Astra reports 420,000 Astra 23.5 homes

The number of Benelux homes capable of receiving the Astra satellites at the 23.5 degrees East position is growing fast, according to research published by SES-Astra. Some 310,000 Dutch and 110,000 Belgian households are now equipped to receive transmissions. In all of Europe, over 1 million homes can receive the position.

The figures represent a 40% growth in the two countries, “Thanks to the successful introduction of the Duo LNB for combined reception of Astra 19.2 and Astra 23.5,” said Bill Wijdeveld, Managing Director, Astra Benelux.

The total number of Astra homes in The Netherlands is 870,000, of which 620,000 homes use the satellite as their primary source for television. About 250,000 consumers use Astra reception for away-from-home usage, including holiday homes, campers, trailers, boats, others).

The research shows that DTH is the second most important means of distribution of TV channels in The Netherlands with 620,000 primary users, cable is first with 5.75 million homes, DTT is third with 570,000 homes and IPTV reaches 200,000. There are still 10,000 homes watching analogue satellite.

In Belgium, cable also reigns supreme with 3.71 million homes connected, followed by IPTV (Belgacom TV) with 570,000 subscribers and DTH is third with 390,000 in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. Terrestrial is almost non-existent with only 100,000 homes.

Wijdveld also pointed out that the 23.5 position is also becoming more important in Eastern Europe with the Sky Link offer on three transponders with over 600,000 smart cards sold.