StarTimes steps up capacity with Eutelsat for DTT broadcasting in Africa

Paris, 7 July 2016 – StarTimes, one of the fastest-growing operators of digital TV networks in Africa, and Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) have concluded new multi-year agreements that set the stage for accelerated roll-out of digital broadcasting services across Africa.

StarTimes uses satellites to deliver its multi-channel TV platform to over seven million homes in 13 Sub-Saharan African countries and is gearing up to expand into DRC Congo and Zambia in August. The platform transmits over 200 channels, including international channels, regional and country-focused channels as well as StarTimes’ own branded content. Content is offered both on a Free-to-View and pay-TV basis, with exclusive programming including frontline events such as the Bundesliga and the 2016 Copa America.

StarTimes has renewed capacity contracts on two Eutelsat satellites as well as agreements for uplinking services provided by a partner teleport operated by STN, in Slovenia. In anticipation of continued expansion of Africa’s TV market, StarTimes has also secured extra capacity and plans to scale up further by the end of the year. This expanded portfolio equips StarTimes to host more services, uplink channels from Europe and Africa and provide the highest levels of service continuity.

“StarTimes and Eutelsat are long-term strategic partners,” said StarTimes Group Chairman and President Pang Xinxing. “We rely on Eutelsat’s advanced satellite communication technology to make our signals available throughout the African continent. Going forward, we will continue to work with Eutelsat to provide the best digital TV service to our African customers.”

Rodolphe Belmer, Eutelsat CEO added: “Eutelsat is fully engaged in the transformation of Africa’s broadcasting landscape and is proud to work with the players who are bringing the benefits of digital TV to viewers across the continent. In leveraging diversified satellite resources we can help StarTimes achieve its ambition to reach 30 million homes in 30 African countries by 2018.”

For more information about STN: www.stn.eu

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
Violaine du Boucher Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 vduboucher@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

Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia Names Nirav Haji as Vice President, Affiliate Sales

SINGAPORE (July 7, 2016) Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks, Asia announced today the appointment of Nirav Haji as Vice President, Affiliate Sales.

Based in Singapore and reporting to Ang Hui Keng, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mr. Haji will lead the sales, distribution and expansion of the networks’ five entertainment channels across the region: AXN, Sony Channel, Animax, ONE and GEM.

“As a leader in providing premium Asian and English entertainment, SPT Networks, Asia is set to strengthen its portfolio across the region in new markets and via new platforms. Nirav’s depth of experience together with his strong industry relationships will ensure Sony’s continued growth, while making our channels available to meet the changing demands of our viewers,” said Mr. Ang.

Mr. Haji has over 25 years’ of experience within the broadcast industry having worked in leadership roles at Discovery Asia, Fox International and Turner where his primary focus was on networks and content distribution.

“I’m thrilled to be joining SPT Networks, Asia at a time of exciting growth for both the company and the industry as a whole. My focus will be to further enhance and grow our existing partnerships in Asia while identifying key opportunities that bring Sony’s vivid world of entertainment to viewers in new and exciting ways,” said Mr. Haji.

-Ends-
Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks, Asia is a leading operator of ad-supported channels including English general entertainment powerhouses AXN and Sony Channel; and Asian content giants Animax, GEM and ONE. SPT Networks’ portfolio collectively features the biggest and best titles from Korea, Japan and the U.S that are first run, exclusive and aired close to the original telecast. Taking the content beyond the screen, SPT Networks immerses viewers in its premium entertainment via large-scale festivals, celebrity fan meets and social platform conversations. In Asia, SPT Networks’ portfolio is available across 19 territories and in over 42 million homes.
www.SonyPicturesTelevision.com

Media Contact
Jennifer Doig / Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia
Jennifer_doig@spe.sony.com / +65 6622 4278

Videocon d2h enters into a unique association with SULTAN

6^th July Mumbai: Videocon d2h, the fastest growing DTH service in India, has announced an association with Yash Raj Productions upcoming release Sultan starring Bollywood superstars Salman Khan & Anushka Sharma to be released during EID 2016.

In the movie, Salman Khan is playing a Videocon d2h sales & service franchisee, who later on represents India in the Olympics. This is an innovative and unique way in which brand Videocon d2h has tied up to take the brand to the rural hinterland of India. This tie up creates an emotional connect with the audience and reinforces the brand’s objective of transforming the life of people across geographies and spreading happiness.This in film placement also acts as an extension to the brand’s latest campaign of Khushiyon ki Chatri.

On the collaboration, Mr. Anil Khera, CEO Videocon d2h, said, “We are happy to have such a natural & seamless association with this fantastic film. The association of our brand with the film will appeal to all audiences across the nation. This association further strengthens our mission of bringing smiles to every one through our services.Wishing Yashraj Films & Salman Khan the very best.”

