Eurovision and ABS partner on new satellite capacity ABS-3A at 3° West
Bermuda – 11 May 2016, Eurovision and ABS have announced that they have signed a capacity agreement for a multi-transponder, multi-year deal on ABS-3A, the latest addition to the ABS fleet. The capacity will be used for broadcasting content to Eurovision customers in 56 countries across Europe and beyond. Distribution of content will include live coverage of major sporting events and news content, making ABS-3A at 3° West a prime broadcast location for Europe.
ABS-3A is equipped with 48 C and Ku-band transponders (96 x 36MHz equivalent) serving rapidly growing markets in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ABS-3A provides capacity to reach markets serving video, data, mobility and government applications.
“The new capacity on ABS-3A will support Eurovision’s substantial growth of media content delivery services in Europe. We look forward to renewing our relationship with ABS to deliver high-quality services to the media community reliably and cost-effectively,” said Eurovision Network Director Graham Warren.
“We are very pleased to partner again with Eurovision, using the excellent coverage of the ABS-3A European beam to provide optimal coverage for the diverse media requirements of Eurovision,” said Tom Choi, CEO of ABS. “We are seeing an increasing demand for broadcasting services in Europe as well as MENA and Africa. ABS-3A at 3° West is strategically located for continental contribution and distribution of live sports, news and entertainment programmes. With our established broadcasting platform at 75° East, ABS-3A expands our video neighbourhoods into these new markets. We look forward to building our collaboration with Eurovision in the future to serve a wider audience.”
About ABS
ABS is one of the fastest growing global satellite operators in the world. ABS offers a complete range of tailored solutions including broadcasting, data and telecommunication services to broadcasters, service providers, enterprises and government organizations.
ABS operates a fleet of satellites; ABS-2, ABS-3A, ABS-4/Mobisat-1, ABS-6, ABS-7. The satellite fleet covers 80% of the world’s population across the Americas, Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and CIS.
The new satellites ABS-2A and ABS-8 are planned to launch in 2016 and 2018 respectively. ABS plans to add more satellites in the next 2-3 years to its growing fleet.
Headquartered in Bermuda, ABS has offices in the United States, Dubai, South Africa, Germany, Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong. ABS is majority owned by funds managed by the European Private Equity firm Permira. The Permira funds acquired ABS in 2010.
For more information, visit www.absatellite.com
About the European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the world’s foremost alliance of public service media (PSM). Our mission is to make PSM indispensable.
We have 73 Members in 56 countries in Europe, and an additional 34 Associates in Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Our Members operate over 1,800 television and radio channels, broadcasting in more than 120 different languages. They reach audiences of more than one billion people around the world.
Our television and radio services operate under the trademarks of Eurovision and Euroradio.
Eurovision is the media industry’s premier distributor and producer of top-quality live news, sport, entertainment, culture and music content.
Euroradio enhances public service radio with music and news exchanges, professional networking, and by promoting digital and hybrid radio.
We have offices in Brussels, Rome, Moscow New York, Washington DC, Singapore, and Beijing. Our headquarters are in Geneva.
Discover more about the EBU on www.ebu.ch.
Extra Info on Sports
-The EBU’s Sports Rights portfolio is extensive working with more than 25 international sports federations and handling more than 30 contracts. This represents around 150 events including approximately 680 competition days which they may also produce and distribute.
-In 2015, the Eurovision worldwide network distributed more than 90’000 hours of footage; 75.000 hours of it were sports.
