Eutelsat Corporate – Jan 16, 2017 09:30 GMT

Paris, 16 January 2017 – Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) announces that its EUTELSAT 117 West B satellite has entered into full commercial service and is now ready to support customers across Latin America.

Commercialised by the Eutelsat Americas affiliate, EUTELSAT 117 West B is the second all-electric satellite in Eutelsat’s fleet. It is equipped with 48 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent) connected to four beams providing premium coverage of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, the Andean region and the Southern Cone. Eutelsat’s new satellite complements EUTELSAT 117 West A, launched in 2013, to create a multi-satellite neighbourhood at 117° West, which is already used by Millicom’s Tigo Star, Stargroup and Televisa. It will also provide key services to telecom operators and government service providers in Latin America.

EUTELSAT 117 West B also features a new-generation WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) payload operated by Raytheon as prime contractor for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which will go live in 2018. Developed for the civil aviation community, the WAAS payload is designed to receive signals from ground stations that verify signal accuracy and rebroadcast the information to GPS users, including airline cockpits, the most demanding of civil GPS applications. It will increase GPS signal accuracy from 10 metres to 1-2 metres, thereby enhancing aviation safety for users in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the continental United States including Alaska.

The WAAS payload is the first to be hosted on an all-electric satellite. It is also the third hosted payload on a Eutelsat satellite, following the EDRS-A data relay node on EUTELSAT 9B for ESA and Airbus Defence and Space and the S-band payload on EUTELSAT 10A for Echostar.

About Eutelsat Communications

Established in 1977, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world’s leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 39 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies.

Eutelsat’s satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user’s location.

Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a workforce of 1,000 men and women from 37 countries who are experts in their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of service.

For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com

Press
Vanessa O’Connor Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 voconnor@eutelsat.com
Marie-Sophie Ecuer Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 mecuer@eutelsat.com

Investors and analysts
Joanna Darlington Tel. : +33 1 53 98 35 30 jdarlington@eutelsat.com
Cédric Pugni Tel. : +33 1 53 98 35 30 cpugni@eutelsat.com

Latest Disney, Disney.Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm movies to be available via SVOD on Hotstar in India

Mumbai, 16 January 2017: This year Disney India has witnessed spectacular success with its Hollywood movies setting benchmarks that reflect the increasing popularity of English movies in the country. Similarly, Hotstar has emerged as a market leader signaling the rise of digital and mobile entertainment platforms. Hotstar has now announced a new studio partnership with Disney India to dramatically augment its Premium service. It has inked a multi-year SVOD deal with Disney India to showcase the studio’s biggest hits exclusively on Hotstar Premium in India which includes movies like Lucasfilm  Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney’s The Jungle Book and Moana, Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange, Disney.Pixar’s Finding Dory amongst others.  

In addition, Hotstar premium subscribers will also have access to popular movies and classics from Disney’s library including Disney.Pixar’s Ratatouille, Brave, Toy Story 3; Disney’s The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest as well as popular American TV series from ABC Studios such as Castle and Desperate Housewives. Hotstar subscribers will be able to access this content conveniently through Disney, Marvel and ABC Studios branded sections on the homepage of Hotstar.

Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar said, “Over the last 6 months, we have established Premium as an exciting new service for an Indian audience that is interested in international stories. The deal with Disney is in line with our strategy of bringing the best of new shows and movies from around the world to our Premium subscribers. This partnership signals our continuing strategy: we will invest deeply and widely with the best story tellers in the world to ensure that Premium continues as the standout streaming service in the country.”

“Our movies have met with much success in theatres this year. This deal is important for us as it enables us to offer our movies across Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar brands and our ABC Studios’ TV shows to our audience wherever they are. Hotstar Premium is an ideal home for our content and it gives subscribers across the country, the chance to revisit their loved stories” said Amrita Pandey, Vice President, Studios, Disney India.

Setting its sights on shaping the connected TV experience in India, Hotstar recently appropriated the top spot on iTunes as Apple TV’s App of the Year for India 2016. The recognition came on the back of a breakthrough year in which Hotstar continued to lead and disrupt the Indian market place. The service now has more than 140 million downloads to date. According to third party tracking provider App Annie, that tracks app usage of video streaming platforms, more than 50 million users used the service in India in the month of December. 

About Hotstar: Hotstar is India’s largest premium streaming platform with close to 100,000 hours of drama and movies in 8 languages, and coverage of every major global sporting event. Launched in early 2015, it has been downloaded by more than 140 million users and has attracted followers on the back of a highly evolved video streaming technology and high attention to quality of experience across devices and platforms. The Hotstar Premium service showcases the best stories from around the world and is available at a monthly subscription fee of Rs. 199.

