The BERNAMA News Channel, also known as BNC, is a 24-hour international news and current affairs television network owned by the government news agency in Malaysia. With a reach across Malaysia and the wider region, the satellite and IPTV-based channel airs news programmes that are related to local and international business, lifestyle, sports and entertainment.
BERNAMA News Channel operates from its headquarters at Wisma Bernama in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. It also has bureau offices in all states in Malaysia, as well as correspondents in Jakarta, Singapore, New Delhi and Bangkok, and stringers in Washington D.C., Sydney, London and Khartoum. Bernama News Channel is available on Astro Channel 502, unifi tv Channel 631, MYTV 121, iflix, YouTube, and can be watched online via https://bernamanewschannel.com.
As well as its TV channel, Bernama also operates Bernama Radio which transmits 24-hours-per-day in Klang Valley, Johor Bharu, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.
Apart from news bulletins, the channel’s other programmes include the English-language BERNAMA Today, The Nation, and the Malay-language flagship programmes Ruang Bicara featuring current affairs related content,and a morning show NINE11. Other programmes include Jurnal Bernama; a news magazine, a travelogue show Turun Padang and 1001 Destinasi Malaysiaku, and Salam Dari Jakarta, an exchange news magazine programme with Indonesian national news agency, ANTARA
Following the twin decisions to build a brand-new studio at its HQ in Kuala Lumpur and to increase the amount of live content being broadcast by the channel, BERNAMA turned to local sales partner UXERA Sdn.Bhd and Ross Video for advice.
“Broadcast professionals love working with live content,” says Hakimi Zuffrida bin Mohd Zain, Chief Operating Officer at BNC. “It’s exciting and brings energy and freshness to our program schedule. However, live content has traditionally been expensive and can sometimes be unpredictable. Ross is known for offering great value and the company’s expertise in live production was an important consideration when choosing a technology partner”.
Following consultation with Ross and the team at UXERA, BNC purchased a range of solutions including the innovative and multi-award-winning Ultrix routing/AV platform, the Graphite – Ross Video’s all-in-one switcher/graphics/audio solution (for a dedicated mobile production flypack) – and several seats of XPression Prime, the 3D real-time graphics solution.
According to BNC’s Engineering specialist Wan Anuar Bin Wan Jusoh, “Our engineers and technical teams have been able to manage and operate the Ross equipment with little difficulty and the Ross technical support team have always been on-hand to guide us when needed. The mobile production flypack has already proved its worth, enabling us to cover more news and live events more efficiently.”
COO Hakimi Zuffrida bin Mohd Zain also points to improved ROI as a measure of success.
“It’s still early days but we’re pleased to see that BNC’s revenue is on the uptrend slightly since we started working with our Ross products, and we’re seeing new clients coming to BNC to enquire about live coverage and new shows, which is very positive.”
Andrew Tan, Director of Sales for Ross Video in APAC, reinforces the importance of value in contemporary broadcasting.
“With increasing pressure on Capex budgets, broadcasters need technology partners who can deliver more value, and that’s a core part of Ross Video’s DNA; we’re here to help deliver solutions to the creative, business and technical challenges content creators face every day.”
Visit www.rossvideo.com