Global Crossing announced that it has signed an agreement with NBC News Channel, a unit of National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (NBC), to transport daily video programming from the NBC News Channel Broadcast Center at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City to seven stations across the country using Global Crossing’s new digital video transport service.
“We needed a company that could hit the ground running. This short-term agreement required an advanced network and the technology to support time-sensitive video encoding and decoding,” said Bob Horner, president, NBC News Channel. “Global Crossing showed us that they not only had the technology and know-how, but also the flexibility to provide whatever we needed, when we needed it.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Global Crossing will provide NBC News Channel with digital video transport, a turnkey package that includes the transmission of digital video over its nationwide ATM network, provisioning of local loop access through arrangements with local access providers, and the supply and management of video equipment through an arrangement with Aastra Digital Video, an operating unit of Aastra Technologies Limited News content will be delivered to stations in Chicago, Denver, LosAngeles, New York, Phoenix, Portland and Seattle.
“Knowing that extensive media coverage of the Olympic Games would create great demand for traditional satellite transmission, NBC News Channel turned to Global Crossing for a reliable, manageable and cost-effective alternative,” said John Legere, chief executive officer at Global Crossing. “Our digital video transport service combines our leading-edge network with our extensive vendor relationships to provide our customers with a no hassle, virtually plug-and-play solution.”
Global Crossing’s digital video transport service is part of the company’s line of digital media services (DMS) aimed at industries that require a variety of collaboration and high quality/high speed data transfer needs, such as the entertainment, medical, government and financial sectors. Global Crossing’s digital media services offer constant-bit-rate-based permanent virtual circuits over its ATM infrastructure. Future enhancements to DMS will provide ubiquitous broadband connectivity to support the creation, on-line collaboration, and distribution of television-quality video, CD-quality audio, and live event broadcasting. Global Crossing is designing its digital media services to enhance its customers’ ability to create, distribute, manage and store digital content.