[SatNews] SES S.A. (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announces the distribution of NASA’s new Ultra HD channel, produced by Harmonic, a leading video delivery infrastructure provider.

The content will be delivered over SES’s AMC-18 satellite, one of three spacecraft (SES-1, SES-3, AMC-18) that make up SES’s Ultra HD neighborhood at the center of the orbital arc over North America. The new UHD channel is expected to launch on November 1, following preliminary tests.

SES has developed the first Ultra HD ecosystem capable of providing cable systems with linear live Ultra HD content. SES unveiled the Ultra HD platform together with Harmonic at the NAB Conference in April. Successful cable operator trials of the plug-and-play service quickly followed, along with the launch of the first Ultra HD demonstration channels in North America.

Executive Comments

“Our three satellites at the foundation of SES’s North America Ultra HD platform enable the programmers to potentially reach more than 100 million U.S. television homes through virtually every cable TV, IPTV and direct-to-home provider across the region,” said Steve Corda, Vice President of business development for SES in North America.“Armstrong is currently undergoing trials across their cable plant, and other operators are receiving our Ultra HD channel feeds over SES satellites and will undoubtedly be very excited to add NASA’s UHD channel to their viewing line-ups," he added.

“SES has been a driving force towards making Ultra HD channels available to the millions of households that now own and will own Ultra HD TVs,” said Peter Alexander, Harmonic CMO. “Together, we can drastically reduce the time to market and total-cost-for-ownership (TCO) for UHD rollout, with the amazing video experience that comes from this exciting new format.”