PARIS: Globecast, the global solutions provider for media, has been selected by NTV Broadcasting Company to broadcast NTV MIR TV, the international version of NTV, to cable and DTH homes across Europe. Globecast is providing fibre connectivity via its Globecast Backbone Network for the channel to be delivered from Moscow to its Paris location, where the signals are then uplinked to Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD position at 13° East (transponder 126).

NTV MIR TV joins an unrivalled neighbourhood of 38 Russian-speaking channels at the popular HOTBIRD position, of which 28 are available free-to-air. Broadcasting in MPEG-2 SD, the channel offers a mix of news and documentaries, as well as entertainment content and sports.

The agreement with NTV positions Globecast as the preferred choice for Russian broadcasters to extend their international footprint. Globecast already broadcasts Channel One and RTR PLANETA (Group VGTRK) and broadcasts NTV MIR across Asia via AsiaSat 5.

Biliana Pumpalovic, General Director of Globecast in Moscow, commented, “We’re delighted that NTV Group has once again called on us to distribute its content, this time across Europe. Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD neighbourhood, with its strong Russian line-up, was the obvious choice for us and makes it easy for NTV MIR to increase its cable and DTH audience across a vast footprint. This deal also illustrates what Globecast does best, which is deliver content to a new audience cost-effectively.”

Eutelsat’s cluster of three high-power HOTBIRD satellites at 13° East deliver an unrivalled line-up of more than 1,000 channels. Over 135 million homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa watch channels broadcast by the HOTBIRD constellation through Direct-to-Home reception, cable, IP and DTT networks. Part of the Orange Group, Globecast provides agile and seamless content acquisition, management and distribution services globally.