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Public
Space Broadcasting – a world first comes to Manchester
Giant
screen technology is taking a major step forward in Manchester as
the City's Exchange Square is set to host a global experiment.
City
planners have approved the installation of a 25 square metre video
screen on the outside wall of The Triangle Shopping Centre. The
screen, with a full sound system, will be used to relay major international
and local events, news, entertainment programmes, community information
and experimental art projects over the next 12 months.
The
scheme - the first of its kind in the world - is a collaboration
between the 91Èȱ¬, Philips, Manchester City Council and Milligan/
The Blackstone Group, owners of The Triangle Shopping Centre.
It
is also hoped that The Cornerhouse Arts Centre will run a programme
of public art and locally produced films on the screen.
Organisers
plan the screen to be operational in time for a live relay of the
FA Cup Final (17 May) and the Manchester Festival Europa (22 May
– 1 June).
The
screen will feature a mixture of live video and local information
in text form. It will operate 24 hours a day, although it will be
mute overnight.
Throughout
the year long pilot researchers will study how people respond to
various uses of the screen and the scheme is expected to influence
plans for other public space broadcasting projects in the future.
The
91Èȱ¬'s Project Director of Live Events, Bill Morris, said: "We're
excited by this chance to explore a completely new public service
of information and entertainment delivered right to the heart of
the city. Many other cities around the UK and abroad are already
watching to see how the Manchester experiment develops."
Councillor
Val Stevens, Manchester City Council's Executive Member for Planning
and the Environment, added: "Exchange Square has already established
itself as a great outdoor events venue and this project will give
Manchester yet another global first, as well as a valuable new service
for local people and visitors alike."
From
Philips, Stuart Liddle said: "We're delighted to be supporting
this extremely innovative scheme that sees the TV set, so much a
part of all of our everyday lives in our homes, come out of the
living room and take centre stage in the very heart of the community.
A combination of Manchester based events and the great content that
the 91Èȱ¬ can bring will turn the screen into a major attraction for
everyone."
Samantha
Chown, Head of Marketing at Milligan, said she thought it would
make the centre of Manchester even more attractive to visitors:
"We all like to get together for a big occasion - whether it's
the World Cup or the Golden Jubilee, the Commonwealth Games or The
Last Night of the Proms, there's something special about sharing
the party, and the screen in Exchange Square is there for all those
special moments as well as offering a continuous service of information
every day."
Notes
to Editors
•
The screen will be operated by the 91Èȱ¬ from its Manchester base
in Oxford Road. It will have its own schedule drawn from a mixture
of live 91Èȱ¬ television programmes, relays of live events in Exchange
Square, locally produced films and videos and a continuous feed
of local information from 91Èȱ¬i. A number of experimental interactive
services may also be trialled.
•
Special lines are also being installed to facilitate TV and Radio
outside broadcasts from the Square so 91Èȱ¬ North West TV, GMR Local
Radio and other 91Èȱ¬ broadcasts are expected to be relayed from the
Square.
•
The project is co-funded by all four collaborating organisers, and
the screen will operate without commercial advertisements.
•
The 91Èȱ¬ will operate the screen and create its schedule in conjunction
with the other stakeholders. Philips are installing and maintaining
the screen and its supporting technology. The Triangle, as well
as hosting the screen, is providing a technical back-up area. Manchester
City Council Events Department will, in addition to mounting a programme
of events in the Square, operate all "front of house"
arrangements for the public.
•
The combination of events, broadcasts, sound and video planned for
the Manchester "Public Space Broadcasting" project is
thought to be unique. Although other "permanent" giant
screens have been installed in major world cities, none have the
range of facilities, applications and content planned for Manchester.
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