Archive for June, 2008

MCKINNEY BUYS BACK AGENCY FROM HAVAS

Thursday, June 26th, 2008 filled in Media Agencies / Advertising, Media Agencies / Advertising | No Comments »

Havas and McKinney announced today that McKinney’s management has acquired 100% interest in the agency from Havas.

“We’ve enjoyed a very cordial and autonomous working relationship with Havas and are proud of the contributions we have delivered to them,” said Brad W. Brinegar, McKinney chairman and CEO. “But we have long wished to be able to compete as an independent agency, and we were thrilled when this opportunity presented itself.”

“The strength of the McKinney brand and its strong performance has made it a valued part of Havas,” said Fernando Rodés Vilà, Havas CEO. “We are increasing our focus on our core global brands, Euro RSCG, Havas Media and Arnold, so this is a good time to act on the interest Brad and his team have long expressed to own the agency. This sale is beneficial for both parties. We wish Brad and his entire team continued success.”

“My hope is that with the move, McKinney’s clients will feel an even greater sense of entrepreneurial commitment to their success,” added Brinegar. Brinegar will remain chairman and CEO of the agency he joined in 2002. Joining him as partners and in constituting the board of McKinney are Jeff Jones, president; Andrew Delbridge, chief strategy officer; Joni Madison, chief operating officer; Jonathan Cude, chief creative officer; Tim Jones, chief financial officer; Jeremy Holden, director of account planning; Doug Holroyd, director of connection planning; John Newall, group account director and director of strategic
alliances; Janet Northen, director of agency communications; Jim Russell, director of digital strategy and Ellen Steinberg, group creative director.

About McKinney
McKinney is an advertising agency pioneering the art and science of building strong emotional and transactional connections through rich, engaging conversations between brands and their best prospects. Founded in 1969, the Durham, NC-based agency has created some of the most innovative integrated marketing communications programs, including Audi of America’s Art of the H3ist, Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome, the Polaris CEO Duel and the launch of the
Sony Bravia LCD TV.

Winner of Creativity Magazine’s Campaign of the year in 2006 and one of the top EFFIE-winning agencies for the past five years,
McKinney’s work is also recognized by the Cannes Advertising Film Festival, the New York Andy Awards, the One Show and the
Interactive Advertising Bureau’s MIXX Awards. McKinney ranks third among U.S. media and creative agencies for media innovation awards for 2006-2007. The agency is the only two-time winner of the Yahoo! Creative Summit; in 2006, CyberWon ranked McKinney 7th in the US and 34th in the world for interactive awards; and the agency is one of only two, two-time gold winners of the AAAA’s Jay Chiat Planning Awards. McKinney’s clients include Brown-Forman Corporation brands including Bonterra, Chambord, Sonoma Cutrer, Southern Comfort and Tuaca; Coldwell Banker, Major League Gaming, The NASDAQ Stock Market, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, ProShares, Qwest Communications, Travelocity, Virgin Mobile USA and Virgin Atlantic Airways. McKinney was advised by AdMedia Partners, an independent merger and acquisition advisory firm based in New York City that provides M&A services to digital and traditional media, marketing and information businesses.

About Havas
Havas (Euronext Paris: HAV.PA) is a global advertising and communications services group. Headquartered in Paris, Havas
operates through its two worldwide networks, Euro RSCG Worldwide and Havas Media, which are headquartered in New York and
Barcelona respectively, and through a number of independent agencies renowned for their creativity, such as Arnold Worldwide
Partners. A multicultural and decentralized Group, Havas is present in more than 75 countries through its network of agencies and
contractual affiliations. The group offers a broad range of communications services, including traditional advertising, direct marketing, media planning and buying, corporate communications, sales promotion, design, human resources, sports marketing, multimedia interactive communications and public relations. Havas employs approximately 14,400 people.

French summer in UK

Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 filled in Movies, Movies | No Comments »

This summer is gearing up to take on a decidedly French feel in the UK.

Unifrance, France’s film export body, reports that at least 10 French films will have their British debut in the coming weeks supported by a strong presence of French talent.

On June 13, Priceless , starring Audrey Tautou and directed by Pierre Salvadori, will be released by Icon followed one week later by Elle S’Appelle Sandrine , the feature directorial debut of Sandrine Bonnaire, which ICA will release and The Secret Of The Grain , Abdellatif Kechiche’s sleeper hit which swept the Cesars earlier this year. Artificial Eye is releasing.

