Broadcast Facilities, Inc. Acquires Crawford Communications, Inc.’s Satellite Services Division

Broadcast Facilities, Inc. (BFI), a media services company, announces its purchase of Crawford Communications, Inc.’s Satellite Services division. The stock acquisition includes all of Crawford’s television network origination, Teleport, satellite uplink trucks, Internet, production and government services portions of the business. BFI’s other primary asset is Andrita Media Center, the largest independent HD and SD network origination, production, post-production and digital media facility on the West Coast.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Crawford has been providing turnkey broadcast solutions since 1984. The company performs over 40,000 feeds per year, originates/turns more than 200 full-time networks and provides satellite services to hundreds of clients in various industries.

Crawford works closely with major news networks such as ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and NBC. The company delivers content for sports leagues and broadcasters including DIRECTV Sports Networks, ESPN, MLB, NASCAR Media Group, NBA and NFL Network. The CDC, NASA and U.S. military’s Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS) are among its government clients. Crawford also performs international services for Alterna’TV, Latin American Pay Television (LAPTV), MGM Networks Latin America and SkyVision. In addition to these notable organizations, Crawford provides disaster recovery for BET, Discovery Communications, Scripps Networks and The Weather Channel.

“We have always had the highest regard for the team at Crawford, the technical innovations that they have implemented, and their unique customer focus,” comments Simon Bax, CEO of BFI. “By combining our resources, and our West and East Coast locations, we will now be able to provide a more comprehensive range of services for our clients.”

Spanning over 110,000 square feet, Crawford has one of the largest network origination facilities in the U.S. The company employs 335 people and operates 24/7. Crawford’s services include network origination/playback; central casting; disaster recovery; satellite and fiber transmissions; satellite uplink and production trucks; IP-media; IP via satellite; emergency communications; governmental SATCOM; Webcasting; and studios and remote video production.

“The integration of Crawford’s facility and services will greatly enhance BFI’s existing broadcast operations,” said Bill Tillson, President and COO of BFI. “With these collective resources, we will continue to lead the way in cutting-edge broadcast solutions for 24/7 networks, occasional video events and video distribution for producers and distributors of digital media.”

Crawford’s Atlanta facility and BFI’s Los Angeles Media Center will offer mirrored disaster recovery and the ability to quickly launch HD/SD networks. In addition, clients will have access to a unique footprint for the backhaul of both domestic and international sporting events and to quickly roll-out central casting services for TV stations throughout the U.S.

“This is a great opportunity for both Crawford and BFI. Our full-time network clients now have a valuable back-up location as well as a West Coast point-of-presence,” explains Jim Schuster, President of Crawford Communications and EVP of BFI. “Moving forward, we will keep all operational and client-related services intact while expanding our global reach.”

About Broadcast Facilities, Inc.
Broadcast Facilities, Inc. was formed in 2008 to acquire broadcast media centers in the U.S., Asia and Europe. BFI is focused on providing network origination, fiber and satellite transmission and digital media services including the capture, manipulation and distribution of digital media on a worldwide basis. BFI’s first acquisition was the Andrita Media Center (Andrita), which BFI acquired on April 1, 2008.

Andrita is a state-of-the-art, 106,000 square foot multi-channel HD/SD digital server-based network origination, satellite transmission, production and post-production media facility located in Los Angeles, California. Andrita originates a large roster of networks 24/7 including Hallmark, MGM HD, Current TV, Game Show Network and Universal Sports. Andrita’s HD/SD production facilities have been utilized by multiple high-profile production clients including ABC, MTV, HBO, ABC, CBS and 20th Century Fox Television. Andrita houses a fully integrated, digital post-production environment and also provides digital media services for the creation of digital files to all major encode specifications including VOD, iTunes, CinemaNow and VUDU. The digital media services include file creation, metadata, digital file transfers via satellite, fiber and IP and archival storage.

For more information about Broadcast Facilities, Inc./Andrita Media Center, call 323.344.4565. The company can be found on the Internet at www.andrita.com

For more information about Crawford, call 404.876.7149 in Atlanta or toll free 800.831.8027. The company can be found on the Internet at www.crawford.com.