Day: August 19, 2021

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JW Player Nomeia Veterano de Vídeo Digital David LaPalomento para Diretor de Tecnologia

A profunda experiência de David em tecnologia de vídeo digital irá ajudar a ampliar a equipe de engenharia e o desenvolvimento de produtos da JW Player para atender à crescente Economia de Vídeo Digital

NEW YORK, Aug. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A JW Player, principal plataforma de software de vídeo e insights de dados, anunciou hoje a nomeação de David LaPalomento para Diretor de Tecnologia, em caráter imediato. Essa contratação estratégica irá acelerar a inovação de produtos da JW Player para atender às necessidades de uma Economia de Vídeo Digital em rápido crescimento, e utilizando a recente infusão de US$100 milhões com o financiamento da Série E da LLR Partners.

“David provou ser um líder visionário no desenvolvimento e no dimensionamento de produtos inovadores de entrega de vídeo”, disse Dave Otten, CEO e cofundador da JW Player. “Não tenho dúvidas de que a experiência dele irá fortalecer a nossa posição de líder na inovação da indústria de vídeo digital. Com a liderança dele, poderemos ampliar nossas equipes de engenharia e lançar novos produtos no mercado que capacitem ainda mais os clientes com independência e controle na Economia de Vídeo Digital. Não poderíamos estar mais entusiasmados em tê-lo na nossa equipe.”

Durante seu mandato de uma década na Brightcove, David desenvolveu uma equipe de engenharia de categoria mundial para modernizar sua plataforma de entrega de vídeo. Ele liderou a revisão da arquitetura do data center legado da empresa, substituindo-o por uma arquitetura escalável, nativa da nuvem, e a migração de milhares de clientes para a nova plataforma. Sua liderança ajudou a triplicar a receita, lançar novos produtos e integrar aquisições para abordar novos segmentos de mercado. Sua experiência será inestimável para a ampliação da JW Player para atender ao crescimento explosivo da demanda por vídeos digitais que vem ocorrendo desde o início da pandemia.

“Estou muito contente em dar início ao próximo capítulo da minha carreira na JW Player”, disse David. “Chegamos a um ponto de inflexão em que todas as empresas com presença digital agora dependem de vídeo para engajar seu público e monetizar sua oferta. A JW Player criou a plataforma mais abrangente para o sucesso neste ecossistema de vídeo digital, com insights incomparáveis de consumo e dados contextuais, recursos de monetização, engajamento de ponta e experiências de vídeo de categoria mundial em qualquer tela. Estou pronto para ampliar esta plataforma para viabilizar novas inovações para o mercado.”

De acordo com os dados da JW Player de mais de 12.000 editoras e emissoras, o consumo de vídeo continuou a aumentar após a pandemia, aumentando quase 50% a partir de 2020 e 28,6% a partir de janeiro de 2021. A crescente demanda exigiu que as organizações de todos os tipos, incluindo de fitness, e-commerce, esportes e e-learning, desenvolvessem uma estratégia de vídeo robusta para o engajamento do público na tela da sua escolha: web, mobile ou TV conectada.

A plataforma de vídeo orientada por API da JW Player agora capacita centenas de milhares de clientes a controlar e operar independentemente seus aplicativos de vídeo móveis, OTT e Web em todo o mundo. Devemos ressaltar que a JW Player oferece insights exclusivos orientados a dados que capacitam os clientes a crescer, envolver e monetizar seus públicos de forma mais eficaz. Somente no último ano, a transmissão de vídeo da empresa aumentou quase 200%, enquanto a transmissão ao vivo aumentou mais de 400%.

Sobre a JW Player
A JW Player é a principal plataforma de software de vídeo e insights de dados que oferece aos clientes independência e controle na economia de vídeo digital de hoje. Criada em 2008 como um player de vídeo de código aberto extremamente popular, a plataforma tecnológica da JW Player agora alimenta vídeo digital de centenas de milhares de empresas, incluindo metade dos 50 principais sites da comScore nos EUA, principais emissoras em toda a EMEA, APAC e América Latina. Todos os meses, 1 bilhão de espectadores, ou um terço de todas as pessoas na Internet, consomem vídeo na tecnologia da JW Player em 2,7 bilhões de dispositivos, criando um gráfico de dados contextuais e de consumo incomparável e potente que ajuda os clientes a aumentar o público e gerar vídeo incremental a partir do vídeo digital. A empresa está localizada em Nova York e tem escritórios em Londres e Eindhoven. Visite http://www.jwplayer.com.

