Satellite : Liberty Sports Group Contracts with Intelsat; Arianespace and New Dawn

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Fixed satellite services provider Intelsat on Tuesday announced that it had signed a multi-year contract to distribute Liberty Sports Group's three regional sports networks throughout the U.S. The covered networks include FSN Northwest, FSN Pittsburgh and FSN Rocky Mountain. The deal includes capacity on Intelsat's Galaxy 17 satellite, located at 97 degrees West, which currently also transmits the MLB Network, FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network --- Arianespace has won a launch contract to carry Intelsat's New Dawn satellite into orbit at the end of 2010. The New Dawn satellite, part of a joint venture between Intelsat and a South African investor group led by Convergence Partners, will provide communications services to Africa and will be positioned at 33 degrees East.