StarTimes signs new platform services deal with SES

StarTimes has signed a new multi-year agreement with SES Platform Services for distributing channels to direct-to-home subscribers across Sub-Saharan Africa.

SES Platform Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, will provide signal turnaround, video processing, and uplinking services for StarTimes’ SD and HD channels from its broadcast facility in Germany.

“We want TV audiences in Africa to perceive StarTimes as a reliable DTH platform operator broadcasting engaging content at competitive rates to its subscribers,” said StarTimes Group chairman and president Pang Xinxing.

“We are confident that SES and SES Platform Services have the space and ground infrastructure and the expertise to help us grow our TV business by delivering a wider range of attractive offerings across the continent.”

StarTimes claims more than 5 million DTT and DTH subscribers across 16 countries in Africa. It currently provides English-language TV content to viewers across the region via the SES-5 satellite located at 5 degrees East.