Comcast Media Center
As part of its commitment to provide the next generation of video services for cable operators, the Comcast Media Center (CMC), a business unit of Comcast Cable, has expanded its relationship with SES AMERICOM by signing a multi-year, multi-transponder contract. Eventually, the CMC will use 29 C-band transponders in SES AMERICOM's HD-PRIME® satellite neighborhood to deliver the current HITS Quantum platform plus additional services to HITS affiliates. The move to C-band from Ku-band will enhance service reliability and provide easier access to more programming and advanced service offerings such as HD and VOD.
With the signing of this deal, SES AMERICOM has executed agreements with customers for all AMC-18 capacity, the newest satellite in the AMERICOM fleet. SES AMERICOM’s HD-PRIME® neighborhood is the industry’s only five-satellite-strong platform for the ubiquitous delivery of HD programming to cable television headends nationwide. Beginning this spring, the majority of video services offered by HITS Quantum including standard and high definition linear and non-linear programming will be available on three satellites in SES AMERICOM’s HD-PRIME® neighborhood: AMC-1, AMC-4 and AMC-18.
For more information, please contact John Matlaga at (1) 609-987-4200.
PBS
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) signed a multi-year, multi-transponder agreement for its Next Generation Interconnection System (NGIS), which is set to deliver significant content distribution efficiencies and cost savings to public television over the next decade.
The current public television satellite interconnection system uses SES AMERICOM satellites to enable program distribution by PBS, other public TV distributors and other entities for broadcast by public television stations. Successfully merging IT technology into the broadcast environment, the PBS-designed NGIS system replaces traditional feed recording with faster than real time file transfers. Overall, the innovative system:
- supports the digital transition in public television by transitioning away from legacy technology to a digital platform;
- improves efficiency in distribution by increasing transponder utilization and reducing re-feeds while leveraging the existing investment in member station ground equipment;
- enables PBS and all public television stations to benefit from significant operational cost savings; and
- features a flexibility of design that allows the nation-wide system to adapt to future changes in technology and business strategy.
For more information on how we can help your broadcast network succeed, please contact Laurence Pels at (1) 609-987-4200.
Crawford Communications
Answering the growing demand for niche programming, SES AMERICOM and Crawford Communications provide a one-stop-shop origination and distribution solution leverages Crawford’s leading post production and broadcast facilities and SES AMERICOM’s state-of-the-art AMC-10 satellite to provide even the smallest of networks with the most advanced á la carte or turnkey capabilities.
The comprehensive solution includes master control, play-out, ad and live feed insertion, domestic and international teleport services, C- and Ku-band transportable earth stations, studio and remote video production and editing, design, and animation.
“By leveraging the reach and reliability of SES AMERICOM’s AMC-10 satellite and HD-PRIME® neighborhood, Crawford Communications is providing new digital networks with the same origination and distribution services we deliver to some of the biggest programming brands in the world,” said Jim Schuster, senior vice president, Crawford Communications. “With a creative concept targeting a niche audience, new channels can cost-effectively put quality programming on TV screens across the country with our state-of-the-art broadcast facility and the people making it happen behind the scenes.”
For more information, please contact Laurence Pels at (1) 609-987-4200.
Home2US
Founded by a team experienced at successfully offering pay TV services to DTH subscribers in Europe, is set to provide a cost-effective solution to foreign broadcasters who want to reach a burgeoning subscriber base in America. Home2US, with the support of SES AMERICOM, in 2004 began offering a comprehensive suite of turn-key and a la carte services to broadcasters, including space segment, conditional access, comprehensive subscriber management and fulfillment, hardware provisioning and state-of-the-art customer support. Using AMERICOM's DigitalK platform on AMC-4, they've been able to expand their business throughout the Western Hemisphere.
“The alliance between Home2US and SES AMERICOM is dedicated to bridging the information and entertainment gap experienced by millions of ethnic television viewers, who live far away from their favorite and familiar programming and content,” said Emrah Ozkan, CEO of Home2US. “By combining the fastest growing DTH platform in the U.S. with the reliable reach of SES AMERICOM satellites, expanding audiences can now receive an increasing number of channels straight from their homelands.”
For more information, please contact Sean Tietjen at (1) 609-987-4200.