to hosting content from remote locations. With broadcasting entering the virtual realm, is there likelihood of broadcasting directly to the consumers without a role for middlemen? There was no consensus on when it will become a reality but there will come a time when content creators and content consumers will converge.

where stars are born

52.5째E

New markets, new platforms – the strategy for success in the region

David Butorac, Chief Executive Officer, OSN.

tHE buSinESS of EntErtaining viEwErS SuccESSfully the cEos of leading MENA media houses discussed the future of broadcast in the region and how they would address issues in 2015

Fahad Mohammed Al Sukait, CEO, Rotana Group & Alarab News Channel.

Nart Bouran, Head of Sky News Arabia, Abu Dhabi.

Sanjay Raina, General Manager, FOX International Channels Middle East.

Karim Sarkis, CEO, Sync Media FZ LLC.

24 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

Over the years since its launch, the CEO panel has remained the highlight of the BroadcastPro summit, always attracting the top names of the MENA TV industry and always offering frank, honest and open debate. My one frustration, which I'm sure is shared by many, is that the same questions tend to come up year after year without being progressed or resolved. We all know that the current business model for MENA FTA television is flawed, but as an industry we seem powerless to replace it, despite having successful international templates to learn from.

This year's CEO panel was different. Under the expert moderation of Karim Sarkis and with the support of key members of the audience, the CEOs on the panel seemed to speak with a single voice – not only about the problems in the industry, but also about how to address them in 2015.

Business Model and Profitability Profitability is a big challenge, and the price of some content remains a big business issue. As David Butorac of OSN put it: “The big MENA sports broadcasters have no desire to deliver a profit. The cost of content

for our friends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi is a multiple of their revenue.

It skews the market. We can’t afford to pay the sort of money BeIN Sport pays for football, and we never will.”

Sanjay Raina, Fox noted: “We don’t work on a loss, but this is one of the most challenging markets. There is a three-way revenue stream here [between pay licencing, programming sales and advertising on FTA channels], but not necessarily a three-way contribution to profits. You cannot be in this business profitably if you take any of those legs away.” When things go wrong for broadcasters: “The first thing that suffers is quality of manpower, and the second thing that suffers is the quality of content (third and fourth runs).”

Fahad Al Sukait, of Rotana Media spoke about the perilous condition of the Egyptian film industry under relentless attack from pirates. “Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg. If you look at the movie in the Arab world today, it’s dying. Today you are enjoying buying this movie [pirated] at a low price. Tomorrow it will not be there.” He warned that there will be no Egyptian film production within two years if something is not done now. I noted

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that Sam Barnett, CEO of MBC, made precisely the same comment at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit a week later. Rapid and decisive action must be taken to save an industry that is treasured throughout the region.

Another familiar theme, echoing last year's panel, was the increased localisation of regional channels, reflecting that taste is different in each of the 21 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the very different demographics of the countries in question. Several members of the panel recognised the incremental revenue opportunities that exist for broadcasters by focusing on each country individually. As Nart Bouran put it: “People are realising that if you are able to target a more specific domestic audience, you have a greater chance of profitability.”

Audience measurement Numerous other themes were touched upon in the session, but one subject came up again and again.

Audience measurement has been raised in every BroadcastPro Summit CEO panel since it began; what was new this time was a common resolve to address the problem.

“The big MENA sports broadcasters have no desire to deliver a profit. The cost of content for our friends in Qatar and Abu Dhabi is a multiple of their revenue.

It skews the market. We can’t afford to pay the sort of money BeIN Sport pays for football, and we never will” david Butorac, cEo, oSN Dr. Riyadh Najm, President of the Saudi General Commission for Audiovisual Media, who was in the audience, outlined his plans for the Saudi Peoplemeters initiative, which he expects to be operating by the end of Q1 2015.

“We are determined in Saudi Arabia to introduce a transparent, reliable and flexible mechanism to measure audience, and we are using the best technologies in the world. If anyone wants to join, even at the last moment, he is welcome.

If anyone wants to sit and watch and join later, he is also welcome.”

The Saudi system will include advertisers as well as broadcasters and legislators, and it will be managed by recognised international experts and audited by both international auditors and regional industry watchdogs. Fahad Al Sukait noted the market resistance to Peoplemeters.

The head honchos discussed the traditional TV model and the OTT threat.

“Everybody knows that the worst people metering system in the world is better than the best CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) system, but let’s be frank: we are talking about a lot of money, and that money is sometimes being used to ensure that the current system remains the way it is.”

Against this, the panellists all accepted that transparent audience measurement will create a far more effective product for advertisers, delivering more value for their investment, and that advertising revenues will reflect this, potentially going from their current figure of $900m to $2bn or more. The greatest beneficiaries of this increase would be mid-tier broadcasters with loyal audiences for their key programming that cannot be demonstrated through CATI measurement. However, given larger revenue opportunity, even the main incumbents stand to profit from the change despite perhaps losing some market share.

I was struck by the unity and optimism amongst panellists; this was a collective rallying cry of “Enough is enough!” Together we can support the initiatives in Saudi Arabia and in the UAE and build a new chance for the industry by adopting internationally recognised audience measurement standards. Fahad Al Sukait said Peoplemeters “will be the turning point. You can see that people are getting tired and frustrated – you will see more alliances of companies saying, Let’s do the right thing.” PRO

Nick Grande, Managing director at channelSculptor summed up the discussion.

26 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

celebrating s

end users, manufacturers, systems integrators and other members of the broadcast community came together at the fourth ASBU BroadcastPro ME Awards to celebrate the industry’s achievements over the past year

uccess

The fourth ASBU BroadcastPro ME Awards took place on the evening of November 11, with more than 350 guests attending.

The event was officially opened by Salah Eddine Maaoui, Director General of the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU). The presence of ministers, VIPs and well-known TV personalities made the night even more special. The star of the evening was George Kordahi, who received an award for OSN’s popular reality show Moussameh Karim.

18 awards were presented in different categories spanning broadcast and satellite.

The awards kicked off with BroadcastPro ME’s sister publication SatellitePro ME giving away awards in three categories, followed by the broadcast awards.

A special recognition award was presented to Mohammad Shihadah, CEO of Apptek for his tireless work in the field of human language technology.

The jury the awards were judged by an eminent jury comprising experts from production and engineering: • Abdulla Al-Balooshi Director of technical affairs, information affairs authority (iaa), bahrain • Robert Taylor Programme Manager for al Jazeera Workplace transformation Project, al Jazeera • Hasan Sayed Hasan Managing Director of Master Media • Khalid Abuali broadcast technology consultant with edara Holding in Qatar • Harvey Glen a Dubai-based Director of Photography • Kamil Roxas a filmmaker in abu Dhabi • Vijaya Cherian editorial Director

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 29

InnovatIve ProductIon of 2014 dubaI MedIa Inc. The promo for the Dubai World cup 2014, produced in-house by DMI, was unanimously chosen as the winner for the plot as well as its fine execution.

“It feels great and I’m honoured to receive this award. I can’t thank the organisers of this event enough.

I’m very happy to be here. DMI has been here before, but from the creative department, this is a first and we hope to participate more actively in the future.” — Fadi said Izzaldin, Head of creative services, DMI, with the award.

best studIo set of the Year alarab news channel Production House has delivered a rich variety of sets and camera positions within a relatively small space to Alarab News channel. The video entry from Production House showcased a rich and contemporary design that used LeD technology effectively to create beautiful effects.

