Eutelsat has secured a five-year contract for capacity on its W3A satellite with Gateway Broadcast Services, which is preparing to launch a new pay-TV platform for sub-Saharan Africa. Called GTV, the platform will use Ku-band capacity connected to the African beam to broadcast direct to homes via satellite in up to 48 sub-Saharan African countries. GTV will initially launch a 15-channel service that will be uplinked to one transponder on W3A from Eutelsat’s teleport in Rambouillet, near Paris.
GTV’s objective is to offer a widely accessible pay-TV service providing a choice of television programming at an affordable subscription price. The phased rollout of GTV began in East Africa in late June, to be followed closely by launches in Ghana, Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. GTV has been designed to vastly increase the numbers of pay-TV subscribers in Africa.
In addition to international films, popular series, music, sport and religious programming GTV will carry locally produced content from across the African continent. The service will address the growing popularity of European football in Africa, including live broadcast rights to 80% of the UK’s Premier League football matches for 48 sub-Saharan African countries. Reception will be possible in every corner of GTV’s target markets with a 90cm dish and a set-top decoder. The service will be encrypted using NDS encryption.
