News
EBU members meet
Covid-19 content challenge
Twenty-five public service media
organisations from the European
Broadcasting Union (EBU) Member
community have responded to an urgent
TV content appeal by providing over 200
TV programmes, amounting to 1,300 hours
of content, for use by all public service
broadcasters.
The EBU-facilitated appeal was launched
following the disruption of production
schedules and predictions of a crisis for
the industry as a result of Covid-19. The
EBU Member community has supplied
rights-cleared programming across multiple
genres, including drama, history, lifestyle,
performing arts, education, and a range of
programmes aimed at children. In the spirit
of the emergency, there is no requirement for
broadcasters to contribute content in order to
access the programmes.
“The speed with which Members have
responded to the appeal is exceptional,” stated
Matthew Trustram, the EBU’s head of TV.
“As a result of their generosity, we have been
able to make an impressive range of content
available to wider audiences, plug gaps in
schedules, and address that issue which all
broadcasters dread – the potential for dead
air. Our thanks to all our Members for their
solidarity in these unprecedented times.”
“There is an Irish word, ‘Meitheal’, which
perfectly expresses the idea of a practical,
inter-dependent community,” noted Roger
Childs, senior production executive at RTÉ.
“At its best, that is what the EBU is. As soon as
lockdown measures started to be introduced,
the EBU saw the likely impact of Covid-19 on
production and future output across its 119
Members. With lightning speed, the scheme to
share content freely was created and RTÉ was
delighted to contribute significant amounts
of fully cleared, high quality content. Soon,
Irish audiences will also benefit from the richly
diverse catalogue of other Members’ freely
shared content.”
“One of the pillars of the EBU is facilitating
content opportunities for Members and
ensuring that more broadcasters have access
to the great content being made across Europe
– to the benefit of audiences everywhere,”
advised Jean Philip De Tender, EBU media
director. “We never anticipated providing
content in such challenging circumstances,
but the collaboration, support and willingness
of the Member community to join our appeal
really underlines the values of public service
media and all that we stand for.”
The contributors to the content sharing
scheme are: RTVE (Spain); BBC (UK);
BBC Alba (UK); HRT (Croatia); MTVA
(Hungary); TG4 Teilifis (Ireland); KRO-NCRV
(Netherlands); Rai (Italy); RTR (Russia); TRT
(Turkey); BHRT (Bosnia & Herzegovina); VRT
(Belgium); BNT (Bulgaria); RSI (Switzerland);
RTS (Switzerland); SRF (Switzerland); Yle
(Finland); Latvijas Televīzija (Latvia); RTÉ
(Ireland); NHK (Japan); SVT (Sweden);
Swedish Education Broadcasting Co (Sweden);
Public Broadcasting Services Ltd (Malta);
RTK (Kosovo); and Radiotelevizija Slovenija
(Slovenia).
UKTV Play app
first on Huawei
AppGallery
Multichannel programmer
UKTV is partnering with
China’s Huawei, with the
broadcaster’s on demand
app UKTV Play now available
to download on the Huawei
AppGallery, becoming the
first TV on-demand service
to launch on the platform in
the UK, bringing a host of
new entertainment options to
Huawei users.
Huawei users will now be
able to stream their favourite
programmes from UKTV
channels Dave, Yesterday
and Drama, as well as browse
thousands of TV episodes
and bingeworthy box sets
from the comfort of their
smartphones and tablets.
“We’re always looking to
make our shows available
to our viewers on as many
devices and platforms as
possible,” explained Hugo
Allen, UKTV Play’s head of
commercial. “By making the
UKTV Play app available in
the Huawei AppGallery, we
can ensure that all Huawei
mobile phone users can
enjoy programmes from
Dave, Drama and Yesterday
wherever and whenever they
want.”
Since launching in April
2018, Huawei AppGallery
has grown and is now able to
offer a secure service to over
26 million monthly active
AppGallery users across
Europe and 420 million
monthly active users globally.
“With over 60,000 apps
already integrated with
Huawei Mobile Services,
we are rapidly building the
Huawei AppGallery to offer
the first real alternative
in ten years,” commented
Anson Zhang, managing
director of the UK Consumer
Business Group, Huawei. “We
are continuously growing
our service to bring our
customers more of the apps
we know they love, whilst
working with some of most
innovative developers to
create the app store of the
future.”
“The launch of UKTV Play
on the Huawei AppGallery
marks an exciting step for
the business. We are thrilled
our UK customers can now
enjoy instant access to
their favourite shows from
Dave, Yesterday and Drama
channels in an easy and
accessible way.”
8 EUROMEDIA