SES Astra has extended its technical reach across Europe and now serves 135 million TV homes – equivalent to half the total – across the continent and North Africa via its satellite fleet.
According to SES Astra’s annual market research study Satellite Monitor, the company now serves 16 out of 20 million HDTV homes receiving HD directly from satellite.
Furthermore, its satellites now carry over 200 HD channels from leading broadcasters.
Meanwhile in the IPTV sector, its satellites are feeding, through network head ends, almost 10 million out of 12 million IPTV homes.
Satellite is the largest digital mass infrastructure, with a digitisation rate of 95%, serving 75 million digital homes. Cable, on the other hand, only has a rate of 42%, with 29 million digital cable homes.
SES Astra is enjoying success with HD+, a platform giving access to eight private, encryption-free German channels in HD and all other free HDTV in Germany.
To date, it has delivered over 1.5 million smart cards to manufacturers, who have provided over 50 HD receiver models on the market.
In total, 400,000 of these receivers, as well as 100,000 CI modules, have been sold.
