Telekom Srbija will broadcast its two free-to-air public television channels, RTS Sat and Radio Beograde, from satellite fleet operator SES’s 19.2 degrees east orbital slot in a deal that SES said adds “an important anchor customer for its 19.2 degrees East orbital position in the Balkan region.”
Luxembourg-based SES has been focusing on Central and Eastern European markets for direct broadcast television and is faced with competition from Eutelsat of Paris, Norway’s Telenor, Spacecom of Israel and other companies also looking to establish market share there. For the moment, Telekom Srbija is leasing less than one transponder from SES as part of a multiyear contract.
Most industry officials believe that this region will follow the steps of other satellite television markets in consolidating, sooner or later, its large number of competing satellite television broadcasters. This will reduce the amount of satellite bandwidth needed in the region. The winning fleet operators will be those that have established dominant positions with the most antennas pointed at their satellites.
