Together with the industry's leading broadcasting groups and producers, we are united in providing the best technology for experiencing high definition television (HDTV).
:: HD Channels via Eutelsat
BROADCAST SERVICES :: HDTV CHANNELS
HDTV in Europe has seen strong channel growth, increasing twelve-fold over the past four years, from 34 channels in June 2006 to 406 channels in June 2010(1), and it is widely predicted to keep growing.
In Europe, the number of HDTV channels is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 20%(2) and in the Middle East and North Africa at a rate of 38% annually(3).
EUTELSAT, AN HDTV INDUSTRY INNOVATOR, DELIVERING HDTV CHANNELS VIA NINE ORBITAL LOCATIONS
Since the launch of high definition in Europe in 2005, Eutelsat has been the industry innovator, with the number of HD channels broadcast via Eutelsat satellites increasing from 10 in mid-2006, to over 150 in mid-2010.
Eutelsat broadcasts HD channels from nine different orbital locations, providing customers with diverse solutions and opportunities for growth. Over time, we have developed new locations for customers in emerging markets, confirming customer demand for HD channels across Europe.
| Satellite | Orbital Position | Typical platforms/channels | |
| HOT BIRD™ | 13° East | SKY Italia, Cyfra +, n, Polsat, SRG SSR, Orange | |
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| EUROBIRD™ 1 | 28.5° East | SKY | |
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| EUROBIRD™ 9A | 9° East | Hello HD, HD Platforma, Luxe.TV | |
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| W4/W7 | 36° East | NTV Plus, MultiChoice Africa | |
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| W3C | 16° East | DigitAlb, TVR HD | |
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| W3A | 7° East | Digiturk | |
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| ATLANTIC BIRD™ 3 | 5° West | arte, Orange, Fransat | |
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| ATLANTIC BIRD™ 7 | 7° West | Al Jazeera HD, OSN | |
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| ATLANTIC BIRD™1 | 12.5° West | National Geographic HD | |
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HDTV ENCRYPTION
The majority of HDTV channels delivered via Eutelsat are encrypted, a tendancy that is reflected in the entire European HDTV market, with pay-TV platforms enhancing their market position by offering HD content.
| Business model | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |||||
| Free-to-view | 5 | 11 | 10 | |||||
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| Encrypted | 28 | 24 | 92 | |||||
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| Total | 33 | 35 | 102 | |||||
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| Source: Screen Digest | ||||||||
EUTELSAT HDTV STREAMS BY THEME
The majority of HD channels are dedicated to Sports and Cinema.
These two themes, traditionally a pillar of premium television offers, are also the most enhanced from being broadcast in high definition.
| Channel theme | Percentage of channels | |||||
| Sport | 28% | |||||
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| Cinema | 26% | |||||
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| General entertainment | 19% | |||||
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| Documentary | 14% | |||||
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| Lifestyle | 10% | |||||
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| Music | 5% | |||||
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EUTELSAT HDTV STREAMS BY LANGUAGE
Eutelsat broadcasts HD channels in 14 different languages, including:
| Language | N° of channels 09/10 | |||||
| English | 41 | |||||
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| Italian | 39 | |||||
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| Polish | 24 | |||||
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| Russian | 16 | |||||
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| French | 13 | |||||
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| Turkish | 8 | |||||
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| Arabic | 6 | |||||
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| German | 6 | |||||
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Sources: (1) Lyngsat; (2) Screen Digest 2008-2012; (3) NSR forecast 2007-2017.
