RRsat Extends Distribution of Word Network to Australia, New Zealand and the Arab World

23 May 2013

RRsat announced a long term agreement to enable Word Network, the largest African-American religious network in the US, to reach millions of viewers in Australia, New Zealand and the Arab world. The broadcast solution utilizes RRsat's KU-band platforms on the Eutelsat 25C satellite and Optus D2 satellite. Under the agreement, RRsat will enable Word Network to reach cable headends and direct-to-home (DTH) viewers in Australia and New Zealand as well as DTH viewers throughout the Arab world.

The Eutelsat 25C satellite, located at the Badr position, reaches viewers throughout the Arab world, in the Middle East as well as North Africa (MENA). The RRsat platform on Optus D2 satellite provides coverage of Australia and New Zealand.  RRsat currently provides turnaround and uplink services for Word Network from its platforms on the Galaxy 19, Eutelsat Hot Bird 13A and Thaicom satellites.

Kevin Adell , Word Network Chief Executive Officer, said, "The Word Network is excited to be working with RRsat to extend our reach in these new territories and we are committed to bringing The Word Network to all corners of the globe and remaining the largest African American religious network in the world."

"RRsat is pleased that Word Network has chosen to deepen its relationship with RRsat by selecting to extend their content distribution to millions of viewers in the Middle East and North Africa, and to Australia and New Zealand using the RRsat solutions," said Lior Rival , Chief Commercial Officer of RRsat. "We look forward to working with Word Networks to help them reach the maximum number of viewers worldwide with high quality, affordable broadcasts."