SES added close to 170 HD channels and 21 commercial channels in the Ultra High Definition format during 2016.
Announcing the satellite operator’s full year 2016 results, SES President Karim Michel Sabbagh said it was a “year of acceleration”. The company reported revenues of €2,068.8 million, up 2.7%. It’s substantial contract backlog increased to €8.1 billion from €7.4 billion in 2016.
“2016 was a year of acceleration for SES. We continued to execute our strategy of building differentiated capabilities in the four market verticals,” said Sabbagh. “SES is committed to building the business with strategic clarity, value accretive investments and strong execution. These fundamentals support our objective of delivering sustained and profitable growth in all four market verticals, and will enable SES to continue to generate attractive long-term returns for shareholders.”
RR Media, which merged into SES Platform Services in July 2016, made a contribution to revenues. It currently distributes over 2,750 global TV channels (including over 500 channels for which MX1 delivers fully managed playout services) and more than 120 video on demand (VoD) platforms.
Separately, three new board members have been appointed to the SES Executive Committee. Steve Collar will join in his current role as CEO of O3b Networks, John Purvis as Chief Legal Officer and Evie Roos as Chief Human Resources Officer (pictured). Like the four current Executive Committee members, they’ll report to the President and CEO of SES, Karim Michel Sabbagh.
