In April of 2006, David Justin was asked to take the reigns as the CEO of GlobeCast Asia. Based in Singapore, he manages all of the company’s operations in Asia. These include a master control center and the access to teleport facilities in SingaporeHe was the Senior Vice President of Engineering for the company back in 2002, and most recently, he was the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Development at GlobeCast Europe. During his time with France Telecom Long Distance, David headed up the business unit that was in charge of providing services to satellite operators. He was then responsible for the four Telecom 2 satellite operations and was involved in all new satellite network or service programs. We were delighted to find David available for a quick discussion regarding his Asia-Pacific operations.

SatMagazine
Thanks for talking with us, Mr. Justin... would you please tell us about your own background and how you came to join GlobeCast Asia?

David Justin
I’ve been in the aerospace, satellite services and broadcast industries for 17 years with engineering and operations, business development and marketing positions in companies that include Aerospatiale, France Telecom, and Stellat. I joined GlobeCast in 2002, heading up the marketing and development team. GlobeCast is an international company that provides opportunities in numerous different markets around the world. Asia is among the most interesting of these markets, and I was very pleased to accept this position.

SatMagazine
David, would you tell us about GlobeCast Asia? How did the company became connected with France Telecom? Where does Asia fit in with GlobeCast’s international business plan?

David Justin
GlobeCast is a full subsidiary of France Telecom. GlobeCast Asia opened its Singapore headquarters in 1997 and there are offices in New Delhi, Seoul, Beijing and, after the recent acquisition of PCM, Hong Kong. In total, we employ approximately 60 staff across our Asia operation. Asia is GlobeCast’s fastest growing region: in the last three years, our revenue has more than doubled and the potential in this market is huge. GlobeCast offers content management and delivery services from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world; having a strong presence and expertise in the Asian market allows us to offer international broadcasters and content owners solutions to reach audiences in Asia, to accompany Asian clients in their international expansion, and to cover sports and news events which take place within the region.

SatMagazine
You announced in June that you are acquiring Pacific Century Matrix in Hong Kong. Could you tell us about the thinking behind the acquisition? Which new markets will it open up for GlobeCast and are there any new services on offer?

David Justin
As a result of the acquisition of PCM, we have an additional teleport facility, an extended fiber connectivity network and increased local expertise. Through this, we have increased our capability to offer international broadcasters solutions to distribute and monetize their content in Asia.

PCM’s pan-Asian cable distribution satellite solutions (with MEASAT-3 and ASIASAT-3S) complement GlobeCast’s Telstar-10 platform. With this extensive portfolio of technical solutions, any TV channel wanting to expand in Asia can be offered a solution tailored to cost effectively reach its target audience.
As Hong Kong and Singapore are international media hubs, it is highly beneficial for us to have a presence in these markets and PCM has allowed us to achieve that goal.

SatMagazine
Please describe your company’s satellite access and teleport operations.

David Justin
Globally, GlobeCast operates a network of global satellite and fiberlinks to manage and transport 10 million hours of video and other rich media each year. The Company leverages its worldwide ground and space segment assets (all company owned and operated) to power the distribution of diverse content across multiple markets. These markets include full-time and ad-hoc content, IPTV, mobile TV, broadband TV, digital signage, and corporate television.

GlobeCast Asia operates distribution platforms over multiple satellites across Asia, including Multiple-Channel-Per-Carrier (MCPC) satellite platforms Telstar-10, ASIASAT-3S, and MEASAT-3. From its technical hubs in Singapore and Hong Kong, access to a global network of fiber, 11 teleports, and technical operations centers can be provided — extremely diverse satellite capacity. The Singapore facility is also host to a state-of-the-art media management and playout facility for broadcasters looking to outsource their channel management needs.

SatMagazine
There’s a new playout centre in Singapore— why was it deemed necessary to make this investment at this time?

David Justin
For starters, the demand for a greater choice of TV channels is rapidly growing throughout Asia, thanks to the increasingly middle-class population and the launch of new distribution networks (such as DTH in India or IPTV in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Korea).

At the same time, technology continues to evolve. To name a few, HDTV, IPTV, mobile TV, MPEG4, and tapeless workflow have launched in the last few years. For our broadcast customers, this means a wealth of new opportunities, but also added technical complexity.

