SES: HD+ Reaches More Than 2.6 Million Households

LUXEMBOURG — SES S.A. (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) announced today that its German HD+ platform reached more than 2.6 million households at the end of the first quarter of this year. More than half a million of them are paying the annual service fee. Nearly three million HD+ receivers have been sold since the launch of HD+ at the end of 2009.

As of 31 March 2012, HD+ was activated in 2.6 million German TV households, with 2.1 million of them in the free 12-month trial period and 513,207 already paying the service fee. The technical reach of HD+, meaning the number of HD+ enabled receivers sold, amounts to more than 2.9 million. Based on the very positive dynamic, HD PLUS expects more than one million paying HD+ customers at the end of 2012.

HD+ is a platform for the reception of encrypted and unencrypted free-to-air HD channels in Germany. The lineup currently includes 14 encrypted commercial channels (RTL HD, Sat.1 HD, ProSieben HD, VOX HD, kabel eins HD, RTL II HD, SUPER RTL HD, N24 HD, TELE 5 HD, SPORT1 HD, DMAX HD, Nickelodeon HD, sixx HD, and COMEDY CENTRAL HD) as well as 18 unencrypted free-to-air HD channels, mainly from the public broadcasters.

“HD+ is a main driver of the dynamic development of HD in Germany,” said Wilfried Urner, CEO of HD PLUS. “The switch-off of the analogue satellite signal at the end of April has further spurred this positive development. HD+ is one of the most compelling HD lineups today. With HD+, the ASTRA Satellite System operated by SES continues to be the most important platform for HD programmes, with a total of more than 50 channels – including pay-TV – on our satellites. The dynamic development leads us to expect more than one million paying HD+ customers by the end of the year.”

HD+ key figures Q1 2012 vs. Q1 2011

                                     31/03/2012  31/03/2011      Change
                                     ----------  ----------  ----------
HD+ devices(1)                        2,911,579     827,232  +2,084,347
Active HD+ households(2)              2,620,699     769,425  +1,851,274
HD+ users in free trial period(3)     2,107,492     655,187  +1,452,305
HD+ customers(4)                        513,207     114,238    +398,969
HD+ set-top boxes (models)                   80          57         +23

HD+ key figures Q1 2012 vs. Q4 2011

                                     31/03/2012  31/12/2011      Change
                                     ----------  ----------  ----------
HD+ devices(1)                        2,910,579   2,497,972    +412,607
Active HD+ households(2)              2,619,699   2,301,195    +318,504
HD+ users in free trial period(3)     2,106,492   1,897,072    +209,420
HD+ customers(4)                        513,207     404,123    +109,084
HD+ set-top boxes (models)                   80          72          +8

1. HD+ receivers, CI modules and CI+ modules for HD+. The technical reach includes Sky Sat-HD receiver and receivers for Entertain Sat by Deutsche Telekom
2. Households which currently receive HD+ programmes
3. Households using the 12 months free trial period
4. Households which have paid the annual service fee of 50 Euros

Source: analysis by GfK, HD PLUS reporting, data from business partners