PARIS — A new Ukrainian direct-to-home television broadcaster has contracted with Spacecom of Israel to beam programming from Spacecom’s Amos-3 satellite at 4 degrees west in a multiyear agreement valued at up to $19 million, Tel Aviv-based Spacecom announced Aug. 2.
Under the agreement, Kiev-based Xtra TV becomes the latest Ukrainian broadcaster to sign up for Amos capacity. Jehuda Amir, Spacecom’s vice president for sales, said in a statement that Spacecom already carries seven of Ukraine’s 10 top-rated programs. A total of 30 Ukrainian television channels are already carried by the Amos spacecraft, Spacecom said.
Xtra TV Chief Executive Jim Phillipoff said the Ukrainian market appears ready to adopt pay television. “Our goal is to help Ukraine become one of the most technically developed [television] markets in Eastern Europe,” he said in a statement.