GlobeCast announced that its African DTH platform has successfully started transmissions on SES ASTRA’s Astra 4A (Sirius 4) satellite resulting in African broadcaster VoxAfrica becoming one of the first channels to sign up for the new platform that provides sub-Saharan widest and most powerful coverage in Africa.

VoxAfrica called on GlobeCast to provide capacity and distribution its programming to Africa. The new platform on Astra 4A, located at 5° East is the first Ku-band DTH platform with coverage over sub-Saharan Africa, providing broadcasters with the opportunity to reach households across the continent. GlobeCast has contracted one transponder on the satellite that facilitates uplink from Europe and is compliant to distribute services to IPTV or terrestrial network headends.

The new platform, which is an alternative to the pay TV bouquets in sub-Saharan Africa, responds to a strong demand for free-to-air Ku-band coverage of this crucial region. Several African broadcasters are already in contact with GlobeCast to obtain positions in this coveted space and extend their audience to 56 African countries.