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German TV: Deutsche Welle Signs Contract with GlobeCast

Director-General Erik Bettermann: “Launch in the U.S.A will take place on March 1, 2002”.

https://p.dw.com/p/1T31

Deutsche Welle (DW) has decided to start broadcasting German TV – the new German-language television program for overseas viewers – in the United States via the GlobeCast DTH World Television Platform on Telstar 5 and GE 1. The contract regulating the leasing of the platform was signed by DW Director-General Erik Bettermann and GlobeCast Senior Vice President Alain Baget on December 7, 2001, in Cologne.

At the signing ceremony Director-General Erik Bettermann said “the contract assures the launch of best-of programming from the ARD, ZDF and DW on the American pay-tv market beginning March 1, 2002”. The decision in favour of GlobeCast was based on a solid market analysis and careful consideration of the opportunities and risks. Globecast (which is based in Paris) describes itself as the world’s largest provider of satellite transmission services for broadcasters.

“We are convinced that with GlobeCast and a soon to be named distribution and marketing agency we can attract all the people interested in German-language TV in the United States to German TV”, Bettermann added. Subscribers to German TV will also be able to access DW-radio’s German language broadcasts in stereo quality.
“As one of the world’s most prestigious broadcast organizations, Deutsche Welle’s selection of GlobeCast for distribution of such a prestigious program as German TV in North America is confirmation in the faith placed in our company’s strategic competence in the US”, said GlobeCast Senior Vice-President, Alain Baget. By offering attractive programs from abroad including, for example, Euronews GlobeCast was broadening the diversity’s of TV rogramming available to American audiences.

German TV offered the best programs from public broadcasters in Germany and was at the same time demonstrating the high quality of European TV productions. “We are confident that other broadcasters will follow in DW’s footsteps”, Mr Baget added. The agreement signed by DW and GlobeCast paves the way for transmissions via the Ku band satellite Telstar 5 for direct reception and the C-band GE-1 satellite for cable feeds. In addition, the agreement also puts GlobeCast in charge of subscription services and the distribution of DVB decoders for reception.


7. December 2001
214/2001