10 March 2014
Globecast, global content management and distribution provider, and ARABSAT announced today that they have extended their relationship for the distribution of the Global Arabic Bouquet (GAB), a grouping of premium Arabic channels from the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) that has been made available across the world since the establishment of this relationship in 2004.
Since the launch of their partnership, Globecast, ARABSAT and ASBU have expanded the Global Arabic Bouquet’s potential viewership and footprint, offering a single global coverage to ASBU members. Arabic language channels are now able to join the bouquet and reach viewers on all five continents free to air. Globecast – ARABSAT and ASBU’s partner for the worldwide distribution of the GAB – is providing all the technical services required for end-to-end delivery.
Georges Baroud, CEO Globecast Middle East said, “It’s pleasing that this partnership is being extended for a further five years. This is a reflection of our continued technical leadership and also our customer service. We look forwards to another five years as we believe that in partnership with ARABSAT and ASBU we have created a strong, global platform for expats and newcomers to the Arabic world alike.”
Khalid Balkheyour, ARABSAT President and CEO, added “We need to ensure both quality of service and cost-effectiveness and partnering with Globecast achieves this. This has been proven across the years of our relationship. We are proud to bring a flavor of the Arabic world to the world.” (Source: press release)
10 March 2014
Intelsat S.A., the world’s leading provider of satellite services, today launched the commemoration of the Company’s 50th anniversary and the founding of the commercial satellite sector. Signaling its continued commitment to setting the pace for the next generation, Intelsat also unveiled a new corporate tag line: “Envision. Connect. Transform.”
INTELSAT, the intergovernmental organization that was the predecessor to Intelsat S.A., was created by the signing of an international treaty on 20 August 1964, which ultimately was joined by nearly all of the world’s nations and territories. The mission of the organization was to establish the first global communication network by launching into space a fleet of satellites. Intelsat has provided the telecommunications services that have delivered many of the iconic moments of the last 50 years, including distributing the video signals of the first moonwalk to the world, providing the “hot line” connecting the White House and the Kremlin, transmitting live television coverage of every Olympics since 1968, distributing the LiveAid and LiveEarth music events to the world. In addition, Intelsat is a provider of vital connectivity for first responders and the media during natural disasters such as in Haiti and the Philippines.
Today, Intelsat provides diversified space and terrestrial communications services to the world’s leading media companies, fixed and wireless telecommunications operators, data networking service providers for enterprise and mobile applications, multinational corporations and governments. Intelsat was privatized in 2001 and completed an initial public offering and listing of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in April of 2013.
Intelsat Chairman and CEO David McGlade said, “Our new tag line,’Envision. Connect. Transform.’, articulates our objectives with respect to our customers and our next 50 years. The tag line communicates our commitment to align with our customers to envision their future networking requirements. When we connect our customers’ networks with Intelsat’s space-based solutions, we transform their business opportunities, and enable life-changing services for the applications and regions they serve.”
“Much has changed at Intelsat since our start 50 years ago, which coincided with the early days of space exploration,” McGlade continued. “However, there are two areas in which the Intelsat of today is identical to INTELSAT at its inception. The first is our belief that creative use of satellite-based solutions has the ability to transform the future of our world. Second, our employees remain passionate in their quest to set the industry standard for quality, performance and innovation in services that help our customers attain their future goals.”
The company plans to commemorate its 50th anniversary, and the start of its next 50 years, through a number of events and receptions over the course of 2014. Reflecting the global nature of the business, Intelsat has established a video gallery on YouTube, which will be populated over the course of the coming months with interviews featuring many of the satellite sector’s earliest contributors, Intelsat’s innovative customers around the world and the thought-leaders who are designing next-generation satellite solutions. For more information, please visit the video gallery at www.Intelsat.com/50.
Intelsat is participating on 14 panels at the SATELLITE 2014 conference at the Washington D.C. Convention Center, March 10-13, 2014.
Intelsat’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David McGlade will be presenting on the SATELLITE 2014 opening panel session, “Setting an Agenda for Global Success” on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 from 8:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. (Source: Intelsat press release)
9 March 2014
The International News Safety Institute (INSI) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) are launching a joint report on violence and harassment against women in the news media.
