FEATURE
GERMAN VIEW OF THE WORLD Philip Stevens looks at the global news channel centred in Berlin
D
W (Deutsche Welle) is Germany’s international broadcaster and considered to be one of the most successful international media outlets. Its multimedia content in 30 languages reaches over 197 million people worldwide each week. The aim is to increase that reach to 210 million by mid-2021. “By 2025, DW will become an essential source of digital information that inspires its target groups with regionally relevant, on-demand content that encourages dialogue,” states DW spokesman Christoph Jumpelt. “In addition, DW Akademie is aiming to be the leading European institution for media development.” DW was founded in 1953 and began with broadcasting shortwave radio programming. Linear television transmissions were added in 1992 with German and
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English languages alternating on the same channel. In 2005, the Arabic channel went on air, followed in 2012 with a full Spanish channel. The English language channel was relaunched in June 2015 to become the flagship outlet for DW. At the same time, a separate German channel was introduced with emphasis on culture. THE STUDIOS DW operates five TV studios in Berlin and a further two at its headquarters located in Bonn. All are equipped for High Definition, but currently there are no plans for High Dynamic Range (HDR). The cameras are a mix of Sony and Grass Valley, with some being operated manually and others with Ross Cambot robotics. Two different camera robotics systems are in use. The CamBot 700 is a system that can move freely on the studio floor. This is complemented by the rail-based Furio Robo solution. Both systems include an automation interface, anti-collision system and remote and local control. They also come with interfaces for the transmission of tracking data.
