NHK Global Media Services Launches its HD Platform on the Intelsat Network

Pembroke, Bermuda, 10 September 2009

Intelsat, Ltd., the world's leading provider of fixed satellite services, announced that NHK Global Media Services, Inc. (G-Media), a subsidiary of NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation, signed a multi-transponder, multi-year renewal and expansion contract with Intelsat. NHK will use G-Media's backbone capacity on three Intelsat satellites, program turnaround services at three Intelsat teleports and Intelsat's video fiber network to transmit the first global High-Definition (HD) news channel, NHK World TV.

NHK World TV is an English-language channel broadcasting HD and Standard-Definition (SD) news and Asian lifestyle programming. The content will be gathered from NHK's 30 HD-equipped news bureaus located around the world and Japan International Broadcasting Inc., a company 60 percent owned by NHK, will distribute the programming to millions of viewers in more than 80 countries.

G-Media will deliver the 24-hour free-to-air HD news and lifestyle channel from NHK’s new HD studio in Tokyo to cable headends and Direct-to-Home (DTH) service providers throughout the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia, utilizing Intelsat’s industry-leading infrastructure, including its video neighborhoods that provide access to thousands of cable and DTH communities throughout the world.

The same infrastructure will be used by G-Media to transmit NHK’s international Japanese language premium channel, NHK World Premium. For Asia-Pacific and the Americas, the programming will be distributed via the Intelsat 8 and the Intelsat 9 satellites located at 166º E and 302º E, respectively. For Europe, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the programming will be distributed via the Intelsat 10 satellite located at 68.5º E. Turnaround services will occur at Intelsat’s Napa, California, Fuchsstadt, Germany and Ellenwood, Georgia teleports.

“Through Intelsat, we have been able to reliably reach a global audience with NHK’s hallmark programming for more than 20 years,” said Masatoshi Hara, Executive Vice President, NHK Global Media Services. “Intelsat’s heritage in successfully delivering HD video, its resilient satellite and teleport infrastructure, along with its regional video neighborhoods makes Intelsat our preferred distribution platform for NHK’s new HD channel.”

“Global programming distribution, especially for regional content, is one of the most important business drivers for broadcasters today,” said David Ball, Intelsat’s Regional Vice President, Asia-Pacific. “By leveraging the flexibility and geographic diversity of our satellite fleet and ground infrastructure, NHK is able to seamlessly deliver its programming to the top DTH and cable communities located in regions where ethnic content is most in demand."

This year, Intelsat is celebrating its “20 Years of HD”. On 12 April 1989, Intelsat delivered the first international digital HD transmission between the United States and Japan. Today, Intelsat delivers nearly 160 HD channels worldwide for leading programmers in news, entertainment and sports.

Intelsat will be exhibiting in Hall 1, Stand C71 at IBC 2009, the international tradeshow for professionals involved in the creation, management and delivery of content for the broadcasting industry, which is being held at the RAI Centre in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 11-15 September.

About NHK Global Media Services, Inc.

NHK Global Media Services, Inc. is a subsidiary of Japan’s sole public broadcaster, NHK, offers a variety of media-related services ranging from the production of news/sports programs and datacasts, simultaneous interpretation, to mobile phone content services. In the international arena, NHK Global Media Services, Inc. has 20 years of experience in content distribution via satellite providing the latest world news and Japanese culture to viewers worldwide. NHK Global Media Services, Inc., formerly known as NHK Joho Network, Inc. (established in 1983), was newly incorporated on April 1, 2009.

About Intelsat

Intelsat is the leading provider of fixed satellite services worldwide. For more than 40 years, Intelsat has been delivering information and entertainment for many of the world’s leading media and network companies, multinational corporations, Internet service providers and governmental agencies. Intelsat’s satellite, teleport and fiber infrastructure is unmatched in the industry, setting the standard for transmissions of video, data and voice services. From the globalization of content and the proliferation of HD, to the expansion of cellular networks and broadband access, with Intelsat, advanced communications anywhere in the world are closer, by far.

Contact

Nick Mitsis
nick.mitsis@intelsat.com
+1 202 944 7044

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