On June 27, Jean-Paul Salome’s Female Agents starring Sophie Marceau and Deborah Francois will debut from Revolver which handled Guillaume Canet’s Tell No One on the same date last year.

Virginie Ledoyen, Vincent Lindon, Pascal Elbe, Bernadette Lafont, Dominique Farrugia and Lorraine Levy will support London Mon Amour which releases on July 4 from Pathe UK while Cedric Klapisch will be in town for the release of his film Paris on July 25 which is being handled by Optimum.

In August, Olivier Assayas’ Summer Hours debuts from Artificial Eye as does Francois Ozon’s Angel starring Romola Garai and Lucy Russel. The latter is handled by Lionsgate.

Lionsgate is also releasing I’ve Loved You So Long from director Philippe Claudel and starring Kristin Scott Thomas on September 26. Other films including Luc Jacquet’s The Fox And The Child are also due for a summer UK release.

French films have had healthy results in the UK over the past several years and currently boast a 2% market share with an estimated 3 million tickets sold in 2007. The figures are the best ever attained by French films in Britain where they have traditionally barely reached a 1% market share.

Last year, Luc Besson’s Arthur And The Minimoys took in 1.2 million admissions while La Vie En Rose scored 325,000 and Tell No One took in 245,000. Other successes in 2007 included Julie Delpy’s 2 Days In Paris , Michel Gondry’s The Science Of Sleep , Patrice Leconte’s My Best Friend , Laurent Tirard’s Moliere , Xavier Giannoli’s Quand J’Etais Chanteur and Pascale Ferran’s Lady Chatterley .

Source: ScreenDaily

Warner TV Video-on-Demand Branded Service Launches on Tiscali TV

Monday, June 9th, 2008 filled in Television, US Media | No Comments »

Tiscali UK, the broadband, telephone and media company,  announced on June 5 a strategic licensing agreement with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD) to offer over 400 hours of premium content on-demand to Tiscali TV subscribers through Warner TV, a dedicated, Warner Bros.-branded video-on-demand (VOD) channel.

Series available on Warner TV include Nip/Tuck, The O.C. and Smallville, among others. The Warner TV channel on Tiscali TV will be open to subscribers as part of the service’s Entertainment Xtra Mix. The launch of Warner TV on Tiscali TV continues WBITD’s strategic expansion into branded VOD channels around the world. WBITD has previously launched Warner TV VOD channels with ProSieben in Germany, Virgin Media and BT in the U.K., USEN Corporation’s GyaO in Japan and Free TV in France. Additional WBITD branded services are scheduled to launch on Orange in France, as well as in India.

Building on recent agreements designed to bring the best of Hollywood to Tiscali TV subscribers, this deal will allow Warner Bros. programmes to take their place alongside popular and critically admired UK and US comedy and drama already available on the platform, including Lost, Doctor Who, Desperate Housewives and Life On Mars.

Jonathan Sykes, Managing Director, Content Strategy, Tiscali TV, says: “We are proud to announce this important deal with one of the biggest producers of internationally renowned television, creating an ever more comprehensive and satisfying on-demand viewing experience for Tiscali TV customers.”

Jeffrey Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. International Television, says: “We’re very excited to be adding the Warner TV branded service to Tiscali TV and to provide UK viewers with another venue to enjoy the Studio’s television programming at their demand. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with Tiscali.”

Warner Bros. content will be available alongside Tiscali’s 80+ broadcast channels, catch-up and on-demand TV services, including the UK’s biggest on-demand movie service, accessible to 10 million homes nationwide. Customers choosing to subscribe to Tiscali TV can do so from only ÂŁ15.99, which also includes up to 8Mb broadband, a free wireless router and set-top box and free weekend UK and international calls.

About Tiscali
Tiscali UK forms part of Tiscali SpA., headquartered in Cagliari, Italy. The UK company was launched in July, 2001 following the acquisitions of Liberty Surf, World Online and LineOne. Tiscali UK also acquired Tiny and Gateway ISPs ands more recently Video Networks Limited in 2006 to enable it to provide Triple Play broadband, telephone and home entertainment IPTV and Video on Demand services and the Pipex broadband and telephone business in September 2007.

Providing broadband, dialup, telephone and TV services to over three million customers of which two million are broadband customers, Tiscali UK is positioned within the UK market as the 3rd largest DSL broadband provider.

