SES used the giant IBC broadcasting technology show to unveil its new look philosophy and logo and to flag up the fact that the Company was now carrying 6,000 TV and radio channels across its satellite fleet, with more than 2,400 being transmitted over Europe. SES is claiming the worlds top spot for HDTV channels, with 1,071 now on air around the globe. (216 over Europe).
He explained SES would be launching 10 new satellites by the end of 2014, the first of which was a new craft (QuetzSat-1) to serve the Mexican and Latino region, which was scheduled for launch during Q4.
In the first half of 2011, direct-broadcast satellite was beamed into 430,000 additional households, taking the overall total up to 17.1m. By contrast, cable TV is losing in popularity. The first six months of the year saw 260,000 households switch to a different form of TV reception. This has reduced the reach of cable TV to 17.9m households. Digital terrestrial TV has also fallen in popularity. It has lost 300,000 households, bringing its coverage down to 1.7m. However, Internet TV has continued to grow this year. For the first time ever, IPTV in Germany has reached the one-million mark.
The above data comes from their latest Satellite Monitor results for the first half of 2011. The research was carried out by market research company TNS Infratest on behalf of SES Astra and in cooperation with the broadcasting institutions of the German states. Between May and June 2011, TNS conducted 8,000 interviews across the country.
Analogue (satellite) switch-off in Germany is scheduled for April 30, 2012. Astra estimates that just 2.5m homes still look at the satellite operators dwindling analogue transmissions, which will end next April. Some 400,000 have converted to digital this year.
Wolfgang Elsäßer, Managing Director of Astra Deutschland, said, Astra remains the most popular choice for TV reception. More and more people are realising that satellite TV is ahead of the competition when it comes to cost, variety and quality. Astra households throughout Germany can receive with no monthly connection charges around 270 German-language programmes, over 30 of which are broadcast in HDTV. We are confident that the remaining analogue households will switch to digital.
Germany now has 4.5m satellite households watching content in HD quality. That is almost a third of all digital satellite users. An analysis by GfK Group, a market research group, revealed the proportion of satellite receivers that are HD has also increased. In the first six months of 2011, HD had a 61 percent share. In the same period last year, the figure was 55 percent.
Eutelsats Reasons To Be Cheerfulm
SES European arch-rival Eutelsat also has many reasons to be cheerful. A new report from investment bankers Morgan Stanley covers Eutelsats prospects, and it is almost entirely positive. Management has one of the best track records of the industry. Trading at a ~10 percent discount to historic multiples, we view valuation as attractive, says the bank, while at the same time praising the FSS sector in general.
Eutelsats (ETL) core business is poised to continue to deliver strong growth over the next three to five years. ETLs video business, two thirds of group revenue, should continue to benefit from strong structural demand for satellite capacity. Two main drivers should stimulate revenue growth over the next five years: (i) The broadcasters, in ETLs markets, are expected to keep launching new channels. The roll-out of DTT technology coupled with the increasing penetration of Pay-TV means that the number of TV channels should keep rising. (ii) Secondly, HD is being rolled-out at a rapid pace across most of ETLs markets. In addition, 3D is starting to emerge, at least in the developed world. Recent research suggests that the number of households equipped with a 3D screen should rise substantially within the next five years.
Morgan Stanley also reminds us that the number of channels to increase in Eutelsats markets: In extended Europe (Western Europe, Central Europe, Russia, Central Asia, Middle-East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa), the total number of TV channels is expected to grow by 50 percent, from ~10,000 in 2010 to ~15,000 in 2020 (source: Euroconsult). Most of this growth is expected to come from new HD channels. Moreover, HD penetration is expected to rise significantly by 2020: HD penetration is expected to grow strongly over the next 9-10 years. In Western Europe, HD penetration is forecast to rise from 8 percent in 2010 to around 36 percent in 2020. On average, across ETLs markets, HD penetration is expected to grow from 4 percent to 19 percent by 2020. HD requires twice as much capacity as standard definition, meaning that it will provide a very significant boost to transponder demand.
Morgan Stanley also reminds us that Eutelsats own guidance has always beaten We have looked at the differences between start-of-the-year guidance and actual reported results over the last five years. We discovered that in each of the last five years, reported revenue exceeded guidance by around 30m euros to around 70m euros, i.e., between 3.6 percent and 4.7 percent. On average, reported revenue came in 4.2 percent or 39m euros ahead of initial guidance. 2012 guidance is group revenue to exceed 1235m euros. If we were to rely solely on ETLs track record, we could expect revenue to reach around 1270m to 1280m euros. We forecast 1255m euros vs. consensus of 1252m euros. The same remark also applies to margins. Over the last five years, management has beaten initial margin guidance by approximately 150 basis points. This, added to the revenue beat, means that on average, group EBITDA has exceeded start-of-the-year guidance by 45m euros. Our current 2012 forecast is 28m euros above guidance.
Chris Forrester is a well-known broadcasting journalist and industry consultant and has been reporting on the broadband explosion for more than 25 years. Since 1988, Chris has been a freelance journalist who specializes in content, the business of television, and emerging applications, on all delivery platforms.
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SES Links With Russias Gazprom
SES has struck up another of its special relationship agreements. This time it is Russias Gazprom and its Gazprom Space Systems division. SES now has a strategic partnership with the giant Russian company to provide new satellite capacity to serve the fast-growing Russian market.
Under the terms of a multi-year agreement, SES has re-located its Astra 1F satellite previously located at 51 degrees East to the orbital location 55 degrees East. GSS will use 16 Ku-band FSS transponders on the Astra 1F satellite to provide communication services for Western Russia ahead of the arrival of GSS Yamal-402 satellite in 2012. In return, SES will use capacity on GSS Yamal-402 once it becomes operational at 55 degrees East. Yamal-402 is currently under construction and scheduled for launch in November 2012, says SES.
The use of Astra 1F at 55 degrees East is part of a strategic partnership between SES and Gazprom to explore opportunities for the provision of satellite capacity for Russia. GSS will use the capacity on Astra 1F and, later, Yamal-402, together with Russian satellite service providers to deliver a wide spectrum of services. These services include; the transmission of TV bouquets for direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV operators; the distribution of TV signals to cable and terrestrial networks and broadcasting stations; the delivery of broadband access for corporate clients and the consumer market; and pointto-point communication, as well as cellular backhauls and Satellite News Gathering (SNG) services.
Dimitry Sevastiyanov, General Director of GSS, said, The move of Astra 1F is good news for the Russian market. The additional satellite arrives at a time of high demand and scarce capacity and brings us in a position to meet the actual and growing capacity needs of our customers. The cooperation with SES is very productive and we may see additional joint projects in the future.