To amplify the association, Videocon d2h is doing a 360 degree campaign through on ground activation at PVR cinemas across HSM markets, Radio promotions, co-branded TVC campaign, digital campaign and in store branding. This entire campaign is designed to create a positive connect with the consumers and create an impact for the upcoming DAS – IV digitisation towns as these areas are highly influenced by Hindi cinema.

Mr Ashish Patil, Vice President, Yash Raj Films said, “We are very excited to have Videocon d2h on board with us. We are confident, this in-film integration will be a case study on how to do it right and weave in the brand seamlessly into the storyline of a film.”

Videocon d2h has prided itself in presenting its subscribers with a robust line-up of 570+ channels and services, including a host of regional channels. It offers a wide range of active services like smart services including Smart English, Smart Games. The other active services include d2h Hollywood HD, d2h music, d2h spice, d2h cinema in both Standard Definition and HD, etc.

Note to Editors: About Videocon d2h

Videocon d2h is India’s fastest growing DTH service provider which offers over 570 channels and services. Videocon d2h is launching HD Smart Connect Set top Box (Connected Set top box) which converts your existing normal TV into a Smart TV. The Connected set top box allows one to browse content from Facebook, Twitter, Daily Motion, video on demand sites, news sites, weather sites, etc through applications residing on STB. Powered by the MPEG-4 and DVB-S2 technology, Videocon d2h transforms your TV into a hub of entertainment and knowledge. It offers a wide range of active services including Smart English, Smart Games. The other active services include d2h Hollywood HD, d2h music, d2h spice, d2h cinema in both Standard Definition and HD, etc. It launched India’s first 4K Ultra HD DTH channel service. Videocon d2h offers India’s first Radio Frequency Remote Control. Videocon d2h also offers 45 “HD” channels and services. Videocon d2h has a pan India sales & distribution channel, superior service orientation & a track record of introducing technologically innovative product and service offerings. Videocon d2h has over 300 own service centres spread across 7500 top towns in India to attend and resolve the service issues within 4-6 hrs.

SMART Services, a value-added bouquet of learning activities and games includes Smart Cooking, Smart English and Smart Games, all available on subscription basis. Smart services of Videocon d2h has something good to offer for every member of family right from an infant to a housewife.

Videocon d2h was the first Indian media company to be listed on NASDAQ, USA. Videocon d2h has been awarded as India’s Most Trusted Brand 2016, Pay TV Operator of the Year at MIPCOM Cannes 2015, Asia’s most promising DTH brand 2013 & 2014, India’s Best brand by Economic Times 2014, India’s Most Promising Brand by Economic Times 2015 & recognised as top 50 dream companies to work for by World HRD Congress.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) Secures B2B workflow with NexGuard Forensic Watermarking

Mr. Sunil Buch, Chief Business Officer, ZEEL & Mr. Harrie Tholen, Managing Director, NexGuard

Mumbai, India / New York, NY – July 05, 2016: NexGuard, the leading provider of forensic watermarking technology and solutions, today announced that Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) is deploying its NexGuard forensic watermarking system at its Mumbai facilities. ZEEL is a global content company with a presence across 171 countries. With a rich bouquet of 33 domestic and 38 international channels, ZEEL reaches over 1 Billion viewers across the world.

“Online piracy in India and worldwide is indeed a major threat for the overall media and entertainment industry. With Peer-2-Peer platforms and illegal re-streaming services flourishing in the subcontinent, we sensed a strong need to deploy solutions to protect our most important asset – our content,” said Mr. Sunil Buch, Chief Business Officer, ZEEL. “Using NexGuard forensic watermarking, we can now trace the source of illegal copies of each video asset at any point of the content lifecycle. This enhances our content security by many folds, and above all, it acts as a powerful deterrent against piracy.”

“ZEEL’s content and channels are among the most popular in India and worldwide,” said Harrie Tholen, Managing Director of NexGuard. “With a global audience and very valuable assets at play, it was crucial for ZEEL to deter piracy and act quickly if it does take place. We are proud to be involved in helping ZEEL safeguard revenues through deterring piracy.”

With over 1,000 original productions every year, India is the world’s most prolific movie producer. However, the South Asian power also ranks fourth among English-speaking countries for piracy according to the Motion Picture Distributors Associations (India), leading to significant potential revenue loss for content producers and distributors.

In an effort to deter piracy, ZEEL has deployed NexGuard watermarking technology, which enables the forensic watermarking of its valuable video content with a unique identifier in post-production, making its worldwide distribution traceable and secure. This level of protection is particularly important for content owners looking at preserving the value of their content before it is aired.

