APTN library secure Vatican agreement

Associated Press Television News (APTN), the international video arm of The Associated Press, have become the first worldwide video library to represent material from Vatican Television.
The agreement between Vatican Television (Centro Televisivo Vaticano) and APTN means that many hours of footage of the Pope and events at the Vatican will be available for licensing through the APTN Library.
Hundreds of hours have already been catalogued and the collection will continue to grow as material is shot by Vatican Television and distributed for news access by APTN.
The agreement has been negotiated over several months to ensure that the requirements of the Church regarding use of material could be met.
"Clearly this is not just another deal," said Christopher O'Hearn, APTN's Head of Content Development. "The Church and especially the Pope have a special significance around the world, and there are unique concerns about using those images beyond their original context."
"As an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to objective news coverage, the Associated Press can be trusted to understand those concerns and work in a responsible manner. I believe APTN is ideally placed to meet the Vatican's needs, while at the same time ensuring the widest availability of their material to the global media."
The combination of news distribution and library access to Vatican material, plus APTN's own news and library material means the APTN Library is clearly a leading destination for material related to the Pope and the Holy See.
Father Federico Lombardi, Director-General of Centro Televisivo Vaticano said: “I think that the agreement with APTN opens a new way to reach our goal: that is to make the Pope’s activity better and better known around the world through the spreading of our images."
(GB)