SES video services reach 317MN TV homes


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Joseph O'Halloran

| 16 March 2016




In its annual look at the satellite arena, leading operator SES has revealed that its technical reach in worldwide video reception has increased to 317 million TV homes.



SES 10 satellite HThe bulk of this growth has originated in Europe, Latin America and Africa, where SES now reaches 156 million, 25 million, and eight million TV homes, respectively. The figures included direct reach (direct-to-home, DTH), as well as cable and IPTV fed by satellite. The total represented an increase of five million TV homes compared with 2014, and an overall growth of 23% since 2014. SES reach remained constant in North America with 84 million TV homes, and racked up 44 million in the Asia Pacific.

Significantly SES showed particular increases in satellite-based IPTV and HDTV TV in Europe, with 35% of TV homes reached directly and 71% of European satellite households being served by SES satellites. The total number of TV households enjoying HDTV content in Europe has now tripled over the past five years, with SES now serving 78%, 127 million, of HDTV homes. In the UK alone satellite was the leading TV reception mode in the UK serving 54% of HDTV homes. The UK represents SES’s second largest European DTH market, with 12 million satellite TV homes reached directly by SES fleet. Serving 44% of TV homes directly, satellite remains the leading TV reception mode in the UK.

“Satellite continues to grow and confirm its role as the central pillar of the digital broadcasting infrastructure,” commented Mike Chandler, MD ASTRA UK of SES . “[The survey] corresponds to our recently announced record channel growth, with an increase of 11.3% at the end of 2015 versus the prior year, and now over 7,200 TV channels on board SES satellites, out of which more than 2,200 are in HD. We expect the trend to ever better picture quality and new online video services to continue and further boost our video segment.”