GlobeCast was chosen this month as the technical partner for the launch of the new sport channels beIN Sport 1 and beIN Sport 2 from Al Jazeera in France. GlobeCast built a comprehensive solution for the channels, including coordinating the various satellite capacities, providing fibre contribution links, and running an IPTV headend for the channels’ distribution.
BeIN Sport 1, which launched June 1, and beIN Sport 2, which will launch at the end of July, are being delivered by GlobeCast in SD and HD to reach satellite, cable and IPTV homes throughout France.
The agreement involves terrestrial contribution links to bring content to the channels’ Paris-area control centre, as well as distribution links from the IPTV headend at GlobeCast’s facility in central Paris to all the major French ISPs.
GlobeCast also provides satellite distribution, handling the uplink of the channels and offering a simulcrypt encryption solution, which allows the client to directly monitor the quality of its feeds.
BeIN Sport 1 and beIN Sport 2 are being distributed through GlobeCast on the Astra satellite operated by SES at 19.2 degrees East and through Eutelsat on Eutelsat Hotbird 13 and Eutelsat 5 West A. The new channels will be carried by the largest pay-TV operators in France.
