French Digital-TV-On-Satellite Offer TNTSAT Tops 750,000 Households

TNTSAT HD offer to be launched on 15 February 2009

LUXEMBOURG/PARIS — SES ASTRA, an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), announced today that the French digital terrestrial free-TV offer via the ASTRA Satellite System, TNTSAT, has extended its nationwide reach. At the end of October, 750,000 TNTSAT receivers had been distributed to French households.

TNTSAT is a service targeted to regions where TV households cannot receive signals from terrestrial transmitters. It offers French TV viewers the full range of French digital terrestrial free-TV channels over the ASTRA satellites, allowing a 100 percent coverage of France. At the time of the analogue switch-off in France, the number of households which will not be covered by terrestrial transmitters is estimated to be around 1.5 million, representing five percent of the French population.

TNTSAT receivers are offered in Standard and High Definition (HD) and are now available from seven different manufacturers. Around ten more receiver models are expected to be launched by end of this year or the beginning of 2009. TNTSAT HD will be launched on 15 February 2009 with the free DTT (Digital Terrestrial TV) channels in HD available on ASTRA.

To receive TNTSAT, households need a 60cm satellite-dish pointed to ASTRA`s prime orbital position 19.2 degrees and a TNTSAT receiver.