AIBA selects SatLink for global delivery of World Series of Boxing

18 December, 2012

SatLink Communications Ltd., has confirmed that the Boxing Marketing Arm SA (BMA), a subsidiary of AIBA, the International Boxing Association, has selected SatLink for the global satellite delivery of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) 2012/2013 season. A total of 74 events across the globe will be distributed to five continents via SatLink’s Satellite and Fibre Network in High Definition (HD) and MPEG4 on Eutelsat, AsiaSat, IntelSat and Amos satellites. In addition services such as digital archiving, recording, SNG and Fly-Away units in various territories around the globe will be provided alongside post production editing of the matches highlights.

Developed by AIBA, WSB is a unique concept in the world of boxing. It is the only pro-style team competition where boxers retain their Olympic eligibility. It brings together the best Olympic and pro boxers representing their country in an explosive format with worldwide appeal.

SatLink will provide AIBA’s global satellite coverage in Ku-band and C-band on Eutelsat, AsiaSat, IntelSat and AMOS satellites and upscale the content to HD using the Snell Alchemist Ph. C to deliver the content in High Definition (HD) format to viewers around the globe. AIBA will also be utilizing SatLink’s content management capabilities including: recording, archiving, editing and conversion of news and highlights gathered from the satellite feed, as well as continuous customer service, including coordinating broadcasters and additional support before, during and after each event, and SNG services in various territories.

Kevin Na, BMA Media/TV Director commented: “In previous years we have managed our broadcasting distribution in-house, but with the current customer demands across the globe, we realized that we needed a provider that could back up our global HD distribution needs and will have the ability to manage our content during live shots and distribute it on time and high quality. This is one of the many reasons we chose SatLink. Not only do they offer a customized package suited to our needs, but they also offered us unlimited support before, during and after each of our broadcasts. Each boxing event during the 2012/2013 season will be recorded, edited and archived for future use, with the distribution of highlights following each round and the editing of a full-length magazine produced every two rounds, helping us maximize our outreach to our customer-base across the globe.”

David Hochner, Chief Executive Officer of SatLink, commented: “We are thrilled to be providing AIBA with the services they require for the broadcast of WSB 2012/2013 season, and it is another example of the benefits our Occasional Use capabilities can offer content distributors, channels, sports federations and rights holders. Using our global end-to-end distribution, transmission and content management services, broadcasters and networks are able to deliver high quality content to audiences around the world. This makes our central location, which borders onto three continents, and our global network, a reliable and effective solution for all of our customers’ broadcasting needs.”