The Comcast Media Center (CMC), a business unit of Comcast Cable, has expanded its relationship with SES AMERICOM by signing a multi-year, multi-transponder contract. Eventually, the CMC will use 29 C-band transponders in SES AMERICOM's HD-PRIME satellite neighborhood to deliver the current HITS Quantum platform plus additional services to HITS affiliates. The move to C-band from Ku-band will enhance service reliability and provide easier access to more programming and advanced service offerings such as HD and VOD.

"This expansion of the CMC's relationship with SES AMERICOM allows our HITS affiliates to deploy a highly competitive lineup of advanced video services while realizing a substantial savings in cost and bandwidth without sacrificing quality," said Gary Traver, COO of Comcast Media Center. "Our new satellite agreement joins several other developments that, all told, represent the largest commitment by the CMC or its predecessors, to HITS in the service's entire 15-year history."

"The Comcast Media Center has truly ambitious plans to dramatically increase their service offering including the number of HD channels, and their selection of SES AMERICOM to play a key role in this effort is a tremendous win for us," said Bryan McGuirk, President of SES AMERICOM's Media and Enterprise division. "We have worked closely with the Comcast Media Center on their technical evolutions of HITS so we fully appreciate the innovations that they are instituting and will ensure that our HD-PRIME satellite distribution solution meets their needs today and tomorrow."