UBM EG selects Eutelsat for new EG SAT digital TV platform for Equatorial Guinea

Credit photo UBM

Strong draw of EUTELSAT 16A satellite across West Africa reaches new heights: now broadcasting over 150 channels

Malabo, Paris, 14 September 2015 - Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL) announces a multiyear contract with United Business Machines EG (UBM), a leading distributor of IT products, services and solutions in Equatorial Guinea. The contract covers lease of capacity connected to the African beam of the EUTELSAT 16A satellite to broadcast the new EG SAT pay-TV platform.

Due for launch at the end of the month, EG SAT will broadcast over 60 channels across Equatorial Guinea, with a strong accent on Spanish content. The platform will also include French, English and Portuguese content to support the ongoing effort to integrate this Spanish-speaking West African nation into predominantly French-speaking and Portuguese-speaking regions. With three package options to choose from, EG SAT will be available from the equivalent of €15.25 per month to homes equipped with a 70cm dish and an access card linked to a set-up box called the “Emerging Equatorial Guinean”.

Accelerating digital switchover

EG SAT will also broadcast Equatorial Guinea’s three national channels. The channels, produced by Radio Nacional de Guinea Equatorial, will be available to homes equipped for Direct-to-Home reception on a free-to-air basis and will also be delivered to terrestrial retransmitters and headends as part of the drive to accelerate analogue switch-off in Equatorial Guinea.

EUTELSAT 16A, a leading digital broadcasting hub for Africa

UBM selected Eutelsat’s vibrant broadcasting hub at 16° East, occupied by the EUTELSAT 16A satellite, for its premium footprint of Equatorial Guinea, its fast-growing audience and the strength of its line-up that now numbers over 150 channels. Broadcasters and platforms already favouring this neighbourhood include Crystal TV in Ghana, Free Africa in Cameroon, Ma TELE, My TV Smart, and Shashatee in the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and TV Sat Afrika in Benin.

Enrique Ngua Obiang Shaw, Deputy Managing Director, announced: “To move into digital broadcasting, we wanted to rely on industry-leading competence in the West African audiovisual landscape. For us, the EUTELSAT 16A satellite emerged as by far the most advantageous option in terms of its reach and exceptional range of channels.”

In welcoming UBM onto EUTELSAT 16A, Michel Azibert, Chief Commercial and Development Officer of Eutelsat, said: “EG SAT is poised to propel Equatorial Guinea into a new digital era by delivering the benefits of signal quality and choice and by ensuring that the country’s landmass is fully covered through satellite delivery. We are proud to have won their confidence and to see satellite increasingly woven into the infrastructure progressively taking Africa closer to a fully digital broadcasting environment.”

Where to meet Eutelsat at IBC: Hall 1.D59