Loral Skynet today announced that it has renewed an agreement with International Television, Bangladesh, to distribute its NTV channel, a leading news and entertainment source distributed to cable operators and direct-to-home users in Bangladesh and across Asia. In addition, International Television's subsidiary, National Television of Bangladesh, will launch RTV on Telstar 10 beginning in July 2005 to provide expanded news and entertainment.
"Telstar 10's satellite expansive coverage area allows us to provide International Television not only comprehensive regional distribution, but also the ability to send or receive its programming from outside the region, using only a single satellite. We're pleased to be expanding our relationship with NTV on one of Skynet's most important video distribution platforms worldwide" - Patrick Brant, president, Loral Skynet.
International Television distributes its NTV programming using C-band capacity on Telstar 10, which hosts one of Asia's largest C-band video neighbourhoods. The satellite delivers a variety of video programming and services from major entertainment providers, as well as data services, including SkyReach(SM), Loral Skynet's IP-based two-way broadband service.
"Telstar 10's strong video neighbourhood and wide coverage has helped our NTV programming gain popularity among Bangladeshi viewers both living in Bangladesh and in other countries. We are happy to extend our current contract and are looking forward to the launch of National Television's newest offering, the RTV channel, on Telstar 10" - Enayetur Rahman, Managing Director of International Television.
Telstar 10 is ideally located at 76.5 degrees East longitude, providing C-band coverage of Asia, Australia, parts of Europe and Africa. The Ku-band payload covers Korea, Taiwan, Macau and China, including Hong Kong. The satellite hosts an extensive array of cable programming and through a joint initiative with GlobeCast Asia, Skynet offers a powerful digital distribution platform on Telstar 10 that offers services including encryption, encoding, multiplexing and backhaul services.
Loral Skynet also operates Telstar 18, a high-power C- and Ku-band satellite that provides coverage from Central Asia, through the Indian sub-continent, China, Korea, Japan, South East Asia, Australia and Hawaii.
It offers a strong footprint for intra-regional applications, as well as the ability to directly connect with the U.S.
NTV, a bangla-language channel, offers high-quality programming broadcast 24-hours-a-day. NTV is the highest-rated television channel in Bangladesh, offering a variety of programming, including news, entertainment, top drama serials, musical programs, movies, documentaries, children's programs, cultural programs and much more.
A pioneer in the satellite industry, Loral Skynet delivers a range of satellite solutions that have made it an industry leader for more than 40 years. Through the broad coverage of the Telstar satellite fleet, in combination with its hybrid VSAT/fiber global network infrastructure, Skynet meets the needs of companies around the world for broadcast and data network services, Internet access, IP and systems integration. Headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey, Loral Skynet is dedicated to providing secure, high-quality connectivity and communications. For more information, visit the Loral Skynet web site at www.loralskynet.com.
