2010 was a year of new dimensions for GlobeCast Australia. When I started in television, it was the era of film, everything in black and white. There’s been much evolution and the odd revolution since that time.

The past decade alone has seen various chapters open in the digital era of production and transmission. Over those years, it has been a significant achievement for GlobeCast Australia to establish its reputation as a global digital hub with long-term clients around the World.

GlobeCast Australia is a Company well aware of its primary purpose, which is to move content rather than make, store, or own it.Moving content once meant driving a Morris Minor to and from CTC7’s Black Mountain studios to the Canberra Airport with a film can.That was back in 1968 — coincidentally, the year when 2001: A Space Odyssey was released to cinemas in 3D. More than 40 years later, and after all those decades of promise, 3D broadcasting arrived with much fanfare in 2010, sending us on a whole new odyssey. It literally brought a whole new dimension to those of us who operate satellite and fibre networks. Given our affinity with broadcasters and live events, for the teams at GlobeCast Australia, the transition was seamless and the service flawless.


GlobeCast Australia conducted successful 3D trials and delivery for TV Channels and Sporting Organisations and also delivered several different types of football live, in 3D, onto cinema screens. Audiences delighted in the ability to watch everything from FIFA games to the Grand Finals of Australian football codes, live, via satellite.

Ironically, 3D leap-frogged to the front row of our industry just as its technology standards were still being set. By mid-2010, 3D was already dominating the floors of television retail showrooms, even while many TV organizations worldwide were still incrementally ushering in the HD era.

For example, for the first time this year, more than half the Super 14 Rugby Union games we moved across three continents were delivered in crisp HD. For the first time, the Australian Open Tennis global delivery will occur in HD in January 2011. GlobeCast Australia was on the ground in Vancouver to set up and transmit the Winter Olympics globally in HD, including to its Asia Pacific clients, such as ESPN Star, Fiji TV and SKY New Zealand.

But while we’d had years to prepare for and introduce consummate HD delivery, 3D broadcasting’s eventual arrival seemed sudden.As sporting organizations committed the budgets for enhanced coverage, GlobeCast Australia drew on its expertise to move to this new dimension.We built on our reputation for digital transmissions to cinemas nationwide, and our people liaised with colleagues at networks including Nine and SBS to ensure the 3D signals moved effectively, whether for cinema or TV.

All of this activity simply proves — again — that new technology and content revolutions gain their own momentum.The broadcast industry is littered with those who held to strict timelines and could not foresee critical changes.What is a leading broadcast services company to do in such an environment? Deliver. Adapt. Innovate. Communicate. Expand. All of those things and more.The very ethos of GlobeCast Australia is to listen to its Clients and to provide what they want, promptly, not to build or buy something and wait for clientele to appear. All of our success are due to a true team effort.

For example, Commercial Director Andrew Nealon and Commercial Manager John Graham refined the way GlobeCast Australia meets and exceeds the expectations of its clients, with improved delivery solutions.To cope with increasing demand, a new fibre platform was rolled out, quadrupling capacity on the global backbone from London to Los Angeles to Sydney and Auckland.

Operations Manager Peter Doueihi led the Broadcast Centre to ensure DTH and Occasional Use clients could expect flexibility and reliability.

DTH Director Mark Lobwein and DTH Manager Tony Thornton worked with clients around the Globe to sign up new channels that included CCTV News and to renew global names such as Setanta.

Engineering Manager James Moody and Senior Engineer Shally Bandhu, who joined from BskyB, led their team in overseeing a number of major expansions and worked closely with IT Manager Raj Padavala to enhance the Company’s capabilities.The new initiatives came after Building and Teleport Manager Tony Seddon led an upgrade of the Broadcast Centre in late 2009 to quadruple floor space, triple monitoring, and enhance Teleport power.

DSNG Director Greg Littrich doubled HD DSNG capacity as his expert team of engineers enhanced Australia’s largest DSNG fleet to prepare for delivery of the Ashes Cricket in HD from November 2010 to February 2011 for BskyB.
The Bookings Team of John Fitt, Louise Hawthorne, and Renee Bulbert once again handled a tremendous increase in Occasional Use and Permanent services, which experienced a 40 percent growth rate in two years, all working closely with Finance Manager Rini Chandra and her team for seamless reporting to Clients.

GlobeCam Manager Gerry Justus and his team continued to innovate with new camera angles for sports coverage and with the world’s first live in-car 3D trials for motor racing coverage.

Our people know the technology and contracts are worth far less if relationships are not paramount on everyone’s agenda.At all levels of GlobeCast Australia, interacting with all levels of client companies in Australia and around the globe, the relationship is the key.It’s critical to how well the Company handles major channels, events, and sports, including cricket, golf and tennis, for networks, sporting organisations and agencies; along with global distribution of news events, such as the Chilean mine rescue.

GlobeCast Australia prides itself on recruiting industry professionals from around the world.More than half our workforce was born in other countries, drawn from 14 countries in all, offering global delivery with global expertise.

As well as operating its own global fibre backbone via leases with SingTel and other key local and global providers, GlobeCast Australia completes its innovative delivery framework with satellite leases on Optus, AsiaSat, and Intelsat. Locally, satellite is a key method of delivery in a region as geographically diverse as Australasia and the Pacific Islands.

The global fibre backbone is key to support delivery in an era of continuing globalization of sport; and ongoing proliferation of devices, screens and channels.Capacity is of course in even greater demand to service these needs in a world of HD and 3D transmissions.

As a team, we nurture a broadcast focussed culture, and while all team members strive for technical excellence, we also keep a clear service focus to help exceed client expectations.

As we get that right, it ensures GlobeCast Australia is the leading provider of services for International Broadcasters in Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, operating facilities and links that span the World — specializing in live digital delivery, SD and HD, and also at the cutting edge of 3D in 2010/2011.