Arqiva launches The Media Centre Paris

7 March 2012

Arqiva, the communications infrastructure and media services company, has opened its new
facility in France: The Media Centre Paris. This state-of-the-art new-build facility reinforces Arqiva

Al Jazeera expands audience over Africa with Eutelsat’s 7° West satellite

7 March 2012

Al Jazeera is further consolidating its longstanding relationship with Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) with a new contract for capacity on the EUTELSAT 7 West A satellite (ex. ATLANTIC BIRD 7) located at 7° West. The announcement was made today at Cabsat Dubai.

Al Jazeera has chosen the new service area on EUTELSAT 7 West A that enables the media corporation to extend coverage across North West Africa to Morocco and as far as Nigeria. Broadcasts have already begun, with nine channels operational, including the flagship Al Jazeera news channels in Arabic and English, as well as documentary, children’s and sports channels.

In service since October 2011, the EUTELSAT 7 West A satellite has strengthened Eutelsat’s commercial response to broadcasters operating across the Middle East and North Africa. The satellite’s widebeam delivers unmatched performance and coverage into over 30 million homes, while the new North-West Africa footprint opens the opportunity for channels to further consolidate their reach.

7° West, the fastest-growing video neighbourhood: TV channels up by 35% in 2011
The 7° West neighbourhood assembles the largest community of satellite TV channels in the Middle East and North Africa. Channels grew by 35% in 2011, reflecting the dynamic of free-to-air and pay-TV, which represent 80% and 20% of the 822 Arab and international channels broadcast by the five satellites operated at 7° West by Eutelsat and Nilesat.

S4M – Solutions for Media GmbH’ becomes ‘arvato systems S4M GmbH’

7 March 2012

Cologne-based ‘S4M – Solutions for Media GmbH’ becomes ‘arvato systems S4M GmbH’. Through a joint market presence, the long-term affiliation with the arvato Systems group will now be communicated proactively. This will further expand the market position of the IT experts.

arvato Systems, as a subsidiary of arvato AG and one of the top providers of professional IT services, has held an 80 percent stake in S4M shares since 2006. Together, both companies have successfully completed many projects around the world, and seek to achieve their shared vision of becoming one of the most successful IT companies with a clear focus on selected industries. The media industry has always played an important role, and as a broadcast and new media market specialist, S4M is a constant source of innovation in the field.

“Together with all arvato Systems entities our aim now is to be even better prepared to meet the challenges of the future. This includes both improving our market position and boosting our profile by promoting a uniform market presence,” says Dr. Manfred Heinen, Managing Director of S4M. “Under the corporate arvato Systems brand we are able to even better bundle our competencies and support our customers.”

arvato Systems’ background makes this possible: More than 2000 employees work at over 25 sites around the world. In 2010, the company achieved a revenue of 231 million euro. With its competence in the media industry S4M contributed to this success: The company has been present in the market for more than 15 years and offers a wide range of integrated software systems for broadcasters and media companies. This includes solutions for commercial airtime sales, media asset management, program planning, rights licensing, ratings evaluation, and production planning. Through many successful projects, S4M has built an excellent reputation, and an increasing number of national and international TV stations and production companies rely on the expertise of the software provider.

About arvato Systems

For over 30 years arvato Systems has been building a solid reputation as a systems integrator. The company not only implements standard software but also offers tailor-made, industry specific and individually developed solutions. As a subsidiary of arvato AG, the outsourcing service provider of Bertelsmann AG, the company has the unique capability to create entire value chains and combine IT with arvato AG’s services to an integrated service offer from one source. The strength of arvato Systems is in the intelligent combination of systems integration and planning, operation and support.

For the broadcast and new media industry the company offers integrated software solutions for broadcast management and media asset management. So far, the systems are being used in more than 30 countries worldwide.