ARD to drop SD distribution on Astra in 2025
AUGUST 14, 2023 22.15 EUROPE/LONDON BY JÖRN KRIEGER

German public broadcaster ARD will terminate the SD distribution of its TV channels via the Astra satellite system (19.2° East) at the beginning of 2025.

The channels will then only be available in HD resolution to DTH satellite households. “A parallel broadcast of SD and HD with the now very low use of SD is no longer economically reasonable,” an ARD spokesperson told German news agency epd.

According to the Astra satellite operator SES, of the 16.3 million DTH satellite households in Germany, only 1.1 million still only use SD channels – less than 7%.

On November 15, 2022, ARD commenced SD switch-off: ARTE, Phoenix, tagesschau24 and One can since then only be received in HD quality via Astra.