SES to deliver West African DTH for broadcast consortium

The February 2012 launch of SES-4

SES has signed a deal with a consortium of West African broadcasters, led by Africable and Media Plus, to deliver direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast television across French-speaking countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The new platform will include a bouquet of 80 free-to-air and encrypted channels, with the rollout due to begin on 1 October 2014 across Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Niger.

SES said the platform will enable member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (also known as UEMOA) to meet their global digital migration deadline of June 2015.

The satellite operator will provide capacity on its SES-4 satellite located at 22° West, SES’s prime orbital slot for Francophone sub-Saharan Africa.

“’Right to TV’ is our slogan. With over 20 years of experience as a leading wireless cable operator and content provider across Africa, we understand the importance of supporting digital migration on the continent to achieve 100% audience reach. It is our goal to deliver quality television to the wider population at an affordable cost, and we believe DTH technology can help us achieve this,” said Africable CEO Ismaila Sidibe.

SES’s senior vice president for Africa, Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, added: “As a global satellite operator, SES is well positioned to facilitate digital migration, particularly in Africa where geographic challenges loom large for broadcasters. With over 50 satellites globally, SES has nine satellites which cover Africa. As such, we are well positioned to increase the choice of broadcast channels for local communities.”