FGC Channel, TV3 service information and content on the train

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat and the Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals launch the FGC Channel with TV3 content. The new channel offers users of the Railways informative content, of service and entertainment through screens installed in the stations.

Railways of the Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) and the Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals (CCMA) have presented the FGC Channel, a new television channel that offers users of the Railways service information and constantly updated TV3 content. With a network of screens installed in the stations, rail service notices are issued, current pieces, culture, entertainment, meteorology and civics advice. Canal FGC is a pioneering project in the field of proximity audiovisuals, a reference model for its technological innovation and for the way it brings public service content to citizens. The launch of the channel has been possible thanks to FGC's commitment to modernity in the relationship with the user and the experience in the development of new digital formats of the CCMA companies. After a trial period at Tres Torres station, the channel can already be seen on about fifty screens placed in eight stations of the Barcelona-Vallès line and it is planned that the network will be extended along the 2010 to the Llobregat-Anoia line. The potential audience of the new channel is the 80 millions of users who use the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat every year. The FGC Channel screen is divided into two parts: in the central area the contents produced by TV3 appear and on the side, in the form of an "L", service content created by FGC in conjunction with +QTV, company of labor integration of people with disabilities. It is an agile and varied programming, specially configured for people waiting on the platforms. The contents produced by TV3 incorporate an audio system that is activated by sound bells strategically placed in front of the screens and at the request of users. Those who want to hear the sound should only be placed at the points indicated below the bells. This system is specially designed to avoid noise pollution in the stations. El objetivo para la segunda fase es que los contenidos también incorporen subtítulos. TV3 Programming The main screen of the FGC Channel broadcasts in the widescreen format 16:9 the contents produced and managed by TV3. It is an emission cycle of 7 minutes and a half, with a 30" advertising separator in between, which offers a summary of news and sports from the portal 3cat24.cat, gags of TV3's main comedy shows and other short-form content, weather information and promotion of regular TV3 programming. In addition, overprinted last-minute news headlines are published. It should be noted that it is a program developed expressly for this channel and that it will be renewed automatically in each cycle of seven and a half, with a 30" separator in between with FGC advertising and external ads. Public service The side screen, which has a design in the form of a letter "L", offers content produced by FGC and developed and managed by +QTV (a Special Work Center that was born in the year 2006 with the aim of integrating people with disabilities and risk of social exclusion into the labour market). It consists of notices about the railway service of Ferrocarrils, as well as current information about the company and the tourist and mountain activities managed by FGC, among which there is La Molina, Vall de Núria and Montserrat. Together with this information, a cultural agenda and entertainment content are also offered. At the bottom of the screen, customers will find tips to encourage civic use of FGC facilities and public transport, as reminder messages about the obligation to travel with the ticket correctly validated and the prohibition of smoking in stations and trains. In the event that incidents occur that affect in any way the FGC rail service, there are two types of protocols established. If it is a mild incidence (delays of less than 15 minutes) the side screen informs of the service situation and the recovery forecast, but if the incidence is severe (delays greater than 15 minutes) the channel is cancelled and all screens are connected to the Customer Information Service (SIC), reporting service status and recovery forecast. Technological innovation The global project, the engineering and integration of the FGC Channel have been led by the Digital Signage Department of the Directorate of New Platforms and Technology of the CCMA. They have been involved in the Televisió de Catalunya initiative, with the contents and the brand image; Activa Multimèdia, with software and development; and the 3cat24.cat portal, with the news. Largely, the project pivots on the technology developed by Activa Multimèdia, the R&D&I company of the CCMA. Automatic TV is the technological solution of Activa Multimèdia that makes it possible for screens to offer, simultaneously, information generated by FGC and TV3 and that the contents are updated automatically. Automatic TV, which is already used by several TV channels to automatically produce informative content, allows you to easily and quickly customize the channel with the incorporation of texts, images and videos. All this information, presented with its own graphics, it is included in a high-definition signal that is transmitted via IP from a central intelligence, located in the TV3 facilities, to the different monitors installed in the stations. Implementation and audience The first phase of the implementation of the canal has been developed in the stations of Plaça Catalunya, Provença, Muntaner, Three Towers, Sarrià, Sant Cugat, Rubí and Universitat Autònoma, of the Barcelona-Vallès line. Along the 2010, in a second phase, screens will be installed in the main stations of the Llobregat-Anoia line and also in the stations of the Vallès Line of new creation or that are in the remodeling phase. The network of Railways of the Generalitat moves annually 80 millions of users, which are the potential audience targeted by the new FGC Channel.

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