8
NEWS & VIEWS
Olympic
Movement gets
broadcast boost
MONACO – The International
Olympic Committee (IOC) is re-
portedly mulling over the 2015
launch of a worldwide Olympic
TV channel, with the digital chan-
nel to be initially available on
the Internet, before moving into
mainstream broadcast platforms
as it “builds up content”.
IOC president Thomas Bach
described the new channel as a
“historical step for the IOC and
the Olympic Movement”, while
Yianis Exarchos, chief executive of
the Olympic Broadcasting System,
said a major study had shown that
the new channel would provide a
“viable platform” to highlight the
Olympic movement and athletes
outside the 16 days of the Games
every two years.
The new round-the-clock chan-
nel is estimated to cost €450 mil-
lion (US$550 million) over seven
years, and will show news, theme
programming and events such as
qualifying contests for the Olym-
pics and world championships of
international federations.
“The Olympic channel would
be a major way of engaging youth
and hardcore fans in the Olym-
pic movement,” said Exarchos,
adding that through mobile
phones, tablets and traditional
TV, “the IOC and its partners can
communicate, connect and engage
with the worldwide Olympic com-
munity and its fans”.
And engage with its China
fans the IOC will, after Chinese
state broadcaster CCTV extended
its association with the IOC by
acquiring broadcast rights for the
XXIII Olympic Winter Games in
PyeongChang in 2018, the Games
of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo in
2020 and the Olympic Games in
2022 and 2024.
Prior to this announcement, the
IOC already has an existing agree-
ment with CCTV to broadcast the
Rio 2016 Olympic Games — with
CCTV holding exclusive rights
across all broadcast platforms
including, free-to-air TV, pay-TV,
Internet and mobile TV.
Hu Zhanfan, president of CCTV,
said: “This is a win-win agreement.
CCTV has been contributing enor-
mously for the recognition and
promotion of the Olympic Games
and the Olympic Movement in
China and we are determined to
be, as always, a powerful and ex-
ceptional partner of the IOC.”
January 2015
HD virtual studio has ‘infinite’ 4K possibilities
1
8
HD virtual studio in Mediapolis,
which is also fully 4K-capable, and
is able to scale 4K live production
for online streaming.
The possibilities of the new
studio, and 4K UHD in the Asia-
Pacific region, are “infinite”, said
Lawrence Ang, head of operations
at Infinite Studios.
Ang told APB: “We are already
working with a number of gaming
companies for 4K production, while
we have registered interest from
overseas production companies,
as well as regional broadcasters, to
use our 4K virtual studio for their
productions.”
Headquartered in Singapore,
Infinite Studios is an integrated
media entertainment and creative
services company, which offers a
range of production services in-
cluding soundstages and back-lot
facilities, post production, visual
effects, animation and distribution
services for the global film and TV
industry.
At Mediapolis, Infinite Studios
features Singapore’s largest pur-
pose-built soundstages. Measuring
928sqm and 1,681sqm respectively,
the two soundstages are comple-
mented by 1,445sqm of supporting
production offices alongside dress-
ing and equipment rooms.
In addition, Infinite Studios
also offers two soundstage studios
and a one-hectare back-lot facil-
ity on Indonesia’s Batam Island,
CMMB Vision in bid to expand Asian presence
1 8
launch 4K Ultra HD (UHD) services,
as well as satellite-based Internet
data services, this year.
Charles Wong, founder and
president of CMMB Vision, said:
“The acquisition will enable Dish-
HD Asia’s existing comprehensive
satellite-based services platform,
turnkey expertise, global manage-
ment experience and valuable
content partnerships with leading
Hollywood content providers to
Publication, Radio, Film and Tel-
jump-start CMMB Vision’s planned
evision of the People’s Republic
satellite-based mobile multimedia
of China (SAPPRFT), and offers an
and data delivery service platform
alternative to the DVB-SH standard
with Chinese media partners in
for digital video broadcasting to
China.”
handheld devices.
In combination with
Dish HD-Asia was a
the company’s L-band
dedicated CMMB satellite
satellite platform and the
service provider created
China Mobile Multimedia
by EchoStar, and represents
Broadcasting (CMMB)
CMMB joint-venture ef-
standard, the acquisition
forts between China and
will allow the develop-
the US.
ment of a “full service-
Wong continued: “The
operating platform with a CMMB Vision’s
acquisition also enables
Charles Wong:
core management team,” “The acquisition us to become the first
CMMB Vision said in a enables us to
converged satellite service
become the
statement.
provider and expand our
CMMB is a mobile TV first converged
wireless delivery infrastruc-
and multimedia stand- satellite service
ture to include both mobile
provider and
ard specified and devel- expand our
and DTH satellite platform
oped in China by the State wireless delivery to offer integrated enter-
Administration of Press, infrastructure.”
tainment, multimedia and
Dish-HD Asia has
valuable global
management experience
and partnerships with
leading Hollywood
content providers to
jump-start CMMB
Vision’s planned
satellite-based mobile
multimedia and
data delivery service
platform with Chinese
media partners in
China.
data services across all consumer
screens … for China’s 1.4 billion
population and the rest of Asia.”
The 51% acquisition of Dish
HD-Asia follows a memorandum
of understanding CMMB Vision
signed last September with New
York Satellite Holdings (NYSH) to
acquire capacity on two new NYSH
satellites that will provide mobile
multimedia services to China and
other Asian markets. The company
is expected to lease 100% of the
satellites’ capacity, with the first of
the two satellites scheduled to be
launched in 2017.
CMMB Vision has also reported
that negotiations are under way for
potential collaboration with agen-
cies in Indonesia