At the DLD Innovation Festival last week in Tel Aviv, big ideas were brought out of the workshop and the bustling Israeli tech scene was on full display. DW was at the event along with young entrepreneurs from over 400 startups gathering to share ideas and generate investment.

DW organized a startup competition at DLD to highlight people who are doing great work in tech innovation. The winner, the Keepers app, protects children from cyberbullying and alerts parents to suspicious messages and content on their child’s smartphone.

The contest titled #Startmeup, awarded Keepers with 2,000 Euros and gave the developers the chance to showcase their app in front of investors from around the world.

DW’s Director General Peter Limbourg presented the award and also participated in a panel discussion on the effect of digitization on international media. At the panel, Limbourg emphasized how the audience for international media is being changed by digitization and how a new generation of media consumers needs to be reached through innovative means.

Shift, DW’s science and technology program, was at DLD and broadcast the event around the world with innovative ideas from water quality testers that don’t need to get wet to pest control without poison. DW’S involvement in DLD is part of a strategy to promote and publicize digital innovation and creative thinkers from around the world.

Middle East

The largest cable television provider in Israel, HOT, is a new DW broadcasting partner and is including the flagship channel DW in its basic programming package. The partnership marks DW’s first major appearance on the Israeli television market. DW is available in a news package next to major international news brands such as the BBC, Sky News, Fox News, France 24, Euronews, CCTV1 and NHK World. Along with over 800,000 cable subscribers, HOT also provides Internet and telephone services for a combined 1,3 million households. Around 200 national and international channels are provided by HOT, including many exclusive channels that aren’t available with the competing Israeli provider YES.

Asia

DW’s flagship English channel is now available on IPTV and Satellite in India via Airtel, a major global telecommunications company based in Delhi. DW is included in Airtel’s IPTV basic service package and is also with six DTH satellite programming packages. Airtel operates in 20 countries in South Asia and Africa and is the largest mobile operator in South Asia. Through this new partnership, DW has the potential to reach an audience of 4 million viewers in India.

DW’s Mongolian partner MNBC is now broadcasting DW in German via a DVB-T2 signal. MNBC is the first provider of second-generation digital broadcasting in Mongolian and services the capital city Ulaanbaatar with local and international channels on pay TV.

DW is now broadcasting digitally in Afghanistan via the digital service OQAAB. The contract allows for the broadcast of DW’s complete program.

Latin America

DW (Latinoamérica) is now available on IPTV in Mexico via the pay TV provider AXTEL. AXTEL currently has 90,000 subscribers in Mexico’s largest cities including Mexico City, Cuidad Juarez, Monterrey, and Puebla. The Spanish-language programming from DW (Latinoamérica) is included in the ULTRA programming package.

Online
After a successful pilot phase, DW will continue working with Psiphon Inc. to reroute content to users living in countries where Internet censorship remains a major problem. Users only need to download the required software and then access the content via a proxy server, a Windows application or an app for mobile devices. The service was heavily used during the latest presidential race in Iran and ensures that DW can deliver reliable information to users worldwide.

DW has improved the quality of the live streams (Flash) for each of its television feeds was improved to offer users a better viewing experience. The new resolution (1024×576 pixels, 1.5 MBit/s) can be accessed by clicking the SHQ icon in the DW live player or at mediacenter.dw.com.

Middle East
DW now has a new online partner in the Middle East: Alhewar. The website focuses on politics and culture and is especially popular among Arabic authors. Alhewar has also proven to be a real social media expert, with more than 1 million Facebook fans.

DW has signed a new partnership with the only Arabic television broadcaster in Israel. DW will provide Hala TV with award-winning content like Euromaxx, as well as other TV programming including Drive it! and Made in Germany. Hala TV is available via satellite.

Notes
DW’s expert commentary on life and style in Europe – Euromaxx – celebrated its 10th anniversary last week. The award-winning show is broadcast daily and covers everything from art and architecture to the latest fashions and trends.

DW and Palestine Public Broadcasting Commission (PBC) signed an agreement of cooperation on Thursday, September 15. Samah Khader, General Director of International Relations, and Mahmoud Mizher, General Director of Administration and Finance, were on hand at DW’s headquarters in Bonn to clarify the details. PBC TV will now be including several DW programs in its line-up, including in good shape, In Focus, Kick off! and Kick off! Countdown, as well as selected episodes of euromaxx. PBC’s radio station will also begin broadcasting some of DW’s radio programming covering topics like science and technology.

This partnership will increase DW’s presence in the Middle East. PBC TV is available in Palestine, but also in several neighboring countries due to its inclusion in the Arabsat and Nilesat networks. Palestine Radio is available in Palestine, Israel, Jordan and parts of Egypt.