The Italian TivùSat free satellite platform, has reached the milestone of 1.8 million active smart cards.
This represents a reach of 6% of all Italian households. The penetration levels vary by region: the highest is Calabria with 12.7%, followed by Liguria (12%), Molise (11.9%), Valle d’Aosta (10.4%), Basilicata (10.4%) and Sicily (8.8%).
The satellite platform offers 58 free-to-view channels, both Italian and international, as well as 44 radio stations. The platform requires no subscription, but viewers need a smart card to view. Nagravision is the encryption system.
TiVuSat was launched in June 2009 with public broadcaster RAI and private broadcaster Mediaset as the main drivers. Using the Eutelsat Hot Bird position at 13 degrees East, its main aim is to serve those areas that have insufficient digital terrestrial coverage.
