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RT makes the switch to HD format
MUMBAI: Russia Today (RT), the global international news network, has switched all of its English-language news broadcasting to High Definition (HD) format, effective 16 December.
The switch to HD was enabled by RT‘s move of its studios and headquarters offices to a brand new facility in Moscow, the news broadcaster said in a statement.
The HD broadcasting launch marks another important achievement by RT, while such delivery is not yet offered by many other major international news channels.
"We are incredibly proud of everything we have accomplished in just seven short years. The switch to HD is just the next step as we continue to grow and expand. The upgraded capabilities of our new, technologically sophisticated facility allow us to stay ahead of the competition," RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said.
When RT first launched its 24-7 news broadcast in December of 2005, it employed some 300 journalists and consisted of just one TV channel, airing in English.
Today the network boasts the staff of more than 2000 professionals, and its five channels broadcast in English, Arabic and Spanish, reaching 550 million people in more than 100 countries around the globe.
In 2012, RT became the first Russian TV channel ever to garner a second nomination for the prestigious International Emmy award for its news coverage.
Applications
Canva acquires animation and AI startups Cavalry and MangoAI
The deals strengthen Canva’s push into enterprise and AI-led design workflows
AUSTRALIA: Global visual communication platform Canva has stepped up its acquisition drive, buying UK-based 2D animation platform Cavalry and US-based AI startup MangoAI to deepen its AI-powered creative stack.
Cavalry, whose tools are used by brands including Amazon, Meta, Google and Netflix, will strengthen Canva’s motion design capabilities. The deal builds on Canva’s 2024 acquisition of Affinity, which has crossed four million downloads since launch. With Cavalry, Canva now counts seven Europe-based acquisitions, underscoring its global expansion strategy.
MangoAI, an early-stage startup focused on video advertising optimisation, will integrate its reinforcement learning systems into Canva AI. The move aims to enable brands to generate personalised marketing content in real time, cutting production cycles while improving campaign performance. MangoAI co-founder Vinith Misra will join Canva as reinforcement learning lead in its research lab.
Canva co-founder and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht said the acquisitions reflect the company’s ambition to make professional-grade creative tools more accessible without sidelining human creativity. The goal, he said, is to bring everything from vector to motion design into a single, integrated suite.
The company now reports 265 million active users, including 31 million paid subscribers, and $4 billion in annualised revenue, up 36 per cent year on year. The latest buys further position Canva against rivals such as Adobe and Apple’s Creator Studio as it pushes deeper into enterprise workflows.
Canva head of pro design marketing Liam Fisher, said AI is intended to act as a creative assistant rather than a replacement, reinforcing the primacy of craft and individual design judgement.