“This is the second time we’ve won an award from BroadcastPro Me. I am very thankful for this recognition.” — Ashraf Badriya of Production House receives the award from Mohammed Alhaj of Gulfsat.

30 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

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best long-forM ProductIon of 2014 clacket MedIa syrian production Al Ikhwa, which was fully shot in Abu Dhabi, created a storm in the Arab world, evoking both positive and negative responses to its rather controversial plot but no one denies the slickness of this production and its entertainment value.

“I am so happy to win this award, because this production took a lot of our time and thinking. I now need to produce something better to win another award next year.”

— eiad Al Najjar, GM at clacket Art Production, with the award.

best long-forM ProductIon of 2014 etana Please suPPlY stage Photo

32 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

Two brothers from Babylon took it upon themselves to bring laughter into the lives of the Iraqi people. Not only did their content make our judges laugh, they had our audiences in splits at the awards as well.

Ali Abu Khumra (r), GM of eTANA, receives the award from Laurent Roussel (l) of eutelsat.

“This is the first time we were nominated for the BroadcastPro Awards, and I’m really happy with this recognition.” — Ali Abu Khamra

2014 Mena sYsteMs Integrator Qvest MedIa fZ llc Qvest has undertaken several challenging MeNA projects from Dubai and Qatar to Tunisia. It is involved with high-profile installations such as the sports centre for beIN sports and the Al Jazeera Work Transformation Project. More recently, it completed the Alarab installation in Bahrain.

“We have been working on some great projects in the region and this award is for the team.” — Peter Nothen, MD of Qvest Media, with the award.

2014 InnovatIve Project award skY news arabIa sky News Arabia, which uses the networked resources of its bureaus around the region to provide business continuity and disaster recovery, was unanimously chosen as the winner by the judges. Pictured with the award is the sNA team and Paul Wallis (third from left), Director Middle east at Imagine communications.

“It’s a great achievement. At sky News Arabia, we strive to think differently.” — Rizwan Qureshi, senior Broadcast Developer, sNA.

34 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

Series

PANELS ON BOARDS FOCUSABLES

best telco/ broadcast InItIatIve channelsculPtor channelsculptor has been applauded by several end users for the invaluable support its channel licensing and management service has provided to up-andcoming telco IPTV networks and to MeNA broadcasters. Pictured is channelsculptor's MD, Nick Grande (r) and Richard saldanha (l) receiving the award from Bashar Alasad (c) of Integracast.

“I’m very proud of what we have achieved and am grateful to BroadcastPro for considering us for this award” — Nick Grande

outstandIng Mena ott InItIatIve go bY osn Go by OsN, which allows subscribers access to thousands of hours of premium entertainment, was every judge’s favourite in this category and well deserved.

The OsN team, Paulo Ferreira (l) and Lisa Robinson (r), receive the award from clare sturzaker of IBc content everywhere.

“It was a lot of work and preparation and was very stressful to launch on time so it feels really good to now win an award for it.” — Paulo Ferreira, Head of commercial Digital at OsN

36 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

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asbu broadcastPro Me 2014 technIcal achIever haMad abdelraZaQ, lIve hd Hamad has played a key role in shaping the technical roadmap at LIVe HD, which covers more than 85% of the region’s live sporting events today. Hamad Abdelrazaq (r), Head of Broadcast engineering at LIVe HD, receives the award from Habib Kazan of First Gulf company.

“This award has left me speechless. I'm so happy to receive it and proud to be part of LIVe HD.” — Hamad Abdelrazaq

broadcast Project of the Year alarab news channel Alarab TV’s nomination combined all the buzzwords from production and MAM to HDTV playout, multi-platform live streaming and IPTV, making it shine brighter than the rest. Jamal Khashoggi, GM of Alarab TV and Nebras Hameed, Head of creative services, pose with the award.

“This award adds to our responsibility to make Arabic channels felt in a very crowded and competitive market. Next year, I want the audience to realise that we have made a difference in the news business” — Jamal Khashoggi

38 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

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Mena broadcast trendsetter award for 2014 selevIsIon The judges unanimously chose selevision for breaking new ground with its HbbTV offering, which is believed to be a first for the Middle east.

Dr. Raed Khusheim (r), ceO of selevision, receives the award from Jasper Klaus-Joerg of Lawo.

“It feels great to win this award.

Of course, our biggest reward will come when our viewers accept our products and services, and understand what we bring to the region.” — Dr. Raed Khusheim

outstandIng tv PrograMMe MousaMeh karIM osn This one-of-kind TV reality show has struck a chord with Arab viewers in the most special way. collecting the award is George Kordahi (r), celebrity anchor and TV presenter with Khulud Abu-Homos, executive VP of Programming & creative services, OsN. “It’s really an amazing feeling, not only because of the programme but also because of the concept and the value of forgiveness, which is a much needed value in the Middle east. This recognition is truly an honour.” — Khulud Abu-Homos

40 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

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cto of the Year doMInIc baIllIe skY news arabIa A visionary cTO, Dominic Baillie’s ideas always offer a new perspective on things. Instead of using outof-the-box solutions or relying on systems integrators, he is always up for a challenge and willing to experiment. Dominic Baillie, cTO of sNA (l) receives the award from Dr. Riyadh Najm, President at General commission for Audiovisual Media.

“I’m not worthy of such a prestigious honour. A cTO is just one part of the machine that makes things work.

This is a team effort as far as I am concerned.” — Dominic Baillie

state broadcaster of the Year saudI broadcastIng corPoratIon sBc celebrated its 50th anniversary this year and has invested heavily in state-of-the-art projects to ensure its population has access to TV and radio. Pictured with the award is eng. Ibrahim AlRowaitie (l), President Assistant for engineering, and eng. samir Assiri, Projects GM (r) with Hadi Nazari (c) of North Telecom.

“In a short time, we have become a separate entity and undertaken projects to upgrade our infrastructure. This award has come at a good time.” — eng. Al-Rowaitie

42 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

sPecIal regIonal Project award MaZIka, arPuPlus Backed by one of the largest regional online and mobile entities, this music streaming service is one of the first regional digital music portals with a large library of more than 25,000 songs.

Moustapha Bekheet (r), Head of Mazika, receives the award from Paddy Roache of Hitachi Kokusai europe.

“We’ve worked really hard for this project so receiving an award on a regional level is amazing.” — Moustapha Bekheet

sPecIal trIbute MohaMMad shIhadah BroadcastPro ME honoured Mohammad Shihadah, CEO of Apptek, for his contribution to human language technologies and making it relevant to broadcasters.

Shihadah (r) receives the award from Salah Eddine Maaoui, Director General of the Arab States Broadcasting Union.

"This is such an honour.

We're so happy to see how language technology has come to play such a hugely critical role within broadcast."

