Entertainment Highway Selects Eutelsat W4 Satellite for New HiTV Pay-TV Platform for Nigeria

Entertainment Highway Selects Eutelsat W4 Satellite for New HiTV Pay-TV Platform for Nigeria

PARIS, November 13/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announced the conclusion of a five-year contract on its W4 satellite with Entertainment Highway Ltd (EHL) for a new pay-TV platform serving Nigeria. The contract covers one high-power Ku-band transponder connected to a high-power spotbeam that Eutelsat has focused over Nigeria.

Called HiTV, the new platform comprises 15 digital channels, including three sports channels showing Barclay's Premier League football from the UK as well as matches from Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A. Other international channels broadcast in the platform include BBC World, E! Entertainment, God TV, MTV Base, Sky News, Eurosport News, Nickelodeon as well as new channels produced in Nigeria dedicated to local and foreign movies, music, children and general entertainment. Having broken into a highly underserved but hugely potent Nigerian pay TV market, HiTv is adopting a mass market affordable pricing approach and targeting 100,000 homes in its first year of operation.

Using its teleport facilities in Rambouillet, near Paris, Eutelsat is encrypting and multiplexing the platform. It is subsequently uplinked to the W4 satellite by Overon, the broadcasting subsidiary of Abertis Telecom from the Abertis teleport in Arganda, near Madrid. Reception is possible throughout Nigeria with a 60cm dish, a set-top decoder and smartcard. The service is encrypted using Conax encryption.

"Our relationship with Eutelsat could not have come at a better time," says Toyin Subair, CEO of HiTv. "We were operating a regional terrestrial cable network but needed to achieve nationwide coverage in the shortest possible timeframe. Eutelsat helped us achieve that seemingly impossible feat. Their world-class team of professional staff guided us through every step and their contribution to our business to date is simply invaluable. Having broken into a hugely potent Nigerian pay TV market, HiTv is adopting a mass market pricing approach and targeting 100,000 homes in its first year of operation."

Commenting the contract with Entertainment Highway, Olivier Millies-Lacroix, Eutelsat's Commercial Director said: "We are very pleased that the flexible configuration of our W4 satellite enables us to provide Nigeria's new pay-TV platform with a footprint serving their full target market. This new contract shows the dynamic of digital television markets in sub-Saharan Africa for broadcasting international channels and new, locally-produced content. It also further underscores the premium ranking of our W4 satellite, which, together with SESAT 1 constitute a key video neighbourhood for Africa."

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity commercialised on 24 satellites that provide coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. At 30 September 2007, Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting over 2,730 television channels, of which more than 1,000 channels broadcast via its HOT BIRD(TM) video neighbourhood which serves over 120 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Group's satellites also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and operates services through teleports in France and Italy that serve enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ 529 commercial, technical and operational experts from 27 countries.

http://www.eutelsat.com

          Eutelsat Press Contact:      Vanessa O'Connor,     Tel.:+33(0)1-53-98-38-88,     voconnor@eutelsat.fr       Frederique Gautier,     Tel.:+33(0)1-53-98-38-88,     fgautier@eutelsat.fr       Eutelsat Investor Relations:      Gilles Janvier,     Tel.: +33(0)1-53-98-35-35,     investors@eutelsat-communications.com      Hi-TV Contact:      Olumide Amure,     Head Business Development,     Tel: +234-805-405-40-00,     olumidea@hientertainment.tv  

Source: Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Press Contact: Vanessa O'Connor, Tel.:+33(0)1-53-98-38-88, voconnor@eutelsat.fr; Frederique Gautier, Tel.:+33(0)1-53-98-38-88, fgautier@eutelsat.fr; Eutelsat Investor Relations: Gilles Janvier, Tel.: +33(0)1-53-98-35-35, investors@eutelsat-communications.com; Hi-TV Contact: Olumide Amure, Head Business Development, Tel: +234-805-405-40-00, olumidea@hientertainment.tv

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Profile: International Entertainment