Satellite company SES has signed a capacity and uplink agreement with Netherlands-based Scope Media TV for the free-to-air distribution of African Television (AFTV) via its ASTRA satellite at the 23.5 degrees East orbital position (12,168 MHz vertical polarisation) covering Europe.
Supported by various African broadcasters and embassies, AFTV aims to promote Africa, ranging from culture and lifestyle to business and current affairs. AFTV will use the ASTRA satellites of SES for the distribution for both direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting and delivery to cable and IPTV operators throughout Europe. AFTV will commence its transmissions on 1 April 2012.
Larry Omodia, Director of Operations at AFTV: “Africa is in many respects a beautiful continent, undergoing a very rapid economic development. Our aim is to show and demonstrate this to as many people outside Africa as possible. The launch of a dedicated television channel is therefore a logical step. We have selected SES as our satellite distribution partner in Europe because of its high quality distribution and wide European household reach. Moreover, SES demonstrated a strong belief and support towards our mission and vision.’
Bill Wijdeveld, Managing Director at SES for the Benelux market, said: “We are delighted to distribute AFTV via our satellite system. As a worldwide operating satellite company, we have been active in Africa for years and see this as a highly dynamic and promising market. We fully support AFTV in its goal to promote Africa in the rest of the world and look forward to the launch of this new channel.’
