PARIS, November 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) and
Télédiffusion d'Algérie (TDA) today announced the signature of a
capacity agreement on the EUTELSAT 7 West A satellite. The
long-term contract for one 72 MHz transponder opens access for TDA
to Eutelsat's flagship 7/8 degrees West video neighbourhood that
broadcasts the largest line-up of television channels across the
Arab world to homes equipped for Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite
reception.
The free-to-air platform launched by TDA will assemble
Algeria's existing public channels
in addition to channels expected to be licensed within the
framework of the country's strategy to open its broadcasting
landscape.
The channels will be available via EUTELSAT 7 West A to viewers
across the Maghreb and North-West
Africa. Reach will be extended to the whole of the
Middle East and the Persian Gulf
with the launch in 2015 of the EUTELSAT 8 West B satellite.
Abdelmalek Houyou, Director
General of TDA, commented: "Over 15 years of close collaboration
with Eutelsat, we have built a solid partnership which has been
boosted in the last few years by a tremendous input of technical
expertise to accompany Algeria's transition to a
digital broadcasting environment. This new agreement highlights
Eutelsat's commitment to providing solutions to our
developing needs, both now and in the future.
Our significant requirements are driven by the ambition to
extend the availability of
Algerian television and
radio channels beyond Algeria and
to prepare for the opening up of our broadcasting sector to
private ventures."
Jean-François Leprince-Ringuet, Eutelsat's Chief Commercial
Officer, added: "TDA was one of the first major broadcasting
companies in the Arab world to entrust us with broadcasting
analogue television and radio channels. We were proud in a next
step in 2007 that TDA attributed a central role to our
EUTELSAT 5 West A satellite in the build-up to
the digital switchover of Algerian public broadcasting, leaving no
part of the country's extensive territory uncovered.
TDA is now planning to extend broadcasting of its television and
radio programmes to the whole of the Arab world and we are
delighted by their selection of the vibrant 7/8 degrees West
neighbourhood which has already passed a landmark
of 1,000 channels."
About Eutelsat Communications
With capacity commercialised on 31 satellites delivering reach
of Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, Asia, significant parts of the Americas and
the Asia-Pacific, Eutelsat
Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234)
is one of the world's leading satellite operators. As of
30 September 2013, Eutelsat's
satellites were broadcasting more than 4,700 television channels to
over 200 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle
East and Africa. The
Group's satellites also provide a wide range of services for TV
contribution, corporate networks and fixed and mobile broadband
markets. Headquartered in Paris,
Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ over 780 commercial, technical
and operational professionals from 30 countries.
http://www.eutelsat.com
SOURCE Eutelsat Communications
