Freesat Reaches 100,000 Units

Freesat, the new digital satellite TV service that launched in May this year, has announced it has topped 100,000 units sold across the UK. The sales have been helped by the major sporting events during the summer such as Euro 2008, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games as well as blockbusters like King Kong, which have been shown in HD.

Sales are set to continue as we look forward to an autumn schedule boasting UEFA Champions' League, England World Cup qualifiers and FA Cup football on ITV HD, exclusive to Freesat.

Freesat makes HDTV available to 98% of UK households, some of whom have previously been unable to benefit from this technology, without the need for a subscription or a contract. Viewers need an HD digital box that connects to an HD-ready TV or a TV with built-in Freesat. Freesat comes with its own inter-viewer interactivity, ‘red' button functionality and EPG service, all through a standard broadband connection.

WRN can guide broadcasters wishing to go onto Freesat through the launch process, having already successful placed six channels on the EPG, with more coming shortly. WRN provides its clients with uplink and capacity services on the Eurobird satellite (used to feed Freesat) and EPG services.

For further information, please contact our Sales Team on [email protected].

No Sign of Credit Crunch at MIPCOM 2008

Whilst the banks crashed and burned and newspaper headlines continued to count the ongoing death tally of the credit crunch, there were no signs of a downturn in TV sales at this year's MIP. With record attendance on day three of the conference, this year's was the busiest ever, attracting 13,588 participants, 4,573 international buyers, 4,517 companies and 11779 exhibitors.

WRN's Head of Sales and Business Development, Sophie Wilson, was on the ground in Cannes, attending what is often cited as THE conference for television industry professionals. MIPCOM is the global content event for creating, co-producing, buying, selling, financing and distributing entertainment content across all platforms. It provides the key decision-makers in the TV, film, digital and audiovisual content, production and distribution industries with the only market conference and networking forum to discover future trends and trade content rights on a global level.

This year's conference placed a particular emphasis on digital content, with Michael Eisner (former CEO of the Walt Disney Company and driving force behind on-line content companies Vuguru and Veoh) sharing his vision, in his keynote speech, of a digital entertainment industry that brings the consumer, the producer and the distributor closer together. A week of new-media oriented conferences followed. MIP closed with a keynote delivered by Gary Wang, the founder and CEO of Tudou, the Chinese answer to YouTube, which focused on digital and UGC in China. 

For information on WRN's digital product offering, please contact [email protected]

WRN Appoints New Operations Manager

WRN is pleased to announce the latest addition to its growing team. Michael Ward, formerly of Sislink, has joined WRN as Operations Manager to head up the Technical Department and play a major role in the strategic development of the company and its technical services.

Michael began his career as an apprentice at Telecine in the early 1990's and worked his way up to MCR shift leader. He left Telecine in 2002 to join Sislink, Europe's largest satellite uplink fleet, where he helped develop the MCR into one of the busiest in the world.

Michael says: "working at Sislink was a rewarding time spent developing my skills in technical management and satellite uplinking. I am confident that these skills will come to great use at WRN and I am very happy to be a part of a team that is always at the forefront of new technologies."

Michael will coordinate the daily operations of WRN's renowned technical team, continuing to ensure that our clients always receive the best possible service.

If you would like to meet with Michael, or any other member of the WRN team, please contact the WRN Sales Team at [email protected].

Sky Surpasses 9 Million Subscribers in the UK

At the end of October, BSkyB announced its subscribers had surpassed 9 million in the UK. The announcement comes after Sky published its results for this quarter. Coming in ahead of analysts expectations, Sky's net customer addition over the last three months has climbed to 93,000, bringing the total amount to 9.067m subscribers.

Despite negative projections in light of the credit crunch, these figures prove that Sky is still the premier DTH platform of choice in the UK. WRN boasts a portfolio of 25+ clients on the platform, including The Word Network and KICC TV.

The Digital Switchover in 2012 will require all 26 million UK households to select a Digital TV solution. Sky is without doubt making good progress in its HD product development as this past month of October has seen Sky giving a special promotional push to high definition, with lower box fees and a boost to the number of HD channels on offer. BSkyB is assured that it is in an advantageous position to add many more of those households to its subscribers list.

Despite Sky's closure of the EPG queue in October last year, WRN is able to help any broadcaster wishing to access the platform in the purchase or sub-lease of an EPG. WRN also provides satellite uplink, capacity and EPG management services and can consult on licensing and regulatory issues.

For further information on Sky and EPG services, please contact the WRN Sales Team on [email protected] or call +44 (0) 20 7896 4020.

WRN Offer Global TV Services

Are you looking to expand your reach? Or perhaps looking for playout solutions or new content?

Whatever your TV broadcasting objectives, WRN can help you achieve them. We provide digital services, turnaround and playout services for Sky and other direct to home platforms around the world.

WRN has access to a number of international Points of Presence around the world enabling a cost effective way to backhaul and distribute video and audio signals for both ad hoc and permanent services.

We offer access to Sky, despite the cessation of launches since October 2007, and also the newly launched Freesat platform. Our TV experts offer consultancy services to start-up stations regarding business models, licensing, scheduling, music rights, distribution and much more.

WRN also offers content brokerage services for both TV and radio.

For further information on our TV services, please contact our Sales Team on [email protected]

WRN at the International Emmy Awards

WRN's Head of Sales & Business Development, Sophie Wilson, will be attending the 36th International Emmy Awards in New York on 24th November 2008 as a guest of Graham and Adrienne Pitman from the European Television Guild.

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which host the awards ceremony, is the largest organisation of global broadcasters, with members from nearly 70 countries and over 400 companies. Sixty percent of the Board of Directors come from countries based outside of the USA.

Graham Pittman is the Director of the European Television Guild and has been on the judging panel for the International Emmys for many years. The Guild champions the causes of independent broadcasters and assists niche channels in all genres with licensing and compliance services, planning, platform expansion, distribution negotiations, and more.

Sophie Wilson was earlier this year selected to be a juror on the panel for the Semi-Finals in the Best Performance by an Actress category. She says: "Undergoing the judging process was a great experience as I got to interact with content in a way in which I'm not normally able to in a transmission context. I would like to thank Graham and Adrienne for this opportunity - I am very much looking forward to attending the awards ceremony with them later this month."

For more information on the European TV Guild, go to www.eurotvguild.com