17 March 2006
SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company, and Arena, owner of live-TV rights for the German first soccer league (Bundesliga), have announced today that they have signed a satellite capacity agreement. The long term contract secures Arena the capacity of a full digital transponder on an ASTRA satellite at the prime orbital position 19.2° East. With its seven satellites at this position, SES ASTRA can reach more than 16 million German households which receive their TV programmes directly via satellite. More than 6 million of them are using a digital reception mode. The parties are not disclosing the financial details of the agreement.
With Arena, we have gained an important and prominent new customer, said Ferdinand Kayser, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SES ASTRA. We are pleased that ASTRA households will be able to benefit from the Bundesliga package that Arena will offer. We are looking forward to a long-standing and successful relationship with our new customer.
This is an important step in establishing our satellite solution. ASTRAs reach means that Arena will be available via satellite across Germany. We are continuing to work with technology providers to assemble the remaining elements of a satellite platform, said Arena and Unity Media CEO Parm Sandhu.
13 March 2006
ASTRA Platform Services (APS), an SES ASTRA company, announced today that it will invite manufacturers of satellite TV receivers to participate in its project to further develop the digital broadcasting infrastructure in Germany. In order to allow manufacturers to decide whether they wish to develop suitable Set-Top-Boxes, APS will disclose and hand out information on basic technical specifications to all interested manufacturers in the course of March and inform manufacturers in a specially dedicated workshop later.
The specifications have been developed by APS in consultation with various Set-Top-Box manufacturers. They lay down basic requirements that are designed to ensure the security, stability and interoperability of the new receiver population and the possibility for broadcasters to offer attractive new services via the infrastructure. They do not restrict further individual technical developments and the inclusion of additional features by each manufacturer.
SES ASTRA had announced last week that it will enhance its digital services and offer a new infrastructure for Free-TV, Pay-TV and additional interactive services. The offer will consist of services like encryption of programme signals, smart card distribution and registration for access. It complements SES ASTRAs existing service offering that includes the grant of access to the Premiere satellite decoder population.
The new infrastructure will be open to all interested manufacturers and broadcasters including German Pay-TV channel Premiere.
13 March 2006
Harris Corporation’s Broadcast Communications Division has established a new office in Dubai Media City in the United Arab Emirates. Harris also has appointed two local industry experts – Jamal Khalili as systems specialist and Sohail Shafi as technical sales specialist – to support the new office and address the increasing needs of the broadcast market across the Middle East. The new office and appointments reflect the significance of the Middle East market to Harris’ overall business and help solidify the company’s broadcast presence in the region.
“Following our recent appointment of Said Bacho as the first general manager in the Middle East for our Leitch business unit, the opening of the Dubai office and the appointments of Jamal and Sohail further strengthen our operations in the region,” said Dave Dougall, vice president of sales, EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), Harris Broadcast Communications Division. “It is part of our long-term strategy to ensure our customers have local sales and support as we continue to grow our broadcast business in the Middle East, and Dubai Media City provides an ideal location from which to effectively serve this key market.”
With more than 14 years experience in the broadcast industry, Khalili comes to Harris from Pinnacle Systems, where he was responsible for pre-sales and post-sales support. Prior to this, Khalili worked for NewTV and NBN Television in Beirut, Lebanon. Shafi comes to Harris with more than 15 years of engineering experience, having worked with Salam Technical Services, the Leitch products reseller in Dubai; Omnix International; and the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. Harris has a number of high-profile customers in the region, including Arab Radio & Television (ART) in Jordan Media City in Amman, Jordan; Al-Rai in Kuwait; JCC in Qatar; and the Iraqi Media Network. By establishing the new office and expanding its broadcast sales force in the Middle East, Harris is demonstrating its commitment to provide current and future customers in the region with local sales support.
13 March 2006
Arqiva has renewed its official media partnership with the Midland MF1 Racing team for the second year running and will deliver SNG services throughout the year, including the 2006 British Grand Prix. The content management and delivery leader is to provide facilities for distribution of interviews with the teams drivers and exclusive footage to broadcasters.
Arqiva has a proven track record in providing flexible and cost-effective SNG services and we are keen to tap into this expertise during the 2006 British Grand Prix, says MF1 Racings Director of Business Affairs, Ian Phillips. Having Arqiva on board will vastly increase our media presence and we feel that our transmission requirements are in very capable hands.
