Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) completed the National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB 2008) with multiple major orders – including those for its high-definition (HD) news, IPTV, and digital broadcast transmission solutions – as well as key industry awards, and customer enthusiasm for its new products.
“NAB confirmed the industry’s interest to accelerate and complete the transition to HD, with a better cost optimization thanks to automation, as well as its interest in developing new diversified sources of revenue through the Web, mobility and more value-added services” said Jacques Dunogué, Thomson’s Senior Executive Vice President, Head of the Systems division. “Under the general theme: from broadcast to broadercasting, we were proud to present our comprehensive portfolio of solutions, all available for immediate delivery, as well as some technology innovations for the future. And it was rewarding to see the attention we received.”
Thomson Continues To Build Lead In HD News
Proving the strength of its latest product lineup, Thomson received a number of new major orders, including those for its HD news solutions, which have been selected by more broadcasters than any other system. Orders for these systems, and other Thomson Grass Valley™ equipment, included those from:
• WTTW-TV, the premier PBS member station in Chicago, which has ordered more than $1 million worth of Thomson Grass Valley HD news production equipment;
• KHQ-TV, the NBC affiliate in Spokane, Wash., which is relying on Thomson to migrate its news operation to file-based HD system;
• Rede Record, the second largest television network in Brazil, which is building a new and very high-profile playout and exhibition center in Sao Paulo;
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which is relying on Thomson to help it roll out fully integrated HD newsrooms across all its sites. It is one of the largest multi-site broadcast installations ever undertaken in Australia.
• France 2, which is rolling out a new HD studio and control room in Paris.
Momentum Grows for Mobile TV, IPTV, & Digital Broadcast Transmission Solutions
At NAB 2008, Thomson saw worldwide enthusiasm for its mobile TV solutions with the announcement that 11 of the 14 countries now deploying commercial DVB-H mobile television services rely on Thomson video head ends, service platforms and transmitters.
Momentum also continued to grow for Thomson’s IPTV solutions, as well as broadcast transmission systems. Orders for these Thomson systems included those from:
• Teo, the largest telecommunications operator in Lithuania, which is leveraging a network of Thomson SmartVision video-on-demand (VOD) servers in its launch of an advanced range of video services for IPTV customers;
• The Ministry of Culture & Information in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has placed two large orders for Thomson digital television transmitters, as well as for the creation of a digital archive system for the state broadcaster;
• Trinity Broadcast Network & WCTE-TV, two United States broadcasters which have deployed Thomson’s digital transmission systems to respectively upgrade networks and prepare for the country’s analog switch-off;
• Bengladesh Radio & All India Radio, two new clients for Thomson medium- wave radio transmitters, which respectively ordered 1000 kW radio transmitters to upgrade an existing broadcast network for nationwide coverage and which selected M2W transmitters for broadcast of first local radio to the Lakshadweep Islands.
Thomson’s ViBE MPEG-4 video encoders, launched at the end of 2007 also reached a new milestone at NAB 2008 with 1000 encoders shipped.
New Products and Key Awards
Thomson products won two key industry awards at NAB 2008. Highlighting the importance of the broadercasting concept, the new Thomson Grass Valley MediaFUSE® system – which was announced at NAB 2008 – received a 2008 STAR (Superior Technology Award Recipient) Award from the editors of TV Technology magazine. The MediaFUSE product is the only system capable of simultaneously producing Web, mobile, and IPTV broadcast materials in real time for live and on-demand applications.
Also receiving an award was the Thomson Grass Valley ADVC-HD50 advanced digital video converter. The prestigious award came from the 4Ever Group, an association of members representing wedding and event videography professionals. The award recognizes the ADVC-HD50, which converts files from the HDMI to HDV formats, as a product that offers great promise to the event-videography industry.
Central to the concept of broadercasting is the transition from fixed video and audio file formats to open, file-based storage and production. A pioneer in file-based approaches, Thomson highlighted new versions of its Thomson Grass Valley Infinity™ Series Digital Media Camcorder (DMC), taking advantage of advances in its storage media (REV PRO™), allowing users to choose the workflow that best suits their needs.
Underscoring the importance of this approach, KVBC-TV in Las Vegas, a Sunbelt Communications Company subsidiary, announced an order for 18 Infinity Series DMCs.
Certain statements in this release, including any discussion of management expectations for future periods, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements due to changes in global economic and business conditions, “media and entertainment” markets, and regulatory factors. More detailed information on the potential factors that could affect the financial results of Thomson is contained in Thomson’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Thomson — World leader in digital video technologies
Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) provides technology, services, and systems to help its Media, Entertainment & Communications clients – content creators, content distributors and users of its technology – realize their business goals and optimize their performance in a rapidly changing technology environment. For more information: http://www.thomson.net.