One of the most comprehensive sites on the web, Tiscali’s portal www.tiscali.co.uk provides 23 channels and over 55,000 pages of constantly updated information, resources and entertainment content. The site receives over 6.8 million unique visitors per month, a total of 265 million page views. The site gives access to online services from shopping to sport and money to entertainment and also provides services such as legal music downloading from a catalogue of over 1 million tracks, a free Video Email service and a Members Area with exclusive content and offers.

Tiscali S.p.A. (Borsa Italiana, Milan: TIS) is one of the main independent European telecommunication companies. With one of the largest and most interconnected IP networks in the world, Tiscali is able to supply its customers, residential and business, with a full range of services: Internet access, both dial-up and ADSL, voice, VoIP, media, value added services (VAS), and other technologically advanced products.

As of 31st March 2008, Tiscali had ca 3.5 million active users in Italy and the UK. 2.45 million of these were ADSL customers.

Tiscali’s corporate website can be found at www.tiscali.com.

Visit the Tiscali Press Centre at www.tiscali.co.uk/press.

About Warner Bros. International Television Distribution
Warner Bros. International Television Distribution is one of the world’s largest distributors of feature films, television programs and animation to the international television marketplace (broadcast, pay cable, basic cable, satellite, pay-per-view, video-on-demand, digital platforms, etc.). It licenses some 50,000 hours of programming (including more than 6,000 ýfeatures and 70+ current series), dubbed or subtitled in more than 40 languages, to telecasters and cablecasters in more than 175 countries.

Yahoo! and Havas Digital Announce Multi Year, Global Advertising Partnership

Monday, June 9th, 2008 filled in Media Agencies / Advertising, Media Agencies / Advertising, Internet / High Tech | No Comments »

On June 4, Yahoo! Inc. and Havas Digital, one of the world’s leading interactive agencies, announce a global partnership that encompasses all of the operating units within Havas Digital.Under the terms of the agreement, Havas Digital will work with the Right Media Exchange to develop a proprietary media trading platform based on Yahoo!’s technology. To better serve their customers and extend its advertising platform, Havas Digital plans to be an early adopter of AMP! from Yahoo! which significantly simplifies the process of buying and selling ads online. AMP! from Yahoo! is due to roll out beginning with members of the Newspaper Consortium in Q3 2008. This important relationship will also include a partnership between Yahoo! and Havas Digital’s Centers of Excellence to build a global outsourcing practice, based in India and Brazil, for digital advertising leveraging the Right Media Exchange.

Yahoo! will provide the Right Media Exchange platform to enable Havas Digital to create a digital media trading practice to effectively drive results for both large and small advertisers and web publishers. In collaboration with Yahoo!, Havas Digital will help to grow the Exchange by bringing new advertisers and publishers to the ecosystem across many markets. In addition, the parties will develop global training resources to facilitate Exchange participation.

“By deepening our strategic media relationship with Yahoo!, Havas Digital will develop an innovative trading platform that can apply the insights in Artemis to the benefit of our clients. The combined capabilities will allow Havas Digital clients to execute highly segmented media buys on a mass scale,” said Don Epperson, chief executive officer of Havas Digital. “Yahoo!’s Right Media Exchange is clearly driving the exchange revolution and we are delighted to be a global agency partner.”

“Yahoo! is proud to partner with Havas Digital in driving online marketing leadership,” said Hilary Schneider, EVP of Global Partner Solutions for Yahoo!. “The innovation happening at Havas Digital, combined with our technology solutions, will help them to achieve a new level of insights and performance for their clients. Havas Digital is a forward looking agency that we’re pleased to be working with at multiple levels.”

About Havas Digital

Havas Digital is the umbrella holding company that manages all Havas Media’s interactive companies: Media Contacts and Lattitud, global interactive media networks; iGlue, new independent interactive media network; Mobext, mobile advertising network; Archibald Ingall Stretton, creative interactive network quickly expanding around the globe; Uncommon, direct marketing specialist in Spain; One-to-One, specialized CRM solution in Portugal; and N2, offering digital strategy services in France. Havas Digital is the second largest interactive media company according to RECMA (RECMA Interactive Report - Oct. 2007). Please check www.havasdigital.com for more information.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning Yahoo!’s collaboration with Havas Digital (including without limitation the statements contained in the quotations from management in this press release), as well as Yahoo!’s strategic and operational plans. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the possibility that the expected or planned implementations of the collaboration described might be delayed, might not ultimately be implemented, or if implemented might not be successful; and that the anticipated benefits to Yahoo!, Havas Digital, the Right Media Exchange, marketers and consumers might not be realized. More information about potential factors that could affect Yahoo!’s business and financial results is included under the captions, “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, which are on file with the SEC and available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Yahoo! to Sell Display Advertising for Walmart.com

