KVH Adds NEWSlink Editions in Japanese and Korean

Leading provider of international news for seafarers extends its Far East coverage, now addresses the crew welfare needs of the majority of the world’s seafarers

KVH Media Group, part of KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), has expanded its market-leading NEWSlink™  portfolio with the launch of two new daily local language editions in Japanese and Korean. These new versions raise the count to nearly 110 NEWSlink editions in 23 languages and, together, they reflect KVH’s ability to address the crew welfare needs of seafarers around the world. NEWSlink now produces editions in the native languages of the majority of the world’s seafarers.

The Japanese and Korean editions are standard four-page newspapers delivered seven days a week, following the style of most NEWSlink titles. Each title covers the key daily political, general, financial, sporting, and entertainment news stories from those countries in the local language, and joins NEWSlink’s offering of high-quality daily and weekly newspaper digests, which are currently enjoyed by seafarers and cruise guests on more than 9,000 vessels around the world.

“Having a Japanese language daily edition of NEWSlink is a significant step forward,” says Hiroki Matsubara, CEO of Nautical Training Systems, Inc., KVH Media Group’s agent in Japan. “Selling the full range of content, connectivity, and training services that KVH has to offer is made a lot easier when you can show a prospective client a newspaper in their local language.”

“We are committed to expanding our portfolio of news from home available to seafarers in their own language, which goes a long way to make them feel more connected to family, friends, and events,” says Mark Woodhead, managing director of KVH Media Group. “This can also have a positive effect on recruitment and sea staff retention strategies, ultimately helping to improve manpower cost efficiencies.”

All the titles are produced in NEWSlink newsrooms located in Liverpool, Delhi, and Manila, where a round-the-clock news monitoring service ensures the most current information is included in every edition. “Our editorial offices follow the sun with an experienced team editing up-to-the-minute news stories for more than 100 papers. We are delighted to be adding more Asian language titles to this portfolio,” says Mr. Woodhead.

NEWSlink titles come in a range of formats and through a range of technologies, and are available in compact formats for maritime and other industries where bandwidth is limited or delivery costs are high. These newspapers are also available via KVH’s innovative IP- MobileCast™ content delivery service, which utilizes satellite-based multicasting technology to deliver content via a vessel’s broadband connection without affecting the vessel’s data speed or airtime plan.

In addition to the NEWSlink service, KVH offers a wide range of solutions for maritime operations and crew welfare. These services include mini-VSAT Broadband? connectivity, TracPhone® VIP-series satellite communications hardware, IP-MobileCast content delivery service, and Videotel™  maritime training programs – a complete solution that KVH refers to as the Power of One™.