Globecast has been selected by the National State TV and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus to launch an HD version of its international satellite channel Belarus 24.
In a release, Globecast says that the channel, distributed as a FTA service on Eutelsat’s Hotbird, made its debut at the beginning of last month, with the SD version continued until January 1, 2019. The significance is that the launch on Hotbird is the first of a HD channel from a CIS country.
As previously reported by Broadband TV News, plans by the Belarusian broadcaster to switch its channels to HD were first announced last year.
Commenting on the development, Aleksandr Martynenko, general director at Belarus 24, said: “We have a high trust relationship with Globecast, much like they do with Eutelsat. Given the success and reach of Belarus 24 in SD since 2005, we felt it was time for us to deliver this important content in HD so that we can bring a significantly enhanced viewing experience to our customers. We are very happy with our choice of Globecast and Eutelsat as the project has gone exceptionally smoothly”.
Biliana Pumpalovic, general director at Globecast Moscow, added: “Belarus 24 has been an important customer of ours for almost a decade, and we feel privileged that they came to us with this key upgrade in their distribution development. We’ve worked closely with them, both technically and commercially, to bring the HD version of Belarus 24 to millions of viewers across Europe”.