From 2 May, Canal Z will broadcast from a brand new studio at the Brussels Media Center in Evere. The unified newsroom of Canal Z and Trends will then move into a state-of-the-art TV studio. The television channel will also get a complete makeover at the same time.

From next week, Canal Z can unveil a TV studio fully adapted and equipped with the latest technologies to appropriately interpret economic and financial news. The daily Z News and the weekly Trends Talk programme will then be broadcast from the new studio. Roularta Media Group built more than just a news studio: it is a spacious video platform with both a news desk and a debate table, a greenkey, a direction room, podcast equipment and editing cells.

Digital strategy

With this investment, the media company is betting firmly on even more audiovisual content. Xavier Bouckaert, CEO Roularta Media Group: 'Previously, both news editors were already merged. Early this year they launched the joint and revamped trends.be. The unified website brings together all the content of Trends and Canal Z: video, text and podcast. The new studio was literally built right in the middle of this economic news desk of Trends and Canal Z, in the heart of our Brussels Media Center.

This fits perfectly into Roularta Media Group's digital strategy. Niels Famaey, publisher News & Business: 'We are arming our editorial teams for a digital future, with one goal in mind: giving viewers, surfers, readers and listeners even better access to all Canal Z and Trends content. We are thus reaching the largest business and finance community in the country by a head start.'

Television, online and podcast

The other Canal Z programmes will also be made in this video platform: webinars, roundtables, mini-sector newsreels, debates, panel discussions and podcasts. In time, all Roularta editors and external partners will also be able to come to Evere for their video productions.

Alex Coene, Network Manager Canal Z: 'This studio now offers our journalists a range of new possibilities, which will strengthen our reputation as the most credible TV station. I am convinced that our growing fan base will appreciate that. Other Canal Z programmes can also be recorded in this new studio. With dedicated spaces for webinars and a greenkey, this place is 'state-of-the-art' in the hybrid genre, for all forms of video and podcast. We can provide recordings as well as live broadcasts, for television, website or events.'

Trends and Canal Z: Change the Game

The new studio is going hand in hand with a rebranding of Canal Z. Roularta Media Group engaged renowned Amsterdam-based design studio CapeRock to design a new channel identity, both in image and sound. Crucial in the new logo and the whole look & feel is the diagonal line, which Trends also uses. The diagonal exudes tension and stands for connection: Trends and Canal Z bridge the gap between companies and other businesses, consumers and the financial world.

Wim Verhoeven: 'Together, Canal Z and Trends now proudly carry the baseline Change The Game, because together they address the daredevils, the doers and the entrepreneurs. Those who know that you multiply success by sharing knowledge and by a steadfast belief in the people building a future for all. These gamechangers will inform and inspire, advise and connect Canal Z and Trends more than ever from 2 May.'

Milestone

By joining forces, Trends and Canal Z have an unprecedented reach. The television channel has seen a steady growth in viewership in recent years, with a daily reach of 467,000 viewers across Belgium. An impressive evolution and that with a large share in the highest social groups, with many executives, executives and the self-employed. Trends and Trends-Tendances can count on 332,000 readers per week. Online, they reach almost 600,000 unique visitors a month.

Together, these loyal readers, surfers and viewers form the largest business community in the country. That is the power of the synergy between Canal Z and Trends. The launch of the new, large TV studio is a milestone in this unique collaboration.