Prime Focus Broadcast Hub to Transform Kolkata Media and Entertainment Market

Regional centre extends CLEAR’s Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure, offers production, post and content operations, and access to the Digital Media Supply Chain

Kolkata, December 9th 2011 – – Prime Focus has announced the launch of a revolutionary new service for the media and entertainment industry in the eastern region of India – the opening of a Broadcast Hub in Kolkata. At the heart of this new offering is CLEAR™, the hybrid-cloud based, unified multi-platform content operations infrastructure developed by Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), which utilizes the latest in cloud technology to securely manage content, workflows, media processing, storage and delivery. CLEAR™ technology is already changing the way major broadcasters such as STAR TV handle content and manage the broadcast eco-system.

The Kolkata Broadcast Hub will provide the region with a Digital Media Supply Chain – a file-based service which connects content developers, broadcasters and content transmission centers, and offers many benefits over the traditional method of using tape to deliver content, including reduced operational costs, ‘time-to-air’ reductions, and previously untapped opportunities to monetize content by making it available to new audiences across multiple platforms.

Expanding on PFT’s existing ingest centres in Mumbai, which offer clients local access points to the Digital Media Supply Chain, the new Kolkata Broadcast Hub adds a state-of-the-art Content Operations facility to provide industry-leading production, post-production, visual effects, distribution, archiving and delivery services to the local advertising, film and broadcast industries.

The advantages are clear. Content providers can dedicate their resources to making programming and advertising as creative and compelling as possible, without having to worry about technical delivery specifications; and broadcasters have access to a larger pool of content from more diverse locations and suppliers, and because they receive a broadcast-ready digital file, no longer have to handle tapes or run in-house content services departments to prepare the content for air. This can represent substantial savings in terms of time and cost for all members of the Digital Media Supply Chain.

“We are delighted to be bringing our Cloud based cutting-edge production, post and content services to Kolkata,” said Ramki Sankaranarayanan, President and CEO of PFT and CEO of Prime Focus India. “Not only does this offer local content providers access to the tools and talent to finish their work to the highest standard, and then deliver it for broadcast efficiently and correctly; it will also dramatically change the way broadcasters in the area operate, offering more choice and diversification of content whilst removing costly, labour-intensive processes. This is a ‘first-of-its-kind’ for the vibrant city of Kolkata, and the eastern region in general, and we’re genuinely excited by the possibilities which lie ahead.”