SES: GSAT Signs New Capacity On SES Satellites NSS-11 And SES-9 To Meet Pay-TV Boom In The Philippines

Luxembourg – SES (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) announced today that the Philippine direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV provider Global Satellite (GSAT) has contracted its fourth transponder on NSS-11, cementing SES’ orbital position of 108.2 degrees East as one of Asia’s leading video neighbourhoods. The multi-year deal will see the transfer of current capacity usage by GSAT from NSS-11 to SES-9, currently scheduled for launch in 2015. When launched, SES-9 will be the largest SES satellite dedicated to the Asia-Pacific region. The new spacecraft will be providing expansion capacity for DTH, enterprise, mobility and government services across the region.

GSAT, the satellite division of First United Broadcasting Corp (FUBC), launched its DTH service in 2008 on the NSS-11 Ku-band satellite, providing subscribers with access to an improved mix of international programmes including English, Mandarin, Korean, Tagalog, Japanese and Spanish channels. With this additional capacity, GSAT will be offering 12 high definition (HD) channels and 47 standard definition (SD) channels to more than 200,000 subscribers across the Philippine archipelago.

Philip J. Chien, President and CEO of FUBC, said, “Our ability to offer highly reliable DTH satellite TV to our growing base of subscribers in the Philippines is largely due to the comprehensive footprints of NSS-11, and, from 2015, SES-9. We are confident that SES’ expertise will enable us to grow in our market and increase both the quality and quantity of channels in our pay-TV offerings"

Deepak Mathur, Senior Vice President Commercial, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at SES, said, “We are delighted to confirm that GSAT, our long-term customer on NSS-11, will become a key anchor customer on SES-9. At SES, we are investing in new satellites to make sure that our customers enjoy business continuity, as well as delivering vital capacity to support their growth in some of the most dynamic media markets in the world.

About SES

SES is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of 53 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide.

SES stands for long-lasting business relationships, high-quality service and excellence in the broadcasting industry. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements.

SES (NYSE Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) holds participations in Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico, as well as a strategic participation in satellite infrastructure start-up O3b Networks. Further information under: www.ses.com.

About GSAT

GSAT is a Direct to Home (DTH) satellite service providing the best TV viewing satisfaction in areas beyond the reach of cable television in the Philippines.

Capitalizing on the latest multi-media technology, GSAT aims to carry communication and entertainment services in an affordable package that would cater to the general public. Its programming is centered on offering wide range of genre to entertain, inform and educate the viewers. It also offers multi-cultural and international content geared at providing diverse source of viewing pleasure. The locally-produced programs aspire to instill quality of living through in-depth discussions of relevant issues, intelligent insights and comprehensive coverage of news events. A significant portion of the programming is also devoted to distance education, business and economic analysis, law enactment proceedings and other documentary productions.

The superior coverage of its satellite provider (SES) is even complemented by the intense security protection of its conditional access provider (CONAX). This ensures security of the program content, the access system and the very technology that DTH system utilizes. Ultimately, G SAT envisions itself to be the biggest and widest satellite TV provider in Asia - reaching every home and touching every heart – wherever you are.