(12 December 2006 10:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Intelsat has announced that it has renewed and expanded its agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA) for international distribution of the league’s games.

The NBA distribution network will now include full-time and upgraded Intelsat capacity in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

NBA games and NBA TV, the league’s 24-hour television network will be backhauled from New York and transmitted from three of Intelsat’s teleports to four satellites in its global fleet; the IS-901 and IS-907 for Europe and the Middle East, the IS-805 for Latin America and the IS-902 for Asia. The NBA programming carried on this network will be received and re-transmitted by rightsholders and pay-tv networks around the world, asserts an official release.

NBA Entertainment senior vice president operations and technology Steve Hellmuth said, "Clear and reliable transmissions are crucial to bringing live game coverage and the latest NBA news and information to our millions of fans. Using Intelsat enables us to get all our domestic and international distribution services easily, from one place, and with the highest quality possible."

“Intelsat is at the forefront of sports programming distribution; our capability to transmit content anywhere, via satellite, fiber or both is what sets us apart from other operators. Top-level professional sports programming such as the NBA is in global demand, and Intelsat is an ideal partner for programmers looking to tap new audiences with their content," added Intelsat senior vice president Americas sales Kurt Riegelman.

Intelsat also transmits NBA live game coverage in both standard and high definition from most game venues to the NBA Entertainment headquarters in Secaucus, N.J., using its terrestrial fiber network in the United States.