STUDIO 47 is the only private regional broadcaster in North Rhine-Westphalia to have been broadcasting a full schedule since 2006. The station’s management has not only made a name for itself as a pioneer in the development and implementation of editorial AI tools, but also aims to make the broadcaster more sustainable. To replace old spotlights, they are using a €10,000 EU grant from the EENergy programme. Editor-in-chief Sascha Devigne applied for the funding from the first call for proposals together with the NRW.Europa team at ZENIT.

The fact that things sometimes get heated in the STUDIO is not just down to the programming for the broadcast area around Duisburg and the Lower Rhine. Around 87 per cent of the total electricity consumption of 25 MWh in 2023 was accounted for by the 40 high-powered studio spotlights, which are fitted with halogen bulbs ranging from 500 to 1,500 W. Funded by the EENergy grant of 10,000 euros, the old halogen lamps are currently being replaced by LED floodlights. Although the LEDs have half the power, they offer the same light quality. Sascha Devigne expects the reduction in electricity consumption for lighting to be around 43 per cent. Furthermore, the LEDs reduce the energy requirements of systems such as the spotlight control and studio cooling.

“The EENergy grant and the support from the NRW.Europa team have provided us with the ideal foundation for implementing our energy-saving measures. Thanks to the grant, we can replace our old halogen spotlights with energy-efficient LED spotlights, thereby significantly reducing energy consumption in our TV production. A great opportunity to combine sustainability and efficiency.” Sascha Devigne, Editor-in-Chief of STUDIO 47

STUDIO 47 and ZENIT – a long and successful partnership

The teams from Duisburg and Mülheim first met back in 2011. That year, the broadcaster was planning two programme formats on European topics, and the EU Representation in Bonn drew their attention to a funding opportunity for these. “At first, it was all Greek to us; we had no idea how to go about it,” recalls Sascha Devigne. Help was quickly found, however. Both Bonn and the EU information centre Europe Direct in Duisburg advised them to contact NRW.Europa partner ZENIT. Thanks to their advice and the resulting positive funding decision, 60 per cent of the production costs were covered.

AI for Editorial Teams and Clients

In recent years, the TV broadcaster has not only made a name for itself within the industry, but has also built up a new client base through the development of AI tools.
The “BotCast” software, designed for the fully automated production of TV news and video news, is regarded as a best-practice example of the successful and effective use of artificial intelligence in journalism. Since its release in autumn 2022, the cloud-based AI tool has attracted considerable attention and generated a strong response within the media industry. Several local broadcasters are using it via a licensing scheme. The cloud-based system, which enables the automation of the editorial workflow, was implemented with funding from the NRW programme “Mittelstand innovativ & digital” (Innovative & Digital SMEs), among other sources, and the NRW.Europa team was able to assist in securing this funding.

Viewers have been experiencing another AI application since the beginning of May 2024. They are welcomed to the daily news programme by AI-generated avatars. The introduction of the in-house developed AI platform NewsHub, funded by the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia, has revolutionised the entire production process: From text creation and video editing to presenting, the system handles all editorial tasks, thereby significantly increasing both efficiency and journalistic quality. According to those responsible, the automation of routine tasks has created scope for more value-adding journalistic work.

Another new product already on the market is the AI-powered software ClipSense, which was developed by the broadcaster’s innovation team and funded by the Babelsberg Media Innovation Centre. It was developed to support local and regional television and online editorial teams in the analysis, tagging and archiving of video content. ClipSense is capable of efficiently processing a wide range of media formats, such as images, photos, footage and B-roll, whilst recognising subjects, shot sizes and temporal parameters such as times of day and seasons.

Services for businesses

Businesses, institutions and associations can also benefit from the services offered by the regional broadcaster, which is a member of the ZENIT network: events can be streamed from the TV studio in digital, hybrid or in-person formats, or broadcast using a mobile TV production unit complete with its own broadcast-standard camera, lighting and sound equipment. The Duisburg-based broadcaster also regularly produces corporate promotional films. 


Contact to the NRW.Europa-Client: 
Homepage STUDIO 47

Contact to the NRW.Europa-Team: 
Marcus Collier-Wright
ZENIT GmbH / Enterprise Europe Network
für Nordrhein-Westfalen NRW.Europa
Telefon: 0208 30004-54
E-Mail: Marcus.Collier-Wright@zenit.eu

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