BBC Technology secures Press Association as latest media communications customer

BBC Technology has announced a three-year deal with The Press Association (PA), which joins the growing number of broadcast organisations, including Globecast, BBC News, EBU, Sky, TVNZ and MTV, to use the London Media Gateway.
The Press Association will use BBC Technology's London Media Gateway for ad hoc distribution of its television news and sports footage. PA will also use the service to distribute BBC television news material to broadcasters outside the UK from the day of transmission.
BBC Technology's London Media Gateway, part of the company's Media Communications services, is a fully resilient fibre ring in London that enables the London broadcast community to exchange content and access BBC and EBU feeds, as well as to access international gateways and BBC Technology's teleports at London and Brookmans Park.
The distribution service offers flat fee, cost effective, resilient permanent circuits, so that the broadcast community can benefit from a dependable content delivery service with cost control.
"With no switching charges, BBC Technology's London Media Gateway is a highly competitive option in today's content distribution market," said Sean Curtis-Ward, Head of TV and Radio for The Press Association. "For our ad-hoc need to exchange content with BBC News, for example, it works out as extremely cost-effective, especially with the rapidly growing number of UK and international broadcasters joining this media community. We see it as an important step forward in the continuing growth of our audio and video news gathering business."
BBC Technology first established the London Media Gateway to enable the BBC to cost-effectively and easily distribute content among its London sites. The service has now been developed as a commercial proposition for BBC Technology, enabling other broadcast organisations to benefit from BBC Technology's extensive experience and specialist skills in the creation, management and distribution of content.
(GB)