UPSTAR Comunicações Selects Eutelsat to Broadcast ZAP, The New Satellite TV Bouquet of Angola

PARIS — Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) announced today that it has signed a major contract with UPSTAR Comunicações for satellite capacity for the broadcasting of ZAP pay-TV platform, expected to launch shortly in Angola. UPSTAR Comunicações is a joint venture between ZON Multimedia, one of the leading Portuguese media groups and the Angolan group SOCIP. The five-year contract covers the lease of five Ku-band transponders on the Southern Africa beam of Eutelsat’s W7 satellite which began operational service in January this year.

ZAP will assemble a strong component of channels in Portuguese, and will drive innovation into content broadcast in high definition. It will include a “Max package” of 50 channels and a “Premium package” of 80 channels with a mix of channels featuring TV series, films, music, children’s programmes, news, sports and documentaries.

Content for ZAP will be uplinked to Eutelsat’s W7 satellite from UPSTAR’s teleports, in Luanda and in Vendas Novas, Portugal. The high power of W7’s African beam will enable reception across Angola with small antennas. User equipment will include a 60-cm dish connected to decoders equipped with Nagravision encryption and a HD-DVR with 250 hours of storage capacity. To optimise bandwidth usage, channels will be broadcast in DVB-S2 with MPEG4 compression.

“With Eutelsat’s W7 satellite now on stream, we are equipped with perfectly suited in-orbit resources for the launch of ZAP, the Angolan pay-TV platform able to address households nationwide with state-of-the-art technology.” said Nuno Aguiar, CEO of ZAP. “Eutelsat’s W7 satellite meets our precise requirements for building a pay-TV network across Angola using small consumer terminals. The availability of this powerful new satellite marks a critical step forward towards the launch of a compelling new product in the audiovisual landscape.”

Olivier Milliès-Lacroix, Eutelsat’s Commercial Director, responded: “This new contract underscores the continuing dynamic of digital television across sub-Saharan Africa. The high-power African beams on our new W7 satellite represent a substantial asset for broadcasters operating in these markets, providing the means to extend their service and audience reach in Africa and meeting growing consumer demand for an enhanced television experience. We are delighted to welcome ZAP onto W7 and to accompany the development of a new player in Angola’s broadcasting market.”