Paris, Rome, 18 October 2016 – Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) and Telespazio, a Leonardo-Finmeccanica (67%) and Thales (33%) joint venture, a global broadcast service provider, are strengthening their longstanding strategic partnership with a new agreement that sets the stage for growth of higher resolution video channels at Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD video neighbourhood.
In addition to pursuing transmissions of Standard Digital platforms (in DVB-S, DVB-S2), Telespazio is committed to accelerating the move to High Definition and Ultra HD from the HOTBIRD video neighbourhood that is the point of reference for multi-channel broadcasting in Italy and provides unparalleled coverage across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Luigi Pasquali, Telespazio CEO, said: “Providing services to large and medium-sized broadcasters is one of Telespazio’s core business lines. For over two decades we have favoured from our teleports the HOTBIRD satellites for their footprint and the audience they deliver as well as their reliability and capacity to scale up to HD and Ultra HD. In addition to covering advanced renewals the new agreement with Eutelsat confirms our commitment to drive continued growth of HOTBIRD-based services.”
Rodolphe Belmer, Eutelsat CEO, added: “Telespazio is a longstanding partner with extensive experience in serving a diversified array of broadcast clients. This expertise will add new impetus to the growth of HD and Ultra HD channels in Italy and across the broad footprint of the HOTBIRD satellites that are a pillar of our video activity.”
About Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD neighbourhood
Eutelsat’s cluster of three high-power HOTBIRD satellites at 13° East provide prime coverage of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. They deliver an unrivalled line-up of 1,000 channels in 40 languages to over 135 million homes through Direct-to-Home reception, cable, IP and DTT networks.
About Telespazio
Telespazio, a Leonardo and Thales 67/33 joint venture, is one of the world’s leading operators in satellite services. Its activities range from the design and development of space systems to the management of launch services, from in-orbit satellite control to Earth observation, from integrated communications, satellite navigation and localisation services to scientific programmes. Telespazio plays a leading role in the reference markets harnessing technological experience acquired over the years. Since its establishment, the company has participated in major European space programmes such as Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus and COSMO-SkyMed. In 2015, Telespazio generated sales of EUR 632 million while employing approximately 2,500 people worldwide.
Press contacts:
Telespazio Press office Phone: +39 06 4079 6252/6017 telespazio.pressoffice@telespazio.com
About Eutelsat Communications
Established in 1977, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world’s leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 38 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies.
Eutelsat’s satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user’s location.
Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a workforce of 1,000 men and women from 37 countries who are experts in their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of service.
For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com
Press
Vanessa O’Connor Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 voconnor@eutelsat.com
Marie-Sophie Ecuer Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 mecuer@eutelsat.com
Violaine du Boucher Tel: + 33 1 53 98 37 91 vduboucher@eutelsat.com
Investors and analysts
Joanna Darlington Tel. : +33 1 53 98 35 30 jdarlington@eutelsat.com
Cédric Pugni Tel. : +33 1 53 98 35 30 cpugni@eutelsat.com
