Eutelsat

Aiding THE TrAnsiTion To Hd

Established in 1977, Eutelsat is one of the world’s leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 39 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay TV operators, video, data and internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies. Eutelsat’s satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user’s location.

Eutelsat has been present in the MENA region for over 30 years – but its key focus on broadcasting shifted gear 10 years ago with the specialisation of satellites for the region and Eutelsat’s collaboration with Nilesat in the 7/8° West orbital arc. Longstanding partnerships between Eutelsat and Gulfsat, Nilesat, Noorsat and anchor media groups, including MBC and OSN have gained strong commercial success and are well placed for further expansion in the region. This led the company to open its own offices in Dubai to be closer to customers and their markets.

With a strong concentration of broadcasters and service providers in Dubai and the Gulf states, the broadcasting sector in MENA is vibrant and highly developed. Due to lack of terrestrial networks, satellite remains the principal TV infrastructure in the region, representing nine out of 10 TV homes.

7/8° West is the leading broadcast neighbourhood in MENA and has seen massive growth over the past four years, now reaching 90% of TV homes in the region. Two hundred and fifty million TV viewers in a vast region from Morocco to the Gulf, receive over a 1000 channels with a single small satellite dish.

The EUTELSAT 8 West B satellite joined the constellation in 2015, taking 7/8° West to a new level of performance. The additional capacity provided by the satellite has enabled over 100 further channels to be accommodated. EUTELSAT 8 West B also introduced C-band capacity to 7/8° West. With footprints covering the African continent and reaching west to South America, the capacity is particularly interesting for global TV contribution, telecom networks, mobile backhaul and data networks.

For the Arab and international broadcasting community, EUTELSAT 8 West B marks a milestone in the growth story of the most popular satellite TV neighbourhood

in the Middle East and North Africa. Channels benefit from increased power, more coverage options and higher in-orbit security, as well as a futureproof infrastructure for HDTV and Ultra HD.

Strong and longstanding partnerships with MENA operators and broadcasters have helped develop leading direct-tohome neighbourhoods for viewers from Morocco to the Gulf States. Home to the HOTBIRD satellites, 13° East was confirmed by the Eutelsat TV Observatory 2016 as the second most-watched position in the Middle East after 7/8° West. It reaches 38 million homes across the region and serves as a unique bridge between MENA and Europe. The new 7° East orbital location has also seen important growth in southeast Europe, Turkey and the Middle East with over eight million homes. It is also popular with Farsispeaking audiences.

With the massive expansion in the number of television channels available to homes throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, Eutelsat wants to help channels manage the transition to HD. Already 46% of homes at 7/8° West are equipped for HDTV, and the number of HD channels at the orbital position has increased by 36% in the past 12 months. Eutelsat is also setting the scene for Ultra HD. This stunning new broadcasting format will take the viewing experience into a whole new dimension, further consolidating satellite as a core infrastructure in the region.

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Eutelsat sA

Dubai Middle East FZ-LCC Dubai Media City Thuraya II tower 2003A PO Box 502239, UAE Tel: +971 (4) 3903145 Fax: +971 (4) 3688901

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