About Disney Media Distribution (DMD):

Disney Media Distribution distributes more than 30,000 hours of programming in multiple languages to over 1,300 platform partners in 240 territories worldwide. In India, DMD works closely with Indian broadcasters to provide international content which appeals to local audiences.

16 January 2017 – Telstra will introduce assured availability on Asia’s busiest subsea cable routes – Hong Kong to Singapore and Japan to Hong Kong.

The new ‘Always On’ service guarantee was announced at the PTC conference in Hawaii today. It utilises the unmatched scale and diversity of Telstra’s cable network in the Asia Pacific region to guarantee connectivity even in the event of a cable cut or damage due to a natural disaster.

“Connectivity is vital to the modern economy, with many consumers and businesses now relying on being able to connect anywhere at any time. Meeting customers’ expectations can be difficult when it comes to international connectivity, with cables at risk of service disruptions due to cable cuts caused by boats, earthquakes and typhoons,” said Ellie Sweeney, Telstra’s Executive Director of Global Sales.

“We have developed a highly resilient service on key routes that will mean customers are guaranteed connectivity for their subscribed bandwidth with one primary path and two protection paths over different cable systems along the same route,” said Ms Sweeney.

“With our large and diverse high capacity subsea cable network in the region, Telstra is the only provider capable of offering this level of resiliency and assurance across the busy Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan triangle for customers with large capacity requirements.”

Telstra’s subsea cable network is the largest and most diverse in the Asia Pacific, accounting for up to 30 per cent of active intra-regional capacity. This diversity puts Telstra in a unique position to reroute traffic impacted by a cable cut onto another path to minimise downtime.

“Subsea cable damage can take weeks – or even months in extreme cases – to fix. With Telstra’s ‘Always On’ service guarantee, customers will be rerouted to a protection path within a matter of hours initially and with automation we expect to bring this down to a few minutes in the future,” said Ms Sweeney.

“The strength and capacity of our network means customers can be assured that all of their subscribed bandwidth – whether it is 10GB or 1TB – can be supported on the same route in the event of a single or multiple outages on the primary path.

“Customers can also benefit from cost savings associated with managing multiple vendors and paying for spare capacity that may not be used.”

Demand for data and better connectivity is growing, particularly in Asia, which is now home to almost half the world’s internet consumers and data consumption increased by 70 per cent last year alone. Central to this is a vast network of subsea cables which carry more than 99 per cent of international data traffic and keep us connected to the internet.

“As customer networks grow, they increasingly rely on more paths between the same end points to spread their risk and guarantee availability. This new ‘Always On’ service guarantee can save our customers time and money, while also helping improve the experience they provide their end users,” said Ms Sweeney.

Telstra’s ‘Always On’ service guarantee will be available in the coming months.

END

Read more about the challenges involved in protecting our subsea cable network: http://tel.st/subseanetwork.

Media contact: Gladys Kwok/ +852 2837 4730

Email: gladys.kwok@edelman.com

About Telstra

Telstra is a leading telecommunications and information services company. We offer a full range of services and compete in all telecommunications markets in Australia, operating the largest mobile and Wi-Fi networks. Globally, we provide end-to-end solutions including managed network services, global connectivity, cloud, voice, colocation, conferencing and satellite solutions. We have licenses in Asia, Europe and the United States and offer access to more than 2,000 points of presence across the globe. For more information visit www.telstra.com.

In December 2016, BBC Earth ranked number one among the factual channels in Singapore, topping the charts for the fourth time in a year*.

Data from StarHub SmarTAM indicated the channel to be the leading factual channel for live TV audiences aged four and above in December 2016*, surpassing six other channels in the same category. BBC Earth also topped the charts in January, February and August 2016.

The channel was led to the top by high performing programmes including BBC Earth’s landmark natural history ratings buster, Planet Earth II, with its Deserts episode securing high viewership in Singapore. Shot in UHD, the epic series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough was over three years in the making and uses the latest camera stabilisation, remote recording and aerial drone technology to take audiences closer to nature and allows them to experience the wilderness as if they were there. Also contributing to the channel’s December success was Boy To Man, a series about one man’s  journey round the globe to discover and experience the world’s most extreme and dangerous coming of age rituals; as well as Robson Green’s Extreme Fishing Countdown Special, Where The Wild Men Are With Ben Fogle and Truth About Meat. A consistent favourite of the channel in 2016 is Extreme Fishing with Robson Green – an epic that follows host Robson Green as he travels to some of the remotest fishing spots on the planet for the best catch.

