Under the long-term agreement announced by SES, Kiwisat is leasing capacity on SES-10 to deliver about 130 channels, including 90 HD channels. The DTH platform is mainly aiming at English-speaking islands, with an exclusive package of American TV channels, but also includes three French-speaking channels for French subscribers.

As the first platform to rely on the DVB S2X and HEVC standards in the North American pay TV market, Kiwisat offers the largest HD line-up in the Caribbean region.

To support the roll-out of Kiwisat’s DTH platform, SES Video conducted an ELEVATE training programme in Saint Martin, where Kiwisat is based. This training programme provides antenna installers with the right set of skills to execute high-quality installations of satellite dishes in TV homes, ensuring that subscribers will enjoy top-quality reception. As a starting point, SES trained 10 installers to help Kiwisat deploy its platform.

“The TV options in the Caribbean are quite limited in terms of quality and price, so when we decided to launch our TV offer in the region, we set very high standards for ourselves because we wanted to bring the best possible service to our consumers,” said Andrew Wang, CEO of Kiwisat. “SES has a track-record of providing high-quality broadcasting services which suited our expectations, but what truly made the difference is their full-fledged support. SES has been working with us every step of the way to build this project, and activities such as the ELEVATE training programme really added value to our business. I could not think of a better partner than SES to accompany us on our journey.”

“We are very excited to support Kiwisat in bringing new TV entertainment choices to the population in the Caribbean,” said Jurandir Pitsch, Vice President, Sales & Market Development for Latin America and Caribbean, SES Video. “Our SES-10 satellite, designed exclusively for Latin America, offers ideal coverage for Kiwisat over the Caribbean, with one beam dedicated to this area and Mexico. As the leading HD/UHD platform worldwide, SES Video is very well positioned to distribute high picture quality content to Kiwisat’s subscribers.”