Eutelsat's Satellites Break the Barrier of 4,000 TV Channels

PARIS — Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced that the number of channels broadcasting through its satellites hit the milestone of 4,000 at the end of 2011. This new landmark reflects almost 30 years of uninterrupted channel growth since the first TV signals broadcast in Europe from Eutelsat’s pioneering communications satellites. The threshold was crossed with the launch at Eutelsat’s 7° West video neighbourhood of Rotana Cinema, devoted to classic and contemporary films in Arabic and part of the Rotana entertainment group.

The figures show the continuing attraction of Eutelsat’s video neighbourhoods that have absorbed 2000 additional channels over the last five years. The fastest impetus is at positions serving TV markets in the Middle East, Africa, Russia and Central Europe where Eutelsat continues to expand resources, most recently with the launches in 2011 of ATLANTIC BIRD 7 (7° West) to serve viewers in North Africa and the Middle East, and W3C (16° East) for viewers in Central Europe and French-speaking Indian Ocean islands. Channel expansion in Russia and Africa saw a significant boost with the arrival of Eutelsat’s high-capacity W7 satellite which more than doubled resources at 36° East.

A 100% digital universe, HDTV on the uptake

With switch-off at the end of 2011of the last satellite channels broadcasting in analogue, Eutelsat is the first leading satellite company to be operating in a fully digital universe. The transition to digital has driven rapid expansion and diversification of thematic television and is now driving the emergence of HD. HDTV, which broke through by satellite into western Europe in 2005, has progressed to all TV markets served by Eutelsat’s satellites and today accounts for 7% of all channels.

Solid mix of pay and free-to-air TV

Pay-TV and Free-to-Air broadcasting continue to expand in parallel. Sixty per cent of channels on Eutelsat are pay-TV, available through over 40 platforms serving markets in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Africa. Forty percent are free-to-air (FTA), with the highest concentration of FTA at Eutelsat’s flagship HOT BIRD neighbourhood and at 7° West.

Key Eutelsat milestones in broadcasting

1983 – Eutelsat transmits first satellite TV channel in Europe

1995 – Launch of first commercial digital (DVB) channels

2001 – 1,000 channel milestone reached

2005 – Launch of first HDTV channels

2006 – 2,000 channel milestone reached

2008 – 3,000 channel milestone reached

2011 – Switch-off of analogue satellite broadcasting