8 March 2016

OSN, the leading pay-TV provider in the Middle East and North Africa, is ramping up capacity on the powerful EUTELSAT 8 West B satellite operated by Eutelsat Communications (NYSE Euronext Paris: ETL). Additional capacity at the Middle East’s flagship TV neighbourhood will support more expansion for OSN, including new High Definition channels and the introduction of Ultra HD services.

The new contract was announced today at CABSAT 2016, the broadcasting convention taking place in Dubai from March 8-10.

OSN will take advantage of the additional capacity to introduce Ultra HD services that will bring the most cutting-edge TV experience to viewers in the Middle East, offering true immersion with an image quality four times richer than Full HD. OSN also plans to ramp up its HD offer, with eight new channels announced recently and several new premium and exclusive channels to be launched soon.

Building on its 10-year partnership with Eutelsat, OSN has built a platform of premium content broadcast exclusively from the 7/8° West video neighbourhood that reaches into homes from Morocco to the Gulf.

Commenting on the new contract, Mark Billinge, CTO, OSN said: “We are enthusiastic about this additional capacity which will allow us to offer superior TV quality to our viewers. Our plans to move into Ultra HD reflect our continuous ambition to raise the bar and be at the forefront of the latest TV technology.”

Michel Azibert, Eutelsat’s Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial & Development Officer, added: “Following the launch in August last year of the powerful EUTELSAT 8 West B satellite, this contract marks a new milestone in the growth story of the most popular satellite TV neighbourhood in the Middle East. We are honoured to celebrate 10 years of collaboration with OSN and are committed to furthering our longstanding presence and strong partnerships across the region, including playing our part in the roll-out of HD and the launch of Ultra HD.”