RR Media

RR Media was an Israeli business-to-business media-services company serving television broadcasters, sports and news organizations, production companies, and other content owners. Its operations developed from the communications and teleport business established in 1981 under the RRsat name. The company combined satellite, fiber, and internet connectivity with the operational services needed to prepare, manage, distribute, and transmit television and video content internationally. The company’s service portfolio covered four closely related areas. First, its global content-distribution network provided satellite downlink and uplink, fiber connections between media facilities, links to television service providers, and internet-based delivery. Through this infrastructure, RR Media could distribute live channels, streaming media, and video-on-demand material in standard definition, high definition, 4K, and 3D formats where required. Second, it supplied end-to-end content-management and playout services. These included digitization, localization, format conversion, ingest, editing, restoration, metadata management, digital asset management, video-on-demand workflows, playlist administration, advertising insertion, graphics, titles, overlays, and channel origination. The company also created branded and white-label channels using live and archived programming. A third area was the handling of sports, news, and other live events. RR Media supported rights holders, broadcasters, and news channels with live production, outside-broadcast and satellite-news-gathering capabilities, studios, event contribution, global live distribution, content preparation, and playout. Its stated event coverage included football, basketball, tennis, and golf, alongside news and entertainment programming. The fourth area was online video. RR Media adapted archive and existing broadcast content for digital use, operated content-management and video-on-demand services, supported branded online platforms and web-video portals, and provided multi-screen delivery and audience-measurement capabilities. The company operated media centers in Hawley, Pennsylvania; Emek Ha’Ela, Israel; and Bucharest, Romania. It opened an additional London facility in June 2015 and announced a Miami facility in April 2016. These locations supported content preparation, media management, online video, live content, distribution, and round-the-clock customer support. RR Media’s corporate identity changed during its public-company period. RRsat Communications Network Ltd. became publicly traded on NASDAQ in November 2006 under the ticker RRST. In September 2014, RRsat Global Communications Network was rebranded as RR Media, and in 2015 the company changed its NASDAQ ticker to RRM. It also expanded through acquisitions, purchasing Romanian content-services provider Eastern Space Systems in April 2015 and acquiring Satlink Communications in June 2015 to increase its distribution scale and content-management footprint. In February 2016, SES announced an agreement to acquire RR Media, subject to regulatory approvals, and to combine it with SES Platform Services, SES’s German media-services subsidiary. The merged business was named MX1 in July 2016. As a result, RR Media ceased to operate as an independent corporate brand. During its independent period, the company received industry recognition including the World Teleport Association’s Independent Teleport Operator of the Year award in 2009, recognition of Avi Cohen as Teleport Executive of the Year in 2014, and a 2014 TVB Europe award for work involving legacy content restoration and YouTube distribution.

RR Media originated in 1981 as a communications provider founded by David Rivel, an engineer working in electronics, computers, and communications. The business later operated as RRsat Communications Network and developed around satellite and teleport-based communications for media customers. Its capabilities eventually expanded beyond transmission infrastructure into the preparation, management, playout, and digital distribution of television and video content. RRsat Communications Network Ltd. became a publicly traded company on NASDAQ on November 1, 2006, under the ticker RRST. The company’s business model combined international satellite distribution with operational media services. It could receive and transmit programming, connect broadcasters and television platforms, prepare content in different technical formats, and operate channels and other media workflows on behalf of clients. During the 2000s and early 2010s, the company broadened its service offering to include content management, video-on-demand, online video, live sports, news, and event services. Its network used satellite, fiber, and internet delivery, while its media centers handled digitization, localization, restoration, editing, metadata, asset libraries, channel preparation, playout, and live operations. This combination enabled the company to serve both traditional television distribution and emerging multi-screen and online-video requirements. In September 2014, RRsat Global Communications Network was rebranded RR Media. The new identity was introduced at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam and reflected the company’s positioning as a wider digital-media services provider rather than solely a satellite communications operator. In 2015, the company changed its NASDAQ ticker symbol from RRST to RRM. RR Media pursued geographic and operational expansion in 2015. In April it acquired Eastern Space Systems, a Romanian company providing content management, content distribution, and consulting services. In June it acquired Satlink Communications, a transaction intended to increase the scale of its global distribution network and extend its content-management capabilities. The company also opened a London media facility in June 2015. In April 2016, it announced an additional facility in Miami, Florida. The company received industry recognition during this period. The World Teleport Association named RRsat Independent Teleport Operator of the Year in 2009. In 2014, the same organization recognized Avi Cohen as Teleport Executive of the Year. RR Media also won a 2014 TVB Europe award for Achievement in Legacy Content, associated with its work on British Pathé material and restoration for YouTube. In February 2016, SES announced that it intended to acquire RR Media, subject to regulatory approval, and combine it with SES Platform Services, a media-services provider based in Unterföhring near Munich. The transaction ended RR Media’s independent corporate trajectory. By July 2016, the combined business had been named MX1. RR Media is therefore best understood as a former Israeli media-services company whose broadcast-distribution, content-management, and live-media operations became part of the MX1 business.

