The BBC has extended its news gathering relationship with press agency AFP – Agence France Presse – replacing the video and photo news feed from the Associated Press with a feed from AFPTV
AFP say: ‘Under a multi-year agreement starting April 1, 2017, the British broadcaster will receive edited and live video from AFPTV for use on all its platforms: television channels, websites and mobile applications as well as radio for audio production.’
Associated Press sent this statement to PhotoArchiveNews.com when we contacted them about the news:
– ‘It’s disappointing that after a long period of negotiations, we were unable to agree commercial terms for renewing our contract with the BBC for the provision of our video, text and photo news services. We recognise that the BBC is having to make significant cuts to its news budget, but producing the high quality journalism for which AP is renowned comes at a price and we have to consider all of our customers around the world by being fair and consistent in our commercial terms.’ – AP
More here on the BBC AFPTV deal:
Jonathan Munro, the BBC’s Head of Newsgathering, said: “We are delighted to be working even more closely with AFP in the years ahead. The BBC’s coverage of the world will benefit enormously from the growing firepower of AFP including its strengths in regions which are underserved by the mainstream media. We hope that the BBC’s new relationship with AFP will prove enduring and positive for both organisations.”
Emmanuel Hoog, chairman and chief executive of AFP, described the partnership as “an emblematic recognition of everyone’s efforts to make video a top priority”. He added: “It encourages us in our long-term investment strategy to extend and consolidate AFPTV’s unique positioning in Europe and worldwide.”
• AFPTV, the video news division of AFP, has developed over 15 years into a major international player with a monthly English-language production of 2,500 edited videos and 200 live videos from around the world.