— Mohammad Shihadah

44 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

Mena satellIte oPerator of the Year es’haIlsat 2013/2014 was a spectacular year for the Qatari satellite operator, following the successful launch of its first satellite in August 2013 and the start of its commercial services in December 2013. saif Mansour Al Khaldi, satellite Projects Director for es’hailsat (r), receives the award from Hassan M Al-Mass, Head of AsBu engineering committee (l).

outstandIng achIeveMent In satellIte ses ses delivered a whopping 45,000 hours of coverage across 12 different venues, using 10 different satellites for the 2014 FIFA World cup. Broadcasters from around the world secured capacity aboard its satellites and utilised ground infrastructure to deliver the World cup broadcasts to audiences around the world. Hussein Oteifa, GM, Middle east, ses (r) receives the award.

satellIte Pro edItor’s choIce award gulfsat coMMunIcatIons When beIN sports acquired the broadcast rights for the 2014 FIFA World cup, Gulfsat immediately realised there would be a need for a full transponder to cater to the MeNA region.

Mohammed Alhaj, chairman of Gulfsat (l) receives the award from salah eddine Maaoui, Director General of AsBu.

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PROOPINION

Partners in progress

In a rapidly changing media environment, the boundaries between It and broadcast are blurring. the two industries have to move hand in hand to leverage the right solutions. Vibhuti Arora spoke to two senior executives from Cisco to find out more about the company's strategy for broadcast As technology continues to advance, there is increased demand on network capacity, be it fixed, wireless or satellite. With big data, the storage is getting even bigger and users are able to cram a lot of data over various mediums. This trend is likely to continue as the data gets even bigger, especially in broadcast, where higher resolutions are picking up pace, with HD and ultra HD 4K and 8K adoption.

In parallel to this, video quality is improving too. At the same time, bandwidth requirements continue to go down. Five years ago, an HD video required about 4mbps; today, it has been reduced to 2mbps.

The amount of stress that data centres are facing today is exponentially higher than in the past. Today, there are more users, more devices and there is a completely different demand on data, which is in higher definition and bulkier than it used to be.

In order to keep pace with the fast-changing technology, broadcast companies need to be able to build cloud infrastructure in a more agile and more virtualised way. It's a matter of adapt or perish, according to Rabih Dabboussi, Managing Director and General Manager UAE, Cisco Systems International BV. It is no secret that video

consumption on the second screen is on the rise. Mobile broadband users are demanding spontaneous access to video content, a higher-quality experience and more convergent mobile services than ever before.

As a result of this growing demand, mobile data traffic is expected to grow manifold and the main driving force behind it will be video.

Is the second screen viewing likely to go over LTE? LTE broadcast enables operators to efficiently launch media services over LTE to meet this demand, but is it that simple?

How practical is LTE broadcast?

Are the networks ready for it just yet?

Dabboussi says that LTE networks have their limitations especially when it is seen as a mainstream solution.

“Regardless of what we do with LTE or short to mid-field wireless technology, we cannot

“As we migrate to an IPbased environment, we need to build the right infrastructure. The main challenges in adopting virtual solutions is the mindset” rabih Dabboussi, Managing Director and General Manager Uae, Cisco systems International BV

48 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

compare it to what fibre or satellite offer in terms of capacity.

“There are a lot of OTT media offers that monetise the networks of the service providers by offering media packages to broadcast over broadband, some of it is offered over 4G. This cannot be delivered as a solution to the masses,” he says.

However, he points out that there are offers available today, where broadcasters provide fewer channels or lower quality or both, which are suitable to be carried over LTE networks. When it comes to carrying high quality video over LTE, it will take some time before it becomes a reality.

“We have invested $2 billion in our inter-cloud offering that allows our channel partners and service providers around the world to sell Cisco solutions, to allow customers to leverage intelligent infrastructure,” comments Dabboussi.

The application-centric infrastructure is a data centre solution, as a package to analyse data based on applications and adapt it to the needs of the end users. It makes routing changes, security changes and bandwidth allocations.

However, there is scepticism about using cloud and users, especially broadcasters are divided about using it as a host platform.

“The lack of trust is not about the

PROOPINION

“Today, there are more users, more devices and there is a completely different demand on data, which is in higher definition and bulkier than it used to be. Broadcast companies need to be able to build cloud infrastructure in a more agile and more virtualised way to face these challenges” rabih Dabboussi, Managing Director and General Manager Uae, Cisco systems International BV

technology but about policies and legal implications behind using somebody else’s cloud infrastructure that lies somewhere else, outside the legal boundaries of the company. From a technical perspective, cloud is the only answer and we have to get it right.

Our duty is to offer it in a secure and seamless way,” clarifies Dabboussi.

He also points out that the world is heading towards IP as traditional broadcast networks become very costly and less scalable.

“Cisco has a legacy of interaction with broadcast companies, especially around events. We provided highly

efficient and secure networks for live sport such as the Olympics in the UK and China to transport content over IP,” he explains.

A virtualised infrastructure will be the basis for achieving most of the broadcast demands in the future. The way video is consumed is undergoing a turnaround and this is just the beginning.

“As we migrate to an IP-based environment, we need to build the right infrastructure. The main challenge in adopting virtual solutions is the mindset. In addition, one needs to find new revenue streams to justify

The world is heading towards IP as traditional broadcast networks become very costly and less scalable, says Dabboussi.

that migration,” he points out.

Dabboussi also adds that the MENA region has been quick to jump on the bandwagon of early adoptors of technology.

“We are seeing a change in the mindset in the region. Media and broadcast in the region is younger and less mature, but there is a great deal of openness to next-generation solutions. Companies are leveraging IP and cloud environments. We are helping broadcasters to build infrastructures and offer the services that help them differentiate themselves in intelligent environments.

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 49

PROOPINION

“Broadcasting is very heavy on applications and software. You want data centres to be smaller, but with higher capacity” Wael abdulal, Collaboration sales Manager, Cisco systems Interna-tional BV

Wael Abdulal, Collaboration Sales Manager, Cisco Systems International BV speaks about Cisco's broadcast strategy What is Cisco’s strategy for the broadcast sector?

Cisco is investing in building broadcast-specific solutions.

This goes beyond collaboration and video conferencing.

When it comes to broadcast, Cisco can address several areas.

These days, it’s about delivering the right information at the right time from anywhere. Connectivity and reaching the content on time are

two main concerns of broadcasters.

Customers are increasingly leveraging both satellite and wired communications for broadcasting to build a secure infrastructure.

This is one area where Cisco is helping in a big way. Networking security all the way to working with satellite companies to provide connectivity are our primary focus areas. From application to control units, Cisco provides customer

50 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

Customers are increasingly leveraging both satellite and wired communications for broadcasting to build a secure infrastructure, says Abdulal.

premise equipment for connectivity.

We have built a broadcasting studio in our office in Dubai, mainly to communicate internally between various Cisco offices, but this setup works well for a broadcasting environment too. Instead of having a video conference solution or a desktop conference solution, we have built a real setup with a complete broadcast chain, with some elements of it empowered by

PROOPINION

Cisco, especially the video part.

This setup is suitable for broadcasters as a means for secured communication. It’s ideal for delivering confidential information within a company’s setup. There are several applications in the public domain, but for enterprises and broadcasting companies what matters most is to receive the content securely. It's more than just delivering content, it’s about delivering content securely.

The green room in our Cisco Dubai office is one step in that direction.

Can you give us some examples of the kind of broadcast projects you have executed in the region?

We have worked for several customers to build their networking infrastructure from the ground up.

Cisco built an entire infrastructure for communications for a large broadcaster in the region. The broadcaster has built MPLS over Cisco solutions, and its network is managed and monitored by Cisco.

An example of a secured network is when the broadcaster’s foreign correspondents and freelancers communicate with the main hub – they do so via the secure network built by us.