• 2016

  SES acquisition announced

  [1]RR Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  SES announced plans to acquire RR Media and combine it with SES Platform Services, subject to approvals.

• 2016

  Combined company becomes MX1

  [1]RR Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  The merged RR Media and SES Platform Services business was named MX1.

• 2015

  NASDAQ ticker changes to RRM

  [1]RR Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  The company changed its NASDAQ ticker symbol from RRST to RRM.

• 2015

  Romanian media facility and acquisitions expand the network

  [1]RR Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  RR Media acquired Eastern Space Systems and Satlink Communications and opened a London facility.

• 2014

  Rebrand from RRsat to RR Media

  [1]RR Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  The company adopted the RR Media name as part of a broader digital-media positioning.

• 2009

  Independent Teleport Operator of the Year

  [1]RR Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  The World Teleport Association recognized RRsat as Independent Teleport Operator of the Year.

• 2006

  NASDAQ listing

  [1]RR Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  RRsat Communications Network Ltd. became publicly traded on NASDAQ under the ticker RRST.

• 1981

  Communications business established

  [1]RR Mediaen.wikipedia.org

  David Rivel founded the communications provider that later developed into RRsat and ultimately RR Media.

A global business-to-business media infrastructure and services provider connecting broadcast distribution with content preparation, management, playout, live production, and online video delivery.

• Media distribution

  Global content distribution

  RR Media distributed television channels, streaming media, and video-on-demand content through a network combining satellite downlink and uplink, fiber connections, links to television providers, and internet delivery. The service supported multiple technical formats, including standard definition, high definition, 4K, and 3D television.

• Broadcast operations

  Content management and playout

  This service covered content digitization, localization, conversion, ingest, editing, restoration, formatting, metadata curation, digital asset management, video-on-demand workflows, playlist management, advertising insertion, graphics, titles, overlays, and channel origination. RR Media could also create branded or white-label channels from live and archived material.

• Live media services

  Sports, news, and live events

  RR Media supported sports rights holders, broadcasters, and news organizations with live production, outside-broadcast and satellite-news-gathering capabilities, studios, event contribution, simultaneous translation, turnaround, live distribution, and playout. The company cited football, basketball, tennis, golf, news, and entertainment events among the material it supported.

• Online video

  Online video services

  RR Media converted archive and broadcast content for online use and supported content-management systems, video-on-demand services, branded platforms, web-video portals, multi-screen delivery, and viewer-measurement tools. The offering connected traditional broadcast workflows with internet distribution.

• 2016

  Combine with SES Platform ServicesM&A

  Background

  SES sought to combine RR Media with its German media-services subsidiary, SES Platform Services, to create a larger provider for broadcasters, production companies, and platform operators.

  Action taken

  SES announced an agreement to acquire RR Media, subject to regulatory approvals, and merge the businesses.

  Aftermath

  The combined business was named MX1 in July 2016, ending RR Media’s existence as an independent company.

  Source

• 2015

  Acquire Eastern Space SystemsM&A

  Background

  RR Media sought to expand its content-management and distribution capabilities in Europe.

  Action taken

  It acquired Eastern Space Systems, a privately held Romanian provider of content management, content distribution, and related consulting services.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition strengthened RR Media’s Romanian presence and broadened its operational media-services footprint.

  Source

• 2015

  Acquire Satlink CommunicationsM&A

  Background

  RR Media aimed to increase the scale of its global content-distribution network and deepen its content-management operations.

  Action taken

  The company acquired Satlink Communications.

  Aftermath

  RR Media described the transaction as supporting network scale, geographic reach, customer diversification, and media-industry expertise.

  Source

• 2014

  Rebrand from RRsat to RR MediaStrategy

  Background

  The company was expanding from satellite and teleport communications into broader digital-media distribution, content management, playout, and online-video services.

  Action taken

  It changed its corporate and market-facing identity from RRsat Global Communications Network to RR Media.

  Aftermath

  The new name emphasized the company’s broader media-services scope. The rebrand was launched at the 2014 International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam.

  Source

1. 1RR Mediaen.wikipedia.org