ASTRA 1A CONTRACTS RENEWED FOR TEN YEARS

Kabel 1, Pro 7, RTL Television, RTL 2, Super RTL, SAT.1, Vox and 3SAT available long-term at 19.2° East in analogue as well as in digital

10 years after the launch of ASTRA 1A (on December 11th, 1988), the well-known German television networks Kabel 1, Pro 7, RTL Television, RTL 2, Super RTL, SAT 1, Vox and 3SAT have renewed their ASTRA contracts. The new 10-year contracts cover analogue as well as digital transmission of programming via the ASTRA Satellite System at 19.2° East.

Yves Elsen, Commercial and Marketing Director of SES, explains: "The contract renewals ensure continued availability of popular channels for millions of European households on existing ASTRA reception equipment."

In the German language markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland alone, some 12.6 million DTH-households were receiving ASTRA-delivered free-to-air programming by mid 1998. Including cable redistribution of ASTRA signals, more than 34 million households in the German speaking market are receiving ASTRA programs. Across Europe, more than 73 million households have access to ASTRA (direct-to-home and cable).

Yves Elsen stresses further: "The digital simulcast of the above channels will also allow free-to-air reception on digital set-top boxes and thereby offers consumers a smooth transition to new digital technology." To date, more than 2.3 million households are equipped for direct-to-home reception of digital ASTRA broadcasts.

Virtually all of the existing German-speaking television channels, public as well as private, are offered on ASTRA. 19.2° East currently offers 31 free-to-air German-speaking channels in analogue and 36 in digital. Including free-to-air foreign language channels, ASTRA offers 45 free-to-air in analogue and 53 in digital. The digital pay TV bouquets of DF1 (36 services) and Premiere Digital (7 services), as well as 6 analogue pay channels, complete the ASTRA program line-up at 19.2° East.

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