PanAmSat Corporation announced on 3 November that it had signed a transponder agreement with NFL Network to host the channel’s High-Definition transmissions of National Football League games and football-related programming.
Placed into service in January 2004, Galaxy 13 is home to the industry’s first, largest and most powerful high-definition (HD) neighborhood. It is the HDTV home to some of the biggest names in cable television including: HBO HD, Cinemax HD, Encore HD, Fox Sports Net HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, STARZ! HD, TNT HD and Wealth TV.
“PanAmSat is America’s number one provider of HD content for cable television,” said Mike Antonovich, executive vice president of global sales and marketing for PanAmSat. “We are pleased to help the NFL Network and our many other HD customers build the “must have” satellite locations for high-def cable programming. PanAmSat serves more HD programmers than any other provider, proving the value and reliability of America’s best satellite operator.”
Under the terms of the agreement, NFL Network will use the power of Galaxy 13 to support both its HD and standard definition programming.
“Galaxy 13 is the premier platform for High Definition. We’re confident that the addition of our NFL NETWORK HD programming will help to keep it that way for years to come,” said Peter Brickman, the NFL’s senior director for operations and technology. “PanAmSat’s legacy of excellent customer service, its reliable global fleet and quick response to any issues made this decision an easy one for us.”
The NFL has long been a global user of PanAmSat capacity for international distribution of programming and backhauling of NFL Europe games, as well as the backhaul feeds of games for their NFL SUNDAY TICKET service on DIRECTV.