ARTE SIGNS NEW LONG-TERM AGREEMENT WITH SES ASTRA FOR FREE-TO-AIR ANALOGUE SATELLITE DISTRIBUTION

ARTE to extend broadcasting hours on ASTRA 19.2° East with dedicated transponder

A new long-term agreement between SES ASTRA, an SES GLOBAL company (Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG; Frankfurt Stock Exchange: SDSL), and ARTE provides for the French/German TV channel to extend its broadcasting hours on ASTRA at 19.2° East.

The free-to-air analogue ARTE service on ASTRA is already received in more than 22 million homes across Europe. Since October 1st, 2002, ARTE's daily schedule on ASTRA has been extended by five hours every day, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 am, as the service began transmissions on ASTRA transponder Nr. 35 (10.99375 GHz; H-Polarization). The ARTE service on transponder Nr. 49 (10.71425 GHz; H-Polarization) will be discontinued on January 1st, 2003.

ARTE offers its viewers a specially selected portfolio of television programming through partnerships and co-productions with some of Europe's most highly renowned public broadcasters, including RTBF (Belgium), TVP (Poland), ORF (Austria), SRG SSR (Switzerland), TVE (Spain), YLE (Finland) and NPS (Netherlands). ASTRA's extensive coverage throughout the European continent provides optimized support for ARTE's commitment to broadcast entertainment and cultural programming to cross-border audiences.

Commenting on the new agreement, Wolfgang Bernhard, Administrative Director of ARTE said: "The broad audience reach offered by the ASTRA satellite system at 19.2° East is vital to ARTE's distribution network. The renewed partnership with ASTRA ensures ARTE ongoing access to Europe's largest analogue DTH-household base and we look forward to the continued mutual success of ARTE and ASTRA."

Alexander Oudendijk, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing at SES ASTRA, added: "We are very pleased that ARTE continues to entrust their satellite distribution to ASTRA with its outstanding operational record and customer support programmes. ARTE has been an integral part of ASTRA's free-to-air programme line-up since 1994 and we wish ARTE all the success with its extended service."

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