1 July 2012
New IPTV platform for international and thematic content in the United States launches with 16 Romanian channels; more international channels will be available soon
GlobeCast’s new IPTV platform, MyGlobeTV, made its commercial debut with today’s launch of 16 premium Romanian-language channels to U.S. viewers. MyGlobeTV is a television bouquet that brings international and thematic audiovisual content directly to subscribers in the Americas.
This full end-to-end solution provides broadcasters with not only the technical solution for reaching homes in the Americas, but also the necessary marketing and demographics research and support, as well other services including customer support and billing.
In the coming weeks and months, GlobeCast will expand the service beyond the initial Romanian offering, adding communities of channels targeted to different audience segments. GlobeCast is in discussions with broadcasters from around the world that wish to be a part of this exciting new platform.
Today, www.myglobetv.com opens its doors to allow interested viewers to sign up for the service. Currently, the solution uses a set-top box connected to the viewer’s existing broadband connection. By the end of 2012, however, GlobeCast expects to launch the application version of this product, allowing viewers to access the service from any Internet-enabled device, such as a smartphone, tablets, or PC, with or without the use of equipment.
“We unveiled MyGlobeTV at the 2012 NAB Show in April, and we’re very happy now to launch the initial group of channels to the public,” said Emma Brackett, Vice President of Consumer Video Products and Services at GlobeCast. “Broadcasters from around the world now have an additional means of distribution in the world’s largest media market. With MyGlobeTV, they can develop new revenue streams and expand their viewer base by reaching markets not easily accessed via DTH satellite. We will continue to develop the service by adding more channels from around the world that include content from many different genres, such as science, music, history, drama, faith, and culture.”
18 June 2012
GlobeCast was chosen this month for one of the biggest moments in French television this year — the launch in France of new sport channels beIN Sport 1 and beIN Sport 2. GlobeCast built a comprehensive solution for the channels, including coordinating the various satellite capacities, providing fiber contribution links, and running an IPTV headend for the channels’ distribution.
BeIN Sport 1, which launched June 1, and beIN Sport 2, which will launch at the end of July, are being delivered by GlobeCast in SD and HD to reach satellite, cable and IPTV homes throughout France.
The agreement involves terrestrial contribution links to bring content to the channels’ Paris-area control center, as well as distribution links from the IPTV headend at GlobeCast’s facility in central Paris to all the major French ISPs.
GlobeCast also provides satellite distribution, handling the uplink of the channels and offering a simulcrypt encryption solution, which allows the client to directly monitor the quality of its feeds.
BeIN Sport 1 and beIN Sport 2 are being distributed through GlobeCast on the Astra satellite operated by SES at 19.2ºE and through Eutelsat on Eutelsat Hotbird 13 and Eutelsat 5 West A. The new channels will be carried by the largest pay TV operators in France.
www.globecast.com
5 June 2012
GlobeCast has signed a deal with Phoenix Chinese News & Entertainment Ltd (PCNE) to deliver Info News — one of the broadcaster’s premier news channels — to continental Europe via the EUTELSAT 9A (ex. EUROBIRD™ 9A) satellite. The channel will launch on the satellite on June 1.
Phoenix will bring Info News, already present in Asia and the United States, to the European market for the first time with this launch, giving the channel access to a potential five million homes in the footprint of the EUTELSAT 9A satellite.
The EUTELSAT 9A satellite located at 9° East provides satellite TV homes across continental Europe with a diverse range of channels including a growing offer for Asian communities. Its proximity to Eutelsat’s popular HOT BIRD satellites also enables Info News to tap into the significant direct-to-home audience at Eutelsat’s popular HOT BIRD video neighborhood. The channel will propose reception from both neighborhoods using the Eutelsat-developed ClipSat add-on to a satellite dish.
GlobeCast receives the Info News feed via a dedicated fiber link between PCNE’s facility in the U.K. and GlobeCast’s central London technical operations center. From there, GlobeCast provides uplink to EUTELSAT 9A.
Info News is the first channel to report news across the Greater China region, which includes Mainland China, Macau, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. This channel was established on January 1, 2001 as a 24-hour channel on news updates and financial highlights worldwide. It also features commentary and analysis on current issues and topics.
GlobeCast has a longstanding relationship with PCNE, delivering the company’s flagship channel to the Sky platform in the United Kingdom since 2005.
www.globecast.com