What has changed in the broadcast ecosystem?

Historically, broadcasters needed big space in data centres. Today the data centres are smaller in size, but they offer more capacity. For instance, some years ago when we built a collaboration solution for a customer in the UAE, we used 30-40 servers for collaboration of 1000 contact centre agents in their data centre. Today, we can run that on eight servers with full redundancy. Virtualisation is the way forward – it won't be a choice in days to come but a necessity. It helps us put the system on air faster, more efficiently, more securely and with less downtime. Virtualisation reaches content faster to market

with less operational headache.

What is your role in managing data centres for clients?

Broadcasting is very heavy on applications and software. You want data centres to be smaller, but with higher capacity. Cisco offers application collaboration solutions for routing or data centre needs to manage and analyse the data. This comes with a complete management and provisioning tool, from ground up.

We provide on-premise solutions or take it as a service from a cloud provider. We don’t offer our solutions directly to clients, but build the clouds for service providers, who then give them to the clients. We work with both private and public clouds. We don’t host the data, but manage infrastructure for customers through our network operating centres.

Broadcasters like to have their core media assets on their premises, but they also leverage certain functions from the cloud, for example conferencing solutions.

What is the role of IT providers in online streaming?

We offer solutions to broadcasters and enterprises for online streaming under our Capture, Transform and Share. It is called Enterprise YouTube.

YouTube, as we all know, is a public platform; but for enterprises, security and confidentiality are major concerns. To address these, all the videos from webinars or other content are stored on a

secure platform, privately owned by the client. We call this Capture, Transform and Share, because the content is then transformed to make it accessible from various sites on various devices. We also provide a portal to share it to view it from any location. Moreover, this information is catalogued and also offers speech recognition.

What are the main challenges for an IT company to enter the broadcast arena?

In order to deliver a service to a vertical, you have to understand the vertical. For example, we have built an entire ecosystem around hospitality. We would like to take the same approach for broadcast.

Although we understand the industry and it is our core focus now, we need to add elements to the ecosystem by partnering with other entities.

We are taking steps to accomplish that with our partners. There are lots of back-end components that we need to work with partners to complete the broadcast ecosystem.

What have you achieved so far?

It's common knowledge that in a broadcasting grade network, there is no room for error; as mentioned, these networks need to be secure and robust and we provide speed and backup, which are imperative to the broadcast industry. We can provide satellite and GSM connectivity for broadcasters. We have partnered with service providers such as satellite companies and telcos to strengthen the network. PRO

“These days, it’s about delivering the right information at the right time from anywhere.

Connectivity and reaching the content on time are two main concerns of broadcasters. We are seeing customers leveraging both satellite and wired communications for broadcasting to build a secure infrastructure” Wael abdulal, Collaboration sales Manager, Cisco systems International BV December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 51

PROAPPS

brOadcasTers meeT applications OTT apps have not only reformed the traditional business models for broadcasters and pay-TV providers, they have also resulted in the rise of a new class of suppliers specialising in app development, says Meghali Sharma

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 53

PROAPPS

Thanks to a world of everevolving smart applications, television viewership has become a multiscreen experience. The disruption has become the new industry norm, and applications have not only reformed the traditional business models of broadcasters and pay-TV providers, they have also resulted in the rise of a new class of suppliers who leverage the power of the internet through mobile or web applications to reach end-users directly.

Today, broadcasters have a tough choice to make – if they don’t adjust their operating strategies, they are likely to fall prey to companies born on the internet.

To remain afloat and healthy, broadcasters need to consider how to sustain their businesses by leveraging TV-Everywhere applications. What new opportunities will these applications bring?

TV-Everywhere Applications There are a large number of TVEverywhere apps, from broadcasters, cable and satellite providers and standalone OTT operators. These include HBO Go, Watch ESPN, Cartoon Network, CNBC, Syfy, Comcast’s Xfinity TV Go, Time Warner Cable’s TWC TV and Dish Anywhere. The majority of these applications were launched within the last three years and provide authenticated access to full episodes of the broadcaster's programming.

These applications are now approaching mainstream usage in the West as they steadily gain the rights to stream more content and continue with a heavy marketing drive that began a year or so ago. The main selling proposition is to offer a distinct user experience, built around an intuitive UI and complimentary content, intended to provide a deeper level of viewer engagement. To put this into perspective, Adobe’s State of the Industry Report 2014 states that TV-Everywhere viewing in the

US increased 246% compared to 2013, driven mainly by interest in sports. Mobile video viewing saw a year-on-year increase of 57%, while overall online video was up 43% with more than 35 billion viewings.

In the Middle East, despite the popularity and high consumption of online video, monetising the opportunities has remained a huge challenge for all stakeholders – broadcasters, pay-TV providers and OTT operators. Content rights at the device level, a natural reluctance to pay for content and piracy have had a detrimental impact on the uptake for TV-Everywhere services, meaning services like OSN’s Go, Etisalat’s eLife, STC’s myInvision, Mobily’s mView and Icflix have seen only limited success. Nonetheless, these applications still provide new avenues for broadcasters to reach their customers anytime, anywhere.

Going forward, we are confident that big data and social media will allow broadcasters to target customers with specific content based on user profile and preference, transforming this potentially lucrative market into a significant source of revenue.

Operational Boundaries Broadcasters and other content

“Broadcasters could partner with device manufacturers to preload their equipment with relevant apps and offer subscriptions to premium services to take advantage of the manufacturers’ strong distribution network and marketing to attract new customers” meghali sharma, competitive Intelligence manager – strategy and corporate development at Intigral

54 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

providers need to keep in mind that content is still king and that programming represents the primary value to the end-consumers – TVEverywhere applications are not just an added expense, they are an additional channel of distribution and an added stream of revenue. The goal is to keep subscribers happy by giving them access to content wherever they are. This means forming partnerships with multiple stakeholders to attract a wider audience and delivering via multiple channels, including smartphones, tablets, web and TV. Partnerships with device manufacturers: The popularity of the internet-based economy and the growing prevalence of OTT services, coupled with stiff competition, has forced device manufactures to look beyond their hardware and software and focus more on applications to entice customers.

Broadcasters could partner with device manufacturers to preload their equipment with the relevant apps and offer subscriptions to premium services. Broadcasters will be able to take advantage of the manufacturers’ strong distribution network and marketing to attract new customers, while increasing propensity to pay among customers who have already tried their premium TV-Everywhere offering. Icflix, a UAE-based video OTT provider, recently used this approach through partnerships with Samsung and LG for their Smart TVs. Partnership with telcos: Regional telcos are constantly looking for new revenue streams and are incrementally looking to target 100% of their subscribers’ communication budget. One clear opportunity for broadcasters is to partner with integrated operators for delivery of their content through IPTV offerings.

However, uptake of the IPTV services has been slow for most of the region’s telcos because of the limited reach of their fixed-line infrastructure, the high popularity of free-to-air TV and the high subscription cost. Recently

PROAPPS

introduced hybrid box solutions, which feature OTT to deliver content over fixed or mobile broadband, can help broadcasters significantly expand market reach. Another area where broadcasters benefit from partnerships with telcos is mobile apps on handsets, which has become a key distribution channel. Although not yet standard in this region, operators around the world tend to pre-install certain applications on their smart devices. This is clearly an opportunity for regional broadcasters to not only increase their customer touch points but also introduce special tariff plans with free or fixed data allowances for TV-Everywhere.

