Thomson announced Wednesday that it has signed two year agreements with both Sky Mexico and Sky Brasil for the manufacture of digital set-top boxes that will deliver digital satellite television throughout each country.
The agreements further reinforce Thomson's position as the worldwide leader in satellite set-top boxes and follow the global strategic supplier agreement signed between Thomson and News Corp in November 2003. For the past year, Thomson has been targeting growth within the News Corp family of operators as a key corporate priority.
Sky Brasil, a strategic alliance between News Corporation, Organizacoes Globo and Liberty Media International, operates Latin America's largest digital direct to home (DTH) television service with over 800,000 customers enjoying more than 150 channels with DVD quality of video and audio.
Sky Mexico, is the largest digital DTH television service in Mexico with over 900,000 subscribers, and is offered through an alliance of News Corp., Grupo Televisa and Liberty Media International.
"We are pleased to be able to provide these two important markets with products that reflect our technology innovations and manufacturing expertise," commented Tim Saeger, Vice President, Americas Satellite, Thomson.
"These contracts solidify Thomson's worldwide leadership position in satellite decoders and are the latest development in a multi-year relationship with News Corporation companies that includes manufacturing agreements with BSkyB, DirecTV and Sky Italia," he added.
In commenting on the announcement, Ricardo Miranda, Chief Executive Officer of Sky Brasil, said, "For more than 10 years, Thomson has been the leading supplier of digital satellite decoders and we look forward to offering our many subscribers the advanced television technologies that this new set-top box will deliver."
"We have very specific technical requirements and we are confident that Thomson will be able to meet these demands."
The MPEG 2 decoders will be manufactured in Thomson facilities in Juarez, Mexico and Manaus, Brazil. Unique to the Sky Brasil decoder is the capability for Digital C-Band reception along with Dolby Digital audio. Sky Mexico is focusing on the unique solution provided by Thomson for multiple decoders in a subscriber's home.
The agreements significantly reinforce Thomson's Video Networks Solutions Division, which provides digital equipment and services for broadcast television, cable and other network operators.
