Ruptly

Ruptly GmbH is an international video news agency specializing in video on demand, based in Berlin, Germany. It is a division of the RT (formerly Russia Today) news network. Ruptly says that it is editorially and commercially independent, but its sole shareholder is ANO "TV-Novosti", a Russian government-funded non-profit organisation which also controls RT.[1] During the economic crisis in December 2008, the Russian government, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, included ANO "TV-Novosti" on its list of core organizations of strategic importance of Russia.[2][3][4]

Ruptly
Launched4 April 2013 (2013-04-04)
Owned by(ANO) TV-Novosti
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
SloganNews That Expands Views
CountryGermany
LanguageRussian
English
Spanish
Arabic
German
French
Korean
Hindi
Broadcast areaWorldwide
HeadquartersLennéstraße 1
Berlin, Germany
Sister channel(s)RT International
RT Arabic
RT Actualidad
RT America
RT UK
RT Documentary
RT Deutsch
Websiteruptly.tv

Ruptly operates worldwide, serving over 1,400 clients globally. These include large media groups, broadcast networks, video bloggers and online publishers. Clients include Al Jazeera, CBS, NHK, and new wave online publishers such as LADbible.[5]

History

Ruptly joined the German Commercial Register as a Berlin-based GmbH in July 2012 [6], before officially launching operations on April 4, 2013. It operates as a German commercial entity with ANO TV Novosti as its principle shareholder.

Since its inception, Ruptly has focused on providing video news content, live video-streaming and operational support to broadcasters of varying size around the world. It has since launched new pricing models to cater to smaller organizations with lower budgets including Ruptly PASS, launched in September 2018, which allows users to access unlimited video content on a subscription basis [7]. According to Dinara Toktosunova, Ruptly’s CEO, the service is intended to “support the growth of emerging and mid-sized digital publishers. […] We hope this will inspire talented publishers to strengthen their production, experiment with new video formats, and of course grow their audiences.” [8]

In 2019, Ruptly began launching dedicated platforms to serve its audiences in their native languages. To date this includes Ruptly Spanish, launched in summer 2019, which provides Spanish-language video, scripts and a dedicated website [9]. Plans for an Arabic equivalent were announced earlier in 2019 [10].

Ruptly has launched an in-house verification unit, which is used to check the accuracy of content acquired from independent contributors[11]. The unit has revealed inaccuracies in multiple news stories, including a report containing inaccurate comments attributed to a senior Iranian military official [12]. However, Ruptly also cooperated with "journalists" who explicitly collaborated with Russian FSB federal security service and presented fake news about conflict in Donbass in Ukraine[13]

A Ruptly satellite reporting set up

Ruptly coverage includes much of what is covered on RT including politics, finance, sports, science, technology, entertainment and light news. The agency has reported on Russia, European policies, NSA surveillance, the German elections of 2013, the Middle East and the Syrian conflict.

The live events that Ruptly broadcasts include elections, protests all over the world,[14] notably the Gilet Jaunes movement, which Ruptly covered live on an ongoing basis[15]—,international talks such as P5+1, trials, and spacewalks, including the first panoramic view of the Earth, captured from the International Space Station[16].

Other content of note includes Ruptly’s exclusive video coverage of the arrest of Julian Assange when he was forcibly removed from the UK’s Ecuadorian Embassy in April 2019. Ruptly was the only news agency at the scene to capture the moment[17].

Organization

Ruptly consists of an international team headquartered in Germany, with additional offices located in Moscow and Beijing. The agency also engages a global network of freelance video journalists, known as stringers, to capture on-demand content at the scene of events[18]. These are located throughout the world in locations including Washington, Damascus, London, Madrid, Gaza and Cairo.[19] Ruptly also accepts user-generated content (UGC) via social media and its dedicated Ruptly Stringer app[20]. Ruptly's organization also includes the Berlin-based subsidiary Redfish.[21]

The agency broadcasts live (with a platform that enables simultaneous streaming of five events) and allows TV stations and online media to receive and broadcast in real time.[22] It also has a video-on-demand service.[23] The service also sells footage to others on its website.

Products and services

Ruptly operates as a B2B news agency with three core areas: video news content, live video streaming and operational support.

Live and on-demand content is accessible via Ruptly’s online platform and can be purchased on an individual basis or via enterprise subscription plans for media networks and publishers. A variety of material is available including breaking news, sports, politics, viral content, investigative documentaries and 360° content.

