BBC Arabic TV launches with Omneon Spectrum servers

BBC World Service is using Omneon Spectrum media servers to provide ingest and playout for its new news-based Arabic TV service.

Launched in March with 12-hour service that expands to 24 hours this summer, the free BBC Arabic satellite and cable television channel ultimately will reach viewers in 22 countries across the Middle East from its studio facilities in the UK.

At the center of BBC Arabic TV’s tapeless workflow, one Spectrum system ingests 13 channels while a second delivers the main service to air, making full use of its 10 output channels across a redundant pair of playout servers under IBIS ServerPlay control. Additionally, the server interfaces with the DaletPlus News Suite, an AP ENPS newsroom system and Vizrt graphics.

BBC World Service has placed an order for two additional Spectrum systems to be deployed for ingest and playout for the forthcoming BBC Persia TV channel, which will launch later this year.

The BBC first began broadcasting radio news to the Arab world 70 years ago and now operates a multimedia news service for the Middle East and North Africa with a measured audience of more than 14 million on radio and online.

For more information, visit www.omneon.com.