The 40-page report, entitled “Violence and Harassment against Women in the News Media: A Global Picture”, reveals the findings of a global survey conducted among nearly 1,000 female journalists. It provides the first comprehensive picture of the dangers faced by many women working in news media around the world.
Core findings of the report include:
– Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said they had experienced some form of intimidation, threats, or abuse in relation to their work, ranging in severity from name-calling to death threats.
– The majority of threats, intimidation, and abuse directed toward respondents occurred in the work place, and was perpetrated most often by male bosses, supervisors, and co-workers.
– Most incidents of harassment and violence were never reported, even though a majority of women who experienced them said they were psychologically affected.
“When we talk about the safety of journalists, we often think in terms of the risks we face in war zones, civil unrest and environmental disasters, but how often do we think of the office as being a dangerous place?”, said INSI Director Hannah Storm.
“This survey shows that women journalists are often at risk in their own work places: targeted by their colleagues, and let down by the very people they should be able to trust.”
“It is telling that most respondents to our questions about reporting incidents of harassment, threats and violence they encountered chose not to do so,” said Elisa Lees Munoz, IWMF Executive Director. “Action must be taken to assure that all women in the news media have recourse against such incidents.”
In addition, the survey gathered data regarding sexual violence, physical violence, sexual harassment, and digital security threats experienced by women journalists as well as what measures have been taken for prevention, protection, and preparedness within news organisations.
The survey was conducted jointly by the London-based International News Safety Institute and the Washington, D.C.-based International Women’s Media Foundation. The survey and this report were carried out with funding from the Government of Austria and supported by UNESCO.
The full report, including information about the survey methodology, is available here.
INSI and IWMF welcome the opportunity to discuss the details of the report with members of the media. Please direct all inquiries and interview requests for INSI to Hannah Storm (hannah.storm@newssafety.org / + 447766 814274) and for IWMF to Communications Strategist Anna Schiller (aschiller@iwmf.org / +1 202 567 2613). Images and additional information can be downloaded at www.newssafety.org or iwmf.org/presskit
About INSI
The International News Safety Institute was founded in 2003, its mission to provide safety advice and training to journalists to ensure that wherever they work they are able to do so safely, whether covering conflict, civil unrest, corruption, or natural and manmade disasters. Widely regarded as the news industry’s safety body, INSI counts as its members some of the world’s leading news organisations, such as Reuters, CNN, the BBC, Al Jazeera, ABC, NBC and the Guardian.
In 2012, INSI published No Woman’s Land – On the Frontlines with Female Reporters, the first book dedicated to the safety of women in the news media. INSI has also pioneered safety training delivered by female trainers for female journalists and continues to work with all journalists around the world to ensure they have the most up-to-date and relevant knowledge, training, equipment and support to stay safe while doing their work.
About the IWMF
Founded in 1990 by a group of prominent U.S. women journalists, the International Women’s Media Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based organisation dedicated to strengthening the role of women journalists worldwide. The IWMF believes the news media worldwide are not truly free and representative without the equal voice of women.
The IWMF celebrates the bravery of women journalists who overcome threats and oppression to speak out on global issues with its Courage in Journalism Awards. The IWMF Lifetime Achievement Awards recognise women news media pioneers who set new standards of excellence in the profession and pave the way for future generations of journalists. Since its inception, the IWMF has honoured more than 100 women, and it continues to support the recipients of these awards and many other female journalists with advocacy and assistance in times of crisis. The IWMF’s programs empower women journalists with the training, support and network to become leaders in the news industry.
6 March 2014
Today the BBC has announced plans, subject to the approval of the BBC Trust, to close BBC Three as a broadcast TV channel in autumn 2015.
The plans would mean –
- The BBC saving over £50 million a year
- £30 million of that going into drama on BBC One
- BBC Three being reinvented as a new and innovative online service
- The freed up spectrum being used to extend CBBC by an hour a night and to provide a BBC1 +1 service
In an email to BBC Staff, BBC Director General, Tony Hall said:
“Since I came back to the BBC I hope I’ve made two things clear.
