Sports Technology & Communications News from Around the World

GlobeCast, a subsidiary of France Telecom (News - Alert) and provider of content management and worldwide transmission services for professional broadcast delivery, announced it has signed a contract with broadcaster Trace to broadcast its new high-definition channel, Trace Sports HD, on the NSS-806 satellite.

Trace is a multimedia group and an international brand that specializes in the production and distribution of channels dedicated to urban music and sports celebrities. Both companies have a longstanding relationship in this segment.

The new broadcast agreement will enable Trace Sports HD to enter the region with strong growth in the pay-TV sector. It will also give the company access to a potential audience of 18 million DTH and cable homes in North, Central, and South America, company officials said.

Under the terms of the contract, GlobeCast will offer services including reception of its European signal in Paris, as well as turnaround uplink and space capacity on the NSS-806 satellite. This satellite offers ideal coverage to every country in the Americas.

With GlobeCast, Trace Sports HD will also be able to further diversify the neighborhood of channels present on NSS-806, as well as the HD offerings of pay-TV bouquets on cable, DTH satellite, IPTV (News - Alert), and mobile services, the company said.

The partnership will bring immediate results to Trace as several operators in Latin America have already decided to include Trace Sports HD in their lineups, a press statement from the company said.

Earlier in September, GlobeCast hit headlines when it contracted a transponder on the SES (News - Alert)-4 satellite as well as an additional transponder on ASTRA-4A to launch two new satellite broadcast platforms serving the sub-Saharan African region.

With this capacity addition, GlobeCast is now using three SES transponders for direct to home in the African market. ASTRA-4A provides coverage of sub-Saharan Africa from the 5 degrees East orbital position. GlobeCast has filled its first transponder on the satellite and is now acquiring an additional transponder.