“BBC Earth’s number one ranking in Singapore in December is strong indication that audiences here recognise and appreciate the quality of our shows,” said David Weiland, EVP Asia for BBC Worldwide. “We have a long-standing commitment to produce and deliver stimulating, intelligent content that informs, educates and entertains our audiences the world over.  This ranking inspires us to continue to deliver shows that will inspire and amaze viewers.”

BBC Earth channel can be found on StarHub Channel 407 in Singapore.  Select BBC Earth programmes are available for download and catch-up on BBC Player in Singapore. Elsewhere in Asia, BBC Earth is in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia and Myanmar.

* Data Source: Singapore StarHub SmarTAM. Individuals age 4+ live viewing, ranked by average audience share. Factual channels benchmarked: National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, History, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Discovery Science

-Ends-

For more information, please contact:

Jeanne Leong

BBC Worldwide

Tel: +65 6849 5292

Email: Jeanne.Leong@bbc.com
Jessie Lim

BBC Worldwide

Tel: +65 6849 5295

Email: Jessie.Lim@bbc.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

About BBC Worldwide

BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Its vision is to build the BBC’s brands, audiences, commercial returns and reputation across the world. This is achieved through investing in, commercialising and showcasing content from the BBC around the world, in a way that is consistent with BBC standards and values. The business also champions British creativity globally.

In 2015/16 BBC Worldwide generated headline profits of £133.8m and headline sales of £1,029.4m and returned £222.2m to the BBC.

For more detailed performance information please see our Annual Review webpage: bbcworldwide.com/annual-review/.

bbcworldwide.com

twitter.com/bbcwpress

New Mobile Game Tells the Origin Story of Kids’ Favorite 10-Year-Old Hero

Following the successful global re-launch of the beloved franchise Ben 10, Cartoon Network now introduces Ben to a new generation of fans with the new mobile game, Ben 10: Up to Speed. The runner launches worldwide on January 12 on iOS, Google Play and Amazon for US$2.99.

Up to Speed follows Ben Tennyson as he goes on the best summer vacation ever with his Grandpa Max and cousin Gwen. He discovers an alien artifact called the Omnitrix that allows him to transform into powerful alien heroes. Playing as Ben and his various alien alter-egos, gamers will save the world by stopping evildoers, from giant robots to menacing magic users.

The game will launch with a selection of five alien forms and 60 levels, with new aliens and levels added regularly to coincide with Ben’s adventures in the series.

Additional game features include:

• Alien transformations for multiple character options
• 3D runner-style controls optimized for mobile devices
• Omnitrix and alien upgrades
• Multiple level paths for great replay value

The show is based on the global phenomenon Ben 10 which first premiered on Cartoon Network in 2006 and spawned three additional original series and a US$4.5 billion global consumer products business. The new Ben 10 series has already premiered to an overwhelmingly positive reception in more than 149 countries and in 30 languages in Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, and will continue its rollout later this year in the United States and Latin America.

Fans can catch content from the new series on the Cartoon Network Watch and Play and Cartoon Network Anything apps, as well as Cartoon Network’s websites and YouTube channels.

Watch a sample of the gameplay here: https://vimeo.com/198954914

-Ends-

About Cartoon Network Asia Pacific

Turner’s Cartoon Network, the number one kids’ channel in Asia Pacific, offers the best in original animated content including the multi-award-winning global hits Ben 10, The Powerpuff Girls, Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball, Adventure Time and We Bare Bears.

Cartoon Network is available in 29 countries throughout Asia Pacific and is currently seen in more than 135 million pay-TV homes. Internationally, it is seen in 192 countries and over 370 million homes, and is an industry leader with a global offering of the best in award-winning animated entertainment for kids and families.

The brand is known for putting its fans at the center of everything by applying creative thinking and innovation across multiple platforms. Cartoon Network also reaches millions more through its websites, games and apps, including Cartoon Network Watch and Play and Cartoon Network Anything. Cartoon Network, sister company to Boomerang, POGO and Toonami, is a brand created and distributed by Turner, a Time Warner Company.

