New Skies Satellites N.V. (NYSE:NSK)(AEX:NSK): Nss-6 Will Carry World’s Largest Free-to-Air Direct-to-Home (DTH) Television Service for India’s National Broadcaster
New Skies Satellites N.V., the global satellite communications company, and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) have signed an agreement for multiple high-powered 36 MHz Ku-band transponders on the NSS-6 satellite. The capacity will support the launch of the world’s largest free-to-air DTH service for Doordarshan, India’s national broadcaster.
The DTH service, expected to begin in June, will provide an initial bouquet of 30 free channels, 15 from Doordarshan and 15 from private broadcasters, as well as 20 radio channels throughout India. Additionally, one of the transponders is expected to be used for digital satellite newsgathering.
“It is an honor for us to be associated with such a prestigious organization as ISRO to support Doordarshan’s entry into DTH services,” said Dan Goldberg, chief executive officer of New Skies. “With Doordarshan’s reputation for high quality programming and their broad base of viewers, this agreement is sure to make NSS-6 a prime spot for DTH throughout the Indian subcontinent.”
New Skies continues to increase its market share in the India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA) region. Revenues from this region have almost tripled over the past three years from $14.2 million in 2000 to $46.0 million in 2003, and its importance as a percentage of total revenues has increased from 7 percent to 21 percent over the same period. New Skies meets the requirements of broadcasters, carriers, corporations, ISPs and government users in the IMEA region with its NSS-6, NSS-703 and NSS-7 satellites.
About NSS-6
From its prime orbital position at 95 degrees east longitude, NSS-6 covers two-thirds of the world’s population – India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and parts of Myanmar, as well as the rest of Asia, southern Africa, the Middle East, Australia and a number of the Pacific Islands – with six high-performance Ku-band beams that can deliver direct-to-home power and performance. In addition, the satellite was designed with an eye towards the future, incorporating high-power Ka-band uplink beams over key Asian markets, making NSS-6 ideal for broadband and other emerging applications using very small and highly portable uplink equipment.
About New Skies Satellites
New Skies Satellites (AEX, NYSE: NSK.AS) is one of only four fixed satellite communications companies with truly global satellite coverage, offering video, data, voice and Internet communications services to a range of telecommunications carriers, broadcasters, large corporations, Internet service providers and government entities around the world. New Skies has five satellites in orbit, ground facilities around the world and one additional spacecraft under construction. The company also has secured certain rights to make use of additional orbital positions for future growth. New Skies is headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands, and has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Washington, D.C. Additional information is available at www.newskies.com.