“First that the BBC is living with a licence fee that for five years will have been flat – it will not have gone up at all. And, at the same time, we are absorbing extra costs that we were asked to take on – for the World Service, S4C and the roll-out of broadband. That’s why the organisation has had to look for savings – so that we, like everyone else in these difficult economic times, can live within our means. My concern – along with that of everybody I meet inside and outside the BBC – is to ensure that the quality of what we do is not compromised along the way. We are here to produce exceptional and distinctive programmes and services for Britain and the world. But I do believe, as I said only last week, that the BBC has taken incremental change as far as it can. Something has to give. And that means hard choices. But there is one choice I will never make – and that’s to sacrifice quality. And I believe that’s what the British public thinks too.
“The second point I’ve made is that the BBC is, by its nature and history, an organisation that constantly reinvents itself, an organisation that takes the idea of public service broadcasting – to inform, educate and entertain – and makes it relevant for each generation in our nearly one hundred year history. I remember myself the launch of BBC News Online when I was running BBC News. There was a great deal of scepticism to put it mildly. But we were doing what the BBC and its staff have always done – using our innate creativity to lead the way. That’s why now – for this generation – I believe the iPlayer is a key part of the future for public service broadcasting. It’s the gateway for people who increasingly want to watch and listen to what they want, when they want it – on tablets, on mobiles as well as other screens. I am sure that this is going to be increasingly important for our younger audiences. And reaching those audiences is vital for the BBC.
“Reconciling these two aims – financial and strategic – has led us to this difficult conclusion. We should close BBC Three as a broadcast or linear channel and ask Danny and his team to reinvent it as a channel online and on the iPlayer. We propose making this change in the autumn of next year. I believe it’s the right thing to do: young audiences – the BBC Three audience – are the most mobile and ready to move to an online world. 25% of viewing by 16-24 year olds is to catch-up or other screens and over the next few years we expect that to reach 40%. We recognise that, for now, most of this audience still do their viewing on television, and that is why we plan to show BBC Three’s long-form content on either BBC One or BBC Two.
“I’m convinced that the BBC as a creative organisation will be able to reinvent a space for young people on the iPlayer that will be bold, innovative and distinctive. It will not just be a TV channel distributed online – it will be an opportunity to look at new forms, formats, different durations, and more individualised and interactive content. It will play to BBC Three’s strengths, offer something distinctive and new, and enhance the BBC’s reputation with young audiences. And I will challenge everyone in the BBC to spend much more time focusing on programming for young audiences. We will lead the way.
“Let me just say to Zai and the BBC Three team: you produce, and will continue to produce, amazing programmes – bringing new ideas, new stories and new talent to our screens. BBC Three has an extraordinary track record – it’s been home to Gavin & Stacey, Little Britain, Bad Education and, right now, Bluestone 42. I’ve also been seriously impressed by the current affairs I’ve seen – from Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts and Our War, to Reggie Yates’s outstanding reports from South Africa, ending just this week. You can be rightly proud of what you have achieved so far. I want you to carry on making programmes for young audiences that continue to break new ground.
“This is the first time in the BBC’s history that we are proposing to close a television channel. I can’t rule out it being the last change to our programmes or services. It will save the BBC over £50 million a year. £30 million of that will go into drama on BBC One. And it also means we will extend Children’s programmes by an hour a night and provide a BBC One +1 channel. I must stress – all of this is what we are proposing to the BBC Trust. They will have the final say.
“I am certain that this decision is strategically right – but it’s also financially necessary too. Delivering the savings programme following the last licence fee negotiation means these changes are happening earlier than they might in a better financial environment. And I don’t simply want to keep salami slicing the budgets in a way that means our frontline staff are always asked to keep doing more with less. I am sure that we will have to face up to further difficult challenges as we build the BBC for the future. But in making those changes, I am determined to ensure we embrace the new opportunities technology gives us – and match that with programming of the highest quality that is simply the best in the world.”
Danny Cohen, Director of BBC Television, said:
“This is the biggest strategic decision the BBC has made in over a decade. While it has been an extremely difficult decision borne out of financial necessity, I believe it is also a creatively energising and innovative move. In Autumn 2015 we plan to close BBC Three as a linear TV Channel and in its place we will develop a bold, ambitious, future-facing new version of BBC Three online. I think this can be transformational for both the BBC’s relationship with young audiences and the BBC’s approach to the digital age overall. When we take BBC Three online we need to see it as a brand new Service launch. It is an opportunity for both radical thinking and unprecedented collaboration both inside the BBC and with our audiences and creative partners outside the corporation.
