PanAmSat, Pathfire to beam IP programming

GREENWICH, Conn. -- PanAmSat and Pathfire have teamed up to introduce a new satellite-based international video delivery service.

The new service will combine PanAmSat's global satellite infrastructure with Pathfire's media management tools. The service will beam digital programming content in Internet protocol (IP) formatted files via satellite to broadcast, cable, media and entertainment companies around the world.

This automated approach offers an alternative to live or prescheduled satellite feeds by processing high volumes of media through Pathfire's Media Commerce Network.

The agreement will bring Pathfire's content management network to international broadcasters and will open up a wider area of distribution for syndicators and other content owners.

"This agreement marks a big step for us in expanding our international presence," says Michael J. Eckert, Pathfire's chief executive officer. "We are pleased to form this alliance with such a major satellite provider."

PanAmSat and Pathfire expect that the new service will enable them to capture a larger portion of the market for digital programming management, which is projected to grow from $132.7 million in 1998 to more than $2.6 billion by 2004.

"This new service will provide our customers a more economical and flexible way to move non-realtime video and data, while allowing PanAmSat to better manage the quality of service our customers expect and deserve," said Mike Antonovich, PanAmSat's senior vice president, broadcast services. "PanAmSat's global infrastructure, combined with Pathfire's media traffic management solutions, will create a total end-to-end solution for distributing and managing media content. The alliance reflects PanAmSat's continuing commitment to pursue value-added services that benefit our broadcasting and telecommunications customers."

The service will eliminate much of the line-up and coordination time in an attempt to provide a more efficient means of delivering television programming, video clips, advertisements and other media.

PanAmSat's satellites and teleport services will provide the critical link between Pathfire and content users. Pathfire will deliver encoded content to PanAmSat's facilities in Ellenwood, Ga., where it will be uplinked to a satellite-based IP multicasting platform. The information will then be beamed to numerous content users, downlinked by a small satellite dish for access by a satellite receiver and stored on a secure Pathfire receive-site server.

Through adoption of IP technology to transmit the content and the use of its remote server management software, Pathfire can confirm receipt of the entire transmission, guaranteeing delivery.

Once customers receive the content, Pathfire's Digital Media Gateway content-on-demand system enables customers to manage, distribute and exchange digital media assets. Pathfire's NewsTracker enables broadcasters to quickly and easily access and manage broadcast-quality digitized content.

NewsTracker's Java-based interface allows news producers to browse through content and select broadcast-quality video clips and associated scripts from their desktops. Pathfire's Media Commerce Network is a platform for digital content distribution and management, over which digitized audio and video content travels to traditional and new media participants.