A Euromaxx segment has been given recognized by the Accolade Competition. At the end of November, the strange world of max x was given an Award of Excellence in the “comedy series” category. With max x, DW has found a clever way to dissect modern society. Sometimes he has to wrestle with the technical pitfalls of his mobile phone, and other times it only takes a folding chair to drive him crazy. He’s just a normal guy trying to cope with the challenges of modern life.

DW is not only available on TV and the web. Travelers are getting to see great DW content on a growing number of airlines. We caught up on the latest about in-flight entertainment (IFE) with DW’s Head of Distribution Ulrich Wartmann.

What in-flight entertainment does DW offer to airlines, and what are some of the most popular programs?
We select content from DW’s magazines like Kino and Made in Germany. IFE also features documentaries from the DW Transtel catalog on topics from the environment to the automotive world and from fashion to technology.

The most popular content from our IFE line-up comes from the lifestyle shows like Euromaxx and PopXport.

How long has DW offered IFE?
Compared to some of our other services, we have actually been offering IFE for a relatively short period. We have had a few partnerships in place for years now, but we started concentrating more on our IFE efforts in 2008.

What kind of programming are airlines looking for, and how can DW help meet their needs?
Airlines are looking for all kinds of programs. When it comes to documentaries, they want nature, travel and lifestyle programs. Science is a popular topic, too.

Something we pride ourselves on is our multilingual capability. We can provide quality programming in several different languages and make it available in numerous markets. Our IFE programming is currently available in German, English, Spanish and Arabic. And a number of our shows have different subtitle options.

How do you see IFE developing in the future? Will DW expand its offerings?
We especially want to increase our emphasis on lifestyle programs by creating new formats and expanding the Euromaxx series.

Who are some of DW’s newest partners for IFE?
Just this year, the following airlines have gotten on board with us: Aeroflot, Air Namibia, Eva Air, Iberia, Korean Air, LAN Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines and Somon Air.

We are always looking forward to seeing more carriers take advantage of our IFE.

DW regularly takes part in IFE conferences from the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) and will do so in the coming year. Aleksandra Jovanic is the Distribution Representative who has been taking care of IFE at DW for the last few years.

Parabola Orange TV, Indonesia’s latest DTH service has included Deutsche Welle (DW) in its programming lineup. DW will be offered in Orange TV’s “Smart Package”, alongside other top global news, educational and lifestyle networks. The bew DTH service will make DW’s English channel available to viewers in suburban areas surrounding Jakarta.

“We are privileged to be included in Parabola Orange TV’s outstanding mix of nearly 60 channels,” said Petra Schneider, DW’s Director of Distribution. “The addition of DW demonstrates Parabola Orange TV’s belief that we have what it takes to satisfy their viewers. We are looking forward to sharing our brand of edutainment and insights into life in Europe.”

 

DW was once again recognized for outstanding TV production at the World Media Festival in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday. “The XX Factor” won the intermedia-Globe Award in (gold) in “Documentaries: Lifestyle” category. The series looks at three women in Europe who have broken into typically male-dominated fields. Euromaxx also received silver in the same category for its feature on adventurous vacations.

DW also picked up two silver awards in the category “Political Documentaries” – one covering the challenges and opportunities that Europe is facing because of the situation in the North Africa, and one covering a center for treatment in Lindau, Germany.

 

Learning by Ear for Afghanistan is available in Dari and Pashtu.

Asia
Radio Nawa has been signed on as a radio partner in Afghanistan and has been broadcasting DW’s Pashtu program since the middle of March. Radio Nawa is a subsidiary of the Saba Media Organization that specializes in informational programming and is available in 20 of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan. Along with the nightly DW broadcast, Radio Nawa will be broadcasting “Learning by Ear” once a week in Dari in Pashtu.

MioTV in Singapore has integrated the all-English television channel DW into their IPTV line-up. MioTV is considered a pioneer in the realm of IPTV in Asia and provides programming to the culturally-diverse public in Singapore. It is a subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) – one of the largest in Asia.

The Indonesian cable provider Megavision has also integrated DW’s English chanel into ist line-up and broadcasts it 24 hours daily. Megavision bundles international and local television channels for viewers in Bandung, Bogor, Semarang and Malang.

Europe
Euromaxx is now available in most of Russia as the result of a new partnership with STP-Content. The Russian syndication network is the largest in Russia and provides content for regional TV networks in. This will make Euromaxx available to more than 40 million viewers throughout Russia. The Russian version of the award-winning lifestyle show is being produced by Kanal 100TV in St. Petersberg.

America
DW has a new online partner in Brazil with O Povo. DW will provide a content box for the website as well as Global Ideas videos in Portuguese. O Povo started off as a daily newspaper in 1928 and has expanded to include three radio stations and one television station. The website has more than two million unique visitors monthly.