Events
Arianespace launches 2 satellites for DirecTV and Telkom 2
MUMBAI: An Ariane-5 ECA launcher with two telecommunications satellites was launched from the Kourou base in French Guiana early this morning.
Arianespace placed two satellites into geostationary transfer orbit: the Spaceway 2 high-definition direct broadcast satellite for DirecTV and a communications satellite for Indonesia’s Telkom 2, which is owned by PT Telkom Indonesia.
The mission was initially scheduled for 24 June but was postponed several times for technical reasons.
Spaceway 2, the Boeing-built spacecraft is the second in a series of DirecTV’s next generation of direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast satellites. The spacecrafts’ adaptable spot beam technology and reconfigurable routing will allow DirecTV, Inc. to bring HDTV local service to most US television households.
Spaceway 2 is the 45th satellite that Arianespace has launched for US customers.
Telkom 2 was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation of the US using the Star-2 platform and is fitted with 24 C-band transponders. Telkom-2 will provide telephony, image and data transmission services in Southeast Asia and the Indian sub-continent.
Telkom 2 is the 43rd Asian satellite to be launched by Arianespace.
Arianespace has launched a total 13 satellites so far this year. Thirty minutes after the launch the rocket released satellite television firm DirecTV’s Spaceway 2, which weighs 6.1 tons at lift-off, and will enable the company to provide live coverage in the United States, as well as Telkom 2, weighing nearly two tons.
This is the 20th successful Ariane 5 launch from Arianespace and the 10th successful launch in a row.
Ariane 5 is the only commercial launcher in service capable of simultaneously launching two payloads. Ariane 5 ECA offers a payload capacity of nearly 10,000 kg. into geostationary transfer orbit, giving Arianespace’s customers enhanced performance, flexibility and competitiveness through the best launch service in the world.
“Today’s mission sets a new record for commercial launches: with over 8,000 kg. injected into orbit, the SpaceWay 2 and Telkom 2 satellites represent the heaviest dual payload ever launched,” informed a company release.
MUMBAI: Disney Star India is in the running for this year’s IBC2024 Innovation Awards which are to be held on 15 September at 18 hours. The category for which it has been shortlisted is the social impact award for its work with India Signing Hands through which it brought the IPL 2024 coverage to almost 67 million hard of hearing and 34 million visually impaired fans on Star Sports.
Late last month, the IBC announced the finalists for the IBC Innovation Awards which celebrate and honour collaborative initiatives leading to ground-breaking solutions that address real-world media, entertainment and technology industry challenges. This year’s awards bring together under one roof IBC’s innovation and social impact awards to create a unified celebration of industry advances, with five categories now being judged: content creation, content distribution, content everywhere, social Impact, and environment & sustainability.
“This year’s entries once again showcased the global reach and appeal of the IBC Innovation Awards with projects of the highest quality received from six continents,” said chair of the 2024 IBC Innovation Awards jury Fergal Ringrose. “Meanwhile, constantly evolving delivery methods and audience consumption patterns demand that content producers around the globe must innovate dynamically in order to stay relevant and competitive in the modern media and entertainment technology ecosystem. I would like to sincerely thank our panel of judges for their diligence and ability to adapt, as we brought our three content categories together with environment and sustainability and social impact this year for our new-look IBC Innovation Awards.”
Former news anchor Sasha Qadri is set to host the awards in the auditorium complex at the RAI on Sunday.
This year’s finalists in the Content Creation category include:
* The National Football League (US), ESPN, Disney/Pixar and Beyond Sports for creating the first fully animated, real-time NFL alternative broadcast set in the Toy Story universe.
* Olympic Broadcasting Services and partners for live broadcast production with more than 200 smartphones contributing video for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony and a sea-based 5G network for sailing competitions in Marseille.
* Aspire for working with Vislink and FocalPoint VR to develop a virtual reality over RF wireless solution for the inaugural season of Aspire’s Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL).
The organisations named as finalists in Content Distribution are:
* Claro for creating a new approach to pay TV in Brazil, integrating streaming channels and applications, delivering entertainment to consumers with a complete pay TV offer.
* NBCUniversal Operations and Technology for its pioneering project to transform the way its TV channels are delivered to consumers worldwide.
* The National Hockey League (Canada and US) in partnership with Verizon, AWS, Zixi, Vizrt and Evertz, for producing a 5G and Edge compute framework for assembly, control and delivery of live broadcast.
The Content Everywhere finalists are:
* LaLiga for working with Play Anywhere and Ease Live to enable true fan interactivity for itself and its worldwide broadcast and streaming partners.
*Red Bull Media House for bringing together real-time GPS tracking, data management and advanced visualisation to transform viewing experience across live broadcast, web widgets and AR mobile app.
* Franceinfo (France Télévisions) for working with PimpMyCompany to aggregate text/audio/video/photo messages from various platforms and broadcasting them live on air.
Apart from Disney Star, the Social Impact finalists are:
* CultureQ for a new technology platform developed by indigenous-owned tech company Kiwa Digital that enables indigenous peoples globally to revitalise their language and culture at scale, while retaining sovereignty
* Sesame Workshop for its Watch Play Learn Distribution Hub which allows government agencies and aid organisations to preview and request videos for children in crisis settings.
The Environment & Sustainability finalists are:
* France Télévisions for reducing CO2 emissions by 300 tons via a pioneering 100% glass-to-glass cloud production and private 5G network.
* GreeningofStreaming for addressing growing industry concerns about the energy impact of the streaming sector, with international reach and over 30 member organisations.
* Anton/Bauer for Salt-E Dog which harnesses the power of sodium chemistry to enable sustainable television production practices.
The Innovation Awards ceremony will also feature the presentation of the IBC International Honour for Excellence, which goes to an individual or organisation that has made an outstanding impact in the industry, and the best technical paper, with all papers being presented at the 2024 IBC Conference that runs 13-15 September in the auditorium complex of the RAI.
