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Mobile and Broadband content delivery pioneered by ITN and driven by IBIS

Ranmore, October 2005: ITN is currently pioneering a streamed content to mobile service comprising two channels of news and weather for 3G phones and broadband distribution, driven by IBIS ServerPlay.

Uniquely, ITN repurposes its news content specifically for mobile phones, with an entire division -> ITN Multimedia -> responsible for the production, editing, captioning and distribution to 3, Vodafone Live! with 3G and O2.

Recently ITN Multimedia unveiled the first 24 hour streamed news channel for mobile on MobiTV (who provide the channels to Orange’s 3G offering), bringing customers world news as it happens, together with showbiz, sport and financial news, and a weather channel produced from Met Office graphics.

According to Keith Cass, Head of Technology for ITN, “ITN Multimedia has great experience in repurposing content for mobile and broadband distribution. For these platforms, it is important to think about them from a technical, production and editorial viewpoint, to make sure that the clips themselves work as well as they possibly can. It’s not just about making the clips shorter.

“Streaming means creating a rolling wheel of information, so we needed the technology to allow us, inexpensively, to create a rolling package of services. It had to have the ability to allow the production team to drop in items -> a bit like a standard transmission automation platform if you were building a TV channel - but for mobile phones.

“Our rolling wheel of news items now provides an ongoing service to MobiTV customers on a 15 -> 20 minute loop. Cost is a real issue here: the build model for ITN Multimedia technology is not like building a broadcast studio system. They work on much shorter, tighter deadlines and budgets so it has been essential to employ something that was really flexible and cost-effective to meet their needs. IBIS ServerPlay fits that bill exactly, As it operates with drag and drop, rather than having to ftp files, IBIS ServerPlay provides the flexibility to embrace any changes in the running order dynamically and, in terms of growing the product, that flexibility is a key feature.”

As well as the material for the MobiTV news channel, IBIS ServerPlay also drives the content for one of ITN’s new ventures, providing news on broadband from GreenGrass TV. Operating the world’s first pre-pay broadcast web network, GreenGrass offers broadcasters and rights holders an alternative to digital TV networks, enabling them to distribute and sell their programming direct to subscribers via the web.

Background to ITN

ITN is one of the world's leading news producers. From its main production studios in London, where most of its 800 plus employees are based, ITN provides news programming for ITV1, the ITV News Channel, Channel 4 and Independent Radio News (IRN).

ITN’s combined news broadcasts reach more than two-thirds of the UK population, making it one of the leading news providers in the country. The company has a strong reputation for the creative and innovative use of modern technology (winning the Royal Television Society's 2004 Innovation Award).

ITN makes full use of its IP to drive expansion in the fast-growing new business areas of ITN Multimedia, streaming news and entertainment content to 3G phones; ITN Archive, one of the world’s largest archives with more than 680,000 hours of footage and containing some of the world’s most iconic imagery; and through producing factual documentaries and programming.

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