24% of Russian homes equipped for satellite TV reception

Russia’s Leading Satellite TV Neighbourhood at 36° East Reaches Record Audience and Prepares for New Growth; Astrium selected to build new RSCC satellite for 36° East

MOSCOW and PARIS — RSCC (the Russian Satellite Communications Company) and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced that Astrium has been selected to build the Express-AMU1/EUTELSAT 36C satellite that will be launched in 2015 to provide follow-on and expansion capacity for the EUTELSAT 36A broadcast satellite operating at 36° East.

Express-AMU1/EUTELSAT 36C will be a state-of-the-art high-capacity satellite with up to 70 transponders. It will provide coverage for broadcast services in the European part of the Russian Federation in Ku and Ka bands, and ensure service continuity and growth for broadcast markets developed by Eutelsat in sub-Saharan Africa. Its dual-band design is set to transform the broadcasting infrastructure at 36° East into a broader system to support more television services and IP-based interactive services to accompany the development of Russia’s digital entertainment market.

24% of Russian homes equipped for satellite TV reception

The latest results of the survey[1] produced by Eutelsat and Ipsos on TV reception modes and trends in Russia underscore the exceptional dynamic of its satellite broadcasting market and the stellar growth of homes watching channels broadcast from the longstanding 36° East neighbourhood. Of the 53 million TV homes in Russia, 24% are equipped for Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite reception, making satellite the country’s leading platform for digital television. The number of satellite homes across Russia maintains a strong dynamic, increasing by 25% over two years from eight million to 12.6 million. Ten per cent of these homes receive signals from more than one satellite position, taking the total number of antennas to 13.8 million.

Strong channel and audience momentum at 36° East neighbourhood

Within this universe, the number of homes equipped for DTH reception from 36° East has increased over 24 months to 10.7 million from 6.7 million, reflecting the high level of demand for the Tricolor TV platform and the success of NTV+. Over the same period, the volume of Russian channels broadcasting from 36° East has jumped to over 370 from 250. Meanwhile, the number of homes in Russia receiving international and Russian channels broadcast by Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD satellites also continues to grow, reaching a new record of 1.7 million, up from 1.3 million two years before.

In the words of Yuri Prokhorov, RSCC Director general: “The 36 degrees East orbital slot serves as an excellent example of successful and mutually beneficial Russian-French cooperation. We are happy that our partnership with Eutelsat is taking another step forward. The upcoming Express AMU-1 satellite will afford fresh opportunities for digital multi-programme broadcasting projects in European Russia. DTH users will gain access to high-quality state-of-the-art TV including HD and 3D TV, as well as to modern communications and interactive services.”

Eutelsat CEO, Michel de Rosen, said: “Driven by NTV+ and TricolorTV’s new HD offer, this trajectory of stellar growth has continued since our findings, further consolidating 36° East as the place to be in Russia’s vibrant digital broadcast market. Our objective now with RSCC is to take this leading video neighbourhood to the next level with the procurement of a new satellite from Astrium designed to support increasing demand and a new generation of interactive services.”

Meet Eutelsat and RSCC at Sviaz/Expocomm in Moscow from May 14-17.

1. Study conducted in collaboration with Ipsos from August to September 2012 via face-to-face interviews.