About Turner Asia Pacific

Turner Asia Pacific creates and distributes award-winning brands throughout the region, running 61 channels in 14 languages in 42 countries. These include CNN International, CNNj, CNN, HLN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, POGO, Toonami, Warner TV, Oh!K, TCM Turner Classic Movies, truTV, MondoTV, TABI Channel, and HBO, HBO HD and WB in South Asia. Turner manages the business of Pay- and Free-TV-channels, as well as Internet-based services, and oversees commercial partnerships with various third-party media ventures; it teams with Warner Bros. and HBO to leverage Time Warner’s global reach. Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc. (“Turner Asia Pacific”) is a Time Warner company.

Publicity Contact

For further information, contact:
James Moore

Director of Communications, Turner Asia Pacific

+852 3128-3720 / James.Moore@turner.com

HONG KONG (January 18, 2017) – Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), the operator of the largest bouquet of pan-Asian channels dedicated to Asian entertainment, announced today that its original production The Ultimate BROcation, won its premiere timeslot among pay-TV audiences in the Philippines and Malaysia. Produced for CTE’s action entertainment channel KIX, The Ultimate BROcation is a reality series following the adventures of four male celebrities from Southeast Asia as they revel on a vacation of every guy’s fantasy in Hong Kong.  The four “Bros” are Billy Crawford from the Philippines, P.K. from Thailand, SonaOne from Malaysia, and Bjorn Shen from Singapore.

In the Philippines, the premiere episode of The Ultimate BROcation, on 14 December, won its timeslot with its target audience of males 20 to 39 among regional English general entertainment (GE) channels (1). The show was also the highest-rated premiere of any KIX reality series in 2016 (2). In addition, the premiere episode grew its Wednesday night at 9pm timeslot by 269% compared to the timeslot’s average viewership in 2016 (3).

In Malaysia, the premiere episode of The Ultimate BROcation also edged out the competition and won its timeslot with Astro male audiences 20 to 39 across English general entertainment (GE) channels (4).  The show’s premiere also grew its Wednesday night at 9pm timeslot by 88% compared to the timeslot’s average viewership with males 20 to 39 in 2016 (5).

The Ultimate BROcation is produced by KIX and Endemol Shine Group, is supported by Hong Kong Tourism Board and co-sponsored by DJI, Cathay Pacific and the Harbour Grand Hong Kong.

– END –

Sources: Kantar Media (Malaysia DTAM, Live data & Philippines National)

[1] 14 Dec 2016, Wed 21:00-22:00; C&S Males/ C&S Males 20-39; ranked by average audience, across regional English GE channels (incl. AXN, Diva Universal, E!, Fox, Fox Crime, HITS, KIX, Lifetime, RTL-CBS, Sony Ch., Star World, SYFY, Tru TV, Universal Ch., Warner TV)

[2] 1 Jan – 31 Dec 2016; C&S 2+

[3] 14 Dec 2016 vs. 1 Jan – 13 Dec 2016; Wed 21:00-22:00; C&S 2+

[4] 14 Dec 2016, Wed 21:05-22:05; Astro Males 20-39; ranked by average audience, across English GE channels (incl. AXN, AXN HD, Diva, Diva HD, E!, Fox HD, FX HD, Hits HD, ITV Choice, KIX HD, Lifetime HD, MTV, Star World, Star World HD)

[5] 14 Dec 2016 vs. 1 Jan – 13 Dec 2016; Wed 21:05-22:05; Astro Males 20-39

Media Contact:

Pauline Poon

Celestial Tiger Entertainment

T: 852 2239 6131

E: pauline.poon@celestialtiger.com

About Celestial Tiger Entertainment

CELESTIAL TIGER ENTERTAINMENT (CTE) is a leading independent media company dedicated to entertaining audiences in Asia and beyond. The company creates and distributes branded pay television channels and services targeted at Asian consumers.
CTE operates a powerful bouquet of distinct pay television services including: CELESTIAL MOVIES, the premier 24-hour first-run Chinese movie channel in Asia and beyond; CELESTIAL CLASSIC MOVIES, the world’s most-widely distributed Chinese movie channel with an unparalleled array of Chinese movie masterpieces; CELESTIAL MOVIES PINOY, the Chinese movie channel that is programmed, dubbed and promoted specifically to Filipino viewers; cHK, the Chinese entertainment channel offering the latest Hong Kong and other Asian blockbuster movies, alongside highly-anticipated Chinese dramas and series; KIX, the ultimate destination for action entertainment; KIX 360, the dedicated Over-The-Top (OTT) linear feed for KIX; MIAO MI, the Mandarin “Edutainment” channel created for preschool kids across Asia; THRILL, Asia’s only regional horror, thriller and suspense movie channel; and THRILL 360, the dedicated Over-The-Top (OTT) linear feed for THRILL.  All of CTE’s channel brands are available as linear, on-demand and over-the-top services.  CTE also produces original production for its bouquet of channels.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, CTE’s majority shareholders are Saban Capital Group, a leading private investment firm specializing in the media, entertainment and communications industries; Celestial Pictures, a diversified Asian entertainment company owned by Astro Overseas Limited; and Lionsgate, the world’s largest independent filmed entertainment studio.

