France's La Chaîne Parlementaire - Assemblée Channel Chooses Thomson

Thomson, a leading provider of video solutions for the Communication, Media & Entertainment (CME) industries, has announced that Technicolor, its Services division, has won a bid to design, build and maintain the news production system for La Chaîne Parlementaire-Assemblée nationale (LCP-AN), the French Parliament TV channel.
The six-year contract covers the design and creation of a news production system for LCP-Assemblée nationale, as well as system maintenance and training for the channel's operating teams and journalists.
The project will be managed by Technicolor Network Services France, part of Thomson's Services division, with the support of the Systems division which is responsible for system integration. Through its Technicolor Network Services business, the Services division provides broadcasting services for television channels and telecoms operators around the world.
LCP-Assemblée nationale is a public service broadcaster whose role is to inform and educate citizens about public life through parliamentary, educational and civic programmes. LCP-Assemblée nationale is broadcast in France via digital terrestrial TV (DTT), cable, satellite and ADSL. The channel offers live and pre-recorded broadcasts of parliamentary debates in the Assemblée nationale, a live daily news roundup and weekly and monthly magazine programmes.
The new production, postproduction and programme-making platform is expected to be operational in September 2008. Thomson will provide advance training for journalists and operations teams to ensure a seamless transition from the existing production system to the new platform provided by Thomson. The system will be installed over the summer, during the parliamentary recess. Installation, integration and training of the news and studio production system at LCP-AN will be completed in a short time frame thanks to Thomson's unique, end-to-end Services and Systems Integration support and coordination.
Ronan Lunven, President of Technicolor Network Services France, said: "We are delighted to work with Chairman and CEO Richard Michel and his team at LCP-AN, a major DTT channel with a very innovative editorial and technical approach. This agreement is testimony to our strength in complex project management and to our expertise in the implementation of ground-breaking systems for media groups."
Technicolor offers its customers a worldwide resource to manage broadcast operations including facilities located in the UK, the Netherlands, France and Singapore. Today, Technicolor Network Services has more than 22 facilities that deliver 278 feeds around the world for blue-chip organisations such as ITV, BBC Worldwide, Canal+, M6, NBC Universal, TV5 Monde, The Walt Disney Company, MTV, Orange and Netherlands Public Broadcasting.
Further information is available at: www.thomson.net.
(KMcA)