Contato com a Mídia:
Fatimah Nouilati
Scratch Marketing + Mídia em nome da JW Player
fatimah@scratchmm.com

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JW Player nomme David LaPalomento, grand spécialiste de la vidéo numérique, au poste de directeur de la technologie

La vaste expérience de M. LaPalomento en matière de technologie vidéo numérique contribuera à faire progresser l’équipe d’ingénierie et de développement de produits de JW Player afin de servir la croissance économique de ce secteur

NEW YORK, 18 août 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — JW Player, première plateforme mondiale de logiciels vidéo et d’informations sur les données, a annoncé aujourd’hui la nomination de David LaPalomento au poste de directeur technologique, avec effet immédiat. Ce recrutement stratégique accélèrera l’innovation des produits JW Player afin de répondre aux besoins économiques d’un secteur de la vidéo numérique en pleine croissance, en tirant parti de la récente injection de 100 millions USD en financement de série E issue de LLR Partners.

« David s’est révélé comme un leader visionnaire à la fois dans le développement et l’expansion de produits de diffusion vidéo innovants », a déclaré Dave Otten, Président-directeur général et cofondateur de JW Player. « Je ne doute pas que son expertise viendra renforcer notre position de force de premier plan en matière d’innovation dans l’industrie de la vidéo numérique. Grâce à son leadership, nous développerons nos équipes d’ingénierie et mettrons sur le marché de nouveaux produits qui renforcent l’indépendance et le contrôle des clients dans l’économie de la vidéo numérique. Nous ne pourrions pas être plus enthousiastes à l’idée de le compter au sein de notre équipe », a ajouté Dave Otten.

Au cours de sa carrière de dix années au sein de Brightcove, David a constitué une équipe d’ingénierie de classe mondiale pour moderniser sa plateforme de diffusion vidéo. Il a dirigé la mise à niveau de l’ancienne architecture de la société basée sur des centres de données et l’a remplacée par une architecture native du cloud et évolutive, tout en faisant migrer plusieurs milliers de clients vers la nouvelle plateforme. Son leadership a permis de tripler les revenus, d’inaugurer des produits inédits et d’intégrer des acquisitions en vue de répondre aux besoins de nouveaux segments de marché. Son expérience sera inestimable pour permettre à JW Player de se développer pour répondre à la croissance explosive de la demande en vidéo numérique depuis le début de la pandémie.

« Je suis heureux de débuter le prochain chapitre de ma carrière chez JW Player, a déclaré David LaPalomento. Nous avons atteint un point d’inflexion dans lequel chaque entreprise qui possède une présence numérique dépend désormais de la vidéo pour s’adresser à son public et monétiser son offre. JW Player a construit la plateforme la plus complète pour réussir dans cet écosystème vidéo numérique, grâce à des données contextuelles et de consommation inégalées, des fonctionnalités de monétisation et d’engagement de pointe, ainsi que des expériences vidéo de classe mondiale sur n’importe quel écran. Je me réjouis de pouvoir tirer parti de cette plateforme pour proposer de nouvelles innovations au marché », a-t-il conclu.

Selon les données de JW Player glanées auprès de plus de 12 000 éditeurs et diffuseurs, la consommation de vidéo n’a cessé de croître en conséquence de la pandémie, avec une hausse de près de 50 % depuis 2020 et 28,6 % depuis janvier 2021. Pour les entreprises de tous horizons, y compris les sociétés de fitness, de commerce en ligne, de sport et d’enseignement virtuel, cette croissance de la demande a rendu impératif la mise au point d’une stratégie vidéo robuste pour s’adresser à leurs publics sur l’écran de leur choix : Internet, mobile ou TV connectée.

