Eutelsat’s Fransat platform has announced it now has 1.2 million commercialised individual decoders and 400,000 community dwellings.
Launched in 2009 as a subscription-free platform, Fransat is available to homes in mainland France equipped with a dish, a Fransat decoder and an access card. The platform operates from Eutelsat’s 5 degrees West position, used for more than 20 years to deliver France’s national channels to homes beyond terrestrial analogue reception.
Fransat has progressively built up its audience base over 24 months, particularly in rural and mountain areas as well as parts of France with poor terrestrial reception. Viewers have access to France’s 19 free national DTT channels, four HD channels, the regional network of France 3, as well as over 20 regional and local channels and radio stations.
The Fransat dish also enables reception of Orange’s TV platform which broadcasts from Eutelsat’s 5 degrees West neighbourhood and is accessible with an Orange decoder as part of the triple-play service based on a hybrid ADSL + satellite system.
The platform can also be combined with broadband access provided by Eutelsat’s Tooway service to offer satellite-based triple play in all parts of mainland France.
Fransat is one of two free-to-view DTH services offering the full bouquet of digital terrestrial channels. The other is TNTSat, which is broadcast via Astra at 19.2 degrees East. This platform claims to be received in 3 million homes at the end of September 2011.
