German TV entertainment platform Sky Deutschland has contracted three additional transponders on SES ASTRA’s prime orbital position 19.2 degrees East. Sky Deutschland will use the additional capacity primarily to offer more HD channels. The first of the three transponders will be brought into use in mid-2010. The other two transponders will follow in mid-2011 and mid-2012. Including the newly contracted capacity, Sky Deutschland will use a total of 10 ASTRA transponders. Sky Deutschland today broadcasts seven HD channels in the German-speaking market.