Strong to launch French and Arabic pay TV for Sub-Saharan Africa

More Digital Choice for African TV Viewers with the Launch of My TV Smart, Ma TELE and Shashatee on the EUTELSAT 16A Satellite

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Strong Media SAL-Off-Shore (SMO) has signed a multi-year contract with Eutelsat Communications (Paris:ETL) that equips it to take its pay TV operations in Africa to a new level. SMO has leased capacity on the EUTELSAT 16A satellite to deploy a diversified range of English, French and Arabic-speaking television services over Sub-Saharan Africa, leveraging the group’s proven distribution capabilities across the region.

“Ma TELE” and “Shashatee”, SMO’s new French and Arabic-speaking pay-TV services are gearing up for launch in April, joining the established “My TV” service that has been resized and rebranded as “My TV Smart” on EUTELSAT 16A, taking advantage of the satellite’s powerful African footprint. “Ma TELE” will initially target potential subscribers in Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo with an offer of close to 30 channels, including its own flagship Africa-specific channels and AB Sat’s BIS Africa service, complemented by a rich line-up of unencrypted (free-to-air) channels.

STRONG is one of the leading and most experienced providers of consumer digital satellite TV receiving equipment, with its own operations for distribution, technical support and after-sales service in a number of Sub-Saharan Africa countries. The new services will benefit from STRONG’s proven capabilities in providing efficient distribution and a comprehensive product range of consumer premises equipment.

Samer Mourad, Chief Operating Officer of SMO, declared: “We are excited to announce the launch of our new services for Sub-Saharan Africa. We selected EUTELSAT 16A for its solid video neighbourhood and significant audience penetration in our target markets. We are more than confident that our cooperation with Eutelsat will bring the desired added value to the services we intend to deploy over the region.”

Michel Azibert, Chief Commercial and Development Officer at Eutelsat, said: “Our 16° East neighbourhood is fast ramping up to be a key point of reference for a diverse range of African and international content. With STRONG’s skills at assembling compelling digital content and ensuring viewers get access to affordable and quality consumer equipment we are well placed for a new phase of growth. We look forward to collaborating with STRONG on accelerating access to digital entertainment in Africa.”