| MUMBAI:
News agency Agence France-Presse is introducing a new video feature to its product
line for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the Euro 2008 championship. International
clients have signed up for AFP’s bundled products which were launched well
ahead of the actual events to provide time for seamless integration. The current
AFP product line-up includes: traditional wire services (text, photos and graphics)
and multimedia products (dedicated mini-websites, web content, Flash sports animations). Now,
clients have the option of adding the video feature into both existing Beijing
and Euro packages, or subscribing to video products for these events separately.
The videos will showcase interviews, press conferences, reactions to the competitions
and more. AFP
marketing manager for sports Eric Axelson says, “Our customers have been
asking for video. By adding it, we have assembled an attractive package by integrating
new media content with our traditional products. We believe that this is the ideal
combination to draw in more sports fans to our clients’ websites”. The
products offered for these two events contain stories, photos and real-time results,
in ready-to-publish formats. Customers can create their own pages from the raw
content or purchase ready-made, customizable websites built by AFP. Other
AFP products for these upcoming events include: an interactive, real-time Flash™
application with optional embedded video for Euro 2008; factual animations on
the 34 Olympic disciplines; illustrated biographies, team presentations, results
feeds in XML, live tickers, and more.
AFP adds that its multimedia services are fully compatible with advertising and
statistics functionalities, and many of them provide text or video ad features,
as well as enhanced personalisation options. | 
