NEWSLETTERS

FRANSAT™, France’s new digital TV platform for homes beyond terrestrial reception, via ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3

All of France’s free Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) channels will be available from June via Eutelsat’s ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 satellite in a new platform called FRANSAT™. The new offer will enable the 1.5 million French homes already receiving analogue TV via ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 to switch to digital without moving their dish.

The majority of France’s 18 free-to-air DTT channels are already transmitting from Eutelsat’s ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 satellite. Assembled by Eutelsat in the FRANSAT™ platform, the channels will be available to all homes equipped with a dish pointed towards ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 and a FRANSAT™ digital decoder and access card.The four free HD DTT channels will also be available: TF1 HD, France 2 HD, Arte HD and M6 HD. The non-proprietary FRANSAT™ decoders, with a recommended retail price starting at 99 euros, will be produced by multiple suppliers. In addition to decrypting channels, the decoders will facilitate automatic channel numbering and provide a parental lock. Reserved for homes in metropolitan France, the encrypted platform will be available without subscription.

Eutelsat’s 5° West neighbourhood, home to the ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 satellite, has operated as a complement to France’s terrestrial broadcasting network for over 20 years, delivering channels direct by satellite to homes located beyond terrestrial reception. This key French neighbourhood’s transition to digital reflects the ‘Digital France 2012 Plan’ and the new broadcasting law of 5 March 2009, which aim to offer a solution to homes in areas with poor terrestrial reception to access DTT channels without incurring the extra cost of adjusting their existing dish installation. France’s free analogue channels will remain available via ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3.

For more information: www.fransat.fr

TDA to launch Algerian DTT in July

July marks the launch in Algeria of DTT broadcasting by the national broadcasting company TDA, Télédiffusion d’Algérie. TDA’s DTT platform includes the television channels La Chaîne 1, Canal Algérie and Algérie 3, as well as two new channels launched last month, TV 4  (Amazigh)  and the religious channel, TV 5. Five radio stations include Chaîne 1, Chaîne 2, Chaîne 3, Radio Algérie Internationale and Radio Sahel. The channels will be delivered by Eutelsat’s ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 satellite to DTT transmitters for terrestrial rebroadcasting, and will also be available free-to-air for homes beyond reach of DTT reception. Three transmitters will initially serve the three northern regions, East, West and Centre.

ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3’s steerable spotbeam, which Eutelsat has 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 delivery to DTT retransmitters, TDA can ensure an efficient and cost-effective transition to a fully digital environment, with access to DTT channels for all Algerian homes, both in urban areas and rural parts of Algeria.

For more information: www.tda.dz

Nilesat and Eutelsat develop the 7° West video neighbourhood for the Middle East and North Africa

Eutelsat’s ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A satellite entered service on April 14, following a smooth transfer of services from ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4. Recently launched as HOT BIRD™ 10, the satellite is initially being commercialised at 7 degrees West, increasing capacity at this key orbital position. Its entry into service, enables Eutelsat and the Egyptian satellite company Nilesat to pursue the development of the 7 degrees West neighbourhood, used by both companies for satellite broadcasting across the Middle East, the Gulf countries and North Africa. Consolidating the leading role of the 7 degrees West neighbourhood with a broad array of regional and international channels, the two companies aim to develop a fully digital broadcasting environment in the Middle East, the Gulf and North Africa.

Eutelsat has been partnering with Nilesat at 7 degrees West since July 2006 when the ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4 satellite was copositioned with the Nilesat 101 and Nilesat 102 satellites. This constellation of three satellites at a single neighbourhood already transmits more than 450 channels to an audience of over 38 million homes. The development of this shared neighbourhood moves into a new phase with the commercial entry into service of ATLANTIC BIRD™ 4A, enabling Nilesat to boost through to 2019 the number of transponders it leases from Eutelsat.

Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood consolidates reach in Italy

Eutelsat’s two-yearly survey on satellite television trends in Italy has reconfirmed the Group’s HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood as the beacon for multi-channel viewing in one of Europe’s most avid television markets.

The number of homes across Italy equipped for Direct-to-Home (DTH) reception has increased by 13% over two years to 7.1 million homes, representing almost one in three of the 23.1 million television homes in the country. The number of homes equipped for DTH reception from Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood grew at a faster rate of 18% over the last 24 months. The installed base of DTH antennas equipped for HOT BIRD™ reception in Italy now stands at 6.1 million. Pay-TV accounts for the lion’s share of satellite TV homes, representing over 4.6 million homes and showing a growth rate of 24% over the last two years.

As a forerunner in digital broadcasting, since 1994, the HOT BIRD™ position is now exclusively delivering Italian channels in digital format in Italy, well ahead of terrestrial analogue switch-off. Eutelsat’s leading video neighbourhood broadcasts over 360 digital channels for the Italian market including the first seven channels in High Definition, which are available in the SKY Italia platform.

