Further growth at Eutelsat 7/8° West video neighbourhood: now reaching into over 56 million TV homes in Middle East and North Africa

Eutelsat takes the pulse of TV trends in Middle East and North Africa with latest edition of its TV Observatory:

• Satellite surges 7% in one year to reach new milestone of 59 million homes, or 94% of total TV homes
• Eutelsat/Nilesat 7/8° West neighbourhood first choice for multi-channel viewing: offering broadcasters access to 56.2 million homes, up 6% in 12 months
• HD up 34% at 7/8° West with a penetration rate of 15%; 66% of homes watching channels from 7/8° West now HD-equipped

Dubai, Paris, 14 November 2017 – Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) today presented the results of its industry-benchmark survey on TV trends across the Middle East and North Africa at the ASBU BroadcastPro Selevision Summit in Dubai.

Satellite: the preferred digital video infrastructure across Middle East and North Africa

Satellite TV reception in the MENA region has continued to increase its market-share compared to terrestrial and IPTV, and now reaches into 59 million homes. This represents 94% of the 62.2 million TV homes in 14 Arab-speaking countries, up from 92% only 12 months ago.

Eutelsat 7/8° West neighbourhood: first choice for multi-channel viewing

Eutelsat’s 7/8° West neighbourhood has further reinforced its pole position, with reach into 56.2 million homes in 14 Arab countries,up 3.1 million homes in only one year. The attraction of 7/8° West for 95% of the satellite homes in the region is driven by an exceptional line-up of over 1,200 Arabic and international channels, with a high diversity of free-to-air content and exclusivity (55% of exclusive channels). This latest audience growth also reflects the expanding offer of High Definition content at 7/8° West, up 34% in 12 months to 179 channels (15% of channels).

10 million new HD-equipped homes in 12 months

The pace of adoption of HD is accelerating in the MENA region, with HD-equipped homes now reaching 28.2 million, up from 17.7 million in 12 months and representing 46% of TV homes. This percentage is even more significant at the Eutelsat/Nilesat 7/8° West neighbourhood where 66% of homes own HD displays.

Michel Azibert, Eutelsat Chief Commercial and Development Officer, commented on the figures: “Our 2017 survey confirms the dominance of satellite as the preferred digital infrastructure across the Middle East and North Africa and highlights key trends, notably the increasing significance of High Definition broadcasting. It also confirms the 7/8 ° West neighbourhood as the prime gateway for broadcasters, reaching into over 56 million homes from Morocco to the Gulf States. In addition to this capability, our complementary HOTBIRD neighbourhood broadcasts almost 80 Arabic channels, making it a compelling neighbourhood for reaching into millions of homes across Europe as well as in the Middle East and North Africa.”