Molden Media Brings Interactive Graphics to German Election Coverage

posted:

30/10/2013

On Sunday, September 22nd, millions of viewers across Europe and the world watched closely as Germany elected members of the 18th Bundestag, with Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU party winning a historic victory, carrying nearly 42% of the vote and nearly 50% of the legislature.

Germany's Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) carried live coverage of the election returns, integrating a innovative interactive in-studio system created by Munich-based Molden Media. Using Molden Media technology, ZDF newscasters created a powerful visual presentation for viewers, including up-to-the-minute graphical results and analyses updated in real time as the election night unfolded.

Moden Media's custom election database received projection data from the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, a Mannheim-based research organization that works closely with ZDF to analyze election trends and behaviors and project results. Molden's system verified all incoming data and processed the information for graphic playout. The files were then embedded into Vizrt graphics templates and onto ZDF's giant LED display wall in the network's election headquarters studio, where newscasters and analysts presented election statistics in real time, along with projections wins and losses, and analyses of regional and categorized data.

The network's online viewers also received updates in real time, with all election data streamed immediately into Flash graphics for the ZDF website broadcast of the program.

"With new data coming in continuously from a wide range of sources and locations, the ability to process the information and translate it into visual content quickly is important, but it's only one piece of the puzzle," explains Molden Media Founder and CEO Thomas Molden. "Particularly in the case of a national election like this, the safety and security of the data is critical. And because it's a live broadcast, stability is also a paramount concern. Our systems are designed to process and integrate the data quickly, while maintaining data security and stability."

About Molden Media:
Molden Media offers turnkey solutions for real-time broadcast graphics, design creation, project conception, project implementation and integration. Our product portfolio includes on-screen graphics design, multi-touch screen solutions, and dedicated workflows. Our clients include BBC, FOX, HSE24, NHK, QVC, Sky, ZDF, and many other international broadcast networks worldwide.