18 October 2015
Arab Satellite Communications Organization – Arabsat holds its 8th annual forum for satellite TV broadcasting on 20th – 21st October 2015 at the Savoy Grand Hotel, Marrakech, Morocco, under the auspices of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, King of the Kingdom of Morocco. Arabsat President and CEO Eng. / Khalid bin Ahmed Balkheyour expressed his thanks and respect for His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his generous patronage of the forum.
Balkheyour added that there will be many events and seminars attended by international experts in the field of TV satellite broadcasting , as well as sessions for direct dialogue with the participants.
Arabsat will launch its satellite Badr – 7 at the beginning of November. Badr – 7 is one of the newest satellites in the region, providing new coverage for Arabsat across the Middle East and the whole of Africa, with market specific spot beams across West and South Africa.
27 August 2015
RTI is now offered across the Middle East, North Africa & Europe via ARABSAT BADR-4. The agreement between RTI and Arabsat gives African and Middle Eastern audiences the opportunity to watch RTI via the minimum dish size.
Nabil Shanit, Vice President & CCO of ARABSAT said “Africa is a large continent and Cote D’ivoire is one of the most fast growing states in Africa. We are thrilled to bring RTI to our viewers to enjoy a very original and native attractive African content. ARABSAT viewers across the Middle East & North Africa will receive RTI combined with an extensive offering & wide varieties of the prime Free-To-Air international and regional news channel on ARABSAT hotspot at 26⁰ E .”
RTI can be viewed on:
ARABSAT BADR-4 at 26⁰ E
Frequency: 12,072 MHz (Horizontal)
QPSK, Symbol Rate: 27.5MSymb/s, FEC: ¾
(Source: Arabsat press release)
7 May 2015
Arab Satellite Communications Organization “Arabsat” is partnering with Arab States Broadcasting Union “ASBU” in organizing and sponsoring the 16th edition of the Arab Festival for Radio and Television from 11- 16 May in Hammamet, Tunisia. The event is attended by more than 600 media figures from all over the Arab world.
Eng/Khalid bin Ahmed Balkheyour, President & CEO of Arabsat, said: “Arabsat has enjoyed a strong and historical relationship with ASBU for more than 30 years. We are commercially involved with them in many projects, such as the global Arabic bouquet which is considered one of the most successful joint Arab projects in the field of radio and television, for its technical, economical and practical benefits. “MENOS” is widely known as the fastest and the largest network for exchanging multimedia content over satellites. It is intended primarily for the professional TV broadcasters, allowing them to share video and audio material throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. We are also working closely together with ASBU in many relevant committees to coordinate between satellite TV channels, and to combat deliberate jamming and piracy of satellite broadcasting, and the infringement on ownership rights in relation to production.
Balkheyour added that “The Arab Festival for Radio and Television is a remarkable media gathering in the Arab world where we can meet our customers and get acquainted with their needs, aspirations and their future expectations, which is vital for us in order to provide the best satellite services to them.” (Source: Arabsat press release)
28 April 2015
Globecast, global content contribution, management and distribution provider, and Arabsat have today announced the launch of Arabsat TV Everywhere, a new multi-platform OTT TV service with live streams of the best Arabic channels.
Powered by Globecast’s OTT Live solution, Arabsat TV Everywhere is an expansion of the already popular Global Arabic Bouquet (GAB), a grouping of premium Arabic channels from the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU). The new service, which is available to watch for free from almost anywhere in the world on PC as well as iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, will enable more people to enjoy the great content the GAB has to offer at home and on the move.
Globecast, which has been ARABSAT and ASBU’s partner for the worldwide distribution of the GAB since 2004, designed and developed the complete TV everywhere service. The end-to-end solution, which includes content preparation; content management; application design and development; delivery and a player, will enable Arabsat to deliver a seamless experience across all devices.
Giorgio Giacomini, Managing Director Globecast Middle East said, “This is a very exciting development in our relationship with Arabsat and the ASBU. Arabsat’s decision to make many channels of the GAB available on smartphones and tablets reflects the growing desire of audiences around the world to consume content when and where they want. Because of this we have carefully designed our solutions to provide both technical and business acumen allowing our customers to easily expand with innovative new OTT services while concentrating on what they do best: create and develop world class content.”
Khalid Balkheyour, ARABSAT President and CEO, added, “The world of OTT service delivery is one that’s growing rapidly. You only have to look at the growth in the sale of connected devices to see why. Globecast has always provided us with excellent distribution services and we are very pleased to announce the extension of our partnership.”
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. It reflects Arabsat’s commitment to help Arabic viewers stay connected with their roots and culture from anywhere in the world.
27 April 2015
CNNI is now offered across the Middle East & North Africa via the superior coverage of ARABSAT BADR-6 in an agreement between parent company Turner Broadcasting and Arabsat. The agreement gives Middle Eastern audiences the opportunity to watch CNN International’s award-winning mix of breaking news and news, business, sports and feature programming via the minimum dish size.
CNN International has dedicated editorial and broadcast hubs in London, Atlanta, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, and provides round-the-clock coverage of the most important international stories for its diverse global audience.
“After being present in the region for many years we’re delighted to expand our reach in the Middle East still further through this new partnership with Arabsat,” said Rani R. Raad, Chief Commercial Officer CNN International. “As the region’s leading international news provider this is just our latest commitment to ensuring CNN is widely available in the region and we’re very pleased to welcome Arabsat viewers to the channel.”
Khalid Balkheyour, President & CEO of ARABSAT said “It was always our ambition in ARABSAT to bring CNNI on board. CNN has a long & professional history of covering the Middle East news & critical events. We are pleased to deliver CNNI to ARABSAT viewers across the Middle East & North Africa combined with an extensive offering & wide varieties of the prime Free-To-Air international and regional news channel on ARABSAT hotspot at 26⁰ E .”
CNN can be viewed on:
ARABSAT BADR-6 at 26⁰ E
Frequency: 11,785 MHz (Vertical)
QPSK, Symbol Rate: 27.5MSymb/s, FEC: ¾
CNN International’s arrival on Arabsat comes as the latest signal of CNN’s long-standing and evolving commitment to the Middle East region. The CNN Abu Dhabi bureau is home to flagship weekday show Connect the World with Becky Anderson and a number of locally produced feature shows dedicated to the region, and the CNN Arabic website based in Dubai was relaunched last year for its users with a refreshed responsive format. The network operates a number of newsgathering bureaux in the region. CNN has a portfolio of important commercial partnerships across the region and recently chose the Middle East for its first CNN Traveller café, based at Abu Dhabi Airport. (Arabsat Press Release)