NexGuard provides watermarking plug-ins for most commercially available transcoders as well as solutions for other file, tape and disc workflows. NexGuard solutions for 4K/UHD are commercially available and HDR support is under testing by the Hollywood studios. ZEEL has chosen to deploy the NexGuard system in the form of software plug-ins for their transcoder farms, thereby ensuring a seamless fit in its existing content post-production and distribution workflow.

###

About NexGuard, Inc.:

NexGuard (www.nexguard.com), a Civolution company, provides the most widely deployed forensic watermarking solutions in the movie and entertainment industry across the globe. Civolution is the leading provider of technology and solutions to identify, manage and monetize media content. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting edge digital watermarking and fingerprinting technologies and applications. Follow us on Twitter: @NexGuard and LinkedIn.

About Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL):

ZEEL is one of India’s leading television media and entertainment companies. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, with an extensive library housing over 220,703 hours of television content. With rights to more than 3,818 movie titles from foremost studios and of iconic film stars, ZEE houses the world’s largest Hindi film library. Through its strong presence worldwide, ZEE entertains over 1 billion viewers across 171 countries.

Pioneer of private satellite television entertainment industry in India, ZEEL’s well-known brands include Zee TV, &tv, Zee Cinema, Zee Action, Zee Classic, &pictures, Zee Anmol, Ten 1, Ten 2, Ten 3, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, Zee Salaam, Zing, ETC Bollywood, Zee Q and Zindagi. The company also has a strong offering in the regional language domain with channels such as Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies, Zee Bangla, Zee Bangla Cinema, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, Zee Tamil and Sarthak TV. The company’s HD offerings include Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, &tv HD, Zee Studio HD, Zee Café HD, &pictures HD, Ten 1 HD and Ten Golf HD.

ZEE and its affiliate companies have leading presence across the media value chain including television broadcasting, cable distribution, direct-to-home satellite services, digital media and print media amongst others. More information about ZEEL and its businesses is available on www.zeetelevision.com.

=============================================================================

Media Contact:

Jayshree Kumar / Arantxa Gonsalves

Corporate Brand – Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL)

Mobile: +91 9769286661 / +91 9820336890

Landline: +91-22-7106 1367 / 7108 5464

Email: jayshree.kumar@zee.esselgroup.com / arantxa.gonsalves@zee.esselgroup.com

AsiaSat and JIB expand partnership to broadcast NHK WORLD TV HD and SD on AsiaSat 7

Hong Kong, 29 June 2016 – Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) and Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIB) today announced a major expansion of their partnership. From 1 July, JIB will use AsiaSat 7 to broadcast NHK WORLD TV HD, an English language news and lifestyle TV network, and for the continued distribution of its SD channel in the Asia-Pacific.

“Since our SD service launch on AsiaSat in 2009, AsiaSat has proved to be our insightful and dependable partner in Asia and has done an excellent job in helping us to expand our penetration. Our new HD service will bring a brand new viewing experience of high quality news and entertainment content to home viewers and travellers in Asia,” said Yoshihiko Shimizu, President and CEO of Japan International Broadcasting Inc.

“Introducing an HD service is a strategic and competitive move of all leading broadcasters to attract new audience and satisfy existing viewers’ changing appetite for enhanced picture and sound quality. We are proud of JIB’s decision to choose AsiaSat once again to support this exciting expansion of their HD service in Asia. We look forward to continuing to contribute to NHK WORLD TV’s success in the region with our industry leading audience penetration and market knowledge,” said Sabrina Cubbon, Vice President, Marketing and Global Accounts of AsiaSat.

NHK WORLD TV’s 24-hour programming cycle includes its signature news show, “NHK NEWSLINE”, and a wide selection of technology, lifestyle and entertainment programs, including “great gear”, “TOKYO FASHION EXPRESS”, “Dining with the Chef”, “SPORTS JAPAN” and “Journeys in Japan”. In addition, the channel offers an assortment of groundbreaking documentaries and specials, including “Asia Insight”, “Inside Lens” and “NHK Documentary”.

NHK WORLD TV HD/SD channels are available free-to-air on AsiaSat 7 (105.5°E) with the following reception parameters:

Reception Parameters	NHK WORLD TV HD	NHK WORLD TV SD
Transponder	C12V	C7H
Downlink Frequency	4100 MHz	3880 MHz
Downlink Polarisation	Vertical	Horizontal
Transmission Standard	DVB-S2	DVB-S
Compression Standard	MPEG-4	MPEG-2
Modulation	8PSK	QPSK
Symbol Rate	29.72 Msym/sec	27.5 Msym/sec
FEC	5/6	3/4

About JIB
Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIB), a subsidiary of NHK, is responsible for the worldwide distribution of NHK WORLD TV as well as the Japanese language channel NHK WORLD PREMIUM. Currently, the two channels are broadcast around the world on three international plus domestic satellites in their respective markets and reach households, hotels and others via DTH, cable, IPTV and terrestrial broadcast. For more information, please visit www.jibtv.com