Through its operational arm, Ruptly Ops, the agency provides localized broadcasting services to its clientele, including live stand-up positions for TV network journalists, on-demand filming and multi-camera studios at locations around the world, with previous projects including the provision of a variety of broadcast services in multiple host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup[24].

In September 2018, Ruptly introduced a new digital subscription model, Ruptly Pass, which is aimed at individuals and media operating on lower budgets and allows users to access Ruptly’s content for 12.50 euros per month.[25]

According to Matt Tabaccos, Chief Commercial Officer at Ruptly, the model was developed to “widen the accessibility of good quality content that has previously been the privilege of a big budget TV channel or corporation.” [26]

Key coverage

Assange’s arrest, 11th April, 2019

Ruptly was the only news organisation in the world to capture the arrest of the WikiLeaks co-founder, Julian Assange, following his removal from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had spent five years.

When asked how Ruptly obtained the footage, Laura Lucchini, Ruptly’s head of news, said that [27], “WikiLeaks tweeted that a high-level source told them about the imminent eviction of Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy. We sent our crew to the embassy immediately and worked out a schedule for them to stay in front of the embassy uninterrupted and do a live stream. We decided on 24/7 shifts. In the beginning, other media outlets were live and doing shifts as well, but we saw camera crews eventually leaving. After a few days, we were the only camera team out in front of the embassy. We ran a live feed for the whole week.”[28]

Notre Dame fire, drone footage, 15th April 2019

Ruptly was the first agency [29] to provide a video from a drone showing the scale of the damage inflicted to the roof of the Notre Dame, a day after the world-famous cathedral went up in flames.

Yellow Vest protests in Paris, live coverage, November 2018

The Gilets Jaunes movement first began on the streets of Paris in November 2018 as a protest against tax hikes on diesel fuel. Ruptly’s live streams of the Gilets Jaunes demonstrations, shown simultaneously on multiple social media platforms, started in the first week – in November 2018 – and continued until August 2019. Ruptly says its coverage of the Gilets Jaunes protests gathered hundreds of hours of live streams from dozens of live events, transmitted to at least 27 countries.

In April 2019, Ruptly won the Best Live News Category at the annual Shorty awards [30] for its coverage of the Yellow Vest movement.

FIFA World Cup 2018, full coverage, 14th June – 15th July 2018

Throughout the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Ruptly provided complete broadcast services with three outdoor multi-camera studios in Moscow, St Petersburg, and Sochi, along with live stand-up positions in 11 host cities.

Ruptly's coverage included all World Cup events, pre-match training, exclusive interviews, fan zones and viral videos. Using “Ruptly Stringer”, a user-generated content app, the agency was able to source and provide hours of user-generated videos in real-time.

Ruptly broadcast a minimum of four live World Cup transmissions a day via the “Ruptly LIVE” platform, which enabled clients to broadcast up to nine simultaneous events to multiple destinations, including direct to their social media feeds. Ruptly’s team also operated drones and used 360-degree cameras for video and live coverage.[31]

Kemerovo shopping centre fire, drone footage, 25th March 2018

Ruptly’s drone footage captured the deadly fire[32] at the Zimnyaya Vischnya shopping mall and entertainment complex[33] in which at least 60 people were killed, more than half of them children. Drones were also used to capture footage of a subsequent massive rally[34], in which protesters demanded answers from the authorities. Ruptly exclusively streamed the demonstration live to multiple platforms and also streamed an English-language version for international audiences. Alongside extensive media coverage, the tragedy led to a complete overhaul of safety procedures in shopping malls across the country[35].

Awards and nominations
Organization Year Category/award Project/service Result Ref.
Shorty Awards 2019 Best Live News Coverage Yellow Vests live streams Won [36]
Digiday Awards Europe 2019 Best Use of Live Ruptly Live Won [37]
Digiday Awards Europe 2019 Video Team of the Year Finalist [38]
The Drum Online Media Awards 2019 Breaking News Story of the Year   Kemerovo Nominated [39]
The Drum Online Media Awards 2018 Commercial Team of the Year - Won [40]
The Drum Online Media Awards 2018 Technical Innovation of the Year Ruptly Live Nominated [41]
Diplomatic Council Global Media Forum 2018 DC Global Media Innovator Ruptly Live Nominated [42]
The Drum Online Media Awards 2017 Best B2B News Site - Won [43]