“The new version of BBC Three online will continue to have the things we all cherish most about the Service – innovative comedy, unrivalled Current Affairs for young people, incisive and entertaining factual, and original entertainment. I want and expect us to keep making shows for young audiences of the quality of ‘Our War’ and the public service value of BBC Three’s recent season on young people and mental health. BBC Three will continue to build on the comic brilliance of ‘Little Britain’, ‘Gavin and Stacey’ and ‘Bad Education’, of the entertainment value of ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’ and ‘Backchat’. And BBC Three will continue to commission Current Affairs of the pedigree of recent documentaries on Afghanistan, the Congo, India, South Africa and of course the tough challenges faced by young people here in the UK. What is changing is the way we deliver these programmes to our audiences.
“BBC Three will continue to do all the things we love but it will also have the freedom to break traditional shackles and allow the BBC to be a leader in digital change. It will not just be a TV Channel distributed online. There is a wonderful creative opportunity here to develop new formats with new programme lengths – and to reach young audiences in an ever growing number of ways. Will we still want to make all of our Current Affairs’ documentaries at 60 minutes in the age of Vice and youtube? Will we find that contemporary documentary and formats work much better at 40 or 45 minutes than 58? What will we learn about the length we want to make each episode of our dramas or comedies, perhaps learning from new market players like Netflix and Amazon? Although I’m sure that video – televisual – content will be at the core of the new BBC Three, we’ll need to challenge ourselves to think and create differently. In this sense, BBC Three will be the spearhead for a new age of digital change for the BBC. It will be the pathfinder as we learn how audience behaviour is changing in the coming years – and it will allow the BBC to be ready for the next waves of disruptive digital disruption.
“We will also make sure that every piece of long-form BBC Three content finds a home on one of our linear television channels. We do not want our content for young audiences to be available only to those with a broadband connection – and we don’t want anyone to miss out on the great new programmes we will be producing. So every long-form programme will be transmitted on either BBC One or BBC2, with most playing at 10.35pm or a little later. Playing them on BBC One will massively increase the reach of these programmes for young audiences and guarantee that we do not risk creating a ‘haves and have nots’, a digital divide when it comes to enjoying what we are making for the public. It will also make BBC Three an even more exciting place to be for on-screen talent. Their shows will be shown on BBC Three’s new home on iplayer but they will also know that their work will get a showing on either the Nation’s biggest television channel, BBC One or the hugely popular BBC2.
“There is undoubtedly a strong counter-argument to this change and I want to be direct and open about that. The BBC has less money than it used to but it is trying to do ever more. That is why we are making this decision on BBC Three now. In an ideal world we would not be making this move for a few more years. Given an entirely free hand I would make this change in about four or five years’ time, using the years between now and then to slowly shift the balance between linear and on-demand BBC Three content. That would be a safer, less risky strategy. But we don’t have the choice to wait and do that due to the investments we need to make. I want to protect programme budgets from more major cuts across the Board and the BBC has to find the money for new obligations including the World Service that will cost £350m a year.”
(Source: BBC Press Office)
5 March 2014
Record Full-Year Revenues of $121.8 Million, Up 7.4% from Year-Ago Period;
Record High Next 12-Month Backlog of $92 Million
RRsat Global Communications Network Ltd. (NASDAQ: RRST), a leading provider of digital media services including content management and global distribution services to the broadcasting industry, announced today financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2013.
Fourth Quarter Highlights
· Record revenues of $32.5 million, up 10.5% year-over-year
· Gross margin for the quarter was 23.3%, down from 25.1% in Q4 2012 due to revenue mix and the impact of foreign currency fluctuations
· Non-GAAP net income of $0.14 per share, unchanged from Q4 2012 despite of the negative effect of foreign currency
· Cash flow from operations was $8.1 million in comparison to $2.8 million in Q4 2012
· Board announces a cash dividend of $0.06 per share, representing an annual dividend yield of 2.6%, in line with previously adopted quarterly dividend policy
Full-Year Highlights
· Record revenues of $121.8 million, up 7.4% year-over-year
· Gross margin for the year was 24.2%, up from 23.9% in 2012 despite foreign currency impact
· Non-GAAP net income per share was $0.48, compared to $0.46 per share in 2012, reflecting a $1.6 million foreign currency impact and higher sales and marketing spending in 2013 resulting from the continuous investment in our geographic presence, to expand our future growth opportunities.
