Gener2 Chooses Avid Workflow to Launch CNN Affiliate in Albania

Avid® (Nasdaq: AVID), the leading technology provider of software tools and platforms that power the media and entertainment industry, today announced that Gener 2, one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in Albania, has selected a broad set of Avid solutions to launch its first TV channel, A2 TV, in partnership with CNN. The channel will be an exclusive CNN affiliate headquartered from a major production hub in Tirana.

A2 TV’s 24-hour news service will cover Albania and reach millions more outside the country. The new channel needed a reliable end-to-end solution to support around-the-clock news coverage and provide journalists and users with the most advanced broadcast news workflow. Powered by MediaCentral®, the Avid workflow will bring state-of-the-art news production to A2 TV, which is expected to begin broadcasting later this year. The solution was installed by broadcast technology specialist and Avid partner, Teratek.

“Given CNN’s international standards and reputation, and Gener 2’s position in the Albanian market, it’s extremely important that A2 TV features the very best technology,” said Andri Kasneci, CEO of A2. “With our new channel, we are looking to set new milestones in the Albanian media, and Avid’s solutions are essential to achieving this.”

A broad range of Avid news solutions is outfitting the new facility. MediaCentral | Newsroom Management will serve as the dynamic nerve center of A2 TV’s advanced story creation, management, and distribution, and MediaCentral | Production Management will accelerate the entire production workflow, empowering collaboration to get projects done faster. The integration of Avid NEXIS® shared storage is critical to meet the demands of 24/7 rolling news with true storage virtualization, scalability and power. With Avid Media Composer®, A2 editors will have the industry-choice video editing software to elevate their storytelling.

A2’s full suite of Maestro graphics solutions will give unparalleled 2D and 3D graphics capabilities and includes Maestro™ | News universal controller for video and graphics, Maestro | TX for channel branding graphics and playout, and Maestro | PowerWall for innovative display control from a touchscreen interface. AirSpeed® will be seamlessly coupled with A2 TV’s Maestro solutions for versatile media ingest and playout.

“This is an exciting opportunity to help design a system from the ground up and see some of Avid’s newest innovations at work,” said Tom Cordiner, Senior Vice President, Global Sales at Avid. “We’re confident that A2 will realize its ambitions and we’re eager to see the results.”

About A2

A2 news channel is as an exclusive partnership between Cable News Network (CNN) and Albanian company Gener 2. A2, a CNN exclusive news channel affiliate, will be located in Tirana with supportive news centers. It will primarily produce local news for Albanian-speaking audiences, but it will closely cooperate with the CNN network in content sharing.