SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community

CHANNEL BY TOPICS


QUICK LINKS




Comcast Media Center Signs New Multi-Year Agreement with SES AMERICOM
» More IPTV Feature Articles

IPTV Deployments Featured Article


February 07, 2008

Comcast Media Center Signs New Multi-Year Agreement with SES AMERICOM

By Anshu Shrivastava, TMCnet Contributing Editor


Comcast Media Center (CMC), a business unit of Comcast Cable, has expanded its relationship with SES AMERICOM (News - Alert) by signing a multi-year, multi-transponder contract.

 
Initially, the CMC will use fifteen of the twenty-one AMC-18 transponders to continue the delivery of HITS Quantum HD channels, expand the HD lineup and for offering the HITS Quantum Classic lineup, which currently includes over 150 linear SD channels and 38 digital audio services.
 
Eventually, the CMC plans to use 29 C-band transponders in SES AMERICOM's HD-PRIME satellite neighborhood to deliver the current HITS Quantum platform as well as additional services to HITS affiliates.
 
The move to C-band from Ku-band is expected to enhance service reliability and provide easier access to more programming and advanced service offerings such as HD and VOD.
 
SES AMERICOM states that with the signing of this deal, it has executed agreements with customers for all AMC-18 capacity, the newest satellite in the AMERICOM fleet.
SES AMERICOM’s HD-PRIME neighborhood is a five-satellite-strong platform for the delivery of HD programming to cable television headends nationwide.
 
According to company officials, the HITS Quantum SD lineup, which is available on AMC 4, currently includes digital feeds for 68 widely carried “basic and expanded basic” channels. Video-on-demand programming, including the CMC’s “VOD In a Box” service, is available on the AMC-1 satellite.
 
“This expansion of the CMC’s relationship with SES AMERICOM allows our HITS affiliates to deploy a highly competitive lineup of advanced video services while realizing a substantial savings in cost and bandwidth without sacrificing quality,” Gary Traver, COO at Comcast (News - Alert) Media Center, said in a press statement.
 
He also added that his company’s new satellite agreement joins several other developments that “represent the largest commitment by the CMC or its predecessors, to HITS in the service’s entire 15-year history.”
 
Bryan McGuirk, president of media and enterprise division at SES AMERICOM, commented that the Comcast Media Center has ambitious plans to dramatically increase their service offering including the number of HD channels, and their selection of “SES AMERICOM to play a key role in this effort is a tremendous win for us.”
 
 
Anshu Shrivastava is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Anshu’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
 
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers whitepapers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is The New New Thing: “Hybrid” Deployments for Speech, brought to you by Voxify.
 
 


» More IPTV Feature Articles


The Latest from TMC Newsroom

go to the TMC Newsroom...

IPTV Blogs

  • Cable Content Connection
    Stay up to date on the technology, content, and news that drives the cable industry.
    Dave Rodriguez, VP of Publications and Conferences, TMC

Latest IPTV Industry News







Technology Marketing Corporation

2 Trap Falls Road Suite 106, Shelton, CT 06484 USA
Ph: +1-203-852-6800, 800-243-6002

General comments: [email protected].
Comments about this site: [email protected].

STAY CURRENT YOUR WAY

© 2024 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy