EBU: The World's Largest TV Program Distributor.

With more than 100,000 transmissions per year, the EBU's Eurovision controls more than 30 percent of the European television market. Its strength is in the distribution of complex events (such as the Olympics) with parallel feeds originated from different locations. In addition, the EBU is used as an acquisition clearinghouse by members mostly for sports, music and education programs. Distribution costs are competitive and vary according to the service required. With the exception of some special events, rates are the same for both members and non-members. For program acquisition rights, the amount of the license fee depends on the number of territories involved. As it stands, the EBU gets involved with licensing rights only if requested to do so by members.

Eurovision consists of three satellite-based regional networks operating with the MPEG 2 4:2:2 digital video standard - the European, the Transatlantic (TTC) and the Australasian. All the regional networks are interconnected with each other.

In Europe, in the Middle East and in North Africa, the Eurovision network boasts 180 permanent downlink points and 54 fixed uplink stations in every country within the footprint of Eutelsat's W3. The European network is EBU's first service via satellite and remains the core of its operations. Indeed, the EBU has made a longterm commitment to satellite technology for its network. Besides offering full redundancy on the satellites it operates over Europe, the EBU has leased additional capacity over the Eutelsat 11F4 satellite.

The W3 is a fully-digital satellite that carries a mix of voice, data, television and radio services and DTH television. The W3's capacity allows the EBU to operate 30 channels at 8 Mbps (megabits per second) each for news exchanges or up to 12 channels at 24 Mbps each for sports. In addition, the EBU offers ad-hoc coverage of events and the rental of fly-away stations, trucks and all on-site staff in co-ordination with its Geneva control center.

Besides its headquarters in Geneva, the EBU mantains offices in Moscow, New York and Washington, D.C. for coverage, editing services and satellite uplinks. In North America, the EBU operates multiple digital channels at variable bit rates (MPEG 2 and 4:2:2 standard).

The EBU carries these channels over its 36 MHz trans-Atlantic leased satellites (uplink C-band, downlink ku band). Some additional capacity is leased for occasional use and ad-hoc operations.

Soon, the TTC network may be expanded to include a Latin American reach and East-to-West satellite capacity to North America.

The New York and D.C. offices are linked by a 45 Mbps terrestrial link in both directions and are equipped with all types of video converters, allowing redistribution to all continents in various standards.

Each TTC channel can be protected by an access - control key via the Eurovision Control Center, a round-the-clock desk located in Geneva which is also capable of remotely monitoring the whole Eurovision network.

The EBU has recently leased a 27 MHz transponder over Asiasat 2, which enables the union to reach more than 80 broadcasters over the Asia-Pacific region. As of April, Asiavision and the Asian Broadcasting Union news exchange services are carried by the EBU on Asiasat.

For news events, the EBU ensures a world-wide presence through all means of transmission, production and support for journalist crews sent by broadcasters for on-location reporting. The EBU's news operations are divided into two areas: 1) the exchange among the members of the organization and 2) the means of gathering video images for special events. The news exchanges are distributed 12 times per day providing members and some non-members with news and sports coverage from around the world.

The EBU is also the preferred carrier of many world sports events. With regards to this summer's Sydney Olympics, the EBU has organized 30 simultaneous feeds out of Sydney, mostly at 24 Mbps, positioning the EBU as the largest carrier from Australia.

The EBU launched two new services catering to program distribution from Europe to the U.S. and Canada. A fiber-based service connects London to New York and D.C., expandable to any destination in the U.S. and Canada via terrestrial circuits or domestic satellites. This service is compliant with the MPEG 2 4:2:2 standard and is available at bit rates ranging from between 8 Mbps and 15 Mbps.

A satellite service on Intelsat K and/or Pan Am Sat 3 for destinations in North and South America is also available on an occasional basis via the TTC network.

For the emerging Internet Protocol (IP) video and data broadcasting (web-casting) market, the EBU will equip its stations and networks with infrastructure for IP-based services. For these new services, IP-based content providers need the EBU to provide a broadband wide-reach distribution system to deliver their content to thousands of hosts who can store large data and video files on their websites.

The EBU will also be capable of integrating other functions in the television value chain, such as its "IP encapsulation" services, thus responding to the needs of the emerging broadcasters and, at the same time, facilitating traditional media players to expand their reach onto the web. This latter range of new. services are currently being reviewed and will be offered to broadcasters in its service expansion phase that is expected to start in the next year.