With growing demand for content in war-torn Libya, TV channels are looking at producing content in neighbouring Egypt and Turkey. Libyan media house Alwasat Media Group recently completed the construction and integration of an HD production studio in Cairo to meet that demand Last month, UAE-headquartered Broadcast Systems Arabia (BSA) completed the installation of a […]
With growing demand for content in war-torn Libya, TV channels are looking at producing content in neighbouring Egypt and Turkey. Libyan media house Alwasat Media Group recently completed the construction and integration of an HD production studio in Cairo to meet that demand
Last month, UAE-headquartered Broadcast Systems Arabia (BSA) completed the installation of a three-camera HD studio in Cairo for Alwasat Media Group, a Libyan media group with interests in TV channels, radio and newspapers. The current volatile situation in Libya means TV channels can’t operate there, which is why the media house has set up shop in Egypt.
There is a dearth of content in Libya, and the production studio is a step towards meeting the growing need for quality content. Muhammad Irfan Gondal, CEO at BSA, says most channels in Libya transmit from Jordan, Bahrain or Cairo; none of them uplink from Libya except for the government channels, owing to security issues.
More than 24 Libyan satellite channels have been launched in the last three years, he adds.
There is a massive content deficit there. The rising demand for content in the Libyan market cannot be met by the existing facilities. Three new channels will be launching from Jordan in the next couple of months to cater to the Libyan market, but there is not enough content to fill the screens.
Alwasat Media contracted BSA to build an HD studio in Cairo, to feed content to Libyan TV channels. BSA worked with local partners and deployed seven engineers from the company on-site to integrate the studio, which aims to cater specifically to viewers in Libya. The producers, directors and editors of the shows to be produced in the studio are all Libyan.
Alwasat Media Group is the same company for which we recently launched a radio station in Libya. We also installed three transmitters for it and built the main and backup radio studio in Cairo. We have also been working to build one backup radio studio for it in Cairo. In addition to that, BSA integrated its newspaper automation system at its Cairo headquarters, says Gondal.
This studio will create programmes, both recorded and live, for broadcast for Libyan TV channels. With an area of 250sqm, the studio houses three Sony HXC-100 cameras and is fitted with 26 ARRI lights. It also features a virtual set from Monarch and a chroma screen with removable panels.
We have built two editing suites that work on Final Cut Pro. A dubbing studio has also been designed to repurpose Indian and Pakistani films and drama content for Libyan viewers. It will be built soon, says Gondal.
BSA also supplied the studio with three ENG kits, complete with Sony PMW-100 camcorders, and two FCP editing suites. An FM radio kit was also supplied to the media house to feed FM radio station transmitting in Libya. 32GB SxS memory cards from Sony designed to work with the vendors XDCAM EX camcorders and decks are used for recording on outdoor cameras and transferring the content for editing. The PCI Express interface of the memory cards provides workflow efficiency, with seamless transition from acquisition to PC for editing and archiving.
With the studio up and running, Alwasat Media Group now plans to set up a playout and MCR for its future needs.
We will be building the MCR and playout for Alwasat soon. Our relationship with Alwasat has strengthened since we deployed three Elenos radio transmitters for the media house in Al Bayda, Benghazi and Tubruk. We have been awarded the contract to install three more transmitters in Libya, confirms Gondal.
