[SatNews] A long term agreement for multiple transponders...

SES (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced today that Canal+ Overseas, the international subsidiary of French payTV operator Canal+, has contracted multiple transponders and signed a long-term agreement for its subsidiary CANAL+ AFRIQUE in order to distribute the CANAL+/CANALSAT payTV bouquet of channels in Africa over the SES-4 satellite at the orbital location of 338 degrees East. CANAL+/CANALSAT is the first French-speaking payTV offer in Africa, distributed by CANAL+ AFRIQUE. The new contract with SES includes renewed and additional capacity and will allow Canal+ Overseas to extend its offer and migrate the payTV bouquet from the current NSS-7 spacecraft to the upcoming SES-4 satellite, without changing the orbital position and without a repointing of customer dishes. It ensures the long-term availability of the entire Canal+ Overseas programme line-up, standard definition as well as HD, via a single orbital position and to all of Canal+ Overseas’ target markets in Africa.

The 338 degrees East position is one of the most highly demanded orbital locations for trans-Atlantic traffic serving Africa, Europe and the Americas. SES-4 has been built by Space System/Loral and will be launched on board an ILS/Proton booster from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, in the fourth quarter of this year. The massive spacecraft carries 52 C-band transponders as well as 72 Ku-band transponders and, as such, will be the largest satellite in the SES satellite fleet. SES-4 will replace the NSS-7 spacecraft, releasing this satellite for new missions at other orbital positions.