About AsiaSat
Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), the leading satellite operator in Asia, serves over two-thirds of the world’s population with its six satellites, AsiaSat 3S, AsiaSat 4, AsiaSat 5, AsiaSat 6, AsiaSat 7 and AsiaSat 8. The AsiaSat satellite fleet serves both the broadcast and telecommunications industries. Over 700 television and radio channels are now delivered by the company’s satellites offering access to more than 830 million TV households across the Asia-Pacific region. AsiaSat’s next satellite, AsiaSat 9 on order from the manufacturer is planned to be launched in early 2017. AsiaSat is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited, a company listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Stock Code: 1135). For more information, please visit www.asiasat.com

Media Contacts:

Japan International Broadcasting Inc.

Tel: (81) 3 3464 0802

Email: info@jibtv.com

Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited

Sabrina Cubbon, VP, Marketing & Global Accounts

Tel: (852) 2500 0899

Mobile: (852) 9097 1210

Email: scubbon@asiasat.com

Winnie Pang, Manager, Marketing Communications

Tel: (852) 2500 0880

Email: wpang@asiasat.com

New HBO Comedy Series: Vice Principals debuts same time as the U.S. Exclusively on HBO

SINGAPORE, JULY 4, 2016 – Created by Danny R. McBride and Jody Hill, who also created HBO’s “Eastbound & Down,” along with Ben Best, VICE PRINCIPALS tells the story of North Jackson High School and the two people who almost run it, the vice principals.

This brand-new HBO Original comedy series kicks off its nine-episode first season in Asia on MONDAY, JULY 18 at 10.30am, with same day primetime encore at 10.30pm, exclusively on HBO. New episodes debut every Monday on HBO at the same time after Ballers. The series will also be available on HBO GO (where available).

When the long-time principal of a suburban high school steps down, ambitious vice principals Neal Gamby and Lee Russell both set their sights on the vacated top spot – only to see new rival Dr. Belinda Brown enter the picture. Putting their mutual disdain aside, these bitter antagonists form an unholy alliance to bring down the outsider by any means necessary.

Winner of the 2016 Audience Award at South by Southwest, McBride (“Eastbound & Down,” “This Is the End”) and Walton Goggins (Emmy^® nominee for “Justified”; “The Hateful Eight”) star as the school administrators, who are in an epic power struggle, vying for the top spot: to be school principal. Joining McBride and Hill as executive producer and director is long-time collaborator, David Gordon Green.

Told over the course of a single school year, the first season takes place during the fall, with the second season to cover the spring term. “Finally, a tale of the unsung hero in every child’s education,” says McBride. “No one will look at high school administrators the same again.”

“Knowing that Danny and Jody were going to be bringing Neal Gamby and Lee Russell into the world made retiring Kenny Powers a little bit easier,” observes Amy Gravitt, executive vice president, HBO Programming. “Nobody else creates characters like these two. We are so proud that HBO is their home and we can’t wait for everyone to see their take on high school.”

In addition to McBride (Neal Gamby) and Goggins (Lee Russell), VICE PRINCIPALS also stars Kimberly Hébert Gregory (“Devious Maids”) as Dr. Belinda Brown; Georgia King (“The New Normal”) as English teacher Amanda Snodgrass; Busy Phillips (“Cougar Town”) as Gale, Gamby’s hot, trashy ex-wife; Shea Whigham (HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”) as Ray, Gale’s nice-guy new husband; and Sheaun McKinney (“Know Thy Enemy”) as cafeteria worker, Dayshawn.

Guest stars on the first season include Bill Murray (Oscar^® nominee for “Lost in Translation”) as outgoing Principal Welles; Susan Park (“Fargo”) as Christine, Russell’s wife; and Maya Love as Janelle, Gamby’s daughter.

VICE PRINCIPALS S101: “The Principal”

Premieres Monday, July 18 at 10.30am on HBO

Other HBO playdates: July 18 (10.30pm), July 21 (11.50pm)

When the principal of a high school retires, his two vice principals go to extremes to land the vacant job.

Written by Danny R. McBride & Jody Hill; directed by Jody Hill.

VICE PRINCIPALS S102: “A Trusty Steed”

Premieres Monday, July 25 at 10.30am on HBO

Other HBO playdates: July 25 (10.30pm), July 28 (midnight)

Gamby (Danny McBride) and Russell (Walton Goggins) invade Dr. Brown’s (Kimberly Hébert Gregory) private space; a school evaluator spooks the vice principals.

Written by Danny R. McBride & John Carcieri; directed by Jody Hill.

