[May 16, 2013] AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, media and advertising briefs Tweet May 16, 2013 (AME Info - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- NUMBER OF ARABIC HD CHANNELS VERY LIMITED, SAYS ARABSAT: Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (Arabsat) has said that despite the high sales of HD TV sets in the Arab world, several Arab countries are lagging behind in terms of viewership of high definition (HD) channels, Jordan Times has reported. "The number of HD channels available for viewers on several Arab satellites is very limited," Nabil Shanti, Arabsat vice president and chief commercial officer, told the daily. On Arabsat network, which was founded in 1976 by the 21 member states of the Arab League, there are around 450 satellite channels, of which 40 are HD channels. The total number of Arabsat viewers is around 170 million, he said. EUTELSAT LAUNCHES NEW SATELLITE FOR EMEA: Eutelsat Communications has announced the successful launch of its Eutelsat 3D satellite, which will serve customers in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, Digital TV Europe has reported. The satellite will address high-growth video, data, telecoms and broadband markets and serve customers through a configuration of Ku and Ka transponders connected to three footprints. GOOGLE LAUNCHES MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE: Google Inc. has rolled out its subscription streaming service at Google I/O, Cnet has reported. Launched yesterday in the US, with additional countries coming soon, the Play Music All Access service puts Google in direct competition with music streaming companies such as Pandora and Spotify, and also potentially with Apple, which has been inching in that direction. The service provides subscribers with music recommendations, including curated playlists from Google's music editors. DFI'S FILM GRANTS PROGRAMME EXPANDED: Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced it would expand its grants programme, allowing film projects from all nations eligible for funding from the institute, the Peninsula has reported. The expanded programme is open to first- and second-time filmmakers only and different submissions criteria apply for each region, said the DFI. Applications are accepted from three regions: the Middle East and North Africa (Mena); the OECD's Development Assistance Committee list of countries (DAC); as well as the rest of the world. In total the programme will support up to eight narrative and four documentary features from all regions and up to eight further projects from the Mena region in each grant cycle. There are two grant cycles per annum. ___ (c)2013 AME Info (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) Visit AME Info (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) at www.ameinfo.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]