The French free-to-air DTH package TNTSat, which replicates the line-up of the country’s terrestrial offering has sold 750,000 receivers, according to figures released by satellite operator SES.
TNTSat, distributed from the Astra satellite system at 19 degrees East, is designed to fill in the gaps in coverage where the full TNT (Télévision Numérique Terrestre) line-up cannot be received. By the time analogue switch-off completes there will still be an estimated 1.5 million households outside of the coverage area, representing 5% of the French population.
Currently seven TNTSat receivers are available on the market with ten more receiver models expected to launch by the turn of the year. High definition product has joined the initial standard definition range ahead of the launch of TNTSat HD on February 15, 2009. (See also our earlier story in Broadband TV News).