GlobeCast Uplinks HD Channel For MTV International

Transmission services provider and France Telecom subsidiary Globecast is providing uplink services for MTVNHD, the hi-def channel launched by MTV Networks International (MTVNI) this fall which carries music-based and kids’ programming.

GlobeCast receives MTVNI’s HD channel, along with five MTV channels in SD, via fiber optic links at its Brookmans Park Technical Operations Center in London, U.K. From there, it is uplinked to Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD 6 satellite. A number of channels were switched from HOT BIRD 6 to create capacity for MTVNHD, including MTV Portugal, which is now be transmitted via GlobeCast’s new transponder on EUROBIRD 9.

The 24-hour English-language HD service is initially available in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland and Sweden, with plans to expand to France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela in the coming months.