SNG is the ideal solution for special sporting fixtures and Arqivas partnership with Midland F1 will provide broadcasters with improved access to the team, says John Dunlop, Arqivas head of marketing services for Satellite Media Solutions. This is an exciting piece of business for us and well enjoy doing it.
13 March 2006
GlobeCast WorldTV Americas premier international direct-to-home satellite television provider has launched Asianet PLUS and Asianet NEWS in the United States. The two new Kerala-based, Malayalam channels join already established AsiaNet as part of GlobeCast WorldTVs Malayalam bouquet which also includes Amrita TV. The new additions address the rapidly expanding Asian community in the U.S. and also bring GlobeCast WorldTVs international channel selection to a total of more than 160.
Asianet NEWS was launched in 1993 by Asianet Communications Ltd., the largest Malayalam satellite television broadcaster. Introduced as a two-hour news segment, the channel has since grown to a premiere 24-hour news service in response to viewer demand. Covering a broad spectrum of local news, the channel also airs an array of programs that offer in-depth reporting on issues such as politics and community affairs. Asianet NEWS is now one of the most popular 24-hour news channels in its native Kerala and around South Asia.
Asianet PLUS, introduced in 2005 as Asianets third offering, is a music and movie channel in step with the latest trends and entertainment interests of the worlds young Asian population. Boasting world-class production facilities in India, Asianet PLUS continually creates a vibrant slate of original programming aimed at Asian youth residing all over the globe.
GlobeCast WorldTV a subsidiary of content management and delivery company GlobeCast is the leading source for international programming on Direct-to-Home satellite in America. The service currently delivers more than 160 market leading television and radio channels in 33 languages representing, 41 countries from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, via KU-band satellite on Intelsat Americas 5.
13 March 2006
PanAmSat has made an equity investment and intends to grow its relationship with Mexicos Pegaso Banda Bancha, a Grupo PEGASO company. Launched in February 2005, Pegaso Banda Ancha provides direct and flexible Internet connectivity to both corporate–including Internet Service Providers (ISP)–and residential markets throughout Mexico. Making the announcement in Mexico City, PanAmSat CEO Joe Wright said, We are always exploring innovative ways to bring badly-needed connectivity to Mexico. This relationship with Pegaso Banda Ancha is the result of our nearly six-year-old joint venture with Grupo PEGASO and enables us to play a significant role in the broadband revolution going across the region. Hosted on PanAmSats PAS-1R satellite, Pegaso Banda Ancha offers residential customers and corporations high-speed Internet access and IP interconnectivity via satellite at a price that is directly competitive with similar terrestrial offerings.
Prior to PanAmSats equity investment in Pegaso Banda Ancha, we already enjoyed an excellent business relationship with the Company, utilizing PanAmSats PAS-1R as the means to provide Pegaso Band Anchas services in Mexico, said Javier Braun Burillo, CEO, Pegaso Banda Ancha. Were delighted to expand our relationship with PanAmSat through this investment in our company and in our future.
Grupo PEGASO and PanAmSat aligned in 2000 to form PanAmSat de México, Mexicos first service provider authorized to use non-Mexican satellites, which provides video, data and Internet services as well as broadband capacity to customers throughout Mexico. Through the expansion of the joint venture, PanAmSat also has had an instrumental role in Mexicos Enciclomedia program, a government-sponsored Internet connectivity service for elementary schools. This service will deliver Internet connectivity to over 13, 000 elementary schools in the country. PanAmSat was also the first FSS operator to supply space segment to the e-Mexico program, which brings Internet connectivity to 3200 locations within 2445 municipalities across Mexico. Through the e-Mexico service, citizens across the country can access Internet-based government, education, business and healthcare applications.
Added Wright, Mexico and the Latin American market are areas with which our company has a very long and rich history. Customers such as Televisa, TV Azteca, Caminos y Puentes Federales de Ingresos (CAPUFE) the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), Telecomunicaciones de México, Comsat and Multivisión have utilized PanAmSats fleet for television program delivery as well as VSAT data services in Mexico and throughout the world for many years. We hope that through our investment in Pegaso Banda Ancha that Mexico and the entire region will begin to enjoy even more advanced communications services.
PanAmSat’s PAS-1R Atlantic Ocean Region spacecraft is a Boeing 702, one of the world’s largest, most powerful commercial geostationary satellites. With 72 transponders, it offers an expanded and enhanced reach throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa. The Atlanta teleport is PanAmSats primary satellite transmissions gateway to Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. It provides crucial turnaround services between the Atlantic Ocean Region and the U.S.