Monday, June 9th, 2008 filled in Internet / High Tech | No Comments »

Yahoo! Inc., a leading global Internet company and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide, announced on June 4 a strategic, multi-year relationship for online display and video advertising with Walmart.com. This agreement enables Walmart.com to leverage Yahoo!’s advertising platform to present new offers to online customers. Yahoo! also becomes the exclusive portal to resell Walmart.com’s display inventory.Yahoo! will bring its extensive network of leading brand advertisers to Walmart.com and serve as the primary marketing and sales channel for the site’s display and video advertising. Yahoo! will also apply its industry-leading ad-serving, targeting and inventory management capabilities to power ad pricing, targeting, delivery and reporting for Walmart.com. The site will ultimately become a participant in AMP! from Yahoo!, the recently announced advertising management platform that will become available to publishers later this year.

“This announcement builds on our strategy to be the partner of choice for leading brands looking to engage more customers with compelling offers online,” said Todd Teresi, senior vice president of the Yahoo! Publisher Network. “By combining Walmart.com’s leading position as a multi-channel retailer with our industry-leading display advertising sales and ad management technology and sales force, we will be able to provide advertisers with the easiest, most effective way to deliver targeted, relevant marketing messages to Walmart.com shoppers.”

Marketers will be able to take advantage of Yahoo! and Walmart.com’s partnership in the online retail category later this month. For more information on Walmart.com advertising opportunities, contact your Yahoo! Sales representative or visit http://advertising.yahoo.com.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Every week, millions of customers visit Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Club locations across America. The company and its Foundation are committed to a philosophy of giving back locally. Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is proud to support the causes that are important to customers and associates right in their own neighborhoods, and last year gave more than $296 million to local United States communities. To learn more, visit http://www.walmartstores.com, http://www.walmart.com, or http://www.walmartfoundation.org.

Lagardère Active announces acquisition of the Psychologies magazine group

Monday, June 9th, 2008 filled in Press | No Comments »

Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber and Didier Quillot announce the sale of the block of shares held by the Servan-Schreiber Family, that is 51% of the Group Psychologies (Finev, Inter psycho, Selma), to the Lagardère Active Group which had held a 49% stake in this Group since June 2004.

Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber, who is 70 years old, wished to lighten the role of newspaper baron that he has assumed for the past 48 years*.

Didier Quillot, for his part, wished to reinforce the presence of the Psychologies Group in the women’s/health/well-being segment where Lagardère Active has a leadership position in France as well as abroad.

Over the last ten years the Psychologies Group has enjoyed remarkable and uninterrupted growth in terms of circulation (372,630 copies, DTP, OJD 2007) and advertising revenues. The first half of 2008 has seen a continuation of these trends, notably in advertising, with Psychologies steadily increasing its market share. Psychologies magazine is, in France, in terms of circulation and ad revenue among the first three upscale monthly women’s magazines.

Over the last four years, Psychologies magazine has been introduced in 8 countries with the support of Lagardère Active, and has become a global brand.

For their part, the psychologies.com site and its affiliated sites have since the start of 2008 been passing the figure of one million unique visitors (Nielsen) and more than 20 million page views, one of the best results among sites spun off from magazines.

Its web-based advertising revenue accounts for 10% of total ad revenue for the Psychologies Group, thus demonstrating how the Lagardère Active Group is deploying its digital transformation model.
Lagardère Active points out that 5 to 10 % of its revenue will be generated by digital initiatives by 2008, one year ahead of schedule.

Psychologies Group’s new CEO will be Arnaud de Saint Simon, who till now was Managing Director and for fifteen years one of the prime movers in the Psychologies magazine saga. He was, among other things, instrumental in the international and digital development of the group over these last few years.

Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber (JLSS) is to become Chairman of the board. He will, moreover, be given the mandate of checking the editorial quality of current and future editions of Psychologies magazine.

Bruno LesouÍf, CEO of the Magazine Publishing Division France for Lagardère Active will be appointed Vice Chairman of the board of the Psychologies Group.

