Advanced Television

Satellite leads European digitalisation

March 20, 2008

From Colin Mann in London

Recent research from satellite operator SES Astra has revealed that 83 per cent of the satellite TV households in Europe and North Africa are digitised. This is more than four times more than in cable where in average 20 per cent of all households are digital. With a share of 58 per cent of all Including satellite, cable, terrestrial TV and TV over DSL. digital households satellite represents the most popular digital reception mode. The findings formed part of the Luxembourg company's annual Satellite Monitor.

Of the 239 million analogue and digital TV households counted across the examined 35 countries in Europe and North Africa, nearly 100 million are digital, out of which 56.8 million are digital satellite households. 41.1 million of these homes receive digital services directly from Astra or Sirius satellites. Over 99 per cent of European satellite TV channels are digital. Overall the combined satellite systems of SES Astra and SES Sirius serve 117.2 million analogue and digital homes in Europe and North Africa. 50.3 million of these homes receive their signals directly from Astra or Sirius satellites (Direct to home, DTH). The other 66.9 million homes receive signals through a satellite feed to cable head-ends.

Alexander Oudendijk, Chief Commercial Officer of SES Astra, said that satellite remained one of the fastest growing TV infrastructures and had increased its reach over the last five years, across the 35 countries measured, by 50 per cent.

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