Imagine Communications Expands National Playout Center for Australia's Nine Network

SYDNEY, June 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine Communications, a market leader of media software and video infrastructure solutions serving the global broadcast, multichannel video programming distributor and enterprise markets, today announced that it has expanded the capabilities of the National Playout Centre (NPC) for Nine Network, the largest free-to-air broadcaster in Australia. The new enhancements to the NPC's existing Imagine Communications content management and channel playout architecture enable the NPC to extend coverage to the Adelaide and Perth markets, which were acquired by Nine Network in 2013.

"When we first planned the NPC, we knew we had to build a system that was readily scalable, which is one of the key reasons we selected Imagine Communications," said Geoff Sparke, Director Broadcast Operations of Nine Network. "With new markets to serve, we were able to rapidly scale to meet these opportunities with Imagine Communications' highly flexible and comprehensive technology. We enjoy a long-term strategic relationship with Imagine Communications and have been pleased by the expertise, commitment and response rate of their professional services organization. We look forward to ongoing collaboration."

The NPC, which opened in 2012 in Sydney, originally served 18 channels across the country. The NPC's initial deployment of a comprehensive Imagine Communications multichannel playout solution allowed the broadcaster to streamline technical operations by centralizing playout for all of Nine Network's markets within a single, highly efficient and modern broadcast facility. In order to enable the continued growth of the network, the NPC expanded their deployment of Imagine Communications D-Series™ playout automation and Nexio® Insight asset management software, while increasing their existing Nexio server installation's capacity with Nexio Volt™ compact, integrated media servers. The expansion also includes Imagine Communications Selenio™ media convergence platforms for signal processing, and a Platinum™ router with Multiviewer for large scale routing and monitoring.

"Nine Network is a true market innovator, and we are pleased to have implemented a state-of-the art facility that easily expands to support their ongoing new markets and services," said Joe Khodeir, Vice President of Asia Pacific at Imagine Communications. "I am extremely proud of our collaboration with Nine to deliver this advanced facility. Meeting the needs of multiple channels in multiple markets across multiple time zones is demanding and a unique strength of our playout solution. The original installation met these complex requirements, and we are delighted that they returned to us when they needed to add new channels that built upon the current on-air system."

To learn more about Imagine Communications' end-to-end media software and video infrastructure solutions, please visit www.imaginecommunications.com

About Nine Network
Nine Network is a free-to-air broadcasting network in Australia with operations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, as well as regional operations in Northern New South Wales and Darwin. Nine Network is part of Nine Entertainment Co., a leading Australian and media entertainment group with a presence across television, events and online. For more information, visit http://www.nineentertainment.com.au/about-us.aspx.

About Imagine Communications
Leveraging more than five decades of innovation, Imagine Communications Corp. is a global leader of media software and video infrastructure solutions serving more than 3,000 broadcast, multichannel video programming distributor, government and enterprise customers spanning 185 countries. Today, nearly half of the world's video channels traverse through more than 3 million of our products deployed around the world. With a bold vision and commitment to IP-enabled, cloud-based, software-defined platforms and TV Everywhere, Imagine Communications is delivering billions of moments around the world anywhere, anytime and on any device. Visit www.imaginecommunications.com for more information, and follow us on Twitter @imagine_comms.

SOURCE Imagine Communications