China Central Television News and Documentary Programming Now Available in High Definition in the Americas via Intelsat 34
20 April 2017
Intelsat S.A. signed a multi-year agreement expanding its global relationship and leveraging IntelsatOne terrestrial fiber and teleport services to distribute five high definition (HD) channels for China Central Television (CCTV).
Under the agreement, CCTV, the national broadcaster of the People’s Republic of China, expands its footprint in the Americas from its current bouquet on Intelsat 21 by distributing new HD channels on Intelsat 34. One of Intelsat’s premier distribution neighborhoods in the Americas, Intelsat 34, located at 304.5 degrees East, currently reaches more than 29 million cable subscribers and delivers distribution services for several premium and sports channels.
CCTV recently rebranded much of its channel line-up under the China Global Television Network (CGTN) moniker. As a result of the agreement, CCTV will expand its use of the HD format for its news and documentary style programming to viewers in the Americas. Three HD channels – CCTV-4, CGTN and CGTN Documentary – are available now on Intelsat 34. Two additional HD channels – CGTN-Français and CGTN Español – will also be deployed on Intelsat 34 in the future.
“CCTV came to Intelsat with a goal to build on our strong distribution in the Americas region by offering more high definition content to our loyal viewers,” said Chen Guang, Director of Master Control Department, Broadcast and Transmission Center, CCTV. “The high penetration of Intelsat 34 with distribution and DTH platforms in the region maximizes our ability to reach our audience with high quality programming.”
“As partners to CCTV for the last two decades, we are closely aligned with their strategy to broaden their audience base in the Americas and increase the availability of HD content to their programmers,” said Terry Bleakley, Intelsat’s Regional Vice President, Asia-Pacific. “Intelsat delivers a highly-penetrated distribution platform for CCTV, using teleports and managed services within our globalized network to provide maximum viewership for their programming. Our leading media neighborhoods distribute more channels to cable subscribers in the Americas than any other satellite operator.”