The Austrian public broadcaster ORF will increase its capacity on the Astra satellite system with an additional transponder on orbital position 19.2 degrees East.
The new contract was signed with ORF’s technical services subsidiary ORS, satellite operator SES announced in Luxembourg.
The additional Astra transponder will be used for HD broadcasting: thematic channels ORF III and ORF Sport+ as well as nine regional windows will expand ORF’s HD line-up from October 26, 2014.
With the new agreement, ORF will use a total of three transponders on Astra (19.2 degrees East).
“With regard to HDTV, ORF and ORS have been pioneers in Europe for many years. We are very pleased that we can soon broadcast the complete programme portfolio of ORF in HD quality via satellite,” said Wolfgang Elsäßer, VP sales Central Western Europe at SES.
“The number of German-speaking HD channels in Austria will therefore increase to around 90 channels. The large variety of our HD offer is one of the main reasons for our excellent market position in Austria.”