Eutelsat and Nilesat growth up 24%
August 1, 2013
By Chris Forrester
One region that has consistently outperformed the rest of the world is the MENA region, and at 7 & 8 deg West the combined might of Nilesat and Eutelsat are working together to grow the market to spectacular levels. Eutelsat said July 30 that the number of channels carried grew by 24 per cent y-o-y to 662 (up 128).
Eutelsat says that the location has benefited from refreshed and expansion capacity on the
Eutelsat 7 West A satellite, launched in October 2011 which has generated additional business with clients that include Al Jazeera, Gulfsat, MBC, Nilesat and Noorsat. “Resources at this neighbourhood will be further reinforced in the first half of fiscal year 2013-2014 with the redeployment of HOT BIRD 13A to 7/8° West (and to be renamed Eutelsat 8 West C). This neighbourhood also contributed significantly to the company’s strong backlog, with significant multi-year multi-transponder contracts signed with anchor customers on Eutelsat 8 West B well in advance of its launch in 3Q/2015.”
As far as the rest of the Eutelsat fleet is concerned, Eutelsat says it is now carrying 4661 channels, up by 400 channels y-o-y, or 9.4 per cent growth). The number of HDTV channels reached 419 (as at June 30) up 21.1 per cent, from 346 a year ago. HDTV transmissions now account for 9 per cent of Eutelsat’s channels.