Aljazeera Arabic has purchased 100 Quicklink Live and Store & Forward encoders to support contribution from its journalists throughout the Arab World, Quicklink announced July 19.
The choice of Quicklink by Aljazeera Arabic comes one month after the BBC World Service selected Quicklink broadcasting systems for contribution from all sectors within the Arab and Persian region and inked a contract for an additional five-year period with Quicklink Video Distribution Services.
Aljazeera Arabic gave the nod to the Quicklink technology following extensive testing for the past year. The deal includes SD/HD receiving decoders to be installed in the Aljazeera Arabic Master Control Center at Doha, Qatar. Quicklink Video Distribution Services has provided Aljazeera English with contribution systems for seven years.
The BBC, too, has a long history with Quicklink. The broadcaster began using the company's store-and-forward technology for file-based reporting nine years ago.
Last month's decision by the BBC expands the broadcaster's use of the technology to support live reporting from the field. Under the new contract, the BBC has licensed Quicklink software for use by their journalists in the Arab and Persian regions for both live and store-and-forward use. The contract includes five years use of Quicklink equipment, support and maintenance.
The BBC World Service deal follows a decision of the Newsgathering division, which recently adopted the Quicklink Live Solution for global use and distribution.
