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[Satellite News 08-11-09] GlobeCast Asia is targeting India in its efforts to get on more platforms across the region, CEO Darby Sanchez told Satellite News. “We have big plans for India. The country’s blooming media market is a phenomenal opportunity for us as it has the highest growth in the number of channels launched year-on-year,” she said.
Sanchez has found her company playing a key role in helping broadcasters come up with more complex strategies to reach an audience. To its broadcast customers wanting to populate DTH, IPTV and even mobile TV platforms, GlobeCast is now more than just a technical solutions provider. “I think one of the biggest challenges for us today is to continue to develop services around the value chain for our clients and to increase what we offer in terms of new functionalities and new features in the region. We need to evolve. We can’t just provide the classic services such as satellite capacity, uplink etc. It would be very difficult to continue to grow,” she said.
To illustrate the company’s Indian strategy, Sanchez provides an example of the work GlobeCast Asia does to help broadcasters become key brands in different regions. Sanchez points to its partnership with Russian broadcaster, Russia Today. “Russia Today is growing incredibly. It is in the English language but presents a Russian point of view. In Asia, they have said to us, ‘Can you help us get licenses in Asian countries?’ We have got them licenses in countries such as India and a few other countries. They then said, ‘Can you help us gain carriage?’ So we have negotiated on their behalf. Subsequently, they asked, ‘Can you get in four- and five-star hotels?’ And we helped them with that,” she said.
Alexey Nikolov, deputy editor-in-chief of Russia Today Channel, said GlobeCast has been a reliable partner. “Due to their global presence and deep local knowledge, we look to GlobeCast for guidance on country specific distribution and reach strategies and execution,” he said.
Sanchez admits that expanding its presence into different regions, especially India, comes with risk. “Capacity could be a big problem in India. We can’t solve the satellite capacity issue. We are not a satellite operator. You also have the problem of low [average revenue per user]. But our customers come to us wanting to be on platforms there, so we have to try and find innovative ways to get around the issues,” she said.
Despite a global economic downturn, Sanchez believes GlobeCast Asia will perform strongly in 2009, allowing the company to initiate its expansion plans. “Revenues will grow in 2009. Will it grow as much as it would have done had we not seen the economic difficulties? The answer is probably, ‘No.’ There have been projects which have been postponed. Our clients are international clients coming into the region. In the United States, some of the players have been hit much harder. They have even postponed some plans to launch on IPTV, for example. That said, we are still growing and will grow this year, but the economic situation may have impacted that level of growth,” she said.
Sanchez has found her company playing a key role in helping broadcasters come up with more complex strategies to reach an audience. To its broadcast customers wanting to populate DTH, IPTV and even mobile TV platforms, GlobeCast is now more than just a technical solutions provider. “I think one of the biggest challenges for us today is to continue to develop services around the value chain for our clients and to increase what we offer in terms of new functionalities and new features in the region. We need to evolve. We can’t just provide the classic services such as satellite capacity, uplink etc. It would be very difficult to continue to grow,” she said.
To illustrate the company’s Indian strategy, Sanchez provides an example of the work GlobeCast Asia does to help broadcasters become key brands in different regions. Sanchez points to its partnership with Russian broadcaster, Russia Today. “Russia Today is growing incredibly. It is in the English language but presents a Russian point of view. In Asia, they have said to us, ‘Can you help us get licenses in Asian countries?’ We have got them licenses in countries such as India and a few other countries. They then said, ‘Can you help us gain carriage?’ So we have negotiated on their behalf. Subsequently, they asked, ‘Can you get in four- and five-star hotels?’ And we helped them with that,” she said.
Alexey Nikolov, deputy editor-in-chief of Russia Today Channel, said GlobeCast has been a reliable partner. “Due to their global presence and deep local knowledge, we look to GlobeCast for guidance on country specific distribution and reach strategies and execution,” he said.
Sanchez admits that expanding its presence into different regions, especially India, comes with risk. “Capacity could be a big problem in India. We can’t solve the satellite capacity issue. We are not a satellite operator. You also have the problem of low [average revenue per user]. But our customers come to us wanting to be on platforms there, so we have to try and find innovative ways to get around the issues,” she said.
Despite a global economic downturn, Sanchez believes GlobeCast Asia will perform strongly in 2009, allowing the company to initiate its expansion plans. “Revenues will grow in 2009. Will it grow as much as it would have done had we not seen the economic difficulties? The answer is probably, ‘No.’ There have been projects which have been postponed. Our clients are international clients coming into the region. In the United States, some of the players have been hit much harder. They have even postponed some plans to launch on IPTV, for example. That said, we are still growing and will grow this year, but the economic situation may have impacted that level of growth,” she said.
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