Partnership with independent OTT providers: Globally, independent video OTT providers such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime are becoming a key source of online video consumption, with

their ability to offer large libraries of on-demand content attracting new users. Netflix alone has more than 50 million subscribers in nearly 50 countries. Broadcasters cannot afford to overlook the growing popularity of OTT providers, as they have the ability to rapidly scale up and gain market share. It's interesting to note that Netflix already partners with cable providers to extend the reach of its services and facilitate the merger of linear with OTT television.

Although video OTT providers are yet to have the same level of impact in the Middle East, their services are becoming increasingly popular, a message to broadcasters that they need to be prepared and prompt in developing partnerships.

These are indeed exciting times for the industry, with applications continuing to cross traditional business boundaries,

innovation cycles incrementally diminishing and continuous service enhancements essential to delivering a superior user experience. In this era, having the right mobile application strategy is essential for broadcasters, as the success of a business model is defined not just in financial terms but also by the ability to continually engage customers and deliver innovative propositions in the market. PRO

meghali sharma is competitive Intelligence manager – strategy and corporate development at Intigral.

Always a step ahead Media & Business Process Management ¡ News & Live Production ¡ MCR Automation & Distribution

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 55

PROPRODUCTION

Snapshot • Film: Abu Dhabi, The Capital • Client: Abu Dhabi General Secretariat of the Executive Council • Production: Timesand Studios • Director: Eric Van Wyke • Director of Photography: Adnan X. Khan • Time lapse cinematography and post production: Beno Saradzic • Steadicam operator: Tom Lebaric • Cameras, lenses and lighting gear: Limbada Film Production and Equipment Rental (LFP)

56 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

PROPRODUCTION

FILmInG ThE future Abu Dhabi, The Capital documents Abu Dhabi’s journey to modernity. In an exclusive interview with the film’s producer, Beno Saradzic, BroadcastPro ME finds out how the project used high-security, sensitive locations to tell the emirate's story

Capturing a city’s growth can be a challenge, especially when the city has grown exponentially in a short time.

This was exactly what Beno Saradzic had to deliver when his production company, Timesand Studios, was awarded the project to showcase Abu Dhabi’s development in key areas and give a view of the emirate’s future.

The brief given to Saradzic’s team was that the film should convey a unified message covering key government sectors, and offer an optimistic view of the emirate’s future by depicting a positive image for residents and visitors. The film also had to offer previews of major employment sectors in Abu Dhabi, as well as the most important achievements and ongoing key projects; and all of this needed to fit into a 12- to 15-minute time capsule.

Titled Abu Dhabi, The Capital, the film was screened at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival just before the premiere of Ali Mostafa's feature film From A to B, which officially opened the Festival. It was also announced as the winner of the Silver Dolphin at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards.

“Awards are always welcome and an international award such as this one further propels us to do quality work,” says Saradzic, who was the executive producer of the film along with Hermann Meingast. Saradzic was also the time lapse and aerial cinematographer on the project.

Saradzic explains that the main reason the film won because

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 57

PROPRODUCTION

it connects with its audience.

“Audio-visual media should strike a chord with the audience and put forth what it was meant for, in a simple and straightforward manner, and that’s what our film did. The film required a documentary approach.

We didn’t script this film, we worked with certain guidelines and questions that we wanted to ask our interviewees. We spoke to people who have contributed to the growth of the emirate of Abu Dhabi and are proud to say so. We realised that there was a genuine sense of pride in their voices and a sense of achievement, which we wanted to capture. These, I think, came through very clearly on screen and worked in our favour,” he says.

The production team at Timesand Studios began by scouting for locations that would best depict the growth of the emirate, aiming to capture the most significant milestones and destinations in Abu Dhabi’s road to progress.

“Right from the Airbus factory in Al Ain to Sky News Arabia’s broadcast hub to filming the way 999 operates, we decided to capture the most impactful shots that would sum up the UAE capital’s growth,” says Saradzic.

Saradzic handled the aerial

“We wanted to achieve a natural reportage look in this film. Everything was shot using Steadicam, and whenever possible minimal lighting was used. The end result had a raw feel to it”

end result has a raw feel to it.”

One of the challenges that documentary filmmakers face is the involvement of non-actors. To avoid uncomfortable situations, the film was shot with a very small crew.

“We recorded the audio very discreetly and apart from the director, DoP and sound engineer, no one was allowed to be around Beno Saradzic, Producer, Timesand Studios our interviewees,” Saradzics says.

Shooting in high-security, footage of the film as the director sensitive locations, however, was of aerial cinematography. the biggest challenge in this film.

The producer's role landed him “Broadcast stations are out of with much more responsibility. bounds to just walk in. It’s very “The producer’s job is not easy. As rare that a camera crew is allowed a producer, my mandate extended inside, and that’s exactly what we way beyond cinematography; it did. We filmed a live newscast at was multidisciplinary, as I had to be Sky News Arabia, which required involved at every level of the project.” a lot of permissions. We had special permission to enter the Shooting in natural light broadcast room at the time when Saradzic explains that because the presenter was actually on air. We the film was a documentary, the were given a very limited window director didn’t want to light it to achieve this in terms of filming. up. It had to be shot as much as The interviews were conducted RED Epic possible in natural light to give it the broadcasters in a limited frame Dragon and Steadicam; an authentic and credible look. of time,” explains Saradzic.

Sony Cineflex; “We wanted to achieve a natural The Airbus factory and Shams Canon 5D Mk reportage look in this film.

1 Solar Power Plant were equally III and CamBlock Everything was shot using difficult locations. Shooting 3-Axis motion Steadicam, and whenever possible, there was challenging but control minimal lighting was used. The rewarding for the film’s crew. system.

58 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

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PROPRODUCTION

Beno Saradzic Originally from Slovenia, Beno Saradzic has been working in the UAE since 1991. he worked on BBC’s documentary titled Wild Arabia, which was released in 2013. Saradzic’s role in the film was to get unique perspectives on urban life in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. his shots captured the architectural beauty of the two cities and specific weather patterns. he says that the project required a lot of planning to capture low-lying fog from high vantage points.

Recently, he also worked on a production by Discovery network for Discovery Channel Asia – Passage to Abu Dhabi. The film is a two-part commentary that fetaures features local celebrities and prime locations in the capital city.

“We were all surprised with a piece of France in Al Ain. It’s a state-of-the-art factory, made to the highest standards, to produce aircraft. The factory is staffed by a large number of young Emiratis, both men and women. We had Arabic speakers in the crew to facilitate our communication with the factory staff and they ensured that the interviewees were not intimidated or stressed. As a result, we managed to capture sound bites from happy, proud workers, who knew they had a role to play in their country’s progress,” comments Saradzic.

Time lapse was a critical part of this project. In time lapse, a large sequence of still pictures is transformed into video. The still cameras are used with motion control equipment so that when you see the playback in real time, it looks like a dolly was used.

“We shot for 40 days back-to-back, averaging between 12-14 hours each day to capture five minutes of time lapse shots, and ended up with well over 2TB of still images to output five minutes of real time footage,” explains Saradzic.

