Backgrounder

One Company. One Direction. The Future.

Turn on a television or a radio almost anywhere in the world. Chances are excellent that the signal you receive is being broadcast with hardware from Harris Corporation's Broadcast Communications Division. Indeed, since Harris Broadcast Communications was founded in 1922, the company has become a leader in the global markets it serves, providing products, systems and services to customers in more than 150 countries. Harris is regarded as one of the world's foremost developers and manufacturers of analog and television transmission systems with well over 70 major technological "firsts" including many world standards that have literally changed the way our world sees and hears itself.

Over the last year, Harris has invested more than US$800 million to expand and develop its broadcast offering. The company is committed to the broadcast industry and focused on helping customers succeed as they transition to the digital media world. Through acquisitions and internal development, Harris has become the ONE choice for integrated workflow solutions for the rapidly changing broadcast, distribution and entertainment industries.

Harris Broadcast Communications Business Units:

Harris Broadcast Communications consists of several business units focused on meeting the needs of radio and television broadcasters worldwide. These business units are tightly integrated to enable broadcasters to profit from new, multichannel services, get on air fast with high definition and effectively project their brand.

Software and Server Systems is a leading provider of software solutions for advertising, media management (traffic, billing and scheduling), broadband, digital asset management, and automation for workflow management. Software Systems offers modular, standards-based solutions with open APIs for maximum ease of integration and future scalability. The Software Systems business unit also includes servers, which enable broadcasters simple transitions into an IT workflow, managing content flow, storage and other key facets of an increasingly important file-based broadcast world.

Infrastructure and Networking Solutions was formed following the acquisitions of Leitch Technology and Aastra Digital Video - industry leaders in high-performance, multi-format solutions for professional digital video. This unit of Harris offers standard-definition/high-definition (SD/HD) products and systems that enable media companies to streamline workflow from production through transmission. A comprehensive, next-generation portfolio of processors, routers, master control and branding systems, network monitoring and control software, and test and measurement instruments supports content throughout the workflow application chain. Advanced multi-display processors and state-of-the-art broadcast graphics and digital signage systems change the way broadcasters view and manage content - and provide them options for presenting their brands. Networking solutions provide highly differentiated network access and multiplex platforms for integrated management and distribution of any content across any connection to support television government video and public safety applications.

Television and Radio Transmission Systems is a leading developer and manufacturer of analog and digital television and radio transmission systems for global broadcast and mobile tv applications. This business can provide single products or end-to-end systems including nationwide networks with hundreds of transmitters or large, international systems. Its solutions are scalable to meet the needs of all broadcasters. Harris radio and television products are backed by unmatched service and training.

History: Growth through Innovation, Acquisitions and Product Line Expansion

1922: Less than two years after KDKA, one of the United States' first radio station, signed on the air in Pittsburgh, Henry and Cora Gates established Gates Radio in a rented apartment in Quincy, Illinois. The company's first product was a five-tube radio receiver developed by the Gates' 14-year-old son, Parker, and retailing for $275. Parker, a consummate inventor, developed many new products over the years including such industry "firsts" as the condenser microphone and a remote amplifier that enabled events to originate away from a studio. In 1936, Gates Radio introduced its first transmitter to support the fledgling radio industry.

1957: Gates Radio becomes the first electronics firm acquired by Harris Intertype Corporation (now Harris Corporation).

1969: Harris enters the television market with its first line of VHF and UHF transmitters.

1988: Harris becomes the world's leading radio distributor with the acquisition of Allied Broadcast Equipment Corporation in Richmond, Indiana.

1991: Harris acquires TVT, a transmitter manufacturer in England, and the systems business of Midwest Communications Corporation based in Northern Kentucky.

1997: Harris acquires ITIS of Rennes, France. ITIS is the leading developer of COFDM technology used in European-standard DVB and DAB transmission systems.

1998: Harris acquires Intraplex, a leader in the development of a full range of application-specific network access products.

1999: Harris acquires Pacific Research & Engineering (PR&E). In addition to an industry-leading console line, PR&E is a leader in broadcast furniture and radio studio systems.

2000: Harris acquires Louth Automation in Silicon Valley, California. The Louth name had become synonymous with television automation.

2001: Harris acquires the Hirschmann Multimedia Communications Network (MCN), Rankweil, Austria, a leader in European-standard DVB-T and DAB transmitters and digital cable systems.

2004: Harris acquires Question d'Image, a developer of digital content management solutions.

2004: Harris acquires Encoda Systems, a global leader in broadcast media software. The acquisition gives Harris the industry-standard traffic and billing system and highly synergistic automation and digital asset management solutions. (Encoda acquired Arkemedia, a digital asset management firm, in 2004 before Harris acquired Encoda.)

2005: Harris Corporation acquires Leitch Technology Corporation, becoming the global leader of Total Content Delivery for the digital media world. Leitch's product line includes high-performance video systems for the television industry including routers and distribution equipment, signal processing, signal management and monitoring, servers and storage area networks, branding software and post-production editing systems.

2006: Harris Corporation acquires Aastra Digital Video, a business unit of Aastra Technologies, which develops and markets video networking, encoding, decoding, and multiplexing technologies used by television broadcasters, telecommunications providers and satellite networks.

2006: Harris Corporation acquires Optimal Solutions, Inc. (OSi), a leading provider of air-time sales, traffic and billing software systems to over 350 call-letter broadcast stations in North America. The scalability of OSi's Windows®-based platform is unmatched in the industry and gives Harris the industry's widest array of software solutions to help broadcasters manage content and revenue streams.

2007: Harris Corporation acquires Zandar Technologies, a developer and provider of high-quality multi-image display processors for television broadcast and professional video, expanding Harris' offerings in these fast-growing markets to become the widest selection of mutli-image display processors available today.

Harris Broadcast Communications — A Division of Harris Corporation:

Harris Broadcast Communications is a division of Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has annual revenue of about $4 billion and more than 14,000 employees - including more than 6,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications™ products, systems, and services for global markets, including government communications, RF communications, broadcast communications, and wireless transmission network solutions. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com.