VICE PRINCIPALS S103: “The Field Trip”

Premieres Monday, August 1 at 10.30am on HBO

Other HBO playdates: Aug. 1 (10.30pm), Aug. 4 (11.25pm)

Gamby (Danny McBride) looks to impress Amanda (Georgia King) on a field trip organized by Mr. Hayden (Mike O’Gorman), a good-guy history teacher.

Written by Danny R. McBride, John Carcieri & Adam Countee; directed by Danny McBride.

Shot in and around Charleston, SC, the first season of VICE PRINCIPALS will be followed by a second season of nine episodes. Rolling Stone has already declared it “the summer’s best new comedy,” and Entertainment Weekly says that “watching this comedy is homework you’ll actually look forward to!”

The executive producers of VICE PRINCIPALS are Danny McBride, Jody Hill, David Gordon Green, Jonathan Watson and Stephanie Laing.

# # #

About HBO ASIA

Singapore-based HBO Asia brings the best of Hollywood to Asia first through its exclusive licensing deals with major Hollywood and independent studios, including Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate. HBO Asia has proprietary and award-winning HBO and HBO Asia Original programmes produced exclusively for HBO viewers. Wholly owned by HBO (a Time Warner company), HBO Asia reaches 23 territories across Asia with six 24-hour commercial-free subscription movie channels: HBO, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Hits, Cinemax and Red by HBO, internet streaming platform, HBO GO, subscription video on demand service, HBO On Demand, and in China, 鼎级剧场 (ding ji ju chang), destination for HBO’s hit series and Hollywood movies. HBO Asia is also the exclusive distributor of BabyFirst and the DreamWorks channel in the region. Log on to www.hboasia.com for more information.

VICE PRINCIPALS, HBO and Home Box Office are trademarks of Home Box Office, Inc. Used with permission

For more information, please contact HBO Asia:

Karen Lai

Director, Communications

Tel: (65) 6381 1796

Email: karen.lai@hboasia.com

Angela Poh

Manager, Communications

Tel: (65) 6381 1838

Email: angela.poh@hboasia.com

Chan Zi Ning

Executive, Communications

Tel: (65) 6381 1746

Email: zining.chan@hboasia.com

Soccer from space: Eutelsat and Rai broadcast first of seven Euro2016 matches in live Ultra HD

Viewers receiving Tivùsat platform offered first quarter final, between Poland and Portugal, in Ultra HD

Paris, Rome, 1 July 2016 – Yesterday’s first quarter-final of the Euro2016 marked the kick-off of seven matches that Rai, Italy’s national public broadcaster, and Eutelsat (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) are offering Italian TV homes. The initiative with Eutelsat marks Rai’s most ambitious foray into Ultra HD that represents the next big leap forward in broadcasting.

Unprecedented Ultra HD broadcasts delivered to Tivùsat homes by Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD satellites

Images of the match were filmed by 14 Ultra HD cameras located by UEFA at the Vélodrome Stadium in Marseilles and sent to the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) in Paris where they were forwarded to Eutelsat’s Paris-Rambouillet teleport. A temporary studio set up by Rai at the teleport added live commentary, after which the special Rai 4k channel was encrypted and uplinked to Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD satellites. Tivùsat homes equipped with an Ultra HD screen and a CAM certified by Tivùsat were able to watch the first quarter-final which will be followed on1, 2 and 3 July by the three other quarter finals, the semi-finals on 6 and 7 July and the final match on 10 July.

These live broadcasts of European Championship matches constitute Italy’s most significant broadcast of live sport in Ultra HD and prefigure the launch of regular channels. With the take-up of Ultra HD screens in Italy expected to hit one million units by end 2016, the market for higher resolution TV is rapidly taking shape.

The special broadcasts also involve the support of industry-leading technology partners, including DBW COMMUNICATION and V-Nova that is providing the P.Link 4K, a software-based contribution encoding and decoding system that can contribute the highest signal quality from the IBC.

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
Violaine du Boucher Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 vduboucher@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

30 June, 2016

Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending June 30th. Curated by CASBAA, News Views keeps you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!

Brought to you by:

Christopher Slaughter

CEO

A week after Britain’s vote to leave the EU, the country’s TV production industry is still reeling. Or for that matter, still grieving… the words that keep coming up are “disastrous” and “devastating.” Oh well, at least Game of Thrones will continue to be filmed in the UK despite the vote; but whether the UK (if it stays united, of course) will see more blockbuster productions post-Brexit is another question.

Kevin Jennings

Vice President, Programme

As-yet-unconfirmed reports are circulating suggesting Netflix offline viewing may finally arrive later this year. The move, which would match what some competitive streaming services are already offering, has analysts abuzz in what was generally viewed as an open secret. When asked about the shift Netflix merely said “No Comment”, although that’s already a paradigm shift from two years ago when they said it would never happen.