While time lapse was captured with Canon DSLRs, aerial filming

“The producer’s job is not easy. As a producer, my mandate extended way beyond cinematography, it was multidisciplinary as I had to be involved at every level of the project” Beno Saradzic, Producer, Timesand Studios was done using Sony Cineflex, which features a gyro-stabilised system. The Canon 5D Mk III was used for aerial still photography, and the ground shots were done on a RED Epic Dragon camera. The film was edited and graded with Adobe Premiere and various plug-ins.

“Premiere has made tremendous advances in the past few years and can deftly handle 2K, 4K, RedRaw or any format for that matter, with minimum hassle. All you need to do is drop the footage in the bin and drag it on the edit timeline and you are ready to go. Post production is very user-friendly these days,” comments Saradzic.

Editing and shooting went on simultaneously, “we would send the day's footage to the editor on FTP,

60 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

Canon 5D Mk II and CamBlock 3-Axis motion control system.

which would then go on the timeline.”

To save time, we even edited some of the scenes right there on the film set. The editing was carried out at the edit suite in Sharjah at Limbada Film Production Equipment Trading & Rental post production studio. All of the camera and lighting equipment was rented from there as well.

“We used the Canon 300 and 500 extensively to shoot all aspects of the emirate, from deep desert to the city. With a super 35mm sensor depth of film, this camera can achieve a great cinematic look instead of a TV look. Both these cameras have big sensors that allow you to do that. The cine lenses used were from Zeiss. In addition to that Canon’s entire range of primes to capture the city's nuances. The aerial filming was done using the Sony Cineflex system – we were in the air for a total of 15 hours in the helicopter over the period of three days. Aerial filming can be tricky because you are granted permission for a limited time,” adds Saradzic.

Aerial shooting was a key feature of this film that made many impossible shots possible. A combination of technology and creativity contributed to the film's success. PRO

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PROTECH

The changing face of broadcast

as consumers increasingly view content on multiple screens, easy navigation becomes more important and it's critical to provide them with ways to find what they want, says Adam Nightingale

The world of TV has changed dramatically in recent years.

Consumers are finding and viewing content on more devices than ever before.

The influx of devices, coupled with consumer demand for all content to be available across all devices, has led to a fragmented, complex and chaotic marketplace.

Finding services that deliver great content, and finding the content

offered by those services, can be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Although the marketplace is chaotic, multiscreen premium content services can help broadcasters and TV content providers differentiate their offerings with a range of compelling value-added services. The best technology systems also give them an efficient way of managing and reducing that complexity.

62 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

Delivering interactivity, engaging with consumers The killer app for television is still watching television, but as TV has become much more interactive, the way in which consumers find their way to that content is changing.

Linear consumption is decreasing and content is now being viewed on a wider ecosystem of consumer devices. As well as making it easier for consumers to watch content

PROTECH

whenever and wherever they want, broadcasters and TV platform operators are now able to tap into a wider universe of consumers. This is allowing them to generate new revenues, create a more engaging interactive experience to change the relationship consumers have with their service providers.

The next evolutionary step will be interactivity between platforms.

Consumers will become frustrated with each device interacting with entertainment platforms on a 1:1 basis and will expect better cross-device connectivity. We are already seeing a growing demand for companion apps, allowing consumers to use smartphones and tablet devices to enjoy a richer way of navigating through content available on smart TVs. As well as providing remote control functions, advanced search and richer EPG data, companion apps can include social connectivity and in-programme functions such as voting, tweeting and so on.

The challenge that we all have is to get better at building ecosystems of managed, connected devices and making the user experience logical and intuitive. As a consumer, if I have an entitlement to access content on my iPhone then I want those same entitlements to be mirrored on my smart TV, PC, Android tablet or even perhaps, via Google Glass. So the challenge spans not just elegant user experiences and technology, but also includes the need to ensure that acquisition teams negotiate content licensing and distribution rights that enable platform operators and broadcasters to deliver a truly engaging multiscreen service.

If you build it, will they come?

If content is king then surely so is discoverability, both of that wonderful content, but also of the service itself. Success is, therefore, a function not just of an engaging user experience but also

“Launching a fantastic OTT multiscreen service is not easy, making it succeed is even harder. It’s not just a case of if you build it they will come – they have to find it first” adam nightingale, VP Sales eMea at accedo of ensuring that potential users can find the service in the first place.

The marketing effort required to make consumers aware of apps and services is immense. There are more service providers, more devices and increasingly complicated content rights. Launching a fantastic OTT multiscreen service is not easy, making it succeed is even harder. It’s not just a case of if you build it they will come – they have to find it first.

Also, the devices themselves can often be cumbersome to navigate and it’s difficult to find new services in the vast expanse of the app world. Incumbent providers have a headstart, and companies like Netflix, which have invested heavily in technology, marketing, content creation and distribution deals, already have a strong position from which they can promote themselves.

Device manufactures are trying to bring cross-platform content discovery to the market, but they’re missing the first step, which is for consumers to discover the services themselves.

Consumers should be in control of the home screen and should be presented with attractive application suggestions in an integrated way. The manufacturers control the platform and with active editorial functionality and recommendations should be able to provide recommendations to consumers in a more attractive way

than just lists of apps. Broadcasters and TV platform providers should take a less protectionist view, and establish themselves as the de facto provider of premium content, allowing consumers to use their app as the gateway to find content across a wider spectrum of service providers.

A role to play There is no doubt the broadcast industry is changing at a rapid pace.

Broadcasters need to embrace this new environment to keep up with consumer demand, but they are also in a unique position to offer a much more integrated experience by deploying apps associated with programming, and supplementing their channels with OTT services.

The market in MENA is still quite young and most consumers in the region have not yet had the luxury of experiencing any content, any time, anywhere. Once they do, things will then take off even faster, and we will see competition from OTT providers forcing the traditional payTV platforms to follow their lead and sharpen their services.

Multiscreen TV apps, whether for interactive add-on services, OTT or other offerings, are more than ever crucial to keeping up with the fast rate of change. They offer consumers compelling, intuitive and interactive experiences on a multitude of devices. With careful planning, the right attitude and a fantastic multiscreen user experience, the needle may be far easier to find in that big messy haystack. PRO

adam nightingale is VP Sales eMea at accedo.

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 63

PROTV

How lucrative is TV?

Despite the rise of digital platforms, experts predict that traditional TV will continue to be the dominant way to view video, but will it stay as lucrative for advertisers?

Broadcasters are fighting the threat of advertising money being syphoned to the web by converging online advertising technology and techniques with mainstream TV advertising.

In doing so, they claim to have tapped new revenue streams bolstering TV's future.

“There has been considerable buzz about the rise of digital video advertising, a widespread perception that people no longer watch TV and that advertisers will follow the eyeballs online where targeting is apparently so much easier,” Jill Hind, COO, Enders Analysis told IBC. “We believe that TV will remain

64 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

the dominant way to view video for many years to come.”

Figures from GroupM show that TV revenue is growing in real terms although the year on year increases are slowing. TV spot ads will actually rise 5% in 2015 in contrast to online video advertisments, which will rocket 50% in 2015, but

PROTV

from a significantly smaller base.

Enders' research reveals a marked decline from 2010 in TV viewing, with decline driven by younger age groups, but predicts that linear TV will still be at 77% (from today's 98%) in 2020.

Another 8% of that total will be from catch-up watching the main TV and Enders also suggests that viewing of video on smartphones and tablets will be dominated by content from the main broadcasters.