Perla Servan-Schreiber, who will sit on the board of the Psychologies Group, will continue as head of Interpsycho, which sells all the advertising in hard copy and digital format for the group.

New Web-based developments are scheduled in September and international launches of the magazine are set to continue with a new country planned next October.

Arnaud Lagardère will propose, at the next Lagardère SCA General Assembly, that JLSS becomes a member of the Supervisory Board of Lagardère Group.

Arnaud Lagardère emphasized that « Psychologies is one of the French media’s greatest success stories. It was not the result of chance, but of the right combination of energy, vision, and business ethics that Perla and Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber so knowingly shared with others. I am especially pleased that he will continue to share with our Group his boundless curiosity».

Didier Quillot, Chairman and CEO of Lagardère Active said: « We are proud and happy to incorporate the assets of Psychologies into Lagardère Active as both groups are key players in the women’s/wellbeing/health segment where we are already present with Doctissimo and our women’s brands. Lagardère Active now faces the formidable challenge of continuing to develop Psychologies, a brand which has become emblematic in the course of time and to incorporate it into our global multi-media and multi-location strategy ».

Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber said: « After four years of cooperation with the Lagardère Group, strong ties have been forged between our editorial teams. The atmosphere of trust and mutual respect that prevails between us bodes well for the pursuit of the adventure of Psychologies as a multimedia vehicle present in many countries. I will continue to support the efforts and creativity of those who, with us, built the reputation of Psychologies, primarily its heart, Hélène Mathieu’s editorial team ».

Warner Bros. Pictures India Announces First Animation Film

Monday, June 9th, 2008 filled in Movies, Movies | No Comments »

Warner Bros. Pictures India enters into the animation genre with an untitled film directed by Jyotin Goel and produced by Geol Screencraft.”This is a story of love and adventure, full of color, music, drama and comedy,” says Jyotin Goel. “The film is not based on the human kingdom but portrays the melodious world of birds and attempts to explore their lives from an unusual standpoint. It is a journey into the lives of birds as they soar over dense jungles and teeming cities, giving them a point of view of the world that is hilariously different from ours.”

Speaking on this occasion Blaise Fernandes, Country Manager, Warner Bros. Pictures India says, “We are delighted to associate with Jyotin on this film. It marks our entry into the animation genre in India.”

This film will be produced by Geol Screencraft; post production will be handled by Interactive Realities International Private Limited (IRIPL).

About the Director: Jyotin Goel:
Jyothin Goel is associated with two filmmaking firms – as the proprietor of Goel Screen craft and as a partner in Goel Cine Corporation. A highly regarded filmmaker, Jyotin Goel has personally produced five Hindi feature films and directed three, including hits like Zahreelay and Inaam Dus Hazar. He has also written and directed a science-fiction-based Television show, Antariksh (2007), which won the Sansui and Indian Television Academy awards for visual effects. Mr. Goel has been regularly elected to the Executive Committees of the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (the largest film producers’ organization in India) and the Film Makers Combine, the apex body of two film producers’ associations. He has been a member of the Indian Film Industry’s panel for the selection of its official feature film entry for the Oscars.

About Warner Bros. Pictures:
Warner Bros. Pictures is one of the most successful motion picture studios in the world and has been entertaining global audiences for over 85 years with high-quality, innovative, acclaimed motion pictures. With some 30 offices around the world, Warner Bros. Pictures is also the leader in the distribution and marketing of feature films to the worldwide theatrical marketplace, releasing films to more than 120 territories. Warner Bros. Pictures is home to such recent world-renowned hit films as the Harry Potter films, 300 and I Am Legend.

About Geol Screencraft:
Geol Screecraft was established by Jyotin Goel in 1985 as an independent offshoot of its parent company, Goel Cine Corporation, one of the oldest feature film production companies in India. Together, the two companies have produced 24 feature films, including classics like Ek Phool Do Mali(1969), Dus Lakh (1966) and Aadmi Sadak Ka(1977). The Goel film library is one of the most prized collections in India with films that regularly feature on television movie channels all over the world.

About Interactive Realities International Private Limited
IRIPL was established in 1994, and is one of the leading players in Multimedia Production, Internet Applications, e Learning and Web Solutions in India, with a client list of global corporations that includes Yahoo, Adobe and Kodak.

