A longstanding partnership between these two companies has now grown stronger as SES and CANAL+ signed new long-term strategic agreements for satellite capacity across three geographies. This action has strengthened the companies’ longstanding partnership and underlined the importance of satellite in delivering premium content to more than 10 million subscribers.
The multi-transponder contract renewal extends SES and CANAL+ relationship to the end of the decade. It enables SES to support the French pay-TV operator in broadcasting its bouquets to millions of households around the world via 19.2 degrees East, 23.5 degrees East and 22 degrees West. The new contract represents additional secured backlog of over EUR 230 million and includes options for additional capacity and extensions.
Partners with SES since 1995, CANAL+ will continue to use satellite capacity to broadcast bouquets of channels in ultra high definition (UHD), high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) for its various businesses to reach over 10 million TV households via SES’s orbital positions:
- ASTRA’s prime orbital position 19.2 degrees East for distribution of the CANAL+ premium pay-tv bouquet in France;
- ASTRA’s prime orbital position 19.2 degrees East for distribution of TNTSAT, the free-to-view digital terrestrial television satellite television offering in France;
- ASTRA’s prime orbital position 23.5 degrees East and 19.2 degrees East for CANAL+’s subsidiary, the Luxembourg-based M7 which operates a series of independent pay-TV platforms across the Benelux and Central European region;
- SES-4 at 22 degrees West for distribution of the CANAL+ Afrique bouquet across Africa
“Extending our partnership with SES was a natural choice, since we have a long and successful partnership in delivering superior quality video experiences to diverse audiences around the world. This agreement across three orbital slots demonstrates that satellite is at heart of our pay-tv operations throughout the world. We look forward to many more years of working together to ensure we reach the widest possible TV audiences,” said Jacques du Puy, CEO, CANAL+ International.
“CANAL+ is an iconic global company and brand that evokes quality, innovation and outstanding content and is among our longest standing and most valued customers. We are incredibly proud of the trust that CANAL+ has placed in SES and it underscores our mutual belief in the power of satellite to broadcast the best content, in the highest definition to the broadest base of subscribers on a global basis. This agreement ensures that we will continue to serve the neighborhoods that we have built together for the next decade and beyond.” said Steve Collar, CEO at SES.
