BT signs deal with global broadcasters CNBC

BT has signed a five year contract with the global broadcaster CNBC, the leading business and financial news channel, to distribute the channel’s content from its London headquarters to its sister sites in the US and Europe.
BT will use its UK Media Network and Global Media Network to distribute CNBC’s video content from its London studio to its US broadcasting hub in New Jersey and six European sites, including Frankfurt, Brussels, Madrid, Paris, Milan and Zurich.

CNBC’s regional EMEA network is available to approximately 130 million homes, 1,400 banks and financial institutions and leading hotels across the region.

Today’s announcement builds on an existing relationship between BT and CNBC, where BT provides connectivity from CNBC’s London studio to the European broadcasting switch at the BT Tower in London. The content is then distributed to broadcast studios around Europe and other parts of the world. This service provides connectivity for contribution and distribution of news across Europe and the world.

CNBC’s parent company, NBC Universal, already uses BT’s Global Media Network to deliver video content to broadcasting sites from NBC’s London News Bureau at Grays Inn Road and their headquarters at Rockefeller, New York. BT’s Global Media Network is a broadcast video enabled platform which is used by media companies to transfer programme material across the world.

John Turner, Director of Operations, EMEA at CNBC said, “BT Wholesale’s Media and Broadcast division presented us with the most technically advanced and reliable service that we and our viewers expect. The technology was fully proven through our existing relationship with BT for video content distribution so it was only natural to extend our operations with them.”

Mark Wilson-Dunn, global sales and marketing director, BT Media & Broadcast said, “It’s a fantastic achievement to cement our relationship with one of the world’s best known broadcasters. CNBC is joining a growing community of international media companies that are choosing BT’s UK Media Network and Global Media Network to carry their content.”

BT’s Global Media Network is a leading network for global video networking services. It provides live linear video and data service connectivity for prominent media producers and distributors across the UK, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas. Customers can choose how much bandwidth they require and use it flexibly for voice, video, data and other applications. They can scale their network quickly and rely on high availability, and a resilient infrastructure with no single point of failure. BT’s UK and Global Media Networks allow customers to reach more viewers by connecting simply and cost-effectively to broadcast platforms around the world, sending a single signal rather than multiple signals to multiple platforms.

Ends

Notes to Editors

BT’s Global Media Network provides access to all the key locations around the world where content is either created or distributed. It offers low operating costs, fast connectivity, bandwidth and low latency. It provides 99.999% availability with no single point of failure and the functionality to control bandwidth allocation through online scheduling.

BT’s continues to invest in its Global Media Network year on year and as well as expanding the footprint, this investment is enabling BT Wholesale’s Media and Broadcast division to offer additional internet based applications and media file transfer capabilities.

For places beyond the reach of our terrestrial solutions, BT Wholesale’s Media and Broadcast division offers satellite solutions to over 100 countries, with hubs in a number of locations around the world, with our greatest capabilities being developed in the UK, Europe and across Africa.