[26.03.2007] RBC-TV, RUSSIA'S BUSINESS CHANNEL, INKS CONTRACT WITH EUTELSAT FOR FREE-TO-AIR BROADCASTING ON HOT BIRD™ 6 SATELLITE |
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Paris, 26 March 2007 Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and RBC-TV, the Russian business television channel, today announced the signature of a five year contract for lease of capacity on the HOT BIRD™ 6 television satellite for free-to-air broadcasting over Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. This new agreement illustrates RBC-TV’s objective to initiate international expansion beyond its core markets of Russia and neighbouring countries in order to reach Russian-speaking audiences further afield who follow economic, financial, business and political events in Russia and are interested in a Russian perspective on international business. Three years since its launch on Eutelsat’s W4 satellite, RBC-TV has built strong coverage in Russia's main cities, as well as the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and the Baltic countries. Over these regions, the channel is available via the leading television platforms on Eutelsat's W4 satellite, as well as via cable networks and the Internet, and has built an estimated audience of almost 53 million viewers, who are mainly corporate and financial executives, state officials and business opinion leaders. “We regard boosting the channel’s target viewership as a priority task in terms of RBC TV’s development,” General Director of RBC TV Artyom Inutin said. “Until recently, our technical opportunities have been restricted to transmitting the TV signal throughout Russia, the CIS and Baltic states. We have launched transmission through two additional satellites, including HOT BIRD™ 6, which gives us the opportunity to reach the whole of Russia, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa”. “By joining the line-up of close to 500 free-to-air channels broadcasting from the HOT BIRD™ neighbourhood, Russia’s first business channel RBC-TV will be able to reach new target audiences including Russian-speaking residents of foreign countries and foreign citizens who speak Russian and have business ties with Russia”, said Olivier Milliès-Lacroix, Eutelsat’s Commercial Director. “The launch of RBC-TV on HOT BIRD™ 6 will also enable Russian tourists keep abreast with the latest news in Russian business and economics when travelling abroad. We are delighted to have been selected to support their international expansion on HOT BIRD™ 6, three years after their launch on our W4 satellite over Russia and neighbouring countries”. Reception parameters Satellite: HOT BIRD™ 6 (13° E) Transponder 90 Downlink frequency: 12.520 GHz Polarisation: vertical Symbol rate (SR): 27500 FEC: 3/4 Service ID: 8342 Service name: RBC-TV (4,33 Mbit/s total) PMT PID: 602; Video PID: 603 (4,13Mbit/s); Audio PID: 604 (192 kbit/s) About RBC-TV : RBC-TV business television channel went live in September 2003 and ever since has been the only source of business news on Russian television. Round-the-clock RBC-TV covers economic, financial and relevant political events in Russia and abroad, features analytical reviews, forecasts and expert commentaries, interviews with top businessmen and politicians, business press reviews, as well as special programs looking into current issues for Russian business. Over 90% of information featured on RBC-TV is dedicated to events in Russia and produced in-house. RBC-TV has a professional team of 650 specialists that used to work in business media including 40 analysts that came from commercial banks and financial companies. RBC television channel broadcasts information on the course of trade on global markets, as well as business and economic news produced by the CNBC and CNN television channels, which are the partners of RBC TV. In addition, RBC TV broadcasts its programs devoted to the Russian business and economy on CNN, and since February 2005 - on CNBC Europe. Other partners of RBC TV include Bloomberg, APTN and Reuters. http://newtv.rbc.ru/eng/ Contact: Irina Andrievskaya Tel. :+7 (495) 363-11-00 Ext. #3300 world@rbctv.ru About Eutelsat Communications Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is the holding company of Eutelsat S.A.. With capacity commercialised on 23 satellites that provide coverage over the entire European continent, as well as the Middle East, Africa, India and significant parts of Asia and the Americas, Eutelsat is one of the world's three leading satellite operators in terms of revenues. At 31 December 2006, Eutelsat’s satellites were broadcasting over 2,400 television channels and 1,000 radio stations. More than 1,000 channels broadcast via its HOT BIRD™ video neighbourhood which serves over 120 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Group’s satellites also serve a wide range of fixed and mobile telecommunications services, TV contribution markets, corporate networks, and broadband markets for Internet Service Providers and for transport, maritime and in-flight markets. Eutelsat's broadband subsidiary, Skylogic, markets and operates services through teleports in France and Italy that serve enterprises, local communities, government agencies and aid organisations in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in Paris, Eutelsat and its subsidiaries employ 490 commercial, technical and operational experts from 27 countries. www.eutelsat.com Source: http://www.eutelsat.com |