Lancée sous la forme d’un lecteur vidéo en open-source extrêmement populaire, la plateforme vidéo pilotée par API de JW Player permet aujourd’hui à des centaines de milliers de clients de contrôler et d’exploiter de manière indépendante leurs applications vidéo mobiles, OTT et Web à l’échelle mondiale. Plus important encore, JW Player fournit des informations approfondies uniques dérivées des données, qui permettent aux clients de développer, contacter et monétiser plus efficacement leurs publics. Rien que l’année dernière, le streaming vidéo de la société a augmenté de près de 200 %, tandis que sa diffusion en direct a bondi de plus de 400 %.

À propos de JW Player
JW Player est la plus importante plateforme de logiciels vidéo et d’informations tirées de données qui apporte aux clients l’indépendance et le contrôle dans l’économie de la vidéo numérique d’aujourd’hui. Lancée en 2008 en tant que lecteur vidéo en open-source extrêmement populaire, la plateforme technologique de JW Player alimente désormais la vidéo numérique pour des centaines de milliers d’entreprises, dont la moitié des 50 plus grands sites de comScore aux États-Unis, des diffuseurs de premier plan à travers l’EMEA, l’APAC et l’Amérique latine. Chaque mois, 1 milliard de téléspectateurs, soit un tiers de l’ensemble des internautes, consomment des vidéos sur la technologie de JW Player à travers 2,7 milliards d’appareils, engendrant une consommation inégalée et puissante et un graphique de données contextuelles qui aide les clients à accroître leur audience et à générer des vidéos incrémentales à partir de vidéos numériques. La société a son siège social à New York, et possède des bureaux à Londres et à Eindhoven. Rendez-vous sur le site sitehttp://www.jwplayer.com.

Contacts auprès des médias :
Fatimah Nouilati
Scratch Marketing + Media pour JW Player
fatimah@scratchmm.com

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COVID Has Heightened Conflict, Deepened Depression, Say Central African Leaders

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened problems of conflict, terrorism, and scarce resources in Central Africa to plunge millions of people deeper into poverty. That’s according to members of the regional bloc CEMAC. CEMAC heads of state Wednesday called for solidarity to improve living conditions in the six-nation economic bloc.

During a virtual heads of state summit Tuesday, the central African leaders said the advent of COVID-19 forced the closure of many businesses and caused millions of workers to lose their jobs.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya is chairman of the CEMAC heads of state conference. He says it is regrettable that many people are reluctant to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Biya says it is not possible for CEMAC to attain herd immunity when fewer than 5% of its close to 60 million people have agreed to be vaccinated against COVID-19. He says CEMAC member states should make sure all their people are vaccinated against COVID-19 so that the economic bloc can get to the crucial point of revamping its economy to fight against hardship.

Christophe Mbelle is an economist at the University of Yaounde. He says the COVID-19 crisis increased unemployment by between 60% and 70% across CEMAC countries.

Not even pharmaceutical companies were immune to the effects of the pandemic.

Mbelle says local companies only produced 5% of medicines needed by central African countries last year. He says in 2020, CEMAC countries invested more than $269 million to import drugs from Europe and America. Mbelle says if not for COVID-19, he is sure the $269 million would have been invested in home industries to create jobs and improve the well-being of suffering civilians.

The six nations of CEMAC are dealing with multiple crises within their borders in addition to COVID-19. Cameroon and Chad are fighting Boko Haram terrorism on their common borders with Nigeria.

Cameroon is fighting armed separatists in its English-speaking western regions. The U.N. also says that rebels have continued to challenge authorities in the Central African Republic with unending clashes since 2014.

The region is also dealing with the effects of climate change. This week, CEMAC said several thousand people fled intercommunal violence sparked by conflicts over water from the Logone River that separates Cameroon from Chad. The Lake Chad Basin Commission says the lake’s water resources have diminished by 70% within the past 50 years, and several million people in the area lack water and food.

Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, issued a statement Tuesday after her virtual participation in the CEMAC summit from Washington. She said in 2020, COVID-19, combined with an ensuing decline in oil prices and security issues, had led to a deep recession and imposed a heavy toll on CEMAC member states.

She said the countries’ fiscal positions were weakened and external reserves depleted.

Georgieva said CEMAC must accelerate the vaccination campaign to ensure a sustainable economic recovery.