See also

References
  1. "Digital Innovators' Summit". innovators-summit.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  2. "Archive of the official site of the 2008–2012 Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin". Government of Russia.
  3. Перечень системообразующих организаций, утвержденный Правительственной комиссией по повышению устойчивости развития российской экономики [List of systemically important institutions approved by the Government Commission on Sustainable Development of the Russian Economy] (in Russian). government.ru. Archived from the original (DOC) on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  4. Правительство РФ приняло перечень системообразующих организаций [The Russian government has adopted a list of backbone organizations]. RBK Group (in Russian). Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  5. Tuesday, David Fox; October 30; Story, 2018-18:27 Print This. "Ruptly rolls out two compact UHD OB and DSNG vans for file-based production". SVG Europe. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  6. "[Handelsregister] ★ HRB 140522". unternehmen24.info. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  7. "Ruptly releases 80 thousand video stories". Broadband TV News. 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  8. Editor. "Ruptly moves to unlimited content model". advanced-television.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  9. "Ruptly launches dedicated Spanish platform". The Drum. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  10. "Ruptly announces Arabic news service | Programming | News | Rapid TV News". rapidtvnews.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  11. "Ruptly Expands Video Verification Efforts with RT Digital Merger". The Drum. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  12. The Ruptly Verification Unit: Our push for accuracy, retrieved 2019-11-29
  13. "British Citizen Exposed as a Tool of Russia's FSB". StopFake. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  14. "RT's Ruptly team detained filming Anonymous 'United Stasi of America' action". RT. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  15. "Ruptly takes a Gold award for Best Live News Coverage at the Shorty Awards". The Drum. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  16. Ruptly2017-09-13T13:31:00+01:00. "Interview: Dinara Toktosunova, Ruptly". IBC. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  17. Business, Hadas Gold, CNN. "How a Russian-owned media outlet landed the first video of Julian Assange's arrest". CNN. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  18. Jarrett2018-09-13T09:36:00+01:00, George. "Interview: Matt Tabaccos, Ruptly". IBC. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  19. "RT launches 'RUPTLY' - Full-service Global Video News Agency" (Press release). Russia Today. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  20. Jarrett2018-09-13T09:36:00+01:00, George. "Interview: Matt Tabaccos, Ruptly". IBC. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  21. Davis, Charles (2018-02-01). "Grassroots' Media Startup Redfish Is Supported by the Kremlin". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
  22. "RT Launches 'RUPTLY' - Full-service Global Video News Agency" (Press release). Reuters. 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-11-11. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  23. "RUPTLY Video On Demand". RUPTLY vod. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  24. "Ruptly deploys 5-camera UHD OB van in World Cup coverage". Broadband TV News. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  25. "Ruptly releases 80 thousand video stories". Broadband TV News. 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  26. Jarrett2018-09-13T09:36:00+01:00, George. "Interview: Matt Tabaccos, Ruptly". IBC. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  27. NDR. "Wanted for espionage - the hunt for Wikileaks". daserste.ndr.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  28. EXCLUSIVE: Assange arrested & escorted out of Ecuadorian Embassy, retrieved 2019-11-29
  29. France: Drone footage shows damage to roof of Notre Dame *WORLD EXCLUSIVE*, retrieved 2019-11-29
  30. "The Yellow Vests - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  31. "Ruptly deploys 5-camera UHD OB van in World Cup coverage". Broadband TV News. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  32. "2018 Kemerovo fire", Wikipedia, 2019-10-31, retrieved 2019-11-29
  33. Russia: Drone footage of Kemerovo mall blaze that killed scores, retrieved 2019-11-29
  34. LIVE: Protests in Kemerovo over lack of safety after shopping centre fire, retrieved 2019-11-29
  35. Gershkovich, Evan (2018-04-12). "After Kemerovo, More Russian Malls Could Light Up Like 'Torches'". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  36. "The Yellow Vests - The Shorty Awards". shortyawards.com. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  37. "Ruptly Live Platform wins Digiday award". The Drum. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  38. "Digiday nominates Ruptly for Video Team of the Year and Best Use of Live | AIB". aib.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  39. erashitova@ruptly.tv (2019-02-06). "Kemerovo". The Drum Awards. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  40. "Ruptly named Commercial Team of the Year at The Drum Online Media Awards | AIB". aib.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  41. "RUPTLY Nominated for Technical Innovation of the Year with "Ruptly Live" and Best Commercial Team by the DRUM ONLINE MEDIA AWARDS | AIB". aib.org.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  42. "Ruptly Live shortlisted for DC Global Media Innovator award". The Drum. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  43. "Ruptly". The Drum. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
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