GAME ONE joins Orange TV via HOT BIRD™

GAME ONE, an MTV Networks Entertainment Group channel, has leased capacity on Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD™ 6 satellite at 13 degrees East. Targeting the "Digital Generation", the channel looks at the latest in the world of digital development, giving an expert view on video games, animations, the Internet, TV series, and other digital-related news. Encrypted in Viaccess 3.0, the French-language channel is available from 28 April via Orange’s triple-play offer, in their thematic bouquet of channels.

The Orange TV service is broadcast to ADSL homes not eligible to receive the TV component of Orange's triple play service via Eutelsat's HOT BIRD™ 6 and ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 satellites, two premium video neigbourhoods for France. A decoder interfacing with the livebox enables the satellite-delivered Orange TV signal to be bundled with Internet access and telephony provided via an ADSL connection.

For more information: www.gameone.net, www.orange.fr.

KabelKiosk digital cable platform moves to EUROBIRD™ 9A

The KabelKiosk platform of digital channels operated by Eutelsat’s German subsidiary has started broadcasting from the EUROBIRD™ 9A satellite which went into service at 9 degrees East on 24 February. Dual illumination of the platform will be carried on ATLANTIC BIRD™ 2 at 8 degrees West, for a three-month period, to enable cable operators to complete the migration to Eutelsat’s 9 degrees East position, and secure room for significant expansion of digital channels and services for independent cable operators in continental Europe, notably Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Luxembourg.

KabelKiosk is a headend-in-the-sky cable platform that provides operators with a diverse array of digital channels and services. By offering a multiplicity of German and international content, Eutelsat Deutschland’s platform is making a significant contribution to the full transition to digital of cable markets in the regions it serves. Independent cable operators already using KabelKiosk include TeleColumbus, one of Germany's three largest cable companies. Almost 200,000 homes now subscribe to KabelKiosk, with the number of channels increasing over the last 12 months from 70 to 120. New additions to the basic package of commercial channels that joined KabelKiosk this month include CNBC, Russia Today and TVE Internacional.

For more information: www.kabelkiosk.de

TRACE TROPICAL ON EUROBIRD™ 9A

Urban music and culture channel TRACE TV has launched TRACE TROPICAL, a new channel dedicated to tropical music. Aimed at the 25-49 age group, the channel offers a wide range of Caribbean, African and Latino music videos, as well as films, documentaries and concerts. Broadcasting 24/7, TRACE TROPICAL is available via Eutelsat’s EUROBIRD™ 9A satellite for audiences in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

TRACE TV is the leading international TV network for urban and tropical music, its wide distribution network reaching over 17 million subscribers in 130 countries worldwide. The launch of the new channel, which already has over three million viewers per week in France, follows five years of research into tropical themed programming by the group.

For more information: http://www.trace.tv/tracetropical.php

New channels for Russia’s NTV-PLUS

Subscribers to Russia’s NTV-PLUS platform were able to benefit from three new channels this month: two targeting children and one dedicated to Russian music. The two children’s channels, Tiji TV and Gulli are offered in Russian in both the Expanded Basic and Family packages. The Russian music channel Music Box Ru is also now included in the platform’s Basic package.

Russia's leading pay-TV platform, NTV-PLUS uses Eutelsat's W4 satellite to broadcast over 100 Russian and international channels to a subscriber base of more than 650,000 homes in Russia and the Ukraine. Five HDTV channels are also available to subscribers, HD Kino, HD Sport, HD Life, Eurosport and Discovery HD.

For more information: www.ntvplus.ru

ANT Group chooses satellite technology for remote monitoring of TV and radio broadcasting

ANT Group Srl, Advanced Network Telemetry, an Italian company specialised in remote monitoring systems for broadcasters, has selected the systems integrator IcarusNet and Skylogic, Eutelsat’s broadband subsidiary, to provide its customers with a satellite-based remote control and monitoring service.

For TV and radio broadcasters, remote control and monitoring of their networks is essential for efficient management, providing up-to-date information on facilities and enabling them to intervene at a distance, thereby minimising service disruption. As radio and television stations are often located in remote areas with no telephone lines, and beyond range of mobile phone signals, the communication channel is vital in telemetry networks to ensure service continuity and reliability. Radio was previously used as the primary means of telemetry communication, but the use of IP-controlled broadcasting equipment has enabled the use of satellite technology to communicate directly with equipment such as transmitters, encoders, decoders and quality control equipment. The network configuration uses Skylogic’s D-STAR service, a Virtual Private Network via Internet and backup over GPRS. As a highly flexible and scalable system, D-STAR enables costs to be minimised as the network develops.

Installations have already been carried out at 30 broadcasting stations. The roll-out of the network, with the installation and activation of D-STAR satellite terminals at other facilities will extend connectivity throughout Italy.

For more information: www.antgroup.it