Jamie West, Director, Sky AdSmart & Commercial Development, argues that the TV advertising market needs to be shaken up.

“We can compete on a level footing with digital media that claims to be the only market that can offer addressability, targeting, reporting and understanding return on investment.

“TV trading across the world operates just as it did in the days of Mad Men,” he suggested.

“It trades in the UK against a dozen regularly used target audiences. Sky Adsmart turns that on its head.”

Sky Adsmart is the payTV broadcaster's addressable advertising service.

“Adsmart is all about moving the conversation from competing with TV to competing with the full media mix,” he explains.

“TV advertising in the UK is worth USD6.7bn” he said but Adsmart competes in a $12.9bn market.

This is because the technology – which has taken five years and $156m investment – is able to access new revenue opportunities from online retailers, insurance and banking as well as local businesses like car dealers, estate agencies and regional theatre tours.

Sky is currently ramping up its ability to target advertisements across multiple platforms and this month it is taking a further step by allowing advertisers to deliver advertisements to Sky homes based

“TV is about bringing mass audiences and widening the field of opportunity for brands.

Online is very different.

It reaches audiences at the right moment; it builds relationships and gets them to act” Jill Hind, COO, Enders Analysis on the first two letters of their postcode – much more precise than a national or even a regional buy.

“This means we compete on a level footing with regional and local media,” he stated.

Rikard Steiber, EVP and Chief Digital Officer at Sweden's Modern Times Group is also optimistic about attracting new revenue to TV. “We recognise that there is another pile of money from brands who don't advertise on TV,” he says.

“This is an opportunity for broadcasters to offer a chance for those advertisers to connect to their audience through our media.”

Programmatic buying – the automated trading of video inventory – is gaining ground quickly.

“With programmatic, the brand doesn't talk to media sales people any more. It is like a trade index for stock. There will be a number of new currencies to buy. Broadcasters should be helping advertisers to do real-time bidding, programmatic buys and providing the metrics they need to measure the effectiveness of their advertising.”

The share price of AIM, listed online advertising company Blinx, fell dramatically in February year when allegations were made in a blog about irregularities inflating Blinx advertisements viewing figures. Although the allegations were proved themselves to be grossly inflated, if not

outright false, Blinx attributed a stock warning in July to more general “industry-wide issues of efficiency and effectiveness” compounded by the accusations.

Hind identified concerns about the quality of digital inventory and the transparency of online ad campaigns as blocks to the growth of online video advertising.

“Online has huge a challenge to reach its true potential,” she says.

“There is a knowledge gap where marketers and advertising agencies often don't seem to understand the full potential of online advertising and programmatic buying.”

Another challenge is the lack of a shared audience measurement system, which enables a shared trading currency.

“As viewing and money moves away from the TV set it is incredibly important that both broadcasters and advertisers get to understand their overall audience and how effective their campaigns are,” she says.

“Project Dovetail from UK ratings agency Barb, will be a significant boost to the UK online sector when it is finalised in two years’ time.” she said.

Will online be fighting TV for every last penny of the ad budgets?

“They fulfil different functions now and probably always will,” she said.

“TV is about bringing mass audiences and widening the field of opportunity for brands. Online is very different. It reaches audiences at the right moment, it builds relationships and gets them to act.”

Steiber concludes: “There is an opportunity for broadcasters to bag new money. But the proposition must be about combining TV with the digital to offer advertisers the power they need.” PRO Source: IBC Content Everywhere

iBC Content Everywhere MENA takes place in Dubai from January 20-22, 2015.

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 65

BroadcastPro ME & SatellitePro ME

2015 DESKTOP CALENDAR

We are offering our key clients a chance to reserve their space in the BroadcastPro ME & SatellitePro ME branded desktop calendar for 2014. The calendar will feature 12 companies – one for each month of the year with their logo and advertisement. With one full page dedicated to each company, the company’s name and logo will be carried prominently on one side while the company’s advertisement will be displayed on the following side with the logo at the bottom of the page.

The calendar, which will be distributed with BroadcastPro ME & SatellitePro ME in Dec 2014 and also at CABSAT 2014, gives your company an opportunity to be viewed for a whole month.

For inquiries, please get in touch with Rodi Hennawi.

Phone number: 00971 50 714 0427 email: rodi.hennawi@cpimediagroup.com

www.broadcastprome.com

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PROTRAINING

PlAy WiTh FS-7

Sony PSMEA recently organised training sessions to demo its latest camera release — the PXW FS-7. Conducted over three days, the workshop attracted camera specialists from production houses, TV stations and universities Sony Play with FS7 was held from November 8-10 at Light House Studio in Dubai. The training sessions were organised to give users a feel of the new PXW FS-7 camera and allow them to meet Sony product and industry experts.

Alister Chapman, DoP and cinematographer, conducted the sessions to give attendees hands-on experience of the Sony PXW FS-7. Five FS-7 cameras were available for attendees to try out the various functions of the camera. The camera’s ability to shoot in low light conditions was demonstrated, as was its function as a handheld camera.

Attendees were also encouraged

to record footage with the new camera, to understand the workflow better. Chapman demonstrated the entire workflow of the FS7, from shooting to post.

The sessions were conducted with small groups of camera professionals to ensure that each one of the attendees got individual attention.

Sony experts from the regional office were on hand to discuss the workflow of the camera.

Chapman showed how the camcorder was suitable for documentaries, unscripted TV, news magazines, indie features and corporate videos.

Issam Abaza, Technical Director at MBC, said that he went to the

The Sony PXW FS-7 workshop in progress at Light House Studio in Dubai.

workshop mainly to have a practical session with the FS-7 as well as to get some valuable tips on best practices and 4K workflows.

“It was a good networking session and gave us an insight into the FS-7’s workflow and performance. It is an excellent camera at this price point,” he said.

Sumesh Senan of Click Smiths also agreed that the FS-7 offered good value for money.

“It shoots very well in low light conditions and also adapts well to slow-motion filming. Having come from a DSLR background, this is a great camera to graduate to the next level and for a very good price,” he said. PRO

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 67

IBC Content Everywhere MENA, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, 20-22 January 2015

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♦ Attend conference sessions in our Theatre to hear visionary thoughts and predictions from global thought-leaders ♦ Experience the transformative nature of content everywhere at the IBC Content Everywhere Hub

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IBC, Third Floor, 10 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BR, United Kingdom.

T +44 (0) 20 7832 4100

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PROPRODUCTS

Envivio puts HaloT over Apple product line

FOR-A unveils new video switcher FOR-A has unveiled its HVS-2000 video production switcher, the newest addition to the Hanabi switcher family. A flexible unit allowing up to 40 SDI inputs and 22 outputs, the 2 M/E HVS-2000 is MELite, which allows a traditional AUX bus to transform into a functional M/E with cut, mix, wipe and key control. The unit runs on what has been dubbed a V6 HVS-2000 engine, ready for SD, HD, Full HD (3G) and 4K production.

The switcher also features an easy-to-operate, highly functional control panel. The HVS-2000 control panel features crystal clear OLED source name displays, multiple colour LED buttons, user buttons and a built-in touchscreen menu and remote shotbox options. The switcher boasts ONStage, a function designed specifically for stage events. www.for-a.com

Envivio has announced the availability of version 4.0 of its Halo network media processor (NMP) video solution product, which supports all Apple devices, such as Apple TV, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and the just announced iPad Mini 3 and iPad Air 2.

