Intelsat has signed a multi-year extension with Orion Express for satellite services supporting DTH and media distribution services in Russia via the Intelsat 15 satellite.
In a related development, Intelsat and Sentech, a broadcasting signal distributor in Africa, have extended and expanded their relationship with Intelsat to deliver media services in sub-Saharan Africa.
Orion Express is the second largest DTH operator in Russia and uses multiple Ku-band transponders on Intelsat 15 and Horizons 2, co-located at 85 degrees East.
It has extended its use of Intelsat 15 well into the next decade and expanded its operations by consolidating services with Intelsat that had been with another satellite operator.
Commenting on the development, Kirill Makhnovskiy, CEO of Orion Express, said: “The premium programming that Intelsat enables us to efficiently and reliably distribute, along with the ability to deliver regionalized content, has spurred the rapid growth of our DTH platform and media distribution services in Russia and neighbouring CIS countries”.
Jean-Philippe Gillet, Intelsat’s VP and general manager, broadband, added: “This is another example of how Intelsat’s approach of working very closely with our customers to understand their business and their long-term growth strategy benefits our customers and Intelsat.
“This long-term commitment from Orion Express will strengthen the strategic position of 85 degrees East as a major media hub for Russia and the CIS. The combination of Intelsat 15 and Horizons 2 will also strengthen Orion Express’ position and provide a robust and long-term growth capability to attract even more national and international broadcasters.”
Sentech has been leveraging Ku-band services from Intelsat 20, located at 68.5 degrees East, for decades to deliver Direct-to-Home and Digital Terrestrial Television services in South Africa. Sentech, which reaches 8.5 million TV households, has contracted additional services on Intelsat 20.
“As a world class signal distributor and communications provider, Sentech is always exploring avenues and pursuing relationships that will ensure quality broadcast services for South Africa,” said Mlamli Booi, CEO of Sentech, said.
“The contracting of these additional services with Intelsat will allow Sentech to expand quality media services to the rest of the African continent.”
“Intelsat will continue to support Sentech in its efforts to be the leading distributor of content in Africa,” said Brian Jakins, Intelsat’s VP, Africa.
“Satellite remains the best means for African broadcasters to reach the widest possible audience, and this agreement will enable Sentech to continue connecting Africa to the world and the world to Africa.”
