ASTRA and GlobeCast target multicultural audiences in Spain and France

SES ASTRA and GlobeCast have announced an agreement to offer access to the ASTRA Satellite System at 19.2° East to multicultural TV channels, targeting Spain and France. The GlobeCast satellite multiplex located in Madrid and linked to Globecasts worldwide ATM fiber ring will ensure secured access to the ASTRA platform.

This agreement will notably enable additional ethnic channels to join the roster of digital free-to-air channels on ASTRA. ASTRA currently broadcasts over 130 digital TV channels plus another 100 digital radio stations that can be received free-to-air with a simple dish antenna pointed at ASTRA 19.2° East and a simple, affordable digital satellite receiver.

This agreement provides a great opportunity for television channels to be accessed by more than 10 million European households receiving digital TV through ASTRA, of which 1.34 million are in Spain, and 2.99 million in France.

GlobeCast will deliver channels to the platform over its global transmission network that includes 15 teleports and technical operations centers on five continents, as well as via a global ATM fiber ring that interconnects GlobeCasts facilities worldwide to the multiplex gateway in Spain. Our partnership will benefit broadcasters by offering a one-hop global package to reach ASTRA viewers in Spain and in France from anywhere in the world. GlobeCasts worldwide fiber and satellite contribution network will feed channels to our ASTRA gateway in Madrid, states Christian Pinon, President and CEO of GlobeCast.