IMC Technologies Inc.

La Télé in Lausanne upgrades newsroom to Octopus 8

Swiss television broadcaster La Télé – TV Vaud-Fribourg SA has chosen Octopus 8 and INCITE MAM as a key element of its newly upgraded newsroom system. Replacing a legacy third-party system, the new installation was designed by Octopus Newsroom’s Geneva-based partner, IMC Technologies Inc.

Our Fribourg operation will soon move into the MEDIAparc building currently being completed in Villars-sur-Glâne“, comments La Télé’s Technical Director, Francois Vittoz. “IMC and Octopus are well suited for our multisite workflow which depends heavily on the collection of all incoming information sources, including emails and social media monitoring. The Octopus Assignment desk is used to prepare the daily agenda and allow newsroom staff to collaborate in the preparation of daily rundowns.

La Télé is our second customer in the French speaking part of Switzerland, after Canal9 which transmits to viewers in the canton of Valais” adds Octopus Newsroom Sales Director Gabriel Jankó“A major requirement was that the software support French which of course we do along with all other major languages and script sets. Our newly founded multi-lingual training department, in close co-operation with IMC Technologies, also provided training for La Télé’s operators in their native language. IMC Technologies will also be an easily contactable local resource if or when post-sale support is needed.”

“La Télé is the French-language television channel for the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg”, adds IMC Technologies Managing Director George Nakhlé“It has two main operations, one in Lausanne and the other in Fribourg. This new installation is currently being used by the Lausanne team where La Télé’s television news production facility is located. We have designed and integrated a complete system including the Octopus journalist apps plus all the other features of the latest Octopus system. Octopus was a logical choice as it allows media browsing on our INCITE Media Asset Management system. Metadata exchange between Incite and Octopus makes for a rich MAM environment. It’s also integrated with third party devices including Aveco’s Astra automation, Chyro traffic management and multiple teleprompters.”

Designed for easy operation in busy broadcast newsrooms, Octopus 8 incorporates a graphic interface allowing essential features for collaborative assignments to be accessed easily. Special tools are provided for stories that require fast editorial approval. Advanced features are also within easy reach and can be managed based on user rights. Compatible with Octopus 8 and the most recent versions of Octopus 7, the Octopus Mobile app offers journalists news production capabilities on tablets and mobile phones running Apple iOS or Google Android. Reporters and editors working remotely gain instant access to all wires, rundowns and assignments. They can also edit stories within a rundown, preview prompter text as well as create wires and reports in the field.

Established in 2009, La Télé (www.latele.ch) was the first privately-owned channel in French-speaking Switzerland to broadcast news and general-interest magazines. It has an average daily television audience of more than 55,000 unique viewers plus many extra viewers on its web and mobile platforms. The channel takes special care to sustain its delivery mandate by covering the political, economic, social, sports and cultural news of the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg. Protagonists of regional and French news can express themselves, exchange and inform viewers.

Since going live, La Télé has expanded its transmission area from the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg initially to achieve national coverage. Content focused primarily on the French-speaking world is available throughout Switzerland and even beyond via its website and mobile applications that allow the viewing of live as well as catch-up TV. La Télé main venue is at the Palais de Beaulieu in Lausanne, the second is in Fribourg (Bd Pérolles 36).

Based in Geneva, IMC Technologies (www.incite-tech.com) specialises in the creation of production applications for television and radio broadcasting and post-production. These include sports ingest and playback, editing, asset management, transcoding, disc/cloud/LTO archive management, all based an open IT approach. IMC also provides a wide range of supporting services including consultancy and project design, workflow analysis, project management, custom and generic software development, systems integration, training, technical support and maintenance.

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