SES ASTRA, an SES company [Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG], announced that the German pay-TV channel Premiere has contracted one-and-a-half additional transponders on ASTRA's prime orbital position 19.2 degrees East. With the additional bandwidth Premiere plans to extend its HD offer that originally launched its HD services on ASTRA in 2005. Currently Premier broadcasts two HD channels, “Premiere HD” and “Discovery HD.” SES ASTRA currently broadcasts nearly 70 HD channels on its satellite fleet.

“This new capacity agreement will give a strong boost to the development of HD in Germany while allowing us to significantly enlarge the HD offering in that country,” said Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES ASTRA. “As one of the pioneers of pay-TV and HD television, Premiere continues to support and lead this important development. The increasing demand for HD receivers in Germany shows that more and more viewers are attracted by this fascinating new way to watch TV.”

According to recent market research studies conducted on behalf of SES ASTRA, 219,000 HDTV receivers were sold in Germany in 2008, with 80 per cent of these being satellite receivers. In total, 530,000 HDTV receivers have been sold since the introduction of HD.