(April 10, 2013) Being off air is perhaps the one thing that all broadcasters fear most, and yet the prohibitive cost of redundant broadcasting systems means that few broadcasters can afford them. To overcome this problem, Ericsson is cooperating with Front Porch Digital – the global leader in content storage management (CSM) solutions – to provide a cost-effective playout recovery solution for broadcasters.

The solution will consist of a redundant playout platform provided by Ericsson and a cloud-based storage platform called LYNX provided by Front Porch Digital. Since the solution can be shared by multiple customers, the cost for each customer is significantly reduced.

Read more at Advanced Television

(April 11, 2013) TrueVisions, the country’s leading subscription-based television operator, has clarified that Star World and Channel M are no longer aired on its platform, as its nearly 20-year exclusive contracts with Fox Inter-national Channels to telecast both channels came to an end on March 31.

Meanwhile, Fox International Channels revealed via a statement on Tuesday that it was holding talks with the country’s largest pay-TV operator to resume the two channels on TrueVisions after a number of viewers complained widely in social media about the channels’ absence from their screens.

Read more at The Nation

(April 11, 2013) Bangla Department of Deutsche Welle, a Germany based international multilingual broadcaster, is going to step into TV dominion through airing its first-ever technological show ‘Onyesha’ on Ekushey Television.

German Ambassador in Dhaka Dr Albert Kantsem inaugurated the programme at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in the city as chief guest on Saturday.

Official of Marketing Department of Deutsche Welle Tobias Grote-Beverborg, Head of Bangla department Debarati Guha and Ekushey Television Chairman Abdus Salam attended the ceremony as special guests.

Read more at Daily Sun

(April 9, 2013) Elemental Technologies, the leading supplier of video solutions for multiscreen content delivery, announced that Warner Bros. has deployed Elemental Server video processing systems to enhance its Emmy Award-winning Digital End-to-End (DETE) content workflow and distribution system. Elemental Server drives large-scale content conversion while significantly reducing the physical, power and heating footprint required to output studio-grade video assets for distribution.

Read more at Advanced Television

(April 9, 2013) Following a range of initiatives announced October 2012 as the service approached its 20th anniversary, international news channel Euronews confirmed at MIPTV that it is rolling out a new organisation that plays on the strengths of its 400-strong journalist staff and the quality of its editorial line.

The user experience – already pinpointed as a priority by Euronews in early 2011 – is now more than ever at the heart of its news offering. A ‘product marketing’ approach is being applied to each existing and new mode of consumption, whether digital or not. The product marketing and innovation department, a recently created cross-functional unit that acts as a matrix for anticipating the new ways in which news is consumed, is tasked with ensuring that Euronews’ media offering performs for users and consolidating its place among the world leaders.

Read more at Advanced Television

April 9, 2013: BBC Worldwide and China’s CCTV9 have agreed to co-produce Hidden Kingdoms, an upcoming series from the BBC’s Natural History Unit (NHU).

Hidden Kingdoms spotlights some of the planet’s smallest creatures, ranging from chipmunks in North America to giant rhinoceros beetles in Tokyo and sengi in East Africa. The show is described as “Pixar meets Life.”

Read more at World Screen

Hong Kong (April 9, 2013) – Celestial Tiger Entertainment, one of Asia’s largest vertically integrated independent entertainment companies, announced today the appointment of Mickey Ong as Director, Affiliate Sales to further expand the company’s channel distribution footprint in Asia.

“We are very pleased to welcome Mickey on board. Mickey will add a new perspective to our channels sales team with his experience in both theatrical distribution and advertising sales. His wide-ranging industry contacts will also be a great asset to us as we continue the rapid momentum of our channels’ expansion,” said Ofanny Choi, Executive Vice President, TV Networks, Celestial Tiger Entertainment.

Ong, based in CTE’s Hong Kong headquarters, will be reporting to Choi. He will be responsible for driving channel distribution as well as developing and maintaining relationships with affiliates and platform partners in the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. In the meantime, Annie Chan, CTE’s Director of Affiliate Sales, will continue to oversee the distribution and affiliate relations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and the Greater China region.

“I am elated to join the dynamic Celestial Tiger team. I grew up watching Celestial Movies so it’s wonderful to be part of the team growing this channel as well as KIX and Thrill around the region,” said Ong.

Prior to Celestial Tiger Entertainment, Ong served as Associate Account Director at MediaCorp Pte. Ltd., the leading media company in Singapore. He was responsible for advertising sales of MediaCorp’s entertainment publications, specifically targeting the entertainment sector. From 2011 to 2012, Ong exceeded his revenue target and was the unit’s single highest revenue target holder of the year.

Before joining MediaCorp, Ong served as Senior Sales Supervisor at the Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing (S) Pte Ltd., where he handled theatrical distribution in Singapore. During his 8-year tenure, Ong contributed to the local box office success of the Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, and James Bond 007 franchises as well as The Karate Kid.

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Media Contact:
Pauline Poon
Celestial Tiger Entertainment
T: 852 2239 6131
E: pauline.poon@celestialtiger.com

About Celestial Tiger Entertainment
CELESTIAL TIGER ENTERTAINMENT (CTE) is a diversified media company dedicated to entertaining audiences in Asia and beyond. The company focuses on the operation of branded pay television channels, content creation and content distribution targeted at Asian consumers.

CTE operates a powerful bouquet of distinct pay television channels including: CELESTIAL MOVIES, the most broadly distributed 24-hour Chinese and Asian movies channel in the world; CELESTIAL CLASSIC MOVIES, the gateway to an unparalleled array of Chinese movie masterpieces; CELESTIAL MOVIES HD, the latest Chinese movies in high definition; KIX, the ultimate in action entertainment; Thrill, Asia’s only horror and suspense movie channel; and KIX HD, featuring the best of action with a late-night dose of thrillers in high definition.

As one of Asia’s largest vertically integrated independent entertainment companies, CTE produces original content which complements its channels business. CTE is also the exclusive sales agent for Hollywood studio Lionsgate in Greater China and Southeast Asia, and represents Lionsgate’s television content and vast feature film library in Japan and Korea as well.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, CTE is a joint venture among Saban Capital Group, a leading private investment firm specializing in the media, entertainment and communications industries; Astro, the owner and operator of the leading DTH platform in Malaysia; and Lionsgate, the world’s largest independent filmed entertainment studio.

(08 April 2013) Ericsson, the world’s largest maker of telecom equipment, today said that it would buy Microsoft Corp’s Mediaroom IPTV business, which is used by phone companies such as AT&T to deliver television over the Internet.

The Stockholm-based company did not reveal the financial terms of the deal, but said that the deal would make the company, the leading provider of IPTV and multi-screen solutions with a market share of over 25 per cent.

Read more at Domain-b