The EUTELSAT 36A satellite is co-positioned with EUTELSAT 36B at 36 degrees East. This is the key orbital location for TV broadcasting in Russia and the CIS, with a growing audience of around 8 million homes. 36 degrees East is also the leading DTH position for broadcasters in Sub-Saharan Africa.

EUTELSAT 36A provides high-power broadcast coverage from Central Europe to Siberia. This is used by some of the largest direct-to-home digital TV packages in the CIS, such as NTV Plus and Tricolor.

The satellite also covers Sub-Saharan Africa through a fixed coverage, and Nigeria and neighbouring countries via a high-power spotbeam. Its design allows transmission between the steerable coverage and the African coverage, permitting simultaneous broadcasting to both coverages.