Furthermore, Asian markets have specific requirements such as dubbing, subtitling, and content editing, to meet local preferences and regulations. For already established broadcasters in the region, the technological changes require extensive CAPEX to maintain the pace. For new broadcasters, the complexity of the market requires dedicated feeds.

The timing was right for GlobeCast Asia to offer state of the art Digital Media Management services to provide broadcasters with an array of value added solutions. The goal was to simplify their tasks of customizing their channels to the local requirements and to take advantage of the latest technologies, all under high level Service Level Agreements. Our media management and playout centers in Europe and the U.S. have been successful and the same is expected from our new Singapore center.

SatMagazine
What are the reasons behind GlobeCast Asia’s recent growth?

David Justin
We’ve seen that the demand for more diverse TV channels is strong in Asia. Furthermore, globalization of the economy and the increasing Asian role has spurred the development of new international news channels wanting distribution in Asia, as well as Asian channels looking for worldwide distribution. With more than 10 years experience in Asia, our strong local presence and expertise — and the power of GlobeCast worldwide — has allowed us to tap into this growth. This has provided the Company with strong organic growth, but we are now at a level where it is appropriate for us to expand through acquisitions. This expansion and the increase in our service offerings also allow us to better position ourselves to serve the Asian media market.

SatMagazine
How has GlobeCast Asia’s business changed in the last year? What are the company’s core Asian competencies?

David Justin
The last year has seen exciting changes as many strategic developments which had been initiated some two years ago have come into fruition:

Facility and service expansion through the acquisition of PCM in Hong Kong — Launch of Media Management and playout services in Singapore — Launch of a consultancy service in India to help international channels obtain the downlink licence and negotiate carriage deals on local cable or DTH — Successful brokerage between Asian channels and IPTV operators in Europe and USA.

The last year has also seen GlobeCast Asia take an increasingly leading role in providing Sports Rights Holders services to cover the increasing number of large events taking place in Asia: the Beijing Games and IPL cricket in India, to name but two.

Being an independent service provider, the best solution for the customer can be built. Also, we have local presence and knowledge of each Asian market. Our staff is diverse and multilingual and they understand the local markets. Coupled with our international connectivity and the technical expertise of a worldwide group, this gives us a real competitive advantage.

SatMagazine
Companies in our industry constantly face new challenges — what have been some of the most interesting challenges for GlobeCast Asia over the past few years, and how were they overcome? How does GlobeCast maintain core employee loyalty and ensure a competent workforce?

David Justin
In this business, the risk of outages occurring is quite high, especially due to the occurrence of natural disasters in this region. In this highly dynamic and competitive environment, the challenge is to provide the best and most effective means to solve a problem and ensure smooth broadcast delivery. Because we have an exceedingly diverse network in terms of coverage and technology, there are backup solutions and redundancies to ensure customers remain on air to the maximum degree. This is a highly service-oriented environment. We focus on building relationships and maintaining a high level of professionalism in dealings with our clients and business partners.

Our colleagues come from various backgrounds — this provides an interesting mix of experience and work culture. Our Asian offices communicate regularly with one another and counterparts in our global offices. Having a close relationship with teams across our international business is key to our success.

SatMagazine
During the upcoming year, what are the major challenges and opportunities for the company in the Asian market? What are the major strategic opportunities for GlobeCast Asia, and what do you forecast for the entire industry?

David Justin
On the content side, the industry will see more channels being launched, especially from large U.S. and European broadcasters to cater to a specific geographic market in Asia or a niche audience, and from the ever-vibrant Indian media industry. The upgrade to HD is also on the top of the agenda for new and established broadcasters.

On the network side, several new satellite operators will launch their first satellites. That said, if we see a repeat of the European model, eventually there will besome consolidation as economic efficiency wins out over national pride.

One key opportunity for us rests in the ability to help our clients navigate the regulations in different Asian countries, as this is the one area where most Asian countries are more conservative than the U.S. or Europe. This is true at all levels of the broadcast chain, from content to foreign direct investments in media or infrastructure, as well as independent media/telecom regulatory authorities and effective anti-piracy schemes

SatMagazine
Thanks for your insights, David. We appreciate your time and information.