For more information, please visit www.celestialtiger.com.

Sydney, Australia, 11 January 2017 – Ben Cox has been named Vice President and General Manager for Nickelodeon Networks Australia and New Zealand, it was announced today by Ben Richardson, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Australia and New Zealand.

As Vice President and General Manager, Cox will be responsible for the day-to-day management of Nickelodeon’s brands in Australia and New Zealand, overseeing a diverse business consisting of 24-hour subscription television networks available in over 4 million households, digital platforms, live events, recreation destinations, consumer products, local production and programme sales.

Mr. Cox will report to Mr. Richardson and will be based at Nickelodeon’s East Sydney headquarters effective mid-February.

Mr. Cox joins Nickelodeon Networks after serving as the General Manager of Content Aggregation at Foxtel and assumes the position of Vice President and General Manager from Jihee Nam, who is leaving the company at the end of January. Mr. Cox is also an alternate director on the board of Nickelodeon Australia Management Pty Ltd, the joint venture between Viacom International Media Networks and Foxtel that operates all Nickelodeon-branded businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

“Ben has always championed the value kids’ brands bring to Foxtel, and he comes into this role with a nuanced expertise I’m confident will continue to drive Nickelodeon’s success,” said Mr. Richardson. “His familiarity with our business combined with a top-notch reputation makes him the perfect choice to lead the Nickelodeon business in Australia and New Zealand.”

Mr. Cox comes to Nickelodeon Networks after a decade-plus career within the subscription television industry. Prior to his current role as General Manager of Content Aggregation at Foxtel, he served as the Head of Channel Partnerships and as Business Development Manager since joining the company in 2008.  Prior to that, he was a strategy analyst and a product manager at AUSTAR Entertainment Pty Ltd.

During his time at Foxtel, Mr. Cox was instrumental in several initiatives that enhanced offerings directed at children and youth. He played a key role in the November 2015 launch of the Nick Play app, which offered Australian kids access to hundreds of Nickelodeon-themed videos, original short-form animation and games as well as full-length episodes of Nickelodeon’s biggest hits for authenticated Foxtel subscribers.

Mr. Cox also managed content aggregation for the December 2016 launch of the Foxtel Kids app, which features a range of children’s television program streams on-demand and ad-free. In 2014, he worked closely with Viacom International Media Networks to maximise the distribution growth of Nick Jr. when the pre-school channel moved into the basic Entertainment Pack and quickly went on to become one of the most-watched non-sports channels on the platform.

“As one of the most globally recognised and widely distributed multimedia entertainment brands for kids and family, Nickelodeon has been a trailblazer in Australia for over 20 years. I’m looking forward to joining a passionate and kid-centric team that consistently creates innovative entertainment experiences for both kids and kids-at-heart.”

Established in 1995, Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand has built a diverse business by putting kids first in everything it does. Thanks to the success of local productions including the multi-award winning “SLIMEFEST” and “Camp Orange” and global hits such as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “SpongeBob SquarePants,” Nickelodeon has twice been named the ASTRA Channel of the Year.

In 2004, Nick Jr. was launched as the first 24-hour network specifically designed for pre-school audiences in Australia. Now in its 13th year, Nick Jr. Australia has become one of the most trusted and watched platforms for preschoolers with original productions including “Play Along with Sam” as well as global series such as “Paw Patrol,” “Blaze and the Machines,” and “Dora the Explorer.”

About Viacom International Media Networks

Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), is comprised of many of the world’s most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, MTV LIVE HD, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Comedy Central, Paramount Channel, and more. Viacom brands reach more than 3.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 180+ countries and territories via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties, in 40 languages. Keep up with VIMN news by visiting the VIMN PR Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/VIMN_PR. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com, blog.viacom.com and the Viacom Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Viacom.

For more information, please contact:

Todd Phillips                                         Clare Szydlik

Viacom Int’l Media Networks              Nickelodeon Australia & New Zealand

Todd.phillips@vimn.com                      clare.szydlik@nickau.com.au

M: +61 410 992 480                               P: +61 2 8373 3923