7 December 2015
Globecast has today announced that Philippe Bernard has been appointed as its new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Olivier Barberot. He brings a wealth of international experience and has a track record for sales and customer relations expertise.
Philippe Bernard will drive Globecast’s strategy to position the company as a fully global and integrated media solutions provider that addresses the changing needs of markets and customers, as a complement to its position as the largest international independent teleport operator and satellite services provider.
“I’m honoured and grateful for the opportunity to lead this exceptional company with dedicated, talented and creative professionals,” said Philippe Bernard. “Globecast is a leading company in the broadcast and media industry, with multi-cultural employees passionate about their work and driven by the desire of offering the best quality and bespoke media solutions to its customers. Broadcasters and media companies are having to respond to evolving consumer viewing habits, and Globecast is perfectly positioned to help them take advantage of new market opportunities. We will keep providing customers with greater access to our expertise.”
Globecast’s position in the market is underpinned by its global reach, supported by Media Centres in key locations around the world. This unique combination enables it to deliver an end-to-end solution offering for everything from media preparation to VoD logistic, playout and international distribution – in a truly unified manner across all its territories.
Philippe Bernard joins Globecast from the Orange Group, where has served as EVP of Quality, Customer Experience & Sales since July 2013. Prior to that he was CEO of Transpac, before joining Orange Group as VP of Orange Business Solutions, based in the UK, and went on to take over the European Sales and Customer Relations Division. He is a graduate of the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique.
2 July 2015
Globecast today announced that it has supplied distribution services for ten broadcasters covering the recent SEA (South East Asian) Games. Globecast was contracted by HBS, the Production Partner of MediaCorp, official media partner and host broadcaster to provide distribution.
The 28th occurrence of the Games saw this major sporting event return to Singapore after a 22-year gap. 36 sports and 402 events featured in the eleven-day spectacle including more unusual sports like wushu, sepak takraw and wakeboarding.
Globecast facilitated the distribution of ten channels to regional host broadcasters across Asia, creating two multiplexes onsite at the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC), one with six channels (in 36 MHz) and one with four (in 24 MHz). These were then uplinked via a 4.5m dish at the IBC dish farm using NS3 modulation.
HBS Project Director Daniel Wlochovski, said, “Since the start of the project, it has been a pleasure to work with an experienced team who are always responsive and solution-oriented. We initiated the discussions with Globecast with a very open scope, due to our lack of reference in the requirements for this type of event. But we managed, during the development of the project, to design with them an operation that meets the technical and operational constraints while offering sufficient flexibility to cater for latecomers. The satellite set-up put in place offers, for the first time at the SEA Games, full HD transmissions through a cost-effective approach.”
Liz McParland, Commercial Director Contribution at Globecast, says, “As well as the highly effective distribution technology, we also supplied an onsite technical team, a mix of engineers from the UK and from Asia as well as a coordinator. We are very pleased to have been chosen by HBS for this venture as events on this scale require a level of technical and logistical expertise that we have honed over many years. We are glad that has been recognised.”
18 June 2015
Globecast, the global solutions provider for media, today announced that it has been chosen as the content delivery service provider for Premier Sports HD, the new HD channel from Setanta Sports’ UK operation Premier Sports. The channel will launch on the Sky platform on 20 July.
Globecast has a longstanding relationship with the broadcaster and already provides uplink and satellite capacity for existing SD channels Premier Sports and Setanta Sports Ireland, also available via the Sky platform. The channel will be added to Globecast’s extensive HD portfolio, with the company providing the uplink and satellite capacity on Astra 2G for the new Premier Sports HD offering. The contract win follows from the renewal of the capacity contracts for the broadcaster’s Sky SD channels
Mickey O’Rourke, CEO Premier Sports said, “We’ve had a longstanding relationship stretching over 20 years with Globecast, and they already handle our two SD channels. Globecast was already familiar with our business and asking them to help us launch our HD channel was just a logical step in our relationship. HD is something that there’s a real demand for from sports fans; the expectation is that watching a game on TV is as close to being there as possible. That’s what we’re trying to deliver with the addition of Premier Sports HD.”
Juliet Bayliss, Sales Director, Content Distribution at Globecast, added, “We’ve been working with Premier Sports/Setanta for many years now, so we’re delighted that they have chosen us to help launch the new HD channel. There’s a real demand for HD channels and we’re seeing a growing uptake amongst our client base and we’ve provided uplinking and capacity for several HD channels in the recent months.” (Source: Globecast 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.
24 March 2015
Globecast today announced the launch of its new Los Angeles Media Centre, offering broadcasters and content providers a converged workflow to prepare, deliver and playout content to any kind of distribution platform. The new Media Centre compliments established Globecast facilities in London and Singapore, enabling Globecast to offer a truly one-stop-shop for Media Management, Playout, Satellite and OTT distribution globally.
The new facility, which has been upgraded to include Globecast’s Media Factory for content logistics and converged workflow, brings broadcast and OTT solutions together under one roof, and leverages Globecast’s proven expertise in handling both linear broadcast and on-demand services.
Globecast’s Media Factory steps beyond traditional media management, logistics and playout services. It replaces multiple, siloed operations, with a single, efficient process that handles everything from VoD preparation and content formatting through to creative services, quality control and compliance. The Media Factory approach allows Globecast to pass on economies of scale to customers who also benefit from the greater flexibility and the ability to scale up and down as required.
A flexible and scalable workflow enables broadcasters to easily adapt to growing audiences or new delivery platforms without having to make costly infrastructure investments of their own. Globecast has already signed up customers for its newest Media Factory, including equestrian lifestyle channel, Ride TV. Internationally, BBC Worldwide is also a customer.
The LA Media Centre features state-of-the art technology from leading providers to create a fully integrated and efficient broadcast facility with industry-leading redundancy and proactive and predictive fault monitoring.
Globecast’s Managing Director in the US, Eddie Ferraro, said, “In this constantly shifting media landscape, cost-efficiency and time to market are key to a successful business model. Broadcasters today have to cover off traditional linear playout as well as VoD and catch-up services across multiple platforms in order to reach their viewers. Our new Media Centre enables them to do exactly this from right here in the heart of LA. Bringing our Media Factory concept to the US will enable us to offer tried and tested approaches from the world of industry to media management and combine it with our unique heritage to deliver effective solutions.” (Source: Globecast press release)