Mark Lay

Vice President, Singapore

Vidcon, the big online video gathering (kinda like the Digital Matters for the US) took place late last week in Anaheim. With 30,000 attendees it is bigger than ever and definitely breaking into the mainstream. Apparently it has “gone Hollywood” with the likes of Nickelodeon, NBC, Paramount, Universal Pictures and Netflix all in attendance. Susan Wojcicki, YouTube CEO, talked a lot about “freedom” and believes that “digital media and traditional linear media are blending together.” Digiday closes this piece off with an interesting article where they asked online video executives and personalities what keeps them up at night.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

The FCC has been considering forcing cable operators in the US to “unlock the box” and allow internet companies access to proprietary cable networks. Cable operators hate the idea of course; MPAA and others also opposed the FCC proposal on the grounds it would “import the piracy problem from the internet search world into the pay-TV world by mixing pirated content with authorised content,” and make it all easily searchable. (Sort of the way the internet search engines serve up easy access to pirate content now, on computers.) Then the cable and content industries formed a “Future of TV” coalition which put forward the idea of “ditching the box” entirely. The way forward for TV is via apps, said the coalition. Allow consumers to ”ditch their set-top boxes and access live and on-demand programming via boxless apps compatible with a wide range of retail devices…” No surprise…..think-tanks funded by search engines scoffed. But the new proposal has gotten considerable traction, with praise from one of the FCC Commissioners. And now there are reports that Chairman Wheeler may have to beat a retreat.

Christopher Slaughter

CEO

Measurement giant Nielsen has released its Total Audience Report for the first quarter of 2016, with the news that 50% of US households now have access to streaming services. Oh, and everyone seems to be lying about not watching TV any more. In fact, for some Americans, watching TV is the equivalent of a full-time job.

Kevin Jennings

Vice President, Programme

South Korean cable TV group D’Live (formerly C&M) , has narrowly avoided defaulting on its debt and loan repayments, amid earlier worries in May that may have seen it being managed by its creditors. The company’s major shareholders, including the Korean National Pension Service, agreed on a debt settlement to convert 800 billion won of debt into equity and rolled over the repayment by a further three years with more favourable refinancing terms. MBK, a private equity firm founded by former Carlyle Group managers, which leads a consortium that has held 92.5 per cent of C&M/DLive since 2008, have not been successful in the search for a buyer after putting the company up for sale last year.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

In Thailand, the legislature is considering a package of eight bills concerning the digital economy. There’s a fair degree of unhappiness about several aspects of the bills. Among other reforms, a new Digital Economy and Society Ministry will be established, and the existing National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will be restructured. Critics complain that the new structure for the NBTC doesn’t make enough room for real-world industry expertise. One thing is clear: the government will take back from the NBTC the real cash cows (aka mobile frequency auctions).

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

Meanwhile, the existing NBTC is going about its duties, pushing digital multiplexers to increase DTT coverage to 100% of the country by 2018. And the Commission also decided to reduce fees paid by licensed broadcasters along a sliding scale. The full rate of 4% will now only be paid on revenues over a billion baht. Well, the downward trend is in the right direction – back in the now-vanished days of a UBC monopoly, the pay-TV broadcaster had to pay 6.5% of the gross! (But CASBAA’s complaint is still that governments see licensed pay-TV broadcasters as cows to be milked, ignoring their competitive challenge from unlicensed internet content providers.)

Kevin Jennings

Vice President, Programme

Pakistan regulator PEMRA has announced it has approved IPTV licensing and will start issuing IPTV licenses to private firms across the country. In another move PEMRA also approved the long-awaited “loop holding” which allows wider retransmission of channels. This means that individuals will be able to offer cable TV services without any infrastructure investment while at the same time hopefully giving distribution service providers to a broader audience base and an upturn in subscriber revenue. PEMRA is hoping that with loop holders’ licenses in place, digital TV will also grow in more remote areas of the country.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

The process of selecting new members of Indonesia’s Broadcasting Commission (KPI), moved forward with the announcement by a Ministry of Communications screening committee of the names of 27 candidates. These now move for further scrutiny to the House of Representatives (DPR), which has to choose nine to act as KPI Commissioners for the next three years.

Andrew Lin

Regulatory Assistant

CASBAA’s members in Singapore attended a lunch presentation by the Asia Digital Alliance a couple of weeks ago on Remote Access Trojan malware (one of the lovely things consumers pick up when trolling piracy sites). For those who couldn’t be there, this article in the Manila Bulletin lays out the whole issue. And while we’re talking about nasty stuff waiting for you online, here’s word of a study concluding that half the ads on livestreaming sites are loaded with malware.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

And in Delhi, a letter-writer says “Never-ending TV serials make viewers psychologically sick…” and wants the government to regulate so series can’t be tooooo long. Sheesh. (You see? The bureaucrats don’t come up with all their crazy ideas on their own……who was it that invented cross-carriage, anyway?)