CEMAC anticipated a 2.8% economic growth rate in 2021. In April, though, the Bank of Central African States, which serves as the central bank for CEMAC countries, cut the anticipated growth rate to 1%, saying COVID-19 was slowing the economy.

Source: Voice of America

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Booster Shots in Rich Countries Threaten COVID Containment in Africa

World Health Organization officials warn that decisions by rich countries to provide COVID-19 booster shots to their vaccinated populations will set back efforts to contain the spread of this deadly disease in Africa.

The United States, France, and Germany are among a growing number of wealthy countries planning to offer COVID-19 booster shots to their populations. This, at a time when the world’s poorer nations are struggling to get even one jab of these life-saving vaccines into their peoples’ arms.

WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, warns that moves by some countries to introduce booster shots threaten Africa’s ability to extricate itself from this crushing disease. She says richer countries that are hoarding vaccines are making a mockery of vaccine equity.

“High-income countries have already, on average, administered more than 103 doses per 100 people, whereas in Africa that number stands at six,” said Moeti. “Failure to vaccinate the most at-risk groups in all countries will result in needless deaths. … It will also contribute to conditions where the virus will very likely mutate further and could ultimately delay the global recovery from this pandemic.”

The World Health Organization reports there are more than 7.3 million cases of coronavirus infections on the African continent, including 184,000 deaths. It is calling for a two-month moratorium on booster shots, so countries can beef up their vaccine supplies.

Moeti says some progress is being made in this regard. She notes the COVAX Facility has delivered nearly 10 million vaccine doses to Africa so far this month. That, she says, is nine times what was delivered in the same period in July.

“Vaccine coverage, unfortunately, remains low, with only two percent of Africans being fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Moeti. “… We are hopeful that COVAX shipments will keep ramping up to reach 20 percent of Africa’s population by the end of this year. And coupled with deliveries from the African Union and bilateral deals, WHO’s hoped-for target of vaccinating 30 percent of people by the end of the year is still within our reach.”

West Africa has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began. WHO reports a 193 percent increase in fatalities over the past four weeks. This is happening at a time when several West African countries are grappling with outbreaks of other diseases, including cholera, Ebola, and Marburg virus Disease.

Moeti says fighting multiple outbreaks is a complex challenge. She notes that West Africa health systems are more fragile than those in other sub-regions. She says they are under great strain due to the surge of COVID-19 cases. She is appealing for major investments by governments and donors to ensure outbreaks are continuously prevented, detected and quickly contained.

Source: Voice of America

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Africa’s First Youth Games Bring Hopes for Continent’s First Olympics

For decades, African athletes have traveled all over the world to take part in the Olympic Games. At the recent Tokyo Games, they took home gold, silver and bronze medals. And yet Africa has never hosted the Games, and some people are asking what it would take for the Olympics to be held on African soil.  

In Kenya, thousands cheered on one of their favorite long-distance runners, Eliud Kipchoge, who won the gold medal in the men’s marathon. One Kipchoge fan had a special request for the government: Develop the country’s sports infrastructure.   

“We are very happy, all of us from Rift Valley and Kenyans as a whole. … [But we] just [want] to implore our leaders to address the issue of stadiums. … The Kipchoge Keino Stadium is dilapidated. And today, Kipchoge has shown the world that we are more than capable,” said Mandela Kiplimo, a resident of Eldoret, about 40 kilometers from the Olympic champion’s hometown of Kapsisiywa.

Having subpar sports facilities that don’t meet international norms is one of the biggest challenges for countries that want to host the Olympic Games. For many of them, it’s just too expensive, said Smith College economics professor Andrew Zimbalist, who edited the book Rio 2016: Olympic Myths, Hard Realities.

“You might read, for instance, that in Tokyo they spent roughly $15 billion, or that in Brazil or Rio 2016 they spent $12 to $15 billion. But the real numbers in Tokyo are above $35 billion, and the real numbers in Rio are above $20 billion,” Zimbalist told VOA.

Zimbalist said developing countries face even higher costs. 

“They don’t have the necessary transportation, communications, and security and hospitality infrastructure, so the amount of money they have to invest to do it is much, much larger,” he said. “Sochi spent somewhere between $51 to $65 billion to host the Winter Olympics in 2014. … China — Beijing — spent somewhere north of $44 billion to host the Games in 2008. And the problem is that more often than not, you are constructing infrastructure for the purpose of hosting the Games, not for the purpose of solving development bottlenecks in your country.” 

