Entertainment Highway Selects Eutelsat W4 Satellite for New HiTV Pay-TV Platform for Nigeria
Entertainment Highway Selects Eutelsat W4 Satellite for New HiTV Pay-TV Platform for Nigeria
PARIS, November 13/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced
the conclusion of a five-year contract on its W4 satellite with Entertainment
Highway Ltd (EHL) for a new pay-TV platform serving Nigeria. The contract
covers one high-power Ku-band transponder connected to a high-power spotbeam
that Eutelsat has focused over Nigeria.
Called HiTV, the new platform comprises 15 digital channels,
including three sports channels showing Barclay's Premier League football
from the UK as well as matches from Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A.
Other international channels broadcast in the platform include BBC World, E!
Entertainment, God TV, MTV Base, Sky News, Eurosport News, Nickelodeon as
well as new channels produced in Nigeria dedicated to local and foreign
movies, music, children and general entertainment. Having broken into a
highly underserved but hugely potent Nigerian pay TV market, HiTv is adopting
a mass market affordable pricing approach and targeting 100,000 homes in its
first year of operation.
Using its teleport facilities in Rambouillet, near Paris,
Eutelsat is encrypting and multiplexing the platform. It is subsequently
uplinked to the W4 satellite by Overon, the broadcasting subsidiary of
Abertis Telecom from the Abertis teleport in Arganda, near Madrid. Reception
is possible throughout Nigeria with a 60cm dish, a set-top decoder and
smartcard. The service is encrypted using Conax encryption.
"Our relationship with Eutelsat could not have come at a
better time," says Toyin Subair, CEO of HiTv. "We were operating a regional
terrestrial cable network but needed to achieve nationwide coverage in the
shortest possible timeframe. Eutelsat helped us achieve that seemingly
impossible feat. Their world-class team of professional staff guided us
through every step and their contribution to our business to date is simply
invaluable. Having broken into a hugely potent Nigerian pay TV market, HiTv
is adopting a mass market pricing approach and targeting 100,000 homes in its
first year of operation."
Commenting the contract with Entertainment Highway, Olivier
Millies-Lacroix, Eutelsat's Commercial Director said: "We are very pleased
that the flexible configuration of our W4 satellite enables us to provide
Nigeria's new pay-TV platform with a footprint serving their full target
market. This new contract shows the dynamic of digital television markets in
sub-Saharan Africa for broadcasting international channels and new,
locally-produced content. It also further underscores the premium ranking of
our W4 satellite, which, together with SESAT 1 constitute a key video
neighbourhood for Africa."
About Eutelsat Communications
Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is
the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity commercialised on 24
satellites that provide coverage over the entire European continent, as well
as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the
Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in
terms of revenues. At 30 September 2007, Eutelsat's satellites were
broadcasting over 2,730 television channels, of which more than 1,000
channels broadcast via its HOT BIRD(TM) video neighbourhood which serves over
120 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and North
Africa. The Group's satellites also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile
telecommunications services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and
broadband markets for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime
and in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and
operates services through teleports in France and Italy that serve
enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in
Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and
its subsidiaries employ 529 commercial, technical and operational experts
from 27 countries.
Eutelsat Press Contact:
Vanessa O'Connor,
Tel.:+33(0)1-53-98-38-88,
voconnor@eutelsat.fr
Frederique Gautier,
Tel.:+33(0)1-53-98-38-88,
fgautier@eutelsat.fr
Eutelsat Investor Relations:
Gilles Janvier,
Tel.: +33(0)1-53-98-35-35,
investors@eutelsat-communications.com
Hi-TV Contact:
Olumide Amure,
Head Business Development,
Tel: +234-805-405-40-00,
olumidea@hientertainment.tv
Source: Eutelsat Communications
Eutelsat Press Contact: Vanessa O'Connor, Tel.:+33(0)1-53-98-38-88, voconnor@eutelsat.fr; Frederique Gautier, Tel.:+33(0)1-53-98-38-88, fgautier@eutelsat.fr; Eutelsat Investor Relations: Gilles Janvier, Tel.: +33(0)1-53-98-35-35, investors@eutelsat-communications.com; Hi-TV Contact: Olumide Amure, Head Business Development, Tel: +234-805-405-40-00, olumidea@hientertainment.tv
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