Some additional links you might be interested in:

Member News

Election Day 2016 Unrivalled Coverage and Analysis Saturday July 2

Australians will head to the polls this Saturday and SKY NEWS will deliver the most comprehensive multi-channel and multi-platform LIVE coverage and analysis of Election 2016.

SKY NEWS Political Editor David Speers and Chief Political Reporter Kieran Gilbert will spearhead coverage which will feature an unmatched line-up of political insiders and the biggest names on the Australian political landscape. Paul Murray, Peta Credlin, Peter Beattie, Laura Jayes, Peter van Onselen, Kristina Keneally and Peter Reith will offer unprecedented insight this Election Day as Australia decides and the verdict is revealed.

SKY NEWS Election Day 2016 begins at 5:00am on SKY NEWS LIVE (Channel 601) and continues throughout the day with LIVE coverage as the leaders vote, along with the latest breaking news, commentary and analysis as Australians have their say.

From 7:00am Kieran Gilbert and his First Edition co-anchor Brooke Corte will lead the morning coverage as both leaders campaign up to the last minute.

SKY NEWS’ non-stop election coverage continues at 4:00pm anchored by Kieran Gilbert and PVO NewsDay anchor Peter van Onselen.

As the polls close, Political Editor David Speers will anchor Election 2016: The Verdict from the SKY NEWS Election Centre from 6:00pm AEST. David will be joined by a panel of expert guests and SKY NEWS political commentators to help crunch the numbers on election night including Peta Credlin, Michael Kroger, Kristina Keneally, Alan Jones and Bruce Hawker. The panel will also be joined by Attorney-General George Brandis and Shadow Immigration Minister, Richard Marles.

Kieran Gilbert, Laura Jayes, SKY NEWS anchor Patricia Karvelas, SKY NEWS Political Reporters Tom Connell and Dan Bourchier and SKY NEWS anchor Ashleigh Gillon will bring viewers LIVE reports from Liberal, Labor and Green party headquarters throughout the evening.

Coverage will also feature an exclusive SKY NEWS EXIT POLL conducted by OmniPoll examining the issues that affected how people voted.

After the dust has settled, a special Election 2016 edition of Paul Murray Live will take a fresh look at what it all means from midnight to 2:00am.

David Speers, Kieran Gilbert and Laura Jayes will be back on Sunday July 3 from 5:00am to guide us through in Election 2016: The Morning After, followed by Australian Agenda with Peter van Onselen at 8:30am.

At 9:00am David Speers, Kieran Gilbert and Laura Jayes return for Election 2016: The Morning After together with an expert SKY NEWS line-up including Paul Murray, Kristina Keneally, Peter van Onselen and Chris Kenny to recap the highs and lows of the campaign.

Sunday night’s prime time programming will include special editions of Karvelas with Patricia Karvelas at 7:00pm, Viewpoint with Chris Kenny at 8:00pm and Paul Murray LIVE with Paul Murray at 9:00pm.

As Australians cast their votes on Saturday July 2, the SKY NEWS ELECTION CHANNEL 606 will replay the election campaign Leaders’ Debates, reliving every moment as it happened. Then from 6:00pm, the SKY NEWS ELECTION CHANNEL will feature a rolling display of election results from each seat as they come in live across the country.

SKY NEWS online will provide unparalleled choices for people to access its premium online coverage with more opportunity to interact with Election 2016 coverage on social media platforms than ever before.

Expert views, breaking news and in-depth analysis from SKY NEWS are available anytime and anywhere at SkyNews.com.au/Election2016.

On Election Day the powerhouse line-up of SKY NEWS political experts will come together at SkyNews.com.au with minute-by-minute updates as the votes come in throughout the day and night.

A live-stream of SKY NEWS LIVE will be made available online at SkyNews.com.au and highlights from the day will be available in a live blog.

Predictions and comments from the expert SKY NEWS political team, including content produced exclusively for social media, will feature across social platforms Sky News Australia (Facebook), @SkyNewsAust, @SkyNewsAusPol and @SkyBusiness.

The international community can watch the SKY NEWS election coverage live and on demand and also access leading SKY NEWS political and opinion programs across five different channels on Australia Channel. To subscribe visit www.australiachannel.com.au and follow Australia Channel at AustChannel (Facebook) and @AustChannel.

