German shopping channel set for UHD first

A German shopping channel is set to become Europe’s first free-to-air Ultra HD service, launching in September on the Astra satellite platform at 19.2° East.

Existing teleshopping service Pearl.tv’s owner Enstyle will lease additional capacity to launch the new channel and will also contract SES Platform Services, a subsidiary of SES, to manage the technical operations of the Ultra HD broadcast. Pearl.tv will also continue to broadcast in SD and HD.

“Years ago, pearl.tv was the first shopping channel to broadcast its programme in native HD. Today, by being the first to launch pearl.tv in Ultra HD, we are once again demonstrating our strength as technological leaders in the European media industry. We will also be producing and broadcasting pearl.tv in native Ultra HD from a brand new studio,” said Michael Sichler, managing director of Enstyle.

“SES has been at the forefront of Ultra HD developments since 2011. Our satellites can deliver a truly immersive Ultra HD experience, because satellites are the only infrastructure capable of distributing native Ultra HD in extremely high quality throughout Europe to millions of TV homes,” said Ferdinand Kayser, chief commercial officer of SES.

“We are proud that we will be working together with our partner to achieve the next Ultra HD milestone and broadcast Europe’s first commercial free-to-air Ultra HD channel to the 18 million direct-to-home households we serve in Germany today.”