Nordic Satellite AB and Euro 1080 have signed an agreement to broadcast the HDTV channel HD1 via Sirius to the Nordic and Baltic regions. HD1 is the first European HD channel offering a mix of music, sports, lifestyle, wildlife and soon also fiction. Broadcasts on SIRIUS will begin in October 2004. To receive HD1, viewers need a separate satellite receiver and subscription (as well as a satellite dish aimed at SIRIUS). The receiver costs about SEK 5,000. Viewers will also pay a one-time fee of about SEK 2,000 for a subscription through 2010.
HDTV is the TV format of tomorrow and we want to be among the first to offer people this possibility. That’s why we support industry efforts to find solutions for distribution, compression, and coding that will allow HDTV to rapidly become affordable in a wide market. SES ASTRA has taken the initiative to formulate common specifications for HDTV receiving equipment in Europe. NSAB-SIRIUS is helping to accomplish this in the Nordic countries, says Benny Norling, General Manager, Broadcasting Services at Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB-SIRIUS).
We are very excited about distributing the HD1 HDTV channel on SIRIUS, says Gabriel Fehervari, CEO of Euro 1080. Weve seen interest grow ever since we started transmission this year on the ASTRA satellite. Now that we have a perfect footprint for the Nordic market, we will extend our reach to this region where we see a potential growth for HDTV services due to the high penetration of home theatre systems.
Satellite is currently the best distribution form for HDTV, which requires up to four times more bandwidth than a digital TV channel. The terrestrial network is not built for HDTV and does not have enough bandwidth today for several HDTV channels, though in Finland HD1 is available in one cable network.
Nordic Satellite AB is jointly owned by the Swedisch Space Corporation and SES-Global. NSAB owns and operates the satellites in the SIRIUS system.