Ericsson, Canal+ Overseas sign multi-year agreement

Ericsson has announced that it is to extend and expand its partnership with Canal+ Overseas, a subsidiary of the Canal+ Group (Vivendi Group). Ericsson will provide a broad technical scope of broadcast services including ingestion, technical production, post-production and playout across twenty-two channels, fourteen of which will feature regular live programming. Canal+ Overseas is responsible for Canal+ and CanalSat for the French overseas territories and in Africa.

Frédéric Brochard, technical director Canal+ , says: “Leader in the edition and the distribution of premium and thematic channels, our core focus is on producing the quality content and programming that our customers rely on to keep them informed and up-to-date. We therefore need a partner we can trust to manage the ingestion, the technical production and playout for the 22 core channels we edit, with the flexibility to help us efficiently manage that content. Ericsson’s expertise both in the broadcasting and the managed services allows us to deliver premium quality services to our subscribers.”

Under the terms of the five-year contract, Ericsson is responsible for the technical preparation for ingestion, including studio and production gallery, post-production and playout services, as well as managing the technical aspects of content preparation and archiving. Ericsson will also provide offices for Canal+ Overseas staff. The media and broadcast facility will be linked back to the Canal+ file based core content system to ensure a seamless workflow and increased productivity, enabling Canal+ Overseas to meet the ever-growing consumer demand for better quality content.

Thorsten Sauer, head of broadcast services, Business Unit Global Services, Ericsson, adds: “With a leading media company such as Canal+ Overseas, we can apply our managed services expertise and technology innovation in areas such as media management and playout operation. Now we broaden our partnership and strengthen our presence, both in France and around the world. The agreement will enable Canal+ Overseas to transform the scope of its production and content management and to concentrate on offering state-of-the-art services.”