Orange football: all the excitement of top-class French football on three different screens (mobile, PC and TV ) from 9 August 2008

Monday, June 9th, 2008 filled in Internet / High Tech, Television | No Comments »

    From 9 August 2008, Orange customers will be able to follow  “Ligue 1” action on their TV, mobile and PC.
    Two new features: a TV studio travelling from stadium to stadium and eight matches available live via mobile phone.
    Orange is adopting a new editorial approach, with greater proximity and customisation of programmes.
    The Orange football service will be marketed from 3 July in Orange shops and through customer services.

Orange football: a unique service for enjoying live football on demand

Saturday night - the top league 1 match shown live on TV and in High Definition:
The Orange football Saturday night offering, which has been designed for a mainstream audience, focuses on the main league 1 match and the week’s football news, with exclusive reports and news on teams as they prepare for the match. Presented by CĂŠline GĂŠraud and Denis Balbird, the mobile TV studio will host pundits and guests to ensure the viewer is at the heart of the evening’s event.
Interactivity options will enable viewers to access real-time match statistics directly on their TV (goal count, attempts, corners, cards, etc.).

And in the week before the next championship matches are played, fans can view the highlights of all matches played on demand on their TV or PC: match summaries, “best of” sequences dedicated to the best goals and saves, plus a 52 minute-long ‘magazine programme’ covering all league 1 news…

New Gainsborough building opens at Shepperton Studios

Monday, June 9th, 2008 filled in Media Agencies / Advertising, Movies, Television | No Comments »

Housing workshops and open plan offices for film and TV productions located at the Studios, the top floor of this 60,000 sq foot building will be available for longer term occupation from companies within the media sector who will benefit from basing all or part of their operation at Shepperton.

The completion of the building is a major step in the first phase of Shepperton’s Masterplan, a joint venture with Morley to further develop the Studio’s facilities.

Currently in production at Shepperton is Universal Pictures and Working Title Films latest feature The Boat That Rocked directed by Richard Curtis and new BBC sitcom Beautiful People starring Meera Syal and Olivia Colman. The Studios recently played host to the TV series Gladiators currently broadcasting on Sky One as well as independent film Moon, a debut feature from award-winning commercials director Duncan Jones starring Sam Rockwell.

Says Pinewood Group’s CEO Ivan Dunleavy “Shepperton’s Gainsborough building will provide a new focal point for the UK’s creative industry, hosting world class film and TV production teams together with leading media specialists. We’re delighted the Culture Minister is attending to mark the occasion.”

Margaret Hodge commented “Outstanding productions need the best possible facilities, and this important new base for media companies will help ensure that Shepperton Studios continues to make a vital and sustained contribution to the success of our film, TV and commercial sectors.”

CSA allots a DVB-H frequency to Orange to broadcast its Orange Sports TV channel on personal mobile television

Monday, June 9th, 2008 filled in Internet / High Tech, Television | No Comments »

Orange has expressed its satisfaction at obtaining a DVB-H mode frequency for its Orange Sports TV channel, following the request for applications issued on 6 November 2007 by the French Audiovisual Regulator (Conseil SupĂŠrieur de l’Audiovisuel) for the broadcasting of personal mobile television services.

Orange Sports TV, the sports news and discovery channel, will thus be one of the first channels to be broadcast on mobiles in France, via the new DVB-H standard. Winning this frequency will enable Orange Sports TV to continue its development and expand its audience. The channel, launched on 6 September 2007, is already available on TV capable mobiles, on the Internet and on Orange TV.

Orange, pioneer and leader of mobile TV
Orange, the first in Europe to launch live mobile TV in 2004, has now opened up access to television using Edge, 3G and 3G+ technology to 6 million of its French customers. Orange offers up to 62 live TV channels and 3,000 videos. Based on its experience, Orange believes strongly in the potential of personal mobile television, which the Group plans to support through all available technologies. This is why Orange is also committed to personal mobile television as a content producer. While the DVB-H business model is made clearer via a debate involving all the sector’s players, the success of the service is based on the design of channels adapted to mobile consumers.

Mobile Orange Sports TV: “All sport, wherever I want, whenever I want, however I want”

Orange Sports TV is the first French television channel specially created for multi-media broadcasting: TV, Internet, and mobile. Orange Sports TV is a sports information channel with a highly specialised team of writers and crew who are lent support from the experience and content provided by its prestigious partners such as CNOSF (The French Sports and National Olympic Committee) and the Sporever Group.