With Halo version 4.0, Envivio now supports all of the latest multiscreen video streaming formats, such as Adobe HDS, Apple HLS, MPEG-DASH and Microsoft Smooth Streaming, with H.264 and HEVC video

support and new content protection schemes.

Halo version 4.0 claimsww to improve TV Anytime workflows by performing video encryption for video protection and interfacing with all of the complex CDNs and DRM systems, including Microsoft PlayReady, Adobe Access and Google Widevine, making it simple for operators to support new consumer devices. www.envivio.com

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PCR and IP jitter and packet loss

+971 4 2839906 / +971 50 4587317

December 2014 | www.broadcastprome.com | 69

PROPRODUCTS

Telestream releases Wirecast 6.0 Telestream has announced the immediate availability of Wirecast 6.0, the latest version of its popular live streaming software. Wirecast is a cross-platform, all-in-one live streaming production software that enables capture, live production and encoding of live streams for broadcast to multiple servers and platforms simultaneously.

With new production capabilities, streamlined workflows, and expanded content source options, Wirecast 6.0 offers the capabilities of more expensive hardware solutions

www.telestream.net

Joseph Electronics takes the road to fibre Joseph Electronics’ DFT-12 EXP and DFT-12JR fibre transport systems require only two RU, each featuring 12 paths of 3G/ HD-SDI and ASI signals over one or two fibres. Additionally, modules for AES or analogue audio, MADI, 1 GB ethernet, RTS intercom, POV interface (genlock and video) or data can be fitted into the four available expansion slots to provide a complete signal transport solution for remote announce booths or split feeds. More

RCS brings the sports LaunchPad

with the flexibility and affordability of a software application.

Wirecast is suitable for broadcasting professionallooking live web shows, news, online gaming, sporting events, concerts and events.

With Wirecast, users can stream multiple live cameras while mixing in other media.

LaunchPad is currently in use by early adopters across Europe and the Middle East for select broadcasts airing in Arabic, English, French, German and Norwegian. Leading networks such as beIN Sports, SBS Discovery and Sky Deutschland adopted an early version of the solution and provided RCS with feedback, which is reflected in the commercial release. In the future, RCS also plans to extend its LaunchPad sports portfolio to

70 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

www.realitychecksystems.com

Gefen extends 4K UHD

modules are in development.

All signal paths for any unit in the DFT Series are userconfigurable in pairs of two in order to meet any send/receive requirements, and redundant power supplies are standard to ensure a complete backup of critical paths.

Full-fibre redundancy with automatic failsafe switchover is available as an option for all DFT series frames. www.josephelectronics.com

include motorsports, rugby, basketball and other sports.

Reality Check Systems (RCS) has released LaunchPad, a customisable, interactive solution designed to simplify dynamic touchscreen analysis for soccer broadcasts. Combining RCS’ proprietary software with third-party hardware and cloud data from domestic and international soccer matches, the solution is available in a variety of configurations and gives on-air talent access to real-time analytics and telestration tools to engage fans.

LaunchPad boasts a userfriendly interface as well.

Gefen’s new 4K Ultra HD extender over one fibre delivers resolutions up to 4K (3840x2160@30Hz) with RS-232 and bi-directional IR using one SC-terminated fibre optic cable.

This long-range solution is effective up to 1000m at 4K resolutions and up to 2000m at 1080p/60 full HD. RS-232 offers an easy method of system

automation while bi-directional IR facilitates control from both local and extended locations.

Installation is plug and play simple, requiring a single strand of multi-mode fibre optic cable to connect the sender (source) to the receiver (display). The use of fibre optic cabling provides EMI (electromagnetic interference) protection for mission-critical applications.

The metallic enclosures further insulate against ambient noise.

Automatic calibration based on the length of the cable is included to refine the quality of the delivered video. www.gefen.com

TOP 50 COMPANIES YOU NEED TO KNOW PRO50 has all you need to know about the top players in the region’s broadcast and satellite market. A compilation of profiles of 50 broadcast and satellite companies in the GCC, the hardback coffee table book is a valuable resource for not only business entities but also customers looking for a ready reckoner of key industry players.

Print run 15,000 copies E-version Four pages company profile Fourth edition

For Advertising opportunities, contact: Raz Islam Publishing Director Tel: +971 4 375 5471 raz.islam@cpimediagroup.com

Rodi Hennawi Senior Sales Manager Tel: +971 4 375 5482 rodi.hennawi@cpimediagroup.com

Sandip Virk Group Sales Manager +971 50 929 1845 sandip.virk@cpimediagroup.com

PROGUEST

“If the fault can be resolved in a few minutes or hours, then business continuity procedures should be able to keep things going. However, if it’s a serious issue that may take days to resolve, broadcasters need to resort to other procedures”

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity The flavour of the month is disaster recovery, and having a DR site in place is critical for most broadcasters. Most DR solutions are generally off-site, away from the main site – usually within the same city to be easily reachable, but sometimes outside the country or region.

In the end, DR site placement is down to the broadcaster.

The need for a DR site and procedures is well understood; however, there is a key element which seems to be overlooked: business continuity.

What is business continuity?

Business continuity is a set of procedures and workflows that allow the output and content production to continue, giving staff time to travel to the DR site and take over output there.

Most broadcasters have systems with a degree of resilience built in, so that if part of a system fails, the backup takes over without affecting end users. From experience, it is rare for a system to switch over without any effects. Usually, a problem is noticed and then the system is

forced to the backup system. What happens during the time taken to switch over? How do broadcasters maintain output and production without impact, and importantly, without audiences seeing problems?

This is where business continuity comes into play: a set of procedures and workflows designed to minimise impact on production staff and output. These procedures are important, as they maintain output and buy time for an assessment to be carried out to understand the severity of the fault. Can it be fixed? If so, how long will it take? Is it a serious issue? Do DR procedures have to be implemented?

This time is the most important and critical period to allow the right decision to be made.

If the fault can be resolved within a few hours, then business continuity procedures should be able to keep things going. However, if it’s a serious issue that may take days or weeks then there are two options: keep business continuity in place until the problem is resolved, or move to the DR site.

What about a catastrophic failure

72 | www.broadcastprome.com | December 2014

or an evacuation due to fire – then what? Again, the business continuity plan comes into play. It should be able to cope with this scenario, and could be as simple as running evergreen material until the DR site is up and operational. Business continuity is the glue in an effective and reliable DR plan. It is what maintains output until a fault is fixed or the DR site is ready.

One element often overlooked is rehearsal of the business continuity and DR plans. We often forget to practice procedures until we need them. The problem is that when we do need them, we end up not knowing what to do.

If you think about it, we all have a Plan A and a Plan B. This is no different.

Plan B Business Continuity Plan C Continuation of Output (evergreen material or a simple graphic) Plan D Disaster Recovery Therefore, it’s important not only to have a business continuity and DR plan, but to rehearse it on a regular basis so that staff know what to do during such events. A good business continuity and DR plan is priceless. PRO Mohammed Akhlaq is Managing Director at World Media Consultancy.

HORIZON TELEPORTS [ T +49-8761-72080-0 ] [ F +49-8761-72080-99 ] [ sales@horizon-teleports.com ] [ Munich, Germany ] [ www.horizon-teleports.com ]