*All times are AEST

Media Contact: Emma Van Der Aa

Communications Manager – SKY NEWS

02 9886 8049 | 0434 001 589

evanderaa@skynews.com.au

About SKY NEWS

The SKY NEWS channels are owned and operated by Australian News Channel Pty Ltd; a joint venture company of Nine Entertainment Company, Seven West Media and Sky PLC. It operates SKY NEWS LIVE, SKY NEWS Business, SKY NEWS Weather, SKY NEWS Multiview, A-PAC Australia’s Public Affairs Channel, SKY NEWS New Zealand and Australia Channel.

Cisco sets out Digital Survival Guide for Service Providers

Suite of technologies key to IoT success for Region’s Service Providers

Mobile World Congress Shanghai, 29 June 2016 – As digital disruption intensifies and telcos increasingly search for relevance in a complex, hyper-connected world, Cisco says, its expanding suite of technologies will simplify transformation into next-generation IoT service providers

The technologies, a combination of hardware and software, provide a one-stop shop for telcos to capitalize on the estimated $11 trillion value at stake from the “always on” IoT world. New hardware like the LoRaWAN solution will not only take networks to places where they have never been before but also enable new IoT services that existing cellular and Wi-Fi technologies cannot address, such as smart parking and connected trash bins. This will open up new markets and generate new revenue streams for service providers.

As the massive explosion of connected devices exerts greater pressure on current networks, service providers are being forced to make real time amendments or additions to their network that software solutions are best placed to satisfy. With an anticipated three-fold increase in APAC Internet traffic by 2020, service providers are also set to be required to handle and manage massive volumes of data and then transform it into intelligence that powers new services, customer experiences and business models.

The virtualization and analytics features in Cisco’s portfolio, not only fulfils the management and analysis requirements of this new and complex world but will also anticipate trends and usage patterns. Capacity and resources can then be automatically adjusted to address the change, and the enhanced agility allows telcos to cost effectively manage and maintain their network.

“Once again, Cisco is leading the way in digital transformation. With an anticipated 11 billion devices set to be connected, each with different requirements, operating systems and language, our technologies are setting service providers up to succeed and allowing their consumers to reap the benefits,” said Chris Heckscher, Cisco’s Vice President, Service Provider Sales for Asia Pacific and Japan.

Service providers now have the right tools and capabilities to help their private and public sector customers tap into the enormous potential and opportunities that IoT and digitization brings, allowing them to launch, manage and upgrade new applications and smart devices in timescales that were unimaginable even a few years ago.

As service providers strive to make sense of the digital era, technologies and software will be key to keeping them affordable, efficient and adaptable so that they can stay relevant in the digital future.

END

Service Provider Survival Guide

Cisco’s Latest Solutions for SPs

LoRaWAN solution

The new LoRaWAN solution allows service providers and enterprises to connect devices with low power and low throughput over a long distance.

Approximately 45% of all IoT devices are battery-operated and require long-range connections. This disruptive technology enables businesses to cost-effectively network billions of these devices though wireless connectivity in the unlicensed spectrum, allowing them to bring intelligence to even the most mundane items.

The LoRaWAN solution will not only take networks to places where they have never gone before but also enable new IoT services that existing cellular and Wi-Fi technologies cannot address, such as smart parking and connected trash bins. This will open up new markets and generate new revenue streams for service providers.

Cisco Jasper

The Cisco Jasper platform allows enterprises to connect their devices to the cellular networks of top global service providers, and then automate, manage and monetize IoT services. It enables organizations to create new business models by transforming their connected assets into connected services, allowing them to produce new and recurring revenue sources.

Cisco Jasper’s strength also lies in the network of services providers and enterprises on its platform. There are currently 27 global service providers groups with more than 100 mobile networks and over 4,000 enterprises connected to its platform. This extensive network on Cisco Jasper’s platform will allow telcos and enterprises to easily and rapidly expand their IoT services to any part of the world, into any verticals.

Ultra Services Platform

Ultra Services Platform is a virtualized mobile solution that allows service providers to transform their mobile networks into a mobile cloud, increasing their reliability, agility and scalability.

This software-driven solution is the only 5G-ready mobile services core in the market and mobile operators can capitalize on its benefits today. A 5G-ready network design can reduce 50% more operating costs than virtualization and cut down more than two-third of new services deployment time.

Besides reduced costs and increased agility, Ultra Services Platform can also handle over 2 Terabits p/s of traffic and over 20 million connections, giving service providers the ability to cope with the massive scale that IoT will bring.

END

Additional Supporting Resources

RSS Feed for Cisco: https://newsroom.cisco.com/rss-feeds

Cisco Media Contact

Lim Choon Hong

+65 6317 5228

chonglim@cisco.com

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that has been making the Internet work since 1984. Our people, products, and partners help society securely connect and seize tomorrow’s digital opportunity today. Discover more at newsroom.cisco.com and follow us on Twitter at @Cisco.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

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