PanAmSat today announced that it is offering U.S. cable systems, DTH, IPTV and broadband network distributors an a la carte portfolio of international programming for their respective subscribers. Named Vis-a-TV, the new business will acquire rights to programming and distribute the programming to cable MSOs, IPTV platforms and broadband Internet service providers either for linear subscription or video-on-demand (VOD) service.

"PanAmSat is leveraging its relationships with its international programming customers to bring the best of the more than 400 channels currently on our satellite fleet to the U.S. market for distribution," said Joe Wright, CEO of PanAmSat. "We will use our satellite capacity to bring our channels to the U.S. and to deliver the content to the last-mile operators who sign with us. We will deliver the U.S. market to our content providers for a share of the subscription revenues. We have already landed a significant number of channels and are rolling out our service for subscribers first to the Internet to be followed by cable TV and IPTV platforms in the near future. We believe the richly multi-cultural U.S. market has a strong appetite for this video content. This move is consistent with PanAmSat's view of how FSS providers must evolve from bandwidth-only providers into more fully integrated service providers that are more closely tied to content and the terrestrial networks that they serve."

PanAmSat also announced it had inked a broadband distribution agreement with Move Networks, a subscription-based broadband VOD platform. The technical hub for the service is located at PanAmSat's Atlanta teleport.

Programming for the Vis-a-TV platform is being distributed digitally on PanAmSat's Galaxy 13 spacecraft which reaches virtually every cable system in the U.S. Due to the power of this satellite, broadcasters will be ensured to have maximum exposure to households seeking 'home country' television programming. PanAmSat has assembled a strong team of professionals for content acquisitions, affiliate relations and back-office support for the business.