The Ministry of Information, Kuwait National Radio has awarded the contract for Radio Archive Project to Al Rashed Group and chosen NOA GmbH, a leading AV digitizing and archiving specialist, to modernize its radio repertoire. The comprehensive project includes the digitization of the broadcaster’s entire repertoire and disaster recovery backup.
As per the seven-year agreement, finalized at the end of June, a complete NOA mediARC archive management system will be integrated into Kuwait Radio’s existing Dalet playout. Concurrently, the organization’s complete radio archive using NOA’s ingestLINE will be digitized.
The first year of the project will focus on the delivery and ramp-up phase, followed by a three to four-year period during which the entire archive will be digitized. The mediARC Archive Asset Management system will be installed at the radio broadcaster’s main site in Kuwait City, with the disaster recovery site located in Magwa. All framework modules will support the storage system, holding four copies.
Dr. Nidal Fawaz, Director of the Technology Solutions Division at Al Rashed Group, said: “While the organization’s radio archive has been partially digitized for production purposes, the re-digitization of the entire inventory is yet to be completed. The MOI tender amounts to approximately €10 million. The goal is to digitize some 260,000 archival audio carriers dating back to the 1950s, including quality control, inventory, and enrichment of metadata.”
NOA’s mediARC solution provides a flexible framework for Archive Asset Management, enhancing efficiency for broadcasters and archives of all sizes. The NOA ingestLINE offers professional, purpose-built digitization tools for archive preservation projects, ensuring flawless quality and outstanding cost-effectiveness.
“After a thorough analysis of this prominent tender, we’re excited to finally start this project with our contractor Al RashedGroup and their International technical partner NOA,” added Eng. Dalal Alhindal, Project Manager of MOI – Kuwait Radio. “This initiative will preserve our unique radio archive heritage, one of the oldest in the Arab world.”
The installation represents the first of its kind in Kuwait, adding to NOA’s significant installations for AV archiving at Abu Dhabi Media Corp. and Sharjah Broadcasting Authority in the region.
Jean-Christophe Kummer, managing partner of NOA, added: “We’re thrilled to expand our footprint in this region by winning this prestigious seven-year project with our partner AL Rashed Group. Our enterprise framework, based on NOA mediARC and ingestLINE, combined with our experience in delivering archive technology for over 5 million hours of AV material worldwide, positions us well for success in this endeavor.”