· Cash flow from operations was $21.3 million in comparison to $15.9 million in 2012;
“We generated record revenue and solid growth in the fourth quarter as well as full year 2013, continuing the momentum we saw throughout the year,” commented Avi Cohen, CEO of RRsat. “Our efforts to transform the Company into a global leader with local services, leveraging local talent in key markets around the world and expanding our capabilities, are driving record revenue, accelerating growth and generated our highest next 12months backlog in the Company’s history.”
Mr. Cohen continued, “The integration of JCA Content Preparation services, following our recent acquisition, into our existing infrastructure and service platform has facilitated the establishment of our ‘Global Media Services Platform.’ This powerful platform offers our customers a global single point of contact for handling any media, preparing it, and delivering it to any screen, anywhere in the world, in any form of video consumption, from linear TV to video-on-demand, streaming, pay-per-view and TV-Everywhere. These expanded capabilities are helping us reach a higher tier of potential customers, including global broadcasters and leading content owners.”
Quarterly Dividend
In accordance with the Company’s dividend policy, on March 5, 2014, the Board of Directors declared a cash dividend in the amount of $0.06 per ordinary share, and in the aggregate amount of approximately $1.0 million, representing 50% of RRsat’s net income for the fourth quarter of 2013. The dividend will be payable on April 9, 2014 to all of the Company’s shareholders of record at the end of the trading day on the NASDAQ on March 19, 2014.
Fourth Quarter 2013 Financial Results
Revenues: Fourth quarter 2013 revenues were a record of $32.5 million up 10.5% from $29.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 and up 6.2% from $30.6 million in the third quarter of 2013.
Gross profit: Fourth quarter 2013 gross profit and gross margin were $7.6 million and 23.3% respectively, compared to $7.4 million and 25.1%, respectively, for the fourth quarter of 2012. The gross profit in the fourth quarter was mainly impacted by expenses increase related to foreign currency fluctuation, and by the impact of the revenue mix in the quarter. Excluding the foreign currency impact, gross margin would have increased compared to the fourth quarter last year. Although management continues to expect quarterly fluctuations in gross margin due to revenue mix, going forward, excluding any additional foreign currency impact, management believes gross margins should return to historical levels.
Non-GAAP operating income & operating margin, was $2.1 million and 6.5% respectively during the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to $2.9 million and 9.9% respectively in the fourth quarter of 2012. The main change was due to an extraordinary accrual for bad debt expense related to Fashion TV. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, RRsat was forced to take down the services provided to this former customer for non-payment. RRsat filed a $5 million lawsuit in Israel to recoup debt owed as well as damages to RRsat. It is important to note that the Company has been successful in signing a contract with a new customer, also in the fashion industry, utilizing the satellite capacity that was freed up as a result of the forced termination of Fashion TV. This new contract has resulted in an increase to RRsat’s backlog. As a result, management does not expect any negative impact to the Company’s income statement. In aggregate, the foreign currency and extraordinary bad debt expense totaled $0.9 million impact in the fourth quarter.
Inclusive of the extraordinary bad debt expense and the foreign currency impact, Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2013 was $2.4 million, unchanged compared to $2.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 and improved to $2.1 million for the third quarter of 2013. Non-GAAP net income per share on a fully diluted basis was $0.14 for the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to $0.14 in the fourth quarter last year and $0.12 in the third quarter of 2013.
GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $2.1 million, compared to $2.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 and $1.1 million in the third quarter of 2013. GAAP net income per share on a fully diluted basis was $0.12 for the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to $0.14 in the fourth quarter of 2012 and $0.06 in the third quarter of 2013.
Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $4.5 million compared to $5.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 and $5.0 million in the third quarter of 2013.
Backlog to be delivered in the next 12 months increased to a record $92 million, up from $87 million in the year-ago period and up from $88 million in the third quarter of 2013.
Full year 2013 Financial Results
Revenues: Full year 2013 revenues were a record $121.8 million up 7.4% compared to $113.4 million for 2012.
