The three Belgian French language RTL channels are set to join the new TeleSat DTH bouquet in the Walloon part of the country, following an agreement signed yesterday. The new DTH platform is set to launch “before the end of the year.”
The addition of RTL-TVi, Plug RTL and Club RTL is important as these are the most watched commercial channels in the French speaking part of the country. The offer will also include the two radio stations from the RTL Group, Radio Contact and Mint.
Earlier, TeleSat also secured carriage agreement with public broadcaster RTBF for the distribution of RTBF La Une and RTBF La Due. A third channel, RTBFSat, is already available FTA on the Astra satellite at 19 degrees East. The RTBF radio stations La Première, VivaCité, Musiq’3, Classic 21 and Pure FM are also on board.
TeleSat is the French language sister of Belgian Dutch language DTH platform TV Vlaanderen, which now has over 60,000 subscribers. The fledgeling DTH platform will compete with the digital VOO offer from the Walloon cable operators and the IPTV service from Belgacom TV.