TV, Mobile TV, Radio and the Internet Are Used to Reach Over 2 Million Households
Barcelona, February 13, 2009. Sofia Digital delivered to SBS Media a solution enabling new kind of TV production. SBS Media operates The Voice which is the most popular music media in Finland available on TV, Radio and the Internet. Since the beginning of 2009 Sofia Backstage® Playout Manager is used to turn The Voice Radio live morning program called “Heräämö” into a live TV show for distribution to terrestrial, cable and mobile TV networks in Finland. Sofia Backstage solution has also been used to provide visualized radio content for The Voice mobile TV broadcasts since 2008.
“Heräämö” is a popular morning show in national FM radio running every weekday from 6-10 AM. It mixes music and current affairs entertainment with guests and competitions. The radio studio is equipped with TV cameras feeding the live video to Sofia Backstage® Playout Manager that is responsible of the TV output of the program. When a song starts playing on the radio Sofia Backstage® Playout Manager switches automatically to playing the equivalent music video for the TV broadcast. The switch is triggered by RCS, the world-leading radio automation system used by The SBS Media. When advertisements start on the radio there is a parallel TV advertisement break available for the TV output. In addition to general video controls, Sofia Backstage® Playout Manager is inserting graphics top of the TV broadcast as news tickers, current time, channel logo as well as the song and artist information about the music videos. The resulting “Heräämö” TV show is played out live on The Voice TV channel.
“Sofia Digital enabled The Voice to become a true hybrid media”, said Jussi Suvanto, Programming Director of The Voice in SBS Media. “We are able to offer a unique live morning show to 2 million TV households with minimal operational costs while being able to increase advertising revenue.”
“The Voice provided a challenge that we were able to meet with our Sofia Backstage® Playout Manager”, commented Ari Pöyhtäri, CEO of Sofia Digital. “We are happy that SBS has joined the expanding group of customers discovering the new cost-efficient TV production capabilities we provide.”
Sofia Digital is exhibiting at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 16-19. Sofia Backstage® demonstrations can be seen on Sofia Digital stand 1G03 in Hall 1 with focus on made-to-mobile TV channels.
More information:
Sofia Digital
Mr. Hannu Anttila
Vice President, Sales & Marketing
email: hannu.anttila@sofiadigital.com
mobile: +358 50 385 5515
About Sofia Digital:
Sofia Digital is an internationally recognized provider of interactive TV solutions, bringing new value-adding solutions and services to different TV terminals utilizing new digital technologies. Sofia Digital focuses on open standard interactive platforms, such as MHP, OCAP, DVB-H and IPTV as well as interactive SMS TV services. Since foundation in 2000, Sofia Digital has served operator, broadcaster and device manufacturer customers in over 25 countries. For further information please visit www.sofiadigital.com.