Gross profit: Full year 2013 gross profit and gross margin were $29.5 million and 24.2% respectively, compared to $27.1 million and 23.9%, respectively, for 2012. The gross profit in 2013 was mainly impacted by expenses related to foreign currency fluctuation in the amount of $1.6 million.
Non-GAAP operating income & operating margin were $9.9 million and 8.1% respectively during 2013, compared to $10.3 million and 9.1% respectively in 2012. The main change was due to an extraordinary $0.5 million bad debt expense related to a former customer and the effect of foreign currency impact in the amount of $1.6 million. Normalizing for the foreign currency fluctuations and the impact of the bad debt expense operating margin would have increased to $12 million and 9.9% respectively compared to 2012. In aggregate, the foreign currency and extraordinary bad debt expense totaled $2.1million impact for the full year.
GAAP operating income was $8.0 million compared to $9.7 million in 2012. GAAP operating margin was 6.5% compared to 8.5% in 2012.
Non-GAAP net income was $8.3 million, an increase of 4.6% compared to $7.9 million in 2012. Non-GAAP net income per share on a fully diluted basis was $0.47 compared to $0.46 in 2012.
GAAP net income was $6.5 million compared to $8.3 million in 2012. GAAP net income per share on a fully diluted basis was $0.37 compared to $0.48 in 2012.
Adjusted EBITDA was $18.7 million in 2013, down slightly compared with $18.9 million in 2012.
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2013 totaled $24.2 million compared with $26.4 million as of December 31, 2012. The change in cash position during the period was mainly attributable to the acquisition of JCA in the third quarter investing in CAPEX and the distribution of a cash dividend.
Full Year 2014 Guidance
Full year 2014 total revenues are expected to be in the range of $129 million to $134 million representing 6.2% to 10% year-over-year growth.
Given the increase of RRsat’s revenue outside of the 24/7 services and some level of seasonality associated with that revenue, management believes that an annual revenue guidance is more appropriate than quarterly estimates. Management continues to expect some level of variation in mix from quarter to quarter leading to some fluctuations in revenues and gross margin between quarters. However, management continues to anticipate improvement in gross profit margin, and expects full-year 2014 gross margin to be higher than the margin for the full year 2013.
Conference Call Information
The Company will conduct a conference call today, March 5, 2014 at 9 a.m. ET (4 p.m. Israel time). On the call, Mr. Avi Cohen, Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Shmulik Koren, Chief Financial Officer will review and discuss the results and will be available to answer investor questions.
Call time: 9 a.m. Eastern Time; 4 p.m. Israel Time
- Dial-in number from within the United States: 1-877-941-2068
- Dial-in number from Israel: 1809-21-4368
- Dial-in number from the UK: 0800-358-5258
- Dial-in number (other international): 1-480-629-9712
- Playback, available until March 12, 2014 by calling 1-877-870-5176 (United States) or 1-858-384-5517 (international). Please use pin number 4669061 for the replay.
- A live webcast is accessible at http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=107916.
3 March 2014
Eurosport and France Télévisions have announced that in partnership with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) they will continue to broadcast the French Open until 2018. This agreement, which makes Eurosport and France Télévisions the official broadcasters for the five coming editions of the Roland-Garros tournament in the French market, is the result of a tender launched last autumn regarding the commercialisation of the audio-visual rights for the coming editions 2014 until 2018 of the tournament.
France Télévisions will remain domestic broadcaster of the French Open, as they have been since 1987. Eurosport, already broadcaster of the French Open in the rest of Europe until 2021, has acquired with this deal sub-licensed rights in France from France Télévisions.
Jean-Thierry Augustin, CEO of the Eurosport Group, says: “We are very pleased that we are able to continue our collaboration with the FFT thanks to this agreement, with whom we are already partnering in all other European countries to broadcast Roland-Garros until 2021. This new agreement will enable us to offer our subscribers extensive coverage of the tournament, both on our channels (Eurosport and Eurosport 2) and on our various digital offerings, whether on the internet, mobile, tablet or connected TV. The Roland Garros tournament is one of the flagship events in the portfolio rights of the Eurosport Group, and we are very proud to be able to continue, through the various agreements we have now signed, to support the development of tournament in France and internationally in 54 countries.” (Source: press release)