Youth Olympic Games

For now, Senegal is preparing to host its first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2026.

The YOG were added to the Olympics in 2010 to give athletes ages 14 to 18 the chance to compete.

Experts say the YOG in Buenos Aires in 2018 had an Olympic Village with about 4,000 athletes from 260 countries. That contrasts with the estimated 12,000 athletes for the larger Olympics. Generally, experts say, the YOG will require about one-third of the investment needed for the Olympic Games.

While Senegalese officials say they are excited and honored to make history as the first African country to host the YOG, they also understand the responsibility that comes with it.

“There are expectations from the whole African continent, and Senegal has to organize games that would live up to the standards of previous Youth Olympics. And because of that, Senegal is going to make sure it’s a success and serves as a catalyst for mobilizing and engaging Senegalese youth in particular, and African youth in general,” Babacar Makhtar Wade, president of the Senegal Judo Federation, told VOA.

Wade, who is also treasurer of the Senegal National Olympic and Sports Committee, said renovation plans are well under way. 

“We are planning to first renovate three main venues — the Iba Mar Diop Stadium, which will host track, rugby and other sports. There’s also our Olympic pool, which needs to be renovated. It has an adjacent park, which will host a few events such as the BMX freestyle, basketball 3 on 3 and hockey games. And there is also the Caserne Samba Diery Diallo, where the equestrian-related activities will take place,” he said.

There will also be venues in hubs outside Dakar including a popular seaside resort that will host beach volleyball, boating and other events, and Diamniadio, site of a new 50,000-seat multipurpose stadium and other facilities. President Macky Sall said at last year’s groundbreaking ceremony that the stadium will be available for future local and international competitions.

Source: Voice of America

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Burkina Faso Again in Mourning After Jihadi Massacre

The impoverished Sahel state of Burkina Faso was plunged once more into mourning on Thursday after suspected jihadis killed 49 people in an attack that raised fresh doubts about its armed forces.

The national flag was lowered to half-staff for three days of mourning at the parliament, presidency and government in offices in the capital Ouagadougou, an AFP journalist said.

Several television and radio channels changed their programming, mostly broadcasting songs paying tribute to the defense and security forces.

Newspapers and online media placed a black edging of mourning around their front pages, although some raised pointed questions over the country’s security crisis.

“Over the past five years, the days have come and gone but look the same to the Burkinabe public,” online outlet Wakatsera said.

“The flags are raised and then almost immediately dropped to half-mast to mourn new dead, civilians and/or troops, in attacks by armed individuals who are usually never identified,” it said.

The landlocked country has been battered for the past six years by jihadi attacks from neighboring Mali, epicenter of a brutal insurgency that began in 2012 and has also hit Niger.

Thousands of soldiers and civilians have died in the three countries, while according to United Nations figures more than 2 million people have fled their homes.

In Burkina Faso, the toll stands at more than 1,500 dead and 1.3 million displaced.

In Wednesday’s attack, 30 civilians, 15 police and four anti-jihadi defense volunteers were killed and 30 wounded near the town of Gorgadji in Burkina’s Sahel region, a security source and a government source told AFP.

The attack was in the three-border area, where the frontiers of the three countries converge and gunmen linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State roam.

The security forces killed 58 terrorists and the rest fled, according to the government.

It was the third major attack on Burkina troops in the past two weeks. The country’s armed forces are poorly equipped, ill-trained are face a highly mobile foe.

Since the start of August, more than 90 people have died in attacks in the north and northeast of the country.

“With each new attack, we say we’ve hit bottom, but then another one comes along, reminding us that there is always something worse,” said Bassirou Sedogo, a 47-year-old businessman.

“We observe national mourning, but we also wonder how an ambush against a military convoy … can leave so many casualties. If they can kill so many civilians who are under escort, that means no one anywhere in the area is safe from these killings,” he said.

The police and volunteers in the Gorgadji attack had been providing a security escort for civilians who were returning to their homes after earlier attacks, the authorities say.

Source: Voice of America