Eutelsat Communications Seals Capacity Contract With Romania's Digital Cable Systems for Max TV Digital Platform

Eutelsat Communications Seals Capacity Contract With Romania's Digital Cable Systems for Max TV Digital Platform

PARIS, May 30/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and Digital
Cable Systems (DCS) of Romania today announced the signature of a contract
for lease of capacity on the W2 satellite for Max TV, a pay-TV platform
delivered by DCS to direct-to-home (DTH) antennas and cable systems in
Romania. The arrival of Max TV on W2, joining 11 Romanian channels and pay-TV
platforms from Albania, Bulgaria and Serbia further consolidates Eutelsat's
W2 video neighbourhood for central Europe.

The five-year lease for one transponder on W2 is being used by
DCS from 30 May to deliver a multiplex of 16 channels from its teleport and
subscriber management centre in Bucharest to cable and satellite homes
Romania. The line-up includes Discovery Travel & Living, Discovery Science,
Discovery Civilization, Viasat Explorer, Viasat History, TV 1000, Reality,
AXN Sci-Fi, AXN Crime and TV Sports. The full commercial service is scheduled
to be launched on 29 June.

In addition to commercialising Max TV to DTH homes, the
objective of DCS is to target the one million homes in Romania connected to
small and medium-sized analogue cable networks. Using a trans-modulator
located at cable headends to convert digital signals from the standard for
satellite (DVB-S) into the standard for cable (DVB-C), and a set-top box in
subscriber homes, DCS will be able to market premium digital channels and
packages of digital channels to cable homes.

Gheorghe Minea, DCS's President of the Board, said: "We
selected Eutelsat as our partner, the largest satellite operator on the
European market, because of their perseverance, opening and flexibility in
building a good reputation for quality broadcast services. Today we have good
contact with all our customers and we would like to utilise our quality
services to expand our market with DTH and digital cable television viewers."

Giuliano Berretta, Eutelsat CEO said: "This new contract with
Max TV, which follows the launch on W2 of television platforms from Albania,
Bulgaria and Serbia, underscores the continuing dynamic of digital television
in central and eastern Europe where Eutelsat has built a longstanding market
presence. In addition to hosting new channels for a growing audience of cable
and satellite homes, W2's proximity from its 16 degrees East position to our
HOT BIRD(TM) satellites at 13 degrees East opens the opportunity to receive
more than 400 free-to-air channels broadcasting from our prime video
neighbourhood with a single 90cm dish."

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234)
is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A. The Group is a leading satellite
operator with capacity commercialised on 23 satellites providing coverage
over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India
and significant parts of Asia and the Americas. The Group is one of the
world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. Its
satellites are used for broadcasting nearly 1,800 TV and 900 radio stations
to more than 120 million cable and satellite homes. The Group also provides
TV contribution services, corporate networks, mobile positioning and
communications, Internet backbone connectivity and broadband access for
terrestrial, maritime and inflight applications. Eutelsat Communications is
headquartered in Paris, and the Group's workforce comprises over 480 from 27
countries.

www.eutelsat.com

For further information
Press
Vanessa O'Connor
Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88
voconnor@eutelsat.fr

Frederique Gautier
Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88
fgautier@eutelsat.fr

Investors
Gilles Janvier
Tel: +33-1-53-98-35-35
investors@eutelsat-communications.com

Source: Eutelsat Communications

For further information, Press, Vanessa O'Connor, Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88, voconnor@eutelsat.fr; Frederique Gautier, Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88, fgautier@eutelsat.fr; Investors, Gilles Janvier, Tel: +33-1-53-98-35-35, investors@eutelsat-communications.com

-------
Profile: intent