SES Astra Satellite
Leads European Digitalisation
(18 March 2008) SES Astra, an SES
company, today announced that according to its most recent annual reach study
83 per cent of the satellite TV households in Europe and North Africa are
digitalised.
This is more than four times more than in cable
where in average 20 per cent of all households are digital. With a share of 58
per cent of all1 digital households satellite represents the most popular
digital reception mode. These are the results of the new SES Astra Satellite
Monitor which has been presented today in London.
Of the 239 million
analogue and digital TV households counted across the examined 35 countries in
Europe and North Africa, nearly 100 million are digital out of which 56.8
million are digital satellite households. 41.1 million of these homes receive
digital services directly from Astra or Sirius satellites. Over 99 per cent of
European satellite TV channels are digital. Overall the combined satellite
systems of SES Astra and SES Sirius serve 117.2 million analogue and digital
homes in Europe and North Africa. 50.3 million of these homes receive their
signals directly from Astra or Sirius satellites (Direct to home, DTH). The
other 66.9 million homes receive signals through a satellite feed to cable
head-ends.
The SES Astra Satellite Monitor is conducted annually by
leading market research institutes in the respective countries and on behalf of
SES Astra. For the monitoring, more than 70,000 telephone and face-to-face
interviews were conducted all over Europe at the end of last year. The
methodology and the results are controlled by independent institutes. The Astra
and Sirius satellite platforms in Europe include Sky in the UK, Canal + in
France, Premiere in Germany, Sogecable in Spain, Canal Digitaal in the
Netherlands, UPC, Czech Link and Sky Link in Central and Eastern
Europe.
"Our new Satellite Monitor clearly confirms that satellite is
leading the digitalisation across Europe and remains the most attractive
digital reception mode," said Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of
SES Astra. "Satellite remains one of the fastest growing TV infrastructures and
has increased its reach over the last five years across the 35 countries that
we measure by 50 per cent. The Astra and Sirius satellites have again proven to
be the leading European system for direct TV reception."
About SES
Astra
SES Astra is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in
Europe. The satellite fleet currently comprises 12 Astra and three Sirius
satellites. The combined satellite system delivers services to more than 117
million DTH and cable households and transmits a total of 2,295 analogue and
digital television as well as radio channels. SES Astra also provides
satellite-based multimedia, internet and telecommunication services to
enterprises, governments and their agencies. With 30 High Definition (HD)
channels available via its satellites today, Astra and Sirius represent the
most important HDTV broadcasting platform in Europe. The prime orbital
positions for Astra and Sirius are 19.2° East, 28.2° East, 23.5°
East and 5° East.
SES Astra is an SES company. SES owns three
market-leading satellite operators, SES Astra in Europe, SES Americom in North
America, and SES New Skies, which provide global coverage and connectivity. The
Company also holds strategic participations in SES Sirius in Europe, Ciel in
Canada and Quetzsat in Mexico. SES provides outstanding satellite
communications solutions via a fleet of 38 satellites in 25 orbital positions
around the globe.
(source: SES Astra)
|
||||||||||||
