Latin America’s largest TV network Globo has deployed Ateme’s Titan stream processing system to power 4K content on its new OTT multi-screen services. The newly launched Globo Play services are available on smart TVs, PCs, smartphones and tablets. The first TV shows to benefit from this UHD resolution will be the 2014 mini-series Dupla identidade, followed by Ligações perigosas, which will air this month.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has put up record-breaking box office numbers for 4DX globally. Only two weeks into its run, the film has been seen by more than one million moviegoers in 4DX, surpassing the success of Jurassic World in 4DX, which previously reached one million moviegoers in three weeks. In America, Asia and Africa, Star Wars has broken records for the highest occupancy rate for a 4DX film.
4DX’s partnership with NOS, the leading cinema operator in Portugal, will bring the very first 4DX auditorium to Southern Europe with auditoriums in Porto and Lisbon. Both 4DX theaters are scheduled to open in the first half of this year.
The European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and Russian film consultancy Nevafilm, are organizing a free conference January 27 during the 18th CSTB 2016 in Moscow. A networking drinks reception will follow the conference. The Observatory and Nevafilm will present their new report on the Russian television and video on demand market. This new report will be available free for download following the conference.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has awarded SMPTE an Emmy Award for Technology and Engineering for its work on Standardization and Pioneering Development of Non-Live Broadband Captioning. The award was presented to SMPTE, Netflix, Home Box Office, Telestream, and the World Wide Web Consortium during the 67th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards ceremony, which was held January 8 in Las Vegas in conjunction with the international Consumer Electronics Show.
Ymagis Group has appointed Serge Sepulcre as the new director of Éclair’s Digital Distribution division. Sepulcre joins the company from audiovisual specialist VDM SAS, where he served as sales director for five years.
Barry Ziehl has been named senior vice president, public affairs and strategic initiatives for Warner Bros. Entertainment, it was announced by Dee Dee Myers, executive vice president, worldwide corporate communications and public affairs, Warner Bros. Ziehl, who currently oversees worldwide public relations and marketing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products, will assume his new responsibilities in the coming weeks and report directly to Myers.
The European Audiovisual Observatory, the Council of Europe’s audiovisual information centre, is now under a new presidency for 2016. The Czech Republic takes over from Montenegro, which held the presidency of the Strasbourg-based Observatory in 2015.
Fathom Events has named Larry Gillman as the company’s chief financial officer and promoted Tom Lucas to vice president of studio relations and Kyle Villella to vice president of distribution. They will report to CEO John Rubey.
The Taormina Film Fest comes to the United States for the first time with the debut of its Los Angeles edition January 20 at the Italian Cultural Institute in Westwood. Italian actress Valeria Golino (Rain Man) and Italian directors Elio Sofia, Francesco Cannavà and Ezio Costanzo will receive awards at the festival.
