Eutelsat Doubles its Broadcasting Resources at 9 Degrees East With Deployment of the EUROBIRD(TM) 9A Satellite

Eutelsat Doubles its Broadcasting Resources at 9 Degrees East With Deployment of the EUROBIRD(TM) 9A Satellite

PARIS, February 24/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today announces the entry into commercial service of its EUROBIRD(TM) 9A satellite at 9 degrees East. Redeployment of the satellite was made possible with last week's entry into service at 13 degrees East of HOT BIRD(TM) 9, which released EUROBIRD(TM) 9A (formerly HOT BIRD(TM) 7A) for its new commercial mission to support the rapid pace of growth at Eutelsat's 9 degrees East broadcast neighbourhood. It will replace EUROBIRD(TM) 9 at this position, doubling operational resources from 20 to 38 transponders.

The smooth transfer of 175 television channels and 25 radio stations onto EUROBIRD(TM) 9A was completed at 01.00 GMT this morning by Eutelsat's control centre, working closely with broadcast clients and providers of uplink services.

Opened in May 2007, Eutelsat's 9 degrees East neighbourhood has, over a period of one year, seen a two-fold increase in the number of programmes it broadcasts with the launch of new TV-programme bouquets such as Hello HD from Hungary, Platforma DV from Russia, and Roots Global, which is aimed at Indian communities across Europe. With its close proximity to Eutelsat's premium HOT BIRD(TM) neighbourhood, it is possible to watch channels from both neighbourhoods with a single DTH dish equipped for dual-feed reception.

The 9 degrees East neighbourhood is also developing into a key location for delivering channels to cable operators via the KabelKiosk service operated by Eutelsat's German subsidiary.

About Eutelsat Communications

Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity commercialised on 26 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 31 December 2008, Eutelsat's satellites were broadcasting more than 3,200 television channels and 1,100 radio stations. Almost 1,100 channels broadcast via its HOT BIRD(TM) video neighbourhood at 13 degrees East 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 its teleport in Italy that serves enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ 591 commercial, technical and operational experts from 27 countries.

http://www.eutelsat.com

          For further information:      Press contacts:     Vanessa O'Connor,     Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88,     voconnor@eutelsat.fr ;     Frederique Gautier,     Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88,     fgautier@eutelsat.fr .          Investor relations:     Gilles Janvier,     Tel: +33-1-53-98-35-30,     investors@eutelsat-communications.com .  

Source: Eutelsat Communications

For further information: Press contacts: Vanessa O'Connor, Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88, voconnor@eutelsat.fr; Frederique Gautier, Tel: +33-1-53-98-38-88, fgautier@eutelsat.fr . Investor relations: Gilles Janvier, Tel: +33-1-53-98-35-30, investors@eutelsat-communications.com .

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Profile: International Entertainment