CommScope (NASDAQ: COMM) and ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC) announced last week that ViacomCBS launched its FAVE channel, and migrated its DABL and certain SHOWTIME channels from satellite to Content Delivery Network (CDN) IP distribution using the CommScope DigiCipher Streaming system. The migration represents the first ViacomCBS services to be fully transitioned from satellite to CDN IP—leveraging existing CDN IP infrastructure for service distribution to CBS broadcast stations, DABL affiliates, and Showtime MVPDs throughout their U.S. footprint instead of traditional satellite delivery.
“Satellite bandwidth in the U.S. will diminish by 60 percent in 2023 as a result of the successful 2020 FCC C-band satellite auction,” said Ric Johnsen, senior vice president and segment leader, Broadband Networks, CommScope. “This creates an imperative for programmers to plan their eventual migration from satellite to CDN content distribution.”
Johnsen said the DigiCipher Streaming system offers programmers like ViacomCBS a low-risk migration path that leverages their existing Integrated Receiver Decoders in the migration from satellite to CDN IP input, enabling new distribution efficiencies, and eliminating service interruption.
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