12 Saturday 08.09.2012 theibcdaily The Arab Spring: Driving new UGC trends
Conference Tomorrow By Chris Forrester
Not so very long ago it was broadcasters who praised new lightweight cameras as having the ability to not only get into difficult trouble-spots, but how – thanks to satellite technology – they were able to get their ENG material back to the studio in record time. That was then. Few could have imagined the impact ordinary cell-phones would have on broadcasting today, and in particular the Arab Spring, the rolling series of revolutions that spread across the Middle East like wildfire. Presidents were toppled, governments changed, and
both locally and internationally, viewers and opinion makers were captivated – and often outraged by on-screen events – as images were picked up and retransmitted as they happened by the likes of Al Jazeera, Al-Arabiya, CNN and the other global news broadcasters. This truly was ‘instant revolution’ and viewed by hundreds of cellular eyes. Tomorrow’s expert session, moderated by UK broadcaster and journalist Ray Snoddy, looks at how user-generated content, helped by digital technology, has changed the broadcasting landscape and impacted on the speed of events throughout the Middle East, the most news-hungry
Nart Bouran, head of Sky News Arabia
gatherers, and how such content feeds into the system but can also provoke responses that are not always appreciated by those in power.
region on the planet. Produced by Tudor Lomas
(director of the Jemstone Network in Jordan) and who also participates in the session,
the panel will examine how social media and broadcasting have come together to provide a powerful and far-reaching tool for broadcasters and news-
The panel also includes Fayed Abushammalah from the Arab Media Development Co., Nart Bouran (head of Sky News Arabia which now broadcasts from Abu Dhabi), and Jonathan Marks (director of Critical Distance in the Netherlands). Snoddy will also ask the panel how they expect social media and UGC will likely impact tomorrow’s broadcasting models, and whether this could lead to an even richer information and services for viewers. 12:00-13:30, Forum
Olympics: The technology story
Conference Today By Chris Forrester
Not only was this year’s Olympic Games the most watched, but it was also the most technically demanding. Long gone are the single- channel telecasts, now there are two-dozen HD feeds, there are live 3D images and for the first-time spectators around the world could view Ultra-HDTV thanks to the efforts of Japan’s NHK, the BBC, the EBU and NBC. Of course, there is also the online, streaming experience sending live and recorded images to every corner of the globe as well as managing a zillion Slo- Mo, Spider-cams and track-cam images.
This expert panel looks at some of the technology in use during the Games, and
how that technology tapped into viewer’s ever-deeper desire for total immersion in sports broadcasting. Viewers expected – and received - an intimacy and immediacy to their viewing that was greater than that experienced by people attending live events. Jim Irvine, commercial
director at Deltratre, who is chairing the session, says viewers want to be able to stand (or swim or ride or jump) shoulder to shoulder with athletes on the field, and want to have every aspect of the competitive experience available to them.
He says the 2012 Olympics was the ultimate broadcast challenge in providing audiences with a rich immersive experience across a variety of environments and within many different
types of action. Illustrated with what Irving
promises will be stunning clips of the London 2012 experience, this panel looks at the technological innovation used to take audiences deeper than ever
into the Olympic action, including 3D, Super Hi- Vision, web distribution, and large scale IT solutions for the on-line aspects. After months of pre- games secrecy, be the first to hear technology
companies disclose details of their Olympics
experience and how they balanced innovation with the pressure to get
everything perfect for those once-in-a-lifetime shots. 11:30-13:00, Forum