China: SES, Globecast switch CGTN to HD
September 29, 2021
By Chris Forrester
SES says that three Chinese channels from China Global TV Network will switch to HD transmissions at the end of the year. The channels will continue broadcasting in standard definition until then. The new HD transmissions will be from the SES prime European orbital position of 19.2 degrees east.
The expansion comes about because of a new expansion agreement with Globecast’s media services division.
Under the multi-year agreement, Globecast will lease additional capacity on SES’s prime neighbourhood to deliver CGTN News, CGTN Documentary and CGTN French, and will manage the uplinking and contribution services for these channels. After a simulcast period, all three Chinese public broadcaster’s channels will broadcast exclusively in HD by the end of the year.
“As premium broadcast service provider in the European region, when CGTN approached us with their plans to move to HD, our obvious choice was to work with our long-term partner, SES, to identify key positions. It’s a pleasure to start a new transponder on Astra 19.2 location with 24/7 channel monitoring services to reach large audiences for key public broadcaster like CGTN,” said Shakunt Malhotra, Managing Director-Asia of Globecast.
“Over the past 18 months we have seen multiple public broadcasters renew and expand contracts with SES and our partners because they recognise that satellite is the easiest and most reliable way to reach the widest possible audiences. In addition, they also want to broadcast in HD as TV viewers today expect crystal-clear images when they turn on their TV screens,” said Deepak Mathur, Executive Vice President of Global Sales at SES Video. “Together with our long-term partner Globecast, we continue to provide broadcasters and content owners with the largest audience reach they are seeking for their content.”