Reuters to Distribute Next Media Animation's News Direct 3-D Animated Videos

LONDON, July 12th, 2012 - Today Reuters, the world's largest multimedia news provider, announces the launch of an exclusive partnership with Next Media Animation. Beginning the week of July 16th, Reuters will offer its clients approximately 20 animated news stories a week, produced by Next Media Animation's News Direct service, helping to reconstruct the story behind the main news events of the week and complementing the award-winning video, picture and text content produced by Reuters.

The innovative and engaging News Direct animated videos offer visual chronologies of major events that take place away from cameras, such as the sinking of the Costa Concordia in January 2012. The animations also provide clear illustration of news that is highly technical, such as the Elgin North Sea gas leak, and help explain stories that are conceptual in nature, such as the future of high speed travel. Accompanied by audio narration and natural sound, the 30-60 second stories will now be available through Reuters powerful distribution network.

Next Media Animation has gained widespread acclaim for its short and quirky animated videos, many of which have gone viral and have received millions of views. The News Direct service exemplifies the company's ability to also animate the news stories of the day. From the moment a top story breaks, the Next Media animation team begins its end-to-end process, working from concept to production and making videos available to customers in a matter of hours. Reuters will partner exclusively with Next Media to distribute its 3-D animated news videos in all global markets, with the exception of Japan and Taiwan.

"Our partnership with Next Media Animation has allowed us to a create and shape a video solution that enables broadcast and online publishers to illustrate every angle of a story, adding depth to our reporting when video from the scene is not available," commented Owen Wyatt, Head of Video, Reuters. "This service will enable our customers to streamline their workflows, add colour to in-house graphics and access compelling and timely animations to support their programming."

Jimmy Lai, Founder, Next Media Animation says: "We are truly excited to partner with Reuters in offering our news animations on the powerful and innovative Reuters distribution network.  Our goal is to complement the world class content offered by Reuters in delivering leading edge solutions to newsrooms around the world."

For further insight into this exciting content, please view this video.

About Reuters

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than 1 billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com.

About Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. We combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting, intellectual property and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization. With headquarters in New York and major operations in London and Eagan, Minnesota, Thomson Reuters employs approximately 60,000 people and operates in over 100 countries. For more information, go to www.thomsonreuters.com.

About Next Media Animation

Next Media Animation (NMA) is one of Asia's largest full-service 3D animation studios and was founded in 2008 in Taipei, Taiwan. As a leader in the animation industry, Next Media Animation's team of 500 animators produce high-quality, informative animated graphics for broadcasters and online publishers worldwide. NMA's News Direct animations have been used by national broadcasters such as Fox News and BBC, metro broadcasters such as KDVR, WKYC, WUSA and WCSH, and online media such as The Daily Telegraph, The Globe and Mail, Bild, Der Spiegel, The Denver Post, The Huffington Post and Wired Magazine, among others.

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