BBC Technology Provides BBC Sport With Broadcast Services and Infrastructure for 2004 Olympics.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

NAB2004

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2004

BBC Technology will provide foundations for BBC Sport's

delivery of Olympic content by TV and Internet

BBC Technology, provider of products and services to global media-driven organizations, today announced that it is delivering a range of broadcast services and infrastructure for the production and delivery of BBC Sport's coverage of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (August 13-29). BBC Technology's Broadcast Design & Build, Media Communications and Internet Solutions will design and build studio and production facilities in Athens, provision broadcast communication networks and expand the Internet delivery infrastructure for online coverage of the Olympic Games. BBC's Olympic programming will be produced in the purpose-built International Broadcast Center in Athens. (BBC Technology, booth #SU8469, National Association of Broadcasters conference, Las Vegas, April 17-22, 2004)

BBC Technology, in collaboration with BBC Resources and BBC Sport, has been planning the layout of these facilities and developing their technical design since 2003; installation will begin in Athens in June 2004. BBC Technology's experience and expertise in delivering similar projects for the BBC and other broadcasters - at this scale and within such tight timeframes - will ensure the infrastructure is deployed in advance of the opening ceremony in August. Facilities in the 999 square meter area will include two production control rooms, two sound control rooms, nine VT edit pairs, six non-linear edit suites, 15 VTR record banks, graphics and office areas. In addition to servicing the needs of BBC Sport, the facilities will be used by BBC Interactive, BBC News and BBC Nations & Regions.

BBC Technology's Internet Solutions team will expand the capacity of its Internet delivery infrastructure - that already underpins the www.bbc.co.uk web site - to handle the predicted surge in demand for BBC Sport's online coverage of the Games. A dedicated platform will be added to offer significantly enhanced delivery capabilities for live and on-demand broadband streaming from www.bbc.co.uk, the world's second largest content streaming site. The site will be capable of delivering up to 50,000 concurrent 256Kbps broadband streams for the Olympics alone in both Windows Media 9 and RealMedia 9 formats. Following a detailed requirements analysis of BBC audience data, the platform will be integrated with BBC Technology's digital rights management platform to ensure secure content delivery. Given the predicted demand for Olympic coverage online, coupled with the growing number of households with broadband access, BBC Technology is also making large-scale network changes as part of the project requirements. These include extra connectivity to U.K. Internet service providers (ISPs) in order to deliver the predicted levels of content streaming and downloads. The service will be managed from BBC Technology's Internet Solutions facility in Maidenhead, U.K.

BBC Technology's Media Communications team will supply BBC Sport with 155Mbs of fiber capacity between Athens and London for distribution of Olympic coverage. This capacity will provide high bit rates for video networks as well as interactive services; it will extend the BBC's wide area network (WAN) for data and voice traffic, and telephone networks to Athens; and it will provide a return path for a multiplexed feed of BBC Freeview for monitoring and interactive purposes. The team will also provide satellite downlinking at BBC Technology's London Teleport for backup feeds, and will support satellite newsgathering operations and European Broadcasting Union (EBU) services. BBC Technology will also extend the BBC's WAN for field access to data and information, and provide a telephone switchboard that will fully integrate both remote and BBC phone systems.

"Our audiences today expect to get high quality content from the TV, the Internet and over digital channels," says Dave Gordon, head of major events for BBC Sport. "They also expect a great viewing experience from BBC Sport; the Olympic coverage they receive will be no different from the way we cover other large sporting events, like Euro2004."

Adrian Corcoran, managing director of BBC Technology, adds: "The technical capabilities we are providing to BBC Sport are integral to its coverage of one of this year's largest media and sporting events. Our heritage in delivering broadcast-quality content to the highest level of reliability over a multitude of channels will empower BBC Sport with knowledge, foresight and experience that few others can rival."

BBC Technology has extensive experience providing strategic consultancy, Broadcast Design & Build, Media Communications and Internet Solutions around the highest profile global events, including the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Euro2000, The Commonwealth Games and the BBC's live global millennium programming.

About BBC Technology's Services

Media Communications

BBC Technology's Media Communications services provide outsourced content distribution and platform management across analog terrestrial, digital terrestrial and digital satellite platforms, for broadcasters, news agencies, international networks and producers. Organizations choosing to outsource their transmission service - through BBC Technology's shared platforms, London Media Gateway and its existing U.K. infrastructure - benefit from operational cost savings and the flexibility to utilize services on either a permanent or ad-hoc basis; the financial and technology risks inherent in high-quality content distribution across international networks are also reduced. A number of companies in the U.K. and across Europe are actively deploying Media Communications services: Video Networks, MTV, Globecast, BBC News, EBU, BSkyB, TVNZ, Press Association and CBC.

Internet Solutions

BBC Technology's Internet Solutions team delivers a combination of rich media Internet services to help the broadcast community maximize the value of its content by optimizing audience reach and user experience. Services include: content acquisition, packaging and management; digital rights management (DRM) capabilities, and network distribution. The services are available on BBC Technology's highly scalable and reliable media platform based in the U.K. The infrastructure manages 1.3 billion page impressions each month for Europe's largest content website, bbc.co.uk, and has streamed 70 terabytes of rich media content in one month alone. Other customers include: RealNetworks, KPMG, the Office of National Statistics and the BBC's Digital Curriculum.

About BBC Technology's Broadcast Design & Build Services

BBC Technology's Broadcast Design & Build team provides a complete range of services from technical consultation and project management through to systems design and technical installation of broadcast facilities. The team works with media organizations to design and implement state-of-the-art, fit for purpose and cost-effective new or refurbished broadcast facilities. Hand-in-hand with this, broadcasters are helped to manage new ways of working, including operational and technical modernization, geographical moves and legislation. Over 400 broadcast facility projects have been delivered to the BBC, including major events such as the Commonwealth Games, Olympics 2004 and Euro2004, as well as significant projects such as the technical infrastructure design for Freeview and the technical specification design for the BBC's central London headquarters. Other customers include: RUV Iceland and BBC Broadcast.

About BBC Technology

Founded in March 2001, BBC Technology provides products and services for both the BBC and other global media-driven organizations. Drawing on eight decades of pioneering technical expertise and innovation for the BBC, BBC Technology helps organizations create, manage and distribute content more effectively across multiple platforms. BBC Technology's products and services include: the award-winning Colledia(TM) product portfolio, Colledia(TM) Control, media communications, Internet solutions, and consulting services. Customers include: BBC News, BSkyB, DIRECTV Inc., ESPN Inc., Hutchison 3G, SABC and Scottish Enterprise.

The BBC is currently managing the sale of BBC Technology, which will also incorporate a procurement process for a new technology services contract for the Corporation (see press release, 'BBC to Sell Technology Subsidiary', November 27, 2003). The move follows a strategic review of the BBC's technology requirements for the next decade, which identified potential annual savings for the BBC of between GBP 20-GBP 30m if its technology services were outsourced. Combining the procurement process with the sale of BBC Technology as a whole means the BBC can leverage maximum value and, as a result, invest more money in its programs and services. The move offers growth opportunities for the 1400 staff at BBC Technology as the company is attracting bids from major technology businesses with scale and expertise. It is anticipated that the process will be complete in Autumn 2004.