CABSAT, DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — March 2, 2009 — ScheduALL, the leading provider of enterprise resource management (ERM) software for the broadcast and media industry, today announced that Al Jazeera English, the world's first English-language news channel headquartered in the Middle East, is managing its staff and media resources, workflow, and cost accounting for its global newsgathering operations with ScheduALL software, integrating four broadcast centers and feeds from 69 news bureaus.
Serving as the bookings tool for ad hoc, occasional, and recurring satellite, fiber, and broadband global area network (BGAN) ftp feeds coming into the broadcaster's headquarters in Doha, Qatar, along with its three production facilities in London, Kuala Lumpur, and Washington, D.C., the ScheduALL system at Al Jazeera English brings vital scheduling information into other technical areas of broadcast operations, ensuring that events are actuated and completed according to the booking. An integrated cost tracking capability links external supplier costs to each work order, supporting financial reporting and enabling rapid reconciliation of each booking with resulting invoices. With ScheduALL, the automation of this workflow has improved efficiencies of existing resources allowing users to improve their productivity; greatly enhanced the financial visibility of key projects across multiple business units around the globe; and contributed to improving Al Jazeera's cost control efforts.
"As an international news organization, we need an effective means of tracking our booking costs and making sure that we are using our resources to their fullest potential," said Nick Taylor, head of news operations at Al Jazeera English. "ScheduALL offers valuable transparency of real-time information across multiple sites, encompassing the whole organization. The detailed audit trail provided by the software allows us to evaluate critical areas of our operations and make informed decisions about how we manage and invest in resources."
Al Jazeera English installed its ScheduALL system as the channel's new broadcast facility was being completed, and today the software supports scheduling for all four broadcast centers, as well as feeds acquired from 69 news bureaus. Despite the underlying complexity of the workflow, the operation of the ScheduALL system is made simple by customized user interfaces, which provide the right information to the right staff members, whether in the master control room, audio control room, or newsroom. Some key production aids are the template-based work order creation, which not only speeds bookings, but also reduces the risk of entry errors, while the conflict-flagging feature minimizes the possibility of double-booking resources needed to process incoming feeds. This streamlined approach has led to significant cost savings and has ensured a smooth booking process.
"Through the integration of ScheduALL into its broadcasting, operations, and technical facilities, Al Jazeera English took a proactive approach to building smart, profitable operations," said Joel Ledlow, CEO of ScheduALL. "By leveraging real-time booking data, ScheduALL enables business and financial managers to view on a daily basis, how specific costs compare against projected budgets. While the software's booking tools support smooth feed scheduling, its reporting capabilities offer the insight required to manage that process cost-effectively."
More information about ScheduALL and its robust software solutions is available online at www.scheduall.com.
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About Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English is the first English language world news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. Launched in November 2006, Al Jazeera English is setting the global news agenda and acts as a bridge between cultures. With unique access as the channel of reference for Middle East events, and with broadcast centers strategically placed around the world in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London, and Washington, D.C., Al Jazeera English is balancing the information flow from South to North, providing independent and impartial news for a global audience from a grass-roots level, giving voice to different perspectives from under-reported regions around the world.
Al Jazeera English is available in more than 100 countries to more than 130 million households worldwide, and was recently awarded "Best 24 Hour News Program" at the 48th Annual Monte Carlo Television Festival. The channel also recently received its first two International Emmy® nominations in both news and current affairs for its groundbreaking coverage of the military crackdown in Myanmar and for its Red Mosque coverage.
The Arabic language Al Jazeera Satellite Channel is well known for changing the face of news in the Middle East, bringing independent and free speaking current affairs television to the region for the first time.
Visit www.aljazeera.net/english for more details.
Find out how to watch AJE in your region: http://english.aljazeera.net/watchaje.
Watch online at www.livestation.com/aje and www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish.
About ScheduALL
ScheduALL is the leading provider of enterprise resource management (ERM) software for the broadcast and media industry. With almost 20 years of experience and more than 1,200 worldwide clients within broadcast, satellite, and production facilities, ScheduALL is clearly recognized as the partner of choice for operational management software solutions.
ScheduALL's software offers comprehensive workflow and resource management capabilities that enable clients to optimize personnel, resources, and bandwidth utilization in a way that directly translates into increased productivity and ROI. ScheduALL's modular approach and scalable product-sets provide a collaborative platform for users in the broadcast, production, post-production, satellite/network transmission, and newsroom environments. ScheduALL clients include ABC Australia, BBC, CBC, FOX News Network, The Associated Press, IntelSat, Turner Studios, Mediaset, RTL, and SES New Skies. More information is available at www.scheduall.com.
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