NEW SIGNALS
TRICOLOR ATTRACTS 5 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS
Tricolor TV, the Russian National
Broadcasting Company’s TV platform,
recently announced five million
subscribers, making it one of the world’s
largest and fastest growing DTH platforms
since its launch in 2006. Tricolor principally
targets the estimated 50 million viewers
in western parts of Russia (up to and
including the Urals) living in rural areas
with limited access to channels broadcast
terrestrially.
The DTH platform uses capacity on three
transponders on Eutelsat’s W4 satellite
at 36° East and offers 33 channels.
Pavel Chumakov, Vice-President of
Innovation and Development at Tricolor
TV commented on the broadcaster’s
relationship with Eutelsat: “The principal
reason for choosing Eutelsat was that 36° East is the most attractive orbital position
for the European part of the Russian
Federation, as it allows reception via small
dishes which is critical for DTH projects.”
GEORGIA CHOOSES 36° EAST
FOR FIRST DTH PLATFORM
Georgian TV homes will shortly be able to
receive the country’s first digital satellite
TV platform. Due for launch by the end
of 2009 and comprising Georgia’s two
public channels: GPB TV and ADJARA,
as well as two private channels: Rustavi
2, and Inedi TV, the common platform
will be broadcast from Eutelsat’s video
neighbourhood at 36° East.
Previously broadcast from a number
of different orbital locations, the
consolidation at Eutelsat’s 36° East
neighbourhood will make DTH reception
of all four TV channels possible for
Georgian TV homes equipped with a
single satellite dish.
DTT FOR ALL ALGERIAN HOMES
Algerian broadcasting company TDA,
Télédiffusion d’Algérie, has launched the
country’s first Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT)
broadcasts, with transmitters initially serving
the three of the country’s more populated
northern regions; East, West and Centre. A
second network has been set up for urban
areas in the South of the country. TDA’s
platform includes the television channels La
Chaîne 1, Canal Algérie and Algérie 3, as well
as two recently launched channels, Amazigh
TV 4 and Coran TV 5. Five radio stations
include Chaîne 1, Chaîne 2, Chaîne 3 and
Radio Algérie Internationale. The channels
are delivered to DTT transmitters for terrestrial
rebroadcasting via Eutelsat’s ATLANTIC
BIRD™ 3 satellite, and are also available freeto-air for homes beyond the reach of DTT
transmitters.
ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3’s steerable spotbeam,
centred over Algeria, enables TDA to provide
high-power coverage of the entire Algerian
territory. By deploying capacity on ATLANTIC
BIRD™ 3 for DTH reception and for channel
delivery to DTT retransmitters, TDA can
ensure an efficient, cost-effective transition to
a fully digital environment, with access to DTT
channels for all Algerian homes, both in urban
areas and the most rural parts of Algeria.
ESKA TV LAUNCHES ON POLAND’S ‘n’ DTH PLATFORM
The Time radio group has launched a new
music channel, ESKA TV, on Poland’s ‘n’
DTH platform. The group, whose radio
stations include ESKA, Poland’s largest
radio network, ESKA Rock, Hit FM, Vox and
Wawa, claims market leadership among the
16-24 age group in Polish cities, with over
100,000 inhabitants.
Extending the brand to TV is a logical move
and the channel’s musical profile mirrors
ESKA’s radio stations. ESKA TV broadcasts
popular music, including video clips from the
biggest stars of the Polish music scene as well
as international artists. Other themes include
news and gossip, backstage documentaries
on the ‘making of’ music videos, news from
the world of computer games and cinema
and the latest hits from radio ESKA, ESKA
TV, and the web.
Available exclusively from the HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood at 13° East, the ‘n’ platform,
which launched in 2006, broadcasts 60
Standard Definition channels and nine HDTV
channels to almost 800,000 subscribers.
BBC PRIME JOINS GLOBECAST ON EUROBIRD™ 9A
BBC Worldwide is the latest major broadcaster
to benefit from GlobeCast’s second transponder
on Eutelsat’s EUROBIRD™ 9A satellite, after
calling on the content management and delivery
company to provide capacity and distribution
for its international channel BBC Prime (soon to
be renamed BBC Entertainment).
BBC Prime, previously broadcast by
GlobeCast from Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood, has taken advantage of
EUROBIRD™ 9A’s prime position at 9° East,
which provides comprehensive Direct-to-
Home coverage of Europe, the Middle East
and North Africa.
In order to ensure a smooth transition from
HOT BIRD™, Eutelsat has provided BBC
Worldwide and GlobeCast with more than
600 ClipSat™ devices to distribute to cable
and DTH operators across the region,
enabling them to access channels broadcast
from EUROBIRD™ 9A and HOT BIRD™ with
a single standard dish.
