BBC Worldwides Global Channels business has selected GlobeCast as its distribution partner for the expansion of its four new entertainment channels to the Telstar 10 and HOT BIRD satellites in Asia and Europe. BBC Knowledge, BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies are currently available to IPTV, DTH and Cable Operators in India, Hong Kong, and Singapore and all four channels will launch in Poland with major operator Cyfrowy Polsat in December.
BBC Worldwides bouquet is adapted into regional formats with dedicated content and audio streams, offering programming tailored to each audience, for example, CBeebies in India is available to audiences in both Hindi and English. Furthermore, Polish DTH operator Cyfrowy Polsat will offer the channels with dedicated Polish audio, and in Hong Kong BBC Knowledge and BBC Lifestyle will carry traditional Chinese subtitles with English audio from the first quarter of 2008.
Produced in Singapore, the channels are sent via fibre to GlobeCasts local Technical Operations Centre for encryption and multiplexing. The feeds are then uplinked to the Telstar 10 satellite, which offers extensive coverage of the entire Asian region. Initial pickup of the bouquet has been strong, with BBC Entertainment and CBeebies received at over 100 cable and DTH headends in India. In addition, two major IPTV platforms SingTels mio TV in Singapore and more recently PCCW’s now TV in Hong Kong have launched BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle, and CBeebies.
GlobeCast receives the Polish versions of these four channels at its Brookmans Park teleport outside London, where the signals are encrypted and uplinked with dedicated Polish audio to the HOT BIRD satellite. GlobeCasts simulcrypt capabilities allow it to seamlessly integrate the channels into Cyfrowy Polsats service.
With the expansion of this international bouquet, BBC Worldwide is strengthening and focusing its brand image and increasing its audience in international markets. GlobeCast is a perfect partner in this effort, thanks to its global presence including marketing-leading status in Europe as well as a significant Asian footprint. GlobeCast has a longstanding relationship with the BBC, having delivered BBC World throughout Europe on the HOT BIRD satellite for over a decade.