The BBC World Service has chosen GlobeCast as its distribution partner for the launch of its new Farsi-language channel BBC Persian TV. The channel will be available via the Telstar 12 and Hot Bird 6 satellites to IPTV, DTH and Cable Operators across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The deal follows on from an earlier agreement that saw GlobeCast deliver BBC Knowledge, BBC Entertainment, BBC Lifestyle and CBeebies to IPTV, DTH and Cable providers in India, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Poland.
GlobeCast picks up the BBC Persian TV signal from the BBC World Service at Bush House in Central London and distributes it via international fibre network to two different locations for broadcast.
Viewers in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa receive the channel using capacity on the Telstar 12 satellite at 15˚West. The signal is sent by fibre to New York where satellite service company Globecomm picks it up and sends it to its Long Island teleport for uplink. The new channel is also available for European broadcasters to downlink from Hot Bird 6. In this case the signal is uplinked from GlobeCast's Brookmans Park Technical Operations Centre in Hertfordshire, to the satellite located at 13˚East.
For both satellite platforms, GlobeCast is also providing the BBC with a 24 hour, 365 day a year, monitoring service across the entire network from its Master Control Room at Brookmans Park.
The BBC's Farsi-language Persian TV channel will provide a range of programming including investigative current affairs, factual, cultural and educational documentaries as well as covering international and major regional issues. It will also carry multi-media discussion programmes and debates in conjunction with the BBC's well-established and trusted Farsi radio and online services.
