Russia’s National Broadcasting Launches 12 Channels on Eutelsat W4 Satellite
Eutelsat's W4 satellite. (LM photo)
PARIS, France, May 14, 2007 - Satnews Daily - Russian broadcaster National Broadcasting Company has launched 12 new channels on the W4 satellite of Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) to expand its Tricolor television platform.
Launched in Russia in 2005 as a free package of 15 encrypted channels accessed via a decoder developed by Digi Raum, the Tricolor platform serves an audience of 800,000 homes. Tricolor forecasts audience growth to 1.2 million homes by the end of the year. Tricolor's main target is the estimated 50 million viewers in western parts of Russia (up to and including the Urals) living in rural areas with limited offer of channels through terrestrial reception.
The platform was launched in November 2005 on one transponder on Eutelsat's W4 satellite as a subscription-free digital package of Russian national and regional channels with the only cost being the receiver. Boosted by receiver sales, Tricolor is now moving into the second phase of its development with the launch of 12 new channels available in low-cost thematic packages.
The channels have been launched following signature last February 2007 of a contract for the lease of a second transponder on W4 between Eutelsat and RSCC, acting on behalf of National Broadcasting Company. Called Optimum, this new offer is commercialized in six packages branded Optimum, each containing two channels with the same theme.
National Broadcasting CEO Mordachev Viacheslav said with strong demand from Russian television viewers for new digital channels, National Broadcasting is convinced that the new offer will be a popular choice. “Our subscription packages also constitute a new platform for Russian and international content providers to reach into television homes in Russia".
Eutelsat CEO Giuliano Berretta noted that in less than two years, the Tricolor platform has built an impressive audience by targeting television homes in rural areas who have only the limited choice of channels delivered by terrestrial networks. “This success underscores the unique asset of ubiquitous coverage which is afforded by satellites, combined with scalability to efficiently support expansion of TV platforms at national and regional levels. Tricolor's achievements also further consolidate our W4 satellite at 36 degrees East as a key contributor to developing Russia's highly dynamic broadcasting market."
Weighing in at more than 3,000kg, W4 was launched out of Cape Canaveral by a Lockheed Martin Atlas 3A vehicle in 2000. W4 is positioned at 36 degrees East. A total of 19 transponders cover Russia in a high-power fixed beam. One fixed and one steerable beam, each with six transponders, are pointed over sub-Saharan Africa where they will be used for a range of services; most particularly digital pay television and broadband Internet access for a major African client.
Eutelsat Communications is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A. With capacity commercialized on 23 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. As of December 2006, Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting over 2,400 television channels and 1,000 radio stations. More than 1,000 channels broadcast via its Hot Bird video neighborhood which serves over 120 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
